bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Energieeffiziente emaillierte Rührbehälter
Authors: Reinemuth J. , Heinzmann M.
Published: November 2006

Auf der Grundlage einer Systemanalyse eines emaillierten Rührbehälters werden Maßnahmen abgeleitet, die zu einer effizienteren Nutzung der eingesetzten Energie führen. Anhand eines durchgängigen, einfachen Leitbeispiels werden die Maßnahmen hinsichtlich deren Einsparungspotenzials vergleichend gegenübergestellt.
Sensitive Differential Pulse Polarographic Determination of Molybdenum Using The New Catalytic System Mo(VI)‐Phenantroline‐Chlorate
Authors: Bobrowski Andrzej , Królicka Agnieszka , Zarębski Jerzy
Published: November 2006

It was found that in acidic chloride media the complex of Mo(VI) with 1,10‐phenantroline induces catalytic reduction of KClO3. This catalytic effect can be utilized for sensitive differential pulse polarographic determination of Mo(VI) with a low detection limit of 2.9×10−11 M (2.8 ng/L). The optimal Mo(VI) response was obtained at pH 2.8, in the presence of (6–12)×10−5 M 1,10‐phenantroline and 2×10−2 M KClO3. The sensitivity was 1.73 nA/nM and the catalytic response was linear up to 7.5×10−7 M Mo (VI). The interferences from inorganic ions and surface‐active substances were investigated. The results of the determination of Mo(VI) in CRM water sample showed good reproducibility (R.S.D. for standard solution is below 1.2% and for water samples is 8.9%) and accuracy of the elaborated catalytic polarographic method.
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of Electrode Surfaces Using Carbon Composite Tips
Authors: Rohlfing Dina Fattakhova , Kuhn Alexander
Published: November 2006

Tips for scanning tunneling microscopy prepared from carbon composite materials were used for nanoscale characterization of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces, both unmodified and modified with adsorbed monolayers of polyoxometalate. A series of different types of carbon (graphite pencil lead, epoxy sealed carbon fiber, pyrolytic graphite) and polishing/etching steps has been investigated in order to produce sharp tips. Atomic resolution is readily obtained for bare HOPG with these tips and also adsorbed monolayers of polyoxometalates can be characterized at the molecular level. As the graphite tips themselves can be easily modified with monolayers of molecules this opens up applications related to tunneling spectroscopy, scanning electrochemical microscopy or testing of molecular electronic devices.
Determination of Caffeine at a Nafion‐Covered Glassy Carbon Electrode
Authors: Brunetti Barbara , Desimoni Elio , Casati Paolo
Published: November 2006

A simple differential pulse voltammetric method based on a Nafion‐covered glassy carbon electrode was developed for the quantitative determination of caffeine in cola beverages. The modified electrode exhibits a clear improvement of the current response compared to that observed at a bare glassy carbon electrode. The method allows quantifying the analyte in the 9.95×10−7–1.06×10−5 M range, with a detection limit of 7.98×10−7 M in 0.1 M sulfuric acid solutions. The developed procedure was tested by recovery studies. The results are described and discussed in the light of the existing literature.
Verification of Applicability of Mercury Meniscus Modified Silver Solid Amalgam Electrode for Determination of Heavy Metals in Plant Matrices
Authors: Čížková Petra , Navrátil Tomáš , Šestáková Ivana , Yosypchuk Bogdan
Published: November 2006

The study is focused on the silver solid amalgam electrode modified by mercury meniscus (m‐AgSAE). After its successful application for determination of heavy metals by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) in aqueous solutions, its use in more complicated matrices has followed. Four different reference materials of plant origin were used – White Cabbage, Rye Grass, Aubergine and Lucerne, and the obtained results of Cd, Cu and Pb contents were compared both with (certified) reference values and with results obtained by DPASV with HMDE and by AAS. Statistical evaluation confirmed good correlation between results of all three methods used and as well as with reference values.
Thermo‐Responsive Chitosan‐graft‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) Injectable Hydrogel for Cultivation of Chondrocytes and Meniscus Cells
Authors: Chen Jyh‐Ping , Cheng Tai‐Hong
Published: November 2006

Summary: A thermo‐responsive comb‐like polymer with chitosan as the backbone and pendant poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) groups has been synthesized by grafting PNIPAM‐COOH with a single carboxy end group onto chitosan through amide bond linkages. The copolymer exhibits reversible temperature‐responsive soluble‐insoluble characteristics with the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) being at around 30 °C. Results from SEM observations confirm a porous 3D hydrogel structure with interconnected pores ranging from 10 to 40 µm at physiological temperature. A preliminary in vitro cell culture study has demonstrated the usefulness of this hydrogel as an injectable cell‐carrier material for entrapping chondrocytes and meniscus cells. The hydrogel not only preserves the viability and phenotypic morphology of the entrapped cells but also stimulates the initial cell‐cell interactions.

