bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Ulama–State Relations in Iran: 1921–1941
Authors: Faghfoory Mohammad H.
Published: December 2011

The role of the ulama in Iranian politics during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has been studied extensively. Particularly the rise of the ulama's social influence and power in the Tobacco Movement (1891–1892) and the Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911 has been investigated at length. Much less attention has been devoted to examining the relationship between the ulama and the state after the Constitutional Revolution, and the role of the religious community in Reza Khan's assumption of power and his subsequent accession to the throne in 1925.
Tribal Law in the Arab World: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Stewart Frank H.
Published: December 2011

At the time of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt—the conventional starting point of modern Middle Eastern history—central governments in the Arab world had long been exceedingly weak. The situation began to change after 1800: At an early stage, Egypt was brought under firm control, and toward the end of the century the Ottoman regime began to tighten its grip on its Arab subjects. In some places, however —the Arabian peninsula, for instance, or Morocco—it is only within living memory that the authorities have acquired the kind of power over their territories that a modern state is expected to have.
Egyptian Liberalism in an Age of “Crisis of Orientation”: Al-Risāla'S Reaction to Fascism and Nazism, 1933–39
Authors: Gershoni Israel
Published: December 2011

The 1930s are generally represented as a decade of crisis in Egypt's liberal experiment. In this conventional interpretation, a clear and acute expression of the crisis can be found in the intellectual discourse. The transition of Egyptian intellectuals to the large-scale production of Islamic literature (islāmiyyāt), books and texts dealing with classical Islamic themes and heroes, particularly biographies of the Prophet and al-Khulafā⊂ al-Rāshidün, is presented as “the crisis of orientation.” This intellectual crisis is depicted as a general abandonment of the Western modernist project by intellectuals who, until that time, had advocated a progressive, rational, and liberal orientation and had assumed that the adoption of European ideas, values, and practices en masse was essential for the modernization of Egypt and its formation into a modern nation-state. Now, in the early 1930s, by enthusiastically embracing Islamic themes, the intellectuals were carrying out a “complete retreat on all these fronts.”
The Formation of Pan-Arab Ideology in the Interwar Years
Authors: Dawn C. Ernest
Published: December 2011

Arab nationalism arose as an opposition movement in Ottoman Syria, Palestine, and Iraq around the turn of the century. It remained a minority movement until the Ottoman collapse in 1918, but after the Ottoman defeat it became the overwhelmingly dominant movement in these territories where, except for some Lebanese, all successful politicians were Arab nationalists during the interwar years. Just what Arab nationalism meant to its proponents at the time, however, has been difficult to determine. The period only dimly figures in studies of Arab nationalism. Full studies have been devoted to survivors from the past, Rashid Rida⊃ and Shakib Arsian, to Sati⊂ al-Husri (al-Husari), a relative newcomer whose greatest prominence was to be in the 1940s and 1950s, and to the Muslim Brothers, who arrived on the scene even later, whose influence was to lie in the future, and who, like Rida⊃, were not considered to be primarily Arab nationalists. Otherwise, hardly a scant handful of pre-World War II Arab nationalist writers, and these from the late 1930s, receive even casual mention.
A REPLY TO JONATHAN BENTHALL
Authors: Antoun Richard T.
Published: December 2011

Jonathan Benthall's stimulating comment on my essay on civil society and tribal process
in Jordan has five specific criticisms: I pay no attention to gender; I underestimate the importance
of mass media; I neglect the fact that Jordan is an aid economy with the implied necessity of
finding formal organizations through which to funnel spending; I emphasize the importance of
kinship ties, although kinship puts a brake on the country's progress and on meritocracy;
and I emphasize the importance of tribal process when it is precisely that process that reinforces
reactionary trends. I shall briefly address these matters, then focus on the issues underlying our
differences. In that way, I hope to advance the discourse.
ZEEV STERNHELL, The Founding Myths of Israel:
Nationalism, Socialism, and the Making of the Jewish State, trans. David Maisel (Princeton,
N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1997). Pp. 432. $18.95.
Authors: Peretz Don
Published: December 2011

The principal focus of Zeev Sternhell's screed is Labor Zionism, although like other
Israeli so-called new historians, he touches on relations with the country's Arabs, tensions
between the Ashkenazi elite and Sephardi under-class, the Yishuv and the Holocaust, and
attitudes toward and perceptions of Diaspora Jewry. The author, whose professional field has
been European history, mainly France and Italy, was motivated to undertake this study by
“serious doubts” (p. ix) about the generally accepted ideas sanctioned by Israeli
historiography and social science. Using his skills as a professional historian, he probed Zionist
and Israeli government archives and reread original texts to compare what he perceived as social
and political realities with the ideology guiding policies. Sternhell is critical of traditional Israeli
historiography because of the damage it has caused by separating Jewish history from general
history. The consequences, he asserts, are “truly appalling” (p. x), resulting in
paralysis of any real critical sense and perpetuation of “myths flattering to Israel's
collective identity” (p. x). This has led many historians of Zionism “to lock
themselves up in an intellectual ghetto” (p. x), leading to ignorance and emotional
blindness.
MUHAMMAD SAעID AL-עASHMAWY,
Against Islamic Extremism: The Writings of Muhammad Saעid
al-עAshmawy, ed. Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (Gainesville: University of Florida Press,
1998). Pp. 139. $49.95 cloth.
Authors: Moosa Ebrahim
Published: December 2011

