bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pilot study evaluating the safety of intradetrusor injections of botulinum toxin type a: Investigation of generalized spread using single‐fiber EMG
Authors: Schnitzler Alexis , Genet François , Durand Marie‐Christine , Roche Nicolas , Bensmail Djamel , Chartier‐Kastler Emmanuel , Denys Pierre
Published: June 2011

Aims

Intradetrusor botulinum toxin type‐A injections are a novel therapy for treatment of neurogenic overactive bladder resistant to parasympatholytic treatment. In rare cases, however, it may be associated with generalized muscle weakness. Single‐fiber electromyographic (SFEMG) analysis of neuromuscular jitter (NJ) was used to study OnabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX®) migration to striated muscle.

Methods

This study comprised a prospective, single‐center investigation of 21 spinal cord injured patients receiving intradetrusor OnabotulinumtoxinA. Clinical tolerance was assessed through muscle testing and para‐clinical tolerance by systematic analysis of NJ in muscles distant from the bladder.

Results

Twenty‐one patients (13 males, 8 females) received one intradetrusor injection of 300 U OnabotulinumtoxinA. Mean age was 42.1 ± 14.4 and mean number of injections prior to study inclusion was 2.6 ± 1.7. Clinical and para‐clinical assessments were performed on average 26 days ± 8 days post‐OnabotulinumtoxinA injection. Seven patients had abnormal NJ results on SFEMG, but no patient had evidence of blocking. Four patients complained of tiredness (one with NJ abnormalities).

Conclusions

Patients showed good tolerance to intradetrusor OnabotulinumtoxinA injections. Tiredness was not associated with generalized muscle weakness since testing remained unchanged and NMJ was normal in three of four patients. NJ analysis was abnormal in 7 of 21 patients, but this was not considered serious and there was no evidence of muscle fiber block. These results support the safety of bladder injections of OnabotulinumtoxinA and suggest that, although migration of OnabotulinumtoxinA to other muscle groups may impair NJ function in a minority of patients, this does not correlate with symptoms of tiredness or muscle weakness. Neurourol. Urodynam. 30: 1533–1537, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Identification of Endothelin‐1 and NR4A2 as CD133‐regulated genes in colon cancer cells
Authors: Puglisi Maria Ausiliatrice , Barba Marta , Corbi Maddalena , Errico Maria Federica , Giorda Ezio , Saulnier Nathalie , Boninsegna Alma , Piscaglia Anna Chiara , Carsetti Rita , Cittadini Achille , Gasbarrini Antonio , Sgambato Alessandro
Published: June 2011

Several in vitro assays have been proposed to identify cancer stem cells (CSCs), including immunophenotyping, sphere assay and side population (SP) assay. CD133 antigen has been proposed as a CSC marker in colon cancer (CC). However, no functional data are available to date and conflicting results have been reported regarding its role as true CSC marker. Here we set out to identify a molecular signature associated with potential CSC. CD133+ cells isolated from the CaCo‐2 CC cell line were analysed by microarray molecular profiling compared to CD133− counterparts. Various differentially expressed genes were identified and the most relevant transcripts found to be over‐expressed in CD133+ cells were evaluated by quantitative RT‐PCR in the CD133+ fractions isolated from several CC cell lines. In the attempt to find a correlation between putative CSCs, isolated by means of CD133 immunophenotyping and the SP approach, we demonstrated a significant enrichment of CD133+ cells within the SP fraction of CC cells, and comparison of the gene expression profiles revealed that Endothelin‐1 (END‐1) and nuclear receptor subfamily 4, group A, member 2 (NR4A2) transcripts are highly expressed in both CD133+ and SP fractions of CC cells. Moreover, depletion of CD133 by siRNA induced a significant attenuation of END‐1 and NR4A2 expression levels in CaCo‐2 cells, while expression of all three molecules decreased during sodium butyrate‐induced differentiation. In conclusion, we have identified a molecular signature associated with potential CSCs and showed for the first time the existence of a functional relationship between CD133, END‐1 and NR4A2 expression in colon cancer cells. Copyright © 2011 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Proteomic analysis reveals perturbed energy metabolism and elevated oxidative stress in hearts of rats with inborn low aerobic capacity
Authors: Burniston Jatin G. , Kenyani Jenna , Wastling Jonathan M. , Burant Charles F. , Qi Nathan R. , Koch Lauren G. , Britton Steven L.
Published: June 2011

Selection on running capacity has created rat phenotypes of high‐capacity runners (HCRs) that have enhanced cardiac function and low‐capacity runners (LCRs) that exhibit risk factors of metabolic syndrome. We analysed hearts of HCRs and LCRs from generation 22 of selection using DIGE and identified proteins from MS database searches. The running capacity of HCRs was six‐fold greater than LCRs. DIGE resolved 957 spots and proteins were unambiguously identified in 369 spots. Protein expression profiling detected 67 statistically significant (p<0.05; false discovery rate <10%, calculated using q‐values) differences between HCRs and LCRs. Hearts of HCR rats exhibited robust increases in the abundance of each enzyme of the β‐oxidation pathway. In contrast, LCR hearts were characterised by the modulation of enzymes associated with ketone body or amino acid metabolism. LCRs also exhibited enhanced expression of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and greater phosphorylation of α B‐crystallin at serine 59, which is a common point of convergence in cardiac stress signalling. Thus, proteomic analysis revealed selection on low running capacity is associated with perturbations in cardiac energy metabolism and provided the first evidence that the LCR cardiac proteome is exposed to greater oxidative stress.
The effects of insertion of nitrogen atoms on the aromatic nitrogen‐containing compounds: a potential approach for designing stable radical molecular materials
Authors: Yu Ao , Xue Xiaosong , Wang Jian , Wang Huikai , Wang Yongjian
Published: June 2011