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Linear system solution by null‐space approximation and projection (SNAP)
Authors: Ilić M. , Turner I. W. , Saad Y.
Published: November 2006

Solutions of large sparse linear systems of equations are usually obtained iteratively by constructing a smaller dimensional subspace such as a Krylov subspace. The convergence of these methods is sometimes hampered by the presence of small eigenvalues, in which case, some form of deflation can help improve convergence. The method presented in this paper enables the solution to be approximated by focusing the attention directly on the ‘small’ eigenspace (‘singular vector’ space). It is based on embedding the solution of the linear system within the eigenvalue problem (singular value problem) in order to facilitate the direct use of methods such as implicitly restarted Arnoldi or Jacobi–Davidson for the linear system solution. The proposed method, called ‘solution by null‐space approximation and projection’ (SNAP), differs from other similar approaches in that it converts the non‐homogeneous system into a homogeneous one by constructing an annihilator of the right‐hand side. The solution then lies in the null space of the resulting matrix. We examine the construction of a sequence of approximate null spaces using a Jacobi–Davidson style singular value decomposition method, called restarted SNAP‐JD, from which an approximate solution can be obtained. Relevant theory is discussed and the method is illustrated by numerical examples where SNAP is compared with both GMRES and GMRES‐IR. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Extending the spectrum idea: child personality, parenting and psychopathology
Authors: Van Leeuwen Karla G. , Mervielde Ivan , De Clercq Barbara J. , De Fruyt Filip
Published: November 2006

The spectrum hypothesis, postulating that differences between referred and non‐referred samples are confined to mean level differences, is elaborated by exploring whether the covariation between child problem behaviour and its predictors—child personality and parenting, rated by mothers—is similar in referred (N = 205) and non‐referred (N = 596) children and whether personality by parenting interactions can be generalized across samples. Results showed significant mean level differences for all the variables. Both personality and parenting explained problem behaviour, with some differences in strength of the effects across samples. Parenting by personality interactions mainly predicted externalizing behaviour, with benevolence and conscientiousness as the most prominent moderators. Results confirmed that moderators of problem behaviour operate similarly in the two samples, thus corroborating the spectrum hypothesis. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Well‐being and the accessibility of pleasant and unpleasant concepts
Authors: Borkenau Peter , Mauer Nadine
Published: November 2006

The trait–congruency hypothesis predicts that persons high in positive or negative trait affect more readily process pleasant or unpleasant stimuli, respectively. In two studies, participants were administered measures of personality and affect. Moreover, a yes/no lexical decision task with pleasant, unpleasant and neutral words was administered in Study 1, whereas a go/no‐go task was used in Study 2. Several methods to increase reliabilities of differences in reaction times are explored. Correlations of measures of personality and trait affect with decision times were mostly consistent with the trait–congruency hypothesis, particularly for decision times in the go/no‐go task that measured individual differences in valence‐specific decision times more reliably. The findings suggest that trait‐related concept accessibility is one source of trait congruity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Establishing a liquid‐phase IEF in combination with 2‐DE for the analysis of Leishmania proteins
Authors: Brobey Reynolds K. B. , Soong Lynn
Published: November 2006

The recent completion of genome sequencing projects for Leishmania major and near completion for two other species, L. infantum and L. braziliensis, has provided the needed genomic information for investigating the proteomes of Leishmania parasites. However, the design of effective 2‐DE‐based proteome mapping for complex protozoan parasites like Leishmania has proven to be severely compromised due to extensive overcrowding of spots especially in the acidic regions, coupled to a relatively low representation of basic proteins. In the present study, we optimized a liquid‐phase IEF in combination with 2‐DE for L. amazonensis promastigote as a way of reducing protein complexity and enhancing representation for low‐abundance proteins on gels. Of 20 pH‐based fractions eluted from Rotofor™ cells, 5 representative fractions selected from acidic, basic or neutral regions of the proteome and with adequate protein concentration were further analyzed by 2‐DE using medium‐range IPG strips. On this basis, we were able to generate high‐resolution 2‐DE maps encompassing both the acidic and basic ends of the proteome with enhanced spot representation.
Chemoprevention of Scutellaria bardata on human cancer cells and tumorigenesis in skin cancer
Authors: Suh Seok‐Jong , Yoon Jong‐Won , Lee Tae‐Kyun , Jin Un‐Ho , Kim Sun‐Lim , Kim Myung‐Sunny , Kwon Dae Young , Lee Young‐Choon , Kim Cheorl‐Ho
Published: November 2006

Scutellaria barbata D. Don (Lamiaceae) (SB) is a perennial herb, which is natively distributed throughout Korea and southern China. This herb is known in traditional Chinese medicine as Ban‐Zhi‐Lian and in traditional Korean medicine as Banjiryun. SB has been used as an antiinflammatory and antitumor agent. The SB showed strong growth‐inhibitory activity and cancer chemopreventive activity in assays representing three major stages of carcinogenesis. The SB was found to act as an antimutagen; it mediated antiinflammatory effects; inhibited cyclooxygenase and hydroperoxidase functions (antipromotion activity). In addition, SB inhibited the development of preneoplastic lesions in carcinogen‐treated mouse mammary glands in culture and inhibited tumorigenesis in a mouse skin cancer model. On the other hand, an inhibitory effect of SB on the growth of gynecological cancer cell lines such as HeLa cell and human ovary cancer (HOC) was shown. When HOC cells were treated with SB, the expression of cyclooxygenase‐2 was inhibited. These data suggest that SB merits investigation as a potential cancer chemopreventive agent in humans, especially in gynecological cancers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis and TGF‐β Receptor Binding Inhibition of Multibranched Compounds
Authors: Subra Gilles , Amblard Muriel , Verdié Pascal , Komesli Sylviane , Dutartre Patrick , Durand Philippe , Renaut Patrice , Martinez Jean
Published: November 2006