In this book-length essay, Muhammad Saעid al-עAshmawy, the former
Egyptian judge turned writer on contemporary Islam, engages with issues that have occupied
Muslim communities for much of the 20th century. He addresses Islam's encounter with the
“Other” (Jews and Christians), the role of religion in politics, and the application of
Islamic law in modern Muslim societies. The author, whose writing was produced in English with
the assistance of Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban in the capacity of editor, seeks to combat what he terms
the phenomenon of Islamic extremism from which the book derives its title.
DARIUSH ZAHEDI, The Iranian Revolution Then and Now:
Indications of Regime Instability (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2000). Pp. 215. $60.00
cloth.
Authors: Behrooz Maziar
Published: December 2011

In general, historians seldom venture into predicting the future. Their discipline and training
guides them toward attempting to reconstruct the past by relying on research, scrutinized facts,
deliberation, and analysis. Other disciplines seem sometimes to disagree. That historians do not
venture into predictions does not arise from a conservative orientation in their discipline, which
may lead to a lack of enthusiasm for adventure; it comes from a philosophical attitude toward
study of human society that points up the fact that the task of reconstructing the past, when data
are obtainable, is a monumental task. Doing the same for events that have yet to happen can easily
turn into futile attempts precisely because of lack of adequate data for analysis. On rare occasions,
of course, major events in history have been predicted. World War II is a good example.
However, observers missed other, equally significant events. The fall of the Soviet Union and the
Iranian Revolution of 1979 are two examples.
MARY ANN TÉTREAULT, Stories of
Democracy: Politics and Society in Contemporary Kuwait (New York: Columbia University
Press, 2000). Pp. 318. $18.50 paper.
Authors: Wheeler Deborah L.
Published: December 2011

In her pivotal work on Kuwaiti politics, Mary Ann Tétreault provides an
“insider's guide” to the private and public spaces in which struggles over
communal power are pursued by the government, the Parliament, and the people of Kuwait.
Tétreault is careful to call her text “Stories of Democracy,” as she realizes
the reflexive nature of what democracy means at different periods in history (before oil, after oil,
under Iraqi occupation, in post-Liberation Kuwait); for different people in Kuwait (women, the
merchants, government officials, tribal leaders, service politicians, opposition leaders); and in
different contexts (the mosque, the diwaniyya or men's social club, the civic
association, Parliament, the government). With this in mind, she argues that
“democracy” is a “concept that ‘moves' depending on
one's assumptions” (p. 3). Her basic message is that Kuwaiti politics resembles the
politics of the Greek city-state, and she relies on various forms of Aristotelian comparison to
explore this concept. Moreover, Tétreault illustrates that much of Kuwaiti politics
resembles a high-stakes soap opera. For example, she calls the bad debt crisis “one of the
longest running soap operas in Kuwaiti politics” (p. 164). In Chapter 4, she labels Kuwaiti
politics “a family romance, whose grip on political actors constrains their choices”
(p. 67). Toward the end of her text in chapter 8, Tétreault combines these metaphors
when she observes that in the city-state that is Kuwait, politics are “the product of a
domestic public life that seems all too often like life in a large and contentious family” (p.
206).
Oral squamous cell carcinoma in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients: clinicopathological audit
Authors: Butt F M A , Chindia M L , Rana F
Published: December 2011

Background:

Most human immunodeficiency virus positive patients now have a longer life expectancy, with the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy. However, they are now at increased risk of developing a malignancy during their lives.

Aim:

To investigate the age at which oral squamous cell carcinoma presents in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Study design:

Prospective, clinicohistopathological audit of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Results:

Of 200 human immunodeficiency virus positive patients, 16 (8 per cent) presented with oral squamous cell carcinoma (nine women and seven men; age range 18–43 years, mean age 31.7 years). The majority of patients (62.5 per cent) had stage III and IV disease (tumour-node-metastasis staging). There was a predilection for poorly differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma (using Broder's histopathological classification).

Conclusion:

Oral squamous cell carcinoma associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection appears to present at a relatively young age.
Evaluation of epithelial proliferation in paediatric and adult cholesteatomas using the Ki-67 proliferation marker
Authors: Sikka K , Sharma S C , Thakar A , Dattagupta S
Published: December 2011

Introduction:

The aggressiveness of cholesteatoma in children compared with adults is well known. However, the factors influencing the poorer prognosis of paediatric cholesteatoma are not well understood. This study compared the proliferative potential of paediatric cholesteatoma with that of adult cholesteatoma, using Ki-67 as a proliferation marker.

Methods:

A prospective study of 67 patients with aural cholesteatoma was performed. Thirty-eight adult and 29 paediatric cases were evaluated using clinical parameters including bone erosion, complications and extent of disease. A surgical specimen underwent histological evaluation and measurement of the proliferation index using Ki-67 labelling. Normal epithelium from a control group was also examined.

