bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inquisition and the Prosecution of Heresy: Misconceptions and Abuses
Authors: Kelly Henry Ansgar
Published: April 2006

The year 1988 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of H. C. Lea's A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. I would like to get the next century off to a good start by renaming his enterprise “A History of the Criminal Prosecution of Heretics in the Middle Ages.” The term inquisition has been widely misunderstood and misused by historians. There are two distinct abuses, one upper-case and the other lower-case.
Dilatory Donatists or Procrastinating Catholics: The Trial at the Conference of Carthage
Authors: Tilley Maureen A.
Published: April 2006

In the year 411 the bishops of Christian North Africa, Augustine among them, assembled in Carthage to debate whether Catholics or Donatists should be recognized as the true Christian church in North Africa. Although most biographies of Augustine and histories of Christianity in North Africa mention this conference, they spend little time on the substance of the discussion which took place between the two parties. Accusations by fourthcentury Catholics, especially Augustine, and remarks by modern commentators often charge the Donatists with delaying the debate on the real issues of the Conference by interventions and procedural motions which served no useful purpose. Even W. H. C. Frend in The Donatist Church, and Peter Brown in his biography of Augustine take Catholic propaganda on this issue at face value.
Negotiating Sanctity: Holy Women in Sixteenth-Century Spain
Authors: Ahlgren Gillian T. W.
Published: April 2006

The past ten years have seen great strides in our understanding of the many forces at work in Counter-Reformation Spain. Historians and hispanists have demonstrated clearly that the Spanish religious landscape was complex and have elucidated several problems of interpretation. How readily did Spanish monarchs, religious leaders, and laity follow the decrees of the Council of Trent? How influential was the Spanish Inquisition in enforcing religious beliefs and behaviors? In what ways did religious reform involve assumptions about gender and differing religious roles for men and women? Finally, and more to my point, how did men and women respond to such assumptions and roles?
Writing as Devotion: Hagiographical Composition and the Cult of the Saints in Theodoret of Cyrrhus and Cyril of Scythopolis
Authors: Krueger Derek
Published: April 2006

The period from the fourth through the seventh century witnessed the elaboration of Christian cults of saints with a particular interest in the ascetic labors and miraculous powers of holy men and women. Although much evidence for these cults derives from literary saints' lives, a genre that emerged simultaneously with the cults, scholars have overlooked the role of the hagiographer as devotee. Previous studies have tended to view an author's piety as a barrier to historical inquiry, dismissing miracle accounts (among other hagiographical elements) as pious fictions. Neglect of the religious dimensions of the activity of writing arises in part from the confluence of two trends. First, renewed interest in late antique popular culture highlights the affinities between the religious life of elites and nonelites. Despite the refreshing aspects of this approach, the distinctly literary contributions to the formation of piety have been overlooked. Second, traditional divisions between patristics and social history continue to exclude theology and religious composition from discussions of piety on the assumption that thought and action are separable. Thanks to the work of Catherine Bell and others, students of religion can appreciate that thinking is an activity, something obvious to Christians in late antiquity such as Gregory of Nyssa, for whom contemplation of God was virtuous motion.
Fissures in Late-Nineteenth-Century English Nonconformity: A Case Study in One Congregation
Authors: Johnson Dale A.
Published: April 2006

Recent study of English Nonconformity in the nineteenth century has focused upon issues in the integration of a small culture of Dissent into the larger Anglican-dominated culture, issues such as politics, education, and advancement in the general society. Little attention, by contrast, has been given to theological questions or developments. As a result, the impact of some major shifts in theological thinking within denominational traditions has not been carefully pursued; more seriously, such changes have been frequently characterized as illustrations of theological decline. Greater perspective, however, would be gained by locating instances of theological contention and setting them in the larger framework of cultural and religious change. The following exploration of a theological dispute in one Nonconformist congregation is such an attempt.
Methodists, Politics, and the Coming of the American Civil War
Authors: Carwardine Richard
Published: April 2006

In 1868 Ulysses S. Grant remarked that there were three great parties in the United States: the Republican, the Democratic, and the Methodist Church. This was an understandable tribute, given the active role of leading Methodists in his presidential campaign, but it was also a realistic judgment, when set in the context of the denomination's growing political authority over the previous half century. As early as 1819, when, with a quarter of a million members, “the Methodists were becoming quite numerous in the country,” the young exhorter Alfred Branson noted that “politicians… from policy favoured us, though they might be skeptical as to religion,” and gathered at county seats to listen to the preachers of a denomination whose “votes counted as fast at an election as any others.” Ten years later, the newly elected Andrew Jackson stopped at Washington, Pennsylvania, en route from Tennessee to his presidential inauguration. When both Presbyterians and Methodists invited him to attend their services, Old Hickory sought to avoid the political embarrassment of seeming to favor his own church over the fastest-growing religious movement in the country by attending both—the Presbyterians in the morning and the Methodists at night. In Indiana in the early 1840s the church's growing power led the Democrats to nominate for governor a known Methodist, while tarring their Whig opponents with the brush of sectarian bigotry. Nationally, as the combined membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church [MEC] and Methodist Episcopal Church, South [MECS] grew to over one and a half million by the mid-1850s, denominational leaders could be found complaining that the church was so strong that each political party was “eager to make her its tool.” Thus Elijah H. Pilcher, the influential Michigan preacher, found himself in 1856 nominated simultaneously by state Democratic, Republican, and Abolition conventions.
The Impact of Early New England Missionaries on Women's Roles in Zulu Culture
Authors: Porterfield Amanda
Published: April 2006

