bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MR tagging demonstrates quantitative differences in regional ventricular wall motion in mice, rats, and men
Authors: Liu Wei , Ashford Marvin W. , Chen Junjie , Watkins Mary P. , Williams Todd A. , Wickline Samuel A. , Yu Xin
Published: June 2006

Rats and genetically manipulated mouse models have played an important role in the exploration of molecular causes of cardiovascular diseases. However, it has not been fully investigated whether mice or rats and humans manifest similar patterns of ventricular wall motion. Although similarities in anatomy and myofiber architecture suggest that fundamental patterns of ventricular wall motion may be similar, the considerable differences in heart size, heart rate, and sarcomeric protein isoforms may yield quantitative differences in ventricular wall mechanics. To further our understanding of the basic mechanisms of myofiber contractile performance, we quantified regional and global indexes of ventricular wall motion in mice, rats, and men using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Both regular cine and tagged MR images at apical, midventricular, and basal levels were acquired from six male volunteers, six Fischer 344 rats, and seven C57BL/6 mice. Morphological parameters and ejection fraction were computed directly from cine images. Myocardial twist (rotation angle), torsion (net twist per unit length), circumferential strain, and normalized radial shortening were calculated by homogeneous strain analysis from tagged images. Our data show that ventricular twist was conserved among the three species, leading to a significantly smaller torsion, measured as net twist per unit length, in men. However, both circumferential strain and normalized radial shortening were the largest in male subjects. Although other parameters, such as circumferential-longitudinal shear strain, need to be evaluated, and the causes of these differences in contractile mechanics remain to be elucidated, the preservation of twist appears fundamental to cardiac function and should be considered in studies that extrapolate data from animals to humans.
Altered contractility and [Ca2+]ihomeostasis in phospholemman-deficient murine myocytes: role of Na+/Ca2+exchange
Authors: Tucker Amy L. , Song Jianliang , Zhang Xue-Qian , Wang JuFang , Ahlers Belinda A. , Carl Lois L. , Mounsey J. Paul , Moorman J. Randall , Rothblum Lawrence I. , Cheung Joseph Y.
Published: June 2006

Phospholemman (PLM) regulates contractility and Ca2+homeostasis in cardiac myocytes. We characterized excitation-contraction coupling in myocytes isolated from PLM-deficient mice backbred to a pure congenic C57BL/6 background. Cell length, cell width, and whole cell capacitance were not different between wild-type and PLM-null myocytes. Compared with wild-type myocytes, Western blots indicated total absence of PLM but no changes in Na+/Ca2+exchanger, sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase, α1-subunit of Na+-K+-ATPase, and calsequestrin levels in PLM-null myocytes. At 5 mM extracellular Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]o), contraction and cytosolic [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) transient amplitudes and SR Ca2+contents in PLM-null myocytes were significantly ( P < 0.0004) higher than wild-type myocytes, whereas the converse was true at 0.6 mM [Ca2+]o. This pattern of contractile and [Ca2+]itransient abnormalities in PLM-null myocytes mimics that observed in adult rat myocytes overexpressing the cardiac Na+/Ca2+exchanger. Indeed, we have previously reported that Na+/Ca2+exchange currents were higher in PLM-null myocytes. Activation of protein kinase A resulted in increased inotropy such that there were no longer any contractility differences between the stimulated wild-type and PLM-null myocytes. Protein kinase C stimulation resulted in decreased contractility in both wild-type and PLM-null myocytes. Resting membrane potential and action potential amplitudes were similar, but action potential duration was much prolonged ( P < 0.04) in PLM-null myocytes. Whole cell Ca2+current densities were similar between wild-type and PLM-null myocytes, as were the fast- and slow-inactivation time constants. We conclude that a major function of PLM is regulation of cardiac contractility and Ca2+fluxes, likely by modulating Na+/Ca2+exchange activity.
Carbon monoxide contributes to hypotension-induced cerebrovascular vasodilation in piglets
Authors: Kanu Alie , Whitfield John , Leffler Charles W.
Published: June 2006

The gaseous compound carbon monoxide (CO) has been identified as an important endogenous biological messenger in brain and is a major component in regulation of cerebrovascular circulation in newborns. CO is produced endogenously by catabolism of heme to CO, free iron, and biliverdin during enzymatic degradation of heme by heme oxygenase (HO). The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that endogenously produced CO contributes to hypotension-induced vasodilation of cerebral arterioles. Experiments used anesthetized piglets with implanted, closed cranial windows. Topical application of the HO substrate heme-l-lysinate caused dilation of pial arterioles that was blocked by a metal porphyrin inhibitor of HO, chromium mesoporphyrin (CrMP). In normotensive piglets (arterial pressure 64 ± 4 mmHg), CrMP did not cause vasoconstriction of pial arterioles but rather a transient dilation. Hypotension (50% of basal blood pressure) increased cerebral CO production and dilated pial arterioles from 66 ± 2 to 92 ± 7 μm. In hypotensive piglets, topical CrMP or intravenous tin protoporphyrin decreased cerebral CO production and produced pial arteriolar constriction to normotensive diameters. In additional experiments, because prostacyclin and nitric oxide (NO) are also key dilators that can contribute to cerebrovascular dilation, we held their levels constant. NO/prostacyclin clamp was accomplished with continuous, simultaneous application of indomethacin, Nω-nitro-l-arginine, and minimal dilatory concentrations of iloprost and sodium nitroprusside. With constant NO and prostacyclin, the transient dilator and prolonged constrictor responses to CrMP of normotensive and hypotensive piglets, respectively, were the same as when NO and prostaglandins were not held constant. These data suggest that endogenously produced CO contributes to cerebrovascular dilation in response to reduced perfusion pressure.
Mycoplasma fermentansand TNF-β interact to amplify immune-modulating cytokines in human lung fibroblasts
Authors: Fabisiak James P. , Gao Fei , Thomson Robyn G. , Strieter Robert M. , Watkins Simon C. , Dauber James H.
Published: June 2006

