bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Der ‚Cherubische Einzug‘ im ‚Tempel des Lichts‘. Die Inszenierung der geistlichen Identität des christlichen Kaisers in der Spätantike
Authors: Schneider Wolfgang Christian
Published: March 2007

The article elucidates the liturgical context of the Cherubic hymn, officially installed in the liturgy of the Hagia Sophia in 573/574. The detailed analysis of the hymn and its biblical background leads to the suggestion that the Emperor Justin II. wanted a theological interpretation of his reign being expressed. Taking into account especially the role of the Emperor in the procession this seems very probable. So even the criticizing of the official installation of the hymn appears to be an important political struggle about the relation between Emperor and church: Justin II. wanted to make permanent the special role of the Emperor during the inauguration of the Hagia Sophia.
Book Reviews
Authors: Clarke Simon A.
Published: March 2007

Kanga:The Cloth that Speaks by Sharifa M. Zawawi. New York: Azaniya Hills Press, 2005. 128 pp.

Simon A. Clarke studied printed textiles at Middlesex University and Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, University of Central England. As a Senior Lecturer at University College Falmouth, Clarke's current area of research is digitally printed textiles and Eastern African visual arts.
The Impact of Socioeconomic Status and Race-Ethnicity on Dental Health
Authors: Hudson Kenneth , Stockard Jean , Ramberg Zach
Published: March 2007

This article examines the impact of race-ethnicity on dental health and the extent to which socioeconomic status (SES), routine dental care, and health-related behaviors mediate this relationship. The data used in this analysis are from the National Education and Health Survey III, a large national data set that incorporated professional dental examinations and personal interviews. Results indicate that both race-ethnicity and SES are independently and significantly related to the number of decayed and missing tooth surfaces observed in dental examinations. The authors find that Blacks are consistently the group most likely to have decayed and missing teeth, followed by Mexican Americans. Although a portion of the effects of race-ethnicity are mediated by SES, a portion of the effects of SES are mediated by smoking, sugar consumption, and dental care. The direct effects of both race-ethnicity and SES are significant, even when controlling for the effects of health-related behaviors and other key demographic factors. The effects of race-ethnicity and SES also persist when the sample is restricted to specific income and race-ethnicity groups.
Examining the Correlates of Engagement and Disengagement Coping Among Help-Seeking Battered Women
Authors: Taft Casey T. , Resick Patricia A. , Panuzio Jillian , Vogt Dawne S. , Mechanic Mindy B.
Published: March 2007

This study examined several potential correlates of engagement and disengagement coping, including abuse-related factors, socioeconomic and social coping resources, and childhood trauma variables among a sample of battered women (N= 388). Relationship abuse frequency, particularly psychological aggression, and peritraumatic dissociation were the strongest positive predictors of the use of disengagement coping. Social coping resources, including tangible support and appraisals of social support and belonging, were associated with higher engagement coping and lower disengagement coping. A positive association was also found between interparental domestic violence and disengagement coping, and negative associations were found between both childhood physical and sexual abuse and engagement coping. Results suggest that coping strategies used by battered women are multidetermined and deserve further exploration.
A Mixed-Methods Examination of Sexual Coercion and Degradation Among Women in Violent Relationships Who Do and Do Not Report Forced Sex
Authors: Logan TK , Cole Jennifer R , Shannon Lisa A
Published: March 2007

Although partner sexual abuse is clearly an important dimension of partner violence, it has received less research attention than partner physical and psychological abuse. This article contributes to the literature by examining similarities and differences in coercive and degrading sexual tactics experienced by women who do (n = 31) and women who do not (n = 31) report forced sex using quantitative and qualitative data. The women in the sample had all been recently (within the past 6 months) stalked by a violent intimate partner. Results suggest that both women who do and women who do not report forced sex experience various coercive and degrading tactics within the context of sexual activity. Results also suggest that multiple sexual abuse dimensions should be considered within the context of partner psychological abuse, physical abuse, and stalking and that more research on understanding the outcomes associated with dimensions of sexual abuse within the context of physical and psychological abuse is needed.
Dual high‐gain‐based adaptive output‐feedback control for a class of nonlinear systems
Authors: Krishnamurthy P. , Khorrami F.
Published: March 2007

We propose an adaptive output‐feedback controller for a general class of nonlinear triangular (strict‐feedback‐like) systems. The design is based on our recent results on a new high‐gain control design approach utilizing a dual high‐gain observer and controller architecture with a dynamic scaling. The technique provides strong robustness properties and allows the system class to contain unknown functions dependent on all states and involving unknown parameters (with no magnitude bounds required). Unlike our earlier result on this problem where a time‐varying design of the high‐gain scaling parameter was utilized, the technique proposed here achieves an autonomous dynamic controller by introducing a novel design of the observer, the scaling parameter, and the adaptation parameter. This provides a time‐invariant dynamic output‐feedback globally asymptotically stabilizing solution for the benchmark open problem proposed in our earlier work with no magnitude bounds or sign information on the unknown parameter being necessary. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Biochemistry of Drug Metabolism – An Introduction
Authors: Testa Bernard , Krämer Stefanie D.
Published: March 2007

