bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paying for the Tea
Authors: Fichter James R.
Published: May 2024

This chapter tackles the issue of paying for tea. Some colonists thought the Boston Tea Party was excessive and the tea should be paid for, preferably by someone else, and making amends for the lost tea would help de-escalate the conflict and reconcile the conflicting sides. However, amends entailed reimbursing the East India Company and prosecuting offenders since the Tea Party. The chapter explains how Coercive Acts attempted to divide Massachusettsans from other colonists but only encouraged colonial unity because they were extreme and harmed innocent and guilty Massachusettsans alike. It explains that the Continental Congress considered repaying the tea, but it would not end the Coercive Acts, so the boycott and resistance were the only ways to get all offensive acts repealed.
Prohibition as Conformity
Authors: Fichter James R.
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses the prohibition of tea as some form of conformity. It explains how the prioritization of the Continental Association as public rhetoric went hand-in-hand with censoring the press and policing the mail. Conformity to the sumptuary provisions of the Association was an important indicator of political belief, but the Patriots prioritized getting colonists to say they supported the Association. The chapter explains how the accusation of tea drinking became a useful tool in neighborly politics and feuds. It cites that Patriotic propaganda, censorship, and control of a large majority of North American presses helped ensure only certain information about the Association appeared in print.
Making Mutuality Profitable
Authors: Moran Ryan
Published: May 2024

This chapter examines an important issue related to the interplay of discourses of family, community, objectivity, and rationality amid the commodification of Japanese lives under consumer capitalism. The chapter explores the early history of the life insurance industry as private firms and intellectuals debated the nature of life insurance and tried to gain consumer trust in their ability to chart a probable future. It discusses early failed attempts and the Meiji Life Insurance Company's emergence as Japan's first successful modern life insurance company. The chapter looks at the discourse that emerged around probability and explores arguments between supporters of stock companies and mutual companies over which system best supported customer lives. It shows how firms came to commoditize the concept of community as they offered alternatives to the mutual aid societies that had developed in the Tokugawa period.
Bureaucracy as Interruption
Authors: McLellan Timothy G.
Published: May 2024

This chapter tackles the meaning and significance of headaches within the scientific, administrative, and bureaucratic lives of Institute for Farms and Forests colleagues. It clarifies that the term “headache” is used interchangeably with mafan. The Monitoring and Evaluation for Learning and Accountability (MELA) framework is often regarded as a headache and the only thing MELA's Theory of Change generated was meaningless interruption towards impactful research. The chapter cites that headaches that emanate from funding bureaucracies are radically distinct from the valued feedback from academic peers and fieldwork interlocutors. It explains how understanding the interplay between science and bureaucracy helps scientists reflect on temporal frameworks.
Sex Tourism in the 1970s and the End of Permissive Islam
Authors: Ewing Christopher
Published: May 2024

This chapter explores sex tourism in the 1970s in correlation with the end of permissive Islam. It also cites how Casablanca became a paradise for same-sex desiring men. Decolonization and partial decriminalization of male homosexuality in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1969 radically altered both the practice and representation of tourism. Moreover, the travel worlds and communication networks that primarily white, gay German men created in the 1970s fractured the consensus that North African states were permissive of homosexuality. The chapter clarifies that racialized desire cannot be disentangled from gay politics. It also mentions how pedophilia cannot be extracted from tourist desires.
Orality, Oral Theory, and Memory Studies
Authors: Mitchell Stephen A.
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses the notions of orality, Oral Theory, and memory studies in line with Old Norse folklore. It explains that orality's engagement with memory represents a form of abstraction that dates back millennia. Oral Theory and its related terms being used for Old Norse folklore share numerous concerns with memory studies, but their overlapping concepts are not exactly absolute. Orality and Oral Theory have similarly re-vitalized the study of medieval literature and made available a variety of techniques to move serious scholarship and modern international memory studies. The chapter cites that distinguishing studies of orality and memory studies must also avoid a mischaracterizing binary in which one group focuses on questions of technique.
The Goddess Gná
Authors: Mitchell Stephen A.
Published: May 2024

This chapter tackles the information about the goddess Gná in reference works. It mentions that the three skaldic poems, Gylfaginning's short narrative, and citations in several pulur were the source materials about Gná, which limited the possibilities for interpretation. Discussions of the goddess Gná have been dominated by possible filiations to the Graeco-Roman world and etymological interpretations. Even though she is one of the least known and least discussed of the goddesses, she is possibly a key figure in mythology. Moreover, a considerable amount of material mentions the goddess in correlation with flight or airborne figures. The chapter looks into the possible influence of the Church in the interpretation of Old Norse texts.
Heroic Legend and Onomastics
Authors: Mitchell Stephen A.
Published: May 2024

This chapter examines heroic legends and onomastics in line with Hálfs saga, Das Hildebrandslied, and the Listerby stones. It discusses Gregory Nagy's observation on the similarity of epic heroes that provided implications for Hellenists and other scholars engaged with other traditions. The literary and mythological traditions of various Germanic peoples in northern Europe held in common tales characterized by parricide, other acts of familial disloyalty, and anthroponymic features. The relationships among the various Germanic parricidal narratives paralleled in turn by historical evidence of the same onomastic practices. The chapter also looks into particular naming traditions while considering the key concept of Listerby stones.
Tradition as Chimera
Authors: Hellebust Rolf
Published: May 2024