Mycoplasma can establish latent infections and are associated with arthritis, leukemia, and chronic lung disease. We developed an experimental model in which lung cells are deliberately infected with Mycoplasma fermentans. Human lung fibroblasts (HLF) were exposed to live M. fermentans and immune-modulating cytokine release was assessed with and without known inducers of cytokine production. M. fermentans increased IL-6, IL-8/CXCL8, MCP-1/CCL2, and Gro-α/CXCL1 production. M. fermentans interacted with TNF-β to release more IL-6, CXCL8, and CXCL1 than predicted by the responses to either stimulus alone. The effects of live infection were recapitulated by exposure to M. fermentans-derived macrophage-activating lipopeptide-2 (MALP-2), a Toll-like receptor-2- and receptor-6-specific ligand. The synergistic effect of combined stimuli was more pronounced with prolonged incubations. Preexposure to TNF-β sensitized the cells to subsequent MALP-2 challenge, but preexposure to MALP-2 did not alter the IL-6 response to TNF-β. Exposure to M. fermentans or MALP-2 did not enhance nuclear localization, DNA binding, or transcriptional activity of NF-κB and did not modulate early NF-κB activation in response to TNF-β. Application of specific inhibitors of various MAPKs suggested that p38 and JNK/stress-activated protein kinase were involved in early IL-6 release after exposure to TNF-β and M. fermentans, respectively. The combined response to M. fermentans and TNF-β, however, was uniquely sensitive to delayed application of SP-600125, suggesting that JNK/stress-activated protein kinase contributes to the amplification of IL-6 release. Thus M. fermentans interacts with stimuli such as TNF-β to amplify lung cell production of immune-modulating cytokines. The mechanisms accounting for this interaction can now be dissected with the use of this in vitro model.
Strain-induced fetal type II epithelial cell differentiation is mediated via cAMP-PKA-dependent signaling pathway
Authors: Wang Yulian , Maciejewski Benjamin S. , Lee Nicole , Silbert Ophira , McKnight Nathan L. , Frangos John A. , Sanchez-Esteban Juan
Published: June 2006

The signaling pathways by which mechanical forces modulate fetal lung development remain largely unknown. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that strain-induced fetal type II cell differentiation is mediated via the cAMP signaling pathway. Freshly isolated E19 fetal type II epithelial cells were cultured on collagen-coated silastic membranes and exposed to mechanical strain for varying intervals, to simulate mechanical forces during lung development. Unstretched samples were used as controls. Mechanical strain activated heterotrimeric G-protein αssubunit, cAMP, and the transcription factor cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). Incubation of E19 cells with the PKA inhibitor H-89 significantly decreased strain-induced CREB phosphorylation. Moreover, adenylate cyclase 5 and CREB genes were also mechanically induced. In contrast, components of the PKA-independent (Epac) pathway, including Rap-1 or B-Raf, were not phosphorylated by strain. The addition of forskolin or dibutyryl cAMP to unstretched E19 monolayers markedly upregulated expression of the type II cell differentiation marker surfactant protein C, whereas the Epac agonist 8-pCPT-2′- O-Me-cAMP had no effect. Furthermore, incubation of E19 cells with the PKA inhibitor Rp-2′- O-monobutyryladenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphorothioate or transient transfection with plasmid DNA containing a PKA inhibitor expression vector significantly decreased strain-induced surfactant protein C mRNA expression. In conclusion, these studies indicate that the cAMP-PKA-dependent signaling pathway is activated by force in fetal type II cells and participates in strain-induced fetal type II cell differentiation.
Airway epithelial wound repair: role of carbohydrate sialyl Lewisx
Authors: Allahverdian Sima , Wojcik Kimberly R. , Dorscheid Delbert R.
Published: June 2006

Epithelial repair is a complex cellular and molecular process, the details of which are still not clearly understood. Plasma membrane glycoconjugates can modulate cell function by altering the function of protein and lipids. Sialyl Lewisx(sLex), a fucose-containing tetrasaccharide, decorates membrane-bound and secreted proteins and mediates cell-cell interaction. In the present study we investigated the role of sLexin airway epithelial repair. Using immunohistochemistry, we showed an increased expression of sLexin areas of damaged bronchial epithelium compared with intact regions. Confluent monolayers of airway epithelial cells were mechanically wounded and allowed to close. Wounded monolayers were photographed for wound closure kinetics, fixed for immunocytochemical studies, or subjected to RNA extraction. Examining the expression of different α1,3-fucosyltransferases (FucT), enzymes that mediate the final step in the synthesis of sLex, we found that FucT-IV was the common gene expressed in all cell lines and primary airway epithelial cells. We demonstrated an increased expression of sLexover time after mechanical injury. Blocking of sLexwith an inhibitory antibody completely prevented epithelial repair. Our data suggest an essential functional role for sLexin epithelial repair. Further studies are necessary to explore the exact mechanism for sLexin mediating cell-cell interaction in bronchial epithelial cells to facilitate epithelial migration and repair.
IL-12 overexpression in mice as a model for Sjögren lung disease
Authors: McGrath-Morrow Sharon , Laube Beth , Tzou Shey-Cherng , Cho Cecilia , Cleary Jeffrey , Kimura Hiroaki , Rose Noel R. , Caturegli Patrizio
Published: June 2006