This review continues a general presentation of the metabolism of drugs and other xenobiotics started in a recent issue ofChemistry & Biodiversity.ThisPart 2presents the numerous oxidoreductases involved, their nomenclature, relevant biochemical properties, catalytic mechanisms, and the very diverse reactions they catalyze. Many medicinally, environmentally, and toxicologically relevant examples are presented and discussed. Cytochromes P450 occupy a majority of the pages ofPart 2, but a large number of relevant oxidoreductases are also considered,e.g., flavin‐containing monooxygenases, amine oxidases, molybdenum hydroxylases, peroxidases, and the innumerable dehydrogenases/reductases.
2,2′,4‐Trihydroxybenzophenone: Crystal Structure, and Anti‐Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities
Authors: Doriguetto Antônio C. , Martins Felipe T. , Ellena Javier , Salloum Rogério , dos Santos Marcelo H. , Moreira Maria E. C. , Schneedorf José M. , Nagem Tanus J.
Published: March 2007

The crystal structure of ‘2,2′,4‐trihydroxybenzophenone’ (=(2,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)(2‐hydroxyphenyl)methanone; 1) was determined, and its molecular structure, along with intra‐ and intermolecular H‐bonds, was analyzed. The anti‐inflammatory potential of 1, evaluated by means of the rat‐paw‐edema assay, with carrageenan as inflammation stimulus, was found to be similar high as that of indomethacin. In contrast, benzophenone proper (2) was hardly active in this assay. Our results indicate that these anti‐inflammatory effects are related to the action of kinins and prostaglandins. The radical‐scavenging properties of 1 towards DPPH were found to be similar as those of typical phenolics, but somewhat lower than that of ascorbic acid. The structure–activity relationship (SAR) of 1 is discussed.
Applications of CE‐ESI‐MS/MS analysis to structural elucidation of methylenecyclohexane ozonolysis products in the particle phase
Authors: Müller Conny , Iinuma Yoshiteru , Böge Olaf , Herrmann Hartmut
Published: March 2007

The composition of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the gas phase ozonolysis of methylenecyclohexane was analyzed in a series of indoor aerosol chamber experiments. Capillary electrophoresis‐electrospray ionization‐ion trap mass spectrometry (CE/ESI‐ITMS) was used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of SOA constituents. A number of dicarboxylic acids in the range of C5–C6, such as adipic acid and glutaric acid, were found as major components of the organic products. Besides these smaller compounds, the formation of higher‐molecular‐weight compounds were observed under both neutral and acidic conditions. MS/MS experiments were carried out in order to obtain information on the monomer units and the structure of the dimers. MS2 experiments of the two most prominent dimers with a mass‐to‐charge ratio (m/z) of 257 and m/z 273 yielded common fragments of m/z 83, 129 or 145. Based on the fragmentation patterns, these dimers are tentatively identified as carboxylate ester acids containing a unit of adipic acid in the structure. The dimer with m/z 257 was nearly 60% of the total detected compounds for both the neutral and acidic seed particle experiments.
The Haicheng, China, earthquake of 4 February 1975; the first successfully predicted major earthquake
Authors: Adams R. D.
Published: March 2007

The earthquake of magnitude 7.3 that occurred near the town of Haicheng in north‐east China on 4 February 1975 was the first major earthquake anywhere in the world known to have been predicted with enough certainty for people to have been warned, and measures taken for civil protection. These steps were successful in keeping the number of casualties small. This paper describes a visit to the affected area seven and a half months after the earthquake, and discussions with Chinese scientists about their successful prediction methods. The prediction resulted from the synthesis of many types of investigation, but the main methods used for long‐, mid‐ and short‐term prediction appear to have been based on studies of seismicity, deformation and foreshocks respectively.
Synthesis and Photophysical and Electrochemical Study of Tyrosine Covalently Linked to High‐Valent Copper(III) and Manganese(IV) Complexes
Authors: Xia Ming , Liu Jianhui , Gao Yan , Åkermark Björn , Sun Licheng
Published: March 2007

As bio‐inspired chemical model of the oxygen‐evolving complex (OEC) in photosystem II, a new tyrosine‐modified corrole ligand3and its high‐valent copper and manganese complexes3aand3bwere synthesized and characterized. The copper complexes1aand2aof corrole1and2were also prepared for comparison. The emission property indicates that the emission of ligands2and3is located at 670 nm, but no emission is observed for their metal complexes due to its suppression by the metal center. The electrochemical study shows that3amight dimerize at the first two reversible oxidations, a behavior which was not observed in the case of1aand2a. The corrolato manganese(IV) complex3bshows one reversible reduction and one quasireversible oxidation at −0.17 and 0.77 Vvs.Ag/Ag+, respectively.
L576P KIT mutation in anal melanomas correlates with KIT protein expression and is sensitive to specific kinase inhibition
Authors: Antonescu Cristina R. , Busam Klaus J. , Francone Todd D. , Wong Grace C. , Guo Tianhua , Agaram Narasimhan P. , Besmer Peter , Jungbluth Achim , Gimbel Mark , Chen Chin‐Tung , Veach Darren , Clarkson Bayard D. , Paty Philip B. , Weiser Martin R.
Published: March 2007

