bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Review of Healing in the Bible: Theological Insight for Christian Ministry by Frederick J. Gaiser
Authors: Idestrom Rebecca G.S.
Published: April 2012

In this review of the book Healing in the Bible by Frederick J. Gaiser, first an overview of the content and major arguments of the book is given, followed by an appreciative response to Gaiser’s study. The evaluation includes comments on Gaiser’s methodology and the many strengths and helpful insights of the book, followed by some questions, challenges and issues which the book raises. The affirmative conclusion is that Gaiser presents a very balanced and carefully nuanced approach to the topic of healing in the Bible. His study also addresses a neglected topic in Old Testament scholarship and thus fills an important need. The book is highly recommended as an essential read for anyone seeking to understand more about God as healer.
Frederick J. Gaiser, Healing in the Bible: Theological Insight for Christian Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010) - An Appreciative Engagement
Authors: Thomas John Christopher
Published: April 2012

This review article offers a brief overview of Pentecostal views on healing and engages Gaiser’s Healing in the Bible first by offering an assessment of the book’s many contributions and then by raising various methodological, theological, and issues of praxis to facilitate dialogue with regard to this most important topic.
Toward Pentecostal Prolegomena II: A Rejoinder to Andrew Gabriel
Authors: Castelo Daniel
Published: April 2012

This rejoinder responds to the recent exchange begun by Andrew Gabriel concerning the viability of divine impassibility within Pentecostal circles. The article hopes to make clearer the guiding assumptions and ends that drove the original article in question, particularly in terms of how the witness and reception of Christian tradition and the explicit and ongoing recognition of the analogical constitution of God-talk can further serve the efforts of constructive Pentecostal theology, particularly as they relate to the doctrine of God and divine attribution.
Healing in the Bible: A Grateful Response
Authors: Gaiser Frederick J.
Published: April 2012

The methodology employed in the author’s book Healing in the Bible (Baker Academic, 2010) is deliberately eclectic, though the coherence of the book lies in its theological perspective. It understands particular texts as participants in a common story that is marked by a confession of a God ‘slow to anger’—a story with historical roots and a future trajectory. The readings of biblical texts are the author’s own, reflecting the work of his teachers Gerhard von Rad and Claus Westermann.
Defending Contrastivism
Authors: Blaauw Martijn
Published: April 2012

One of the most interesting anti-skeptical theories that has been proposed in the recent literature is epistemological contrastivism. In this paper, I answer some important objections to contrastivism that have been put forward by Steven Luper. The upshot of this paper is that Luper’s objections fail to damage contrastivism.
Cuidado medioambiental y apego al lugar: perspectivas para la sostenibilidad en la escuela
Authors: Longhinotti-Felippe Maíra , Kuhnen Ariane
Published: April 2012

El creciente interés por la investigación del apego al lugar, o los lazos emocionales que se crean con los lugares, parte del reconocimiento del papel que juegan estos lazos en la definición de la identidad personal y el desarrollo de sentimientos de pertenencia al lugar que fomentan comportamientos proambientales. En este contexto, el presente trabajo estudia la relación entre el apego al lugar y los índices de cuidado medioambiental. Empleando instrumentos de observación directa y de evaluación medioambiental, este estudio analiza el nivel de conservación de un ambiente escolar de Florianópolis (Brasil). Asimismo se relaciona dicho nivel de conservación con el apego a sectores concretos de la escuela a través de un cuestionario autoadministrado en situación colectiva a 508 estudiantes. Los resultados muestran correlaciones positivas y estadísticamente significativas entre apego al lugar y nivel de conservación, y entre distintos tipos de ambiente para cada una de estas variables.
Antropocentrismo y ecocentrismo en emprendedores potenciales de base tecnológica
Authors: López Jorge , García Juan , Cano Carlos-Jesús , Casado María-del-Pilar
Published: April 2012

En este estudio trataremos de caracterizar el perfil del emprendedor potencial de base tecnológica (EPBT) en términos de sus valores medioambientales dado que cabría esperar que se mostrasen diferencias en su patrón de valores ecológicos en comparación con las personas que no aspiran a crear una empresa de base tecnológica. A una muestra de 191 estudiantes de la Universidad de Almería (34,5% hombres, 65,5% mujeres, rango de edad: 18–50, M = 23, DT = 6) se les envió una encuesta electrónica que contenía una escala de valores ambientales econcéntricos, antropocéntricos, ítems sociodemográficos e ítems destinados a la clasificación de los participantes como EPBT. Los resultados muestran que no existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas en ecocentrismo, pero sí en antropocentrismo en función del perfil emprendedor. Estos resultados apuntan a que los EPBT tienden a ser personas más antropocéntricas que la población no emprendedora y que los emprendedores de propósito general.
Two Improved Mixture Weibull Models for the Analysis of Wind Speed Data
Authors: Qin Xu , Zhang Jiang-she , Yan Xiao-dong
Published: April 2012