As missionaries from New England made initial forays into Zululand and Natal in the 1830s, the Zulu people were in a state of considerable stress. Dingan had come to power in 1828 after participating in the assassination of his brother Shaka, the notorious warrior king whose conquests after 1816 brought people from dozens of clans and chieftanships into a Zulu state. Ecological crises caused by drought and competition for scarce resources contributed to Shaka's ability to exert unprecedented authority, as did the predatory incursions of European traders seeking ivory, skins, and slaves in various parts of southeast Africa. Expanding on a tradition of religious initiation and military ranking known as ambutho, Shaka crated a system of loyalty to the state that built on but also compromised the loyalties to particular clans commanded by lesser chiefs.
Retelling the History of the Early Church: Erasmus's Paraphrase on Acts
Authors: Pabel Hilmar M.
Published: April 2006

Scholars have paid relatively little attention to Erasmus's concept of history. This is understandable since Erasmus is not usually considered a historian and is certainly not ranked with humanist historians such as Leonardo Bruni and Francesco Guicciardini. Nevertheless, Erasmus's contribution to Renaissance historical scholarship is considerable.As an editor of texts he constantly busied himself with establishing the most accurate readings and separating genuine from spurious works. His patristic editions as well as his five editions of the New Testament are monuments not only to a highly refined literary analysis but also to a sophisticated historical erudition.
Convention and Conversion: Patterns in Late Medieval Piety
Authors: Kieckhefer Richard
Published: April 2006

Ernst Troeltsch is known to church historians largely for his classic threefold distinction of church, sect, and mysticism. InThe Social Teachings of the Christian Churches, Troeltsch describes the church as an institution enmeshed with society and making accommodations to the world's imperfections; the sects, driven by a quest for purity, refuse to make accommodations or compromises, while the mystics stand aside from this conflict and concern themselves with “a purely personal and inward experience” in which “the isolated individual, and psychological abstraction and analysis become everything.” Troeltsch sees mysticism not as a phenomenon naturally at home within the church but rather as one that leads away from the establishment, and it is perhaps this perception in particular that gives his work lasting relevance. The assumption that mysticism veers naturally in an antiecclesial direction, and that its more orthodox manifestations are anomalies requiring explanation, remains very much alive in the literature. Indeed, from the perspective of cultural materialism, it is the political, antiecclesial, subversive bite of mysticism that is its most interesting feature. On this point liberal Protestantism and postmodernism have come together, theology and cultural studies have embraced. Troeltsch's schema thus retains relevance well beyond the sphere of historiography.
Polycarbonate microfilters by nuclear tracking and chemical etching (track‐etching) technique: Preparation and characterization
Authors: Makphon Pornphan , Ratanatongchai Wichian , Chongkum Somporn , Tantayanon Supawan , Supaphol Pitt
Published: April 2006

Track‐etched polycarbonate (PC) microfilters were successfully prepared by tracking with fission fragments in the Thai Research Reactor‐1/Modification‐1 nuclear reactor and chemical etching with sodium hydroxide aqueous solutions. The porosity of the as‐prepared microfilters can be controlled by varying the exposure time in the nuclear reactor and the average pore diameter by varying the etching conditions. In the present work, the average pore diameter of the as‐prepared microfilters ranged from ∼2.0 to 9.5 μm (workable values) and the highest pore density achieved was ∼150,000 pores cm−2. It was found that chemical etching also caused a reduction in the film thickness. Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy results suggested some modifications in the chemical structure of the PC molecules after both nuclear tracking and chemical etching steps. Lastly, water permeability of the as‐prepared, track‐etched PC microfilters was found to increase with increasing average pore diameter. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 982–990, 2006
Hot compaction of woven nylon 6,6 multifilaments
Authors: Hine P. J. , Ward I. M.
Published: April 2006