Results:

Cholesteatoma epithelium has a greater rate of proliferation than normal skin. There were however no statistical differences between the paediatric and adult cholesteatoma groups in terms of clinical behaviour or proliferation potential. Paediatric cholesteatoma was similar to adult cholesteatoma in terms of complications, bone erosion and disease spread.

Conclusion:

Cholesteatoma is a disorder of epithelial proliferation. Although postulated to be more aggressive in children than adults, this study found no clinicopathological differences between paediatric and adult cases.
Feeding Structures and their Functions in Adult and Preadult Tigriopus Californicus (Copepoda: Harpacticoida)
Authors: Lewis A.G. , Chatters L. , Raudsepp M.
Published: December 2011

Tigriopus californicus uses several appendages and processes in the collection and manipulation of food. Their structure and function appear to enable the species to utilize the variety of food materials found in splashpools, including: detritus and organic floes; superficial material on particles; faecal pellets; protists; diatoms; and small crustaceans. From light and scanning electron microscopy and video, the labrum and labium appear to be adapted for biting soft and hard food materials and holding food for trituration by the mandibles. From energy dispersive X-ray spectra, the gnathobase of the mandible is suggested to be sclerotized but not calcified or silicified. It has an array of bilobate and multilobate teeth, clusters of spinous processes, and a heavy, spine-bearing process to move food into the oesophagus. There is also a flange which articulates in a groove in the labrum which appears to provide a guide for the gnathobase as it moves vertically.
Reproductive Cycle of Pollicipes Pollicipes at Cabo De Sines, South-West Coast of Portugal
Authors: Cruz Teresa , Hawkins Stephen J.
Published: December 2011

The reproductive cycle of the pedunculate barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes from two intertidal levels (mid and low) at Cabo de Sines, south-west coast of Portugal has been described. Pollicipes pollicipes larger than 12.5 mm (rostrocarinal distance, RC) are simultaneous hermaphrodites. Minimum size for maturity of the female gonad was 12.5 mm (RC) whilst sperm production is achieved at a smaller size (10 mm). The breeding season was from April to September. Reproductive activity was similar at both tidal levels and was significantly correlated with seawater temperature. Brooding activity was most pronounced in late spring and summer when seawater temperature ranged from 18 to 21°C. Throughout the year, sperm was stored in the seminal vesicles, although the testes regressed from October–December. The female gonad was resting in October–January and active during March–September. During resting, only a few empty ovarioles were observed. At the beginning and in the middle of the reproductive season (March to August), the ovary was completely disrupted after fertilization and ovary recovery occurred simultaneously with egg development. During the end of the reproductive season (September–October), synchrony was retarded as recovery of the ovary was slower than egg development. The pattern of functioning of the female gonad should allow production of several broods during the season.
Quality of information sources about mental disorders: a comparison of Wikipedia with centrally controlled web and printed sources
Authors: Reavley N. J. , Mackinnon A. J. , Morgan A. J. , Alvarez-Jimenez M. , Hetrick S. E. , Killackey E. , Nelson B. , Purcell R. , Yap M. B. H. , Jorm A. F.
Published: December 2011

Background

Although mental health information on the internet is often of poor quality, relatively little is known about the quality of websites, such as Wikipedia, that involve participatory information sharing. The aim of this paper was to explore the quality of user-contributed mental health-related information on Wikipedia and compare this with centrally controlled information sources.

Method

Content on 10 mental health-related topics was extracted from 14 frequently accessed websites (including Wikipedia) providing information about depression and schizophrenia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a psychiatry textbook. The content was rated by experts according to the following criteria: accuracy, up-to-dateness, breadth of coverage, referencing and readability.

Results

Ratings varied significantly between resources according to topic. Across all topics, Wikipedia was the most highly rated in all domains except readability.

Conclusions

The quality of information on depression and schizophrenia on Wikipedia is generally as good as, or better than, that provided by centrally controlled websites, Encyclopaedia Britannica and a psychiatry textbook.
DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY AND ECONOMIC LIBERTY
Authors: Tomasi John
Published: December 2011

Libertarians and classical liberals typically defend private economic liberty as a requirement of self-ownership or on the basis of consequentialist arguments of various sorts. By contrast, this paper defends private economic liberty as a requirement of democratic legitimacy. In recent decades, many philosophers have converged upon a certain view about political justification. If a set of social institutions is to be just and legitimate, those institutions must be acceptable in principle to the citizens who are to lead their lives within them. This deliberative or democratic approach to justification is traditionally associated with thinkers on the left who are skeptical of the importance of private economic liberty. This article shows how the protection of private economic liberty is a requirement of citizens' developing and exercising the moral powers they have as democratic citizens. Democratic legitimacy does not require the affirmation of absolute economic liberty rights as sometimes defended by libertarians. But democratic legitimacy does require that a wide range of private economic liberties be meriting constitutional protection on a par with the civil and political liberties of democratic citizens. This opens the way for a wider defense of classical liberalism based upon the idea of democratic legitimacy.
RESCUING JUSTICE FROM EQUALITY
Authors: Wall Steven
Published: December 2011