In this paper, the authors propose two improved mixture Weibull distribution models by adding one or two location parameters to the existing two-component mixture two-parameter Weibull distribution [MWbl(2, 2)] model. One improved model is the mixture two-parameter Weibull and three-parameter Weibull distribution [MWbl(2, 3)] model. The other improved model is the two-component mixture three-parameter Weibull distribution [MWbl(3, 3)] model. In contrast to existing literature, which has focused on the MWbl(2, 2) and the typical Weibull distribution models, the authors apply the MWbl(2, 3) model and MWbl(3, 3) model to fit the distribution of wind speed data with nearly zero percentages of null wind speed. The parameters of the two improved models are estimated by the maximum likelihood method in which the maximization problem is regarded as a nonlinear programming problem with only inequality constraints and is solved numerically by the interior-point method. The experimental results show that the mixture Weibull models proposed in this paper are more flexible than the existing models for the analysis of wind speed data in practice.
Optimizing Input Data for Gridding Climate Normals for Canada
Authors: Hopkinson Ron F. , Hutchinson Michael F. , McKenney Daniel W. , Milewska Ewa J. , Papadopol Pia
Published: April 2012

Spatial models of 1971–2000 monthly climate normals for daily maximum and minimum temperature and total precipitation are required for many applications. The World Meteorological Organization’s recommended standard for the calculation of a normal value is a complete 30-yr record with a minimal amount of missing data. Only 650 stations (~16%) in Canada meet this criterion for the period 1971–2000. Thin-plate smoothing-spline analyses, as implemented by the Australian National University Splines (ANUSPLIN) package, are used to assess the utility of differing amounts of station data in estimating nationwide monthly climate normals. The data include 1) only those stations (1169) with 20 or more years of data, 2) all stations (3835) with 5 or more years of data in at least one month, and 3) as in case 2 but with data adjusted through the most statistically significant linear-regression relationship with a nearby long-term station to 20 or more years (3983 stations). Withheld-station tests indicate that the regression-adjusted normals as in dataset 3 generally yield the best results for all three climatological elements, but the unadjusted normals as in dataset 2 are competitive with the adjusted normals in spring and autumn, reflecting the known longer spatial correlation scales in these seasons. The summary mean absolute differences between the ANUSPLIN estimates and the observations at 48 spatially representative withheld stations for dataset 3 are 0.36°C, 0.66°C, and 4.7 mm, respectively, for maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and precipitation. These are respectively 18%, 7%, and 18% smaller than the summary mean absolute differences for the long-term normals in dataset 1.
Hypercooling in the Nocturnal Boundary Layer: Broadband Emissivity Schemes
Authors: Ponnulakshmi V. K. , Mukund V. , Singh D. K. , Sreenivas K. R. , Subramanian G.
Published: April 2012

Broadband flux emissivity schemes are often used to model infrared radiative exchanges in the atmosphere. In particular, such schemes help highlight the interaction of radiation with other transport processes, an aspect that is crucial to an understanding of phenomena relevant to the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL). Although the original schemes were restricted to radiatively black bounding surfaces, an extension of the same to nonblack surfaces has since been frequently used in NBL modeling. Herein, it is shown that the nonblack extension is erroneous and leads to a spurious yet intense near-surface cooling in the opaque bands. This paper presents the correct formulation that eliminates this cooling and discusses in some detail earlier NBL calculations affected by this error.
A Theory of Topographically Bound Balanced Motions and Application to Atmospheric Low-Level Jets
Authors: Silvers Levi G. , Schubert Wayne H.
Published: April 2012

The subject of this study is topographically bound low-level jets, such as the South American summertime low-level jet on the eastern side of the Andes and its companion, the Chilean low-level jet on the western side of the Andes. These jets are interpreted as balanced flows that obey the potential vorticity invertibility principle. This invertibility principle is expressed in isentropic coordinates, and the mathematical issue of isentropes that intersect the topography is treated by the method of a massless layer. In this way, the low-level jets on the western and eastern sides of the Andes can both be attributed to the infinite potential vorticity that lies in the infinitesimally thin massless layer on the topographic feature. To obtain a cyclonic flow centered on the topographic feature, the mountain crest must have been heated enough to draw down the overlying isentropic surfaces; otherwise, isentropic surfaces bend upward at the mountain crest and an anticyclonic flow is produced. Both anticyclonic and cyclonic solutions are obtained here using analytical and numerical methods to solve the invertibility principle. The summertime topographically bound flows discussed here are quite distinct from the wintertime Rossby wave train patterns that occur when strong westerlies impinge on the topography.
An Analytical Model of the Response of the Meridional Overturning Circulation to Changes in Wind and Buoyancy Forcing
Authors: Shakespeare Callum J. , McC. Hogg Andrew
Published: April 2012

An analytical model of the full-depth ocean stratification and meridional overturning circulation for an idealized Atlantic basin with a circumpolar channel is presented. The model explicitly describes the ocean response to both Southern Ocean winds and the global pattern and strength of prescribed surface buoyancy fluxes. The construction of three layers, defined by the two isopycnals of overturning extrema, allows the description of circulation and stratification in both the upper and abyssal ocean. The system is fully solved in the adiabatic limit to yield scales for the surface layer thickness, buoyancies of each layer, and overturning magnitudes. The analytical model also allows scaling of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) transport. The veracity of the three-layer framework and derived scales is confirmed by applying the analytical model to an idealized geometry, eddy-permitting ocean general circulation model.

