bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knockout of Na-glucose transporter SGLT2 attenuates hyperglycemia and glomerular hyperfiltration but not kidney growth or injury in diabetes mellitus
Authors: Vallon Volker , Rose Michael , Gerasimova Maria , Satriano Joseph , Platt Kenneth A. , Koepsell Hermann , Cunard Robyn , Sharma Kumar , Thomson Scott C. , Rieg Timo
Published: November 2012

The Na-glucose cotransporter SGLT2 mediates high-capacity glucose uptake in the early proximal tubule and SGLT2 inhibitors are developed as new antidiabetic drugs. We used gene-targeted Sglt2 knockout (Sglt2−/−) mice to elucidate the contribution of SGLT2 to blood glucose control, glomerular hyperfiltration, kidney growth, and markers of renal growth and injury at 5 wk and 4.5 mo after induction of low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) diabetes. The absence of SGLT2 did not affect renal mRNA expression of glucose transporters SGLT1, NaGLT1, GLUT1, or GLUT2 in response to STZ. Application of STZ increased blood glucose levels to a lesser extent in Sglt2−/−vs. wild-type (WT) mice (∼300 vs. 470 mg/dl) but increased glucosuria and food and fluid intake to similar levels in both genotypes. Lack of SGLT2 prevented STZ-induced glomerular hyperfiltration but not the increase in kidney weight. Knockout of SGLT2 attenuated the STZ-induced renal accumulation of p62/sequestosome, an indicator of impaired autophagy, but did not attenuate the rise in renal expression of markers of kidney growth (p27 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen), oxidative stress (NADPH oxidases 2 and 4 and heme oxygenase-1), inflammation (interleukin-6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1), fibrosis (fibronectin and Sirius red-sensitive tubulointerstitial collagen accumulation), or injury (renal/urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin). SGLT2 deficiency did not induce ascending urinary tract infection in nondiabetic or diabetic mice. The results indicate that SGLT2 is a determinant of hyperglycemia and glomerular hyperfiltration in STZ-induced diabetes mellitus but is not critical for the induction of renal growth and markers of renal injury, inflammation, and fibrosis.
Movement representation in the primary motor cortex and its contribution to generalizable EMG predictions
Authors: Oby Emily R. , Ethier Christian , Miller Lee E.
Published: November 2012

It is well known that discharge of neurons in the primary motor cortex (M1) depends on end-point force and limb posture. However, the details of these relations remain unresolved. With the development of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), these issues have taken on practical as well as theoretical importance. We examined how the M1 encodes movement by comparing single-neuron and electromyographic (EMG) preferred directions (PDs) and by predicting force and EMGs from multiple neurons recorded during an isometric wrist task. Monkeys moved a cursor from a central target to one of eight peripheral targets by exerting force about the wrist while the forearm was held in one of two postures. We fit tuning curves to both EMG and M1 activity measured during the hold period, from which we computed both PDs and the change in PD between forearm postures (ΔPD). We found a unimodal distribution of these ΔPDs, the majority of which were intermediate between the typical muscle response and an unchanging, extrinsic coordinate system. We also discovered that while most neuron-to-EMG predictions generalized well across forearm postures, end-point force measured in extrinsic coordinates did not. The lack of force generalization was due to musculoskeletal changes with posture. Our results show that the dynamics of most of the recorded M1 signals are similar to those of muscle activity and imply that a BMI designed to drive an actuator with dynamics like those of muscles might be more robust and easier to learn than a BMI that commands forces or movements in external coordinates.
Blinks slow memory-guided saccades
Authors: Powers Alice S. , Basso Michele A. , Evinger Craig
Published: November 2012

Memory-guided saccades are slower than visually guided saccades. The usual explanation for this slowing is that the absence of a visual drive reduces the discharge of neurons in the superior colliculus. We tested a related hypothesis: that the slowing of memory-guided saccades was due also to the more frequent occurrence of gaze-evoked blinks with memory-guided saccades compared with visually guided saccades. We recorded gaze-evoked blinks in three monkeys while they performed visually guided and memory-guided saccades and compared the kinematics of the different saccade types with and without blinks. Gaze-evoked blinks were more common during memory-guided saccades than during visually guided saccades, and the well-established relationship between peak and average velocity for saccades was disrupted by blinking. The occurrence of gaze-evoked blinks was associated with a greater slowing of memory-guided saccades compared with visually guided saccades. Likewise, when blinks were absent, the peak velocity of visually guided saccades was only slightly higher than that of memory-guided saccades. Our results reveal interactions between circuits generating saccades and blink-evoked eye movements. The interaction leads to increased curvature of saccade trajectories and a corresponding decrease in saccade velocity. Consistent with this interpretation, the amount of saccade curvature and slowing increased with gaze-evoked blink amplitude. Thus, although the absence of vision decreases the velocity of memory-guided saccades relative to visually guided saccades somewhat, the cooccurrence of gaze-evoked blinks produces the majority of slowing for memory-guided saccades.
Wide propagation of graded signals in nonspiking neurons
Authors: Yang Sung Min , Vilarchao María Eugenia , Rela Lorena , Szczupak Lidia
Published: November 2012