As a part of our project aiming at the discovery of novel synthetic ligands of Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF‐β) receptors, five libraries were sequentially synthesised and screened. The biological mechanism involved in the TGF‐β signal transduction proceeds through the hetero‐oligomerisation of two TGF‐β subreceptor dimers, Transforming growth factor Beta Receptors (TβR)‐I and II. We hypothesised that synthetic dimers and multibranched‐molecules could mimic the natural hormone action by closing the receptor subunits. Mimotope multipin technology was used to synthesise libraries of dimers and tetramers on solid support. This strategy led to the discovery of one of the most potent TGF‐β receptor ligand on type II TGF‐β receptor, described in the literature today.
An experimental investigation of cross‐layer optimal packet size in space Internet
Authors: Wang Ruhai , Horan Stephen , Chandrasekaran Rama
Published: November 2006

Studies of optimal packet size determination in space communication can be found in the literature. However, they are done in an analytical manner. In this paper, we present an experimental study of the cross‐layer optimal packet size for a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Internet Protocol (IP) enhancement, Space Communication Protocol Standards (SCPS), using a personal computer (PC)‐based testbed. We study the optimal packet size at the medium access control (MAC) layer considering the cross‐layer interactions at the physical layer. We investigate how the cross‐layer MAC packet size needs to be adjusted for optimal throughput performance based on the feedback of the bit‐error rate (BER), space‐link delay and symmetric/asymmetric channel‐rate configurations at the physical channel, and find the cross‐layer optimal packet size for the maximum throughput over the space‐Internet channels. We find that the default TCP/IP packet size of 1500 bytes for the terrestrial Internet should be chosen as the cross‐layer MAC packet size for optimal throughput performance over space channels with round‐trip time (RTT) around 250 ms and BER⩽10−6. As the channel BER at the physical layer increases, the optimal MAC packet size should be reduced to around 1000 bytes. We also find that it is more significant to have an optimal packet size for asymmetric channel than symmetric channel but the optimal packet size remains the same at a given BER for both channel ratios in our experiment. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate the cross‐layer optimal MAC packet size over space‐Internet channel in the proposed approach. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Structure and intraglyceride distribution of coriolic acid
Authors: Tallent W. H. , Harris Jeanne , Spencer G. F. , Wolff I. A.
Published: November 2006

Coriolic [(R)‐13‐hydroxy‐cis‐9,trans‐11‐octadecadienoic] acid (III, R=Z=H) was isolated as the methyl ester from twoCoriaria seed oils in 66 and 68% yields. The double bonds and hydroxyl group were located by periodate‐permanganate oxidation before, and chromic acid oxidation after, hydrogenation of the double bonds. Alternatively the positions of the functional groups were indicated by a convenient micro‐ozonolysis‐gas‐liquid chromatographic procedure. Determination of products from partial hydrolysis of theCoriaria oils with pancreatic lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) revealed a preference of the corioloyl group for the 1,3‐positions in triglyceride molecules. The possible significance of coriolic acid as an intermediate in the biogenetic conversion of linoleic acid to conjugated trienoic acids is discussed.
Volatile compounds from thermally oxidized methyl oleate
Authors: Withycombe D. A. , Libbey L. M. , Lindsay R. C.
Published: November 2006

Thermal oxidation of methyl oleate was studied over a range of temperatures from 50 C to 150 C for periods of time up to 30 min. Degradation was quantitatively followed by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) and liquid scintillation counting of the products of methyl oleate‐U‐14C heated under a stream of compressed air. Heptane, octane, 2‐decanone, benzene,o‐xylene, methyl hexanoate, methyl heptanoate and methyl octanoate were identified by GLC and mass spectrometry. Mass spectral evidence also was obtained for methyl pimelaldehydate, methyl suberaldehydate and methyl azelaaldehydate. Organic synthesis confirmed the identity of methyl azelaaldehydate. Most of the products formed suggested that autoxidation was responsible for the degradation occurring at the temperatures employed in this study.
The role of economic incentives and social norms in forest resource management
Authors: Satake Akiko
Published: November 2006

Forests are experiencing increasing pressure from human activities, which is leading to rapid deforestation and loss of ecosystem services. Although deforestation occurs for a wide range of reasons, one important reason is that landowners lack a long‐term management view. I suggest that both economic incentives and social norms will work differently to reduce landowners’ motivation to deforest and to help landowners identify the long‐term benefits that will be obtained by sacrificing short‐term gain.
n−3 fatty acids and human health: Defining strategies for public policy
Authors: Simopoulos Artemis P.
Published: November 2006

