bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Participant experiences of a written emotional disclosure intervention in asthma
Authors: Theadom Alice , Smith Helen , Horne Rob , Bowskill Richard , Apfelbacher Christian J. , Frew Anthony J
Published: January 2009

Stress has been associated with the exacerbation of asthma symptoms. Written emotional disclosure (WED) is a potentially cheap, low‐risk intervention that may reduce stress and improve lung function in patients with asthma. The aims of this study were to explore asthma patients' subjective experiences of completing a WED exercise and the feasibility of conducting the intervention unsupervised in participants' homes. The data were collected during the pilot for a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of WED in adults with asthma. Thirty‐six participants completed the writing exercises, and 28 participants (13 experimental subjects and 15 controls) provided free‐text feedback on their experiences of completing the writing exercises. Framework analysis identified four themes in the participants' experiences: writing encouraged reflection; the challenge of the writing exercise; emotional reactions; and perceived impact. The feedback highlighted the need to control for previous experience of WED and time of day in any future studies exploring the effect of WED. The WED intervention was feasible to implement within the participants' homes without researcher supervision. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cell‐targeting and cell‐penetrating peptides for delivery of therapeutic and imaging agents
Authors: Juliano Rudolph L , Alam Rowshon , Dixit Vidula , Kang Hyun Min
Published: January 2009

This review will discuss the basic concepts concerning the use of cell‐targeting peptides (CTPs) and cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) in the context of nanocarrier technology. It deals with the discovery and subsequent evolution of CTPs and CPPs, issues concerning their interactions with cells and their biodistribution in vivo, and their potential advantages and disadvantages as delivery agents. The article also briefly discusses several specific examples of the use of CTPs or CPPs to assist in the delivery of nanoparticles, liposomes, and other nanocarriers. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This article is categorized under:

Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies
Polyalkylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles for delivery of drugs across the blood–brain barrier
Authors: Andrieux Karine , Couvreur Patrick
Published: January 2009

The major problem in drug delivery to the brain is the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) which limits drug penetration even if in certain pathological situations the BBB is partly disrupted. Among noninvasive techniques to overcome this barrier, the use of nanoparticles has been proposed. This review focuses on poly(alkylcyanoacrylates) (PACA)‐based nanoparticles which have been developed for brain targeting. Both types of ‘stealth’ PACA nanoparticles with modified surface, those coated with surfactant and those with chains of polyethylene glycol (PEG) linked to the hydrophobic core of PACA are presented. The synthesis of polymers, the preparation of nanoparticles with modified surface and their physicochemical characterization are described. The review of their in vivo results evidenced their ability to enter into the brain using healthy animals or models of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. The nature of the surface modification (surfactant nature, PEG linkage, drug loading interference) seems to have a great influence on the efficacy of brain targeting which can be related to the adsorption of some apolipoproteins (Apo E, B, A‐I). The mechanism of their passage through the BBB has been studied by in vitro and in vivo experiments, which suggested the implication of receptor‐mediated endocytosis processes. According to these data, some antibodies (OX26) and ligands (transferrin, Apo E/B/A‐I) seem to be good candidates to be coupled with ‘stealth’ PACA nanoparticles in order to increase their passage through the BBB and to promote active targeting to the brain Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This article is categorized under:

Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Cardiovascular Disease
Phytosterol Intake and Dietary Fat Reduction are Independent and Additive in their Ability to Reduce Plasma LDL Cholesterol
Authors: Chen Shirley C. , Judd Joseph T. , Kramer Matthew , Meijer Gert W. , Clevidence Beverly A. , Baer David J.
Published: January 2009

We studied the interrelationship of diet and plant sterols (PS) on plasma lipids, lipoproteins and carotenoids. Mildly hypercholesterolemic men (n = 13) and postmenopausal women (n = 9) underwent four randomized, crossover, double‐blind, controlled feeding periods of 23 days each. The design consisted of two levels of PS (0 and 3.3 g/day) and two background diets having fat content either typical of the American diet (total and saturated fat at 33.5 and 13.2% of energy, respectively), or a Step 1 type of diet (total and saturated fat at 26.4 and 7.7% of energy, respectively). Plasma total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, Apo A1 and Apo B were 4.3, 5.3, 4.5, 2.8 and 2.5% lower, respectively (P ≤ 0.0001; <0.0001, 0.0016, 0.0006, and 0.0069), with the Step 1 diet than with the typical American diet. Diet had no effect on TC/HDL cholesterol (P = 0.1062). Plant sterol intake lowered TC, LDL cholesterol, and Apo B by 9.0, 12.4 and 6.1% and TC/HDLC by 9.6% (P ≤ 0.0001 for all), respectively, without affecting HDL cholesterol and Apo A1 (P = 0.2831 and 0.732). The PS effect in lowering plasma TC and LDL cholesterol was independent of and additive to the effect due to dietary fat reduction. Responses of plasma carotenoids to PS intake were consistent with the literature.
Programmed cell death‐2 isoform1 is ubiquitinated by parkin and increased in the substantia nigra of patients with autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease
Authors: Fukae Jiro , Sato Shigeto , Shiba Kahori , Sato Ken-ichi , Mori Hideo , Sharp Philip A , Mizuno Yoshikuni , Hattori Nobutaka
Published: January 2009