We describe a study of the hot compaction of woven nylon 6,6 multifilaments produced by a patented procedure, developed at the University of Leeds, for creating novel single‐polymer composites. In this process, an assembly of oriented elements, often in the form of a woven cloth, is held under pressure and taken to a critical temperature so that a small fraction of the surface of each oriented element is melted, which on cooling recrystallizes to form the matrix of the single‐polymer composite. This process is therefore a way of producing novel high‐volume‐fraction polymer/polymer composites in which the two phases are chemically the same material. Nylon is an obvious candidate material for this process because oriented nylon multifilaments are available on a commercial scale. The aim of this study was first to establish the conditions of temperature and pressure for the successful hot compaction of oriented nylon 6,6 fibers and second to assess the mechanical properties of the manufactured hot‐compacted nylon sheets. A crucial aspect of this work, not previously examined in hot‐compaction studies of other oriented polymers, was the sensitivity of the properties to absorbed water, with a significant change in the properties measured immediately after hot‐compaction processing and 2 weeks later when 2% water had been absorbed by the compacted nylon sheets. As expected, the water uptake had a greater effect on those properties that depended on local chain interactions (e.g., the modulus and yield strength) and less effect on those properties that depended on the large‐scale properties of the molecular network (e.g., strength). The only negative aspect of the properties of the hot‐compacted nylon sheets was the elevated‐temperature performance of the wet sample, with the modulus falling to a very low value at a temperature of 80°C. However, apart from the elevated‐temperature performance, the majority of the measured properties of the hot‐compacted nylon sheets were comparable to those of hot‐compacted polypropylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 991–997, 2006
Preparation and retention of poly(ethylene oxide)‐grafted cationic polyacrylamide microparticles
Authors: Peng Xiaohong , Shen Jiarui , Xiao Huining
Published: April 2006

Novel microparticles of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)‐grafted cationic polyacrylamide were prepared through the free‐radical tetrapolymerization of acrylamide, acryloyloxyethyl trimethylammonium chloride (DAC), PEO macromonomer, and N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide in an inverse microemulsion. The effects of the DAC content and the PEO chain length and content on the diameter and distribution of the microparticles were studied. Highly effective retention aids were obtained in retention experiments with fibers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 359–363, 2006
The absorption and release of silver and zinc ions by chitosan fibers
Authors: Qin Yimin , Zhu Changjun , Chen Jie , Chen Yanzhen , Zhang Ce
Published: April 2006

When chitosan fibers were treated with AgNO3 and ZnCl2 solutions, the silver and zinc ions were chelated by chitosan through the amine groups in the fibers. These novel metal ions can be released into the solution when the silver‐ and zinc‐containing fibers are placed in contact with normal saline. Results showed that the silver‐containing chitosan fibers have good antimicrobial properties, while the zinc‐containing fibers can be used to deliver zinc ions in wound care applications. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 766–771, 2006
Development of rubber pressure molding technique using butyl rubber to fabricate fiber reinforced plastic components based on glass fiber and epoxy resin
Authors: Kar Kamal K. , Sharma S. D. , Behera Suraj K. , Kumar Prashant
Published: April 2006

A rubber pressure molding (RPM) technique is developed to prepare fiber reinforced plastic components (FRP) using glass fiber and epoxy resin. The technique is based on the matching die set, where the die is made of hard metal like steel and the punch from flexible rubber like materials. The use of flexible rubber punch helps to intensify and uniformly redistribute pressure (both operating pressure and developed hydrostatic pressure due to the flexible rubber punch) on the surface of the product. A split steel die and rubber punch were designed and fabricated to prepare the FRP components. The same split die was also used to cast the rubber punch. Butyl rubber was used to prepare a rubber punch in this investigation. Burn test, coin test, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical tests like interlaminar fracture toughness, interlaminar shear test, tension test, etc were carried out to know the fiber content, void content, presence of delamination, bonding between fiber and resin, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the composite materials. These properties were also compared with FRP components made by the conventional technique to evaluate its performance in the structural applications. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1095–1102, 2006
Alkaline treatment of cotton in different reagent mixtures with reduced water content. II. Influence of finishing procedure
Authors: Ibanescu Constanta , Schimper Christian , Bechtold Thomas
Published: April 2006

