bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PLK1 Is Transcriptionally Activated by NF-κB during Cell Detachment and Enhances Anoikis Resistance through Inhibiting β-Catenin Degradation in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Lin De-Chen , Zhang Yu , Pan Qin-Jing , Yang Hai , Shi Zhi-Zhou , Xie Zhi-Hui , Wang Bo-Shi , Hao Jia-Jie , Zhang Tong-Tong , Xu Xin , Zhan Qi-Min , Wang Ming-Rong
Published: May 2011

Purpose: To investigate the molecular mechanisms through which polo-like kinase-1 (PLK1) takes part in anoikis resistance of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells.

Experimental Design: The role of PLK1 in cell anoikis resistance was examined by ectopic gene expression and siRNA-mediated knockdown. Glutathione S-transferase pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays were utilized to investigate PLK1-interacting proteins. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and reporter gene assays were carried out to identify the transcription factors responsible for PLK1 expression during anoikis resistance.

Results: We found that detachment of ESCC cells triggers the upregulation of PLK1. Elevated PLK1 expression contributes to protection against anoikis in cancer cells through the regulation of β-catenin expression. Moreover, we showed that, through direct binding to the PLK1 promoter, the NF-κB subunit RelA transcriptionally activates PLK1, which inhibits the ubiquitination and degradation of β-catenin. Inhibition of the NF-κB pathway restores the sensitivity of cancer cells to anoikis by downregulating PLK1/β-catenin expression. In addition, RelA gene amplification and protein overexpression was significantly correlated with PLK1 expression in ESCC tissues.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that upregulation of PLK1 triggered by cell detachment is regulated by RelA at the transcriptional level. PLK1 protects esophageal carcinoma cells from anoikis through modulation of β-catenin protein levels by inhibiting their degradation. Taken together, this study reveals critical mechanisms involved in the role of RelA/PLK1/β-catenin in anoikis resistance of ESCC cells. Clin Cancer Res; 17(13); 4285–95. ©2011 AACR.
Expression of a Functional CCR2 Receptor Enhances Tumor Localization and Tumor Eradication by Retargeted Human T cells Expressing a Mesothelin-Specific Chimeric Antibody Receptor
Authors: Moon Edmund K. , Carpenito Carmine , Sun Jing , Wang Liang-Chuan S. , Kapoor Veena , Predina Jarrod , Powell Daniel J. , Riley James L. , June Carl H. , Albelda Steven M.
Published: May 2011

Purpose: Adoptive T-cell immunotherapy with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes or genetically-modified T cells has yielded dramatic results in some cancers. However, T cells need to traffic properly into tumors to adequately exert therapeutic effects.

Experimental Design: The chemokine CCL2 was highly secreted by malignant pleural mesotheliomas (MPM; a planned tumor target), but the corresponding chemokine receptor (CCR2) was minimally expressed on activated human T cells transduced with a chimeric antibody receptor (CAR) directed to the MPM tumor antigen mesothelin (mesoCAR T cells). The chemokine receptor CCR2b was thus transduced into mesoCAR T cells using a lentiviral vector, and the modified T cells were used to treat established mesothelin-expressing tumors.

Results: CCR2b transduction led to CCL2-induced calcium flux and increased transmigration, as well as augmentation of in vitro T-cell killing ability. A single intravenous injection of 20 million mesoCAR + CCR2b T cells into immunodeficient mice bearing large, established tumors (without any adjunct therapy) resulted in a 12.5-fold increase in T-cell tumor infiltration by day 5 compared with mesoCAR T cells. This was associated with significantly increased antitumor activity.

Conclusions: CAR T cells bearing a functional chemokine receptor can overcome the inadequate tumor localization that limits conventional CAR targeting strategies and can significantly improve antitumor efficacy in vivo. Clin Cancer Res; 17(14); 4719–30. ©2011 AACR.
Outcome for Patients with Essential Trigeminal Neuralgia Treated with Linear Accelerator Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Authors: dos Santos Marcos Antonio , Pérez de Salcedo José Bustos , Gutiérrez Diaz José Angel , Nagore Gorka , Calvo Felipe A. , Samblás José , Marsiglia Hugo , Sallabanda Kita
Published: May 2011