The effects of insertion of nitrogen atoms on the N―H bond strength of azaphenalene and on the stability of the corresponding radicals were comprehensively investigated using density functional theory. The N―H bond dissociation enthalpy of azaphenalene is found to be strengthened in all cases, but the magnitudes are various with the replaced sites and are additive. It is correlated with the coefficient of frontier molecular orbital; that is, it is correlated with the electron density distribution of the outer electrons. The computational results explain why the product substituted with two CH groups by N atoms in the phenalenyl skeleton yielded radical easily, whereas the product replaced with six nitrogen atoms failed. In addition, the effects of insertion of nitrogen atoms in other aromatic nitrogen‐containing compounds, including carbazole, indole, and pyrrole, were also studied. All the understanding about the insertion effects of nitrogen atoms would be helpful in designing novel molecules for specific applications, such as functional materials and antioxidants. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Poly(ε‐caprolactone)–poly(isobutylene): A crystallizing, hydrogen‐bonded pseudo‐block copolymer
Authors: Ostas Elena , Schröter Klaus , Beiner Mario , Yan Tingzi , Thurn‐Albrecht Thomas , Binder Wolfgang H.
Published: June 2011

The crystallization of block copolymers (BCPs) under homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation is currently well understood revealing the strong interplay of crystallization in competition to microphase separation. This article reports investigations on synthesis and crystallization processes in weakly interacting supramolecular pseudo‐BCPs, composed of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(isobutylene) (PIB) blocks, connected by a specifically interacting hydrogen bond (thymine/2,6‐diaminotriazine). Starting from ring opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone, the use of “click”‐chemistry enabled the introduction of thymine endgroups onto PCL polymer, thus generating the fully thymine‐substituted pure PCLs (1a, 1b) as judged via NMR and MALDI analysis. Physical mixing of 1a, 1b with a bivalent, bis(2,6‐diaminotriazine)‐containing molecule (2) generated the bivalent polymers BC1 and BC2, whereas mixing of 1a or 1b with the 2,6‐diaminotriazine‐substituted PIB (3) generated the supramolecular pseudo‐BCPs BC3 and BC4. Thermal investigations (DSC, Avrami analysis) revealed only minor changes in the crystallization behavior of BC1–BC4 with Avrami exponents close to three, indicative of a confluence of the growing crystals during the crystallization process. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011
Association of prostate cancer risk with snps in regions containing androgen receptor binding sites captured by ChIP‐On‐chip analyses
Authors: Lu Yizhen , Sun Jielin , Kader Andrew K. , Kim Seong‐Tae , Kim Jin‐Woo , Liu Wennuan , Sun Jishan , Lu Daru , Feng Junjie , Zhu Yi , Jin Tao , Zhang Zheng , Dimitrov Latchezar , Lowey James , Campbell Kevin , Suh Edward , Duggan David , Carpten John , Trent Jeffrey M. , Gronberg Henrik , Zheng S. Lilly , Isaacs William B. , Xu Jianfeng
Published: June 2011

BACKGROUND

Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have identified approximately three dozen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) consistently associated with prostate cancer (PCa) risk. Despite the reproducibility of these associations, the molecular mechanism for most of these SNPs has not been well elaborated as most lie within non‐coding regions of the genome. Androgens play a key role in prostate carcinogenesis. Recently, using ChIP‐on‐chip technology, 22,447 androgen receptor (AR) binding sites have been mapped throughout the genome, greatly expanding the genomic regions potentially involved in androgen‐mediated activity.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

To test the hypothesis that sequence variants in AR binding sites are associated with PCa risk, we performed a systematic evaluation among two existing PCa GWAS cohorts; the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) study population. We demonstrate that regions containing AR binding sites are significantly enriched for PCa risk‐associated SNPs, that is, more than expected by chance alone. In addition, compared with the entire genome, these newly observed risk‐associated SNPs in these regions are significantly more likely to overlap with established PCa risk‐associated SNPs from previous GWAS. These results are consistent with our previous finding from a bioinformatics analysis that one‐third of the 33 known PCa risk‐associated SNPs discovered by GWAS are located in regions of the genome containing AR binding sites.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

The results to date provide novel statistical evidence suggesting an androgen‐mediated mechanism by which some PCa associated SNPs act to influence PCa risk. However, these results are hypothesis generating and ultimately warrant testing through in‐depth molecular analyses. Prostate 72:376–385, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Structural scaffold for eIF4E binding selectivity of 4E‐BP isoforms: crystal structure of eIF4E binding region of 4E‐BP2 and its comparison with that of 4E‐BP1
Authors: Fukuyo Ai , In Yasuko , Ishida Toshimasa , Tomoo Koji
Published: June 2011