Signal processing in neuritic trees is ruled by the concerted action of passive and active membrane properties that, together, determine the degree of electrical compartmentalization of these trees. We analyzed how active properties modulate spatial propagation of graded signals in a pair of nonspiking (NS) neurons of the leech. NS neurons present a very extensive neuritic tree that mediates the interaction with all the excitatory motoneurons in leech ganglia. NS cells express voltage-activated Ca2+conductances (VACCs) that, under certain experimental conditions, evoke low-threshold spikes. We studied the distribution of calcium transients in NS neurons loaded with fluorescent calcium probes in response to low-threshold spikes, electrical depolarizing pulses, and synaptic inputs. The three types of stimuli evoked calcium transients of similar characteristics in the four main branches of the neuron. The magnitude of the calcium transients evoked by electrical pulses was a graded function of the change in NS membrane potential and depended on the baseline potential level. The underlying VACCs were partially inactivated at rest and strongly inactivated at −20 mV. Stimulation of mechanosensory pressure cells evoked calcium transients in NS neurons whose amplitude was a linear function of the amplitude of the postsynaptic response. The results evidenced that VACCs aid an efficient propagation of graded signals, turning the vast neuritic tree of NS cells into an electrically compact structure.
Common Genetic Variation of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor and Lethal Prostate Cancer Risk
Authors: Shui Irene M. , Mucci Lorelei A. , Wilson Kathryn M. , Kraft Peter , Penney Kathryn L. , Stampfer Meir J. , Giovannucci Edward
Published: November 2012

Background: Bony metastases cause substantial morbidity and mortality from prostate cancer (PCa). The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is expressed on prostate tumors and may participate in bone metastases development. We assessed whether (i) common genetic variation in CaSR was associated with PCa risk and (ii) these associations varied by calcium intake or plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels.

Methods: We included 1,193 PCa cases and 1,244 controls nested in the prospective Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1993–2004). We genotyped 18 CaSR single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) to capture common variation. The main outcome was risk of lethal PCa (n = 113); secondary outcomes were overall (n = 1,193) and high-grade PCa (n = 225). We used the kernel machine approach to conduct a gene-level multimarker analysis and unconditional logistic regression to compute per-allele ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for individual SNPs.

Results: The joint association of SNPs in CaSR was significant for lethal PCa (P = 0.04); this association was stronger in those with low 25(OH)D (P = 0.009). No individual SNPs were associated after considering multiple testing; three SNPs were nominally associated (P < 0.05) with lethal PCa with ORs (95% CI) of 0.65(0.42–0.99): rs6438705; 0.65(0.47–0.89): rs13083990; and 1.55(1.09–2.20): rs2270916. The three nonsynonymous SNPs (rs1801725, rs1042636, and rs1801726) were not significantly associated; however, the association for rs1801725 was stronger in men with low 25(OH)D [OR(95%CI): 0.54(0.31–0.95)]. There were no significant associations with overall or high-grade PCa.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that CaSR may be involved in PCa progression.

Impact: Further studies investigating potential mechanisms for CaSR and PCa, including bone remodeling and metastases are warranted. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(1); 118–26. ©2012 AACR.
Genetic Susceptibility Loci for Subtypes of Breast Cancer in an African American Population
Authors: Palmer Julie R. , Ruiz-Narvaez Edward A. , Rotimi Charles N. , Cupples L. Adrienne , Cozier Yvette C. , Adams-Campbell Lucile L. , Rosenberg Lynn
Published: November 2012

Background: Most genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been carried out in European ancestry populations; no risk variants for breast cancer have been identified solely from African ancestry GWAS data. Few GWAS hits have replicated in African ancestry populations.

Methods: In a nested case–control study of breast cancer in the Black Women's Health Study (1,199 cases/1,948 controls), we evaluated index single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 21 loci from GWAS of European or Asian ancestry populations, overall, in subtypes defined by estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status (ER+/PR+, n = 336; ER−/PR−, n = 229), and in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC, N = 81). To evaluate the contribution of genetic factors to population differences in breast cancer subtype, we also examined global percent African ancestry.

Results: Index SNPs in five loci were replicated, including three associated with ER−/PR− breast cancer (TERT rs10069690 in 5p15.33, rs704010 in 10q22.3, and rs8170 in 19p13.11): per allele ORs were 1.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.59], P = 0.02, 1.52 (95% CI 1.12–2.08), P = 0.01, and 1.30 (95% CI 1.01–1.68), P = 0.04, respectively. Stronger associations were observed for TNBC. Furthermore, cases in the highest quintile of percent African ancestry were three times more likely to have TNBC than ER+/PR+ cancer.

Conclusions: These findings provide the first confirmation of the TNBC SNP rs8170 in an African ancestry population, and independent confirmation of the TERT ER− SNP. Furthermore, the risk of developing ER− breast cancer, particularly TNBC, increased with increasing proportion of global African ancestry.

