bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Brecht and Sinn und Form: The Creation of Cold War Legends
Authors: Parker Stephen
Published: September 2007

ABSTRACT

Brecht and Peter Huchel's Sinn und Form are among the few examples of early GDR cultural life with a genuine capacity to accumulate cultural capital on the international stage.The analysis of Brecht's collaboration with Sinn und Form in the Deutsche Akademie der Künste offers a fresh perspective upon their attainment of a legendary pre‐eminence in German cultural life during the Cold War. Brecht's espousal of Marxism‐Leninism and of a relative artistic autonomy, informed by political constraints, ensured some common ground with the SED leadership. However, the Party's enforcement of a binary opposition between Socialist Realism and Formalism became a crucial field of conflict, spawning major illusions and antagonisms between the artistic and political elites. In key contributions to Sinn und Form, Brecht foregrounded aesthetic considerations and historical responsibility, yet the SED's nationalistic discourse colouring Socialist Realism was motivated by the geopolitical imperative of justifying the GDR's status among the people's democracies of the Eastern Bloc. This, in turn, justified the SED's subordination of cultural to political capital, dismissing the claims of elite culture in a series of staged events. The position of Brecht and his supporters was relentlessly eroded until, quite improbably, the crisis of 17 June 1953 allowed them to turn the tables. While popular opposition was suppressed, Brecht simultaneously re‐affirmed his loyalty to the weakened SED leadership, whose revolutionary achievements he continued to praise, and re‐asserted the relative autonomy of the elite Akademie and its journal. Brecht and Sinn und Form capitalised upon their enhanced reputations, securing the legendary status that later repression did nothing to diminish.
What Are We? The Social Construction of the Human Biological Self
Authors: SEILER LAUREN H.
Published: September 2007

This essay explores how the human biological self is socially constructed, and rejects various truisms that define our character. Rather than being stand‐alone entities, the human biological self forms what biologists call “superorganisms” and what I call “poly‐super‐organisms.” Thus, along with prokaryotes (bacteria), viruses, and other entities, we are combined in an inseparable menagerie of species that is spread across multiple bodies. Biologists claim that only males and females are organisms. As described here, however, human sperm and eggs are equally entitled to that rank. Much about human reproduction is also socially constructed. For example, contrary to scientific wisdom, humans have always reproduced both sexually and asexually. Moreover, human life (the creation of a new organism) does not begin between conception and birth, and neither event creates new life. In addition, some cancer cells are organisms; they are contagious entities formed by asexual human reproduction. Finally, while science universally describes humans as being living entities, accumulating evidence makes clear that the life concept is failing. In fact, much that originates from human bodies does not fall under current biological or cultural classifications.

How we construct the human biological self has consequences for understanding our health, how we reproduce, and what we are. These social constructions greatly influence our views on abortion, stem‐cell research, human cloning, and our post‐human future. A more accurate construction of the human biological self will help us better navigate these contentious issues.
Philosophical Anthropology Can Help Social Scientists Learn from Empirical Tests
Authors: WETTERSTEN JOHN
Published: September 2007

Popper's theory of demarcation has set the standard of falsifiability for all sciences. But not all falsifiable theories are part of science and some tests of scientific theories are better than others. Popper's theory has led to the banning of metaphysical and/or philosophical anthropological theories from science. But Joseph Agassi has supplemented Popper's theory to explain how such theories are useful as research programs within science. This theory can also be used to explain how interesting tests may be found. Theories of rationality may be used to illustrate this point by showing how they fail or succeed in producing interesting and testable hypotheses in the social sciences.
The posterior part of the human cerebral arterial circle (CAC): arterial caliber from gestational weeks 13 to 24
Authors: Vasović Ljiljana P. , Jovanović Ivan D. , Ugrenović Sladjana Z. , Anđelković Zlatibor P.
Published: September 2007

Numerous studies have reported that all components of the cerebral arterial circle in the 4‐month‐old human fetus are more slender than adult vessels, and of equal caliber. After that period, a degree of caliber differentiation is present, especially at the level of the posterior communicating arteries. The aim of this study was to determine arterial diameters in the posterior part of the fetal cerebral arterial circle from the 4th month (IV) to the 6th (VI). One hundred and seventy‐two fetal cerebral arterial circles were examined by means of a surgical microscope. It was determined that average diameters of the left (right) pre‐communicating parts of the posterior cerebral artery ranged from 0.30 ± 0.03 (0.29 ± 0.02) mm in month IV, to 0.36 ± 0.04 (0.36 ± 0.03) mm during month V and up to 0.55 ± 0.22 (0.50 ± 0.18) mm in month VI. The average diameters of the left (right) posterior communicating artery ranged from 0.24 ± 0.02 mm (0.25 ± 0.02) in month IV, to 0.30 ± 0.03 mm (0.29 ± 0.05) during month V and up to 0.38 ± 0.08 (0.44 ± 0.10) in month VI. Gender differences between posterior cerebral artery and posterior communicating artery diameters were not significant. Average posterior cerebral artery diameters were significantly larger than posterior communicating artery diameters in months IV and V, but not in month VI. It was established that caliber differentiation in the posterior part of the cerebral arterial circle began from gestational month IV, and that gender differences in arterial diameters were not significant until month VI of gestation.
THE BEGINNINGS OF TIN‐OPACIFICATION OF POTTERY GLAZES
Authors: MASON R. B. , TITE M. S.
Published: September 2007