In the wake of G. A. Cohen's masterful critique of Rawls's work, this paper discusses Rawlsian justice in general and the difference principle in particular. It argues that Rawlsian arguments for the difference principle present a puzzle and that to respond adequately to the puzzle we must engage in rational reconstruction. After explaining the puzzle and considering and rejecting a number of responses to it, the paper begins its reconstructive project. It presents the case for viewing the difference principle as a maximizing prioritarian principle of justice, one that that contains no trace of commitment to equality as a distributive norm. The paper concludes by bringing out some of the implications of viewing Rawlsian justice in this light.
Equine encephalosis virus: evidence for circulation beyond southern Africa
Authors: OURA C. A. L. , BATTEN C. A. , IVENS P. A. S. , BALCHA M. , ALHASSAN A. , GIZAW D. , ELHARRAK M. , JALLOW D. B. , SAHLE M. , MAAN N. , MERTENS P. C. , MAAN S.
Published: December 2011

Prior to the recent outbreak of equine encephalosis in Israel in 2009, equine encephalosis virus (EEV) had only been isolated from equids in South Africa. In this study we show the first evidence for the circulation of EEV beyond South Africa in Ethiopia, Ghana and The Gambia, indicating that EEV is likely to be freely circulating and endemic in East and West Africa. Sequence analysis revealed that the EEV isolate circulating in The Gambia was closely related to an EEV isolate that was isolated from a horse from Israel during the EEV outbreak in 2009, indicating that the two viruses have a common ancestry. Interestingly horses in Morocco tested negative for EEV antibodies indicating that the Sahara desert may be acting as a geographical barrier to the spread to the virus to North African countries. This evidence for EEV circulation in countries in East and West Africa sheds light on how the virus may have reached Israel to cause the recent outbreak in 2009.
The Middle Eastern and biblical origins of the Mediterranean diet
Authors: Berry Elliot M , Arnoni Yardena , Aviram Michael
Published: December 2011

Objective

To place the Mediterranean diet (MedDi) in the context of the cultural history of the Middle East and emphasise the health effects of some of the biblical seven species – wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and date honey.

Design

Review of the literature concerning the benefits of these foods.

Setting

Middle East and Mediterranean Basin.

Subjects

Mediterranean populations and clinical studies utilising the MedDi.

Results and conclusions

The MedDi has been associated with lower rates of CVD, and epidemiological evidence promotes the benefits of consuming fruit and vegetables. Recommended foods for optimal health include whole grain, fish, wine, pomegranates, figs, walnuts and extra virgin olive oil. The biblical traditional diet, including the seven species and additional Mediterranean fruits, has great health advantages, especially for CVD. In addition to the diet, lifestyle adaptation that involves increasing physical activity and organised meals, together with healthy food choices, is consistent with the traditional MedDi. The MedDi is a manageable, lifestyle-friendly diet that, when fortified with its biblical antecedent attributes, may prove to be even more enjoyable and considerably healthier in combating the obesogenic environment and in decreasing the risks of the non-communicable diseases of modern life than conventional, modern dietary recommendations. The biblical seven species, together with other indigenous foods from the Middle East, are now scientifically recognised as healthy foods, and further improve the many beneficial effects of the MedDi.
Low consumption of fruit and vegetables and risk of chronic disease: a review of the epidemiological evidence and temporal trends among Spanish graduates
Authors: Martínez-González Miguel Á , de la Fuente-Arrillaga Carmen , López-del-Burgo Cristina , Vázquez-Ruiz Zenaida , Benito Silvia , Ruiz-Canela Miguel
Published: December 2011

Objective

To review the evidence on the association between fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and risk of chronic disease, and to assess trends in the prevalence of low F&V consumption.

Design

Systematic review and cross-sectional analyses of a Mediterranean cohort.

Setting

The Seguimiento University of Navarra (SUN) project (Spanish dynamic cohort of graduates).

Subjects

A systematic review of prospective studies aimed to assess the relationship between fruit and/or vegetables consumption and chronic disease incidence was conducted. We also assessed 18 457 university graduates (59·4 % women; mean age = 39 (sd12) years) enrolled in a dynamic cohort with permanently open recruitment. Baseline data were collected between 1999 and 2010 using a validated 136-item FFQ. Four definitions for low F&V consumption were used (<400 g/d, <200 g/4184 kJ (1000 kcal) per d, ≤2 servings/d and ≤1 serving/d). Multivariate-adjusted cross-sectional associations between the prevalence of low F&V consumption and the year of recruitment were estimated.

Results

The systematic review found that a high F&V consumption is inversely associated with CVD incidence and mortality. This association is not so clear for cancer. Inconsistent findings have been reported for diabetes. In all, 13 % of participants in the SUN cohort did not meet the goal of consuming at least 400 g/d of F&V and 2·1 % of them did not reach >1 serving/d. Between 1999 and 2010 the consumption of F&V significantly increased.

Conclusions

Even among health-conscious university graduates, low F&V consumption is fairly prevalent. Although the temporal trends suggest an improvement, preventive strategies addressed to increase F&V consumption are needed.
Mediterranean diet in secondary prevention of CHD
Authors: de Lorgeril Michel , Salen Patricia
Published: December 2011

Objective

To summarise our present knowledge on the Mediterranean diet in secondary prevention of CHD.