Consistent with previous results, the abyssal overturning is found to scale inversely with wind stress, whereas the North Atlantic overturning and surface-layer thickness scale linearly with wind stress. In terms of the prescribed surface buoyancy fluxes, increased negative fluxes (buoyancy removal) in the North Atlantic increase the North Atlantic overturning and surface-layer thickness, whereas increased positive fluxes in the middle and low latitudes lead to a decrease in both parameters. Increased negative surface buoyancy fluxes to the south of Drake Passage increase the abyssal overturning and reduce the abyssal buoyancy. The ACC transport scales to first order with the sum of the Ekman transport and the abyssal overturning and thus increases with both wind stress and southern surface buoyancy flux magnitude.
The fragmentation of urban landscapes: global evidence of a key attribute of the spatial structure of cities, 1990–2000
Authors: Angel Shlomo , Parent Jason , Civco Daniel L
Published: April 2012

The fragmentation of urban landscapes – or the inter-penetration of the built-up areas of cities and the open spaces in and around them – is a key attribute of their spatial structure. Analyzing satellite images for 1990 and 2000 for a global sample of 120 cities, we find that cities typically contain or disturb vast quantities of open spaces equal in area, on average, to their built-up areas. We also find that fragmentation, defined as the relative share of open space in the urban landscape, is now in decline. Using multiple regression models, we find that larger cities are less fragmented, that higher-income cities are more fragmented, that cities with higher levels of car ownership are less fragmented, and that cities that constrain urban development are less fragmented. We recommend that making room for urban expansion in rapidly growing cities should take into account their expected fragmentation levels.
Migration and mobility in a rapidly changing small town in northeastern Ethiopia
Authors: Baker Jonathan
Published: April 2012

This paper presents empirical material collected in the zonal capital town of kemise (population around 34,000) and three surrounding rural areas (peasant associations) in northeastern ethiopia. The study area is located in the oromiya zone of the large amhara region. The paper attempts to show how rural areas and the town of kemise are economically interdependent and demonstrates the role of migration and mobility in influencing and shaping the rural and urban economies. The town fulfils, inter alia, important administrative, marketing, service and retailing functions. The most successful rural households appear to be those that use non-farm and off-farm opportunities and assets (for example, trade opportunities and/or urban employment) to diversify income sources and thereby avoid the uncertainties of relying solely on crop production for household security. As a backdrop to the whole discussion, the issue of widespread rural landlessness in the study area is investigated.
The five-city enumeration: the role of participatory enumerations in developing community capacity and partnerships with government in Uganda
Authors: Makau Jack , Dobson Skye , Samia Edith
Published: April 2012

This paper describes the enumerations of informal settlements undertaken in 2010 by the National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda in the cities of Arua, Jinja, Kabale, Mbale and Mbarara, covering about 200,000 people. It describes how this federation was founded and subsequently developed through an earlier enumeration and initial work in informal settlements in Kampala. It also discusses the relationship between the federation and other actors, including the national government and Cities Alliance, and their role in supporting the formation of the federation. It explains how federation members developed the capacity to undertake the enumerations and later improved upon those skills, for example developing a GIS, to support the planning and implementation of upgrading by federation, local and national government agencies. The paper ends with a discussion of the way enumerations can encourage the rapid maturation of urban poor groups and their relationship with their cities and other development actors and the larger political context.
Astronomy by Correspondence
Authors: Biro Susana
Published: April 2012

This study of the correspondence between the director of the National Astronomical Observatory in Mexico and a variety of individuals produces a portrait of astronomy in the Mexican culture of the period. The letters analyzed here can be divided into three groups according to the author’s main interests: observing the sky, creating theories, and daily life. By inquiring about the previous knowledge, intentions, and attitudes of the senders, it is possible to understand the process of appropriation of knowledge about astronomy. The letters shed light on aspects of the public interested in science that other approaches cannot.
The Influence of News Frames and Science Background on Attributions About Embryonic and Adult Stem Cell Research
Authors: Stewart Craig O.
Published: April 2012

This study investigated effects of frames, science background, and stem cell source on attributions of ethicality, credibility, and usefulness of stem cell research. Framing did not influence perceptions of ethicality, but science majors tended to perceive embryonic research to be more ethical than did nonscience majors. Nonscience majors perceived stem cell research to be less credible than did science majors in an Economic Prospects frame. Science majors perceived embryonic research to be more useful than did nonscience majors except in a Conflict frame. Results suggest that frames cue heuristics that bias science and nonscience majors’ cognitions about stem cell research differently.
Membership categorization as a tool for moral casting in TV discussion: The dramaturgical consequentiality of guest introductions
Authors: Rautajoki Hanna
Published: April 2012