Impact: The findings illustrate the importance of genetic factors in the disproportionately high occurrence of TNBC in African American women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(1); 127–34. ©2012 AACR.
Assessment of the Effects of Severe Obesity and Lifestyle Risk Factors On Stage of Endometrial Cancer
Authors: Bittoni Marisa A. , Fisher James L. , Fowler Jeffrey M. , Maxwell George L. , Paskett Electra D.
Published: November 2012

Background: Lifestyle risk factors, including obesity, have been associated with increased risk of endometrial cancer (EC). Women with higher obesity levels tend to have less aggressive EC disease stage and histology. This study further investigated associations between nonmodifiable risk factors, such as age, race, and grade, and modifiable lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity expenditure, in relation to severe obesity and late versus early EC stage at diagnosis.

Methods: Demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle surveys were administered to 177 women with histologically confirmed EC. Logistic regression analyses assessed the relationship between obesity and other risk factors on EC stage at diagnosis.

Results: In multivariate models, body mass index (BMI) < 35 was not significantly associated with late EC stage at diagnosis (OR = 1.67, P = 0.219) when adjusting for grade and age. Grade was significantly associated with EC stage when controlling for BMI and age (OR = 8.48, P = .000). Women more than the age of 60 had a fourfold increased risk of diagnosis at late versus early EC stage when adjusting for other risk factors. Age had a confounding effect on the obesity-EC stage association.

Conclusions: Our results corroborate those of past studies showing that BMI is not an independent risk factor for EC stage and that age may have confounded the obesity-EC stage association. Because of mixed results and implications for treatment outcomes, however, further research examining these variables is warranted.

Impact: Our results provide further insight into the obesity EC-stage association, especially the confounding effect of age. Future studies should examine modifiable lifestyle factors in larger and more diverse populations. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(1); 76–81. ©2012 AACR.
State-Level Uterine Corpus Cancer Incidence Rates Corrected for Hysterectomy Prevalence, 2004 to 2008
Authors: Siegel Rebecca L. , Devesa Susan S. , Cokkinides Vilma , Ma Jiemin , Jemal Ahmedin
Published: November 2012

Background: The interpretation of uterine cancer rates is hindered by the inclusion of women whose uterus has been surgically removed in the population at risk. Hysterectomy prevalence varies widely by state and race/ethnicity, exacerbating this issue.

Methods: We estimated hysterectomy-corrected, age-adjusted uterine corpus cancer incidence rates by race/ethnicity for 49 states and the District of Columbia during 2004 to 2008 using case counts obtained from population-based cancer registries; population data from the U.S. Census Bureau; and hysterectomy prevalence data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Corrected and uncorrected incidence rates were compared with regard to geographic and racial/ethnic disparity patterns and the association with obesity.

Results: Among non-Hispanic Whites, uterine cancer incidence rates (per 100,000 woman-years) uncorrected for hysterectomy prevalence ranged from 17.1 in Louisiana to 32.1 in New Jersey, mirrored regional hysterectomy patterns, and were not correlated with obesity prevalence (Pearson correlation coefficient, r = 0.06, two-sided P = 0.68). In comparison, hysterectomy-corrected rates were higher by a minimum of 30% (District of Columbia) to more than 100% (Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Oklahoma), displayed no discernible geographic pattern, and were moderately associated with obesity (r = 0.37, two-sided P = 0.009). For most states, hysterectomy correction diminished or reversed the Black/White deficit and accentuated the Hispanic/White deficit.

Conclusion: Failure to adjust uterine cancer incidence rates for hysterectomy prevalence distorts true geographic and racial patterns and substantially underestimates the disease burden, particularly for Southern states.

Impact: Correction for hysterectomy is necessary for the accurate evaluation of uterine cancer rates. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(1); 25–31. ©2012 AACR.
Expanding the Reach of Cancer Metabolomics
Authors: Metallo Christian M.
Published: November 2012

Metabolism is again emerging as a key property that differentiates normal cells from neoplastic tissues. The coupling of this phenomenon with advanced bioanalytic methods may now open new avenues for diagnostics in cancer via discovery of chemical biomarkers. In this issue of Cancer Prevention Research, Montrose and colleagues apply metabolic profiling to a model of chemically induced colorectal cancer and describe the metabolomic landscape of colorectal tumors and associated biofluids in great detail. Their analysis of plasma and fecal metabolites provides inroads into the noninvasive detection of colorectal cancer using biochemical markers, as some conserved metabolic changes were altered across tumors, plasma, and feces. Meanwhile, the specific alterations identified in this study offer insights into potential metabolic drivers of colorectal cancer. For example, elevated sarcosine and 2-hydroxyglutarate were detected in these induced tumors, implicating their respective metabolic pathways and downstream interactions in colorectal cancer progression. This work highlights the potential value of cancer metabolomics for the noninvasive analysis of colorectal neoplasias while underscoring the importance of profiling diverse sample sets and metabolites in relevant cancer models to identify and validate such findings. Cancer Prev Res; 5(12); 1337–40. ©2012 AACR.
FoxO1 and FoxM1 Transcription Factors Have Antagonistic Functions in Neonatal Cardiomyocyte Cell-Cycle Withdrawal and
IGF1
Gene Regulation
Authors: Sengupta Arunima , Kalinichenko Vladimir V. , Yutzey Katherine E.
Published: November 2012

Rationale:

In the mammalian heart, cardiomyocytes withdraw from the cell cycle and initiate hypertrophic growth soon after birth, but the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that control these neonatal transitions are not well-defined.