Changes in cotton fabrics brought about by different swelling agents and different types of finishing procedures have been studied in this work, using a single‐step swelling of cotton in the reagent. Cotton fabrics were treated with different alkalis and mixtures of alkalis and other additives and finished with a modified type of 1,3‐dimethylol‐4,5‐dihydroxyethylene urea, using wet‐on‐wet and wet‐on‐dry technique. Properties generally used to characterize mercerized cotton were selected that are technologically important, such as water retention, shrinkage, stiffness, and crease recovery angle. Water retention method has been used to compare the degree of swelling for different samples. Differences in properties among these samples were observed and some practically important conclusions were arrived at. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1194–1201, 2006
Inelastic Neutron Scattering Spectrum of Cs2[B12H12]: Reproduction of Its Solid‐State Vibrational Spectrum by Periodic DFT.
Authors: Allis Damian G. , Hudson Bruce S.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Crystal Chemistry and Electrical Conductivity of Ln2Eu2O3F6 (Ln: Nd, La).
Authors: Takashima Masayuki , Yonezawa Susumu , Kim Jeo‐ho
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Structure and Oxide Ionic Conductivity for New Compound Ce6‐xLnxMoO15‐δ.
Authors: Che Ping , Bo Qibing , Feng Jing , Wang Qiuyan , Cao Xueqiang , Meng Jian
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Synthesis and Mesomorphic Properties of 2‐(4‐Alkoxybenzoyloxy or 4‐Alkoxycinnamoyloxy)‐5‐oxo‐2,5‐dihydrofurans.
Authors: Guo Hui , Han Jie , Wang Hai‐Ying , Meng Ji‐Ben
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Diastereodirected Alkylation of Ketones and 1,3‐Diketones with N‐[1H‐Indol‐3‐yl(phenyl)methyl]‐N‐methylamine by the Michael Reaction.
Authors: Semenov B. B. , Smushkevich Yu. I. , Levina I. I. , Kurkovskaya L. N. , Lysenko K. A. , Kachala V. V.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Three‐Component Friedel—Crafts Reaction of Indoles, Glyoxylate, and Amine under Solvent‐Free and Catalyst‐Free Conditions — Synthesis of (3‐Indolyl)glycine Derivatives.
Authors: Zhao Jun‐Ling , Liu Li , Zhang Hai‐Bo , Wu Yan‐Chao , Wang Dong , Chen Yong‐Jun
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
3‐Amino‐1,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrazoles: A New Class of CDK2 Inhibitors.
Authors: Pevarello Paolo , et al. et al.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Rare Earth Perfluorooctanoate [RE(PFO)3] Catalyzed One‐Pot Synthesis of Benzopyran Derivatives.
Authors: Wang Li‐Min , Shao Jue‐Hua , Tian He , Wang Yong‐Hong , Liu Bo
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Synthesis and Fluorescence Properties of 2‐Aryl‐3‐hydroxyquinolones, a New Class of Dyes Displaying Dual Fluorescence.
Authors: Yushchenko Dmytro A. , Bilokin Mykhailo D. , Pyvovarenko Oleksandr V. , Duportail Guy , Mely Yves , Pivovarenko Vasyl G.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Synthesis of 5‐(Arylamino)‐1‐benzyluracils.
Authors: Novikov M. S. , Ozerov A. A.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Addition of Chalcogenolate Anions to Terminal Alkynes Using Microwave and Solvent‐Free Conditions: Easy Access to Bis‐organochalcogen Alkenes.
Authors: Perin Gelson , Jacob Raquel G. , Dutra Luiz G. , de Azambuja Francisco , dos Santos Greice F. F. , Lenardao Eder J.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
An Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (+)‐Ricciocarpin A.
Authors: Jan Ning‐Wei , Liu Hsing‐Jang
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of 5‐Aryl‐6‐[tetra(O‐benzoyl)‐β‐D‐glucopyranosylimino] ‐4‐benzylthio‐2‐phenylimino‐5,6‐dihydro‐2H‐1,3,5‐thiadiazines.
Authors: Dhonde M. G. , Deshmukh S. P.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Serine Octamers: Cluster Formation, Reactions, and Implications for Biomolecule Homochirality
Authors: Nanita Sergio C. , Cooks R. Graham
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Green Chemistry: Today (and Tomorrow)
Authors: Clark James H.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Marine Algal Natural Products: Contributions from India in the Global Context
Authors: Sarma Nittala S. , Krishna M. Sri , Pasha Sk. G.
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Design, Synthesis, and Applications of 3‐Aza‐6,8‐dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane‐Based Scaffolds for Peptidomimetic Chemistry
Authors: Trabocchi Andrea , Menchi Gloria , Guarna Francesco , Machetti Fabrizio , Scarpi Dina , Guarna Antonio
Published: April 2006

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.
Passion for Precision (Nobel Lecture)
Authors: Hänsch Theodor W.
Published: April 2006

Optical frequency combs from mode‐locked femtosecond lasers have revolutionized the art of counting the frequency of light. They can link optical and microwave frequencies in a single step, and they provide the long missing clockwork for optical atomic clocks. By extending the limits of time and frequency metrology, they enable new tests of fundamental physics laws. Precise comparisons of optical resonance frequencies of atomic hydrogen and other atoms with the microwave frequency of a cesium atomic clock are establishing sensitive limits for possible slow variations of fundamental constants. Optical high harmonic generation is extending frequency comb techniques into the extreme ultraviolet, opening a new spectral territory to precision laser spectroscopy. Frequency comb techniques are also providing a key to attosecond science by offering control of the electric field of ultrafast laser pulses. In our laboratories at Stanford and Garching, the development of new instruments and techniques for precision laser spectroscopy has long been motivated by the goal of ever higher resolution and measurement accuracy in optical spectroscopy of the simple hydrogen atom which permits unique confrontations between experiment and fundamental theory. This lecture recounts these adventures and the evolution of laser frequency comb techniques from my personal perspective.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy May Be Used to Support the Decision to Perform Modified Radical Neck Dissection in Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma
Authors: Dzodic Radan
Published: April 2006

Background

The prognostic significance of lymph node metastases (LNM) in follicle cell‐derived differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is still controversial. The management of cervical lymph nodes varies from “berry picking” to modified radical neck dissection (MRND). The incidence of LNM in papillary thyroid carcinoma varies from 27% to 80%. The importance of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for decisions about the surgical management of lymph nodes in DTC has been the subject of several previous studies.