Interleukin-12 (IL-12), a Th1 proinflammatory cytokine, is reported to be increased in Sjögren syndrome. To evaluate the effects of local Th1/Th2 deregulation, we generated a transgenic mouse model that overexpresses IL-12 in the lungs. IL-12 transgenic mice developed bronchial and alveolar abnormalities strikingly similar to those found in the lungs of Sjögren patients. Pathologically, lung abnormalities began at ∼4 mo of age and were characterized by lymphocytic infiltrates around the bronchi, intraluminal periodic acid Schiff-positive debris, increased cell proliferation in the alveolar region, and increased interstitial and alveolar macrophages. Functionally, these abnormalities translated into decreased mucociliary clearance ( P < 0.05 vs. wild-type littermates) and increased oxidative stress ( P < 0.01). The pathological and functional abnormalities were accompanied by significant changes in lung natural killer (NK) cells. The number of NK cells was fourfold higher in IL-12 transgenic than wild-type lungs (20% of all lymphoid cells vs. 5%) during the first month of life. NK cells then decreased within a narrow window of time (from 30 to 50 days of age), reaching a nadir of ∼2% on day 50, and remained at these low levels thereafter. This new mouse model highlights the role of IL-12 in the initiation of Sjögren syndrome.
Urokinase induces activation of STAT3 in lung epithelial cells
Authors: Shetty Sreerama , Rao Gadiparthi N. , Cines Douglas B. , Bdeir Khalil
Published: June 2006

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a serine protease that plays a major role in diverse physiological and pathological processes. Studies from our laboratory have shown that exposure of human lung epithelial cells to uPA induces proliferation. To understand uPA mitogenic signaling events, we sought to elucidate its effects on tyrosine phosphorylation in a human bronchial epithelial cell line (Beas2B). uPA induced tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins in a time-dependent manner. One of these proteins was identified as the 91-kDa signal transduction activator transcription (Stat)3 moiety. Tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat3 by uPA was time dependent. uPA induced Stat3-DNA binding activity in a time-dependent manner. uPA-induced Stat3 activation does not require uPA catalytic activity, as the uPA amino-terminal fragment alone was as potent as active two-chain uPA (tcuPA) in causing this effect. Single-chain uPA likewise induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat3 to a similar extent as intact tcuPA. Plasmin did not alter uPA-induced Stat3 activation. Furthermore, transfection of Beas2B cells with dominant-negative Stat3 blocked uPA-induced DNA synthesis. These results reveal for the first time that the uPA-uPAR interaction leads to activation of Stat3, independent of its catalytic activity but dependent on its interaction with its receptor, uPAR, leading to DNA synthesis in lung epithelial cells.
Plane of nutrition prepartum alters hepatic gene expression and function in dairy cows as assessed by longitudinal transcript and metabolic profiling
Authors: Loor Juan J. , Dann Heather M. , Guretzky Nicole A. Janovick , Everts Robin E. , Oliveira Rosane , Green Cheryl A. , Litherland Noah B. , Rodriguez-Zas Sandra L. , Lewin Harris A. , Drackley James K.
Published: June 2006

Liver metabolism and health in dairy cows during the periparturient period are affected by plane of nutrition prepartum. Long-term adaptations in hepatic gene expression are important for complete understanding of liver function. We examined temporal gene expression profiles during the dry period and early lactation in liver of Holstein cows fed moderate dietary energy ad libitum or restricted during the entire dry period using a microarray consisting of 7,872 annotated cattle cDNA inserts and quantitative RT-PCR. We identified 85 genes with expression patterns that were affected by level of energy intake prepartum over time. Restricted energy intake prepartum resulted in more pronounced upregulation of genes with key functions in hepatic fatty acid oxidation ( CPT1A, ADIPOR2), gluconeogenesis ( PC), and cholesterol synthesis ( SC4MOL). Ad libitum feeding upregulated a number of genes associated with liver triacylglycerol synthesis ( DGAT1) and proinflammatory cytokines ( TNFAIP3). Genomic responses to ad libitum feeding were accompanied by increased incorporation of palmitate to esterified products in vitro and increased liver triacylglycerol concentration in vivo. Overall, gene expression profiles due to plane of nutrition prepartum partly explained differences in rates of liver palmitate metabolism, blood serum metabolite concentrations, and liver tissue triacylglycerol concentration. Our data show that moderate overfeeding of energy in the dry period, in the absence of obesity, results in transcriptional changes predisposing cows to fatty liver and perhaps compromising overall liver health during the periparturient period. In this context, controlled energy intake may confer an advantage to the cow by triggering hepatic molecular adaptations well ahead of parturition.
Rosiglitazone Regulates ENaC and Na-K-2Cl Cotransporter (NKCC2) Abundance in the Obese Zucker Rat
Authors: Riazi Shahla , Khan Osman , Tiwari Swasti , Hu Xinqun , Ecelbarger Carolyn A.
Published: June 2006