Objective:

Forkhead family transcription factors have been implicated as positive (forkhead box [Fox] transcription factor M1) and negative (FoxO1 and FoxO3) regulators of cardiomyocyte proliferation prenatally, but their regulatory interactions and functions in neonatal cell-cycle withdrawal have not been reported previously. Potential regulators of Fox activity, including the metabolic indicator AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and Fox transcriptional targets (
p21
,
p27
, insulin-like growth factor 1 [
IGF1
]) also were examined.

Methods and Results:

In cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, AMPK activates FoxOs, and AMPK inhibition is sufficient to induce cell proliferation. In vivo, combined loss of FoxO1 and FoxO3 specifically in cardiomyocytes leads to delayed cell-cycle withdrawal and increased expression of
IGF1
and
FoxM1
. Conversely, cardiomyocyte-specific loss of FoxM1 results in decreased neonatal cardiomyocyte cell proliferation, decreased expression of
IGF1
, and increased expression of cell-cycle inhibitors
p21
and
p27
.
IGF1
is a direct downstream target of cardiac Fox transcription factors, which is negatively regulated by FoxOs and positively regulated by FoxM1, dependent on AMPK activation status.

Conclusions:

These data support a regulatory mechanism whereby the balance of FoxO and FoxM1 transcription factors integrates metabolic status, mediated by AMPK, and cell-cycle regulation, through competitive regulation of target genes, including
IGF1
, in neonatal cardiomyocytes.
CKIP-1 Inhibits Cardiac Hypertrophy by Regulating Class II Histone Deacetylase Phosphorylation Through Recruiting PP2A
Authors: Ling Shukuan , Sun Qiao , Li Yuheng , Zhang Luo , Zhang Pengfei , Wang Xiaogang , Tian Chunyan , Li Qi , Song Jinping , Liu Hongju , Kan Guanghan , Cao Hongqing , Huang Zengming , Nie Jielin , Bai Yanqiang , Chen Shanguang , Li Yinghui , He Fuchu , Zhang Lingqiang , Li Yingxian
Published: November 2012

Background—

Sustained cardiac pressure overload–induced hypertrophy and pathological remodeling frequently leads to heart failure. Casein kinase-2 interacting protein-1 (CKIP-1) has been identified to be an important regulator of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. However, the physiological role of CKIP-1 in the heart is unknown.

Methods and Results—

The results of echocardiography and histology demonstrate that CKIP-1–deficient mice exhibit spontaneous cardiac hypertrophy with aging and hypersensitivity to pressure overload–induced pathological cardiac hypertrophy, as well. Transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of CKIP-1 showed resistance to cardiac hypertrophy in response to pressure overload. The results of GST pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation assays showed the interaction between CKIP-1 and histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), through which they synergistically inhibited transcriptional activity of myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2C. By directly interacting with the catalytic subunit of phosphatase 2A, CKIP-1 overexpression enhanced the binding of catalytic subunit of phosphatase-2A to HDAC4 and promoted HDAC4 dephosphorylation.

Conclusions—

CKIP-1 was found to be an inhibitor of cardiac hypertrophy by upregulating the dephosphorylation of HDAC4 through the recruitment of protein phosphatase 2A. These results demonstrated a unique function of CKIP-1, by which it suppresses cardiac hypertrophy through its capacity to regulate HDAC4 dephosphorylation and fetal cardiac genes expression.
Body Mass Index and Risk of Incident Hypertension Over the Life Course
Authors: Shihab Hasan M. , Meoni Lucy A. , Chu Audrey Y. , Wang Nae-Yuh , Ford Daniel E. , Liang Kung-Yee , Gallo Joseph J. , Klag Michael J.
Published: November 2012

Background—

The obesity-hypertension link over the life course has not been well characterized, although the prevalence of obesity and hypertension is increasing in the United States.

Methods and Results—

We studied the association of body mass index (BMI) in young adulthood, into middle age, and through late life with risk of developing hypertension in 1132 white men of The Johns Hopkins Precursors Study, a prospective cohort study.

Over a median follow-up period of 46 years, 508 men developed hypertension. Obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m
2
) in young adulthood was strongly associated with incident hypertension (hazard ratio, 4.17; 95% confidence interval, 2.34–7.42). Overweight (BMI 25 to <30 kg/m
2
) also signaled increased risk (hazard ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.28–1.96). Men of normal weight at age 25 years who became overweight or obese at age 45 years were at increased risk compared with men of normal weight at both times (hazard ratio, 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.20–2.07), but not men who were overweight or obese at age 25 years who returned to normal weight at age 45 years (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.43–1.92). After adjustment for time-dependent number of cigarettes smoked, cups of coffee taken, alcohol intake, physical activity, parental premature hypertension, and baseline BMI, the rate of change in BMI over the life course increased the risk of incident hypertension in a dose-response fashion, with the highest risk among men with the greatest increase in BMI (hazard ratio, 2.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.82–3.49).