MINT‐6806000: PDCD2 (uniprotkb:Q16342) physically interacts (MI:0218) with ubiquitin (uniprotkb:P62988) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007).
Physical and chemical transformations of cereal food during oral digestion in human subjects
Authors: Hoebler C. , Karinthi A. , Devaux M.-F. , Guillon F. , Gallant D. J. G. , Bouchet B. , Melegari C. , Barry J.-L.
Published: January 2009

Chemical and physical transformations of solid food begin in the mouth, but the oral phase of digestion has rarely been studied. In the present study, twelve healthy volunteers masticated mouthfuls of either bread or spaghetti for a physiologically-determined time, and the levels of particle degradation and starch digestion before swallowing were compared for each food. The amounts of saliva moistening bread and spaghetti before swallowing were, respectively, 220 (SEM 12) v. 39 (SEM 6) g/kg fresh matter. Particle size reduction also differed since bread particles were highly degraded, showing a loss of structure, whereas spaghetti retained its physical structure, with rough and incomplete reduction of particle size. Starch hydrolysis was twice as high for bread as for spaghetti, mainly because of the release of high-molecular-mass α-glucans. The production of oligosaccharides was similar after mastication of the two foods, respectively 125 (SEM 8) and 92 (SEM 7) g/kg total starch. Starch hydrolysis, which clearly began in the mouth, depended on the initial structure of the food, as in the breakdown of solid food. These significant physical and chemical degradations of solid foods during oral digestion may influence the entire digestive process.
Lutheran and Catholic Reunionists in the Age of Bismarck
Authors: Fleischer Manfred
Published: January 2009

Religious division has determined Germany's destiny. In the Middle Ages, it was the struggle between Emperor and Pope which doomed the Holy Roman Empire. During the Reformation, and the Thirty Years' War, it was Protestantism as well as the anti-Imperial diplomacy of the Pope and the French cardinals, which prevented the emergence of a national state and a centralized government. “From the split of the church dates all our misfortune,” complained in 1846 the Lutheran historian Johann Friedrich Böhmer, editor of a major medieval source collection. “It is a pity that the nation in the heart of Europe was drawn away from its political profession by quarrels with the church, that the development of strong political institutions was interrupted, that they eroded under the acids of religious passion and negation, so that the German people finally got into a stage of the disease where they are either seized by violent fever, or rot in apathy and despair. All our inner ferment which soon will erupt in a revolutionary outburst, all our political impotence and lethargy were, in the final analysis, caused by the split of the church, which tore us apart, and which no one can bridge. Only a new St. Boniface who would restore ecclesiastical unity could help us.”
The Blood of Christ in the Later Middle Ages
Authors: Bynum Caroline Walker
Published: January 2009

In one of our earliest descriptions of meditation on the crucifix, Aelred of Rievaulx (d.1166) described the body on the cross, pierced by the soldier's lance, as food and urged the female recluses for whom he wrote not only to contemplate it but also to eat it in gladness: “Hasten, linger not, eat the honeycomb with your honey, drink your wine with your milk. The blood is changed into wine to inebriate you, the water into milk to nourish you.” Marsha Dutton, who has written so movingly of Cistercian piety, speaks of this as a eucharistic interpretation of the literal, physical reality of the crucifixion and points to the parallel with Berengar of Tours' oath at the synod of Rome in 1079: “The bread and wine which are placed on the altar … are changed substantially into the true and proper vivifying body and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and after the consecration there are the true body of Christ which was born of the virgin … and the true blood of Christ which flowed from his side … in their real nature and true substance.”
Simon Magus, Nicolas of Antioch, and Muhammad
Authors: Ferreiro Alberto
Published: January 2009

Scholars of the Middle Ages have established that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, there was an intellectual shift in the Christian polemic against Islam. Whereas in earlier centuries heresiologists defined Islam as pagan, in the high Middle Ages the prevailing opinion emerged that it was instead a heresy. Medieval writers, who drew upon a rich theological tradition dating to the patristic era, sustained and expanded this new perspective. Many of the patristic theological refutations against heretics proved once again useful as groups such as the Waldensians, Albigensians, and others made serious challenges against the dominant orthodoxy. Even though Islam had already been a formidable presence in the Mediterranean—especially since the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the early eighth century—in the high Middle Ages the continued expansion of Islam, including its defeat of the Crusaders, was perceived to be an increased threat to Christendom. A corollary development was the greater interest in Islam—mainly to discredit or refute it—by some leading western Christian theologians. One thing is certain: medieval writers were intent on demonstrating the heretical nature of Islamic doctrines and the perversity of Islamic morality. Medieval polemicists, however, resorted to a standard theological weapon to assault Islam, typology. Through typology medieval writers were capable of constructing alleged historical and doctrinal links between Muhammad and two of the most notorious “types” of heresy from early Christianity: Simon Magus and Nicolas of Antioch.
Orthodoxy or Decorum? Missionary Discourse, Religious Representations, and Historical Knowledge
Authors: D'Agostino Peter R.
Published: January 2009

In 1873 an exhausted Catholic priest who had completed a successful mission reported to his bishop. Pleased with his priest's achievement, the bishop mused, “now that they are all in the grace of God, drown them in the river before they lose it.” How should we interpret this joke? It plays upon the belief that earthly life pales in importance to life after death. Even a cruel end such as drowning would be a small price to pay for eternal life. The joke also toys with the burdensome duties of the missionary as a supernatural agent of redemption. A mission demands exhausting days of preaching, exhortation, prayer, hearing confessions, and offering the Eucharist. The task, to lead sinners toward a state of grace, is onerous. So bishop and priest chuckle together. Murdering the laity—at the proper moment, before they sin again—would ease their pastoral load.
Conservative American Protestantism in the League of Nations Controversy
Authors: Ruotsila Markku
Published: January 2009