Background/Aims: Progressive diabetes is associated renal remodeling, which we previously showed correlated to reduced protein abundance of several major renal sodium transporters and channel subunits in the obese Zucker rat. Here we test whether rosiglitazone (RGZ), a peroxisome proliferator-activated subtype γ receptor agonist, would be protective and attenuate these changes. Methods: Male, obese and lean Zucker rats (9 weeks old) were randomly divided (n = 6/group) to receive control diet with or without RGZ at 3 mg/kg·bw/day for 12 weeks. Results: RGZ normalized blood glucose and plasma fructosamine levels in obese rats. Obese control rats had relatively increased fractional excretion of sodium (FENa, sodium excretion relative to creatinine). Nonetheless, both obese and RGZ-treated rats had relatively higher 24-hour net sodium balances. Immunoblotting revealed obese rats had significantly reduced renal cortical protein abundances of the bumetanide-sensitive Na-K-2Cl cotransporter (NKCC2) and the sodium hydrogen exchanger (NHE3). RGZ normalized NKCC2 abundance and increased the abundance of the α-subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). In contrast, in the outer medulla, obese rats had increased abundance of NKCC2, γ-ENaC (85-kDa), and endothelial NOS. Furthermore, RGZ caused a decrease in the abundance of cortical β- and γ-ENaC (85-kDa). Finally, the whole kidney abundances of α-1 Na-K-ATPase, α- β-, and γ-ENaC (70-kDa band) positively correlated with net sodium balance, whereas NKCC2 was negatively correlated to FENa. Conclusion: Chronic RGZ treatment of obese Zucker rats may preserve renal sodium reabsorptive capacity by its indirect actions to attenuate hyperglycemia as well as direct effects on transporter abundance and activity.
Arterial 5-Hydroxytryptamine Transporter Function Is Impaired in Deoxycorticosterone Acetate and Nω-Nitro-l-Arginine But Not Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Ni Wei , Lookingland Keith , Watts Stephanie W.
Published: June 2006

We reported upregulation of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT) transporter (5-HTT) protein in peripheral arteries from deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats. We hypothesized that upregulated 5-HTT may be generally elevated in hypertensive models and, as a consequence, a higher basal concentration of 5-HT, the 5-HT metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and an increased 5-HT uptake would occur in peripheral arteries of hypertensive rats compared with normotensive rats. We examined 3 hypertension models: DOCA-salt rats, Nω-nitro-l-arginine (LNNA) rats, and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) in our study (systolic blood pressure [mm Hg]: DOCA (D)=197±6, SHAM(D)=112±4, LNNA (L)=228±9, SHAM(L)=128±2, SHR=172±7, and Wistar-Kyoto [WKY]= 121±3). High-pressure liquid chromatography measurements showed lower basal 5-HT concentrations in aorta from DOCA-salt and LNNA rats compared with their SHAM rats but not in SHR compared with WKY. In all of the 5-HT-uptake studies, we used arteries isolated from rats treated with the monoamine oxidase-A inhibitor pargyline to minimize 5-HT metabolism. Exogenous 5-HT was taken up by aorta, and this was inhibited by the 5-HTT inhibitor fluoxetine (1 μmol/L) or fluvoxamine (1 μmol/L). Total 5-HT uptake and 5-HTT–dependent active 5-HT uptake were decreased in aorta from DOCA-salt and LNNA rats compared with SHAM rats, but this was not observed in SHRs compared with WKYs. Western analysis revealed similar expression of 5-HTT in aorta from WKYs and SHRs as opposed to an upregulated 5-HTT in aorta from DOCA-salt and LNNA-hypertensive rats. Our study suggested that an altered serotonergic system by impaired 5-HTT function might play a role in blood pressure regulation in DOCA-salt and LNNA-hypertensive rats.
Survival Benefits of Different Antiadrenergic Interventions in Pressure Overload Left Ventricular Hypertrophy/Failure
Authors: Perlini Stefano , Ferrero Ivana , Palladini Giuseppina , Tozzi Rossana , Gatti Chiara , Vezzoli Monia , Cesana Francesca , Janetti Maria Bianchi , Clari Francesca , Busca Giuseppe , Mancia Giuseppe , Ferrari Alberto U.
Published: June 2006

We observed previously that in rats with aortic banding (Bd), development of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is opposed by β-blockade, whereas interventions interfering with α-adrenoceptor function also inhibit interstitial fibrosis. To assess whether these differential structural effects do translate into different effects on LV function and on heart failure mortality, Bd or sham Bd 8-week–old rats were randomized to vehicle treatment (Vh), chemical sympathectomy ([Sx] 6-hydroxydopamine, 150 mg/kg IP twice a week), β-adrenoceptor blockade (propranolol [Pro], 40 mg/kg per day PO), or α-adrenoceptor blockade (doxazosin [Dox], 5 mg/kg per day PO). After monitoring survival for 10 weeks, the survivors were anesthetized to undergo echocardiography and intraarterial blood pressure measurement. Bd-Vh rats showed increased LV and lung weights, as well as LV dilation, depressed endocardial and midwall fractional shortening and a restrictive transmitral diastolic flow velocity pattern. Compared with Bd-Vh rats, all of the actively treated Bd rats showed less LV hypertrophy, LV dilation, and lung congestion but no less depression of midwall fractional shortening. In contrast, Sx and Dox but not Pro treatment were also associated with lesser degrees of diastolic dysfunction and, even more importantly, with a striking increase in survival (sham banded rats, 100%; Bd-Vh, 40%; Bd-Pro, 51%; Bd-Sx, 83%; and Bd-Dox, 82%). Although Pro, Sx, and Dox provide similar midterm protection from development of LV hypertrophy and dysfunction and from circulatory congestion, only Sx and Dox favorably affected mortality. These findings indicate that in the aortic banding rat model, α-adrenoceptors are importantly involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular deterioration and disease progression.
Immune Suppression Attenuates Hypertension and Renal Disease in the Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rat
Authors: Mattson David L. , James Leilani , Berdan Elizabeth A. , Meister Carla J.
Published: June 2006