Patients and Methods

In 40 patients with DTC methylene blue dye was applied peritumorally. Both SLN and non‐SLN in the lower third of the jugulo‐carotid chain were dissected prior to total thyroidectomy and routine dissection of the central neck compartment and examined by frozen‐section and standard histology. MRND was performed in 9 cases of LNM in the lateral neck compartment.

Results

The SLN identification rate was 92.5%. Metastases in SLNs were revealed by frozen‐section histology in 7 cases, leading to immediate MRND. The findings were confirmed on standard HE examination. In 2 false‐negative cases SLN metastases were revealed on standard histology and MRND was performed 1 week later. The specificity of the method was 100%, sensitivity 77.7%, negative predictive value 94%, positive predictive value 100%, with overall accuracy of 95%.

Conclusion

Our results seem to imply that SLN biopsy in the jugulo‐carotid chain using methylene blue dye mapping may be a feasible and valuable method for estimating lymph node status in the lateral neck compartment. It may be helpful in the detection of true‐positive but nonpalpable lymph nodes, and in such cases may support the decision to perform MRND in patients with DTC.
Generation of cell lines with tetracycline‐regulated autophagy and a role for autophagy in controlling cell size
Authors: Hosokawa Nao , Hara Yukichi , Mizushima Noboru
Published: April 2006

Autophagy is an intracellular bulk degradation system. We established mouse fibroblast lines coupling the Tet‐off system with an Atg5−/− mouse embryonic fibroblast line to artificially regulate autophagic ability. In the presence of doxycycline (Dox), Atg5 expression was completely suppressed and these cells were autophagy‐defective. After removal of Dox, autophagic ability was restored within 6 h. Very low levels of Atg5 could induce an autophagy competent state. We applied this novel system to examine the contribution of autophagy to controlling cell size. Cell size reduction in response to starvation was significantly inhibited in cells unable to undergo autophagy. The generated cell lines will be useful reagents for future mechanistic studies into the regulation and physiologic significance of autophagy.
Cryogenic low energy electron point source microscope
Authors: Okamoto Hiroshi , Fink Hans-Werner
Published: April 2006

The design and performance of a cryogenic low energy electron point source microscope are described. The microscope can be immersed in liquid helium, thus allowing for investigations at cryogenic temperatures. The cryogenic environment is associated with a low fluctuation in the field emission electron beam current and, combined with a compact and rigid mechanical design, low mechanical drift characteristics.
A critical role for the host mediator macrophage migration inhibitory factor in the pathogenesis of malarial anemia
Authors: McDevitt Michael A. , Xie Jianlin , Ganapathy-Kanniappan Shanmugasundaram , Griffith Jason , Liu Aihua , McDonald Courtney , Thuma Philip , Gordeuk Victor R. , Metz Christine N. , Mitchell Robert , Keefer Jeffrey , David John , Leng Lin , Bucala Richard
Published: April 2006

The pathogenesis of malarial anemia is multifactorial, and the mechanisms responsible for its high mortality are poorly understood. Studies indicate that host mediators produced during malaria infection may suppress erythroid progenitor development (Miller, K.L., J.C. Schooley, K.L. Smith, B. Kullgren, L.J. Mahlmann, and P.H. Silverman. 1989. Exp. Hematol. 17:379–385; Yap, G.S., and M.M. Stevenson. 1991. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 628:279–281). We describe an intrinsic role for macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in the development of the anemic complications and bone marrow suppression that are associated with malaria infection. At concentrations found in the circulation of malaria-infected patients, MIF suppressed erythropoietin-dependent erythroid colony formation. MIF synergized with tumor necrosis factor and γ interferon, which are known antagonists of hematopoiesis, even when these cytokines were present in subinhibitory concentrations. MIF inhibited erythroid differentiation and hemoglobin production, and it antagonized the pattern of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation that normally occurs during erythroid progenitor differentiation. Infection of MIF knockout mice with Plasmodium chabaudi resulted in less severe anemia, improved erythroid progenitor development, and increased survival compared with wild-type controls. We also found that human mononuclear cells carrying highly expressed MIF alleles produced more MIF when stimulated with the malarial product hemozoin compared with cells carrying low expression MIF alleles. These data suggest that polymorphisms at the MIF locus may influence the levels of MIF produced in the innate response to malaria infection and the likelihood of anemic complications.
Royal Jelly Prevents Osteoporosis in Rats: Beneficial Effects in Ovariectomy Model and in Bone Tissue Culture Model
Authors: Hidaka Saburo , Okamoto Yoshizo , Uchiyama Satoshi , Nakatsuma Akira , Hashimoto Ken , Ohnishi Tsuyoshi , Yamaguchi Masayoshi
Published: April 2006