The emerging fundamentalist movement made its first foray into extra-ecclesiastical politics during the League of Nations controversy of 1919–20. Both of the two main wings of fundamentalism—dispensational premillennialists and conservative Calvinists—took part in this controversy because both of them regarded the proposed League as an important, inherently religious issue. Both kinds of fundamentalists opposed the League, and both used the ratification debate to articulate their own types of Christian anti-internationalism. In the process they lent much Christian rhetoric to the political opponents of the League, the “Irreconcilables,” who were interested in exploiting it for their ostensibly purely secular critiques. Despite the fundamentalists' success in preventing League ratification, the controversy made them acutely aware of the political power and appeal of their liberal Protestant rivals. These had exerted themselves on behalf of the League, imparted their own religious complexion to the pro-League argument, and, not least, had managed officially to enlist almost all denominations to their side.
“My Lord's Native Land”: Mapping the Christian Holy Land
Authors: Smith Julie Ann
Published: January 2009

In the fourth and early fifth centuries Christians laid claim to the land of Palestine. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the investment of the land of Palestine and its places with Christian historical and cultural meanings, and to trace its remapping as the “holy land.” This map was not a figurative representation of geographical and cultural features; as with all maps, it was an idea. The Christian “holy land” is also an idea, one which did not exist at the beginning of the fourth century, but which, by the mid-fifth century, was a place constructed of a rich texture of places, beliefs, actions, and texts, based in the notion that the landscape provided evidence of biblical truths. When Constantine became a Christian, there was no “holy land”; however, over the succeeding one hundred and thirty years Christians marked and identified many of their holy places in Palestine. The map-makers in this transformation were emperors, bishops, monastics, holy women, and pilgrims who claimed the holy places for Christianity, constructing the land as topographically Christian and mediating this view of their world through their pilgrim paths, buildings, liturgies, and texts. The idea of mapping is used here as an aid to understanding the formation of cultural viewpoints and the validation of ideas and actions that informed the construction of the “holy land.”
The Power of Books and the Practice of Mysticism in the Fourteenth Century: Heinrich of Nördlingen and Margaret Ebner on Mechthild'sFlowing Light of the Godhead
Authors: Beckman Patricia Zimmerman
Published: January 2009

In 1345 a manuscript accompanied by a letter arrived at the Dominican convent of Maria Medingen in southern Germany. The sender, a secular priest named Heinrich of Nördlingen, and the primary recipient, the Dominican visionary nun Margaret Ebner, had already enjoyed an extended correspondence, interspersed with a few intense face-to-face visits in the convent. Because the manuscript arriving that day was a thirteenth-century woman's mystical treatise (the beguine Mechthild of Magdeburg'sFlowing Light of the Godhead), and because Margaret and her sisters in the convent Maria Medingen used this woman's text in what could initially seem peculiar and dynamic ways, this manuscript and these letters can tell us much about the authority and performance of women's mysticism in medieval religion. Mechthild's and Heinrich's texts serve as key examples, which reveal how women's mystical texts were authoritative in the history of Christianity. Namely, medieval audiences assessed mystical authority on the basis of the text's ability to produce the experience in them, and mystical texts required proper performance in order to unleash their generative power.
Fasting, Piety, and Political Anxiety among French Reformed Protestants
Authors: Mentzer Raymond A.
Published: January 2009

Fasting has an ancient and revered place in the many religious traditions that human communities have fostered throughout history and across the globe. In India, to take a modern example, Hindu women commonly carry out ritual fasts or vrats. Fasting, particularly in its collective forms, is also frequent and widespread among western groups that scholars have sometimes described as Abrahamic religions. Muslims annually observe Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer, and celebration. Jews customarily fast, taking no food or drink from sunup to sundown, several days each year and, most notably, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. For medieval Christians, preparation for the holy feasts of Christmas and Easter meant substantial periods of religious preparation, the well-known Advent and Lenten periods complete with fasting and abstinence from certain foods. In contemporary Christian circles, fasting may be less widely practiced, yet it retains an important place among Roman Catholics and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, to cite but two better-known cases. In short, the utilization of food for purposes of religious devotion and piety, whether through fasting or feasting, has been a long-standing custom within and without western religious culture.
And As You Listen: The Oral Narrative of Muhammad Abdel Wahab, Minister of Industry of Egypt, 1984–93
Authors: EzzelArab AbdelAziz
Published: January 2009

Nationalization was a fatal mistake and so was privatization. Both had the same adverse effect on industrial production. . . . The state could have achieved control over production by undertaking new investments without touching existing private entities. . . . The original size even of a company as large as Mahalla Spinning and Weaving Co. was only 10–12% of its subsequent size as a public sector company. . . . As Minister of Industry, I suffered the consequences of indiscriminate nationalization by having to spend disproportionate time on production issues of small industrial units. . . .
What Does It Mean, “Promoting Democratization”?
Authors: Carapico Sheila
Published: January 2009