The last quarter of the 20th century was characterized by an increase in the consumer's interest in the nutritional aspects of health. As a result, governments began to develop dietary guidelines in addition to the traditional recommended dietary allowances, which have been superseded now by dietary reference intakes. In addition to governments, various scientific societies and nongovernmental organizations have issued their dietary advice to combat chronic diseases and obesity. Human beings evolved on a diet that was balanced in n−6 and n−3 essential fatty acid intake, whereas Western diets have a ratio of n−6/n−3 of 16.74. The scientific evidence is strong for decreasing the n−6 and increasing the n−3 intake to improve health throughout the life cycle. This paper discusses the reasons for this change and recommends the establishment of a nutrition and Food Policy, instead of a Food and Nutrition Policy, because the latter subordinates the nutritional aspects to the food policy aspects. Nutrition and food planning comprise a tool of nutrition and food policy, whose objectives are the achievement of the adequate nutrition of the population as defined by nutritional science. The scientific basis for the development of a public policy to develop dietary recommendations for essential fatty acids, including a balanced n−6/n−3 ratio is robust. What is needed is a scientific consensus, education of professionals and the public, the establishment of an agency on nutrition and food policy at the national level, and willingness of governments to institute changes. Education of the public is essential to demand changes in the food supply
Myocardial membrane fatty acids and the antiarrhythmic actions of dietary fish oil in animal models
Authors: McLennan P. L.
Published: November 2006

Epidemiologic studies, animal studies, and more recently, clinical intervention trials all suggest a role for regular intake of dietary fish oil in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Prevention of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death is demonstrable at fish or fish oil intakes that have little or no effect on blood pressure or plasma lipids. In animals, dietary intake of fish oil [containing both eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20∶5n−3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22∶6n−3)] selectively increases myocardial membrane phospholipid content of DHA, whereas low dose consumption of purified fatty acids shows antiarrhythmic effects of DHA but not EPA. Ventricular fibrillation induced under many conditions, including ischemia, reperfusion, and electrical stimulation, and even arrhythmias induced in vitro with no circulating fatty acids are prevented by prior dietary consumption of fish oil. The preferential accumulation of DHA in myocardial cell membranes, its association with arrhythmia prevention, and the selective ability of pure DHA to prevent ventricular fibrillation all point to DHA as the active component of fish oil. The antiarrhythmic effect of dietary fish oil appears to depend on the accumulation of DHA in myocardial cell membranes.
Lipid and fatty acid profiles in rats consuming different high‐fat ketogenic diets
Authors: Dell Cynthia A. , Likhodii Sergei S. , Musa Kathy , Ryan Mary Ann , Burnham W. MacIntyre , Cunnane Stephen C.
Published: November 2006

High‐fat ketogenic diets are used to treat intractable seizures in children, but little is known of the mechanism by which these diets work or whether fats rich in n−3 polyunsaturates might be beneficial. Tissue lipid and fatty acid profiles were determined in rats consuming very high fat (80 weight%), low‐carbohydrate ketogenic diets containing either medium‐chain triglyceride, flaxseed oil, butter, or an equal combination of these three fat sources. Ketogenic diets containing butter markedly raised liver triglyceride but had no effect on plasma cholesterol. Unlike the other fats, flaxseed oil in the ketogenic diet did not raise brain cholesterol. Brain total and free fatty acid profiles remained similar in all groups, but there was an increase in the proportion of arachidonate in brain total lipids in the medium‐chain triglyceride group, while the two groups consuming flaxseed oil had significantly lower arachidonate in brain, liver, and plasma. The very high dietary intake of α‐linolenate in the flaxseed group did not change docosahexaenoate levels in the brain. Our previous report based on these diets showed that although ketosis is higher in rats consuming a ketogenic diet based on medium‐chain triglyceride oil, seizure resistance in the pentylenetetrazol model is not clearly related to the degree of ketosis achieved. In combination with our present data from the same seizure study, it appears that ketogenic diets with widely differing effects on tissue lipids and fatty acid profiles can confer a similar amount of seizure protection.
Wax ester biosynthesis in the liver of myctophid fishes
Authors: Seo Hwan‐Sook , Endo Yasushi , Moku Masatoshi , Kawaguchi Kouichi , Fujimoto Kenshiro
Published: November 2006

The biosynthetic properties of wax esters in the liver were compared between two types of myctophid fishes having different body lipid composition, i.e., three triglyceriderich species (Lampanyctus jordani, Diaphus theta, and Symbolophorus californiensis) and three was ester‐rich species (L. regalis, Stenobracius nannochir, and Stenobracius leucopsarus). n‐Heptadecanol (17∶0‐ALC) and/or 10‐cis‐heptadecenoic acid (17∶1‐ACID) was incubated with liver homogenate of the six myctophid fishes and with co‐factors such as NADPH and ATP for 2 to 5 h. Considerable amounts of wax esters with odd‐numbered fatty acids and/or alcohols were produced in the liver homogenate of the was ester‐rich species. Stenobracius nannochir and L. regalis, which exclusively contained wax esters as neutral lipids, showed the highest activity of wax ester synthesis, followed by S. leucopsarus, which contained triglyceride as the minor constituent. Only trace amounts at most of odd‐numbered fatty acids and alcohols were incorporated into the wax esters after incubation with the liver homogenates of the triglyceride‐rich fishes. Active interchange between the fatty acids and the alcohols occurred during wax ester biosynthesis in the wax ester‐rich fishes. The chain elongation and shortening of acyl moieties were also observed during incubation. These results suggested that the deposition of lipids in myctophid fishes is mainly due to their biosynthetic activities.
Regulation by long‐chain fatty acids of the expression of cholesteryl ester transfer protein in HepG2 cells
Authors: Hirano Reiko , Igarashi Osamu , Kondo Kazuo , Itakura Hiroshige , Matsumoto Akiyo
Published: November 2006