Activating mutations in either BRAF or NRAS are seen in a significant number of malignant melanomas, but their incidence appears to be dependent to ultraviolet light exposure. Thus, BRAF mutations have the highest incidence in non‐chronic sun damaged (CSD), and are uncommon in acral, mucosal and CSD melanomas. More recently, activating KIT mutations have been described in rare cases of metastatic melanoma, without further reference to their clinical phenotypes. This finding is intriguing since KIT expression is downregulated in most melanomas progressing to more aggressive lesions. In this study, we investigated a group of anal melanomas for the presence of BRAF, NRAS, KIT and PDGFRA mutations. A heterozygous KIT exon 11 L576P substitution was identified in 3 of 20 cases tested. The 3 KIT mutation‐carrying tumors were strongly immunopositive for KIT protein. No KIT mutations were identified in tumors with less than 4+ KIT immunostaining. NRAS mutation was identified in one tumor. No BRAF or PDGFRA mutations were identified in either KIT positive or negative anal melanomas. In vitro drug testing of stable transformant Ba/F3 KITL576P mutant cells showed sensitivity for dasatinib (previously known as BMS‐354825), a dual SRC/ABL kinase inhibitor, and imatinib. However, compared to an imatinib‐sensitive KIT mutant, dasatinib was potent at lower doses than imatinib in the KITL576P mutant. These results suggest that a subset of anal melanomas show activating KIT mutations, which are susceptible for therapy with specific kinase inhibitors. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Archosaur adductor chamber evolution: Integration of musculoskeletal and topological criteria in jaw muscle homology
Authors: Holliday Casey M. , Witmer Lawrence M.
Published: March 2007

The homologies of jaw muscles among archosaurs and other sauropsids have been unclear, confounding interpretation of adductor chamber morphology and evolution. Relevant topological patterns of muscles, nerves, and blood vessels were compared across a large sample of extant archosaurs (birds and crocodylians) and outgroups (e.g., lepidosaurs and turtles) to test the utility of positional criteria, such as the relative position of the trigeminal divisions, as predictors of jaw muscle homology. Anatomical structures were visualized using dissection, sectioning, computed tomography (CT), and vascular injection. Data gathered provide a new and robust view of jaw muscle homology and introduce the first synthesized nomenclature of sauropsid musculature using multiple lines of evidence. Despite the great divergences in cephalic morphology among birds, crocodylians, and outgroups, several key sensory nerves (e.g., n. anguli oris, n. supraorbitalis, n. caudalis) and arteries proved useful for muscle identification, and vice versa. Extant crocodylians exhibit an apomorphic neuromuscular pattern counter to the trigeminal topological paradigm: the maxillary nerve runs medial, rather than lateral to M. pseudotemporalis superficialis. Alternative hypotheses of homology necessitate less parsimonious interpretations of changes in topology. Sensory branches to the rictus, external acoustic meatus, supraorbital region, and other cephalic regions suggest conservative dermatomes among reptiles. Different avian clades exhibit shifts in some muscle positions, but maintain the plesiomorphic, diapsid soft‐tissue topological pattern. Positional data suggest M. intramandibularis is merely the distal portion of M. pseudotemporalis separated by an intramuscular fibrocartilaginous sesamoid. These adductor chamber patterns indicate multiple topological criteria are necessary for interpretations of soft‐tissue homology and warrant further investigation into character congruence and developmental connectivity. J. Morphol., 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Caffeine facilitation of glutamate release from rat cerebral cortex nerve terminals (synaptosomes) through activation protein kinase C pathway: An interaction with presynaptic adenosine A1 receptors
Authors: Wang Su‐Jane
Published: March 2007

The present study used nerve terminals (synaptosomes) isolated from rat cerebral cortex to investigate the relationship between caffeine and 4‐aminopyridine (4AP)‐evoked endogenous excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate release. Micromolar concentrations of caffeine facilitated 4AP, but not KCl or ionomycin‐evoked glutamate release from synaptosomes. This release facilitation resulted from an enhancement of vesicular and nonvesicular release and associated with an increase both in 4AP‐evoked depolarization of the synaptosomal plasma membrane potential and in 4AP‐evoked increase in the cytoplasmic free Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]C). In addition, the release facilitation by caffeine was significantly reduced in synaptosomes pretreated with a wide spectrum blocker of N‐ and P/Q‐type Ca2+channels, ω‐conotoxin MVIIC. Furthermore, protein kinase C (PKC) activator and inhibitor, respectively, superseding or suppressing the caffeine‐mediated facilitation of glutamate release. These results concluded that caffeine exerts their presynaptic facilitatory effect, likely through the activation of PKC pathway, which subsequently enhances terminal excitability and Ca2+entry to cause an increase in evoked glutamate release from rat cerebrocortical nerve terminals. Additionally, this release facilitation may involve an interaction of caffeine with presynaptic adenosine A1 receptors as adenosine A1 receptor inhibition abolished the caffeine‐mediated facilitation of evoked glutamate release. Synapse 61:401‐411, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Post‐treatment of dextromethorphan reverses morphine effect on conditioned place preference in rats
Authors: Lue Wei‐Ming , Huang Eagle Yi‐Kung , Yang San‐Nan , Wong Chih‐Shung , Tao Pao‐Luh
Published: March 2007