To clarify the higher eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) binding selectivity of 4E‐binding protein 2 (4E‐BP2) than of 4E‐BP1, as determined by Trp fluorescence analysis, the crystal structure of the eIF4E binding region of 4E‐BP2 in complex with m7GTP‐bound human eIF4E has been determined by X‐ray diffraction analysis and compared with that of 4E‐BP1. The crystal structure revealed that the Pro47‐Ser65 moiety of 4E‐BP2 adopts a L‐shaped conformation involving extended and α‐helical structures and extends over the N‐terminal loop and two different helix regions of eIF4E through hydrogen bonds, and electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions; these features were similarly observed for 4E‐BP1. Although the pattern of the overall interaction of 4E‐BP2 with eIF4E was similar to that of 4E‐BP1, a notable difference was observed for the 60–63 sequence in relation to the conformation and binding selectivity of the 4E‐BP isoform, i.e. Met‐Glu‐Cys‐Arg for 4E‐BP1 and Leu‐Asp‐Arg‐Arg for 4E‐BP2. In this paper, we report that the structural scaffold of the eIF4E binding preference for 4E‐BP2 over 4E‐BP1 is based on the stacking of the Arg63 planar side chain on the Trp73 indole ring of eIF4E and the construction of a compact hydrophobic space around the Trp73 indole ring by the Leu59‐Leu60 sequence of 4E‐BP2. Copyright © 2011 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of formalin preservation on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures in Calanoid copepods: implications for the use of Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey samples in stable isotope analyses
Authors: Bicknell Anthony W. J. , Campbell Maria , Knight Mairi E. , Bilton David T. , Newton Jason , Votier Stephen C.
Published: June 2011

Preserved and archived organic material offers huge potential for the conduct of retrospective and long‐term historical ecosystem reconstructions using stable isotope analyses, but because of isotopic exchange with preservatives the obtained values require validation. The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey is the most extensive long‐term monitoring program for plankton communities worldwide and has utilised ships of opportunity to collect samples since 1931. To keep the samples intact for subsequent analysis, they are collected and preserved in formalin; however, previous studies have found that this may alter stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in zooplankton. A maximum ~0.9‰ increase of δ15N and a time dependent maximum ~1.0‰ decrease of δ13C were observed when the copepod, Calanus helgolandicus, was experimentally exposed to two formalin preservatives for 12 months. Applying specific correction factors to δ15N and δ13C values for similarly preserved Calanoid species collected by the CPR Survey within 12 months of analysis may be appropriate to enable their use in stable isotope studies. The isotope values of samples stored frozen did not differ significantly from those of controls. Although the impact of formalin preservation was relatively small in this and other studies of marine zooplankton, changes in isotope signatures are not consistent across taxa, especially for δ15N, indicating that species‐specific studies may be required. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Engineered Multifunctional Nanocarriers for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapeutics
Authors: Shi Donglu , Bedford Nicholas M. , Cho Hoon‐Sung
Published: June 2011

This article reviews advances in the design and development of multifunctional carbon‐based and/or magnetic nanoparticle systems (or simply ‘nanocarriers’) for early cancer diagnosis and spatially and temporally controlled therapy. The critical issues in cancer diagnosis and treatment are addressed based on novel nanotechnologies such as real‐time in‐vivo imaging, drug storage and release, and specific cancer‐cell targeting. The implementation of nanocarriers into animal models and the subsequent effectiveness in treating tumors is also reviewed. Recommendations for future research are given.
Design patterns: a survey on their micro‐structures
Authors: Fontana Francesca Arcelli , Maggioni Stefano , Raibulet Claudia
Published: June 2011

Design patterns play a significant role in reverse engineering by providing information not only on how but also on why a solution has been implemented in a specific way because of their semantics. The application of design patterns leads to their personalization to a specific context, hence to the generation of variants. This makes their recognition a challenging task, which may be addressed through the understanding and detection of the micro‐structures design patterns are made of. This is very useful for the detection as well as for the application of design patterns. The principal aim of this paper is to present a survey on these micro‐structures and a comparison among them in the perspective of reverse engineering. Because of their less complex structure and behavior, as well as closer link to the source code, the recognition of these micro‐structures may be automated, which can be considered a step towards the automatic recognition of the more complex design patterns. In this paper, we consider four of the most significant types of micro‐structures: elemental design patterns, clues, sub‐patterns, and micro patterns. To analyze the role of the micro‐structures in the design pattern detection process, we make a comparison among these four types of micro‐structures and among the micro‐structures of various types in order to identify the relations among them. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multivariate U‐statistics: a tutorial with applications
Authors: Yu Q. , Tang W. , Kowalski J. , Tu X. M.
Published: June 2011