This chapter begins by discussing the category of literary tradition. The term “literary tradition” refers, first and foremost, to a broad grouping of works or authorial corpora based primarily on thematic criteria. Literary tradition may also refer to the set of artistic norms and conventions associated with a grouping of works or authors. The chapter then surveys the ways it has been understood in the scholarship of the past century. These approaches can be examined in terms of a range of alternative theoretical orientations: among these is the opposition of literary and extraliterary interpretations of the formation of a tradition. At one extreme is the strict formalist approach, which analyzes literary groupings as products of the evolution of an autonomous artistic system, without regard for forces operating within the broader social sphere. At the other stand those late twentieth-century scholars who view traditions primarily as cultural expressions of dominant ideological interests.
The Early Years
Authors: Evergates Theodore
Published: May 2024

This chapter introduces Geoffroy of Villehardouin, who was born around 1148 in a family of knights, canons, and nuns. At some point, Geoffroy and his family migrated to Troyes, where his father, Vilain, received several grain mills in fief from the count of Champagne. The chapter mentions Geoffroy's older brothers, Roscelin and Vilain II, who became canons in Troyes, and Jean, who became a knight and inherited most of the property in Villehardouin. As the fourth son, Geoffroy inherited only minor revenues in Villehardouin and in several outlying properties. The chapter covers Geoffroy's entry to military service with Count Henry the Liberal, who was in the process of transforming Troyes from an old episcopal city into the capital of his principality.
Sailing to Byzantium
Authors: Evergates Theodore
Published: May 2024

This chapter recounts Geoffroy of Villehardouin's travel to Venice in early May 1202 from Lézinnes in the company of Odo and William of Champlitte. Several months after Geoffrey left, Count Baldwin, Countess Marie of Flanders, and Count Louis arrived in Venice with their armies from Champagne, Blois, and Flanders. The chapter mentions Mathieu of Montmorency, who had assumed the leadership of the Champenois by Philip II in his capacity as guardian of Countess Blanche and the county of Champagne. Since Montmorency lacked the requisite standing as a regional prince, he failed to forge an army of Champagne under his command. The chapter highlights the lack of princely leadership and the failure to organize a unified force from Champagne that accounted for the dispersal of the Champenois and their limited role in the crusade and conquest of Constantinople.
Islam, Hierarchy, and Moral Order
Authors: Khan Arsalan
Published: May 2024

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the Tablighi Jamaat, which emerged in the 1920s in North India and is now one of the largest Islamic movements in the world. Since the 1980s, the Tablighi Jamaat has grown dramatically in Pakistan, making the country one of the four major centers of Tablighi Jamaat activities. The chapter considers the concept of dawat, which has deep roots in Islamic theology and can be found in the Quran. The Tablighis' insistence that only dawat performed and taught in their own congregation can spread Islamic virtue and is the basis for creating a genuine Islamic community challenges the many forces of the Islamic revival that compete for Islamic authority in Pakistan. The book takes up the question of the moral value placed on hierarchy and the ethical reflexivity this engenders among Pakistani Tablighis. In particular, it examines how Islamic piety as a form of hierarchical relationality is constituted, legitimated, and naturalized in the practices of dawat and how hierarchy becomes a basis for the ethical reflexivity that structures Tablighi approaches to social and political life.
Global Displacement and Racism
Authors: Bhagat Ali
Published: May 2024

This introductory chapter provides an overview of how refugees emerge as fantasy subjects in contemporary capitalism. An examination of their lived realities reveals various features of organized abandonment and survival in both exclusion and acceptance. Refugees must thus be understood as a population beyond surplus labor power as theorized by Marx, because their survival is irrelevant to nation-states. Ultimately, the refugee fantasy is rooted in ideological ambivalence. It operates for both the political Left and Right, where the former governs through rights and the latter through racism and exclusion. The chapter looks at the concepts of racial capitalism and surplus populations. To understand refugee governance and survival, the book examines two cities—Paris and Nairobi—that are hotspots of refugee hosting in the European Union and East Africa, respectively. Placing these two cases in conversation shows how a country with a robust welfare system like France still fails refugees.
Work Flows
Authors: Vinokour Maya
Published: May 2024

This book investigates the emergence of “flow” as a crucial metaphor within Russian labor culture since 1870. The book frames concern with fluid channeling as immanent to vertical power structures—whether that verticality derives from the state, as in Stalin's Soviet Union and present-day Russia, or from the proliferation of corporate monopolies, as in the contemporary Anglo-American West. Originating in pre-revolutionary bio-utopianism, the Russian rhetoric of liquids and flow reached an apotheosis during Stalin's First Five-Year Plan and re-emerged in post-Soviet “managed democracy” and Western neoliberalism. The literary, philosophical, and official texts that the book examines give voice to the Stalinist ambition of reforging not merely individual bodies, but space and time themselves. By mobilizing the understudied thematic of fluidity, the book offers insight into the nexus of philosophy, literature, and science that underpinned Stalinism and remains influential today. The book demonstrates that Stalinism is not a historical phenomenon restricted to the period 1922–1953, but a symptom of modernity as it emerged in the twentieth century. Stalinism's legacy extends far beyond the bounds of the former Soviet Union, emerging in seemingly disparate settings like post-Soviet Russia and Silicon Valley.
Self-Discipline and Liquid Channeling in Prerevolutionary Russian Utopianism
Authors: Vinokour Maya
Published: May 2024