A multidisciplinary programme of research on the glazed ceramics of the Islamic world has been focused on questions of their dating, provenance and technology. One particular question has been the development of tin‐opacified glazes, and the nature of glaze opacification generally in the Islamic world. The findings of the various studies combine to indicate that tin was first used experimentally in Basra, Iraq, in the first half of the eighth century AD, apparently within the context of pre‐Islamic opaque‐glaze technology. Over the course of the next century, an opaque‐glaze technology entirely reliant on tin oxide inclusions was developed in Iraq and Egypt and, subsequently, this technology spread to the rest of the Islamic world and also to Europe.
KIMMERIDGE JET—A POTENTIAL NEW SOURCE FOR BRITISH JET
Authors: WATTS S. , POLLARD A. M. , WOLFF G. A.
Published: September 2007

Archaeological artefacts identified as jet are often assumed to have originated from the principal British source, which is at Whitby in Yorkshire. Geological samples of jet have also been found within the Kimmeridge Blackstone in Dorset—a seam of oil shale which has been worked since prehistoric times to produce artefacts similar to those made from jet. This paper discusses the geology and geochemistry of jet samples from both Whitby and Kimmeridge, and shows that the geological samples can be discriminated by differences in their organic components, as elucidated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and pyrolysis‐gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.
OPTICAL DATING RESULTS FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEDIMENTS
Authors: REES‐JONES J. , TITE M. S.
Published: September 2007

In this paper optical dating results for a range of British archaeological sediments are presented to illustrate the potential this method offers for archaeologists. The optical dating is shown to offer an absolute method for directly dating the deposition of sediments for an age range of approximately 1–300ka. Problems have been found with recuperation of the optically stimulated luminescence signal and insufficient bleaching at deposition of the sediment. A suitable correction method for the recuperation has been found and a method of identifying insufficient bleaching is suggested.
LIME PLASTER AS AN ADHESIVE FOR HAFTING EIGHTEENTH‐DYNASTY FLINT SICKLES FROM TELL EL DAB'A, EASTERN NILE DELTA (EGYPT)*
Authors: ENDLICHER G. , TILLMANN A.
Published: September 2007

A combination of analytical techniques, including thin‐section observations, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray fluorescence analysis, was applied to study the nature and origin of an adhesive used for mounting flint sickle blades to a wooden handle, recovered from early Eighteenth Dynasty culture layers of the multi‐layer settlement at Tell el Dab'a, Lower Eygpt. The results obtained from these investigations led to the conclusion that the adhesive is a pure lime plaster, thus providing the oldest evidence for the use of this material as a binding agent so far known in ancient Egypt.
RAMESSIDE GLASS‐COLOURING CRUCIBLES*
Authors: REHREN TH.
Published: September 2007

The preparation of glass in New Kingdom Egypt heavily involved the use of crucibles. Shape, mode of operation and function of these vessels have been reconstructed on the basis of new, stratified material from the excavation at Qantir, eastern Nile Delta. The crucible fabric, the internal layer protecting the vessel from the charge, and the glass melted in the crucibles are characterized by chemical and petrographic studies. The crucibles were apparently employed mainly to add the colourants to the glass. The broader archaeological context strongly suggests that glass production in the Late Bronze Age has been a highly developed, specialized and organized craft, with different factories for glass production, for colouring, and for working, connected by a wide‐ranging trade network.
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY AT BODEN VEAN, CORNWALL, INCLUDING AN ASSESSMENT OF THE MICROGRAVITY TECHNIQUE FOR THE LOCATION OF SUSPECTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL VOID FEATURES*
Authors: LINFORD N. T.
Published: September 2007

A geophysical survey was conducted at Boden Vean, St. Anthony Meneage, Cornwall, over the site of a buried chamber thought to be the remains of a souterrain or fogou. A combination of geophysical techniques was successfully applied including an experimental microgravity survey over the location of the buried chamber itself. Magnetometer survey revealed a complex palimpsest of archaeological activity extending throughout the surrounding landscape, centred on a rectangular ditched enclosure containing the fogou. A series of gravity anomalies were recorded in the vicinity of the latter which were consistent with the collapsed section of the feature recorded by the Cornish Archaeological Unit. Further gravity anomalies suggested the presence of additional void features, possibly related to the extended passages of the fogou.
MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF QUARTZ‐TEMPERED CERAMICS: PART I, STRENGTH AND TOUGHNESS*
Authors: KILIKOGLOU V. , VEKINIS G. , MANIATIS Y. , DAY P. M.
Published: September 2007

