bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Rise of Confessional Tension in Brandenburg's Relations with Sweden in the Late-seventeenth Century
Authors: Riches Daniel
Published: March 2005

Thediplomatic and religious climate in Protestant Northern Europe during the era of Louis XIV was filled with competing and at times contradictory impulses, and the repercussions of Louis's expansionist and anti-Protestant policies on the relations between the Protestant states were varied and complex. Taken in conjunction with the ascension of Catholic James II in Britain in February 1685 and the succession of the Catholic House of Neuburg in the Palatinate following the death of the last Calvinist elector in May of that year, Louis's reintroduction of the mass ins the “reunited” territories and his increasing persecution of the Huguenots in France added to an acute sense among European Protestants that the survival of their religion was threatened. It is a well-established theme in the standard literature on seventeenth-century Europe that the culmination of Louis's attack on the Huguenots in his revocation of the Edict of Nantes in October 1685 galvanized the continents Protestant powers in a common sense of outrage and united them in a spirit of political cooperation against France. Indeed, such an astute contemporary observer as Leibniz was to write in the early 1690s that it appeared now “as if all of the north is opposed to the south of Europe; the great majority of the Germanic peoples are opposed to the Latins.” Even Bossuet had to declare that “your so-called Reformation … was never more powerful nor more united. All of the Protestants have joined forces. From the outside, the Reformation is very cohesive, more haughty and more menacing than ever.”
The Joys of Field Research
Authors: Wall James
Published: March 2005

Field research contributes valuable findings to many fields; in addition, it's fun. In this article, I note that lostness, mistakes, scientism, the participants, stuckness and discovery – which I've found in field research – are pure joys. They excite me and hopefully others, motivating us to ferret out knowledge in the real world.
Whole-rock and mineral chemistry of cumulates from the Kızıldağ (Hatay) ophiolite (Turkey): clues for multiple magma generation during crustal accretion in the southern Neotethyan ocean
Authors: Bağci U. , Parlak O. , Höck V.
Published: March 2005

The late Cretaceous Kızıldağ ophiolite forms one of the best exposures of oceanic lithospheric remnants of southern Neotethys to the north of the Arabian promontory in Turkey. The ultramafic to mafic cumulate rocks, displaying variable thickness (ranging from 165 to 700 m), are ductiley deformed, possibly in response to syn-magmatic extension during sea-floor spreading and characterized by wehrlite, olivine gabbro, olivine gabbronorite and gabbro. The gabbroic cumulates have an intrusive contact with the wehrlitic cumulates in some places. The crystallization order of the cumulus and intercumulus phases is olivine (Fo86–77)± chromian spinel, clinopyroxene (Mg#92–76), plagio-clase(An95–83), orthopyroxene(Mg#87–79). The olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and plagioclase in ultramafic and mafic cumulate rocks seem to have similar compositional range. This suggests that these rocks cannot represent a simple crystal line of descent. Instead the overlapping ranges in mineral compositions in different rock types suggest multiple magma generation during crustal accretion for the Kızıldağ ophiolite. The presence of high Mg# of olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and the absence of Ca-rich plagioclase as an early fractionating phase co-precipitating with forsteritic olivine, suggest that the Kızıldağ plutonic suite is not likely to have originated in a mid-ocean ridge environment. Instead the whole-rock and mineral chemistry of the cumulates indicates their derivation from an island arc tholeiitic (IAT) magma. All the evidence indicates that the Kızıldağ ophiolite formed along a slow-spreading centre in a fore-arc region of a suprasubduction zone tectonic setting.
Naldrettite, Pd2Sb, a new intermetallic mineral from the Mesamax Northwest deposit, Ungava region, Québec, Canada
Authors: Cabri L. J. , McDonald A. M. , Stanley C. J. , Rudashevsky N. S. , Poirier G. , Durham B. R. , Mungall J. E. , Rudashevsky V. N.
Published: March 2005

Naldrettite, Pd2Sb, is a new intermetallic mineral discovered in the Mesamax Northwest deposit, Cape Smith fold belt, Ungava region, northern Québec. It is associated with monoclinic pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, cobaltite, clinochlore, magnetite, sudburyite (PdSb), electrum and altaite. Other rarer associated minerals include a second new mineral (ungavaite, Pd4Sb3), sperrylite (PtAs2), michenerite (PdBiTe), petzite (Ag3AuTe4) and hessite (Ag2Te). Naldrettite occurs as anhedral grains, which are commonly attached or moulded to sulphide minerals, and also associated with clinochlore. Grains of naldrettite vary in size (equivalent circle diameter) from ~10 to 239 μm, with an average of 74.4 mm (n = 632). Cleavage was not observed and fracture is irregular. The mineral has a mean micro-indentation hardness of 393 kg/mm2. It is distinctly anisotropic, non-pleochroic, has weak bireflectance, and does not exhibit discernible internal reflections. Some grains display evidence of strain-induced polysynthetic twinning. Naldrettite appears bright creamy white in association with pentlandite, pyrrhotite, clinochlore and chalcopyrite. Reflectance values in air (and in oil) for R1 and R2 are: 49.0, 50.9 (35.9, 37.6) at 470 nm, 53.2, 55.1 (40.3, 42.1) at 546 nm, 55.4, 57.5 (42.5, 44.3) at 589 nm and 58.5, 60.1 (45.4, 47.2) at 650 nm. The average of 69 electron-microprobe analyses on 19 particles gives: Pd 63.49, Fe 0.11, Sb 35.75, As 0.31, and S 0.02, total 99.68 wt.%, corresponding to (Pd1.995Fe0.007)2.002(Sb0.982AS0.014S0.002)0.998. The mineral is orthorhombic, space group Cmc21, a 3.3906(1), b 17.5551(5), c 6.957(2) Å , V 414.097(3) Å3, Z = 8. Dcalc is 10.694(1) g/cm3. The six strongest lines in the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern [d in Å (I)(hkl)] are: 2.2454(100)(132), 2.0567(52)(043), 2.0009(40)(152), 1.2842(42)(115), 1.2122(50)(204) and 0.8584(56)(1.17.4).
A simplified method for analysis of polyunsaturated fatty acids
Authors: Kang Jing X , Wang Jingdong
Published: March 2005