U‐statistics represent an important class of statistics arising from modeling quantities of interest defined by multi‐subject responses such as the classic Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon rank tests. However, classic applications of U‐statistics are largely limited to univariate outcomes within a cross‐sectional data setting. As longitudinal study designs become increasingly popular in today's research, it is imperative to generalize the classic theory of U‐statistics to such a study setting to meet the challenges of modern clinical and translational research. In this article, we focus on applications of U‐statistics to longitudinal study data. We first give a brief overview of U‐statistics and then discuss how to apply this powerful class of statistics to model quantities of interest with a longitudinal data setting. In addition to generalizing U‐statistics and associated inference theory to longitudinal data analysis, we also discuss a class of function response models (FRM) to bring the power of U‐statistics to uncharted territory. We illustrate applications of generalized U‐statistics and FRM with data from some real longitudinal studies.WIREs Comp Stat2011 3 457–471 DOI: 10.1002/wics.178

This article is categorized under:

Statistical and Graphical Methods of Data Analysis > Multivariate Analysis
Preoperative biliary stents in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Bonin Eduardo A. , Baron Todd H.
Published: June 2011

Background

Pancreatic cancer is a common digestive cancer with high mortality, and surgical resection is the only potential curative treatment option. Pancreatic head cancer is usually accompanied by biliary obstruction, which potentially increases surgical complications following pancreaticoduodenectomy. Thus, preoperative biliary drainage has long been advocated.

Methods

A review of the literature using Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases was undertaken.

Results

Endoscopic or percutaneous biliary stent placement is technically successful in most patients. The use of routine preoperative biliary drainage in the setting of pancreatic cancer with biliary obstruction is controversial. Prospective studies have shown that complications related to preoperative biliary drainage using endoscopic placement of traditional plastic endoprostheses increase the overall morbidity compared to pancreaticoduodenectomy alone. Placement of self‐expandable metal stents could reduce stent‐related complication rates such as early occlusion because of prolonged patency, especially when surgery is delayed.

Conclusion

Pancreatic cancer patients with deep jaundice and expected delay prior to curative intent surgery are potential candidates for temporary biliary drainage. Cholangitis remains a formal indication for early, urgent preoperative biliary decompression for patients with pancreatic cancer.
Covered metallic stenting for malignant distal biliary obstruction: clinical results according to stent type
Authors: Isayama Hiroyuki , Nakai Yousuke , Kawakubo Kazumichi , Kogure Hirofumi , Togawa Osamu , Hamada Tsuyoshi , Ito Yukiko , Sasaki Takashi , Yamamoto Natsuyo , Sasahira Naoki , Hirano Kenji , Tsujino Takeshi , Tada Minoru , Koike Kazuhiko
Published: June 2011

Background

In the endoscopic management of unresectable malignant biliary obstructions, covered metallic stents (CMSs) showed longer patency and lower incidence of stent occlusion than uncovered metallic stents (UMCs). However, there are very few reports on factors influencing the results of inserting CMSs. We evaluated differences in clinical results according to stent type.

Methods

We reviewed the results of four types of CMS (polyurethane‐covered Diamond stent (PCD), silicone‐covered WALLSTENT (SCW), ComVi stent, and VIABIL biliary stent) and an uncovered MS (UMS), based on our experience and the literature. CMSs were characterized according to the axial and radial forces, covering (partial, full), smoothness of the inner surface, and presence of an anti‐migration system.

Results

CMSs were patent significantly longer than UMSs. There were differences in stent patency among the CMSs, including the cause of occlusion and other complications. The PCD had good patency and a low incidence of migration. The ComVi stent occluded early due to food impaction, but had the longest median stent patency and a low migration rate. The incidence of migration of SCW was relatively high and the SCW was occluded primarily by sludge.

Conclusions

We should assess the differences between the various CMSs and select the best one for each patient.
Bacterial expression of mutant argininosuccinate lyase reveals imperfect correlation of in‐vitro enzyme activity with clinical phenotype in argininosuccinic aciduria
Authors: Engel Katharina , Vuissoz Jean‐Marc , Eggimann Sandra , Groux Murielle , Berning Christoph , Hu Liyan , Klaus Vera , Moeslinger Dorothea , Mercimek‐Mahmutoglu Saadet , Stöckler Sylvia , Wermuth Bendicht , Häberle Johannes , Nuoffer Jean‐Marc
Published: June 2011

Background

The urea cycle defect argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) deficiency has a large spectrum of presentations from highly severe to asymptomatic. Enzyme activity assays in red blood cells or fibroblasts, although diagnostic of the deficiency, fail to discriminate between severe, mild or asymptomatic cases. Mutation/phenotype correlation studies are needed to characterize the effects of individual mutations on the activity of the enzyme.

Methods

Bacterial in‐vitro expression studies allowed the enzyme analysis of purified mutant ASL proteins p.I100T (c.299 T > C), p.V178M (c.532 G > A), p.E189G (c.566A > G), p.Q286R (c.857A > G), p.K315E (c.943A > G), p.R379C (c.1135 C > T) and p.R385C (c.1153 C > T) in comparison to the wildtype protein.

Results

In the bacterial in‐vitro expression system, ASL wild‐type protein was successfully expressed. The known classical p.Q286R, the novel classical p.K315E and the known mutations p.I100T, p.E189G and p.R385C, which all have been linked to a mild phenotype, showed no significant residual activity. There was some enzyme activity detected with the p.V178M (5 % of wild‐type) and p.R379C (10 % of wild‐type) mutations in which Km values for argininosuccinic acid differed significantly from the wild‐type ASL protein.