Design

Review of literature.

Setting

Adult coronary patients.

Subjects

CHD patients at high risk of cardiac death.

Results

The two main causes of death in these patients are sudden cardiac death (SCD) and chronic heart failure (CHF). The main mechanism underlying recurrent cardiac events is coronary thrombosis resulting from atherosclerotic plaque erosion or ulceration. The occurrence of thrombosis is usually associated with plaque weakness in relation to high lipid content of the lesion where cholesterol only represents a very small part compared with other lipids (i.e. fatty acids). Thus, the three main aims of the preventive strategy are to prevent coronary thrombosis, malignant ventricular arrhythmia and the development of left ventricular dysfunction (and CHF) and finally to minimise the risk of plaque erosion and ulceration. There is now a consensus about recommending the Mediterranean diet pattern for the secondary prevention of CHD because no other dietary pattern has been successfully tested so far in these patients. The most important aspect, in contrast with the pharmacological prevention of CHD (including cholesterol lowering), is that the Mediterranean diet results in a striking effect on survival.

Conclusions

The traditional Mediterranean diet is effective in reducing both coronary atherosclerosis/thrombosis and the risk of fatal complications such as SCD and heart failure.
Local evidenced-based policy options to improve food security in South Australia: the use of local knowledge in policy development
Authors: Bastian Amber , Coveney John
Published: December 2011

Objective

To examine realist policy options for the South Australian government to improve food security.

Design

Semi-structured interviews with twenty-four key South Australian food security stakeholders.

Setting

Food security is a global issue that affects both developing and developed countries. Governments are well placed to improve food security but the solutions are not always evident.

Subjects

Policy makers, leaders of non-government organisations, private enterprise and front-line food security workers in South Australia.

Results

The research produced forty-four potential policy options for the South Australian government to improve food security.

Conclusions

Stakeholders offered detailed policy solutions for the local context. This illustrates how gathering local evidence expands understanding on an issue. The process used to generate these policy options is applicable to other public health problems and other contexts.
Endothelial Cell-Pericyte Interactions Stimulate Basement Membrane Matrix Assembly: Influence on Vascular Tube Remodeling, Maturation, and Stabilization
Authors: Stratman Amber N. , Davis George E.
Published: December 2011

Extracellular matrix synthesis and deposition surrounding the developing vasculature are critical for vessel remodeling and maturation events. Although the basement membrane is an integral structure underlying endothelial cells (ECs), few studies, until recently, have been performed to understand its formation in this context. In this review article, we highlight new data demonstrating a corequirement for ECs and pericytes to properly deposit and assemble vascular basement membranes during morphogenic events. In EC only cultures or under conditions whereby pericyte recruitment is blocked, there is a lack of basement membrane assembly, decreased vessel stability (with increased susceptibility to pro-regressive stimuli), and increased EC tube widths (a marker of dysfunctional EC-pericyte interactions). ECs and pericytes both contribute basement membrane components and, furthermore, both cells induce the expression of particular components as well as integrins that recognize them. The EC-derived factors—platelet derived growth factor-BB and heparin binding-epidermal growth factor—are both critical for pericyte recruitment to EC tubes and concomitant vascular basement membrane formationin vitroandin vivo. Thus, heterotypic EC-pericyte interactions play a fundamental role in vascular basement membrane matrix deposition, a critical tube maturation event that is altered in key disease states such as diabetes and cancer.
Dynamics of corporate social responsibility: towards a new ‘conception of control’?
Authors: LAMARCHE THOMAS , RUBINSTEIN MARIANNE
Published: December 2011

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) was long associated with the ethics of company heads but now falls within an institutional process whereby practices give rise to rules which in turn modify company actions. CSR has spread as a result of social demand for a more ecological society, but it also constitutes a response to the crisis of shareholder governance. Drawing on the notion of ‘conception of control’ set out by Neil Fligstein (1990), we argue that CSR has given rise to a new ‘conception of control’, which we term ‘shareholder–CSR compatible’. Such a conception reflects how governance changes when environmental and societal responsibilities are combined with responsibility to shareholders. Shareholder value is still central within the enterprise, but top managers must now assume the position of mediators between these two imperatives.
Seasonal differences of vertical‐transport efficiency in the tropical tropopause layer: On the interplay between tropical deep convection, large‐scale vertical ascent, and horizontal circulations
Authors: Bergman John W. , Jensen Eric J. , Pfister Leonhard , Yang Qiong
Published: December 2011