Previously we showed that coadministration of dextromethorphan (DM) with morphine attenuates morphine‐rewarding effect. Here we further investigated if DM is effective in reversing or treating drug‐seeking effect when given after subchronic morphine treatment. The conditioned place preference (CPP) test was used to investigate the rewarding and drug‐seeking effects of morphine. Rats were injected and conditioned with morphine for 6 days and then withdrawn from morphine for 4 days and treated with saline or DM during this period. Subchronic morphine induced a significant place preference for the drug‐paired compartment. DM treatment during the morphine withdrawal period significantly reversed the preference from the drug‐paired compartment to saline‐paired compartment. Both nucleus accumbens (NAc) and VTA were proven to be the sites involved in the action of DM. Behavioral sensitization occurred in both morphine group and DM treatment group determined by the locomotor activity before and after subchronic morphine treatment. The dopamine (DA) turnover rate in the NAc, dorsal striatum (DS) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was increased after subchronic morphine treatment. DM treatment reversed the increase of DA turnover rate in the NAc but not in the DS or mPFC. These data suggest that DM might have potential in the treatment of morphine addiction. Synapse 61:420‐428, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Current Update on HIV‐associated Vascular Disease and Endothelial Dysfunction
Authors: Mu Hong , Chai Hong , Lin Peter H. , Yao Qizhi , Chen Changyi
Published: March 2007

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has greatly reduced the risk of early death from opportunistic infections and extended the lifespan of people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Thus, many complications and organic damage in the HIV‐infected population emerge. Cardiovascular disease as coronary artery disease has become a matter of particular concern. Its incidence is greatly increased in the HIV‐infected population over that of people of the same age in the absence of general cardiovascular risk factors. Despite several clinical and laboratory studies in the association between HIV infection and cardiovascular disease, the pathogenic mechanisms of this significant clinical problem are largely unknown and are now under active investigation. Endothelial dysfunction is possibly the most plausible link between HIV infection and atherosclerosis. Increased expression of adhesion molecules such as intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)‐1 and endothelial adhesion molecule (E‐selectin) and inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and interleukin (IL‐6 has been reported in HIV‐positive patients. The effect of HAART on endothelial function in HIV‐positive patients is also demonstrated. In this review, we focus on the recent research update of HIV‐associated vascular disease and vascular injury. We analyze and discuss the recent clinical and laboratory investigations on the effect of HIV, viral protein, and HAART therapy on endothelial injury and vascular disease; identify the areas of controversy and clinical relevance; and suggest some directions for future research.
In Vitro Models of Angiogenesis
Authors: Ucuzian Areck A. , Greisler Howard P.
Published: March 2007

Neovascularization can be categorized into two general processes: vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the formation of new capillaries from pre‐existing vessels, requiring growth factor driven recruitment, migration, proliferation, and differentiation of endothelial cells (ECs). Complex cell–cell and cell‐extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions contribute to this process, leading finally to a network of tube‐like formations of endothelial cells supported by surrounding mural cells. The study of angiogenesis has broad clinical implications in the fields of peripheral and coronary vascular disease, oncology, hematology, wound healing, dermatology, and ophthalmology, among others. As such, novel, clinically relevant models of angiogenesis in vitro are crucial to the understanding of angiogenic processes. We highlight some of the advances made in the development of these models, and discuss the importance of incorporating the three‐dimensional cell‐matrix and EC–mural cell interactions into these in vitro assays of angiogenesis. This review also discusses our own 3‐D angiogenesis assay and some of the in vitro results from our lab as they relate to therapeutic neovascularization and tissue engineering of vascular grafts.
Intake of specific carotenoids and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer
Authors: Zhang Min , Holman C. D'Arcy J. , Binns Colin W.
Published: March 2007

There has been considerable interest in the role of carotenoids in the chemoprevention of cancer. However, few studies have examined the association between intake of specific carotenoids and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer and the results for carotenoids have been inconclusive. To investigate whether the intake of α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin, and lycopene is inversely associated with ovarian cancer risk, a case–control study was conducted in China during 1999–2000. The cases were 254 patients with histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer and 652 age-matched controls were randomly recruited during the same period. Habitual dietary intake and lifestyle were collected by face-to-face interview using a validated and reliable FFQ. The US Department of Agriculture nutrient composition database was used to calculate the intake of specific carotenoids. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were used to estimate OR and 95 % CI, accounting for age, locality, education, BMI, smoking, tea drinking, parity, oral contraceptive use, hormone replacement therapy, menopausal status, family history of ovarian cancer, physical activity and energy intake. Compared with the highestv.the lowest quartile of intake, the adjusted OR were 0·39 (95 % CI 0·23, 0·66) for α-carotene, 0·51 (95 % CI 0·31, 0·84) for β-carotene, 0·51 (95 % CI 0·31, 0·83) for β-cryptoxanthin, 0·45 (0·27, 0·76) for lutein and zeaxanthin, and 0·33 (95 % CI 0·20, 0·56) for total carotenoids, with statistically significant tests for trend. It is concluded that a higher intake of carotenoids can reduce the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.
Explaining Aboriginal Treaty Negotiation Outcomes in Canada: The
Cases of the Inuit and the Innu in Labrador
Authors: Alcantara Christopher
Published: March 2007

Abstract. In 1977, the Inuit and the Innu in Labrador each
submitted statements of intent to begin treaty negotiations with the
federal and provincial governments under the federal comprehensive land
claims process. On 22 January 2005, the Inuit, the federal government, and
the province of Newfoundland and Labrador signed the Labrador Inuit Land
Claims Agreement. The Innu, on the other hand, are nowhere near to
completing their agreement. This paper seeks to explain why the Inuit were
able to complete their agreement, whereas the Innu were not. It challenges
the conventional explanation that an economic development project is a
necessary condition for completing a treaty by arguing that a number of
internal and external factors need to be taken into account.