Background

Analysis of fatty acid composition of biological materials is a common task in lipid research. Conventionally, preparation of samples for fatty acid analysis by gas chromatography involves two separate procedures: lipid extraction and methylation. This conventional method is complicated, tedious and time consuming. Development of a rapid and simple method for lipid analysis is warranted.

Results

We simplified the conventional method by combining the extraction and methylation into a single step (omitting the procedure of prior extraction). Various biological samples including cultured cells, animal tissues and human specimens have been tested using the new method. Statistical analysis indicates that the recovery of long chain fatty acids from tissue samples by the simplified method is significantly higher than that by the traditional method, but there is no difference in relative fatty acid composition between the two methods. This simplified method can significantly save time and materials, and reduce the potentials of sample loss and contamination.

Conclusion

The lipid extraction procedure prior to methylation employed conventionally in lipid analysis can be omitted without affecting the recovery of long chain (≥ 18 C) fatty acids and their composition. The simplified method is rapid, easy-to-use, suitable for analysis of total long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid contents (e.g. n-6 and n-3 fatty acids) in various biological samples, especially when the number of samples to be analyzed is large and/or the specimen size is small.
Providing visualisation support for the analysis of anatomy ontology data
Authors: Dadzie Aba-Sah , Burger Albert
Published: March 2005

Background

Improvements in technology have been accompanied by the generation of large amounts of complex data. This same technology must be harnessed effectively if the knowledge stored within the data is to be retrieved. Storing data in ontologies aids its management; ontologies serve as controlled vocabularies that promote data exchange and re-use, improving analysis.

The Edinburgh Mouse Atlas Project stores the developmental stages of the mouse embryo in anatomy ontologies. This project is looking at the use of visual data overviews for intuitive analysis of the ontology data.

Results

A prototype has been developed that visualises the ontologies using directed acyclic graphs in two dimensions, with the ability to study detail in regions of interest in isolation or within the context of the overview. This is followed by the development of a technique that layers individual anatomy ontologies in three-dimensional space, so that relationships across multiple data sets may be mapped using physical links drawn along the third axis.

Conclusion

Usability evaluations of the applications confirmed advantages in visual analysis of complex data. This project will look next at data input from multiple sources, and continue to develop the techniques presented to provide intuitive identification of relationships that span multiple ontologies.
An Entropy-based gene selection method for cancer classification using microarray data
Authors: Liu Xiaoxing , Krishnan Arun , Mondry Adrian
Published: March 2005

Background

Accurate diagnosis of cancer subtypes remains a challenging problem. Building classifiers based on gene expression data is a promising approach; yet the selection of non-redundant but relevant genes is difficult.

The selected gene set should be small enough to allow diagnosis even in regular clinical laboratories and ideally identify genes involved in cancer-specific regulatory pathways. Here an entropy-based method is proposed that selects genes related to the different cancer classes while at the same time reducing the redundancy among the genes.

Results

The present study identifies a subset of features by maximizing the relevance and minimizing the redundancy of the selected genes. A merit called normalized mutual information is employed to measure the relevance and the redundancy of the genes. In order to find a more representative subset of features, an iterative procedure is adopted that incorporates an initial clustering followed by data partitioning and the application of the algorithm to each of the partitions. A leave-one-out approach then selects the most commonly selected genes across all the different runs and the gene selection algorithm is applied again to pare down the list of selected genes until a minimal subset is obtained that gives a satisfactory accuracy of classification.

The algorithm was applied to three different data sets and the results obtained were compared to work done by others using the same data sets

Conclusion

This study presents an entropy-based iterative algorithm for selecting genes from microarray data that are able to classify various cancer sub-types with high accuracy. In addition, the feature set obtained is very compact, that is, the redundancy between genes is reduced to a large extent. This implies that classifiers can be built with a smaller subset of genes.
NXT2 is required for embryonic heart development in zebrafish
Authors: Huang Haigen , Zhang Bo , Hartenstein Parvana A , Chen Jau-nian , Lin Shuo
Published: March 2005

Background

NXT2 is a member of NXT family proteins that are generally involved in exporting nuclear RNA in eukaryotic cells. It is not known if NXT2 has any function in specific biological processes.