Winter‐summer differences in the transport of air from the boundary layer to the lower stratosphere at low latitudes are investigated with ensembles of back trajectory calculations that track parcels from the 380 K isentropic surface to their convective detrainment in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) during the winter of 2006–2007 and summer of 2007. Horizontal displacements for the trajectories are calculated from reanalysis data; potential temperature displacements are calculated from radiative heating rates derived from observed cloud, water vapor, ozone, and temperature variations; and the locations' convective detrainments are determined by satellite observations of convective clouds. Weaker upwelling in the TTL during boreal summer compared with that of winter both slows the ascent through the TTL and raises the height threshold that convective detrainment must surpass in order for ascent to occur, restricting the injection of new air into the stratosphere during summer. In addition, anticyclonic circulations associated with convective activity contribute to vertical transport in the TTL by guiding detrained air parcels through regions with the strongest upwelling. These features combine to make monsoon‐related convection over the Indian subcontinent the dominant source of new air during summer. In contrast, winter sources are spread over the southern continents and the western Pacific Ocean. These seasonal differences imply that air entering the tropical stratosphere during summer is older but might nevertheless be more polluted than air entering during winter. While poor data sampling in the TTL makes it difficult to validate our results, they are bolstered by favorable comparisons with previous studies of the TTL, by sensitivity tests that reveal important dynamical influences on surface‐to‐stratospheric transport, and by the robustness of dynamical interactions that systematically associate deep convection with anticyclonic circulations and strong radiative heating in the TTL. Sensitivity experiments suggest that the aforementioned seasonal differences are sensitive to strong “large‐scale” (on global space scales and seasonal time scales) perturbations. In particular, uncertainties in the vertical motion fields constrain our ability to draw definitive conclusions. However, trajectory statistics are not sensitive to small‐scale perturbations, with the encouraging implication that our results are primarily associated with those features of the circulation that are the most likely to be robust.
The Utility of 11C-Arachidonate PET to Study in vivo Dopaminergic Neurotransmission in Humans
Authors: Thambisetty Madhav , Gallardo Kathy A , Liow Jeih-San , Beason-Held Lori L , Umhau John C , Bhattacharjee Abesh K , Der Margaret , Herscovitch Peter , Rapoport Judith L , Rapoport Stanley I
Published: December 2011

We developed a novel method to study dopaminergic neurotransmission using positron emission tomography (PET) with [1-11C]arachidonic acid ([1-11C]AA). Previous preclinical studies have shown the utility of [1-11C]AA as a marker of signal transduction coupled to cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). Using [1-11C]AA and [15O]water PET, we measured regional incorporation coefficients K* for AA and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), respectively, in healthy male volunteers given the D1/D2 agonist (10 or 20 μg/kg subcutaneous) apomorphine. We confirmed a robust central dopaminergic response to apomorphine by observing significant increases in the serum concentration of growth hormone. We observed significant increases, as well as decreases in K* and increases in rCBF in response to apomorphine. These changes remained significant after covarying for handedness and apomorphine dosage. The magnitude of increases in K* was lower than those in our previous animal experiments, likely reflecting the smaller dose of apomorphine used in the current human study. Changes in K* may reflect neuronal signaling downstream of activated D2-like receptors coupled to cPLA2. Changes in rCBF are consistent with previous studies showing net functional effects of D1/D2 activation. [1-11C]AA PET may be useful for studying disturbances of dopaminergic neurotransmission in conditions such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.
Confirmation of Fenfluramine Effect on 5-HT1B Receptor Binding of [11C]AZ10419369 using an Equilibrium Approach
Authors: Finnema Sjoerd J , Varrone Andrea , Hwang Tzung-Jeng , Halldin Christer , Farde Lars
Published: December 2011

Assessment of serotonin release in the living brain with positron emission tomography (PET) may have been hampered by the lack of suitable radioligands. We previously reported that fenfluramine caused a dose-dependent reduction in specific binding in monkeys using a classical displacement paradigm with bolus administration of [11C]AZ10419369. The aim of this study was to confirm our previous findings using an equilibrium approach in monkey. A total of 24 PET measurements were conducted using a bolus infusion protocol of [11C]AZ10419369 in three cynomolgus monkeys. Initial PET measurements were performed to assess suitable Kbol values. The fenfluramine effect on [11C]AZ10419369 binding was evaluated in a displacement and pretreatment paradigm. The effect of fenfluramine on [11C]AZ10419369 binding potential ( BPND) was dose-dependent in the displacement paradigm and confirmed in the pretreatment paradigm. After pretreatment administration of fenfluramine (5.0 mg/kg), the mean BPND of the occipital cortex decreased by 39%, from 1.38 ± 0.04 to 0.84 ± 0.09. This study confirms that the new 5-HT1B receptor radioligand [11C]AZ10419369 is sensitive to fenfluramine-induced changes in endogenous serotonin levels in vivo. The more advanced methodology is suitable for exploring the sensitivity limit to serotonin release as measured using [11C]AZ10419369 and PET.
Cerebral Glutamine Metabolism under Hyperammonemia Determined in vivo by Localized 1H and 15N NMR Spectroscopy
Authors: Cudalbu Cristina , Lanz Bernard , Duarte João MN , Morgenthaler Florence D , Pilloud Yves , Mlynárik Vladimir , Gruetter Rolf
Published: December 2011