Résumé. En 1977, les Inuits ainsi que les Innus
du Labrador ont respectivement annoncé leur intention de lancer des
négociations en vue de conclure un traité avec les
gouvernements fédéral et provincial en vertu du processus
des recendications territoriales globales. Le 22 janvier 2005, les Inuits,
le gouvernement fédéral et la province de
Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador ont conclu l'Accord sur les revendications
territoriales des Inuit du Labrador. Les Innus, de leur côté,
sont encore loin d'une entente. Cet article cherche à
expliquer pourquoi les Inuits ont pu signer un accord alors que les Innus
n'y sont pas parvenus. L'article remet en question
l'explication souvent avancée voulant qu'un projet de
développement économique soit une condition
nécessaire à l'achèvement d'une entente et
soutient plutôt qu'un ensemble de facteurs intérieurs et
extérieurs doivent être pris en compte.
A uniform biped gait generator with offline optimization and online adjustable parameters
Authors: Yang Lin , Chew Chee-Meng , Zielinska Teresa , Poo Aun-Neow
Published: March 2007

This paper presents the Genetic Algorithm Optimized Fourier Series Formulation (GAOFSF) method for stable gait generation in bipedal locomotion. It uses a Truncated Fourier Series (TFS) formulation with its coefficients determined and optimized by Genetic Algorithm. The GAOFSF method can generate human-like stable gaits for walking on flat terrains as well as on slopes in a uniform way. Through the adjustment of only a single or two parameters, the step length and stride-frequency can easily be adjusted online, and slopes of different gradients are accommodated. Dynamic simulations show the robustness of the GAOFSF, with stable gaits achieved even if the step length and stride frequency are adjusted by significant amounts. With its ease of adjustments to accommodate different gait requirements, the approach lends itself readily for control of walking on a rough terrain and in the presence of external perturbations.
Using language as related stimuli for concept generation
Authors: CHIU IVEY , SHU L.H.
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the use of language, specifically verbs, as
stimuli for concept generation. Because language has been shown to be
important to the reasoning process in general as well as to specific
reasoning processes that are central to the design process, we are
investigating the relationship between language and conceptual design. The
use of language to facilitate different stages of the design process has
been investigated in the past. Our previous work, and the work of others,
showed that ideas produced can be expressed through related hierarchical
lexical relationships, so we investigated the use of verbs within these
hierarchical relationships as stimuli for ideas. Participants were
provided with four problems and related verb stimuli, and asked to develop
concepts using the stimuli provided. The stimuli sets were generated by
exploring verb hierarchies based on functional words from the problem
statements. We found that participants were most successful when using
lower level (more specific) verbs as stimuli, and often higher level
general verbs were only used successfully in conjunction with lower level
verbs. We also observed that intransitive verbs (verbs that cannot take a
direct object) were less likely to be used successfully in the development
of concepts. Overall, we found that the verb chosen as stimulus by the
participant directly affects the success and the type of concept
developed.
THE SHAFT TOMBS OF THE ATEMAJAC VALLEY AND THEIR RELATION TO SETTLEMENT
Authors: Beekman Christopher S. , Galván Villegas Luis Javier
Published: March 2007

In the early 1970s a series of over two dozen unlooted shaft tombs were excavated by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in the valley of Guadalajara, Jalisco. They still provide the most representative sample of a shaft tomb cemetery known from western Mexico, and they are an underutilized resource for demonstrating significant degrees of social inequality. Here we summarize the findings of the original research in light of more recent work in Jalisco. We aim to demonstrate that the Tabachines cemetery in particular provides evidence for significant social inequalities in the society that built these shaft tombs, that there were significant social changes partway through the Tabachines phase, and that the mortuary ritual practiced in the tombs shows some commonalities with other areas of Mesoamerica.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF MAYAPAN : New Radiocarbon Evidence
Authors: Peraza Lope Carlos , Masson Marilyn A. , Hare Timothy S. , Delgado Kú Pedro Candelario
Published: March 2007

Thirty-eight radiocarbon dates from Mayapan provide new information about the Postclassic chronology of this city. We analyze ceramic frequencies associated with our radiocarbon samples and discuss temporally diagnostic types in the Mayapan sequence. Radiocarbon samples from early construction contexts suggest that the Postclassic center was founded by at least the twelfth century, or possibly the eleventh centurya.d.on a modest scale. Additional dates help to assign much of the city's later architecture to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuriesa.d., and provide hints of violence, conflict, and abandonment events prior to the final collapse. Our results imply that Mayapan may have begun as a small center while Chichen Itza waned from its dominant political position on the peninsula, and that the establishment of Mayapan as a major regional capital may have been a process that took a century or longer to complete.
ORGANIC OFFERINGS, PAPER, AND FIBERS FROM THE HUITZILAPA SHAFT TOMB, JALISCO, MEXICO
Authors: Benz Bruce F. , López Mestas C. Lorenza , Ramos de la Vega Jorge
Published: March 2007