Results

A zebrafish mutant exhibiting specific heart defects during embryogenesis was generated by animal cloning-mediated retroviral insertions. Molecular analysis indicated that the mutant phenotype was caused by a disruption of NXT2. Whole-mount RNA in situ hybridization showed that NXT2 transcripts were clearly detectable in embryonic heart as well as other tissues. Further analysis revealed that expression level of one form of alternative splicing NXT2 mRNA transcripts was significantly reduced, resulting in deficient myocardial cell differentiation and the malformation of cardiac valve at the atrioventricular boundary. The defects could be reproduced by morpholino anti-sense oligo knockdown of NXT2.

Conclusion

NXT2 has a critical role in maintaining morphogenetic integrity of embryonic heart in vertebrate species.
Genomic organization, annotation, and ligand-receptor inferences of chicken chemokines and chemokine receptor genes based on comparative genomics
Authors: Wang Jixin , Adelson David L , Yilmaz Ahmet , Sze Sing-Hoi , Jin Yuan , Zhu James J
Published: March 2005

Background

Chemokines and their receptors play important roles in host defense, organogenesis, hematopoiesis, and neuronal communication. Forty-two chemokines and 19 cognate receptors have been found in the human genome. Prior to this report, only 11 chicken chemokines and 7 receptors had been reported. The objectives of this study were to systematically identify chicken chemokines and their cognate receptor genes in the chicken genome and to annotate these genes and ligand-receptor binding by a comparative genomics approach.

Results

Twenty-three chemokine and 14 chemokine receptor genes were identified in the chicken genome. All of the chicken chemokines contained a conserved CC, CXC, CX3C, or XC motif, whereas all the chemokine receptors had seven conserved transmembrane helices, four extracellular domains with a conserved cysteine, and a conserved DRYLAIV sequence in the second intracellular domain. The number of coding exons in these genes and the syntenies are highly conserved between human, mouse, and chicken although the amino acid sequence homologies are generally low between mammalian and chicken chemokines. Chicken genes were named with the systematic nomenclature used in humans and mice based on phylogeny, synteny, and sequence homology.

Conclusion

The independent nomenclature of chicken chemokines and chemokine receptors suggests that the chicken may have ligand-receptor pairings similar to mammals. All identified chicken chemokines and their cognate receptors were identified in the chicken genome except CCR9, whose ligand was not identified in this study. The organization of these genes suggests that there were a substantial number of these genes present before divergence between aves and mammals and more gene duplications of CC, CXC, CCR, and CXCR subfamilies in mammals than in aves after the divergence.
Effects of first and second generation antihistamines on muscarinic induced mucus gland cell ion transport
Authors: Liu Huiling , Farley Jerry M
Published: March 2005

Background

The first generation antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine, are fairly potent muscarinic antagonists in addition to being H1 selective antihistamines. The antimuscarinic action is often not desirable since it is in part responsible for the drying of secretions in the airways and the sedative effect. We therefore examined a number of antihistamines for antimuscarinic effects on ion transport by mucus gland cells isolated from the airways of swine. Enzymatically isolated airway mucus gland cells were purified utilizing density gradients and grown in culture on porous inserts (Millicell HA™) at an air interface. Cells grown in this manner maintain phenotype and polarity. Transport of ions, as short-circuit current measured under voltage-clamp, was measured in response to acetylcholine (ACh) or histamine applied to the serosal side of the gland cell layers. Concentration-response relationships for ACh or histamine were generated in the presence and absence of various drugs. The potencies against muscarinic receptor activation were estimated using the dose-ratio method of Schild.

Results

Three known muscarinic antagonists were used to validate the system. Atropine had a pA2 of 9.4 ± 0.1 (n = 9). 4-DAMP and methoctramine had pA2 values of 8.6 ± 0.1 and 5.6 ± 0.1, respectively (n = 12, 11) all consistent with inhibition of an M3 subtype muscarinic receptor. The rank order of potency of the antihistamines against the inhibition of M3 receptors was desloratadine = diphenhydramine > hydroxyzine (pA2; 6.4, 6.2, 4.8, respectively). pA2 values for fexofenadine, loratadine and cetirizine were not determined since they had no effect on the cholinergic response at the highest drug concentrations tested (10, 10 and 100 μM, respectively). The pA2 values for the antihistamines against the histamine response could not be calculated, but the estimates of the rank order of potency were estimated to be desloratadine> cetirizine ≈ hydroxyzine > fexofenadine > loratadine > diphenhydramine.