Royal jelly (RJ) has been used worldwide for many years as medical products, health foods and cosmetics. Since RJ contains testosterone and has steroid hormone‐type activities, we hypothesized that it may have beneficial effects on osteoporosis. We used both an ovariectomized rat model and a tissue culture model. Rats were divided into eight groups as follows: sham‐operated (Sham), ovariectomized (OVX), OVX given 0.5% (w/w) raw RJ, OVX given 2.0% (w/w) RJ, OVX given 0.5% (w/w) protease‐treated RJ (pRJ), OVX given 2.0% (w/w) pRJ, OVX given 17β‐estradiol and OVX given its vehicle, respectively. The Ovariectomy decreased tibial bone mineral density (BMD) by 24%. Administration of 17β‐estradiol to OVX rats recovered the tibial BMD decrease by 100%. Administration of 2.0% (w/w) RJ and 0.5–2.0% (w/w) pRJ to OVX rats recovered it by 85% or more. These results indicate that both RJ and pRJ are almost as effective as 17β‐estradiol in preventing the development of bone loss induced by ovariectomy in rats. In tissue culture models, both RJ and pRJ increased calcium contents in femoral‐diaphyseal and femoral‐metaphyseal tissue cultures obtained from normal male rats. However, in a mouse marrow culture model, they neither inhibited the parathyroid hormone (PTH)‐induced calcium loss nor affected the formation of osteoclast‐like cells induced by PTH in mouse marrow culture system. Therefore, our results suggest that both RJ and pRJ may prevent osteoporosis by enhancing intestinal calcium absorption, but not by directly antagonizing the action of PTH.
GENTEX, a general multiscale model for
in vivo
tissue exchanges and intraorgan metabolism
Authors: Bassingthwaighte James B , Raymond Gary M , Ploger James D , Schwartz Lisa M , Bukowski Thomas R
Published: April 2006

Endothelial cells lining myocardial capillaries not only impede transport of blood solutes to the contractile cells, but also take up and release substrates, competing with myocytes. Solutes permeating this barrier exhibit concentration gradients along the capillary. This paper introduces a generic model, GENTEX, to characterize blood–tissue exchanges. GENTEX is a whole organ model of the vascular network providing intraorgan flow heterogeneity and accounts for substrate transmembrane transport, binding and metabolism in erythrocytes, plasma, endothelial cells, interstitial space and cardiomyocytes. The model is tested here for the analysis of multiple tracer indicator dilution data on purine nucleoside metabolism in the isolated Krebs–Henseleit-perfused non-working hearts. It has been also used for analysing NMR contrast data for regional myocardial flows and for positron emission tomographic studies of cardiac receptor kinetics. The facilitating transporters, binding sites and enzymatic reactions are nonlinear elements and allow competition between substrates and a reaction sequence of up to five substrate–product reactions in a metabolic network. Strategies for application start with experiment designs incorporating inert reference tracers. For the estimation of endothelial and sarcolemmal permeability-surface area products and metabolism of the substrates and products, model solutions were optimized to fit the data from pairs of tracer injections (of either inosine or adenosine, plus the reference tracers) injected under the same circumstances a few minutes later. The results provide a self-consistent description of nucleoside metabolism in a beating well-perfused rabbit heart, and illustrate the power of the model to fit multiple datasets simultaneously.
An unusual hamartoma of the folliculosebaceous‐apocrine unit: a case report
Authors: Kazakov Dmitry V. , Mukensnabl Petr , Michal Michal
Published: April 2006

Abstract:  Hamartoma is a neoplasm‐like lesion composed of an abnormal mixture of tissues native to the area. We report on an unusual example of a hamartomatous lesion that showed an abnormal mixture of elements of the folliculosebaceous‐apocrine unit and arrector pili muscle. A 13‐year‐old female presented with two nodules situated 2 cm apart on the lower leg that were present since birth. The patient reported some enlargement and slight pain of the otherwise asymptomatic lesions during 2 years, before they were surgically removed. The patient obviously had no skin problems afterwards; her 12‐year follow‐up was significant for leucopenia and nephrolithiasis. The biopsies from both lesions looked identical. Each lesion was biphasic, i.e. composed of a predominant mesenchymal component and epithelial elements. The mesenchymal part resembled a leiomyoma, or in minor areas, the constituting cells had a myofibroblastic appearance. Encased within the mesenchymal component were large infundibulocystic structures and plentiful grouped and scattered roundish solid epithelial nodules, duct‐like, glandular, and tubular elements. Some of the epithelial structures were reminiscent of those seen in tubular apocrine adenoma; others resembled syringomatous elements. We interpreted this unusual lesion as a hamartoma of the folliculosebaceous‐apocrine unit.
Effects of lithium carbonate on rat seminiferous tubules: an ultrastructural study
Authors: Zarnescu O. , Zamfirescu G.
Published: April 2006