Organic materials from the Huitzilapa shaft tomb (calibrated and averaged to date arounda.d.74 [Ramos and López 1996]) were examined for clues to identify the contents of food (or other types of) offerings and determine the constituents of burial accoutrements found on and around the six inhumations found in the two tomb chambers. These materials have been examined by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The food offerings have proven difficult to identify. Only class (fish, insect) or kingdom level identifications (plant, animal) have been possible with available technology. Nevertheless, both the diversity of offering constituents and the quantity offered provide clues about the social status of the individuals interred in the tomb. The fibers of burial accoutrements have been less difficult to identify. Cotton and agave fibers and at least two other tentatively identified fiber types are associated with the interments and represent clothing, burial shrouds, and personal accoutrements. A crumpled piece of amate paper is associated with the high-status individual in the south chamber. This piece of paper is the earliest organic evidence of paper in Mesoamerica. The presence of cotton in the north chamber also suggests that cotton was a high-status item that had limited availability in the Jaliscan altiplano and was restricted to individuals that had achieved recognized social status. The predominance of agave fibers associated with all but one of the interments indicates the preeminence of maguey as the utilitarian fiber in western Mexico during the Late Formative. The association of paper with a male individual suggests that the Late Formative inhabitants of Huitzilapa recognized status differences and observed class differentiation and craft specialization. In addition to these organic, presumably food offerings, textiles, and fiber, a new species of bacterium—Bacillus tequilensis—was discovered in the decomposing material associated with the interments.
Assessment of accumulated fatigue damage in solid plates using nonlinear Lamb wave approach
Authors: Deng Mingxi , Pei Junfeng
Published: March 2007

The feasibility of using the nonlinear effect of primary Lamb wave propagation for assessing accumulated fatigue damage in solid plates is theoretically analyzed. After the aluminum sheets are subjected to tension-tension fatigue loading for different numbers of loading cycles, they are subjected to ultrasonic tests near the driving frequency where Lamb waves have a strong nonlinearity. This is followed by the measurement of the amplitude-frequency curves for second harmonics of the considered Lamb waves. The experimental results show that the effect of second-harmonic generation by Lamb wave propagation is very sensitive to the accumulation of fatigue damage of solid plates.
Aligned AlN nanowires and microrods by self-patterning
Authors: Yazdi G. R. , Syväjärvi M. , Yakimova R.
Published: March 2007

Self-patterned AlN microrods and nanowires were grown on 4H-SiC substrate by a physical vapor transport method. AlN hexagonal pyramids were found to be nucleation sites for the evolution of the observed morphological forms. The average diameter and length of the nanowires are about 200nm and 90μm, respectively. The density of microrods corresponds to the concentration of the pyramids, while the nanowires are less compact. Low-temperature cathodoluminescence spectra of microrods show band gap emission of AlN at 208nm, which confirms that they are AlN single crystals. A formation mechanism of the AlN structures is suggested.
Police Reform and the New Public Management Paradigm: Matching Technology to the Rhetoric
Authors: Ashby David I , Irving Barrie L , Longley Paul A
Published: March 2007

This paper presents a review and interpretation of the apparent inertia and resistance to change that has characterised the last twenty-five years of UK policing. We argue that attempts to introduce New Public Management to policing have not proved as effective as in other public services. Most of the activities of the police have explicitly spatial consequences yet, we argue, the slow diffusion and adoption of geographic information systems (GIS) and other technical innovations has been a particular issue. The current round of political aspirations to reform policing depend in large part on a rapid increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of police management information systems and their deployment at strategic and tactical levels. Generic opportunities and constraints arising in the field of geographic information science are identified and summarised followed by a critical appreciation of current GIS deployment in policing. Direct practical experience in GIS policing applications is used to outline observed barriers to progress and also forms the basis for a number of strategic recommendations.
Contested Governance and Definitions of Need in the Distribution of Funding: Investigating the Regeneration-Funding Paradox and the Role of UK National Lottery Funding in Regeneration
Authors: Donaldson Sophie
Published: March 2007

The author explores the paradox of a burgeoning accepted definition of regeneration need together with a finite pot of money with which to fund it, and debates as to what consequently constitute the best funding-distribution structures and funding-allocation principles. This in turn provides the backdrop for an examination of aspects of the previously unresearched role of UK National Lottery funding in regeneration, as a potential variant in the contested-funding context. With the aid of results of an interview-based research project and a broader analysis of nationwide press reporting, it is concluded that Lottery funding plays both a qualitative and a quantitative role in regeneration. This is by enabling practical contestation of the status quo but also by supporting and complementing it, illustrating the validity of various dimensions of the debates. Such a capacity is explicable in terms of its unusual, part-independent, part-dependent (on government) governance configuration and positioning. However, Lottery funding is no panacea, for it exhibits as well as relieves certain tensions and trade-offs associated with the paradox. In terms of wider debates, the author demonstrates that governance and power are neglected in conventional discussions concerned with the formulaic assessment of funding need. It is also concluded that, in contrast to moves towards rationalisation and simplification, there is value in having a variety of funding streams (structures and distribution principles), albeit with consideration of how to make this work better.
Analysis of Deaths Related to Anesthesia in the Period 1996–2004 from Closed Claims Registered by the Danish Patient Insurance Association
Authors: Hove Lars Dahlgaard , Steinmetz Jacob , Christoffersen Jens Krogh , Møller Ann , Nielsen Jacob , Schmidt Henrik
Published: March 2007