The effect of quartz temper on the physical and mechanical properties of clay ceramics and the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for these effects are presented here. Characteristics studied included bulk density, open and closed porosity, density of impervious portion and fracture morphology. Mechanical behaviour was studied by measuring energy dissipation during fracture, Young's modulus, initial fracture toughness and strength in flexure. The significant increase in toughness with quartz volume fraction is explained by the development of a model that accounts for the crack distribution around the grains. The archaeological implications of the work are discussed on the basis of all the parameters that might affect the potter's choices of raw materials.
TRACES OF ANCIENT COLOURS ON TRAJAN'S COLUMN*
Authors: DEL MONTE M. , AUSSET P. , LEFEVRE R. A.
Published: September 2007

Recent restorations of Trajan's Column uncovered two marble fragments bearing traces of pigments, bright red (minium, hematite) in one case, and yellowish‐orange (minium, hematite, clay minerals) in the other. Both were applied to the marble surface on a plaster underlayer. The presence of an underlayer and of surfaces coloured according to subject tells us that the colours were applied deliberately. Although the use of minium plus hematite is confirmed by archaeological finds, there is only a good probability that the colours were applied on the column at the time of its completion.
A COMPARATIVE ELECTRON MICROPROBE STUDY OF LERNA III AND IV CERAMICS AND LOCAL CLAY‐RICH SEDIMENTS*
Authors: SHRINER C. , DORAIS M. J.
Published: September 2007

This study uses electron microprobe analysis of ceramic artefacts and local day‐rich sediments and lithics to help address questions concerning the nature of the cultural change implied by ceramics from Lerna III and IV. It redresses the previous lack of a comparative collection of clay‐rich sediments that adequately represents the local variation in clay and temper for the area surrounding Lerna. The resulting comparisons indicate that although they produced stylistically different ceramics, potters from both Lenta phases acquired their clays from the local Lerna area.
LEAD ISOTOPE AND TRACE ELEMENT ANALYSIS IN THE STUDY OF OVER A HUNDRED SOUTH INDIAN METAL ICONS*
Authors: SRINIVASAN S.
Published: September 2007

Technical investigations were made on 130 South Indian statuary images and a few miscellaneous artefacts mostly sampled from the Government Museum, Madras, India, and from the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum, UK. Lead isotope investigations were attempted on 60 of these, and compositional analysis for 18 elements on 115, using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy; thus, for 40 objects both lead isotope and trace element analysis was done. From the isotopic and elemental framework, insights are obtained into some art‐historical problems of images and artefacts of the Pre‐Pallava, Pallava, Chola (i.e., Vijayalaya Chola), Later Chola (i.e., Chalukya‐Chola and Later Pandya), Vijayanagara (and Early Nayaka) and Later Nayaka (and Maratha) dynasties, spanning the Early Christian era to the nineteenth century, along with a few other regional styles. Inferences are also made regarding provenance of the lead and the early use of zinc and brass in the early historic period (c. fourth century BC—fourth century AD).
MAGNETIZATION DATING AT A MEDIEVAL MONASTERY (TUPHOLME, LINCOLNSHIRE)*
Authors: BORRADAILE G. J. , CAMERON CAMERON (néeGOULDER) C. , STEWART J. D. , START D.
Published: September 2007

Tupholme Abbey, founded by c. 1166, was constructed of limestone masonry, some of which was reoriented at several times through its history. The limestone progressively acquired a ‘soft’, time‐dependent magnetization in the earth's magnetic field—viscous remanent mag‐netization (VRM)—that acts like a clock. Although VRM is normally disregarded by geologists because of its ephemeral nature, this remanence is acquired and persists over time‐scales that are useful to archaeologists. Successive VRMs were initiated, at different ages of stabilization of the masonry, thus yielding a chronometric curve that allows us to determine, at least relatively, when masonry was installed.
RED PALAEOLITHIC PIGMENTS: NATURAL HEMATITE OR HEATED GOETHITE?*
Authors: POMIÉS M.‐P. , MENU M. , VIGNAUD C.
Published: September 2007

Yellow goethite (α‐FeOOH) and red hematite (α‐Fe203) were used as pigments by Palaeolithic painters. When heated, goethite dehydrates and transforms to hematite Archaeologists wonder whether prehistoric people knew of this property and used it. We present a way to distinguish heated goethite from natural hematite. The methods used are X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. A double ‘signature’, namely selective broadening of diffraction reflections and porous nanostructure, is evidenced in heated goethite. Coupled with mineralogical associations, this allows us to establish a procedure to investigate the natural or artificial origin of hematite samples. Applied to the Palaeolithic site of Troubat, it reveals no difference between the Magdalenian and Azilian cultures concerning the heat‐treatment of pigments; an area specializing in heat‐treating pigments, may, nevertheless, have existed inside the cave, which would indicate that heating wax deliberate.
DETECTING MULTIVARIATE OUTLIERS IN ARTEFACT COMPOSITIONAL DATA*
Authors: BAXTER M. J.
Published: September 2007

Multivariate statistical analysis of artefact compositional data, usually undertaken to investigate structure in the data, often incidentally reveals the presence of multivariate outliers. Much statistical methodology dealing with the detection of such outliers is not well suited to archaeometric data that, in the event, consist of two or more groups. The paper provides examples to illustrate the importance of detecting and dealing with outliers, and critically examines a range of different approaches to outlier detection. The examples show that cluster analysis, the technique most widely used for this purpose, can fail to reveal outliers clearly identified by other methods.
THE ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION OF BENIN MEMORIAL HEADS*
Authors: WILLETT F. , SAYRE E. V.
Published: September 2007