Political speeches and even policy analysis from Washington, Ottawa, and the capitals of Europe about promoting democratization have tended in the past two decades toward generalities and platitudes. This research asks what Western and international agencies actually do on the ground in the Middle East to foment democracy. Taking my inspiration from the sociologist Albert Hirschman, who decades ago observed that projects are “privileged particles” of socio-economic development assistance, I have collected well over 1,200 examples. This summary table illustrates the aggregate finding that most projects cluster around electoral representation, legal or judicial development, and support for liberal elements of civil society—and that they are mostly about collecting or distributing information or supporting institutions to do this work.
MAKING YEMEN INDIAN: REWRITING THE BOUNDARIES OF IMPERIAL ARABIA
Authors: Willis John M.
Published: January 2009

On 19 January 1839, the South Arabian port town of Aden was bombarded by ships of the Indian Navy and occupied by soldiers of the East India Company. It was the first British colonial acquisition of the Victorian period.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal association in coffee
Authors: ANDRADE S. A. L. , MAZZAFERA P. , SCHIAVINATO M. A. , SILVEIRA A. P. D.
Published: January 2009

Despite previous research on mycorrhizal association with plants, the data on associations with coffee (Coffeaspecies) are very sparse despite the great economic importance of this crop for many tropical developing countries. The present paper reviews the main aspects of the association between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and coffee plants. This review includes topics on mycorrhizal effects on coffee nutritional status, pathogen–AMF interactions and responses to several environmental stresses. It also summarizes findings about the natural occurrence of AMF in different soils in which coffee is cultivated, some ecological aspects of this specific association and outlines trends for future investigations, which must elucidate the real benefits of mycorrhizae to coffee plants.
Sutter®bipolar radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction of palate for snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnoea: is one treatment adequate?
Authors: Pang K P , Siow J K
Published: January 2009

Objective:

To evaluate the efficacy of bipolar radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction, using Sutter®technology, in the treatment of snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnoea.

Design:

Prospective, non-randomised trial.

Methods:

Fifty-two patients with simple snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnoea underwent bipolar radiofrequency palate reduction under local anaesthesia.

Results:

All patients were Friedman stage II and III, with tonsil sizes graded as zero, one or two, a mean body mass index of 22.6, and a mean age of 36.2 years. Seventy-seven per cent of patients reported improvement in their snoring; patients' mean snoring level (assessed by visual analogue scale) improved from 8.9 to 3.4 (p < 0.05). Eighty-three per cent of patients reported an improvement in their Epworth sleepiness scale score, from a mean of 14.6 to 9.5. Seven out of the 17 patients (41.2 per cent) met the surgical success criteria (i.e. at least a 50 per cent reduction of the pre-procedure apnoea–hypopnoea index, and a post-procedure apnoea–hypopnoea index of below 15). Patients' mean apnoea–hypopnoea index improved from 13.6 to 9.8, and their mean lowest oxygen saturation improved from 88.3 to 92.5 per cent. Eighty-two per cent of patients reported an improvement in their quality of life as a result of the procedure.

Conclusion:

One session of Sutter bipolar radiofrequency tissue volume reduction represents a viable method of treating snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnoea, with good results.
Myringoplasty: impact of perforation size on closure and audiological improvement
Authors: Wasson J D , Papadimitriou C E , Pau H
Published: January 2009

Objectives:

To investigate the impact of perforation size and other variables on the success of myringoplasty, and also to determine audiological gain following successful closure of tympanic membrane perforations of various sizes.

Study design:

Retrospective analysis of 130 case notes.

Main outcome measures:

(1) Successful closure of tympanic membrane following myringoplasty, in relation to recorded variables (i.e. perforation size, grade of surgeon, surgical technique, graft material, previous myringoplasty and smoking history). (2) Mean, four-frequency, air conduction audiometric gain following successful myringoplasty for various, pre-operatively categorised tympanic membrane perforation sizes.

Results and Conclusion:

The collective myringoplasty success rate was 80.8 per cent (105/130); for successful patients, the mean air conduction audiometric gain was −6.8 dB (t = 5.29, p < 0.0001). Neither perforation size nor any other assessed variable was a statistically significant determinant factor for successful myringoplasty. Air conduction audiometric gains following successful myringoplasty were directly correlated with pre-operative perforation size (−4.0 dB for 0–20 per cent perforations, −5.0 dB for 21–40 per cent, −9.1 dB for 41–60 per cent, −10.8 dB for 61–80 per cent and −13.3 dB for 81–100 per cent).
Analytic Lagrangian tori for the planetary many-body problem
Authors: CHIERCHIA LUIGI , PUSATERI FABIO
Published: January 2009

In 2004, Féjoz [Démonstration du ‘théoréme d’Arnold’ sur la stabilité du système planétaire (d’après M. Herman). Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys.24(5) (2004), 1521–1582], completing investigations of Herman’s [Démonstration d’un théoréme de V.I. Arnold. Séminaire de Systémes Dynamiques et manuscripts, 1998], gave a complete proof of ‘Arnold’s Theorem’ [V. I. Arnol’d. Small denominators and problems of stability of motion in classical and celestial mechanics. Uspekhi Mat. Nauk. 18(6(114)) (1963), 91–192] on the planetary many-body problem, establishing, in particular, the existence of a positive measure set of smooth (C∞) Lagrangian invariant tori for the planetary many-body problem. Here, using Rüßmann’s 2001 KAM theory [H. Rüßmann. Invariant tori in non-degenerate nearly integrable Hamiltonian systems. R. & C. Dynamics2(6) (2001), 119–203], we prove the above result in the real-analytic class.
Almost totally disconnected minimal systems
Authors: BALIBREA FRANCISCO , DOWNAROWICZ TOMASZ , HRIC ROMAN , SNOHA L’UBOMÍR , ŠPITALSKÝ VLADIMÍR
Published: January 2009