Conclusion

The rank order of selectivity for histamine receptors over muscarinic receptors was estimated to be cetirizine ≈ fexofenadine > loratadine > desloratadine ≥ hydroxyzine ≥ diphenhydramine.
Medical healthcare use in Parkinson's disease: survey in a cohort of ambulatory patients in Italy
Authors: Cosentino Marco , Martignoni Emilia , Michielotto Donatella , Calandrella Daniela , Riboldazzi Giulio , Pacchetti Claudio , Frigo Gianmario , Nappi Giuseppe , Lecchini Sergio
Published: March 2005

Background

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease which at present has no cure, and it usually results in severe disability. The burden of PD increases as the illness progresses, resulting in the extensive utilisation of both health and community services. Knowledge of healthcare use patterns and of their determinants may greatly contribute to improve patient care, however few studies have examined this issue in PD. The present study was devised to describe the type of and reasons for medical healthcare resource use in persons with PD attending a Centre for PD and Movement Disorders, and to examine drug prescriptions issued on such occasions.

Methods

The study was a retrospective, cross-sectional survey in a cohort of ambulatory patients with PD, conducted by means of standard interviews.

Results

In the year before the study, 92 (70.8%) of 130 patients used medical healthcare resources: 1/5 of the patients was admitted to hospital, 1/5 to emergency room, 2/5 were visited by a non-neurology specialist, and 1/4 by the GP. Reasons were: nearly 20% programmed hospital admissions and visits, and more than 25% injuries and musculo-skeletal diseases. Other conditions typically occurring in PD (e.g. dementia, diabetes and cardio- and cerebro-vascular disease) were less frequently involved. On such occasions, drugs for PD were occasionally changed, however drug prescriptions for other indications were issued to more than 66% of the patients.

Conclusion

Several physicians other than the neurologist may take care of PD patients on different occasions, thus emphasising the need for communication between the reference neurologist and other physicians who from time to time may visit the patient.
Screening for novel enzymes from metagenome and SIGEX, as a way to improve it
Authors: Yun Jiae , Ryu Sangryeol
Published: March 2005

Metagenomics has been successfully applied to isolate novel biocatalysts from the uncultured microbiota in the environment. Two types of screening have been used to identify clones carrying desired traits from metagenomic libraries: function-based screening, and sequence-based screening. Both function- and sequence- based screening have individual advantages and disadvantages, and they have been applied successfully to discover biocatalysts from metagenome. However, both strategies are laborious and tedious because of the low frequency of screening hits. A recent paper introduced a high throughput screening strategy, termed substrate-induced gene-expression screening (SIGEX). SIGEX is designed to select the clones harboring catabolic genes induced by various substrates in concert with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). This method was applied successfully to isolate aromatic hydrocarbon-induced genes from a metagenomic library. Although SIGEX has many limitations, it is expected to provide economic advantages, especially to industry.
In Memorium: Herman P. Schwan [1915–2005]
Authors: Foster Kenneth R
Published: March 2005

Herman P. Schwan [1915–2005] was a distinguished scientist and engineer, and a founding father of the field of biomedical engineering. A man of integrity, Schwan influenced the lives of many, including his wife and children, and his many students and colleagues. Active in science until nearly the end of his life, he will be very much missed by his family and many colleagues.
Typing of human rotaviruses: Nucleotide mismatches between the VP7 gene and primer are associated with genotyping failure
Authors: Rahman Mustafizur , Sultana Rasheda , Podder Goutam , Faruque Abu SG , Matthijnssens Jelle , Zaman Khalequz , Breiman Robert F , Sack David A , Van Ranst Marc , Azim Tasnim
Published: March 2005

Background

Rotavirus genotyping is performed by using reverse transcription PCR with type-specific-primers. Because the high rotavirus mutation rate generates an extensive genomic variation, different G-type-specific primer sets are applied in different geographical locations. In Bangladesh, a significant proportion (36.9%) of the rotavirus strains isolated in 2002 could not be G-typed using the routinely used primer set. To investigate the reason why the strains were untypeable, nucleotide sequencing of the VP7 genes was performed.

Results

Four nucleotide substitutions at the G1 primer-binding site of the VP7 gene of Bangladeshi G1 rotaviruses rendered a major proportion of circulating strains untypeable using the routine primer set. Using an alternative primer set, we could identify G1 rotaviruses as the most prevalent genotype (44.8%), followed by G9 (21.7%), G2 (15.0%) and G4 (13.8%).

Conclusion

Because of the natural variation in the rotaviral gene sequences, close monitoring of rotavirus genotyping methods is important.
Selective Activation of Primary Afferent Fibers Evaluated by Sine-Wave Electrical Stimulation
Authors: Koga Kohei , Furue Hidemasa , Rashid Md Harunor , Takaki Atsushi , Katafuchi Toshihiko , Yoshimura Megumu
Published: March 2005