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is an important determinant of lipoprotein function, especially high density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism, and contributes to the regulation of plasma HDL levels. Since saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA) appear to influence the CETP activity differently, we decided to investigate the effects of FA on the expression of CETP mRNA in HepG2 cells using an RNA blot hybridization analysis. Long‐chain FA (>18 carbons) at a 0.5 mM concentration were added to the medium and incubated with cells for 48 h at 37°C under 5% CO2. After treatment with 0.5 mM arachidonic (AA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the levels of CETP mRNA were less than 50% of the control levels (AA, P=0.0005; EPA, P<0.01; DHA, P<0.0001), with a corresponding significant decrease in the CETP mass. These results suggest that FA regulate the gene expression of CETP in HepG2 and this effect is dependent upon the degree of unsaturation of the acyl carbon chain in FA.
Triple‐bonded unsaturated fatty acids are redox active compounds
Authors: Peterson Douglas A. , Reeve Helen L. , Nelson Daniel , Archer Stephen L. , Weir E. Kenneth
Published: November 2006

Unsaturated fatty acids with triple bonds are used as inhibitors of unsaturated fatty acid metabolism or cytochrome P450 reactions because they are believed to be chemically inert. In this paper we use in vitro cytochrome C reduction to show that two commonly used triple‐bonded unsaturated fatty acids are in fact potent electron transfer agents and could affect the multiple cellular systems that are redox‐modulated.
Factors affecting the storage and excretion of toxic lipophilic xenobiotics
Authors: Jandacek Ronald J. , Tso Patrick
Published: November 2006

Lipophilic toxins have been introduced into the environment both as functional compounds, such as pesticides, and as industrial waste from incineration or the manufacture of electrical transformer components. Among these substances are compounds that are carcinogenic and that affect the endocrine system. Accidental high exposures of humans to some lipophilic toxins have produced overt disease symptoms including chloracne and altered liver function. These toxic materials have been the recent focus of international effort to reduce or eliminate classes of halogenated hydrocarbons from the environment. Evidence of the widespread distribution of lipophilic toxins in the biosphere has been obtained by analyses of human tissues and human milk. The principal route of entry of lipophilic toxins into humans is through the food chain, and most of them are stored in adipose tissue. A common route of excretion is in bile, but there is also evidence of nonbiliary excretion into the intestine. Enterohepatic circulation of many of these compounds slows their removal from the body. Substances that interrupt the enterohepatic circulation of compounds that enter the intestine by the biliary and nonbiliary routes increase the rate of their removal from the body and reduce their storage half‐lives. Reduction in body fat, along with these dietary substances that interrupt enterohepatic circulation, further enhances the excretion rate. Areas for further research include optimizing regimens for body burden reductions, understanding the nature of nonbiliary excretion, and following the effects of tissue redistribution during loss of body fat.
Effect of dexamethasone on the fatty acid composition of total liver microsomal lipids and phosphatidylcholine molecular species
Authors: Brenner Rodolfo R. , Ayala Sixta , Garda Horacio A.
Published: November 2006

Dexamethasone depresses Δ6 and Δ5 and increases Δ9 desaturase and synthase activities. Therefore, we investigated the effect on the fatty acid composition of microsomal liver lipids and phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) molecular species. After 15 d of treatment we found a notable decrease in arachidonic acid, a small decrease in stearic acid, and increases of linoleic, oleic, palmitoleic, and palmitic acids in liver microsomal total lipids and PtdCho. The study of the distribution of the PtdCho molecular species indicated that 18∶0/20∶4n−6, 16∶0/20∶4n−6, and 16∶0/18∶2n−6 predominated in the control animals. Dexamethasone, as expected because of its depressing effect on arachidonic acid synthesis and activation of oleic and palmitic acid synthesis, evoked a very significant decrease in 18∶0/20∶4n−6 PtdCho (P<0.001) and an important increase in 16∶0/18∶2n−6. The invariability of 16∶0/20∶4n−6 PtdCho could be related to the antagonistic effect of arachidonic and palmitic acid synthesis. PtdCho species containing oleic acid were not significant. The bulk fluidity and dynamic properties of the microsomal lipid bilayer measured by fluorometry using the probes 1,6‐diphenyl‐1,3,5‐hexatriene and 4‐trimethylammonium‐phenyl‐6‐phenyl‐1,3,5‐hexatriene showed no significant modification, probably owing to a compensatory effect of the different molecular species, but changes of particular domains not detected by this technique are possible. However, the extremely sensitive Laurdan detected increased lipid packing in the less‐fluid domains of the polar‐nonpolar interphase of the bilayer, possibly evoked by the change of molecular species and cholesterol/phospholipid ratio. The most important effect found is the decrease of arachidonic acid pools in liver phospholipids as one of the corresponding causes of dexamethasone‐dependent pharmacological effects.
A TALE OF TWO HOAXES IN BRITAIN AND FRANCE IN 1775
Authors: LANDER JAMES
Published: November 2006