A spaceXis said to be almost totally disconnected if the set of its degenerate components is dense inX. We prove that an almost totally disconnected compact metric space admits a minimal map if and only if either it is a finite set or it has no isolated point. As a consequence we obtain a characterization of minimal sets on dendrites and local dendrites.
The Genesis of the Common Form of Public Worship in Our Non-Liturgical Churches
Authors: Walker Williston
Published: January 2009

Till within recent years, when a modern growth of church music, of responsive readings, and of other so-called “enrichments,” has affected their services, the non-liturgical churches of America have followed an essentially rigid form of public worship. That form still constitutes the underlying framework of their services, whatever modifications in its proportion and arrangement have been introduced. Strongly repudiating any liturgical forms throughout most of their American history, these churches have been tenacious as to the sequence and the general proportion of the elements of public worship. Their much-prized freedom has not been a freedom in practice in this regard. As constituted within the recollection of all here present, and as to be found widely in contemporary experience, the substantially unvarying service of the House of God began with a brief invocation, followed by the reading of the Bible, to which a hymn succeeded, to be followed by the “long prayer” of general supplication and thanksgiving. At its conclusion the sermon was preached. That ended, a brief prayer was offered, a second hymn was sung, and the congregation was dismissed with the benediction. Not infrequently the order of the prayer and hymn following the sermon was reversed; but the essential sequence and proportion of the service were seldom otherwise varied. Such rigidity and uniformity must have its historic reasons; and the purpose of this brief paper is to set forth the more important steps by which our typical form of public worship came to be what it is.
The Four Hundred and Four Theses of Dr. John Eck, Published in 1530
Authors: Jacobs Henry Eyster
Published: January 2009

In fulfilling the duty which you have assigned me, I have selected a topic pertaining to the history of the preparation of the earliest and fundamental Confession of Protestant Christianity, the Augsburg Confession. It is my purpose to estimate the influence, upon its final form, of a document which the Lutheran Reformers found in circulation on their arrival at Augsburg more than seven weeks before the Confession was presented by the Evangelical Princes to the Emperor Charles V.
The Council of Constance: Its Fame and its Failure
Authors: Schaff David Schley
Published: January 2009

Van Der Hardt significantly entitled his voluminous collection of documents bearing on the Council of Constance, Magnum œcumenicum Constantiense concilium —the Great Œcumenical Council of Constance. The recent Catholic historian Funk pronounced it to be “eine der grossartigsten Kirchenversammlungen welche die Geschichte kennt”—one of the most imposing church assemblies known to history. In my own judgment, the council which assembled in Constance (1414) was, upon the whole, not only one of the most imposing of church œcumenical councils but perhaps the most imposing assembly of any sort which has ever met on the soil of Western Europe. In its sessions the urgent questions were discussed which agitated to its foundations Western Christendom during the last centuries of the Middle Ages. The Council had on it the smell of the Middle Ages and at the same time it felt the breath of the age about to open. It was an ecclesiastical synod and yet it had much of the swing of a democratic assembly. It was the first approach to a free religious parliament in which the lay element had recognition at the side of the clerical element. The two elements, mediæval and modern, strictly clerical and lay, had representation in its two places of meeting, the Cathedral, the temple of religion, and the Kaufhaus, the board of trade. The assembly was an ecclesiastical body, called to settle ecclesiastical questions; Constance was an imperial city, one of the centers of the North Alpine traffic. The questions discussed were of church administration and doctrinal purity, but the voting was done by national groups, “nations,” a wide departure from the habit of restricting the voting to the bishops, as at the Council of Nice, 325 A.D., and later councils.
HOW LUDWIG BECAME A MAN OF METAL
Authors: Harrison Jonathan
Published: January 2009

The story of the preceding article continues…
WHO DESIGNED THE DESIGNER?: A DIALOGUE ON RICHARD DAWKINS'S THE GOD DELUSION
Authors: Groothuis Douglas
Published: January 2009

In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins argues that any designer capable of creating the universe and the things we find in it would have to be at least as complex as his creation. If complexity requires a designer, then the designer will require a designer, and so on to infinity. Rather than actually providing an explanation for complexity we see around us, those who invoke a cosmic designer merely postpone the problem. Here, Douglas Groothuis challenges Dawkins's argument.
A DIALOGUE ON IMMORTALITY
Authors: Burley Mikel
Published: January 2009

The fictional case of Elina Makropulos has been a focus for philosophical reflections on immortality. Here Mikel Burley presents a conversation between Elina and two imaginary philosophers (some, but not all, of whose views bear a passing resemblance to those of Bernard Williams and John Martin Fischer respectively).
Political Viability, Contestation and Power: Islam and Politics in Indonesia and Malaysia
Authors: Freedman Amy L.
Published: January 2009