This article shows how journalists deploy membership categorization in managing conversational drama among ordinary individuals in live television discussion. The scripted agenda for the discussion is analyzed as an interactional project, being prosecuted by the hosting journalists. The case in focus is a Finnish discussion program broadcast six days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA in 2001. Five guests are invited to the studio and introduced to the audience. The membership categories that are activated at the beginning of each entrance are consequential to the way the interactional activities unfold in the rest of the discussion, leading from experiential entitlement to accountability and accusation. Introductory identifications are utilized in the question formulation to push moral accounts from the category members and to build an institutionally proper identity for the journalists. The collaboration in realizing the moral casting vividly illustrates the cultural power of the categorization device in action.
Exploring essentially three-turn courses of action: An institutional case study with implications for ordinary talk
Authors: Kevoe-Feldman Heidi , Robinson Jeffrey D.
Published: April 2012

This article describes an adjacency-pair organized course of action in the institutional context of customers calling an electronics repair facility to request the status of equipment they have previously sent in for repair. Relative to the majority of adjacency-pair sequences described in previous research, this course of action is rare in that it is essentially (vs contingently) composed of three (vs two) turns, including status solicitation, status response, and acceptance/rejection of status response. After defending this finding, we situate and discuss its significance relative to prior research – in both ordinary and institutional contexts – on adjacency-pair sequence organization, including implications for sequence-based relevance rules, such as preference organization. Finally, we outline a possible general explanation for why some initiating actions set in motion essentially three-turn (vs two-turn) courses of action, and offer a candidate example in ordinary conversation.
International migration and social policy underdevelopment in the Dominican Republic
Authors: Ondetti Gabriel
Published: April 2012

Based on the Dominican Republic’s economic and political institutional characteristics, we would expect social spending there to be at least average for Latin America. Yet in reality this country ranks at or near the bottom of the region in educational, health, pension and overall social spending, alongside significantly poorer, slower growing and less democratic countries. This article argues that the underdevelopment of Dominican social policies reflects the political impact of international migration flows, including both Dominican emigration to the United States and the immigration into the Dominican Republic from neighboring Haiti. These flows have inhibited the development of progressive political actors, including the partisan left and organized labor, and facilitated the adoption of an economic production model that erects additional obstacles to the expansion of the country’s social policies. Although the Dominican case is rather anomalous within Latin America, it holds important implications for countries outside the region.
Chloroplastic Hsp100 chaperones ClpC2 and ClpD interact in vitro with a transit peptide only when it is located at the N-terminus of a protein
Authors: Bruch Eduardo M , Rosano Germán L , Ceccarelli Eduardo A
Published: April 2012

Background

Clp/Hsp100 chaperones are involved in protein quality control. They act as independent units or in conjunction with a proteolytic core to degrade irreversibly damaged proteins. Clp chaperones from plant chloroplasts have been also implicated in the process of precursor import, along with Hsp70 chaperones. They are thought to pull the precursors in as the transit peptides enter the organelle. How Clp chaperones identify their substrates and engage in their processing is not known. This information may lie in the position, sequence or structure of the Clp recognition motifs.

Results

We tested the influence of the position of the transit peptide on the interaction with two chloroplastic Clp chaperones, ClpC2 and ClpD fromArabidopsis thaliana(AtClpC2 and AtClpD). The transit peptide of ferredoxin-NADP+reductase was fused to either the N- or C-terminal end of glutathioneS-transferase. Another fusion with the transit peptide interleaved between two folded proteins was used to probe if AtClpC2 and AtClpD could recognize tags located in the interior of a polypeptide. We also used a mutated transit peptide that is not targeted by Hsp70 chaperones (TP1234), yet it is imported at a normal rate. The fusions were immobilized on resins and the purified recombinant chaperones were added. After a washing protocol, the amount of bound chaperone was assessed. Both AtClpC2 and AtClpD interacted with the transit peptides when they were located at the N-terminal position of a protein, but not when they were allocated to the C-terminal end or at the interior of a polypeptide.

Conclusions

AtClpC2 and AtClpD have a positional preference for interacting with a transit peptide. In particular, the localization of the signal sequence at the N-terminal end of a protein seems mandatory for interaction to take place. Our results have implications for the understanding of protein quality control and precursor import in chloroplasts.
Phylogeographic analysis reveals significant spatial genetic structure of Incarvillea sinensisas a product of mountain building
Authors: Chen Shaotian , Xing Yaowu , Su Tao , Zhou Zhekun , Dilcher Emeritus David L , Soltis Douglas E
Published: April 2012

Background

Incarvillea sinensisis widely distributed from Southwest China to Northeast China and in the Russian Far East. The distribution of this species was thought to be influenced by the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Quaternary glaciation. To reveal the imprints of geological events on the spatial genetic structure ofIncarvillea sinensis, we examined two cpDNA segments (trnH-psbA andtrnS-trnfM) in 705 individuals from 47 localities.