Conclusions—

Our findings underscore the importance of higher weight and weight gain in increasing the risk of hypertension from young adulthood through middle age and into late life.
Time and Emergence in the Evolutionary Epic, Naturalistic Theology, and J.T. Fraser’s Hierarchical Theory of Time
Authors: Harris Paul A.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This paper provides a general overview of emergence, and then examines the role emergence plays in different areas of science and theology, including big history or the evolutionary epic, religious and theistic naturalism. Critical remarks on the notions of time expressed in these discourses are also provided. The paper then assesses J.T. Fraser’s hierarchical theory of time in relation to emergence, and adduces the position Fraser would take with respect to emergence. Finally, the paper concludes with a playful coda from the standpoint of a man of letters, for whom letters have an elemental importance.
A Pre-Modern Description of Emergence: Albertus Magnus on Human Foetal Development
Authors: Costa Dennis
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Both the theory and the terminology of Albertus Magnus’s philosophical psychology in the thirteenth century bear an extraordinary resemblance to twenty-first century descriptions of emergent systems. In Albert’s description of the temporal drama of human foetal life, the emergent, ‘intellectual’ energies of humanpsychêoranimaor soul cannot be at all predicated on the material or psychic agents that give rise to them. Though standing in a real continuity with those natural, causal agents, human psyche knows itself as existing discontinuously from them and as enacting, in and through the dimension of time, kinds of knowledge and types of experience which display complex potentialities that appear to be irreducible, or, at the least, not fully measurable: in art, in science, and also in cultic action.
A Quantum Approach to the Psychosomatic Phenomenon: Co-Emergence and Time Entanglement of Mind and Matter
Authors: Uzan Pierre
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This paper explores the philosophy of neutral monism within the framework of a generalized version of quantum theory where all references to the physical world have been relaxed. Psychic and somatic features of the individual are conceived of as co-emergent, complementary properties of an underlying, psychophysical level of reality. It is shown that their entanglement can be interpreted in terms of non-causal correlations and parameterized by time, which thus plays the role of psychophysical interface.
Millennial Politics in Modern Egypt: Islamism and Secular Nationalism in Context and Contest
Authors: Kenney Jeffrey T.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

As a type often linked to societies in transition, millennialism provides a useful framework of analysis to understand the contestation between the two movements that shaped Egypt’s modern identity: Islamism and secular nationalism. Both movements blended political and religious form and content as they strove to unite people in a collectivist effort to create an ideal society that addressed the nation’s material and cultural needs. Indeed, millennial discourse provided a medium through which Egyptians worked out their nationalist aspirations in a religious key and envisioned their religious values and identity in nationalist form. The volatile, irrational character of millennial movements made Egypt’s postcolonial transition to modern politics fraught and uncertain. And the authoritarian trend among Egypt’s ruling secular nationalists exacerbated the situation. In the end, Egypt’s seminal Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, proved capable of reorienting itself, downplaying its millennial claims, and espousing a rational politics. Its evolution speaks to the capacity of millennial movements to transform themselves and the societies of which they are a part.
Mary’s Reincarnation and the Banality of Salvation: The Millennialist Cultus of the Lady of All Nations/Peoples
Authors: Margry Peter Jan
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This article deals with the transnational Dutch-Canadian apparitional cultus of our Lady of All Nations/Peoples. It analyses how contemporary visionary Catholicism is influenced by religious eclecticism, esotericism, and New Age spiritualities, and how this devotion has shifted into an autonomous millennialist movement. Finding fertile soil in modern societies in socio-economic, political, and religious crisis, and due to the dwindling of existential certainties at the individual level, its ideology of “progressive millennialism” has shown itself to be a successful religious format that mobilizes devotees, even when its deviation brings the movement into conflict with the formal Church. The movement’s prophetic and millennialist views fit into a salvific system of conditionality according to which the visionary, unveiled as the reincarnation of Mary herself, will realize the new millennium if her party will fulfill certain conditions. With its new theology the Quebec movement tries to appropriate the whole Lady cultus as a vehicle for universal salvation. In this way the means for revelation and salvation are taken from the hierarchical ecclesiastical powers-that-be and situated in the “banality” of the everyday life of the reincarnated Mary. In the providential Marie-Paule Giguère, the devotees involved find an appealing prophet who is both Mary and a co-redeeming messiah, and who in the near future is supposed to realize the second millennium, framed in a new, modern cosmology, for all peoples and faiths.
Negotiating the Social Family: Migrant Live-in Elder Care-workers in Taiwan
Authors: Lin Stephen , Bélanger Danièle
Published: November 2012