This article explores the impact of Muslim organizations and Muslim political parties in Indonesia and Malaysia and their relationship to democracy. Questions addressed are as follows: How does the political system (broadly described) facilitate or constrain the goals of various Muslim organizations (both groups in society and political parties)? What roles do these Muslim organizations play in impacting politics and where (or in what areas of) in the political process are they most effective? Under what circumstances have Muslim associations and/or parties been a force for (or antagonistic to) democratization? Given the ethnic and regional diversity in Malaysia and Indonesia, the initial hypotheses for these questions are as follows: under authoritarian and semi-authoritarian rule Muslim organizations actually have greater opportunities to polarize rhetoric as they appeal to citizens based on claims of moral supremacy, fulfillment of social welfare needs, and some level of criticism of a restricted or corrupted political order. At different times the Pan-Malayan Islamic Association (PAS), the leading Muslim party in Malaysia (and a dominant opposition party) has had limited appeal to voters. Under more democratic conditions, Islamic groups or parties may need to moderate their appeals, and/or build coalitions with secular or non-Islamic groups in order to win power and influence in the larger political system. Muslim political parties exist in both Malaysia and Indonesia; their power and influence have varied over time. This project aims to explain why these parties have had more support at some times than others and under what conditions they may moderate their demands and policy choices to accommodate pluralist leanings.
Neuropsychologisch fundierte kognitive Verhaltenstherapie für Patienten mit Alzheimer-Krankheit im Frühstadium
Authors: Kurz Alexander , Cramer Barbara , Egert Silvia , Frölich Lutz , Gertz Hermann-Josef , Knorr Carolin , Thöne-Otto Angelika , Wagenpfeil Stefan , Werheid Katja
Published: January 2009

Die KORDIAL-Studie (Kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutische ressourcenorientierte Therapie früher Demenzen im Alltag) ist eine multizentrische, randomisierte, kontrollierte, einfach-blinde Parallelgruppen-Studie zur Evaluation der Wirksamkeit einer neuropsychologisch fundierten verhaltenstherapeutischen Intervention für Patienten im klinischen Frühstadium der Alzheimer-Krankheit unter Alltagsbedingungen. Die experimentelle Intervention wurde speziell auf die Bedürfnisse und Fähigkeiten von Patienten mit beginnender Demenz abgestimmt. Sie zielt sowohl auf die Aufrechterhaltung der Funktionsfähigkeit im Alltag, vor allem durch Vermittlung von Strategien zur Kompensation kognitiver Defizite, als auch auf die emotionale Bewältigung der Krankheit und auf die Prävention sekundärer psychopathologischer Symptome ab. Um möglichst dauerhafte Veränderungen im Alltag zu erzielen, werden die Bezugspersonen der Patienten systematisch in die Intervention einbezogen. Im Falle des positiven Ausgangs der Studie könnte eine auf neuropsychologischen Erkenntnissen basierende Verhaltenstherapie zu einem etablierten Bestandteil der Behandlung von Patienten mit beginnender Demenz werden.
Einfluss von multimodaler sportlicher Aktivität auf Kognition und Alltagskompetenzen bei früher Alzheimer-Demenz (SPORT&KOG)
Authors: Ennen J.C. , Mueller B.W. , Bibl M. , Esselmann H. , Rütten A. , Platen P. , Trampisch H.J. , Abu-Omar K. , Schade-Brittinger C. , Freese J. , Juckel G. , Maier W. , Kornhuber J. , Nehen H. , Diener H.C. , Hermann D.M. , Hinrichs T. , Schneider A. , Falkai P. , Wolf S. , Schulz J. , Fassbender K. , Otto M. , Daum I. , Wiltfang J.
Published: January 2009

Der vorliegende Bericht beschreibt ein vom Bundesministerium für Gesundheit gefördertes Vorhaben zum «Leuchtturmprojekt Demenz» im Themenfeld 1 «Therapie und Pflegemaßnahmen: Wirksamkeit unter Alltagsbedingungen». Hierbei handelt es sich um eine multizentrische randomisierte Interventionsstudie, die den Einfluss von Sport (multimodale sportliche Aktivität) unter kontrollierten Bedingungen auf die kognitive Entwicklung von Alzheimer-Patienten im frühen Stadium prüft. In einem zweiarmigen Design werden je 150 Patienten mit früher AD unter Verum- bzw. Kontroll-Bedingungen untersucht. Die Verum-Gruppe erhält ein spezifisches sportliches Trainingsprogramm. In der Kontrollgruppe werden lediglich Dehnungsübungen durchgeführt. Primäre Endpunkte der Studie sind die kognitive Leistung der Patienten sowie deren Alltagskompetenz im Verlauf. Die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität der Patienten sowie etwaige Verhaltensstörungen und depressive Symptome werden als sekundäre Endpunkte erfasst. Darüber hinaus werden die Angehörigen zur krankheitsbezogenen Belastung befragt und auf depressive Symptome untersucht. Angelehnt an die Hypothesen der «Initiative Demenzversorgung in der Allgemeinmedizin» (IDA) sollen entsprechende nicht-medikamentöse Versorgungsangebote dazu beitragen, dass Patienten länger in ihrem gewohnten häuslichen Umfeld leben. Im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit der zu erwartenden Ergebnisse wird ein «Do it yourself»-Manual erstellt, mit dem das Trainingsprogramm auch ohne professionelle Anleitung, z. B. im Rahmen von Selbsthilfegruppen durchgeführt werden kann. Die weitere Implementierung (z. B. in Internetforen und weiteren Medien) wird durch einen Beirat der lokalen Krankenkassen, Gesundheitsämter und der Deutschen Alzheimer-Gesellschaft unterstützt.
Die Berliner Studie zu Versorgungsstrukturen und Versorgungsergebnissen von Wohngemeinschaften für Menschen mit Demenz (DeWeGE)
Authors: Fischer Thomas , Wolf-Ostermann Karin
Published: January 2009