Transcutaneous sine-wave stimuli at frequencies of 2000, 250 and 5 Hz (Neurometer) are thought to selectively activate Aβ, Aδ and C afferent fibers, respectively. However, there are few reports to test the selectivity of these stimuli at the cellular level. In the present study, we analyzed action potentials (APs) generated by sine-wave stimuli applied to the dorsal root in acutely isolated rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) preparations using intracellular recordings. We also measured excitatory synaptic responses evoked by transcutaneous stimuli in substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurons of the spinal dorsal horn, which receive inputs predominantly from C and Aδ fibers, using in vivo patch-clamp recordings. In behavioral studies, escape or vocalization behavior of rats was observed with both 250 and 5 Hz stimuli at intensity of ∼0.8 mA (T5/ T250), whereas with 2000 Hz stimulation, much higher intensity (2.14 mA, T2000) was required. In DRG neurons, APs were generated at T5/T250 by 2000 Hz stimulation in Aβ, by 250 Hz stimulation both in Aβ and Aδ, and by 5 Hz stimulation in all three classes of DRG neurons. However, the AP frequencies elicited in Aβ and Aδ by 5 Hz stimulation were much less than those reported previously in physiological condition. With in vivo experiments large amplitude of EPSCs in SG neurons were elicited by 250 and 5 Hz stimuli at T5/ T250. These results suggest that 2000 Hz stimulation excites selectively Aβ fibers and 5 Hz stimulation activates noxious transmission mediated mainly through C fibers. Although 250 Hz stimulation activates both Aδ and Aβ fibers, tactile sensation would not be perceived when painful sensation is produced at the same time. Therefore, 250 Hz was effective stimulus frequency for activation of Aδ fibers initiating noxious sensation. Thus, the transcutaneous sine-wave stimulation can be applied to evaluate functional changes of sensory transmission by comparing thresholds with the three stimulus frequencies.
Novel method of closing a tracheo-oesophageal fistula using a de-epithelialized deltopectoral flap
Authors: McMurtrie A , Georgeu G A , Kok K , Carlin W V , Davison P M
Published: March 2005

The authors describe a novel use of a de-epithelialized deltopectoral flap for the closure of tracheo-oesophageal fistulae, which have been resistant to other methods of closure.
Technical Note: Measuring System for Qualification Tests of Free-Field Rooms
Authors: Bay K. , Zhou X. , Schneider W. , Brandstätt P.
Published: March 2005

Free-field rooms need to be assessed with respect to acoustic quality as described in the relevant standards by sound pressure level decay tests that are compared to the expected decay of 6 dB per doubling of distance from the source. These tests are time consuming, as the microphone has to be moved along straight paths while recording the sound levels for each frequency. For this purpose, a new measuring system is described which accelerates the test procedure considerably with the aid of a self-propelled microphone positioning system and a computerized positioning and data analysis system.
Knowledge accessibility, achievement goals, and memory strategy maintenance
Authors: Escribe Christian , Huet Nathalie
Published: March 2005

Background. An important aim of educational psychology is to account for the difficulties in cognitive strategy maintenance. Possible explanations may be found in developmental studies concerning the interdependence of knowledge accessibility and strategy use, and in current achievement goal models which assume that individuals with a learning goal use deeper strategies than those with a performance goal.

Aims. The purpose of this study was to examine how knowledge accessibility and achievement goals separately or conjointly affect the maintenance of a categorization strategy, recall performance, and perception of the strategy (utility, difficulty, effort) in a free recall task.

Sample. Participants were 93 first‐year students from a human science university in France.

Method. In the first phase, the students were taught how to use a categorization strategy in a recall task involving highly accessible (typical) items. In a subsequent transfer task, the same students were assigned to one of four experimental conditions where they were asked to recall a typical or atypical list and where a learning or performance goal was induced.

Results. Analysis showed that whatever the typicality of the list, a learning goal promoted maintenance of the categorization strategy, and of perception of its utility. Performance goal participants only maintained this strategy and its perceptions on typical lists, while on atypical lists they display less clustering and found the strategy less useful.

Conclusion. Results suggest that maintenance of a cognitive strategy is facilitated when there is compatibility between a performance goal and the task demands, or when the participants are learning‐goal oriented.
Vocal manifestations of internal multiplicity: Mary's voices
Authors: Osatuke Katerine , Humphreys Carol L. , Glick Meredith J. , Graff‐Reed Robin L. , Mack LaTasha McKenzie , Stiles William B.
Published: March 2005

According to the assimilation model, personality may be considered as a community of internal voices representing traces of previous experiences. This study addressed the hypothesis that a person's internal voices sound different from each other. First, following an intensive qualitative procedure, four clinically sophisticated raters identified six internal voices in a 45‐minute interview with Mary, a graduate student in psychology. They characterized the voices by (a) distinctive names, (b) descriptions of vocal and personality characteristics, and (c) sets of excerpted passages. Next, using the voice names and descriptions, additional raters independently sorted the passages into groups. Sortings based on transcript plus audio agreed with the sophisticated raters on 68.9% of the passages, as compared with 37.2% for sortings based on transcript only, while chance agreement expected for both was 16.7%. These findings support a literal view of internal multiplicity, consistent with a modular organization of experiential information within personality.
Learning communities and curricular reform: “Academic apprenticeships” for developmental students
Authors: Malnarich Gillies
Published: March 2005

Developmental learning community programs that are respectful of students' circumstances, supportive of their educational aims, and thoughtful about the purpose of education can be extremely effective in helping developmental students achieve their educational goals.
Retention and student success at minority‐serving institutions
Authors: Merisotis Jamie P. , McCarthy Kirstin
Published: March 2005