Brain glutamine synthetase (GS) is an integral part of the glutamate—glutamine cycle and occurs in the glial compartment. In vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) allows noninvasive measurements of the concentrations and synthesis rates of metabolites. 15N MRS is an alternative approach to 13C MRS. Incorporation of labeled 15N from ammonia in cerebral glutamine allows to measure several metabolic reactions related to nitrogen metabolism, including the glutamate—glutamine cycle. To measure 15N incorporation into the position 5N of glutamine and position 2N of glutamate and glutamine, we developed a novel 15N pulse sequence to simultaneously detect, for the first time, [5-15N]Gln and [2-15N]Gln + Glu in vivo in the rat brain. In addition, we also measured for the first time in the same experiment localized 1H spectra for a direct measurement of the net glutamine accumulation. Mathematical modeling of 1H and 15N MRS data allowed to reduce the number of assumptions and provided reliable determination of GS (0.30 ± 0.050 μmol/g per minute), apparent neurotransmission (0.26 ± 0.030 μmol/g per minute), glutamate dehydrogenase (0.029 ± 0.002 μmol/g per minute), and net glutamine accumulation (0.033 ± 0.001 μmol/g per minute). These results showed an increase of GS and net glutamine accumulation under hyperammonemia, supporting the concept of their implication in cerebral ammonia detoxification.
Indication of BOLD-Specific Venous Flow-Volume Changes from Precisely Controlled Hyperoxic vs. Hypercapnic Calibration
Authors: Mark Clarisse I , Pike G Bruce
Published: December 2011

Deriving cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) from blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signals involves a flow-volume parameter (α), reflecting total cerebral blood volume changes, and a calibration constant ( M). Traditionally, the former is assumed a fixed value and the latter is measured under alterations in fixed inspired fractional concentrations of carbon dioxide. We recently reported on reductions in M-variability via precise control of end-tidal pressures of both hypercapnic (HC) and hyperoxic (HO) gases. In light of these findings, our aim was to apply the improved calibration alternatives to neuronal activation, making use of their distinct vasoactive natures to evaluate the α-value. Nine healthy volunteers were imaged at 3 T while simultaneously measuring BOLD and arterial spin-labeling signals during controlled, graded, HC, and HO, followed by visual (VC) and sensorimotor cortices (SMC) activation. On the basis of low M- and CMRO2-variability, the comparison of these calibration alternatives accurately highlighted a reduced venous flow—volume relationship (α = 0.16 ± 0.02, with αVC = 0.12 ± 0.04, and αSMC = 0.20 ± 0.02), as appropriate for BOLD modeling.
Moderate Or Deep Local Hypothermia Does Not Prevent the Onset of Ischemia-Induced Dendritic Damage
Authors: Tran Sherri , Chen Shangbin , Liu Ran R , Xie Yicheng , Murphy Timothy H
Published: December 2011

We studied the acute (up to 2 hours after reperfusion) effects of localized cortical hypothermia on ischemia-induced dendritic structural damage. Moderate (31°C) and deep (22°C) hypothermia delays, but does not block the onset of dendritic blebbing or spine loss during global ischemia in mouse in vivo. Hypothermic treatment promoted more consistent recovery of dendritic structure and spines during reperfusion. These results suggest that those using therapeutic hypothermia will need to consider that it does not spare neurons from structural changes that are the result of ischemia, but hypothermia may interact with mechanisms that control the onset of damage and recovery during reperfusion.
NMDA-Dependent Mechanisms Only Affect the BOLD Response in the Rat Dentate Gyrus by Modifying Local Signal Processing
Authors: Tiede Regina , Krautwald Karla , Fincke Anja , Angenstein Frank
Published: December 2011

The role of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated mechanisms in the formation of a blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response was studied using electrical stimulation of the right perforant pathway. Stimulation of this fiber bundle triggered BOLD responses in the right hippocampal formation and in the left entorhinal cortex. The perforant pathway projects to and activates the dentate gyrus monosynaptically, activation in the contralateral entorhinal cortex is multisynaptic and requires forwarding and processing of signals. Application of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK801 during stimulation had no effect on BOLD responses in the right dentate gyrus, but reduced the BOLD responses in the left entorhinal cortex. In contrast, application of MK801 before the first stimulation train reduced the BOLD response in both regions. Electrophysiological recordings revealed that the initial stimulation trains changed the local processing of the incoming signals in the dentate gyrus. This altered electrophysiological response was not further changed by a subsequent application of MK801, which is in agreement with an unchanged BOLD response. When MK801 was present during the first stimulation train, a dissimilar electrophysiological response pattern was observed and corresponds to an altered BOLD response, indicating that NMDA-dependent mechanisms indirectly affect the BOLD response, mainly via modifying local signal processing and subsequent propagation.
ERK1/2 and Akt pathway activated during (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1)‐induced apoptosis in MCF‐7 cells
Authors: Meng Li , Tao Hongwen , Dong Guoqiang , Yang Tingting , Zhang Wannian , Zhu Weiming , Huang Caiguo
Published: December 2011