Conclusion

The bacterially expressed enzymes proved that the mutations found in patients and studied here indeed are detrimental. However, as in the case of red cell ASL activity assays, some mutations found in genetically homozygous patients with mild presentations resulted in virtual loss of enzyme activity in the bacterial system, suggesting a more protective environment for the mutant enzyme in the liver than in the heterologous expression system and/or in the highly dilute assays utilized here.
Species turnover of amphibians and reptiles in eastern China: disentangling the relative effects of geographic distance and environmental difference
Authors: Chen Shengbin , Jiang Gaoming , Zhang Jinlong , Li Yonggeng , Qian Hong
Published: June 2011

Spatial turnover of species lies at the heart of macroecology and conservation biogeography. However, our knowledge of the causes of species turnover remains poor, particularly for herpetofaunas including amphibians and reptiles. Here, using regression, variance partitioning, and hierarchical partitioning analyses, we examine the relationships of species turnover in herpetofaunas among provinces in eastern China with respect to geographic distance and environmental difference. We found that species turnover in herpetofaunas is moderately to strongly correlated with geographic distance and difference in most environmental variables examined between provinces. Geographic distance and environmental difference together explain 87.1 and 89.9% of the variance of species turnover for amphibians and reptiles, respectively. Variance partitioning analysis indicated that most variance in species turnover is explained by the joint effect of geographic distance and environmental difference. Beyond this shared variance, environmental difference is a stronger predictor of species turnover than geographic distance, particularly for reptiles. Hierarchical partitioning analysis showed that energy‐related variables explained more variance in species turnover for both amphibians and reptiles, compared with water‐related variables. The independent effects of water‐related variables are slightly higher for amphibians than for reptiles whereas the independent effects of energy‐related variables are slightly higher for reptiles than amphibians. These patterns are consistent with different ecophysiological requirements of the two taxa. Our results have important implications for predicting changes in biodiversity of herpetofaunas under climate change scenarios. Global warming will affect the immigration and local extinction of both amphibians and reptiles, and precipitation change may affect amphibians more strongly, compared with its effect on reptiles.
Testostérone et contrôle central de l’érection
Authors: Raskin K. , Mhaouty-Kodja S.
Published: June 2011

La testostérone orchestre l’organisation périnatale et l’activation adulte des structures nerveuses cérébrales et spinales impliquées dans l’expression du comportement sexuel mâle. Cette revue décrit brièvement les différents effets de la testostérone dans la régulation de la motivation sexuelle et de l’érection, et les modèles génétiques générés, jusqu’à présent, dans le but d’élucider ses mécanismes d’action centraux.
National Diet and Nutrition Survey: UK food consumption and nutrient intakes from the first year of the rolling programme and comparisons with previous surveys
Authors: Whitton Clare , Nicholson Sonja K. , Roberts Caireen , Prynne Celia J. , Pot Gerda K. , Olson Ashley , Fitt Emily , Cole Darren , Teucher Birgit , Bates Beverley , Henderson Helen , Pigott Sarah , Deverill Claire , Swan Gillian , Stephen Alison M.
Published: June 2011

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) is a cross-sectional survey designed to gather data representative of the UK population on food consumption, nutrient intakes and nutritional status. The objectives of the present paper were to identify and describe food consumption and nutrient intakes in the UK from the first year of the NDNS rolling programme (2008–09) and compare these with the 2000–01 NDNS of adults aged 19–64 years and the 1997 NDNS of young people aged 4–18 years. Differences in median daily food consumption and nutrient intakes between the surveys were compared by sex and age group (4–10 years, 11–18 years and 19–64 years). There were no changes in energy, total fat or carbohydrate intakes between the surveys. Children aged 4–10 years had significantly lower consumption of soft drinks (not low calorie), crisps and savoury snacks and chocolate confectionery in 2008–09 than in 1997 (all P < 0·0001). The percentage contribution of non-milk extrinsic sugars to food energy was also significantly lower than in 1997 in children aged 4–10 years (P < 0·0001), contributing 13·7–14·6 % in 2008–09 compared with 16·8 % in 1997. These changes were not as marked in older children and there were no changes in these foods and nutrients in adults. There was still a substantial proportion (46 %) of girls aged 11–18 years and women aged 19–64 years (21 %) with mean daily Fe intakes below the lower reference nutrient intake. Since previous surveys there have been some positive changes in intakes especially in younger children. However, further attention is required in other groups, in particular adolescent girls.
Historical Criticism versus Prophetic Proclamation
Authors: Boers Hendrikus
Published: June 2011