This chapter examines the unique contributions and strategies of minority‐serving institutions that successfully serve and graduate students of color.
Evaluating the outcomes of developmental education
Authors: Boylan Hunter R. , Bonham Barbara S. , Tafari Gamba Nwachi
Published: March 2005

Developmental education programs can use innovative ways to improve minority learning and persistence.
Teaching statistics by taking advantage of the laptop's ubiquity
Authors: Hyden Paul
Published: March 2005

This chapter reports on a mathematics professor's experience leveraging laptops in a required intermediate statistics course with a challenging student population. Use of laptops streamlined course delivery, enhanced classroom interaction, and improved both his students' and his own overall course experience.
Commitment toward the natural T (iNKT) cell lineage occurs at the CD4+8+stage of thymic ontogeny
Authors: Bezbradica Jelena S. , Hill Timothy , Stanic Aleksandar K. , Van Kaer Luc , Joyce Sebastian
Published: March 2005

T lineage commitment occurs in a discrete, stage-specific manner during thymic ontogeny. Intrathymic precursor transfer experiments and the identification of CD4+8+double-positive (DP), Vα14Jα18 natural T (iNKT) cells suggest that commitment to this lineage might occur at the DP stage. Nevertheless, this matter remains contentious because others failed to detect Vα14Jα18-positive iNKT cells that are CD4+8+. In resolution to this issue, we demonstrate that retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γ (RORγ)0/0thymi, which accumulate immature single-positive (ISP) thymocytes that precede the DP stage, do not rearrangeVα14-to-Jα18gene segments, suggesting that this event occurs at a post-ISP stage. Mixed radiation bone marrow chimeras revealed that RORγ functions in an iNKT cell lineage-specific manner. Further, introgression of a Bcl-xLtransgene into RORγ0/0mice, which promotes survival and permits secondary rearrangements of distalVα andJα gene segments at the DP stage, rescuesVα14-to-Jα18recombination. Similarly, introgression of a rearrangedVα14Jα18transgene into RORγ0/0mice results in functional iNKT cells. Thus, our data support the “T cell receptor-instructive (mainstream precursor) model” of iNKT cell lineage specification whereVα14-to-Jα18rearrangement, positive selection, and iNKT cell lineage commitment occur at or after the DP stage of ontogeny.
Attention-driven discrete sampling of motion perception
Authors: VanRullen Rufin , Reddy Leila , Koch Christof
Published: March 2005

In movies or on TV, a wheel can seem to rotate backwards, due to the temporal subsampling inherent in the recording process (the wagon wheel illusion). Surprisingly, this effect has also been reported under continuous light, suggesting that our visual system, too, might sample motion in discrete “snapshots.” Recently, these results and their interpretation have been challenged. Here, we investigate the continuous wagon wheel illusion as a form of bistable percept. We observe a strong temporal frequency dependence: the illusion is maximal at alternation rates around 10 Hz but shows no spatial frequency dependence. We introduce an objective method, based on unbalanced counterphase gratings, for measuring this phenomenon and demonstrate that the effect critically depends on attention: the continuous wagon wheel illusion was almost abolished in the absence of focused attention. A motion-energy model, coupled with attention-dependent temporal subsampling of the perceptual stream at rates between 10 and 20 Hz, can quantitatively account for the observed data.
A protein folding pathway with multiple folding intermediates at atomic resolution
Authors: Feng Hanqiao , Zhou Zheng , Bai Yawen
Published: March 2005

Using native-state hydrogen-exchange-directed protein engineering and multidimensional NMR, we determined the high-resolution structure (rms deviation, 1.1 Å) for an intermediate of the four-helix bundle protein: Rd-apocytochrome

b
562

. The intermediate has the N-terminal helix and a part of the C-terminal helix unfolded. In earlier studies, we also solved the structures of two other folding intermediates for the same protein: one with the N-terminal helix alone unfolded and the other with a reorganized hydrophobic core. Together, these structures provide a description of a protein folding pathway with multiple intermediates at atomic resolution. The two general features for the intermediates are (
i
) native-like backbone topology and (
ii
) nonnative side-chain interactions. These results have implications for important issues in protein folding studies, including large-scale conformation search, φ-value analysis, and computer simulations.
GmN70 and LjN70. Anion Transporters of the Symbiosome Membrane of Nodules with a Transport Preference for Nitrate
Authors: Vincill Eric D. , Szczyglowski Krzysztof , Roberts Daniel M.
Published: March 2005