Results

A total of 16 haplotypes was identified, and significant genetic differentiation was revealed (GST=0.843,NST = 0.975, P < 0.05). The survey detected two highly divergent cpDNA lineages connected by a deep gap with allopatric distributions: the southern lineage with higher genetic diversity and differentiation in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the northern lineage in the region outside the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The divergence between these two lineages was estimated at 4.4 MYA. A correlation between the genetic and the geographic distances indicates that genetic drift was more influential than gene flow in the northern clade with lower diversity and divergence. However, a scenario of regional equilibrium between gene flow and drift was shown for the southern clade. The feature of spatial distribution of the genetic diversity of the southern lineage possibly indicated that allopatric fragmentation was dominant in the collections from the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Conclusions

The results revealed that the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau likely resulted in the significant divergence between the lineage in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the other one outside this area. The diverse niches in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau created a wide spectrum of habitats to accumulate and accommodate new mutations. The features of genetic diversity of populations outside the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau seemed to reveal the imprints of extinction during the Glacial and the interglacial and postglacial recolonization. Our study is a typical case of the significance of the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Quaternary Glacial in spatial genetic structure of eastern Asian plants, and sheds new light on the evolution of biodiversity in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at the intraspecies level.
The validation of a French-language version of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ) and its extension to a population aged 55 and over
Authors: Ingrand Isabelle , Houeto Jean Luc , Gil Roger , Gee Hannah Mc , Ingrand Pierre , Paccalin Marc
Published: April 2012

Background

Several studies have shown the influence of the perceptions of aging on the cognitive functioning and the mental and physical health of older people. These relationships have not to date been studied in France where validated instruments are lacking. The primary objective of this study was to validate a French-language version of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ) in the French general population aged 65 and over. The secondary objective was to study the stability of the dimensions of this instrument among participants aged 55 to 64.

Methods

The study was proposed to the cohort of the Observatoire Régional du Vieillissement (OPREVI) (observatory of aging), located in a small town in Poitou-Charentes (western France). An anonymous questionnaire including the APQ was sent by mail to inhabitants aged 55 and over. The original English language APQ was described with adults aged 65 and older. It has 32 items distributed on 7 dimensions: timeline chronic and cyclical, positive and negative consequences, positive and negative control and emotional representations.

Results

656 adults participated in this survey (286 men, 370 women). Among those aged 65 and over (n = 394), the seven-factor structure estimated by confirmatory factor analysis was coherent with original findings. Internal consistency as evaluated by Cronbach alpha, was between 0.83 for consequences negative and 0.52 for control negative. Several dimensions were strongly correlated. Among participants aged 55 to 64 (n = 262), the same factorial model yielded an acceptable fit. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis concluded to approximate factorial invariance between the two age groups with a null delta in comparative fit index.

Conclusion

This study among French people aged 65 and over, added further evidence of the multidimensional structure of the French version of the APQ which is superimposed to the dimensions of the original Irish version. The same factorial structure applies acceptably to the younger group (aged 55–64). The OPREVI study is ongoing, and will collect data on the physical, material and social characteristics of participants. It will therefore be possible to analyse the variables associated with the perceptions of aging. On the basis of an individual's perceptions of aging as captured by this questionnaire, and his or her clinical profile, tailored multi-dimensional assistance could be made available aiming to provide incentives to anticipate or to adapt to difficulties.
Advanced glycation end products impair the migration, adhesion and secretion potentials of late endothelial progenitor cells
Authors: Li Hong , Zhang Xiaoyun , Guan Xiumei , Cui Xiaodong , Wang Yuliang , Chu Hairong , Cheng Min
Published: April 2012

Background

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), especially late EPCs, play a critical role in endothelial maintenance and repair, and postnatal vasculogenesis. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been shown to impair EPC functions, such as proliferation, migration and adhesion. However, their role in the regulation of the production of vasoactive substances in late EPCs is less well defined.

Methods

Passages of 3~5 EPCs, namely late EPCs, were cultured with different concentrations (0~500 μg/ml) of AGEs, and the apoptosis, adhesion and migration were subsequently determined. The release of vasoactive substances, such as stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin I2(PGI2), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and in addition the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), were evaluated by ELISA. At the same time, the gene and protein expressions of CXCR4 were assayed by real-time RT-PCR and western-blot.

Results

AGEs promoted late EPC apoptosis. Moreover, AGEs impaired late EPC migration and adhesion in a concentration-dependent manner. Accordingly, the production of SDF-1 was decreased by AGEs. Although the CXCR4 expressions of late EPCs were up-regulated for AGE concentrations of 50, 100 or 200 μg/ml, a marked decrease was observed for the higher concentration of 500 μg/ml. Furthermore, co-culturing with AGEs decreased the levels of NO, t-PA, PGI2,and the activity of SOD but up-regulated the production of PAI-1.