A question which historical critical scholarship can no longer evade is whether it still contributes fundamentally to the strengthening of faith, or whether it is effecting its dissolution. Where biblical research continues to be done within the framework of Christian convictions, a crisis of identity threatens, since the historical critical approach with its related methodologies tends to dissolve the most fundamental assumptions of the New Testament Christian faith, namely, that salvation is possible only in relation to Jesus Christ. William Mallard focused sharply on this problem when he pointed out that even “when critical research supports a historical religious claim, the character and function of that claim is thereby undermined, and the past event in question loses the force of revelation.” In the same context J. Maxwell Miller argued that there could be no resolution of the conflict between critical inquiry and the biblical view of history because a historical critical understanding can have no place for God's repeated “intrusions” into the course of the Old Testament history. To use Mallard's formulation, a critical explanation for these divine intrusions into the Old Testament history effectively abandons the Old Testament understanding itself. According to Miller: “If the Jewish historian does not offer a natural explanation for the origin of the Exodus traditions, he is untrue to the critical method of historical research. If he does offer a natural explanation, he destroys the basis of his Jewish faith — i.e., that God intruded upon human history at the time of the Exodus and made a covenant with the fathers which applies even today. The same would seem to be true of the Christian historian who attempts to deal with the incarnation or the resurrection.”
History and Phenomenology: Dialectical Structure in Ricoeur's The Symbolism of Evil
Authors: Dunning Stephen N.
Published: June 2011

A recent rereading of Paul Ricoeur's influential study, The Symbolism of Evil, led me to a surprising realization: the dialectic of primary symbols in that book, which superficially resembles the dialectic of subject and object found in many phenomenological studies of religion, can be extended to Ricoeur's analysis of myths and even to his hermeneutical program. The result is a systematic dialectical structure which recalls Hegel's phenomenology more than that of Husserl. This structure also suggests a solution to the problem Ricoeur encounters when he tries to understand the historical linkage between the Christian myth of Adam's fall and the Gnostic myth of the soul exiled in the body. Most significantly, the systematic structure of The Symbolism of Evil helps to illustrate the radical difference between transcendental and historical phenomenologies.
Psalm 89: A Lament over the Davidic Ruler's Continued Failure
Authors: Clifford Richard J.
Published: June 2011

At least from the time of the influential analysis of B. Duhm in 1899, a scholarly consensus has developed which judges Psalm 89 to be a composite of poems of widely different date. Often cited is the view of H. Gunkel: to an old hymn (vv 29–52) a lament (vv 39–52) has been appended. The hymn was joined to the lament by interposing vv 20–38 and at the same time vv 4–5 were inserted. Articles in recent years have challenged the prevalent view of original disunity. J. M. Ward in 1961 showed that arguments based on metric considerations are not conclusive and that logic, vocabulary links throughout the whole poem, and poetic structure all argue that the psalm was a single poem from the that logic, vocabulary links throughout the whole poem, and poetic structure all argue that the psalm was a single poem from the beginning. In 1972 J.-B. Dumortier showed convincingly on purely literary grounds that at least two of the sections commonly thought to be diverse, the so-called royal poem of vv 2−5+20−38 and the cosmic hymn of vv 6–19, were in fact originally one.
Habakkuk 2:2–4 in the Light of Recent Philological Advances
Authors: Janzen J. Gerald
Published: June 2011

The concluding line of the short eschatological passage in Hab 2:2–4 is a locus classicus both within the biblical tradition and for subsequent theological reflection in the light of that tradition. Within the Bible it connects by well-beaten paths with other classic loci such as Gen 15:6, Rom 1:16–17 and Heb 11:1 (through the latter's contiguity with Heb 10:37–39). Beyond the Bible its importance is perhaps best known, within the Christian tradition, through Martin Luther's sola fide interpretation of it as quoted in Romans.
MH ΓENOITO in the Diatribe and Paul
Authors: Malherbe Abraham J.
Published: June 2011

Rudolf Bultmann's dissertation is still the best general description of diatribal style and remains the authority on the subject for most NT scholars. Bultmann draws attention to the dialogical element in the diatribe in which a speaker or writer makes use of an imaginary interlocutor who asks questions or raises objections to the arguments or affirmations that are made. These responses are frequently stupid and are then summarily rejected by the speaker or writer in a number of ways, for example by οὐδαμῶς (“by no means”), οὐ πάντως (“not at all”), οὐ μὰ Δία (“indeed not”), or minime (“by no means”). The limited purpose of this paper is to examine the way in which μὴ γένοιτο (“by no means”) is widely used in the diatribal literature, usually thought to be represented in Greek by the Dissertation of Epictetus, certain Moralia of Plutarch, various works of Philo, and by Bion, Teles, Musonius, Dio Chrysostom, Lucian, and Maximus of Tyre. In fact, however, this particular rejection, as it appears as a response in a dialogue without being part of a larger sentence, is unique to Epictetus and Paul. Bultmann's interpretation of the diatribe is heavily dependent on Epictetus despite the latter's peculiar development of the style, and the generalization about the use of μὴ γένοιτο in the diatribe is made on the basis of Epictetus.
The Legend of the Fourth Son of Noah
Authors: Gero Stephen
Published: June 2011

The exact nature of Ham's crime against the drunken Noah has long fascinated exegetes, who have been left dissatisfied by the simple voyeurism described in the biblical text. One particularly interesting explanation, namely, that Ham actually castrated his father, first emerges in a Talmudic account of a debate about Gen 9:24 between Rav and Samuel, two renowned third-century Babylonian rabbis
Concerning the Seventy-Two Translators: Armenian Fragments of Epiphanius,On Weights and Measures
Authors: Stone Michael E.
Published: June 2011