Background

Anesthesia is associated with complications, and some of them may be fatal. The authors investigated the circumstances under which deaths were associated with anesthesia. In Denmark, the specialty anesthesiology encompasses emergency medicine, chronic and acute pain medicine, anesthetic procedures, perioperative care medicine, and intensive care medicine.

Methods

The authors retrospectively investigated anesthesia related deaths registered by the Danish Patient Insurance Association.

Results

From 1996 to 2004, 27,971 claims were made by the Danish Patient Insurance Association covering all medical specialties, of which 1,256 files (4.5%) were related to anesthesia. In 24 cases, the patient's death was considered to result from the anesthetic procedure: 4 deaths were related to airway management, 2 to ventilation management, 4 to central venous catheter placement, 4 as a result of medication errors, 4 from infusion pump problems, and 4 after complications from regional blockades. Severe hemorrhage caused 1 death, and in 1 case the cause was uncertain.

Conclusions

Several of the 24 deaths could potentially have been avoided by more extended use of airway algorithm, thorough preoperative evaluation, training, education, and use of protocols for diagnosis and treatment.
Neuromuscular Blocking Agents' Differential Bronchoconstrictive Potential in Guinea Pig Airways
Authors: Jooste Edmund , Zhang Yi , Emala Charles W.
Published: March 2007

Background

Neuromuscular blocking agents are designed to antagonize nicotinic cholinergic receptors on skeletal muscle but also antagonize muscarinic receptors. Several muscle relaxants have the potential to promote bronchoconstriction due to unintended effects exemplified by histamine release of atracurium or mivacurium and detrimental interactions with muscarinic receptors by rapacuronium. Although interactions of muscle relaxants with muscarinic receptors have been extensively characterized in vitro, limited information is available on their potential interactions with airway tone in vivo.

Methods

Changes in pulmonary inflation pressures and heart rates induced by vagal nerve stimulation and intravenous acetylcholine were measured in the absence and presence of increasing doses of gallamine, pancuronium, mivacurium, vecuronium, cisatracurium, rocuronium, or rapacuronium in guinea pigs. Mivacurium's and rapacuronium's potential of inducing bronchoconstriction by histamine release was also evaluated.

Results

Rapacuronium potentiated both vagal nerve-stimulated and intravenous acetylcholine-induced increases in airway pressures, which were totally blocked by atropine but not pyrilamine. Vecuronium, rocuronium, mivacurium, and cisatracurium were devoid of significant airway effects. Mivacurium, at high doses, increased pulmonary inflation pressures, which were attenuated by pyrilamine.

Conclusion

Rapacuronium was unique among muscle relaxants evaluated in that it potentiated both vagal nerve- and intravenous acetylcholine-induced bronchoconstriction with no evidence of histamine release. The dual detrimental interactions of rapacuronium with muscarinic receptors previously demonstrated in vitro correlate with in vivo muscarinic receptor mechanisms of bronchoconstriction and may account for the profound bronchoconstriction seen with its clinical use. These findings may establish pharmacologic characteristics to avoid with new muscle relaxants intended for clinical use.
Spinal Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 Activation Reduces Hypersensitivity and Spinal Cord Glial Activation after Paw Incision
Authors: Romero-Sandoval Alfonso , Eisenach James C.
Published: March 2007

Background

Cannabinoids bind to cannabinoid receptors type 1 and 2 and produce analgesia in several pain models, but central side effects from cannabinoid 1 receptors limit their clinical use. Cannabinoid 2 receptors reduce inflammatory responses in the periphery by acting on immune cells, and they are present on glia in the central nervous system. This study tested whether spinal cannabinoid activation would induce analgesia, glial inhibition, and central side effects in a postoperative model or incisional pain.

Methods

Rats underwent paw incision surgery, with intrathecal injections of cannabinoid agonists and antagonists and assessment of withdrawal thresholds and behavioral side effects. Spinal glial activation was determined by immunohistochemistry.