Lithium salts are commonly used for treatment of bipolar disorder but prolonged treatment with therapeutic doses induces substantial toxic effects. In the present study we examined the effects of lithium carbonate on the ultrastructure of rat seminiferous tubules. Rats were exposed to lithium carbonate at doses of 35 mg/kg/day for 21 days. After lithium treatment, the tunica propria widened and folded together with convolutions of the basement membrane, myoid cells and lymphatic endothelium. In the seminiferous epithelium loss of germ cell attachment and appearance of expanded intercellular spaces between spermatogenic cells were observed. Early stages of spermatogenic cells showed nuclear protrusions or swellings because of an extensive enlargement of the outer nuclear membrane. Round spermatids exhibited abnormally shaped acrosomes and dilation of the subacrosomal space. Many abnormal, degenerated late spermatids with random orientation were seen towards the basal and adluminal compartments of the seminiferous epithelium. In addition, spermatids exhibited alteration in F‐actin bundle ectoplasmic specialization and contained many mitochondria‐associated granular bodies.
An analysis of selection on a colour polymorphism in the northern leopard frog
Authors: HOFFMAN ERIC A. , SCHUELER FREDERICK W. , JONES ADAM G. , BLOUIN MICHAEL S.
Published: April 2006

In this study, we investigated the role of selection in the maintenance of a dorsal colour polymorphism in natural populations of the northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens. We determined genetic structure both spatially and temporally from a suite of putatively neutral molecular markers and tested whether or not the colour locus exhibited patterns of genetic variation that differed from those of the neutral loci. Spatial genetic structure at the colour locus was indistinguishable from structure at neutral loci [95% confidence intervals of FST (neutral) = (0.07, 0.35), FST (colour locus) = 0.114]. In the temporal analysis, we found that the variance among populations in the change in allele frequency at the colour locus (equal to 0.004) lies within the 95% confidence intervals for the variance among populations in changes in allele frequencies at neutral loci. In light of our inability to show evidence for the selective maintenance of the colour polymorphism, we used computer simulations to infer the power of our spatial and temporal techniques to detect selection. The computer simulations showed that although the strength of selection (s) would need to be relatively strong to have been detected by the temporal approach (s = 0.1–0.4, depending on the model tested), the spatial analysis would have detected all but weak selection (s = 0.01–0.04, depending on the model tested). This study illustrates the importance of using a locus comparison approach to detect evidence for selective maintenance before conducting studies to measure the selective mechanisms maintaining a polymorphism.
α‐Synuclein pathology of the spinal and peripheral autonomic nervous system in neurologically unimpaired elderly subjects
Authors: Bloch A. , Probst A. , Bissig H. , Adams H. , Tolnay M.
Published: April 2006

Studies on cases with incidental Lewy body disease (ILBD) suggest that α‐synuclein (αSN) pathology of Parkinson's disease (PD) starts in lower brainstem nuclei and in the olfactory bulb. However, medullary structures as the induction site of αSN pathology have been questioned as large parts of the nervous system, including the spinal cord and the peripheral autonomic nervous system (PANS), have not been examined in ILBD. Thus, the time course of PD lesions in the spinal cord or PANS in relation to medullary lesions remains unknown. We collected 98 post mortem cases with no reference to PD‐associated symptoms on clinical records. αSN pathology was found in the central nervous system, including the spinal cord, and in the PANS in 17 (17.3%) cases. αSN pathology was encountered in autonomic nuclei of the thoracic spinal cord, brainstem and olfactory nerves in 17/17, in sacral parasympathetic nuclei in 15/16, in the myenteric plexus of oesophagus in 14/17, in sympathetic ganglia in 14/17, and in the vagus nerve in 12/16 cases. In addition to the thoracic lateral horns, a high number of αSN lesions was also found in non‐autonomic spinal cord nuclei. Considering supraspinal structures our cases corresponded roughly to the recently described sequential order of αSN involvement in PD. Our study indicates, however, that the autonomic nuclei of the spinal cord and the PANS belong to the most constantly and earliest affected regions next to medullary structures and the olfactory nerves. A larger cohort of ILBD cases will be needed to pinpoint the precise induction site of αSN pathology among these structures.
Anti‐p97/VCP Antibodies: An Autoantibody Marker for a Subset of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Patients with Milder Disease?
Authors: Miyachi K. , Hosaka H. , Nakamura N. , Miyakawa H. , Mimori T. , Shibata M. , Matsushima S. , Chinoh H. , Horigome T. , Hankins R. W. , Zhang M. , Fritzler M. J.
Published: April 2006