In October 1775 two hoaxes, perpetrated for separate reasons by John Wilkes and his friend, the Chevalier d’Eon, briefly collided. Wilkes’s hoax, the ‘Sayre plot’, was probably intended to provoke a test of the constitutionality of the recent ‘King’s Proclamation’, which encroached upon the statutory definition of treason. The hoax involved creating the impression that a conspiracy existed to resolve the deepening American crisis by overthrowing George III. D’Eon’s hoax involved spreading the rumour that he himself was a woman in order to embarrass the French king into recalling him from exile on d’Eon’s terms, including a generous financial package. For Wilkes, although neither George III’s overthrow nor the modification of his colonial policy were likely expectations, either result would have been a bonus. And although d’Eon was unquestionably a man, he did actually (if inexplicably) desire to be perceived as a woman living the life of an heroic man. When d’Eon’s hoax suddenly progressed too far – trapping him into agreeing to dress as a woman, which, at first, he seemed unwilling to do – he delayed signing the deal for a month, until he saw that the ‘Sayre plot’ (whose success could have strengthened d’Eon’s negotiating position) had utterly failed.
EUROPE AND ITS ORIENTS IN ZIONIST CULTURE BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Authors: SAPOSNIK ARIEH BRUCE
Published: November 2006

Zionism’s call for a Jewish return to ‘the East’ was rooted in part in a broader European fascination with ‘the Orient’. This interest in ‘the East’ coincided in time and in much of its imagery with a conceptual division of Europe itself into its ‘western’ and ‘eastern’ parts. The Jews were deeply implicated in these twin conceptualizations of ‘the Orient’ and of Europe’s own orient at home (referred to at times as halbasien, or half-Asia). The notion that Jews – particularly those of eastern Europe – constituted a semi-Asiatic, foreign element in European society became a pervasive trope by the latter part of the century, and one to which Zionist thought and praxis sought to respond in a variety of ways. When Zionists in Palestine, mostly eastern European Jews transplanted further east yet to the ‘Orient’, set out to create a new Hebrew national culture there, competing images of occident and Orient – resonating with a wide range of racial, social, political, and cultural overtones – would play defining roles in their praxis and in the cultural institutions, the rituals, and the national liturgy they would fashion.
THE POLICY RESPONSE TO THE SMOKING AND LUNG CANCER CONNECTION IN THE 1950s AND 1960s
Authors: BERRIDGE VIRGINIA
Published: November 2006

A key current concern is how scientific knowledge may inform policy in relation to major environmental and health concerns. There are distinct schools of analysis about this relationship between science and policy. They stress rational relationships; denial and delay; or the role of networks. History is important in modifying such perspectives: smoking policy in the 1950s and 1960s is the case study here. The initial response in the 1950s to the link between smoking and lung cancer was in part conditioned by the role of the tobacco industry and the financial importance of tobacco: the British tobacco industry had closer relationships with government than the American one, and did not rely on public relations. Public health interests worked with the industry. But politicians were concerned also about the fluidity of the epidemiological evidence; the dangers of stirring up further pressure over air pollution; the financial and ideological implications of health education and its location; and the electoral dangers of intervening in a popular mass habit. In the 1960s the British and American medical reports stimulated the growth of a public health ‘policy community’. The initial political considerations began to weaken and these years marked the beginning of a new style of public health.
MODERNITY AND THE SELF IN THE HISTORY OF SEXUALITY
Authors: COCKS H. G.
Published: November 2006

Recent work in the modern history of sexuality, now an established field of inquiry, is characterized by particular approaches to the interpretation of modernity and selfhood. In general, and in contrast to previous approaches, the books under review treat modernity as a localized process with specific effects. Sexual identity is understood in a similar way, as a phenomenon bounded by locality, class, age, nationality, gender, patterns of sociability, and other contextual factors. As such, speaking of sexual identity as a unitary entity, or as something that has historically been structured by an opposition of homosexual/heterosexual, no longer makes sense. In fact, the homo/hetero binary is of much more recent vintage than has been hitherto thought. These histories of sexuality challenge historians of all kinds to rethink the nature of categories like selfhood, identity, and modernity.
COURT STUDIES AND THE COURTS OF EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Authors: SMITH HANNAH
Published: November 2006

A court in exile: the Stuarts in France, 1689–1718. By Edward Corp. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xvi+386. ISBN 0-521-58462-0. £55.00.

Vienna and Versailles: the courts of Europe's dynastic rivals, 1550–1780. By Jeroen Duindam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. xi+349. ISBN 0-521-82262-9. £60.00.

Intrigue and treason: the Tudor court, 1547–1558. By David Loades. Harlow: Pearson, 2004. Pp. x+326. ISBN 0-582-77226-5. £19.99.