Results

Intrathecal administration CP55940 reduced postoperative hypersensitivity (91 +/- 9% maximum possible effect; P < 0.05), and this was prevented by intrathecal administration of both cannabinoid 1 receptor (AM281) and cannabinoid 2 receptor (AM630) antagonists. CP55940 also caused several behavioral side effects, and these were prevented by the cannabinoid 1 receptor but not by the cannabinoid 2 receptor antagonist. Intrathecal injection of the cannabinoid 2 receptor agonist JWH015 reversed postoperative hypersensitivity (89 +/- 5% maximum possible effect; P < 0.05), and this was reversed by the cannabinoid 2 but not by the cannabinoid 1 receptor antagonist. JWH015, which did not induce behavioral side effects, reduced paw incision induced microglial and astrocytic activation in spinal cord (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

These data indicate that intrathecal administration of cannabinoid receptor agonists may provide postoperative analgesia while reducing spinal glial activation, and that selective cannabinoid 2 receptor agonists may do so without central side effects.
Oxygen Tension Modulates Inhibition of L-type Calcium Currents by Isoflurane in Human Atrial Cardiomyocytes
Authors: Kowark Pascal , Hüneke Rocco , Jüngling Eberhard , Rossaint Rolf , Lückhoff Andreas
Published: March 2007

Background

Myocardial L-type Ca(2+) currents (I(Ca,L)) are inhibited by isoflurane in the presence of a partial pressure of oxygen (P(O2)) of 150 mmHg. In guinea pig cardiomyocytes, I(Ca,L) are inhibited by reduced oxygen tensions. The authors therefore analyzed the effects of P(O2) on I(Ca,L) in human cardiomyocytes and the effects of isoflurane at reduced P(O2).

Methods

Atrial cardiomyocytes were prepared from specimens of patients undergoing open-heart surgery and superfused with either a high or a low P(O2) (150 or 12 +/- 1 mmHg) while I(Ca,L) were measured with the whole cell patch clamp technique.

Results

Basal I(Ca,L) were not changed by the P(O2) (range, 9-150 mmHg) at 21 degrees or 36 degrees C. The reducing agent 1,4-dithiothreitol (DTT) left I(Ca,L) unaffected, and the oxidizing agent 5,5'-dithio-bis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) irreversibly inhibited I(Ca,L). The P(O2) significantly affected the inhibition of I(Ca,L) by isoflurane (1 minimum alveolar concentration) that decreased I(Ca,L) by 17 +/- 2.0% at the high P(O2) but only by 5.8 +/- 2.9% (P = 0.037) at the low P(O2). The inhibition of I(Ca,L) by isoflurane was also significantly diminished (P = 0.018) by a low P(O2) when isoflurane effects at both P(O2) conditions were compared in the same cell.

Conclusions

In contrast to the situation in guinea pigs, basal I(Ca,L) in human atrial cardiomyocytes was not sensitive to acute P(O2) changes over a wide range. This might be explained by a lack of oxygen-sensitive splice variants of L-type calcium channel subunits. The P(O2), however, has a decisive role for the effects of isoflurane on I(Ca,L).
Spinal Prostaglandins Facilitate Exaggerated A- and C-fiber-mediated Reflex Responses and Are Critical to the Development of Allodynia Early after L5-L6 Spinal Nerve Ligation
Authors: O'Rielly Darren D. , Loomis Christopher W.
Published: March 2007

Background

Spinal prostaglandins are important in the early pathogenesis of spinal nerve ligation (SNL)-induced allodynia. This study examined the effect of SNL on the expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1, COX-2, and prostaglandin E2 receptors in the rat lumbar spinal cord, and the temporal and pharmacologic relation of these changes to the exaggerated A- and C-fiber-mediated reflex responses and allodynia, 24 h after injury.

Methods

Male Sprague-Dawley rats, fitted with intrathecal catheters, underwent SNL or sham surgery. Paw withdrawal threshold, electromyographic analysis of the biceps femoris flexor reflex, and immunoblotting of the spinal cord were used.

Results

Both allodynia (paw withdrawal threshold of < or = 4 g) and exaggerated A- and C-fiber-mediated reflex responses (i.e., decrease in activation threshold, increase in evoked activity, including windup; P < 0.05) were evident 24 h after SNL but not sham surgery. Allodynic animals exhibited significant increases in prostaglandin E2 receptor (subtypes 1-3) and COX-1 (but not COX-2) expression in the ipsilateral lumbar dorsal horn. The corresponding ventral horns and contralateral dorsal horn were unchanged from sham controls. Exaggerated A- and C-fiber-mediated reflex responses were significantly attenuated by intrathecal SC-560 or SC-51322, but not SC-236, given 24 h after SNL.

Conclusion

These results provide further evidence that spinal prostaglandins, derived primarily from COX-1, are critical in the exaggeration of A- and C-fiber input and allodynia, 24 h after SNL.
Development of apple powdery mildew on sources of resistance to Podosphaera leucotricha, exposed to an inoculum virulent against the major resistance gene Pl‐2
Authors: Caffier V. , Parisi L.
Published: March 2007

The major resistance gene Pl‐2 in apple has recently been shown to be overcome by a virulent population of powdery mildew, Podosphaera leucotricha, in genotypes of the fourth generation after introgression of Pl‐2 from crab apple, Malus zumi. Tests of pathogenicity in controlled conditions and observations in an orchard showed that the initial progenitor of Pl‐2, MAL 68/1, was overcome by a virulent inoculum. As a consequence, all selections derived from MAL 68/1 may lose their resistance to powdery mildew, if Pl‐2 is used alone. Sources of resistance other than Pl‐2 remained efficient to the virulent population: M. hupehensis, M. mandshurica, M. robusta, M. sargentii, M. sieboldii, D12, Mildew Immune Selection and ‘White Angel’. The combination of Pl‐2 with quantitative resistance genes resulted in a high level of resistance.