Conclusion

Our data provide evidence that AGEs play an important role in impairing late EPC functions, which could contribute to the development of vascular diseases in diabetes.
Benzoic acid fermentation from starch and cellulose via a plant-like β-oxidation pathway in Streptomyces maritimus
Authors: Noda Shuhei , Kitazono Eiichi , Tanaka Tsutomu , Ogino Chiaki , Kondo Akihiko
Published: April 2012

Background

Benzoic acid is one of the most useful aromatic compounds. Despite its versatility and simple structure, benzoic acid production using microbes has not been reported previously. Streptomyces are aerobic, Gram-positive, mycelia-forming soil bacteria, and are known to produce various kinds of antibiotics composed of many aromatic residues. S. maritimus possess a complex amino acid modification pathway and can serve as a new platform microbe to produce aromatic building-block compounds. In this study, we carried out benzoate fermentation using S. maritimus. In order to enhance benzoate productivity using cellulose as the carbon source, we constructed endo-glucanase secreting S. maritimus.

Results

After 4 days of cultivation using glucose, cellobiose, or starch as a carbon source, the maximal level of benzoate reached 257, 337, and 460 mg/l, respectively. S. maritimus expressed β-glucosidase and high amylase-retaining activity compared to those of S. lividans and S. coelicolor. In addition, for effective benzoate production from cellulosic materials, we constructed endo-glucanase-secreting S. maritimus. This transformant efficiently degraded the phosphoric acid swollen cellulose (PASC) and then produced 125 mg/l benzoate.

Conclusions

Wild-type S. maritimus produce benzoate via a plant-like β-oxidation pathway and can assimilate various carbon sources for benzoate production. In order to encourage cellulose degradation and improve benzoate productivity from cellulose, we constructed endo-glucanase-secreting S. maritimus. Using this transformant, we also demonstrated the direct fermentation of benzoate from cellulose. To achieve further benzoate productivity, the L-phenylalanine availability needs to be improved in future.
Inaugural meeting of the malaria policy advisory committee to the WHO: conclusions and recommendations
Authors:   WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Committee and Secretariat
Published: April 2012

The Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the World Health Organization met for the first time from 31 January to 2 February 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland. This article provides a summary of the discussions, conclusions and recommendations from that meeting, as part of the newly launched Malaria Journal thematic series “WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Committee: Reports and Recommendations”.

Summaries are provided, referencing the relevant background documents, for the meeting sessions on global malaria control, drug resistance and containment, rapid diagnostic test procurement criteria, larviciding, classification of countries for elimination, estimating malaria cases and deaths, and seasonal malaria chemoprevention. Policy statements, position statements, and guidelines that will arise from the MPAC meeting conclusions and recommendations will be formally issued and disseminated to World Health Organization member states by the World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme.
Prospects of implant with locking plate in fixation of subtrochanteric fracture: experimental demonstration of its potential benefits on synthetic femur model with supportive hierarchical nonlinear hyperelastic finite element analysis
Authors: Latifi Mohammed Hadi , Ganthel Kunalan , Rukmanikanthan Shanmugam , Mansor Azura , Kamarul Tunku , Bilgen Mehmet
Published: April 2012

Background

Effective fixation of fracture requires careful selection of a suitable implant to provide stability and durability. Implant with a feature of locking plate (LP) has been used widely for treating distal fractures in femur because of its favourable clinical outcome, but its potential in fixing proximal fractures in the subtrochancteric region has yet to be explored. Therefore, this comparative study was undertaken to demonstrate the merits of the LP implant in treating the subtrochancteric fracture by comparing its performance limits against those obtained with the more traditional implants; angle blade plate (ABP) and dynamic condylar screw plate (DCSP).

Materials and Methods

Nine standard composite femurs were acquired, divided into three groups and fixed with LP (n = 3), ABP (n = 3) and DCSP (n = 3). The fracture was modeled by a 20 mm gap created at the subtrochanteric region to experimentally study the biomechanical response of each implant under both static and dynamic axial loading paradigms. To confirm the experimental findings and to understand the critical interactions at the boundaries, the synthetic femur/implant systems were numerically analyzed by constructing hierarchical finite element models with nonlinear hyperelastic properties. The predictions from the analyses were then compared against the experimental measurements to demonstrate the validity of each numeric model, and to characterize the internal load distribution in the femur and load bearing properties of each implant.