Among the Nigerian cast copper‐alloy artefacts, the chronology of the Benin memorial heads has been the most fully worked out. Therefore, a study focused upon their elemental compositions is particularly likely to be interpretable in terms of development of the alloys used in their making. The elemental analyses, both published and unpublished, of 66 Benin heads, supplemented with seven analyses of some artefacts excavated from a well‐dated, very early Benin site, have been collected, analysed statistically and computed to the elemental analyses of 11 heads and figures from Udo. All but a very few of the Benin heads and artefacts separate into five compositional groups, indicating a chronological sequence of different alloying traditions. All but one of the Udo objects fall into a distinctly separate compositional group, together with two Medicine heads. The compositional groups correlate remarkably well with the stylistic types proposed by Dark.
OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF TIN‐OPACIFIED GLAZES*
Authors: VENDRELL M. , MOLERA J. , TITE M. S.
Published: September 2007

Tin glazes contain SnO2 particles, with a diameter similar to the wavelength of visible light, which are responsible for glaze opacification. In this paper a theoretical model to explain the optical behaviour of these glazes is developed. This model is tested by measurement of the reflectance and transmittance spectra for different optical paths in Spanish Islamic and mudejar glazed ceramics and it is shown to be valid by total reflectance non‐destructive measurements on a wide range of other Islamic and related glazed ceramics.
COLOURED OPAQUE GLASS BEADS OF THE MEROVINGIANS*
Authors: HECK M. , HOFFMANN P.
Published: September 2007

Monochrome coloured opaque glass beads of the Merovingians have been examined by different analytical methods. A large number of mostly unprepared beads have been measured by X‐ray fluorescence analysis. X‐ray diffraction was used for the identification of the crystalline colouring and opacifying pigments, and electron probe micro‐analysis as well as scanning electron microscopy were applied to study the composition and the microstructure of a white, brown, green, orange and yellow glass bead. After subtracting the content of colouring oxides of the glass beads and normalizing the residual values to 100% an identical soda‐lime‐glass matrix was obtained. The origin of the colouring metal oxides is discussed.
A COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR ESTABLISHING FATTY ACID CONCENTRATION GRADIENTS ACROSS POTSHERDS: A CASE STUDY USING LATE BRONZE AGE CANAANITE AMPHORAE*
Authors: STERN B. , HERON C. , SERPICO M. , BOURRIAU J.
Published: September 2007

Canaanite amphorae fragments in fabrics believed to be associated with the bulk transport of vegetable oils from the fourteenth‐century BC site of Amarna, Egypt, have been examined. A comparison is made between solvent extraction, saponification and the use of TMTFTH (m‐trifluoromethylphenyl)trimethylammomum hydroxide, used here for the combined extraction and derivatization of ceramic‐absorbed organic residues. Extracts were studied using gas chromatography and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. The extraction of fatty acids from small ceramic samples has established concentration gradients of absorbed organic matter from the inner to the outer surfaces of the sherds.
NEW ARCHAEOINTENSITY RESULTS FROM GREEK MATERIALS*
Authors: KOVACHEVA M. , SPATHARAS V. , LIRITZIS I.
Published: September 2007

This paper reports palaeointensity results from Greek materials from EC and AD periods, recently obtained in the Sofia palaeomagnetic laboratory. The classical Thellier method was applied and of 26 specimens studied 20 gave acceptable results. The paper aims to compare the newly obtained results with previously published ones from Greece and neighbouring territories relating to the same period of time. The trend of palaeointensity obtained for the period 2900–1700 BC coincides well with the Bulgarian intensity variation curve, while the younger period, 1900–1200 BC, needs further investigation because of the contradictory results obtained by different authors. It is also established that the bricks from the church of Agios Ioannis are earlier than the date of the building's construction and are reused.
LUMINESCENCE DATING OF POTTERY FROM LATER PREHISTORIC BRITAIN*
Authors: BARNETT S. M.
Published: September 2007

Dating of later prehistoric settlements relies heavily on potter; typologies in England and yet there has been little scientific dating in order to verify these typologies. In this work, luminescence dating techniques were applied directly to the pottery which forms the typological framework. Excellent agreement was obtained between the luminescence ages, and archaeological age ranges for known‐age pottery sherds with diagnostic form and surface decoration. A lower correlation, however, was found in several regions between the luminescence ages for undecorated body sherds and the archaeological assessment which was necessarily based solely on fabric, suggesting the need for reassessment of these fabric chronologies.
LATE CAMBRIAN PLECTRONOCERID NAUTILOIDS AND THEIR ROLE IN CEPHALOPOD EVOLUTION
Authors: MUTVEI HARRY , ZHANG YUN‐BAI , DUNCA ELENA
Published: September 2007