This chapter discusses the emergence of the concept of liquidity in prerevolutionary Russian utopianism. It examines Lev Tolstoy's influential doctrine of self-discipline, which he saw as the only way to live decently in a hopelessly corrupted and unjust world. Tolstoy's famously polarizing novella, The Kreutzer Sonata (1889), endorses a painful discipline from which the subject is supposed to derive spiritual, if not bodily, satisfaction. For all the scandal it caused, Tolstoy's depiction of a man who breaks with judicial and social codes but in the process gains access to a higher moral plane is typical for late-nineteenth-century Russian literature. The chapter then looks at nineteenth-century science, considering the Russian reception of Darwinism and Malthusianism. It also examines Tolstoy's Resurrection (1899), in which his irritation with institutionalized oppression emerges as a systematic repudiation of the Lombrosian “born criminal.” For Tolstoy, an unquestioning acceptance of materialism, Darwinism, and degeneration theory is not merely incorrect but morally reprehensible.
Introduction
Authors: Lake David A.
Published: May 2024

This introductory chapter examines the extent of indirect rule. It explains how international influence is frequently exercised indirectly by manipulating the domestic politics of other states. In indirect rule, the dominant state forms an alliance with the group within the subordinate society whose interests are most closely aligned with its own. The chapter explains that indirect rule is a second face of power mechanism, an institutional or structural form of power that alters the incentives of actors and causes them to behave in ways they otherwise could not. It discusses the relevance of indirect rule in US foreign policy and the significance of international hierarchy in the discipline of International Relations.
Indirect Rule in Western Europe
Authors: Lake David A.
Published: May 2024

This chapter explores the indirect rule within Western Europe and its domestic political consequences. It explains that Pax Americana is normally understood as an exceptional regional order in which benevolent hegemony or US leadership produced extensive international cooperation despite the condition of international anarchy. Moreover, the Pax Americana was a set of hierarchical relationships managed in the crucial postwar years through indirect rule. The chapter explains that the role of the United States holds importance in the formulation of common policies. The United States intentionally manipulated the domestic politics of its Western European subordinates until they came to want what Washington wanted them to want, and they then agreed to live within additional rules intended to limit opportunism.
Chapter XXX
Authors: Bakin Kyokutei
Published: May 2024

This chapter recounts Hikami Shahei and Isakawa Iohachi's interrogation of Gakuzō at the house of Hikiroku and Kamezasa for killing Kyūroku and injuring Gobaiji. Iohachi would not believe Gakuzō's account that he only avenged the death of his masters, even after Sesuke revealed that he had witnessed Kyūroku and Gobaiji murdering the old couple. The chapter details how Gakuzō and Sesuke were wrongly accused and then taken to the castle and its court of inquiry. It tells of Shino's arrival at Koga and his meeting with the Chancellor, Yokohori Fuhito Arimura, at his mansion to introduce himself and recite the purpose of his visit. Upon discovering that Rainmaker had been switched and stolen, Shino tried to escape Arimura and Nairuji's wrath and Kenpachi, who was in prison, was sent to capture him with the promise that his death sentence will be commuted.
Fables in Jewish Culture
Authors: Schrijver Emile , Meiboom Lies
Published: May 2024

This book catalogues almost 400 Jewish scrolls and books from the collection of Jon A. Lindseth that contain animal stories with moral connections. Spanning six centuries, the books are in several languages, including Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and Judeo-Persian. They were printed all over the world and include animal stories from the Hebrew Bible and other religious texts as well as translations of secular stories, such as Aesop's fables in Hebrew. The catalogue is divided into four sections—Biblical works, rabbinic works, medieval works, and postmedieval works—and each entry is illustrated with a page or more from the work, a detailed description of the characteristics and publishing history of the work, and description of the fables contained therein, along with a discussion of their literary and/or cultural-historical significance. The book includes a foreword by Jon A. Lindseth, describing how he assembled this collection of Jewish books containing fables, as well as essays on the role of fables in Jewish culture, their use in Biblical and rabbinical literature, and their appearance in Jewish and Yiddish literature. It concludes with a bibliography of fables in Jewish literature and multiple indexes that allow readers to locate works by a number of criteria, including fable, author, title (in English, Hebrew, and Latin), and printer.
Nutritional Quality and Antioxidant Properties of Roselle-Tiger Nut Beverage
Authors: N.P. Mtam, , T.T. Iombor,
Published: May 2024