Abstract

In response to difficulties faced by families in caring for the aged, the government of Taiwan launched a foreign live-in caregiver programme in 1992. This paper draws upon literature on family, domestic work and motives for caregiving to examine how the long-term co-residence of migrant live-in elder care-workers reconfigures Taiwanese families. Our analysis, based on in-depth interviews conducted in the summer of 2009 with 20 Vietnamese migrant live-in care-workers, uses the concept of ‘social family’ to document the close emotional and quasi-familial relationships between foreign care-workers and members of Taiwanese families. Narratives shed light on the dynamics of these relationships and show the limitations of the concept. The inherent asymmetrical employer-employee power relationship remains, while workers constantly negotiate contradictory feelings and positions in the intimate sphere of the employers’ private homes. This paper emphasizes the mutual dependency that migrants experience as both workers and members of a new family. Rather than being seen as cheap, disposable labour, migrants become indispensable to the families. It is this dependency and intimacy that make them part of the family, but also continues to make them vulnerable to abuse.
A Word Play in 2 Samuel 4
Authors: Matzal Stefan C.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The Hebrew word for “purge” in 2 Sam 4:11 is a play on the word “Beerothite” earlier in the chapter. This contributes to characterization of David as a man of justice.
On the Composition of Amos 1-2 LXX
Authors: Sibinga Joost Smit
Published: November 2012

Abstract

For an adequate and readily verifiable description of a given text a count of the number of its words is of essential value. This article on the literary composition of Amos 1-2 LXX uses this numerical aspect as a main criterion. It is found that the author-translator frequently balances small and larger segments of his text; he favours round figures and square numbers, achieves clear and simple proportions within his composition, such as, i.a., the golden mean, and so on. He is not only a capable translator, but throughout this passage shows himself a skilful and competent craftsman, ambitious and well trained in the numerical features of ancient literary composition.
Ockham and Buridan on Epistemic Sentences: Appellation of the Form and Appellation of Reason
Authors: Panaccio Claude
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Buridan’s theory of sentences with epistemic verbs (‘to know’, ‘to believe’, etc.) has received much attention in recent scholarship. Its originality with respect to Ockham’s approach, however, has been importantly overestimated. The present paper argues that both doctrines share crucial features and basically belong to the same family. This is done by comparing Buridan’s notion of the ‘appellation of reason’ with Ockham’s application to epistemic sentences of the general principle that a predicate always ‘appellates its form’.
Francesco Piccolomini on Prime Matter and Extension
Authors: Claessens Guy
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This paper examines the view held by Francesco Piccolomini (1523-1607) on the relation between prime matter and extension. In his discussion of prime matter in the Libri ad scientiam de natura attinentes Piccolomini develops a theory of prime matter that incorporates crucial elements of the viewpoint adhered to by the Neoplatonist Simplicius. The originality of Piccolomini’s undertaking is highlighted by contrasting it with the ideas found in Jacopo Zabarella’s De rebus naturalibus. The case of Piccolomini shows that, in order to classify early modern metaphysical theories of prime matter, the category ‘prime matter as sheer dimensionality’ is indispensable.
Die Apokalypse-Handschrift 2846
Authors: Lembke Markus
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Collations of test passages in all Apocalypse manuscripts not used by H.C. Hoskier showed that one of the newly discovered minuscules reflects the so-called Alexandrian texttype to a significant extent. It is the manuscript Grec. 977 of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, known as 2846 in the Kurzgefaßte Liste. Concerning the agreement with the Nestle-Aland text against the Majority Text, the ranking is: A C א 2846 P47 2062 2050 2053 2329 2344 P 1611 etc. Where P47 א differ from A C, 2846 mostly agrees with A C.
τὸ ἐν λόγῳ ἰδιωτικὸν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου
Authors: Schellenberg Ryan S.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The interpretation of patristic testimony has become an important part of the ongoing debate regarding Paul’s formal knowledge of ancient rhetorical theory. As early as 1898, E. Norden observed that Paul‘s earliest readers frequently commented on his innocence of Greco-Roman paideia. And yet, as Margaret Mitchell more recently has shown, these very readers often praised the power of Pauline persuasion, and, what is more, identified numerous rhetorical figures and tropes in Paul’s letters. This article provides a reevaluation of the patristic testimony as well as its apologetic context. In so doing, it calls into question Mitchell’s own explanation of the apparently contradictory evidence.
Current Explanations for the Variation in Same-Sex Marriage Policies in Western Countries
Authors: Pettinicchio David
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Over the last ten years, several western countries have recognized gay marriage either by providing gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, or by allowing civil unions. Other western countries have not. What accounts for this variation? This paper reviews and analyzes the key demographic, institutional and cultural arguments found in the literature on the legalization of gay marriage – especially as these pertain to cross-national comparison – and raises questions about assumptions regarding the extent to which there is variation on these variables across western countries. I argue that institutional and cultural explanations are only meaningful in explaining legalization when their combinations are specified in order to shed light on favorable (or unfavorable) circumstances for policy outcomes.
Musical Taste And Social Structure In Taiwan
Authors: Marsh Robert M.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Research in the comparative cultural sociology of musical taste has been confined to Western societies. The present study tests hypotheses from Western research in a culturally different, East Asian society, Taiwan. The 1992 Taiwan survey asked a representative sample of the population which of ten types of music they liked or disliked. To a large extent, the Taiwan findings replicate those in the West. For example, high status, younger people are more likely to be omnivores, liking both highbrow and lowbrow music, while low status, older people tend toward the univore pole. The ten types of musical taste can be clustered into three more general, culturally distinct taste audiences.
Hope-Filled Sanctification: A Reformed Appropriation of the Theological Virtue of Hope
Authors: VandenBerg Mary L.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Roman Catholic scholar Josef Pieper has suggested that the Protestant teaching of salvation by grace alone promotes a type of false assurance that undermines the necessity of striving for Christlikeness in the lives of Christians. Protestants do sometimes sound as if justification and sanctification are identical therefore downplaying the importance of good works and the pilgrim character of the Christian life. Nonetheless, a proper understanding of the distinction between justification and sanctification maintains both the Reformation emphasis on grace and a robust place for human striving toward sanctification in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Thomist tradition’s understanding of the theological virtues, as interpreted by Pieper, has the potential to offer a category for understanding the striving of sanctification as the fitting action of one with the disposition of hope.
Can Public Theology Be Practised beyond the State?
Authors: Fourie Willem
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This article reflects on the relationship between public theology and the state. It suggests that a state-centric paradigm plays a significant role in the self-understanding and practice of public theology, and that transnationalism can serve as correction to state-centrism. It argues that these concepts complement the existing discourse on glocalization in public theology. The article investigates the role of churches in the struggle against apartheid as an early example of transnationalism in public theology. The concluding section shows that transnationalism may aid the practitioners of public theology to reflect critically on its relation to the state.
Rabbinic Theology: A System
Authors: Neusner Jacob
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Rabbinic Theology starts with a doctrine of a world order that is just and concludes with eternal life, thus presenting a simple logic that animates all the parts of its system and makes them cohere. Its generative categories prove not only imperative and irreducible but also logically sequential. Each of the four parts of the theology of Rabbinic Judaism—[1] the perfectly just character of world order, [2] indications of its perfection, [3] sources of its imperfection, [4] media for the restoration of world order and their results—belongs in its place and set in any other sequence the four units become incomprehensible. Not only so, but each proposition draws upon its predecessor and points toward its successor, forming an unfolding story that can be told in only one direction and in the dictated order and in no other way. That is the mark of a well-crafted theology, a coherent structure, a compelling system.