Abstract:  Numerous plectronocerid nautiloids appear in the Upper Cambrian of China. We have restudied their siphuncular structure, first described some 20 years ago. The siphuncle is characterized by: (1) long and holochoanitic septal necks dorsally but short and recurved necks laterally and ventrally; (2) strongly expanded connecting rings laterally; (3) two calcified layers in each connecting ring, outer spherulitic‐prismatic and inner compact, the latter perforated by numerous pore canals; and (4) highly oblique siphuncular segments. The strongly expanded lateral sides of the connecting rings, together with the highly oblique course of the siphuncular segments, considerably enlarged the surface area of the connecting rings in each chamber, thereby increasing the transport capacity of cameral liquid. Thus, from their first appearance, plectronocerid nautiloids had developed a siphuncle for the replacement of cameral liquid with gases, and this system had a better and a more sophisticated design than that seen in stratigraphically younger nautiloids. However, their small orthoconic or slightly cyrtoconic shells were not well adapted for jet‐powered swimming.
A CAUTIONARY TALE: RAZOR SHELLS, ACORN BARNACLES AND PALAEOECOLOGY
Authors: DONOVAN STEPHEN K.
Published: September 2007

Abstract: The extant, introduced razor shellEnsis americanus(Binney) is a burrowing inhabitant of sandy, shallow‐water substrates off the North Sea and Wadden Sea coasts of The Netherlands and adjacent areas. Three articulated shells with broken valves, collected from the strandline at Zandvoort, Noord‐Holland, in April 2006 have dense skeletozoan infestations of the barnacleBalanus crenatusBrugière on the outer and inner surfaces of all valves. Such infestations must have occurred after death of the bivalve, decomposition of the soft tissues (but not the ligament) and disinterment of the shells. Larvae ofB. crenatussettle in the spring, suggesting that these infestations are perhaps less than a year old, and testifying to the post‐mortem persistence of the ligament and the density of skeletozoan infestation after a geologically brief duration. Such specimens would be a palaeoecological conundrum if fossilized; however, the ligament is likely to rot before final burial and the valves break further. Fossil specimens would probably be interpreted as valves that became encrusted on their inner and outer surfaces (balanuliths) during a long post‐disarticulation residence on the sea floor.
Progress in neuroimaging of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: MATSUDA Hiroshi
Published: September 2007

The main purposes of neuroimaging in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have progressed from diagnosis of advanced AD to diagnosis of very early AD at a prodromal stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), prediction of conversion from MCI to AD and differential diagnosis from other diseases causing dementia. Structural MRI studies and functional studies using FDG‐PET and brain perfusion SPECT are widely used in diagnosis of AD. Outstanding progress in the diagnostic accuracy of these neuroimaging modalities has been obtained using statistical analysis on a voxel‐by‐voxel basis after spatial normalization of individual scans to a standardized brain‐volume template instead of visual inspection or a conventional region of interest technique. In a very early stage of AD, this statistical approach revealed gray matter loss in medial temporal areas prominently in the entorhinal cortex and hypometabolism or hypoperfusion in the posterior cingulate cortex and precunei. These two findings might be related in view of anatomical knowledge that the regions are linked through the circuit of Papez. This statistical approach also offers a predictive value of conversion from MCI to AD and accurate evaluation of therapeutic effects on brain metabolism or perfusion. This development in functional and structural imaging might be an important surrogate marker for trials of disease‐modifying agents.
Mild cognitive impairment in a population‐based epidemiological study
Authors: ISHIKAWA Tomohisa , IKEDA Manabu
Published: September 2007

Background:  It would be of considerable importance to be able to estimate the rate at which subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) progress to dementia in a cohort of a population‐based epidemiological study and to establish simple diagnostic methods for the identification of people at high‐risk of dementia. Subjects in a community based elderly cohort of MCI were followed longitudinally.

Methods:  Subjects were selected from participants in the first epidemiological study conducted on all persons aged 65 years and older residing at home in Nakayama, Japan, using the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE). Mild cognitive impairment was defined as memory deficit with objective memory assessment, without dementia, impairment of general cognitive function or disability in activities of daily living. The conversion rate was calculated using the person–year method.

Results:  At baseline, the sample consisted of 104 subjects selected from 1162 community dwellers aged over 65 years of age. During the 5‐year follow up, 11 subjects (10.6%) were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD), five (4.8%) were diagnosed with vascular dementia (VaD) and six (5.8%) were diagnosed with dementia of other etiology. In this survey, the annual conversion rate of MCI to AD was calculated as 8.5% per 100 person–years and shifted to dementia at a rate of 16.1% per 100 person–years. The proportion of subjects with MCI who progressed to develop dementia was the same as in previous reports. However, nearly 40% of subjects returned to normal.