Results

The average measurements indicated that the constructs with ABP, DCPS and LP respectively had overall stiffness values of 70.9, 110.2 and 131.4 N/mm, and exhibited reversible deformations of 12.4, 4.9 and 4.1 mm when the applied dynamic load was 400 N and plastic deformations of 11.3, 2.4 and 1.4 mm when the load was 1000 N. The corresponding peak cyclic loads to failure were 1100, 1167 and 1600 N. The errors between the displacements measured experimentally or predicted by the nonlinear hierarchical hyperelastic model were less than 18 %. In the implanted femur heads, the principal stresses were spatially heterogeneous for ABP and DCSP but more homogenous for LP, meaning LP had lower stress concentrations.

Conclusion

When fixed with the LP implant, the synthetic femur model of the subtrochancteric fracture consistently exceeds in the key biomechanical measures of stability and durability. These capabilities suggest increased resistance to fatigue and failure, which are highly desirable features expected of functional implants and hence make the LP implant potentially a viable alternative to the conventional ABP or DCSP in the treatment of subtrochancteric femur fractures for the betterment of clinical outcome.
Effects of wood smoke particles from wood-burning stoves on the respiratory health of atopic humans
Authors: Riddervold Ingunn Skogstad , Bønløkke Jakob Hjort , Olin Anna-Carin , Grønborg Therese Koops , Schlünssen Vivi , Skogstrand Kristin , Hougaard David , Massling Andreas , Sigsgaard Torben
Published: April 2012

Background

There is growing evidence that particulate air pollution derived from wood stoves causes acute inflammation in the respiratory system, increases the incidence of asthma and other allergic diseases, and increases respiratory morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to evaluate acute respiratory effects from short-term wood smoke exposure in humans. Twenty non-smoking atopic volunteers with normal lung function and without bronchial responsiveness were monitored during three different experimental exposure sessions, aiming at particle concentrations of about 200 μg/m3, 400 μg/m3, and clean air as control exposure. A balanced cross-over design was used and participants were randomly allocated to exposure orders. Particles were generated in a wood-burning facility and added to a full-scale climate chamber where the participants were exposed for 3 hours under controlled environmental conditions. Health effects were evaluated in relation to: peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), and forced vital capacity (FVC). Furthermore, the effects were assessed in relation to changes in nasal patency and from markers of airway inflammation: fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and nasal lavage (NAL) samples were collected before, and at various intervals after exposure.

Results

No statistically significant effect of wood smoke exposure was found for lung function, for FENO, for NAL or for the nasal patency. Limited signs of airway inflammation were found in EBC.

Conclusion

In conclusion, short term exposure with wood smoke at a concentration normally found in a residential area with a high density of burning wood stoves causes only mild inflammatory response.
Notes about the uses of plants by one of the last healers in the Basilicata Region (South Italy)
Authors: Montesano Vincenzo , Negro Donatella , Sarli Giulio , De Lisi Antonino , Laghetti Gaetano , Hammer Karl
Published: April 2012

Background

The paper refers to the knowledge and uses of plants and to the linked ritual practices as referred by Matteo (It.‘Zì Matteo’, En. ‘Uncle Matthew’), one of the last elder healers in the Basilicata Region (South Italy). Particular attention is also paid to the uses of ‘Vruca’ (Tamarix gallica L.) as a medicinal and magical plant used to heal common warts on various parts of the body.

Methods

After obtaining prior informed consent, we collected data through an open interview about the uses of the plants and on the associated ritual practices. For each species, data were collected that included the vernacular names, preparation, plant parts utilized and their method of use.

Results

The uses of 52 taxa are described. Among these, 43 are or were employed medicinally, eight as culinary foodstuffs, and 4 for domestic, handicraft or ethnoveterinary uses.

Among the major findings: the ritual and magical use of Tamarix gallica L. to heal warts is described in detail; so far, no records of similar use were found in any Italian ethnobotanical studies conducted in southern Italy.

Conclusion

Phytotherapy in the Basilicata region is practiced by elderly people who resort to medicinal plants for mild illnesses; we interviewed one of those traditional healers who is very experienced in the field, and possesses rich ethno-pharmacological knowledge.
Oral Acetazolamide after Boston Keratoprosthesis in Stevens Johnson Syndrome
Authors: Kumar Radhika , Dohlman Claes H , Chodosh James
Published: April 2012

Background

Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) is a rare but severe and sometimes fatal condition associated with exposure to medications; sulfamethoxazole is among the most common causes. We sought to address the safety of acetazolamide, a chemically related compound, in patients with prior SJS/TEN and glaucoma. A retrospective case series is described of patients at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary who underwent keratoprosthesis surgery for corneal blindness from SJS/TEN, and later required oral acetazolamide for elevated intraocular pressure.

Findings

Over the last 10 years, 17 patients with SJS/TEN received a Boston keratoprosthesis. Of these, 11 developed elevated intraocular pressure that required administration of oral acetazolamide. One of 11 developed a mild allergic reaction, but no patient experienced a recurrence of SJS/TEN or any severe adverse reaction.