If you can imagine a world perfected by the tastes and aspirations of the rational mind, then you can enter into the world portrayed by the documents of Rabbinic Judaism. The writings for theology are read all together and all at once as a single coherent statement. They portray the reason why things are now as they are. And they show the logic of that reason, revealing its integrity in the working of justice throughout. The sages emphasize the perfection of the timeless, flawless creation that God forms and governs in accord with wholly rational and accessible rules. If everything fits together and works coherently, it is because, as philosophers maintain in their realm of reflection, a single, unitary logic (“logos”), the logic of monotheism comprised by the one just, therefore reasonable and benevolent God, prevails.
Landscapes of the Body in Prudentius Cathemerinon VII
Authors: Clarke Jacqueline R.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

In his Hymn of Fasting, Cathemerinon VII, Prudentius is expounding and justifying a concept relatively unfamiliar to his audience. This article shows how he makes metaphorical use of landscape to do this, employing landscapes as external reflections of the healthiness or sickness of the soul and the state of the body. In his narration of the stories of five biblical figures who are associated with fasting, Prudentius shows how fasting detaches soul from body which then becomes part of the territory which is to be conquered; reduced to a dry and barren desert, it is miraculously revived by moisture which is produced by suffering or comes from God.
“David sang about him”: A Coptic Psalms Testimonia Collection
Authors: Albl Martin C.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This study analyzes a fragmentary Coptic Psalms testimonia collection (CPT), published by Charles W. Hedrick in 2006. The text lists approximately 30 events from Jesus’ life; each event is paired with a Psalms quotation understood as a prophetic witness (testimonium) to that event. The collection is creedally structured, focusing on Jesus’ birth, his passion and death, and his resurrection, ascension, and heavenly enthronement. This study situates each of the CPT’s events and testimonia in the context of early Christian testimonia literature, noting especially close connections with catechetical works such as Rufinus’ Commentary on the Apostolic Creed. Of special interest is the CPT’s quotation of Christian additions to Ps 96:10 (“on the wood”) and to Ps 51:7 (“by the blood of the wood”). Its likely life-setting is the catechesis of fifth-century Egyptian monasticism.
“Prudentius Psychomachia 317”
Authors: Summers Kirk
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The Latin text at Prudentius, Psychomachia 317 presents some syntactical difficulties, mostly stemming from the unexpected word quia. The manuscripts and glossa vetus offer little help on the matter. Gilbert Wakefield offered a convincing solution to the problem in a note that was buried in an edition of Lucretius that he edited in 1797. No subsequent editor of Prudentius has noticed his emendation, which should be revived and included in future editions.
Current and Prospective Roles of the Arctic Council System within the Context of the Law of the Sea
Authors: Molenaar E.J.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This article examines the current and prospective roles of the Arctic Council System (ACS) within the context of the (international) law of the sea. Its first part focuses on the role of regional cooperation under the law of sea, with special attention to the way in which the pacta tertiis principle has shaped some regional regimes. The second part examines current features of the Arctic Council, including its mandate and main approaches, participation and institutional structure. The new concept of the ACS is offered to clarify the connection between the Arctic Council and the 2011 Agreement on Cooperation in Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic and future legally binding instruments negotiated under the Council’s auspices, but not adopted by it. The article concludes with a synthesis of the current and prospective roles of the ACS under the law of the sea.
Dispute Settlement in the Law of the Sea: Survey for 2011
Authors: Churchill Robin
Published: November 2012