The story of the translation of the Bible into Greek was widely known in early Christian literature. Epiphanius utilized various sources in his form of the story, which is given inOn Weights and Measures,including the Epistle of Aristeas, as well as others.On Weights and Measuresis known in three forms today, Greek, Syriac, and a recently identified Georgian version. Up to the discovery of the Georgian, the Syriac was considered to be the most original, while the Greek MSS were thought to present a mutilated text. The newly discovered Georgian version contains certain traditions which have been claimed to be extremely ancient. These are found, in particular, in the epistles of Ptolemy to the elders of Jerusalem.
The Date of the Prose-Tale of Job Linguistically Reconsidered
Authors: Hurvitz Avi
Published: June 2011

On several occasions we have attempted to demonstrate the significance of a certain type of linguistic analysis, for discussing biblical texts whose date of composition is questionable. The main advantage of this analysis lies in the fact, that, being an autonomous and independent criterion, one may use it without subscribing to any particular theory prevailing in biblical Higher Criticism. Most of the complicated and unresolved problems of Higher Criticism — literary, historical and theological — simply have no bearing upon its procedures.
Augustine's Metaphysics and Free Will
Authors: Sontag Frederick
Published: June 2011

“Free Will” is not a problem which can simply be answered. The long history surrounding this issue would seem to indicate that. It is not that an answer is impossible; on the contrary, the problem is that many answers may be given and no single one can be established to the exclusion of all others. Which answer is adopted depends upon one's metaphysics, upon one's basic assumptions about the first principles which govern and structure the world. Does all this leave us lost in a helpless pluralism where freedom of the will is concerned, an issue which might well be the crucial problem of our own era and which certainly has been important in every philosophical age? No, not unless we adopt an attitude of scepticism where metaphysics is concerned. Thus, our success in dealing with free will depends upon our metaphysical competence. If we can analyze previous metaphysical views and then construct and defend our own, we can still structure an answer to the issue of freedom of the will.
Early Christian Belief in a Corporeal Deity: Origen and Augustine as Reluctant Witnesses
Authors: Paulsen David L.
Published: June 2011

The view that God is incorporeal, without body or parts, has been the hallmark of Christian orthodoxy, but in the beginning it was not so. In this article I show that ordinary Christians for at least the first three centuries of the current era commonly (and perhaps generally) believed God to be corporeal. The belief was abandoned (and then only gradually) as Neoplatonism became more and more entrenched as the dominant world view of Christian thinkers.
Augustine in the Garden of Zeus: Lust, Love, and Language
Authors: Boyle Marjorie O'rourke
Published: June 2011

Augustine's assimilation of Christ to wisdom in the philosophical tradition established a paradigm for method in theology. If in the beginning was the Word, and that primordial Word was analogous to intellectual concept rather than oral discourse, then in ideal imitation the theologian was a dialectician rather than a rhetorician. Yet if Christ is wisdom and the language of wisdom is dialectic, why did he speak rhetorically? Why the simile rather than the syllogism? Augustine proposed that scripture is divine baby talk. The academic business of theology became its education into human mature language by translating its images into ideas. Yet a hermeneutical and exegetical revolution since the late nineteenth century has, through historical and literary criticisms, restored scripture as rhetoric to its legitimate religious status. The conventional apologetics of pabulum is now intolerable. This alteration in norm is influencing, in the history of theology, an evaluation of the tradition as rhetoric. The research, although belated, may prove as revisionist as in scriptural studies. As the master rhetorician of anti-rhetoric was Augustine, a critical examination of the rationale for his methodological displacement of the scriptural norm with the contemplative ideal is cogent.
Scribal Magic and its Rhetoric: Formal Patterns in Medieval Hebrew and Aramaic Incantation Texts from the Cairo Genizah
Authors: Swartz Michael D.
Published: June 2011

The study of medieval Judaism was revolutionized by the late S. D. Goitein withA Mediterranean Society, his multilayered study of the medieval Jewish communities in Egypt based on the documents from the Cairo Genizah. For while previously the Genizah had been mined for important rabbinic documents and for the history of the philosophers and Geonim, Goitein's research sought to provide an account of the religion and life of all classes of society.
Calum M. Carmichael's Approach to the Laws of Deuteronomy
Authors: Levinson Bernard M.
Published: June 2011

In three books and numerous articles, Calum M. Carmichael argues for a radical transformation in the way the laws of Deuteronomy are to be understood. His most recent work,Law and Narrative in the Bible, maintains that the legal corpus of Deuteronomy, far from being “law,” rather constitutes “literature,” in which the Deuteronomistic historian reflects upon the full range of pre-exilic Israelite narrative, Genesis through 2 Kings. In the course of this argument, Carmichael makes fundamental assertions about the composition of Deuteronomy, the history of Israelite literature, and the history of interpretation. Carmichel introduces his work as an attempt “to overturn longstanding views on material that has always been in center stage in the study of the Bible” and as “radical in its results.” His work has already generated a series of further studies of narrative allusion and drafting techniques in Deuteronomy that presuppose his arguments.
The Role of “Common Sense” In the Hermeneutics of Moses Stuart
Authors: Granquist Mark
Published: June 2011