Background:  A beverage is a liquid prepared from cereals, grains and leaves/calyxes for human consumption. Beverages are classified into alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Objective:  The study evaluated the nutritional quality and antioxidant properties of Roselle-tiger nut beverage.
Methods:  Roselle-tiger nut beverage was produced from the control samples roselle and tiger nut (% v/v) using the ratios 100:0 Roselle beverage, 0:100 tiger nut beverage and 80:20 Roselle-tiger nut beverage. Subsequently, Proximate, mineral, phytochemical compositions, antioxidants properties and sensory properties were determined using established methods.
Results: There was an elevation in protein (16.29±2.39a) carbohydrate (11.08±9.59a), crude protein (16.29±2.39a) and ash content (3.09±0.56a) but a decrease in moisture and crude fat content. Also, an increase in Sodium (0.09±0.01b), Zinc (0.21±0.00b) and Copper (0.09±0.00b) content with a decrease in Potassium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Magnesium, Calcium and Iron levels. For phytochemical compositions, an increase in flavonoids (1.73±0.43a), saponins (1.25±0.75a) and alkaloids (1.36±0.13a) contents with a decrease in tannins, oxalates and phytate contents was observed. There was an elevation in free radical scavenging activity (0.36±0.00ab) and ferric reducing power (0.32±0.00c) but a decrease in hydroxyl scavenging activity and metal chelating ability. Sample MNP836 of Roselle-tiger nut beverage was the most preferred by panelists for appearance (8.10), taste (8.24), flavor (8.38), mouth feel (8.38) and overall acceptability (8.48).
Conclusion:  Substitution of roselle beverage with 20% tiger nut beverage improved the nutritional quality of roselle-tiger nut beverage.
Effect of Potting Mixture and Polybag Size on Growth and Flowering of Asiatic Lily (Lilium asiaticum var. Nashville) under Protected Condition
Authors: Geethan Anupama , Bahadur Vijay , Joseph Annjoe V
Published: May 2024

An experiment on recognizing the significance of cultivating lilies under polyhouse conditions, this study contributes the valuable insights to the cultivation practices of Asiatic lilies, focusing on the pivotal roles of potting mixture composition and polybag size. Healthy bulbs of each cultivar were freshly planted in various media compositions in different polybag size within a protected environment. From the present investigation, it is concluded that the treatment 12 x 12 polybag size combined with Garden soil + Vermicompost  + Cocopeat (1:1:2) was found in superior among other treatments in terms of plant height  (69.30cm), leaf length (8.60 cm), leaf width (3.03 cm), number of flower buds/plant (4.60), days to appearance of first flower bud (40.10), flower bud length (8.43 cm), stalk length (68.15 cm), weight of bulb per plant (64.75g), self life of flower spike (15.22 days), number of flowers per 250 m2 (10032.75). The study concluded that, the lilies readily respond to various medium for cultivation and 12 x 12 Polybag combined with potting mixture Garden soil + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:2) observed to be the best for plant growth and flowering of Asiatic lily under protected condition.
Studies on Growth, Development and Establishment of Different Bael (Aegle marmelos L.) Varieties under Prayagraj Agro Climatic Conditions
Authors: Jhajharia Naveen , Singh Devi , Bahadur Vijay , Maan Aman
Published: May 2024

The objective of the experiment was to work out the "Studies on Growth, development and establishment of different variety of Bael (Aegle marmelos L) for establishment under Prayagraj agro-climatic Condition. So, a field experiment was conducted during session 2022-2023 at, Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom University Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, (SHUATS), Prayagraj (U.P). The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design with 7 Variety (treatment) replicated thrice. The treatments were V1 Narendra Bael-5, V₂ Narendra Bael-6¸V3 Narendra Bael-7,V4 Narendra Bael-9¸V5 Narendra Bael-1 ,V6 Narendra Bael-11, V7 Narendra Bael-8 .V6 was found to be superior in the term of Survival Percentage (94.66%) Plant height (61.30 cm),Number of leaves plant (54.33), Number of branches plant-1 (6.66), Stem diameter (5.36 cm), Plant spread (41.46cm) (E-W) and (43.40 cm) (N-S), Chlorophyll content (50.70) The research conduct will help the farmers to select superior variety of Bael under Prayagraj agro-climatic condition.
Arqueologia, paisagem e patrimônio
Authors: Curtoni Rafael Pedro
Published: May 2024

Não há dúvidas de que os conceitos de Paisagem, Patrimônio e Arqueologia não apenas denotam uma origem moderna, ocidental e europeia, mas também representam uma nova forma de ver associada a uma visão ideológica e de classe, inventada em um momento específico da história. Essa nova política da visão se sustentou e se reproduziu sobre uma das separações fundantes do conhecimento moderno, que é a cisão cartesiana entre mente e corpo. A partir disso, o olhar renascentista estabeleceu uma ideia de paisagem como exterioridade passível de medição, equivalente em todas as suas partes, homogêneo, constante e separado do âmbito humano. Também é verdade que essa visão buscou ser superada à luz de novas contribuições teóricas nas quais começou a ser percebido que os lugares e a paisagem tiveram e têm significados especiais para as pessoas ao longo do tempo, e que esses valores estão relacionados a práticas sociais e conotações simbólicas atribuídas ao entorno. Dessa forma, a paisagem deixou de ser considerada apenas como uma entidade física externa e passiva à qual os humanos se adaptavam para ser reconhecida como parte de um processo cultural.
Organizing the faculty around the students: Walden University
Authors: Peinovich Paula E. , Hodgkinson Harold L.
Published: March 2011