Experiments were performed to determine the importance of activation or infiltration of immune cells in the kidney during the development of hypertension and renal disease in Dahl salt-sensitive rats (SS/Mcw) fed a 4.0% NaCl diet. Compared with vehicle-treated rats, chronic administration of mycophenolate mofetil ([MMF] 30 mg/kg per day, IP), an immunosuppressive agent that has cytostatic effects on T and B cells, decreased cell-specific markers of T and B cells by 50% to 60% in the kidneys of SS/Mcw rats (n=5 per group). Further studies were performed on Dahl SS/Mcw rats, which were instrumented with chronic indwelling catheters and studied after 3 weeks on the 4.0% NaCl diet. Rats were administered MMF or 5% dextrose vehicle daily during the 3-week period of high NaCl intake. Mean arterial blood pressure in the rats administered MMF (122±2 mm Hg; n=11) was significantly decreased compared with vehicle-treated rats (139±4 mm Hg; n=9). Furthermore, the rate of protein (112±13 mg per day) and albumin excretion (15±3 mg per day) in the MMF-treated rats was significantly lower than the protein and albumin excretion rate in vehicle-treated rats (167±25 and 31±7 mg per day, respectively). Creatinine clearance and body weight were not different between the groups, averaging 0.52±0.08 mL/min per gram kidney weight and 322±10 g, respectively, in the MMF-treated group. These experiments indicate that the activation of the immune system or renal infiltration of immune cells plays an important role in the development of hypertension and renal disease in Dahl SS/Mcw rats consuming an elevated NaCl diet.
Atherosclerotic Lesion Size and Vulnerability Are Determined by Patterns of Fluid Shear Stress
Authors: Cheng Caroline , Tempel Dennie , van Haperen Rien , van der Baan Arjen , Grosveld Frank , Daemen Mat J.A.P. , Krams Rob , de Crom Rini
Published: June 2006

Background—

Atherosclerotic lesions are predominantly observed in curved arteries and near side branches, where low or oscillatory shear stress patterns occur, suggesting a causal connection. However, the effect of shear stress on plaque vulnerability is unknown because the lack of an appropriate in vivo model precludes cause-effect studies.

Methods and Results—

We developed a perivascular shear stress modifier that induces regions of lowered, increased, and lowered/oscillatory (ie, with vortices) shear stresses in mouse carotid arteries and studied plaque formation and composition. Atherosclerotic lesions developed invariably in the regions with lowered shear stress or vortices, whereas the regions of increased shear stress were protected. Lowered shear stress lesions were larger (intima/media, 1.38±0.68 versus 0.22±0.04); contained fewer smooth muscle cells (1.9±1.6% versus 26.3±9.7%), less collagen (15.3±1.0% versus 22.2±1.0%), and more lipids (15.8±0.9% versus 10.2±0.5%); and showed more outward vascular remodeling (214±19% versus 117±9%) than did oscillatory shear stress lesions. Expression of proatherogenic inflammatory mediators and matrix metalloproteinase activity was higher in the lowered shear stress regions. Spontaneous and angiotensin II–induced intraplaque hemorrhages occurred in the lowered shear stress regions only.

Conclusions—

Lowered shear stress and oscillatory shear stress are both essential conditions in plaque formation. Lowered shear stress induces larger lesions with a vulnerable plaque phenotype, whereas vortices with oscillatory shear stress induce stable lesions.
One-Shock Versus Three-Shock Defibrillation Protocol Significantly Improves Outcome in a Porcine Model of Prolonged Ventricular Fibrillation Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Tang Wanchun , Snyder David , Wang Jinglan , Huang Lei , Chang Yun-Te , Sun Shijie , Weil Max Harry
Published: June 2006

Background—

The success of resuscitation with a 1-shock versus the conventional 3-shock defibrillation protocol was investigated subject to the range of treatment variation imposed by automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Methods and Results—

Ventricular fibrillation was induced in 44 domestic pigs. After 7 minutes of untreated VF, animals were randomized among 4 groups representing all combinations of the 1- versus 3-shock protocol and 2 different AED regimens (AED1, AED2). Because few AEDs support a 1-shock protocol, manual defibrillators were used to replicate the AED treatment regimen: electrical waveform, dose sequence, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) interruption intervals. Initial shock(s) were delivered, followed by 60 seconds of CPR, and the treatment was repeated until resuscitation was successful or for 15 minutes. The 1-shock protocol was associated with improved outcome, reducing CPR interruptions from 45% to 34% of total resuscitation time (
P
=0.019) and increasing survival from 64% to 100% (
P
=0.004). Survival was 91% for AED1 versus 36% for AED2 (
P
=0.024) with a 3-shock protocol but was increased to 100% for both by adoption of a 1-shock protocol. Improvements in postresuscitation left ventricular ejection fraction and stroke volume were observed with AED1 compared with AED2 (difference of means, 15% and 28% of baseline respectively,
P
<0.001) regardless of defibrillation protocol.