Conclusion:  The MCI concept, as currently defined, is an unstable and heterogeneous group.
Linking light attenuation and suspended sediment loading to benthic productivity within an Arctic kelp‐bed community1
Authors: Aumack Craig F. , Dunton Kenneth H. , Burd Adrian B. , Funk Dale W. , Maffione Robert A.
Published: September 2007

Annual growth and productivity of kelp in the Stefansson Sound Boulder Patch, located along the Arctic coast of Alaska, is regulated almost entirely by PAR received during the summer open‐water period. Increased water turbidity during summer, often in response to storm activity, has been linked to low levels of ambient PAR and measurable decreases in kelp elongation. However, the relationship between PAR and water transparency has not been quantified, which compromises efforts to assess the effects of changing climate and weather conditions on kelp production. During the 2001–2002 summer periods, the inherent optical properties (IOPs) of Stefansson Sound waters were measured in conjunction with total suspended sediments (TSS) concentrations, which differed significantly between the 2 years, for input into a radiative transfer equation (RTE). In both years, the highest TSS levels (24.2 and 18.5 mg · L−1 in 2001 and 2002, respectively) occurred in nearshore areas and were coincident with increased beam attenuations (13.8 and 8.3 m−1). Lower TSS concentrations and attenuations were measured offshore. Data input to the RTE provided a TSS‐concentration‐specific attenuation coefficient that was used in a productivity model to estimate annual kelp productivities throughout the Boulder Patch based on modeled irradiance and averaged site‐specific TSS concentrations. Production estimates varied across the Boulder Patch but were lower in 2001 (0.12–0.34 g C · g dwt−1 · year−1, where dwt stands for dry weight) compared to 2002 (0.24–0.80 g C · g dwt−1 · year−1). Production in both years was greater in offshore locations with lower TSS loads. Results suggest that PAR availability during the summer is heavily influenced by TSS concentrations, and that changes in storm intensity and frequency, associated with current warming trends, may have significant effects on the primary production of these unique benthic algal communities.
Marine macroalgae affect abundance and community richness of bacterioplankton in close proximity1
Authors: Lam Cindy , Harder Tilmann
Published: September 2007

Many macroalgae employ chemical means to suppress epibiosis by micro‐ and macroorganisms. Previous studies have focused on the effects of tissue extracts of entire algae on a few bacterial isolates, thereby missing not only ecologically relevant bacteria but also natural delivery mechanisms of algal antimicrobial agents. In this study, we investigated the potential antimicrobial effects of waterborne macroalgal metabolites utilizing a culture‐independent approach to compare the bacterial community richness in seawater in the presence and absence of macroalgae. The methodology comprised the collection of planktonic bacteria in algal culture water on membrane filters followed by filter PCR and denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene sequences of harvested bacteria with universal primers. Similarity analysis distinguished two groups of macroalgae under investigation, one of which showed >55% difference, and the other <50% difference in bacterial community composition in comparison to natural seawater. The bacterial abundance in algal culture water of different algae was reduced between 20% and 50%. Further experiments demonstrated that the observed effects were caused by waterborne algal compounds. However, some bacterial types were exclusively eliminated in the presence of algae, indicating causative modes of action other than direct exposure of bacteria to waterborne compounds, such as surface‐mediated antimicrobial effects.
The Current State of Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy: Update for Neurologists and Epileptologists
Authors: Harden Cynthia L.
Published: September 2007

Appropriate and safe use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women is an evolving saga, triggered by the unexpected results from the first publication of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Trial in 2002. These results showed a slight but significantly increased risk of breast cancer, stroke, and dementia with standard HRT compared with placebo. A reanalysis of these results shows that use of HRT within the first few years after the onset of menopause may be associated with decreased risk of dementia and coronary artery disease. However, HRT in its commonly used form of conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone acetate can increase seizure frequency in menopausal women with epilepsy; this outcome may be an adverse effect of these neuroactive steroids on the epileptic female brain, which is already in a hormonally deprived state. To explore this possibility, more information about the neurophysiologic activity of medroxyprogesterone acetate is needed and alternatives to this specific HRT regimen should be considered for women with epilepsy.
Comparative Monotherapy Trials and the Clinical Treatment of Epilepsy
Authors: Abou-Khalil Bassel W.
Published: September 2007

Comparison of Levetiracetam and Controlled-Release Carbamazepine in Newly Diagnosed Epilepsy. Brodie MJ, Perucca E, Ryvlin P, Ben-Menachem E, Meencke HJ; Levetiracetam Monotherapy Study Group. Neurology 2007;68(6):402–408. OBJECTIVE: We report the results of a prospective study of the efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam, a new antiepileptic drug witha unique mechanism of action, in comparison with controlled-release carbamazepine as first treatment in newly diagnosed epilepsy. METHODS: Adults with 2 partial or generalized tonic–clonic seizures in the previous year were randomly assigned to levetiracetam (500 mg twice daily, n = 288) or controlled-release carbamazepine (200 mg twice daily, n = 291) in a multicenter, double-blind, noninferiority, parallel-group trial. If a seizure occurred within 26 weeks of stabilization, dosage was increased incrementally to a maximum of levetiracetam 1,500 mg twice daily or carbamazepine 600 mg twice daily. Patients achieving the primary endpoint (6-month seizure freedom) continued on treatment for a further 6-month maintenance period. RESULTS: At per-protocol analysis, 73.0% (56.6%) of patients randomized to levetiracetam and 72.8% (58.5%) receiving controlled-release carbamazepine were seizure free at the last evaluated dose (adjusted absolute difference 0.2%, 95% CI – 7.8% to 8.2%) for 6 months (1 year). Of all patients achieving 6-month (1-year) remission, 80.1% (86.0%) in the levetiracetam group and 85.4% (89.3%) in the carbamazepine group did so at the lowest dose level. Withdrawal rates for adverse events were 14.4% with levetiracetam and 19.2% with carbamazepine. CONCLUSIONS: Levetiracetam and controlled-release carbamazepine produced equivalent seizure freedom rates in newly diagnosed epilepsy at optimal dosing in a setting mimicking clinical practice. This trial has confirmed in a randomized, double-blind setting previously uncontrolled observations that most people with epilepsy will respond to their first-ever antiepileptic drug at low dosage.
Imaging Depression in Epilepsy: Hints at the Biology of Despair
Authors: Garcia Paul A.
Published: September 2007