The first decades of the nineteenth century saw a resurgence of interest in critical biblical studies in the United States. Though many colonial religious leaders were well trained in the area of biblical studies because of their European educations, this field of study declined to a very low state in America in the eighteenth century. The nineteenth-century revival of biblical studies in America, led by scholars such as Edward Robinson, William E. Channing, Andrews Norton, and Moses Stuart, was a homegrown, broad-based movement that ran the gamut of theological positions from conservative Calvinist to Unitarian. One unique feature of this movement was its interest in the biblical criticism of German writers; indeed, many works of German scholarship were translated into English by these American writers long before they achieved circulation in England. The resulting American biblical scholarship flourished not only at seminaries and divinity schools, but also on more practical levels. Edward Robinson, for example, led an expedition to the Middle East to study the geography and antiquities of the Holy Land. This scholarship was also tied to the prevalent missionary impulse, resulting in the translation of the Bible into many additional languages, especially those of the Middle and Far Eastern missionary fields.
The Paradox in Writing on Religion
Authors: Gold Daniel
Published: June 2011

Paradox, a subject that has intrigued philosophers and scientists since ancient times, not long ago also captured the attention of many literary critics and historians of religion. A key analytic term among the old New Critics, paradox—along with irony and ambiguity—was for decades taken as central to poetic language, the force of which was understood to derive from the play of multiple, often contradictory meanings. In history of religions, a concept of paradox was essential in the monumental work of Mircea Eliade, who repeatedly pointed to the power of conjoined opposites in myth. To many scholars in both fields, these paradoxes of poetry and myth have by now become passe—taken for granted, perhaps, but no longer topics for further exploration. They gain new significance, however, with the increasing interest in the critical study of academic writing over the last few years. For despite the hard-minded academic stance found in much contemporary religio-historical writing, the paradoxes familiar from religion and literature still often come into play, indeed, sometimes to explore striking contradictions that are posed in the fashion of paradoxes from science.
Shedding Light on God's Body in Rabbinic Midrashim: Reflections on the Theory of a Luminous Adam
Authors: Aaron David H.
Published: June 2011

Paul Veyne wrote a book entitled,Did the Greeks Believe their Myths?Regarding rabbinic Judaism, one might similarly ask: Did the rabbis believe their imagery? Rabbinic literature is so replete with fanciful images of God and humans and anecdotes of epiphanies involving both, that one naturally wonders whether the midrashic authors believed that their imagery reflected some actual moment in the world's history. Some scholars have chosen to view the literature as containing parables and images that were composed as mere metaphors, sometimes used for political purposes, and other times to spawn further associations and religious teachings. The question is, can one differentiate true statements about happenings in the material world from symbolic statements whose relationship to that material world is more vague? The tension is especially acute when one considers cosmogony, the story of human origins, and other moments in primoridal history. Yet it is no less present in those simple midrashic “biblical scenes” that are not actually part of the Tanakh, but which the sages readily ascribe to the text. Does a given rabbinic image convey literal beliefs about material happenings or metaphorical metaphysics?
The Doctrine of Creation and the Task of Theology
Authors: Sonderegger Katherine
Published: June 2011

“One is never done with Schleiermacher,” Karl Barth once wrote, and those who have readChurch Dogmaticsknow just how true that is. Schleiermacher's work presents a constant task for theology to incorporate fully and critique its sophisticated method; to follow its rigorous passion for ethics; to imitate, if only palely, its synthetic power and breadth; to stand open-eyed before its beauty and elegant simplicity. Barth knew this well. To read hisChurch Dogmaticscarefully is to hear Barth's respect for Schleiermacher on every page. The dispute with Schleiermacher's method and doctrine, far from being dismissed, courses through theDogmatics, paying tribute to the gift and the burden of Schleiermacher's thought to his descendents.
Light Through Darkness: The Ideal of Human Perfection in the Zohar
Authors: Wolfson Elliot R.
Published: June 2011

One of the perennial, and more vexing, problems in religious thought and philosophy has been the questionunde malum. In ancient, medieval, and modern thought, the issue has been viewed mostly in its theological context. From the perspective of traditional monotheistic theology, the problem thus presents itself: If God is truly all good and all powerful, then why would God cause or even allow evil, whether natural (e.g., earthquakes, floods, human disease) or moral (murder, rape, and the like), to exist? Inasmuch as the existence of evil, at least from the phenomenological point of view, is an indisputable fact, it would seem that either divine omnipotence or benevolence must be limited.
Buber as Hermeneut: Relations to Dilthey and Gadamer
Authors: Kepnes Steven D.
Published: June 2011

In speaking about his objective in translating the tales of Nahman of Bratslav in July of 1906 Martin Buber said, “In general it is not my goal to gather new facts, but rather solely to give a new interpretation of their coherence, a new synthetic presentation of Jewish mystics and their creations.” Before his death, in responding to harsh criticism of his translations of the Hasidic tales, Buber referred to his work as an attempt “to convey to our own time the force of a former life of faith.” His task, as Gershom Scholem once pointed out in derision, was not primarily historical; it was not a process of fact gathering, but it was hermeneutical. He aimed to present a new interpretation of the Hasidic tales of the past which would render them relevant to the crisis of the contemporary reader.