Conclusions—

Adoption of a 1-shock versus a 3-shock resuscitation protocol improved survival and minimized outcome differences imposed by variations in AED design and implementation. When a conventional 3-shock defibrillation protocol was used, however, the choice of AED had a significant impact on resuscitation outcome.
Neither 'Primitives' nor 'Others,' but Somehow Not Quite Like 'Us': The Fortunes of Psychic Unity and Essentialism in Chinese Studies
Authors: Brown Miranda
Published: June 2006

This paper re-evaluates a persistent but controversial claim in studies of China—to wit, that Chinese thought exhibited a different logical structure than that found in Europe. By situating what is now largely regarded as a Sinological problem within the broader context of the debate between Edward B. Tylor (1832-1917) and Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (1857-1939) about primitive thought, it argues that this line of inquiry about cultural difference, as exemplified by the work of its earliest exponents, Marcel Granet (1884-1940), Joseph Needham (1900-1995), and Angus Charles Graham (1919-1991), is still significant. The significance of these works lies not so much in their specific arguments about China as in the general approach they suggest for explaining cultural difference, an approach that can steer clear of the dangers in evolutionary and essentializing approaches to the study of human mentality. Dans cet article j'examine de nouveau une prétension persistante mais controversée dans les études de la Chine—c'est à dire, que la pensée chinoise fait preuve d'une différente structure logique que celle trouvée en Europe. En situant ce qui est principalement regardé comme un problème sinologique dans le contexte plus large d'un débat entre Edward B. Tylor (1832-1917) et Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (1857-1939) sur la pensée primitive, j'affirme la signifiance actuelle de cette approche de la différence culturelle, telle que représentée par les écrits de ses premiers partisans, Marcel Granet (1884-1940), Joseph Needham (1900-1995) et Angus Charles Graham (1919-1991). La signifiance de ces ouvrages dérive moins de leurs arguments spécifiques sur la Chine, que de leur approche générale de l'explication de la différence culturelle, une approche qui peut éviter les dangers des approches évolutionnaires et réductionnistes de l'étude des mentalités humaines.
Lying on the Edge of the Burning Ground: Rethinking Tinais
Authors: Devadevan Manu
Published: June 2006

This paper seeks to interrogate the prevailing paradigm in the historiography of early Tamil Nad, which treats tinais as constituting the geographic basis for early economic practices. On the one hand the case of Kodumanal excavations is juxtaposed as an archaeological instance vis-à-vis tinais. On the other, it is argued through a close reading of Sangam texts that tinais were aesthetic structures employed in the configuration of space in Sangam mythopoeic imagination. It is also argued that the form and content of the tinai-based aesthetics reveals the crisis of a milieu in transition towards early statedom. Cet article cherche à interroger le paradigme régnant en historiographie du Tamoul tôt Nad, ce qui traite des tinais en tant que constitution de la base géographique pour des pratiques économiques tôt. D'une part la caisse d'excavations de Kodumanal est juxtaposée comme exemple archéologique vis-à-vis des tinais. De l'autre, on lui discute par une lecture étroite des textes de Sangam que les tinais étaient les structures esthétiques utilisées dans la configuration de l'espace dans l'imagination mythopoeic de Sangam. On lui discute également que la forme et le contenu de l'esthétique tinai-basée indique la crise d'un milieu dans la transition vers le statedom tôt.
The Ottoman Administration of the Spice Trade in the Sixteenth-century Red Sea and Persian Gulf
Authors: Casale Giancarlo
Published: June 2006

Following the Ottoman conquest of Egypt and the Levant in 1516-17, administrators of the empire began to experiment with several innovative strategies to increase the total volume of the spice trade between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, and to maximize the state's share of its revenues. These became progressively more sophisticated over time, until by the end of the 1560s a comprehensive infrastructure was in place, including a rationalized empire-wide tax regime for regulating private trade, a network of "imperial factors" who bought spices for the sultan in overseas emporiums, and an annual convoy of spice galleys that shipped cargoes of state-owned pepper from the Yemen to the markets of Egypt and Istanbul. All of this, combined with natural advantages of geography and the goodwill of Muslim traders in the Indian Ocean, enabled the Ottomans to mount a formidable challenge to the "pepper monopoly" of the Portuguese Estado da India. À la suite de la conquête ottomane de l'Égypte et du Levant en 1516-17, les administrateurs de l'empire commencèrent à mettre en application diverses stratégies novatrices dans le but d'augmenter le volume total du commerce des épices entre l'océan Indien et la Méditerranée et de maximiser la part de l'État dans ses revenus. Ces stratégies se perfectionnèrent avec le temps et vers la fin des années 1560 une infrastructure complète était en place, incluant un régime fiscal repensé à l'échelle de l'empire afin de réglementer le commerce privé, un réseau de "facteurs impériaux" achetant des épices pour le compte du sultan dans les comptoirs d'outremer et un convoi annuel de galères transportant du Yémen aux marchés de l'Égypte et d'Istanbul des cargaisons de poivre appartenant à l'État. Grâce à tous ces éléments, de même qu'à leurs avantages géographiques naturels et à la disposition favorable des marchands musulmans dans l'océan Indien, les Ottomans purent présenter un défi de taille au "monopole sur le poivre" de l'Estado da India portugais.
Time, Political Analogies and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
Authors: Nyyssönen Heino
Published: June 2006