Major Depression in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Hippocampal Sclerosis: Clinical and Imaging Correlates. Briellmann RS, Hopwood MJ, Jackson GD. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2007 Jan 26; [Epub ahead of print] PURPOSE: Refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is often associated with hippocampal sclerosis (HS). Patients with Major Depression (MD) may also show structural abnormalities in the limbic system. Co-occurrence of TLE with HS and MD is not uncommon. We investigate clinical and morphological characteristics of TLE patients in relation to MD. METHODS: Thirty-four TLE patients with HS were assessed at a Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. All relevant clinical data were obtained, including the history of antecedent events to epilepsy. MD was diagnosed based on detailed psychiatric investigation. MRI was used to measure the volume and tissue signal (T2-relaxometry) of the hippocampus and amygdala. The imaging data were expressed as percentage of the values obtained in a series of 55 controls. RESULTS: A history of MD was present in 15 (44%) of the 34 patients. Patients with MD had a longer duration of their epilepsy ( p < 0.05), and a lower frequency of antecedent events (13% with MD, 58% without MD, p < 0.05). Both groups had a similar degree of ipsilateral HS (small hippocampal volume, increased hippocampal T2-relaxation time), and demonstrated bilateral amygdaloid atrophy. However, the contralateral amygdala showed lower signal in presence of MD (97 ± 9 msec; no MD: 103 ± 8 msec, ANCOVA, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The integrity of the amygdala may influence mood disturbances in TLE patients with HS, as depression was associated with a relative preservation of the contralateral amygdala. In contrast, hippocampal abnormalities were not related to the presence of depression.

Hippocampal 1H-MRSI Correlates with Severity of Depression Symptoms in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Gilliam FG, Maton BM, Martin RC, Sawrie SM, Faught RE, Hugg JW, Viikinsalo M, Kuzniecky RI. Neurology 2007;68(5):364–368. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of an indicator of hippocampal function with severity of depression symptoms in temporal lobe epilepsy. METHODS: We evaluated 31 patients with video/EEG-confirmed temporal lobe epilepsy using creatine/ N-acetylaspartate ratio maps derived from a previously validated 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H-MRSI) technique at 4.1 T. We also assessed depression symptoms, epilepsy-related factors, and self-perceived social and vocational disability. We used conservative nonparametric bivariate procedures to determine the correlation of severity of depression symptoms with imaging and clinical variables. RESULTS: The extent of hippocampal 1H-MRSI abnormalities correlated with severity of depression (Spearman rho = 0.65, p value < 0.001), but other clinical factors did not. CONCLUSION: The extent of hippocampal dysfunction is associated with depression symptoms in temporal lobe epilepsy and may be a more important factor than seizure frequency or degree of disability.
Calcium Currents Burst Back: A Possible Role for Dendrites in Epileptogenesis
Authors: Dudek F. Edward , Rogawski Michael A.
Published: September 2007

Recruitment of Apical Dendritic T-type Ca2+Channels by Backpropagating Spikes Underlies De Novo Intrinsic Bursting in Hippocampal Epileptogenesis. Yaari Y, Yue C, Su H. J Physiol 2007;580(Pt 2):435–450. A single episode of status epilepticus (SE) induced in rodents by the convulsant pilocarpine, produces, after a latent period of 2 weeks, a chronic epileptic condition. During the latent period of epileptogenesis, most CA1 pyramidal cells that normally fire in a regular pattern, acquire low-threshold bursting behaviour, generating high-frequency clusters of 3–5 spikes as their minimal response to depolarizing stimuli. Recruitment of a Ni2+- and amiloride-sensitive T-type Ca2+ current ( ICaT), shown to be up-regulated after SE, plays a critical role in burst generation in most cases. Several lines of evidence suggest that ICaT driving bursting is located in the apical dendrites. Thus, bursting was suppressed by focally applying Ni2+ to the apical dendrites, but not to the soma. It was also suppressed by applying either tetrodotoxin or the KV7/M-type K+ channel agonist retigabine to the apical dendrites. Severing the distal apical dendrites 150 μM from the pyramidal layer also abolished this activity. Intradendritic recordings indicated that evoked bursts are associated with local Ni2+-sensitive slow spikes. Blocking persistent Na+ current did not modify bursting in most cases. We conclude that SE-induced increase in ICaT density in the apical dendrites facilitates their depolarization by the backpropagating somatic spike. The ICaT-driven dendritic depolarization, in turn, spreads towards the soma, initiating another backpropagating spike, and so forth, thereby creating a spike burst. The early appearance and predominance of ICaT-driven low-threshold bursting in CA1 pyramidal cells that experienced SE most probably contribute to the emergence of abnormal network discharges and may also play a role in the circuitry reorganization associated with epileptogenesis.
Teachers' Language: L1 Attrition in Russian–English Bilinguals
Authors: ISURIN LUDMILA
Published: September 2007