Conclusion

Although an increase in the rate of recurrent SJS/TEN due to oral acetazolamide would not necessarily be apparent after treating only 11 patients, in our series, acetazolamide administration was well tolerated without serious sequela.
Urinary excretion of platinum, arsenic and selenium of cancer patients from the Antofagasta region in Chile treated with platinum-based drugs
Authors: Román Domingo A , Pizarro Isabel , Rivera Lidia , Torres Carolina , Ávila Juan , Cortés Pedro , Gill Marjorie
Published: April 2012

Background

Arsenic exposure increases the risk of non-cancerous and cancerous diseases. In the Antofagasta region in Chile, an established relationship exists between arsenic exposure and the risk of cancer of the bladder, lung and skin. Platinum-based drugs are first-line treatments, and many works recognise selenium as a cancer-fighting nutrient. We characterised the short-term urinary excretion amounts of arsenic, selenium and platinum in 24-h urine samples from patients with lung cancer and those with cancer other than lung treated with cisplatin or/and carboplatin. As - Se - Pt inter-element relationships were also investigated.

Results

The amounts of platinum excreted in urine were not significantly different between patients with lung cancer and those with other cancers treated with cisplatin, despite the significant variation in platinum amounts supplied from platinum-based drugs. In general, the analytical amounts of excreted selenium were greater than those for arsenic, which could imply that platinum favours the excretion of selenium. For other types of cancers treated with drugs without platinum, excretion of selenium was also greater than that of arsenic, suggesting an antagonist selenium-anti-cancer drug relationship.

Conclusions

Regards the baseline status of patients, the analytical amounts of excreted Se is greater than those for As, particularly, for cisplatin chemotherapy. This finding could imply that for over the As displacement Pt favours the excretion of Se. The analytical amounts of excreted Se were greater than those for As, either with and without Pt-containing drugs, suggesting an antagonist Se-anti-cancer drug relationship. However, it seemed that differences existed between As - Se - Pt inter-element associations in patients treated for lung cancer in comparison with those treated for cancer other than lung. Therefore, knowledge obtained in this work, can contribute to understanding the arsenic cancer mechanism and the As - Se - Pt inter-element association for lung cancer and other types of cancer, which in some cases respond at a linear mathematical model.
Quantitative cross-validation and content analysis of the 450k DNA methylation array from Illumina, Inc.
Authors: Roessler Jessica , Ammerpohl Ole , Gutwein Jana , Hasemeier Britta , Anwar Sumadi Lukman , Kreipe Hans , Lehmann Ulrich
Published: April 2012

Background

The newly released 450k DNA methylation array from Illumina, Inc. offers the possibility to analyze more than 480,000 individual CpG sites in a user friendly standardized format. In this study the relationship between the β-values provided by the Illumina, Inc. array for each individual CpG dinucleotide and the quantitative methylation levels obtained by pyrosequencing were analyzed. In addition, the representation of microRNA genes and imprinted loci on the Illumina, Inc. array was assessed in detail. Genomic DNA from 4 human breast cancer cell lines (IPH-926, HCC1937, MDA-MB-134, PMC42) and 18 human breast cancer specimens as well as 4 normal mammary epithelial fractions was analyzed on 450k DNA methylation arrays. The β-values for 692 individual CpG sites from 62 different genes were cross-validated using conventional quantitative pyrosequencing.

Findings

The newly released 450k methylation array from Illumina, Inc. shows a high concordance with quantitative pyrosequencing if identical CpG sites are analyzed in cell lines (Spearman r = 0.88, p ≪ 0.0001), which is somewhat reduced in primary tumor specimens (Spearman r = 0.86, p ≪ 0.0001). 80.7% of the CpG sites show an absolute difference in methylation level of less than 15 percentage points. If different CpG sites in the same CpG islands are targeted the concordance is lower (r = 0.83 in cell lines and r = 0.7 in primary tumors). The number of CpG sites representing microRNA genes and imprinted loci is very heterogeneous (range: 1 – 70 CpG sites for microRNAs and 1 – 288 for imprinted loci).

Conclusions

The newly released 450k methylation array from Illumina, Inc. provides a genome-wide quantitative representation of DNA methylation aberrations in a convenient format. Overall, the congruence with pyrosequencing data is very good. However, for individual loci one should be careful to translate the β-values directly into percent methylation levels.
Circulating microRNAs in cancer: origin, function and application
Authors: Ma Ruimin , Jiang Tao , Kang Xixiong
Published: April 2012

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. The dysregulation of miRNAs has been linked to a series of diseases, including various types of cancer. Since their discovery in the circulation of cancer patients, there has been a steady increase in the study of circulating miRNAs as stable, non-invasive biomarkers. However, the origin and function of circulating miRNAs has not been systematically elucidated. In this review, we summarize the discovery of circulating miRNAs and their potential as biomarkers. We further emphasize their possible origin and function. Finally, we discuss the application and existing questions surrounding circulating miRNAs in cancer diagnostics. Although several challenges remain to be concerned, circulating miRNAs could be useful, non-invasive biomarkers for cancer diagnosis.