Emerging from the 1960s and a focus on transformative learning, Walden University is a pioneering program for adult learners. The authors outline how Walden's doctoral program engaged mid‐career professionals in student‐designed inquiry and applied scholarship.
Chondromodulin 1 stabilizes the chondrocyte phenotype and inhibits endochondral ossification of porcine cartilage repair tissue
Authors: Klinger Patricia , Surmann‐Schmitt Cordula , Brem Matthias , Swoboda Bernd , Distler Jörg H. , Carl Hans‐Dieter , von der Mark Klaus , Hennig Friedrich F. , Gelse Kolja
Published: March 2011

Objective

To investigate the effect of chondromodulin 1 on the phenotype of osteochondral progenitor cells in cartilage repair tissue.

Methods

Self‐complementary adeno‐associated virus (AAV) vectors carrying chondromodulin 1 complementary DNA (AAV‐Chm‐1) were applied to cartilage lesions in the knee joints of miniature pigs that were treated by the microfracture technique. Alternatively, isolated porcine osteochondral progenitor cells were infected with AAV‐Chm‐1 or with AAV‐GFP control vectors ex vivo prior to being transplanted into cartilage lesions in which the subchondral bone plate was left intact. The quality of the repair tissue and the degree of endochondral ossification were assessed by histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. The effects of chondromodulin 1 overexpression were also analyzed by angiogenesis assays and quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction.

Results

AAV‐Chm‐1–infected cells efficiently produced chondromodulin 1, which had strong antiangiogenic effects, as verified by the inhibition of tube formation of endothelial cells. Gene expression analyses in vitro revealed the cell cycle inhibitor p21WAF1/Cip1 as one target up‐regulated by AAV‐Chm‐1. Direct application of AAV‐Chm‐1 vectors into microfractured porcine cartilage lesions stimulated chondrogenic differentiation of ingrowing progenitor cells, but significantly inhibited terminal chondrocyte hypertrophy, the invasion of vessel structures, and excessive endochondral ossification, which were otherwise observed in untreated lesions. Indirect gene transfer, with infection of porcine osteochondral progenitor cells by AAV‐Chm‐1 ex vivo, also supported chondrogenic differentiation of these transplanted cells. AAV‐Chm‐1–infected cells maintained a chondrocyte‐like phenotype and formed a hyaline‐like matrix that was superior to that formed by uninfected or AAV‐GFP–infected cells.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that the antiangiogenic factor chondromodulin 1 stabilizes the chondrocyte phenotype by supporting chondrogenesis but inhibiting chondrocyte hypertrophy and endochondral ossification.
Enantioselectivity of Candida rugosa lipases (Lip1, Lip3, and Lip4) towards 2‐bromo phenylacetic acid octyl esters controlled by a single amino acid
Authors: Piamtongkam Rungtiwa , Duquesne Sophie , Bordes Florence , Barbe Sophie , André Isabelle , Marty Alain , Chulalaksananukul Warawut
Published: March 2011

Enantiomer discrimination by enzymes is a very accurate mechanism, which often involves few amino acids located at the active site. Lipase isoforms from Candida rugosa are very good enzymatic models to study this phenomenon as they display high sequence homology (>80%) and their enantioselectivity is often pointed out. In the present work, we investigated three lipases from C. rugosa (Lip1, Lip3, and Lip4, respectively) towards the resolution of 2‐bromo‐arylacetic acid esters, an important class of chemical intermediates in the pharmaceutical industry. All exhibited a high enantioselectivity, with Lip4 preferring the R‐enantiomer (E‐value = 15), while Lip1 and Lip3 showed an S‐enantioselectivity >200. A combination of sequence and structure analysis of the three C. rugosa lipases suggested that position 296 could play a role in S‐ or R‐enantiomer preference of C. rugosa lipases. This led to the construction by site‐directed mutagenesis of Lip1 and Lip4 variants in which position 296 was, respectively, exchanged by a Gly, Ala, Leu, or Phe amino acid. Screening of these variants for their enantioselectivity toward 2‐bromo phenyl acetic acid octyl esters revealed that steric hindrance of the amino acid residue introduced at position 296 controls both the enantiopreference and the enantioselectivity value of the lipase: bulkier is the amino acid at position 296, larger is the selectivity towards the S‐enantiomer. To investigate further these observations at an atomic level, we carried out a preliminary modeling study of the tetrahedral intermediates formed by Lip1 and Lip4 with the (R, S)‐2‐bromo‐phenylacetic acid octyl ester enantiomers that provides some insight regarding the determinants responsible for lipase enantiodiscrimination. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1749–1756. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Self‐assembled dextrin nanogel as protein carrier: Controlled release and biological activity of IL‐10
Authors: Carvalho Vera , Castanheira Pedro , Madureira Pedro , Ferreira Sílvia A. , Costa Carla , Teixeira João P. , Faro Carlos , Vilanova Manuel , Gama Miguel
Published: March 2011

Interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) is an anti‐inflammatory cytokine, which active form is a non‐covalent homodimer. Given the potential of IL‐10 for application in various medical conditions, it is essential to develop systems for its effective delivery. In previous work, it has been shown that a dextrin nanogel effectively incorporated and stabilized rIL‐10, enabling its release over time. In this work, the delivery system based on dextrin nanogels was further analyzed. The biocompatibility of the nanogel was comprehensively analyzed, through cytotoxicity (lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, MTS, Live, and Dead) and genotoxicity (comet) assays. The release profile of rIL‐10 and its biological activity were evaluated in vivo, using C57BL/6 mice. Although able to maintain a stable concentration of IL‐10 for at least 4 h in mice serum, the amount of protein released was rather low. Despite this, the amount of rIL‐10 released from the complex was biologically active inhibiting TNF‐α production, in vivo, by LPS‐challenged mice. In spite of the significant stabilization achieved using the nanogel, rIL‐10 still denatures rather quickly. An additional effort is thus necessary to develop an effective delivery system for this cytokine, able to release active protein over longer periods of time. Nevertheless, the good biocompatibility, the protein stabilization effect and the ability to perform as a carrier with controlled release suggest that self‐assembled dextrin nanogels may be useful protein delivery systems. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1977–1986. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cell to aperture interaction in patch‐clamp chips visualized by fluorescence microscopy and focused‐ion beam sections
Authors: Py Christophe , Salim Danish , Monette Robert , Comas Tanya , Fraser Jeffrey , Martinez Dolores , Martina Marzia , Mealing Geoffrey
Published: March 2011

Patch‐clamp is an important method to monitor the electrophysiological activity of cells and the role of pharmacological compounds on specific ion channel proteins. In recent years, planar patch‐clamp chips have been developed as a higher throughput approach to the established glass‐pipette method. However, proper conditions to optimize the high resistance cell‐to‐probe seals required to measure the small currents resulting from ion channel activity are still the subject of conjecture. Here, we report on the design of multiple‐aperture (sieve) chips to rapidly facilitate assessment of cell‐to‐aperture interactions in statistically significant numbers. We propose a method to pre‐screen the quality of seals based on a dye loading protocol through apertures in the chip and subsequent evaluation with fluorescence confocal microscopy. We also show the first scanning electron micrograph of a focused ion beam section of a cell in a patch‐clamp chip aperture. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1936–1941. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy as a novel tool to enable PAT applications in bioprocesses
Authors: Teixeira Ana P. , Duarte Tiago M. , Carrondo M.J.T. , Alves Paula M.
Published: March 2011

In this work, synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) is evaluated as a new tool for real‐time bioprocess monitoring of animal cell cultures. This technique presents several advantages over the traditional two‐dimensional (2D) fluorometry since it provides data on various fluorescent compounds in a single spectrum, showing improved peak resolution and recording speed. Bioreactor cultures of three monoclonal antibody‐producing CHO cell lines were followed in situ by both 2D and synchronous fluorometry techniques. The time profiles of the main spectral features in each data type present some differences, but principal component analysis indicated both as containing enough information to distinguish the cultures. Partial least squares regression models were then independently developed for viable cell density and antibody levels on the basis of the different fluorescence signals recorded, hiding half of the dataset for subsequent validation purposes. Regardless of the signal used, model predictions fit very well the off‐line measurements; still, the synchronous spectra collected at a wavelength difference of 20 nm allowed comparable and superior performances for cell density and antibody titer, respectively, with validation accuracies higher than 91%. Therefore, SFS compares favorably with the traditional 2D approach, becoming an improved, faster option for real‐time monitoring of cells and product titer over culture time. The readiness in data acquisition facilitates the design of process control strategies meeting the requirements of a PAT application. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:1852–1861. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Simultaneous determination of N‐benzylpiperazine and 1‐(3‐trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine in rat plasma by HPLC‐fluorescence detection and its application to monitoring of these drugs
Authors: Wada Mitsuhiro , Yamahara Kozue , Ikeda Rie , Kikura‐Hanajiri Ruri , Kuroda Naotaka , Nakashima Kenichiro
Published: March 2011

An HPLC‐fluorescence detection method for simultaneous determination of N‐benzylpiperazine (BZP) and 1‐(3‐trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine (TFMPP) labeled with 4‐(4,5‐diphenyl‐1 H‐imidazol‐2‐yl)benzoyl chloride (DIB‐Cl) was described. DIB‐BZP and ‐TFMPP were well separated within 13 min without interference of peaks from plasma components. The lower detection limits of BZP and TFMPP at a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3 were 0.9 and 4.6 ng/mL, respectively. Precisions of the proposed method for intra‐ and inter‐day assays were less than 4.8 and 9.1% as %RSD (n = 5). Furthermore, the method could be successfully applied to monitor both compounds in plasma after their sole or co‐administration to rats (each dose, 2 mg/kg). Clearance of TFMPP was significantly different under the conditions (P = 0.047). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of fluorescence reagents for simultaneous determination of hydroxylated phenylalanine and nitrated tyrosine by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection
Authors: Iwasaki Yusuke , Mochizuki Keisuke , Nakano Yuki , Maruya Natsumi , Goto Masato , Maruyama Yosuke , Ito Rie , Saito Koichi , Nakazawa Hiroyuki
Published: March 2011