The present study reports on the evidence of first language (L1) attrition in a population that may appear to be the most resistant to L1 changes. Russian monolinguals (n= 3) and Russian–English bilinguals (n= 10) participated in the study. The bilinguals were graduate students teaching Russian as a foreign language at a U.S. university. The data were obtained through semispontaneous discourse on assigned interview topics and a grammaticality judgment task. Numerous instances of lexical and grammatical deviations registered in the data suggest that an extensive exposure to the L1 in the second language (L2) environment and motivation to keep it intact due to a high professional demand may still diminish the speaker's control over his or her L1 skills. Implications for L2 acquisition and foreign language teaching (FLT) are offered in the article.
The Use and Non‐Use of Semantic Information, Word Order, and Case Markings During Comprehension by L2 Learners of German
Authors: JACKSON CARRIE N.
Published: September 2007

This article presents findings from a year‐long study of how intermediate second language (L2) learners of German (English first language) used case markings, word order, and semantic information when comprehending individual German sentences. The results showed that the learners relied on word order and semantic information, but did not necessarily use case‐marking information. The learners' performance, however, improved as the study progressed, which suggests that with repeated exposure to the target sentences, they became more adept at noticing and processing case‐marking information. The findings have implications for grammar instruction, not only at intermediate levels, but also for beginning‐level L2 instruction.
Variation in growth and aggression of juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) from upstream and downstream reaches of the same river
Authors: Kristensen E. A. , Closs G. P.
Published: September 2007

Abstract – To investigate differences in behaviour and growth between juvenile brown trout from spatially separated reaches, fish were collected from above and below a weir in Silverstream, New Zealand. Population level differences in mass‐specific growth rates and aggression level were examined in tank experiments. Monitoring of mass‐specific growth rates found that relative growth rates between fish of different sizes varied between fish from the upstream reach but not between fish from the downstream reach. Large individuals grew faster than smaller individuals from the upstream reach but no effect of relative fish size on growth was found among fish from the downstream population, indicating that social organisation in the two populations differed. When tested in pairs, juvenile brown trout from the downstream population were found to be more aggressive than those from the upstream population. Differences in the allometric relationship between growth rate and fish size and in the levels of aggressiveness appear to be related to the failure to form dominance hierarchies among fish from the downstream reach, a fixed behavioural trait most likely related to prior experience of crowding or different genetic backgrounds.
Cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and oral and pharyngeal cancer mortality in Japan
Authors: Ide R , Mizoue T , Fujino Y , Hoshiyama Y , Sakata K , Tamakoshi A , Yoshimura T ,   for the JACC Study Group
Published: September 2007

Objectives:  To prospectively examine the association of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking with oral and pharyngeal carcinogenesis, we analyzed data from a nation‐wide large‐scale cohort study in Japan.

Methods:  A total of 34 136 men and 43 711 women aged 40–79 years were included in the study. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of oral and pharyngeal cancer for smoking and drinking by sex, while adjusting for age, consumption of green tea, preference for salty foods, and consumption of green yellow vegetables.

Results:  Current smokers were found to have a higher risk of death caused by oral and pharyngeal cancer compared with non‐smokers in both sexes: the RR was 2.6 (95% CI: 1.0–6.7) in men and 8.2 (95% CI: 2.1–32.1) in women. Men who drank more than 46 g ethanol per day had an approximately threefold increased risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer. Simultaneous exposure to both factors was significantly associated with an elevated risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer (RR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.1–9.6).

Conclusions:  The result supports the carcinogenic effect of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking on the oral cavity and pharynx.
Ecological characterization of three different phylogenetic groups belonging to the cellulolytic bacterial species Fibrobacter succinogenes in the rumen
Authors: SHINKAI Takumi , MATSUMOTO Nobuya , KOBAYASHI Yasuo
Published: September 2007

To study the group‐dependent ecology of Fibrobacter succinogenes in the rumen, real‐time polymerase chain reaction assays for two phylogenetic groups (groups 2 and 3) of F. succinogenes were newly established and applied to rumen samples. Both the assays targeting the bacterial 16S rDNA were sensitive and accurate, showing wide quantifiable ranges (104−109 and 102−109 copies of 16S rDNA) and high recoveries of known amounts of added DNA (96.9 and 98.0%). The quantity of group 1 was confirmed to be numerable by subtracting assay values of groups 2 and 3 from that of F. succinogenes species (groups 1–3). By using the developed assays and the above subtractive calculation, the quantities of all three groups were evaluated in solid and liquid fractions of the rumen content and also on hay stems. In the solid fraction, groups 1 and 2 were abundantly present, compared with group 3 (P < 0.05). On untreated hay stems, group 1 was dominant throughout 48 h. In addition, group 1 showed growth even on the cellulase‐treated hay stems, unlike the other two groups. These results suggest that F. succinogenes group 1 greatly contributes to rumen fiber digestion, even for less degradable materials.