Wohngemeinschaften (WG) für Menschen mit Demenz sind eine neue Versorgungsform, die einen Zwischenschritt zwischen der Versorgung in der eigenen Häuslichkeit und der Versorgung im Pflegeheim darstellt. Sie erfahren zurzeit eine rasche Angebotsausweitung. Während einige Erkenntnisse zur Angebots- und Bewohnerstruktur vorliegen, die jedoch einer Aktualisierung bedürfen, ist über bewohnerbezogene Versorgungsergebnisse sowie wichtige Parameter des Versorgungsgeschehens nichts bekannt.

Im Rahmen einer Längsschnittstudie werden daher alle neu in ambulant betreute WG einziehende Menschen mit Demenz im Land Berlin für ein Jahr nachverfolgt. Dabei werden Parameter der körperlichen und psychosozialen Gesundheit erfasst und auf Veränderungen untersucht. In einer Querschnittuntersuchung werden Daten zu Versorgungs-, Angebots- und Bewohnerstruktur mittels einer fragebogenbasierten Stichtagsbefragung aller ambulant betreuten WG in Berlin erhoben. Zusätzlich findet ein Vergleich der Ergebnisse mit Spezialwohnbereichen für Menschen mit Demenz in Pflegeheimen statt.
Lebenszufriedenheit von PartnerInnen chronisch hirngeschädigter Menschen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Persönlichkeitsveränderung
Authors: Hämmerling Ellen , Ludwig Claudia , Wendel Claudia
Published: January 2009

Bezugnehmend auf das Prozessmodell der Pflegebelastung von Pearlin et al. (1990) wurde die Lebenszufriedenheit von 67 LebenspartnerInnen chronisch hirngeschädigter Menschen im Zusammenhang mit diversen Belastungsparametern, im Speziellen der wahrgenommenen Persönlichkeitsveränderung der hirngeschädigten Menschen, untersucht. Nahezu alle befragten ProbandInnen (95 %) nahmen eine stark negative Veränderung der Persönlichkeit ihrer hirngeschädigten PartnerInnen wahr. Die gesunden PartnerInnen lagen bezüglich ihrer Lebenszufriedenheit leicht unter dem Normbereich, wobei höhere Lebenszufriedenheit mit einer höheren Zufriedenheit in Bezug auf die soziale Unterstützung einherging. Der Großteil der Varianz von Lebenszufriedenheit wurde durch die Selbstständigkeit der hirngeschädigten Personen erklärt. Die Implikationen dieser Ergebnisse werden diskutiert.
SNARC, SCARC, SMARC und SPARC. Gibt es raumfreie Grössen?
Authors: Brugger Peter
Published: January 2009

Die Literatur zu Assoziationen zwischen linker und rechter Raumhälfte und Grössen, die auf phänomenaler Ebene keine räumliche Dimension haben, ist gegenwärtig rasch anwachsend. Zahlgrösse, Tonhöhe und zeitliche Dauer werden als Beispiele diskutiert, aber selbst abstrakteren Konzepten wie Religiosität und politischer Ausrichtung dürfte eine Analog-Repräsentation zukommen. Der inferiore Parietalkortex spielt eine wichtige Rolle sowohl für die Verarbeitung des Raumes wie auch für Grösseninformationen unterschiedlichster Art. Die hier besprochenen Assoziationen zwischen Raum und raumfreien Massen sind allerdings nicht vollkommen fest verdrahtet, sondern hängen wesentlich von kulturellen Faktoren ab. Dem Studium der spatialen Eigenschaften scheinbar nicht-räumlicher Grössen kommt daher eine Schlüsselrolle für das Verständnis der Schnittstellen zwischen Kultur und neuronalem Substrat zu.

Schlüsselwörter: Raum, Zahl, Zeit, Links und Rechts, Natur und Kultur
Effects of fire‐precipitation timing and regime on post‐fire sediment delivery in Pacific Northwest forests
Authors: Lanini Jordan S. , Clark Elizabeth A. , Lettenmaier Dennis P.
Published: January 2009

Wildfires affect the coupled dynamics of vegetation, runoff response, and sediment production, as well as the sequencing of post‐fire precipitation and snowmelt in forested watersheds. We examined these interactions by applying a spatially distributed hydrologic model to multiple‐year periods before and after a major fire that occurred in 1970 in the Entiat River basin, Washington. The effects of precipitation sequencing on post‐fire sediment delivery were examined by simulating the 1970 fire as if it had occurred at other times in a 50‐year period. Simulated sediment delivery varied by a factor of two depending on fire timing. We also compared the effects of fire suppression and found that simulated sediment production was about 20% higher for natural compared with current conditions.
Saharan dust particles nucleate droplets in eastern Atlantic clouds
Authors: Twohy Cynthia H. , Kreidenweis Sonia M. , Eidhammer Trude , Browell Edward V. , Heymsfield Andrew J. , Bansemer Aaron R. , Anderson Bruce E. , Chen Gao , Ismail Syed , DeMott Paul J. , Van Den Heever Susan C.
Published: January 2009