Abstract

This is the latest in a series of annual surveys reviewing dispute settlement in the law of the sea, both under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and outside the framework of the Convention. The main developments during 2011 were: the delivery by the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber of its advisory opinion on Responsibilities and Obligations of States sponsoring Persons and Entities with respect to Activities in the Area; the referral of a new case to the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) relating to the arrest and detention of a bunkering vessel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (the Virginia G case); the International Court of Justice’s judgments rejecting the requests of Costa Rica and Honduras to intervene in the Nicaragua/Colombia maritime boundary delimitation case; the decision of the arbitral tribunal in the Mauritius/United Kingdom case to reject a challenge to the appointment of one of the arbitrators; the activation of the Croatia/Slovenia arbitration agreement; and the fifth triennial election of ITLOS judges.
Protection of Incapacitated Elderly in Medical Research
Authors: de Klerk Clasine M.
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The widened scope of medical research has resulted in the establishment of multiple international, European and national rules and norms. Firm regulation of medical research is especially important when vulnerable people like incapacitated elderly are involved. The protection of incapacitated elderly is at stake when rules and norms are multi-interpretable, unclear and conflicting.
End-of-Life Healthcare Decisions, Ethics and Law: The Debate in Spain
Authors: Simón-Lorda Pablo , Barrio-Cantalejo Inés Mª
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The debate on euthanasia in Spain has been ongoing from the beginning of the 20th century and remains extant. Three periods can be identified: prior to 1978, 1978-2002, and after 2002. The debate increased significantly after the Ramon Sampedro case (1995-1998), and was fuelled with new, although very different cases, such as those of Leganés (2005-2008), Jorge Leon (2006) or Inmaculada Echevarría (2006-2007). As a consequence of these cases in 2008 the Regional Government of Andalusia started a legal process to pass a law regulating end-of-life decisions, excluding euthanasia and assisted-suicide, which was finally enacted in 2010. Two other Spanish regions (Navarra and Aragón) passed similar laws. The central government also initiated a legal process to approve a national law, excluding euthanasia and assisted-suicide. The project failed because of the dissolution of the Parliament in June 2011. The new government will have to decide how to continue the process.
Reflections on High Seas Marine Protected Areas: A Comparative Analysis of the Mediterranean and the North-East Atlantic Models
Authors: Tanaka Yoshifumi
Published: November 2012

In 2010, the Contracting-Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) created six marine protected areas (MPAs) on the high seas beyond 200 nautical miles with a view to protecting marine biological diversity. This is a significant step toward conservation of biological diversity on the high seas. The creation of high seas MPAs seems to provide a useful insight into the protection of community interests in marine spaces beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. At the same time, however, the creation of MPAs on the high seas raises some legal issues with regard to, inter alia, its legal ground, opposability to non-Contracting Parties, legitimacy, and practical implementation. Thus, this contribution seeks to examine legal issues regarding two types of MPAs on the high seas, namely: MPAs on the high seas which fall within potential exclusive economic zone of coastal States (the Mediterranean model) and MPAs on the high seas beyond 200 nautical miles (the North-East Atlantic model), respectively.
Quiet Diplomacy, the European Union and Conflict Prevention: Learning from the HCNM on Issues of Social Cohesion
Authors: Johns Michael
Published: November 2012

This article examines the issue of social cohesion inside the European Union (EU). While the organisation is currently experiencing an economic crisis the article argues that issues surrounding minority rights are deeper and more troubling. Within the EU’s current and prospective borders there remain issues surrounding national minorities, traditional migrants and intra-EU migrants. The intra-EU migrants are of particular interest in that they bridge the gap between the other two groups as they are migrants – with EU protected rights. This article argues that the EU itself must become involved in the maintenance of social cohesion. It recommends the use of quiet diplomacy, best illustrated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe High Commissioner on National Minorities. After an examination of the use of quiet diplomacy by the various High Commissioners the article outlines the issues of social cohesion facing the EU. It concludes with the recommendation that the European Commission adopt the tenets of quiet diplomacy as a means of influencing dialogue and to promote minority protection within the union.