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are well‐known and important contributors to oxidative and nitrosative stress in several diseases. Hydroxylated phenylalanine and nitrated tyrosine products appear to be particularly susceptible targets of oxidative and nitrosative stress. We compared fluorescence reagents for their potential use in the analysis of hydroxylated phenylalanine and nitrated tyrosine products with a high‐sensitivity and high‐specificity HPLC‐UV‐FL technique. The analytes were extracted from serum via solid‐phase extraction on Waters Oasis MCX cartridges. Chromatographic separation was achieved on an ODS column (Capcell Pak MG II; 150 × 2.0 mm) using a gradient mobile phase consisting of 20 mm sodium phosphate buffer (adjusted to pH 3.0) and acetonitrile. The method quantification limit for 4‐nitrophenylalanine, m‐tyrosine, and 3‐nitrotyrosine was 0.1 μm. The relative standard deviation of the precision and accuracy was acceptable at the spiked concentration of 0.1 μm for 4‐nitrophenylalanine, m‐tyrosine and 3‐nitrotyrosine. The method could be used for the in vitro analysis of serum samples. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Net Present Value Analysis of Modular Chemical Production Plants
Authors: Lier S. , Grünewald M.
Published: March 2011

Modular plants consist of modules that autonomously operate parts of the plant. These modules are technically and organizationally limited areas of the plant that fulfill defined tasks. Starting with these modules, companies can create capacity either by equaling up modules from general structures or by numbering up equipment. Here, the economics of a modular chemical plant are compared with those of a traditional large‐scale plant by investigating the net present value. The modular plant presents a more efficient concept for fast growing products or products with volatile demands. This is because the market impact during operation is more important than the preceding influence of the investment. In those cases, the effects of flexibility surpass the effects of scale.
Numerical simulation of underground coal gasification using the CRIP method
Authors: Seifi Mojtaba , Chen Zhangxin , Abedi Jalal
Published: March 2011

A three‐dimensional simulation of the Underground coal gasification (UCG) process is studied in terms of the heat and mass transport phenomena and chemical kinetics in a coal seam during coal combustion by applying the controlled retracting injection point technique. The STARS module of the Computer Modelling Group software is used in this study. The gas species flow rate, cavity shapes, and temperature profile in the coal seam during gasification are investigated. The main motivation behind this study is to provide a simulation methodology by using a comprehensive porous media flow approach to understand the critical aspects of the UCG process.
Hydromagnetic non‐Darcy flow, heat and mass transfer over a stretching sheet in the presence of thermal radiation and Ohmic dissipation
Authors: Shateyi S. , Motsa S. S.
Published: March 2011

A numerical analysis has been carried out to study magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer flow, heat and mass transfer characteristics on steady two‐dimensional flow of an electrically conducting fluid over a stretching sheet embedded in a non‐Darcy porous medium in the presence of thermal radiation and viscous dissipation. The governing partial differential equations are convected into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by similarity transformation and are solved numerically by using the Successive linearisation method, together with the Chebyshev pseudo‐spectral collocation method. The effects of various parameters on the velocity, temperature, and concentration fields as well as on the skin‐friction coefficient are presented graphically and in tabular forms.
Subunit interactions within the Chlamydomonas flagellar spokehead
Authors: Kohno Takahiro , Wakabayashi Ken‐ichi , Diener Dennis R. , Rosenbaum Joel L. , Kamiya Ritsu
Published: March 2011

The radial spoke (RS)/central pair (CP) system in cilia and flagella plays an essential role in the regulation of force generation by dynein, the motor protein that drives cilia/flagella movements. Mechanical and mechanochemicl interactions between the CP and the distal part of the RS, the spokehead, should be crucial for this control; however, the details of interaction are totally unknown. As an initial step toward an understanding of the RS‐CP interaction, we examined the protein–protein interactions between the five spokehead proteins (radial spoke protein (RSP)1, RSP4, RSP6, RSP9, and RSP10) and three spoke stalk proteins (RSP2, RSP5, and RSP23), all expressed as recombinant proteins. Three of them were shown to have physiological activities by electroporation‐mediated protein delivery into mutants deficient in the respective proteins. Glutathione S‐transferase pulldown assays in vitro detected interactions in 10 out of 64 pairs of recombinants. In addition, chemical crosslinking of axonemes using five reagents detected seven kinds of interactions between the RS subunits in situ. Finally, in the mixture of the recombinant spokehead subunits, RSP1, RSP4, RSP6, and RSP9 formed a 7–10S complex as detected by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. It may represent a partial assembly of the spokehead. From these results, we propose a model of interactions taking place between the spokehead subunits. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
TLR2 signaling improves immunoregulation to prevent type 1 diabetes
Authors: Filippi Christophe M. , Ehrhardt Katrin , Estes Elizabeth A. , Larsson Par , Oldham Janine E. , von Herrath Matthias G.
Published: March 2011