We previously reported that 12.5% of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) sera reacted with a 95 kDa cytosol protein (p95c) that was subsequently identified as a p97/valosin‐containing protein (VCP). The clinical features and course of the six anti‐p97/VCP‐positive PBC patients with Scheuer's stage 1 and 2 liver biopsies were monitored for an average of 15 years. This group was compared with 50 PBC patients that did not have detectable anti‐VCP. Autoantibodies to a full‐length recombinant p97/VCP were assayed by immunoprecipitation. All six PBC patients with anti‐VCP had antibodies to the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex‐E2 antigen as measured by an addressable laser bead immunoassay. The first was a male with no evidence of liver failure that died of cerebral infarction at the age of 85. The second was a 73‐year‐old female with Hashimoto's thyroiditis who has remained clinically stable without ursodeoxycolic acid (UDCA) treatment. Although the third had no HCV antibodies, he developed hepatocellular carcinoma at the age of 76 and died of renal failure at 78. The fourth was a 50‐year‐old female who remained clinically stable during follow‐up and the fifth with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and stable liver function following UCDA treatment. The sixth was a male patient presenting a mild clinical course. The clinical course of these patients was in contrast to the 50 comparison group PBC patients who did not have anti‐p97/VCP. As the six PBC patients with anti‐p97/VCP antibodies had slowly progressive liver disease and no mortality related to autoimmune liver disease, our observations suggest that this autoantibody might be an indicator of a favourable prognosis.
The Unveiling of Hidden T‐Cell Determinants of a Native Antigen by Defined Mediators of Inflammation: Implications for the Pathogenesis of Autoimmunity
Authors: Jiang X. , Moudgil K. D.
Published: April 2006

A major hypothesis for the induction of autoimmunity invokes the enhanced display of previously hidden (cryptic) epitopes under inflammatory conditions leading to the activation of self‐reactive T cells. However, there is meager data that directly validate the influence of specific immune mediators on the upregulation of the presentation of cryptic determinants in vivo. We tested the effect on well‐defined cryptic epitopes of hen eggwhite lysozyme (HEL) of the availability locally of a cytokine (IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, TNF‐α or granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor) at the antigen delivery site, or of the pretreatment of the immunogen with a cathepsin (Cat B, D, L or S) prior to use in vivo. Each of the three mouse strains (H‐2b/d/k) tested revealed a unique profile of T‐cell reactivity to different cryptic epitopes of HEL in response to a particular cytokine or cathepsin. These results provide proof of principle for the reversal of crypticity of self‐epitopes by immune mediators in the local milieu. Moreover, co‐immunization with an antigen and a cytokine offers a simple and reliable tool for studying the role of cryptic epitopes in autoimmunity. Our results also strengthen the rationale for the use of inhibitors of cytokine/cathepsin activity in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
No difference in HIV incidence and sexual behaviour between out‐migrants and residents in rural Manicaland, Zimbabwe
Authors: Mundandi Costandino , Vissers Debby , Voeten Hélène , Habbema Dik , Gregson Simon
Published: April 2006

Objectives  Migration is associated with HIV infection, but the relationship has been mostly assessed in cross‐sectional studies. In a prospective study, we investigated whether out‐migrants are a selection of high‐risk individuals and whether rural‐to‐urban migration results in risky sexual behaviour for HIV incidence.

Methods  A population cohort was enrolled in a stratified household census in four different community types in Manicaland, east Zimbabwe, between July 1998 and February 2000, and followed‐up after 3 years. Out‐migrants to the national capital (Harare), the provincial capital (Mutare) and other study areas were followed‐up. A structured questionnaire was administered and an HIV test was conducted at each interview. HIV prevalence and sexual risk behaviour at baseline, and HIV incidence and sexual behaviour during follow‐up were compared for out‐migrants and residents.

Results  At baseline, future migrants were significantly younger, better educated and more likely to be single than residents. For males, migration was highest from subsistence farming areas and roadside trading centres and lowest from estates. After adjusting for age, education, marital status and location, there were no differences in HIV prevalence and sexual risk behaviour between future migrants and residents at baseline, for either sex. No significant differences in HIV incidence or sexual behaviour during follow‐up were detected between rural‐to‐urban out‐migrants and residents.

Conclusions  Out‐migrants from rural Zimbabwe did not have higher levels of HIV infection or sexual risk behaviour than residents either before or after they moved. These findings may be related to the mature stage of the HIV epidemic and the social and living conditions of migrants in Zimbabwean cities.
Seasonal variation and high multiplicity of first Plasmodium falciparum infections in children from a holoendemic area in Ghana, West Africa
Authors: Kobbe Robin , Neuhoff Rieke , Marks Florian , Adjei Samuel , Langefeld Iris , Von Reden Claudia , Adjei Ohene , Meyer Christian G. , May Jürgen
Published: April 2006

Objective  To assess the prevalence and multiplicity of Plasmodium falciparum infections in Ghanaian infants.

Method  In an epidemiological study in an area holoendemic for malaria in Ghana, the prevalence and multiplicity of P. falciparum infections (MOI) were assessed in 1069 three month‐old infants by typing of the genes encoding the merozoite surface proteins 1 and 2 (msp‐1, msp‐2) over a recruitment period of one year. Alleles were amplified using allele family‐specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and determined according to their length polymorphisms on a genetic analyzer.

Results  The occurrence of early infections was dependent on the season (month‐stratified prevalence 6.4–29.0%). Diversity of msp‐alleles was extensive and significantly higher in the dry than in the rainy season.

Conclusions  The level of infection prevalence and the high multiplicity of infections (median 4, maximum 14 strains per isolate) in the first months of life indicate early contacts with parasites exhibiting a wide repertoire of antigens and, most likely, multiple infections per single mosquito bite.