Queenship in Europe, 1660–1815: the role of the consort. Edited by Clarissa Campbell Orr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xvii+419. ISBN 0-521-81422-7. £60.00.

Court culture in Dresden: from Renaissance to Baroque. By Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002. Pp. xv+310. ISBN 0-333-98448-X. £47.50.

Over the last three decades, the royal or princely court has become an established feature of the historiographical landscape of early modern Europe. The subject of a forest of monographs and theses, the theme of a plethora of university undergraduate courses, it has even gained an Anglo-American academic society (and accompanying journal) dedicated to ‘court studies’. While the first wave of Anglophone court historians, writing in the 1970s and 1980s, considered it necessary to state explicitly, as David Starkey did in his introduction to the seminal The English court, that the study of the early modern court was a legitimate historical activity, such a stance is no longer necessary. Indeed, few political historians would now omit the court from their narratives, even if their principal focus was directed elsewhere. In The English court, Starkey presented his enterprise, and that of his co-contributors, as part of a broader process of historical revisionism. But, by the late 1990s, court studies had itself become subject to its own internal forces of revisionism. The books reviewed here not only illustrate the diversity of projects undertaken by scholars of the court; they also critique the interpretations and approaches of an earlier generation of court historians.
‘Complementary ENT’: a systematic review of commonly used supplements
Authors: Karkos P D , Leong S C , Arya A K , Papouliakos S M , Apostolidou M T , Issing W J
Published: November 2006

Objective:

To assess the evidence surrounding the use of certain complementary supplements in otolaryngology. We specifically focussed on four commonly used supplements: spirulina, Ginkgo biloba, Vertigoheel® and nutritional supplements (cod liver oil, multivitamins and pineapple enzyme).

Materials and methods:

A systematic review of the English and foreign language literature. Inclusion criteria: in vivo human studies. Exclusion criteria: animal trials, in vitro studies and case reports. We also excluded other forms of ‘alternative medicine’ such as reflexology, acupuncture and other homeopathic remedies.

Results:

Lack of common outcome measures prevented a formal meta-analysis. Three studies on the effects of spirulina in allergy, rhinitis and immunomodulation were found. One was a double-blind, placebo, randomised, controlled trial (RCT) of patients with allergic rhinitis, demonstrating positive effects in patients fed spirulina for 12 weeks. The other two studies, although non-randomised, also reported a positive role for spirulina in mucosal immunity. Regarding the use of Ginkgo biloba in tinnitus, a Cochrane review published in 2004 showed no evidence for this. The one double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that followed confirmed this finding. Regarding the use of Vertigoheel in vertigo, two double-blind RCTs and a meta-analysis were identified. The first RCT suggested that Vertigoheel was equally effective in reducing the severity, duration and frequency of vertigo compared with betahistine. The second RCT suggested that Vertigoheel was a suitable alternative to G biloba in the treatment of atherosclerosis-related vertigo. A meta-analysis of only four clinical trials confirms that Vertigoheel was equally effective compared with betahistine, G biloba and dimenhydrinate. Regarding multivitamins and sinusitis, two small paediatric pilot studies reported a positive response for chronic sinusitis and otitis media following a course of multivitamins and cod liver oil. Regarding bromelain (pineapple enzyme) and sinusitis, one randomised, multicentre trial including 116 children compared bromelain monotherapy to bromelain with standard therapy and standard therapy alone, for the treatment of acute sinusitis. The bromelain monotherapy group showed a faster recovery compared with the other groups.

Conclusion:

The positive effects of spirulina in allergic rhinitis and of Vertigoheel in vertigo are based on good levels of evidence, but larger trials are required. There is overwhelming evidence that G biloba may play no role in tinnitus. There is limited evidence for the use of multivitamins in sinus symptoms, and larger randomised trials are required.
The Epistemic Problem Does Not Refute Consequentialism
Authors: COWEN TYLER
Published: November 2006

Should radical uncertainty about the distant future dissuade us from judging options by referring to their consequences? I argue no. Some short-run benefits are sufficiently high that we should pursue them, even if our long-run estimates possess a very high variance. I discuss the relationship between the epistemic argument and ‘fuzzy’ rankings and also ‘arguments from infinity’. Furthermore, extant versions of the epistemic argument require the assumption that we have no idea about the major consequences of our acts. Even a slight idea about some major consequences will render the epistemic argument less plausible. In most applications of the epistemic argument, long-run uncertainty is not the relevant confounding variable; on close examination the epistemic argument tends to trade on other principles altogether.
Darwall on Rational Care
Authors: RAZ JOSEPH
Published: November 2006

Stephen Darwall's understanding of what kind of life is a good life, good for the person whose life it is, belongs in the same family as, among others, Scanlon's and mine. It is a family of views about well-being which descends from Aristotle, and Darwall has much of interest to say about the good life, and particularly about Aristotle's views on the subject. Many of the observations central to his position seem to me cogent, and are shared by other writers. These include three important propositions:

that a good life, one which is good for those whose life it is, is not necessarily the same as a life which they think is good for them, nor does it necessarily consist in their desires being satisfied, nor in the satisfaction of any subset of their desires (e.g. their considered desires, or those not based on any false assumptions).