Signaling through TLR2 promotes inflammation and modulates CD4+CD25+ Tregs. We assessed mechanistically how this molecule would alter immunoregulation in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We also asked whether TLR2 may be involved in our recent discovery that viral infection can protect from autoimmune diabetes by expanding and invigorating Tregs. Treatment of prediabetic mice with a synthetic TLR2 agonist diminished T1D and increased the number and function of CD4+CD25+ Tregs, also conferring DCs with tolerogenic properties. TLR2 ligation also promoted the expansion of Tregs upon culture with DCs and ameliorated their capacity to prevent the disease. Protection from T1D by lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection depended on TLR2. LCMV increased the frequency of CD4+CD25+ Tregs and their production of TGF‐β more significantly in WT than TLR2‐deficient mice. Furthermore, LCMV infection in vivo or LCMV‐infected DCs in vitro rendered, via TLR2, CD4+CD25+ Tregs capable of diminishing T1D. We identify novel mechanisms by which TLR2 promotes immunoregulation and controls autoimmune diabetes in naïve or infected hosts. This work should help understand T1D etiology and develop novel immune‐based therapeutic interventions.
Carborane‐Derivatized Low‐Melting Salts with Ether‐Functionalized Cations – Preparation and Properties
Authors: Liu Shimin , Chen Zhengjian , Zhang Qinghua , Zhang Shiguo , Li Zuopeng , Shi Feng , Ma Xiangyuan , Deng Youquan
Published: March 2011

A new series of low‐melting ammonium salts based on the [nido‐7,8‐C2B9H12]– anion have been synthesized and characterized, and their physicochemical properties including spectroscopic properties, thermal properties, surface properties, solubility, density, viscosity, electrochemical properties, and tribological properties have been studied in detail. In comparison with previously reported carborane‐derivatized imidazolium or pyridinium salts, these diether‐functionalized ammonium salts display lower phase transition temperatures (Tg = –76 to –57 °C), and four exist as liquids at room temperature due to their flexible alkoxy chains. TGA analysis revealed that the weight loss rates of these carborane‐derivatized low‐melting salts were ca. 30–80 wt.‐% after thermal decomposition, which is different from the traditional RTILs. SEM images showed that the resulting residue had hollow reticular shell morphology, and XPS and XRD analyses indicate that the main components of the skeleton are B2O3 and amorphous carbon. This provides a new strategy for preparing new inorganic porous materials by thermal decomposition of these low‐melting salts.
Gold Catalysis: Products and Intermediates Obtained from N‐Propargylcarboxamides Bearing Additional Substituents on Nitrogen
Authors: Hashmi A. Stephen K. , Molinari Lise , Rominger Frank , Oeser Thomas
Published: March 2011

The reaction of several propargylamide substrates with additional substituents on the nitrogen atom was investigated. Under aqueous conditions acyloxy‐substituted allylammonium salts could selectively be obtained. Monitoring of the reactions by 1H NMR spectroscopy indicated the presence of an intermediate. Then switching to anhydrous reaction conditions allowed the isolation and characterization of these intermediates, oxazoliniminium species. Workup of the allylammonium salts under basic conditions led to an acyl transfer from the oxygen atom to the nitrogen atom, which proves that these products are not formed by a direct gold‐catalysed hydration of the triple bond only, and at the same time nicely explains the selective monohydration of only one out of two triple bonds.
Determination of fluoroacetate and fluoride in blood serum by capillary zone electrophoresis using capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection
Authors: Vidal Denis Tadeu Rajh , Augelli Marcio Antonio , Hotta Guilherme Minoru , Lopes Fernando Silva , do Lago Claudimir Lucio
Published: March 2011

Fluoroacetate is a highly toxic species naturally found in plants and in commercial products (compound 1080) for population control of several undesirable animal species. However, it is non‐selective and toxic to many other animals including humans, and thus its detection is very important for forensic purposes. This paper presents a sensitive and fast method for the determination of fluoroacetate in blood serum using capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection. Serum blood samples were treated with ethanol to remove proteins. The samples were analyzed in BGE containing 15 mmol/L histidine and 30 mmol/L gluconic acid (pH 3.85). The calibration curve was linear up to 75 μmol/L (R2=0.9995 for N=12). The detection limit in the blood serum was 0.15 mg/kg, which is smaller than the lethal dose for humans and other animals. Fluoride, a metabolite of the fluoroacetate defluorination, could also be detected for levels greater than 20 μmol/L, when polybrene was used for reversion of the EOF. CTAB and didecyldimethylammonium bromide are not useful for this task because of the severe reduction of the fluoride level. However, no interference was observed for fluoroacetate.
Divide and conquer: the genetic basis of molecular subclassification of breast cancer
Authors: Kristensen Vessela N.
Published: March 2011

Since the luminal B tumours are associated with poor recurrence‐free and disease‐specific survivals in all adjuvant systemic treatment categories including hormone therapy, the identification of specific signalling pathways driving luminal B biology is paramount to improve treatment. Sircoulomb et al. and Holland et al. have independently identified the ZNF703 gene, located in chromosomal region 8p12, as preferentially amplified in luminal B tumours.

See related articles in EMBO Mol Med (Holland et al. (2011) EMBO Mol Med 3: 167‐180 and Sircoulomb et al. (2011) EMBO Mol Med 3: 153‐166)