A cDNA was isolated from soybean (Glycine max) nodules that encodes a putative transporter (GmN70) of the major facilitator superfamily. GmN70 is expressed predominantly in mature nitrogen-fixing root nodules. By western-blot and immunocytochemical analyses, GmN70 was localized to the symbiosome membrane of infected root nodule cells, suggesting a transport role in symbiosis. To investigate its transport function, cRNA encoding GmN70 was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and two-electrode voltage clamp analysis was performed. Ooctyes expressing GmN70 showed outward currents that are carried by anions with a selectivity of nitrate > nitrite ≫ chloride. These currents showed little sensitivity to pH or the nature of the counter cation in the oocyte bath solution. One-half maximal currents were induced by nitrate concentrations between 1 to 3 mm. No apparent transport of organic anions was observed. Voltage clamp records of an ortholog of GmN70 from Lotus japonicus (LjN70; K. Szczyglowski, P. Kapranov, D. Hamburger, F.J. de Bruijn [1998] Plant Mol Biol 37: 651–661) also showed anion currents with a similar selectivity profile. Overall, these findings suggest that GmN70 and LjN70 are inorganic anion transporters of the symbiosome membrane with enhanced preference for nitrate. These transport activities may aid in regulation of ion and membrane potential homeostasis, possibly in response to external nitrate concentrations that are known to regulate the symbiosis.
Transgenic Expression of the Soybean Apyrase in Lotus japonicus Enhances Nodulation
Authors: McAlvin Crystal B. , Stacey Gary
Published: March 2005

The soybean apyrase, GS52, was previously characterized as an early nodulin that is expressed in roots and localized to the plasma membrane. Transgenic Lotus japonicus plants were constructed constitutively expressing the GS52 apyrase. Segregation and Southern-blot analysis identified four single-copy sense lines, several double-copy sense lines, and one double-copy antisense line for further analysis. The single- and double-copy sense gs52 L. japonicus lines had enhanced nodulation that correlated with expression of the transgene. The sense transgenic lines were also found to have increased infection thread formation and enhanced infection zone length when infected by Mesorhizobium loti, the natural symbiont of L. japonicus. The data presented show that expression of the GS52 apyrase can enhance nodulation in L. japonicus and points to an important role for this group of enzymes in nodulation.
Biaxial elastic material properties of porcine coronary media and adventitia
Authors: Pandit Aditya , Lu Xiao , Wang Chong , Kassab Ghassan S.
Published: March 2005

The importance of mechanical stresses and strains has become well recognized in vascular physiology and pathology. To compute the stress and strain on the various components of the vessel wall, we must know the constitutive equations for the different layers of the vessel wall. The objective of the present study is to determine the constitutive equation of the coronary artery treated as a two-layer composite: intima-media and adventitial layers. Twelve hearts were obtained from a local slaughterhouse, and the right coronary artery and left anterior descending artery were dissected free from the myocardium. The vessel wall was initially mechanically tested biaxially (inflation and axial extension) as a whole (intact wall) and subsequently as intima-media or adventitial layer. A Fung-type exponential strain energy function was used to curve fit the experimental data for the intact wall and individual layers for the right coronary artery and left anterior descending artery. Two methods were used for the determination of material constants, including the Marquardt-Levenberg nonlinear least squares method and the genetic algorithm method. Our results show that there were no statistically significant differences in the material constants obtained from the two methods and that either set of elastic constants results in good fit of the data. Furthermore, at an in vivo value of axial stretch ratio, we find that the stiffness is as follows: intima-media > intact > adventitia. These results underscore the composite nature of coronary arteries with different material properties in each layer. The present results are necessary for analysis of coronary artery mechanics and to provide a fundamental understanding of vessel physiology.
Power output is linearly related to MyHC content in rat skinned myocytes and isolated working hearts
Authors: Korte F. Steven , Herron Todd J. , Rovetto Michael J. , McDonald Kerry S.
Published: March 2005

The amount of work the heart can perform during ejection is governed by the inherent contractile properties of individual myocytes. One way to alter contractile properties is to alter contractile proteins such as myosin heavy chain (MyHC), which is known to demonstrate isoform plasticity in response to disease states. The purpose of this study was to examine myocyte functionality over the complete range of MyHC expression in heart, from 100% α-MyHC to 100% β-MyHC, using euthyroid and hypothyroid rats. Peak power output in skinned cardiac myocytes decreased as a nearly linear function of β-MyHC expression during maximal ( r2= 0.85, n = 44 myocyte preparations) and submaximal ( r2= 0.82, n = 31 myocyte preparations) Ca2+activation. To determine whether single myocyte function translated to the level of the whole heart, power output was measured in working heart preparations expressing varied ratios of MyHC. Left ventricular power output of isolated working heart preparations also decreased as a linear function of increasing β-MyHC expression ( r2= 0.82, n = 34 myocyte preparations). These results demonstrate that power output is highly dependent on MyHC expression in single myocytes, and this translates to the performance of working left ventricles.
Chronic inflammatory pain leads to increased blood-brain barrier permeability and tight junction protein alterations
Authors: Brooks Tracy A. , Hawkins Brian T. , Huber Jason D. , Egleton Richard D. , Davis Thomas P.
Published: March 2005