that people aim or intend to do what is worth doing, to have relationships worth having, and engage in goals worth pursuing, and so on, and that all of these, and their combination, are distinct from having a good life (and this explains how people can knowingly sacrifice their own good), and

that what makes the well-being of people worth pursuing, to the extent that it is, what provides reasons for those same people and for others to protect or promote it, is that people are valuable in themselves.
Reply to Griffin, Raz, and Wolf
Authors: DARWALL STEPHEN
Published: November 2006

I am honored that Jim Griffin, Joseph Raz, and Susan Wolf, all of whose work I greatly admire, have thought my ideas on welfare and care worth engaging, and I am very grateful to them for doing so. Each has raised searching and difficult questions. Rather than attempting to respond to them seriatim, I propose to discuss the issues under three broad headings: questions about the concept of welfare, questions about care or sympathetic concern, and the question of whether welfare claims have agent-relative or agent-neutral normative force. These issues are, of course, interconnected, but it may nonetheless be helpful to divide them up in these ways.
Analysis of gravity and topography in the GLIMPSE study region: Isostatic compensation and uplift of the Sojourn and Hotu Matua Ridge systems
Authors: Harmon Nicholas , Forsyth Donald W. , Scheirer Daniel S.
Published: November 2006

The Gravity Lineations Intraplate Melting Petrologic and Seismic Expedition (GLIMPSE) Experiment investigated the formation of a series of non–hot spot, intraplate volcanic ridges in the South Pacific and their relationship to cross‐grain gravity lineaments detected by satellite altimetry. Using shipboard gravity measurements and a simple model of surface loading of a thin elastic plate, we estimate effective elastic thicknesses ranging from ∼2 km beneath the Sojourn Ridge to a maximum of 10 km beneath the Southern Cross Seamount. These elastic thicknesses are lower than predicted for the 3–9 Ma seafloor on which the volcanoes lie, perhaps due to reheating and thinning of the plate during emplacement. Anomalously low apparent densities estimated for the Matua and Southern Cross seamounts of 2050 and 2250 kg m−3, respectively, probably are artifacts caused by the assumption of only surface loading, ignoring the presence of subsurface loading in the form of underplated crust and/or low‐density mantle. Using satellite free‐air gravity and shipboard bathymetry, we calculate the age‐detrended, residual mantle Bouguer anomaly (rMBA). The rMBA corrects the free‐air anomaly for the direct effects of topography, including the thickening of the crust beneath the seamounts and volcanic ridges due to surface loading of the volcanic edifices. There are broad, negative rMBA anomalies along the Sojourn and Brown ridges and the Hotu Matua seamount chain that extend nearly to the East Pacific Rise. These negative rMBA anomalies connect to negative free‐air anomalies in the western part of the study area that have been recognized previously as the beginnings of the cross‐grain gravity lineaments. Subtracting the topographic effects of surface loading by the ridges and seamounts from the observed topography reveals that the ridges are built on broad bands of anomalously elevated seafloor. This swell topography and the negative rMBA anomalies contradict the predictions of lithospheric cracking models for the origin of gravity lineaments and associated volcanic ridges, favoring models with a dynamic mantle component such as small‐scale convection or channelized asthenospheric return flow.
Distribution of recent volcanism and the morphology of seamounts and ridges in the GLIMPSE study area: Implications for the lithospheric cracking hypothesis for the origin of intraplate, non–hot spot volcanic chains
Authors: Forsyth Donald W. , Harmon Nicholas , Scheirer Daniel S. , Duncan Robert A.
Published: November 2006

Lithospheric cracking by remotely applied stresses or thermoelastic stresses has been suggested to be the mechanism responsible for the formation of intraplate volcanic ridges in the Pacific that clearly do not form above fixed hot spots. As part of the Gravity Lineations Intraplate Melting Petrology and Seismic Expedition (GLIMPSE) project designed to investigate the origin of these features, we have mapped two volcanic chains that are actively forming to the west of the East Pacific Rise using multibeam echo sounding and side‐scan sonar. Side‐scan sonar reveals the distribution of rough seafloor corresponding to recent, unsedimented lava flows. In the Hotu Matua volcanic complex, recent flows and volcanic edifices are distributed over a region 450 km long and up to 65 km wide, with an apparent, irregular age progression from older flows in the west to younger in the east. The 550‐km‐long Southern Cross Seamount/Sojourn Ridge/Brown Ridge chain appears to have been recently active only at its eastern end near the East Pacific Rise. A third region of recent flows is found 120 km north of Southern Cross Seamount in seafloor approximately 9 Myr old. No indication of lithospheric extension in the form of faulting or graben formation paralleling the trend of the volcanic chains is found in the vicinity of recent flows or anywhere else in the study area. Thermoelastic cracking could be a factor in the formation of a few small, very narrow volcanic ridges, but most of the volcanic activity is broadly distributed in wide swaths with no indication of formation along narrow cracks. The Sojourn and Brown chains appear to begin as distributed zones of small seamounts that later develop into segmented ridges, perhaps under the influence of membrane stresses from self‐loading. We suggest that the linear volcanic chains are created by moving melting anomalies in the asthenosphere and that lithospheric cracking plays at most a secondary role.