Many soil‐derived particles dominated by insoluble material, including Saharan dusts, are known to act as ice nuclei. If, however, dust particles can compete with other atmospheric particle types to form liquid cloud droplets, they have a greater potential to change climate through indirect effects on cloud radiative properties and to affect the hydrological cycle through precipitation changes. By directly collecting and analyzing the residual nuclei of small cloud droplets, we demonstrate that Saharan dust particles do commonly act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the eastern North Atlantic. Droplet activation calculations support the measurements by showing that due to its slightly hygroscopic nature, even submicron dust can be important as CCN. Given the dual nature of Saharan dust particles as CCN and ice nuclei, this infusion of dust is expected to impact not only droplet size and albedo in small clouds, but ice formation in deep convective clouds.
Persistent sand bars explained by geodynamic effects
Authors: Sassa Shinji , Watabe Yoichi
Published: January 2009

The persistent nature of intertidal sand bars has been the subject of much speculation concerning the hydrodynamic mechanisms involved, but its origin remains enigmatic. Here, we introduce salient geophysics in contrast to the physics of fluids above the sediments. The geophysical evidence combined with theoretical modeling and analysis demonstrates that the geodynamic processes ensuing during exposure periods have a profound impact, yielding the persistent nature of the intertidal bars under severe hydrodynamic forcing which would otherwise lead to unstable bar behavior. The feedback between the effects of the dynamics of suction, i.e. negative pore water pressure relative to atmospheric air pressure, and sediment transport and morphology is found to play a crucial role in the intertidal bar morphodynamics. Our finding may fundamentally alter the current perspective, leading to a new level of understanding, of sediment transport and bar behavior at waterfronts that are ubiquitous in rivers, estuaries, and coastal seas.
Optimal Location for Arterial Input Function Measurements near the Middle Cerebral Artery in First-Pass Perfusion MRI
Authors: Bleeker Egbert JW , van Buchem Mark A , van Osch Matthias JP
Published: January 2009

One of the main difficulties in obtaining quantitative perfusion values from dynamic susceptibility contrast-magnetic resonance imaging is a correct arterial input function (AIF) measurement, as partial volume effects can lead to an erroneous shape and amplitude of the AIF. Cerebral blood flow and volume scale linearly with the area under the AIF, but shape changes of the AIF can lead to large, nonlinear errors. Current manual and automated AIF selection procedures do not guarantee the exclusion of partial volume effects from AIF measurements. This study uses a numerical model, validated by phantom experiments, for predicting the optimal location for AIF measurements in the vicinity of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Three different sequences were investigated and evaluated on a voxel-by-voxel basis by comparison with the ground truth. Subsequently, the predictions were evaluated in an in vivo example. The findings are fourfold: AIF measurements should be performed in voxels completely outside the artery, here a linear relation should be assumed between Δ R*2 and the concentration contrast agent, the exact optimal location differs per acquisition type, and voxels including a small MCA yield also correct AIF measurements for segmented echo planar imaging when a short echo time was used.
Increased Intravascular Flow Rate Triggers Cerebral Arteriogenesis
Authors: Schierling Wilma , Troidl Kerstin , Mueller Clemens , Troidl Christian , Wustrack Hanna , Bachmann Georg , Kasprzak Piotr M , Schaper Wolfgang , Schmitz-Rixen Thomas
Published: January 2009

Peripheral arteriogenesis is distinctly enhanced by increased fluid shear stress. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate in the rat brain whether increased fluid shear stress can also stimulate cerebral arteriogenesis. To increase fluid shear stress in the cerebral circulation, we developed different shear stress models as the ligature of both common carotid arteries ( Double-Ligature model), bilateral carotid ligature followed by creation of a unilateral arterio-venous fistula (two-stage protocol, Ligature-Shunt model), and unilateral arterio-venous fistula-creation alone ( Solo-Shuntmodel). Blood flow changes were monitored in vivo by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging-analysis. Cerebral arteriogenesis was analyzed by magnetic resonance imaging and contrast agent-angiography. For proliferation and accumulation of mononuclear cells, immunohistochemistry was performed. During the 14 days-observation period, blood flow increased maximal by 5.5-fold in the A. basilaris and 10.3-fold in the fistula-sided A. cerebri posterior of the Ligature-Shunt model. Considerable vessel growth was found in all shear stress-stimulated arteries. Comparative analysis of vessel length and diameter versus blood flow indicated a correlation between the growth of cerebral collaterals and rising intravascular flow rates ( R2 = 0.90/0.96). Immunohistochemistry showed the typical phases of arteriogenesis and accumulation of mononuclear cells. In conclusion, we provide evidence that fluid shear stress is not only the pivotal trigger of peripheral but also of cerebral arteriogenesis.
Facilitating Small Firm Learning Networks in the Irish Tourism Sector
Authors: Kelliher Felicity , Foley Anthony , Frampton Anne-Marie
Published: January 2009

This paper examines the operationalisation of a small firm learning network model within the Fáilte Ireland (Irish tourism development agency) Tourism Learning Network (TLN) programme. Emerging from multiple calls for small firm training interventions to be based on helping entrepreneurs to learn, this model is based on an action learning ethos, involving small tourism operators and relevant support agencies and incorporating local learning sets, a web community, and a series of learning interventions. The applied action research method offers insights into the workings of the TLN, and findings suggest that this approach facilitates the development of organisational capabilities and has resulted in active and substantial TLN involvement among participating tourism enterprises.