The paper focuses on one of the most debated events in Cold War Europe, the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and how its memory has influenced Hungarian political thought. We follow the discussion until mid-1990s and study memory and analogy in politics. We examine analogy on the basis of the theory of new rhetoric and with the help of Reinhart Koselleck's writings. In new rhetoric, analogy is not an equality of two relations but belongs to associative strategies of argumentation. These strategies add together separate elements and construct arguments, which either increase of decrease the possibility of accepting the argument.For my approach I have separated two kinds of analogies: those, which contemporary political actors have made during the great moments of history, and those analogies found afterwards by different political actors. Finally, we discuss the temporal nature of the analogy itself. Although analogies depend on audiences, weak analogies also reveal a lack of political skills.The analogy of 1848 has been the most common in Hungary, but also other years, like 1919 and 1945, have been used in political argumentation. There is evidence, for example, of how Communists compared 1956 to 1919 to legitimize their political actions.
Reading Time: The Ideology of Time Travel in Science Fiction
Authors: Burling William
Published: June 2006

This essay argues for the existence and ideological significance of two principal variants of time travel form in science fiction (SF): the temporal dislocation form and the temporal contrast form. The principle examples for discussion are, respectively, Stephen Baxter's manifold: time (2000) and Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time (1976), though the case is bolstered by additional references to other SF works. Drawing on the work of theorists such as Adorno, Benjamin, Žižek, and Jameson, the argument then considers more broadly the connection between ideology and ontology implicit in these time travel forms. The essay concludes with a critique of the assumptions by which time travel SF stories are created, studied, taught, and read by SF writers and academics, as well as general readers.
"Between Orientalism and Postmodernism: The Changing Nature of Western Feminist Thought Towards the Middle East"
Authors: Hamid Shadi
Published: June 2006

1980s postmodernism provided a viable theoretical alternative to existing discourses. Where pre-postmodern second-wave feminism subscribed to prescriptive notions of what a woman should or should not be, postmodern feminists (or post-feminists) instead articulated a much more diverse, malleable, morally and culturally relative notion of what it means to be a woman. This new relativist approach meant that feminists were now making a conscious effort to engage with third-world women in a way that acknowledged cultural particularities. Today Muslim women are struggling to find a place for themselves. Western feminists have the potential to play an important role in the process of change in the Muslim world. The nature of this role has yet to be determined. In recent decades, Western feminists have had a tendency to superimpose their own culturally specific notions of equality on the Muslim world. Now, there is the risk that a new generation of postmodern intellectuals will decide to slowly disengage. With this in mind, finding the middle ground has never been more urgent.
Damascene Shahrazād: The Images of Women in Zakariyyā Tāmir's Short Stories
Authors: Kayyal Mahmoud
Published: June 2006

Tāmir describes the other/the woman as a realistic character who reflects the maladies of Arab society, and as an ideal image that fulfills his vision of an egalitarian and liberal society. In both instances, he emerges as an author who is highly critical of the status of women and attitudes toward them in traditional and conservative Arab society. In his early collections, the author's descriptions of the submissive and obedient woman, who suffers the violence and tyranny of men in a patriarchal society, are grotesque and ironic. To escape this harsh reality, he feels the need for fantasies, the center of which is the mythical woman who at times appears as part of nature, bestowing tranquility on man at times of crisis, and at others resembles Shahrazād, equal to man and his partner. In his later collections, women are no longer passive and dependent on men; they are independent, have initiative and are liberated from all the traditional norms and taboos, particularly sexual ones.
The construction of an authoritative text: Peter Kolb's description of the Khoikhoi at the Cape of Good Hope in the eighteenth century
Authors: Good Anne
Published: June 2006

Peter Kolb (1675–1726), a German astronomer and mathematician, was an unlikely candidate to write the book that became the most well-known source of the Cape of Good Hope and the Khoikhoi in the eighteenth century. This essay uses Kolb's work as a case study for the transformation of one man's personal observations into a variety of works that were quite different from the originals in scope and intention. First, the essay discusses the genesis of Kolb's book, Caput Bonae Spei Hodiernum, and focuses on the Khoikhoi. I argue that Kolb's genius lies in emphasizing communalities among Europeans and Khoikhoi, as well as the rationality of Khoikhoi customs. The second part of the essay establishes that Kolb's book did indeed become the most authoritative source of the Cape in the eighteenth century. Over the course of that century, the book was radically modified in translations and abridgements to cover only certain essential topics, and increasingly to emphasize the otherness of the Khoikhois.
Travel writing and humanistic culture: A blunted impact?
Authors: Rubiés Joan-Pau
Published: June 2006