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintains brain homeostasis by limiting entry of substances to the central nervous system through interaction of transmembrane and intracellular proteins that make up endothelial cell tight junctions (TJs). Recently it was shown that the BBB can be modulated by disease pathologies including inflammatory pain. This study examined the effects of chronic inflammatory pain on the functional and molecular integrity of the BBB. Inflammatory pain was induced by injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the right plantar hindpaw in female Sprague-Dawley rats under halothane anesthesia; control animals were injected with saline. Edema and hyperalgesia were assessed by plethysmography and infrared paw-withdrawal latency. At 72 h postinjection, significant edema formation and hyperalgesia were noted in the CFA-treated rats. Examination of permeability of the BBB by in situ perfusion of [14C]sucrose while rats were under pentobarbital anesthesia demonstrated that CFA treatment significantly increased brain sucrose uptake. Western blot analysis of BBB TJ proteins showed no change in expression of zonula occludens-1 (an accessory protein) or actin (a cytoskeletal protein) with CFA treatment. Expression of the transmembrane TJ proteins occludin and claudin-3 and -5 significantly changed with CFA treatment with a 60% decrease in occludin, a 450% increase in claudin-3, and a 615% increase in claudin-5 expression. This study demonstrates that during chronic inflammatory pain, alterations in BBB function are associated with changes in specific transmembrane TJ proteins.
Young Magistrates in the Greek East
Authors: Strubbe Johan
Published: March 2005

This article challenges the current view that young men (before the age of 22 or 25) institutionally participated in the government of their cities in the Greek East during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods. First, the laws and Imperial edicts concerning the age of officeholders (magistrates and liturgists) in the East are presented. Then the inscriptions mentioning young officeholders are critically examined and discussed; only thirteen cases are recorded with certainty. In the conclusion it is argued that office holding by children and young men was not a structural phenomenon in the cities. There was great reluctance to entrust responsible offices to young men. The offices young notables did hold were liturgical offices, especially the gymnasiarcheia, and financial magistracies, all implying heavy financial expenses for the holder or his parents, and the low-ranking office of the ephêbarcheia.
Time-Series Designs and Analyses
Authors: Druckman Daniel
Published: March 2005

This article describes the way time-series designs are used in research on international negotiation and related processes. Both quantitative and qualitative applications are discussed. One use of the techniques is to predict known outcomes of historical cases of negotiation. Both inductive and deductive approaches have been used in studies that evaluate alternative models of the way that negotiators respond to each other through the course of the talks. Another use of the techniques is to evaluate the impacts of such interventions as mediations or combat (referred to as interruptions) on the dynamics of conflict between nations. A third approach involves probabilistic forecasting with Bayesian analysis. This consists of revising initial probabilities of events (coups, peace agreements) based on current information about indicators that signal the occurrence of the event. Qualitative techniques have also been used to capture changes in conflict processes over time. These include charting changes in typological categories or in the use of influence strategies used by national actors in enduring rivalries. They also include tracing of paths to agreement or stalemate in negotiation, documenting progress in small-group dialogues, and developing chains of communication leading to peace agreements. By combining several of these techniques an analyst can draw conclusions about the likelihood that an event will occur (Bayesian analysis), its impact on a process (interrupted time series), and the way it emerged from prior events (process tracing).
Methodological Challenges in the Study of Negotiator Affect
Authors: Fulmer Ingrid Smithey , Barry Bruce
Published: March 2005

This article examines methodological issues that accompany expanding research attention to affect and emotion in bargaining and negotiation. The role of affect in negotiation is presumed to have anterior, experiential, and strategic components. After reviewing existing empirical research on emotion as predictor, consequence, and tactic in negotiation, we consider complications that challenge the researcher's ability to isolate the impact of specific affect states on particular components of the negotiation dynamic. That analysis leads to a survey and discussion of potential methodological remedies that will increase the ability of researchers to capture the "real" emotions that individuals experience, express, mask, and strategically deploy within the negotiation encounter.
Origin of the clay mineral assemblages in the Germanic facies of the English Trias: application of the spore colour index method
Authors: Jeans C. V. , Fisher M. J. , Merriman R. J.
Published: March 2005

The origin of the regional and stratigraphical variation in the Triassic authigenic clay assemblages of England is discussed in relation to new estimates of the palaeotemperatures experienced by their host sediments and a preliminary study by transmission electron microscopy of their microtextural features. Spore colour index measurements, based on the spore type Deltoidospora s.l. occurring in the sediments (Penarth Group) at the very top of the Triassic sequence, give estimated palaeotemperatures ranging from 60–74°C (south Devon) to 89–97°C (northeast Yorkshire). Calculated palaeotemperatures, based on a gradient of 25°C/km, for the main zone of authigenic clay minerals range from 63–77°C to 89–97°C for the top to 71–85°C to 94–104°C for the base. Irregular mixed-layer smectite-chlorite, corrensite and Mg-rich chlorite are associated with calculated palaeotemperatures of 66–86°C, 66–104°C and 75–104°C respectively. The suggestion that elsewhere in the UK corrensite and Mg-rich chlorite were formed at temperatures in excess of 100°C finds no support. Geothermal gradients would have to have been of the order of at least 100–300°C/km to obtain these temperatures within the Triassic sediments; such values are associated typically with high-level magmatic intrusions or geothermal systems of which there is no geological evidence. The balance of evidence suggests that the Triassic authigenic clay assemblages formed by neoformation during the early stages of sediment diagenesis under the influence of variation in the alkalinity of the depositional environments.