(3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1) was isolated from the endogenous fungus, Fusarium oxysporum J8‐1‐2. Previous studies showed that (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1) has anti‐oestrogen properties which make it cytotoxic to ER (oestrogen receptor)‐positive breast cancer cells (MCF‐7) by cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1) suppresses mRNA and protein expression of the ERα and oestrogen responsive genes of cyclin D1 and PR. We have investigated the interaction between (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1) and ERα and followed the roles of ERK (extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase), Akt and GSK3β (glycogen synthase kinase 3β) during (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1)‐induced apoptosis of MCF‐7 cells. (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1) competed with E2 (17β‐estradiol) for ERα active sites to inhibit ERα activation. However, while ERK1/2 and Akt were activated, GSK3β was inactivated during (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1)‐induced apoptosis, suggesting that this compound is indeed an anti‐oestrogen agent that can also activate the survival signalling pathway. Apoptosis caused by (3R, 6R)‐bassiatin(1) may be related to activation of ERK.
Melamine causes apoptosis of rat kidney epithelial cell line (NRK‐52e cells) via excessive intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) and the activation of p38 MAPK pathway
Authors: Guo Chengzhi , Yuan Hui , He Zuping
Published: December 2011

There was an outbreak of urinary stones associated with consumption of melamine‐tainted milk products in 2008 in China, leading to serious illness of many infants and even death. We have recently demonstrated that melamine causes oxidative damage on the NRK (normal rat kidney)‐52e cells. The objective of this study was to explore the cellular signalling pathway that mediates the cell apoptosis induced by melamine in the NRK‐52e cells. Fluorescence microscope showed that melamine enhanced intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) levels of the NRK‐52e cells. AO/EB (acridine orange/ethidium bromide) staining and flow cytometry revealed that melamine increased apoptotic and necrotic percentages of the NRK‐52e cells in a dose‐dependent manner. Notably, MTT [3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide] assays and flow cytometry displayed that SB203580, an inhibitor for p38 MAPK (mitogen‐activated protein kinase) pathway, increased the proliferation of the NRK‐52e cells and reduced the apoptotic and necrotic percentages of the NRK‐52e cells. Western blots further demonstrated that p38 phosphorylation was activated by melamine in the NRK‐52e cells and inhibitor SB203580 blocked the increase of p38 phosphorylation induced by melamine. Together, these results suggested that melamine causes apoptosis of the NRK‐52e cells via excessive intracellular ROS and the activation of p38 MAPK pathway. This study thus offers a novel insight into molecular mechanisms by which melamine has adverse cytotoxicity on renal tubular epithelial cells.
Features of the Selectivity for Contrast Polarity in Contour Integration Revealed by a Novel Tilt Illusion
Authors: Guidi Stefano , Parlangeli Oronzo , Bettella Sandro , Roncato Sergio
Published: December 2011

We studied a novel illusion of tilt inside checkerboards due to the role of contrast polarity in contour integration. The preference for binding of oriented contours having same contrast polarity, over binding of opposite polarity ones (CP rule), has been used to explain several visual illusions. In three experiments we investigated how the binding effect is influenced by luminance contrast value, relatability of contour elements, and distance among them. Experiment 1 showed that the effect was indeed present only when the CP rule was satisfied, and found it to be stronger when the luminance contrast values of the elements are more similar. In experiment 2 the illusion was reported only with relatable edges, and its strength was modulated by the degree of relatability. The CP-rule effectiveness, thus, seems to depend on good continuation. The intensity of contrast polarity signals propagating from an oriented contour might be the less intense, the more its direction deviates from linearity. In experiment 3 we estimated the distance threshold and found it to be smaller than the one found for other illusions, arising with collinear fragments. This seems to show that the reach of the contrast polarity signal inside the association field of a contour unit is shorter along non-collinear orientations than along collinear ones.
Assessments of the Edge Effect in Intensity of Potato Zebra Chip Disease
Authors: Workneh F. , Henne D. C. , Childers A. C. , Paetzold L. , Rush C. M.
Published: December 2011

Zebra chip is a newly emerging potato disease which imparts dark colorations on fried chips, rendering them unmarketable. The disease is associated with the phloem-limited proteobacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solancearum’, vectored by the potato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli. First reported from Mexico in the mid-1990s, the disease was observed for the first time in Texas in 2000 and is now prevalent in several potato-producing regions of the United States. In this study, we were interested in investigating whether there are edge effects in zebra chip intensity that can be assessed as a “foot print” of the associated insect vector. In 2009, we conducted studies in three fields in the Texas Panhandle in paired plots of 10 by 20 m around the field edges and 100 m infield in which symptomatic plants were counted just before harvest. The number of plot pairs (edge and infield) ranged from 15 to 18 depending on the size of the fields. In a separate study, temporal disease progress was assessed in two fields around the edges of the center-pivot circle in approximately 10-by-450-m areas. In 2010, the paired plot studies were repeated in 10 potato fields in Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska. Zebra chip intensity data from the paired-plot studies for both years were analyzed using the Wilcoxon's signed-rank test, a nonparametric equivalent of the classical (parametric) paired t test. In the 2009 study in all three fields, the edge plots had significantly greater zebra chip intensity than the infield plots (P < 0.05). Edge plots in the 2010 study also had greater zebra chip intensity in all fields and the differences were significant in the majority of fields (P < 0.05). In the diseases progress study in both fields, weekly zebra chip intensity on the edges reached its maximum after the third week of its first detection, and the disease progress curves were best fitted with the second-degree polynomial (quadratic) for both fields. The 2-year study clearly demonstrated that zebra chip intensity in potato fields was greater on the edges than in the infields. This finding has significant implications for psyllid management because greater emphasis in psyllid control strategy can be directed toward the edges for better results.