An influential historiographical tradition has opposed the accounts of extra-European worlds produced by sixteenth-century travel writers to the concerns of humanists and other European men of learning, even detecting a 'blunted impact' up until the eighteenth century, when the figure of the philosophical traveller was proclaimed by Rousseau and others. It is my argument that this approach is misleading and that we need to take account of the full influence of travel writing upon humanistic culture in order to understand how the Renaissance eventually led to the Enlightenment. A first step consists in analysing the collective impact of accounts of America, Africa and Asia, rather than opposing the 'New World' to other areas. Moreover, whilst quantitative estimates offer a route for the assessment of 'impact', it is the qualitative aspect which is most clearly central to the cultural history of the period. Even 'popular' observers were often subtly influenced by concepts and strategies formulated by the intellectual elites. Under close scrutiny, it appears that humanists—and here I adopt a broad definition—had a crucial role in the production and consumption of travel accounts, as editors and travel collectors, as historians and cosmographers, and eventually—from the turn of the seventeenth century—as 'philosophical travellers'. The article seeks to illustrate these roles with reference to some examples from the first phase of the encounter. In particular, the early accounts of the Columbian expeditions by Nicolaus Scyllacus and Peter Martyr of Anghiera can be shown to have elaborated Columbian material more faithfully than is usually understood to be the case. Similarly, the historiography of conquest published after the middle of the sixteenth century reveals the widespread application of humanist standards to the literature of encounter produced in the previous sixty years.
Reading travels in the culture of curiosity: Thévenot's collection of voyages
Authors: Dew Nicholas
Published: June 2006

This article explores the circulation and use of travel writings within the seventeenth-century "culture of curiosity", focusing on a figure at the heart of this milieu, Melchisédech Thévenot (? 1622–1692), and his edited Relations de divers voyages curieux (1663–1672). The Thévenot case reveals the importance of travel writing for the scholarly community in a period when the modern boundaries between disciplines were not yet formed, and when the nature of geographical knowledge was undergoing radical change. The collection, discussion and publication of the travel collection are shown to be part of the program of Thévenot's experimental "assembly" to investigate the "arts".
Making something of it: Questions of value in the early English travel collection
Authors: Fuller Mary
Published: June 2006

In the second half of the sixteenth century, experiences and narratives of English travel to distant places first began to matter enough to be collected and published. Tracing early accounts of West Africa and Muscovy through the several collections of Richard Eden (1553, 1555) and Richard Hakluyt (1589, 1600) allows for comparison of how different editors handled the same materials at different moments. The evidence suggests that both editors differentiated between the African and Russian materials according to perceptions of these materials' value, or meaning, for their own collecting and publishing projects. Looking at how this was so, and considering why it was so, provides a closer and more detailed look at how travel writing acquired value in the context of print; it also offers an an approach to the larger question of how Englishmen "read" the places and cultures they encountered, actually or virtually, outside of Europe.
Africans in the Quaker image: Anthony Benezet, African travel narratives, and revolutionary-era antislavery
Authors: Sassi Jonathan
Published: June 2006

This article compares Anthony Benezet's influential 1771 antislavery tract, Some Historical Account of Guinea, with the sources from which he gleaned his information about Africa and the slave trade, the narratives published by European travelers to West Africa. Benezet, a Philadelphia Quaker and humanitarian reformer, cited the travel literature in order to portray Africa as an abundant land of decent people. He thereby refuted the apology that cast the slave trade as a beneficial transfer of people from a land of barbarism and death to regions of civilization and Christianity. However, Benezet employed the travel narratives selectively, suppressing contradictory evidence as well as controversial material that could have been used to construct an alternative depiction of African humanity. Nonetheless, Benezet's research shaped the subsequent debate over the slave trade and slavery, as antislavery writers incorporated his depiction into their rhetorical arsenal and proslavery defenders searched for a rebuttal.
Women and Wills: Sterility and Testacy in Catalonia in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries
Authors: Taylor Nathaniel
Published: June 2006

Abundant surviving wills from before 1200 present medieval Catalan women as testators. Existing wills, as well as indirect evidence, including legislation and complaints about the mals usatges of exorquia (sterility) and intestia (intestacy), show the degree to which women enjoyed testamentary freedom even at a humble social level. Approximately twenty percent of pre-thirteenth-century (non-clerical) testaments are by women, though barriers to women's testamentary rights existed that were both traditional (rooted in Roman law) as well as new (the mals usatges). Women's wills more frequently indicate them as single (especially as widowed parents) than men's wills, thus supporting a traditional view of women as fiscally less independent than men. While some wills show women acting from positions of relative political strength or social independence (undertaking pilgrimages, even to Jerusalem, on their own initiative), the imposition of various restrictions on testamentary rights in the twelfth century reflects tightening limits of suchfiscal independence, especially for rural women of middling means.
Public Activities of Catalan Jewish Women
Authors: Klein Elka
Published: June 2006

Although standards of modesty, custom, and law imposed limitations on the range of public activities of Jewish women, examples from the thirteenth-century Crown of Aragon show how, by the selective reliance on male relatives, and the use of agents, women were able to maneuver within those limitations, and sometimes to use them to their advantage.
Tecla Servent and the Borgias
Authors: Surtz Ronald
Published: June 2006

Several prophecies of the late fifteenth-century visionary Tecla Servent involved her in the politics of her day. When the Duke of Gandía took a wife, his mother-in-law and later the Duchess herself sent for Tecla and asked her to pray that God bless the marriage with children. In one of her ensuing visions, Tecla saw the Lord place a child among the Duchess's skirts. Inasmuch as the Duchess of Gandía was a cousin of Ferdinand the Catholic and the Duke was the Pope's son, the conception of an heir was of utmost importance to papal-Aragonese relations. Through Tecla's prophecies, the private sphere of the visionary intersected with the public sphere of international politics.