Background: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is one option for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, after unsuccessful conservative approaches. Objectives: The objective of this study was to retrospectively evaluate our institutional results in the management of patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia treated with linear accelerator SRS. Methods: Fifty-two patients were treated between January 1998 and December 2009 and were followed for more than 6 months (median: 26.6 months). Forty-seven patients (90%) had undergone previous surgery before SRS. The target dose ranged from 50 to 80 Gy. Results: After SRS, 9 patients presented complete remission of the pain, and 21 were pain free but still under medication. Eleven patients reported a relief of more than 50% in crisis frequency. In 9 patients, no significant improvements were seen, and 2 presented an exacerbation of the pain. After an average period of 20 months, 15 patients reported pain recurrence. Results were better in patients older than 60 years (p = 0.019). Nineteen patients presented facial numbness after SRS, with a trend toward favorable treatment response (p = 0.06). Conclusion: SRS is an effective alternative to the treatment of essential trigeminal neuralgia, with long-lasting pain relief in more than 50% of the patients. Better results were seen with patients aged more than 60 years.
Analysis of Prognostic Factors of Pediatric-Type Sarcomas in Adult Patients
Authors: Ahn Hee Kyung , Uhm Ji Eun , Lee Jeeyun , Lim Do Hoon , Seo Sung Wook , Sung Ki-Sun , Lee Su Jin , Lee Duk Joo , Baek Kyung Kee , Kim Won-Seog , Park Joon Oh
Published: May 2011

Objective: Pediatric-type sarcomas such as Ewing’s sarcoma (EWS)/primitive neuroectodermal tumor family and rhabdomyosarcoma are relatively uncommon in adult patients. Optimal treatment strategies for this population and prognosis in adult patients compared with pediatric patients remain controversial. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed pediatric-type sarcoma patients older than 15 years at a single institution. Results: A total of 84 consecutive patients between 1995 and 2009 were identified at the Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Median age was 30 years with a range of 15–74 years. Forty-seven patients (56.0%) were diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor family, 34 (40.5%) with rhabdomyosarcoma and 3 (3.6%) with desmoplastic round-cell tumor. Median follow-up duration was 5.9 years. Median overall survival for all patients was 33.1 months (95% CI 13.5–52.7) and median event-free survival for all patients was 14.4 months (95% CI 5.9–22.9 months). Multivariate analysis revealed that localized disease was a significant independent prognostic factor for longer overall survival (hazard ratio 0.30, 95% CI 0.14–0.66, p = 0.003), and favorable primary tumor sites were associated with longer event-free survival (hazard ratio 0.33, 95% CI 0.11–0.98, p = 0.045). Conclusion: We identified the prognostic variables which may facilitate risk-adapted therapies for this rare adult sarcoma group, which should be further investigated.
Intraperitoneal Administration of Bevacizumab Intraoperatively Does Not Affect Abdominal Wound Healing in Rats
Authors: Pavlidis E.T. , Ballas K.D. , Psarras K. , Symeonidis N.G. , Koliakos G. , Kouzi-Koliakos K. , Rafailidis S.F. , Pavlidis T.E. , Marakis G.N. , Sakantamis A.K.
Published: May 2011

Background: Bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody targeted at vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to treat advanced colorectal cancer as well as other malignancies, but the ideal time point for its administration in patients scheduled for surgery is not well defined due to serious concerns regarding possible side effects on wound healing. Therefore, we conducted an experimental study in rats to clarify this issue. Methods: Four groups of 10 Wistar rats each underwent a 4-cm midline laparotomy and closure of the wound in 2 layers. In the treatment groups (A and B), bevacizumab (Avastin®) received a single dose of 5 mg/kg i.p., and an equal amount of saline was given to the control groups (C and D). Groups A and C were sacrificed on the 7th postoperative day, and groups B and D on the 14th postoperative day. Wounds were inspected by two independent observers upon sacrifice and results were recorded; wound tissues were sent for histology to assess the degree of fibrosis and measurement of tissue hydroxyproline levels. Serum levels of endothelin-1, C-reactive protein, pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance and carbonylated proteins were also determined. For statistical analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. Results: Wound healing did not differ among groups both on the 7th and the 14th postoperative days, and there was also no significant difference regarding the degree of inflammation, fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis, as well as hydroxyproline and biochemical marker levels among the groups. Conclusions: Intraperitoneal bevacizumab administered intraoperatively does not significantly affect abdominal wound healing in rats.
Efficacy of Temsirolimus after Previous Treatment with Sunitinib, Sorafenib or Everolimus in Advanced Renal Cell Cancer
Authors: Grundbichler Michael , Mlineritsch Brigitte , Ressler Sigrun , Moik Martin , Kappacher Andrea , Rosenlechner Sabine , Greil Richard
Published: May 2011

Objective: Temsirolimus inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin with demonstrated efficacy in patients with advanced renal cell cancer. Patients and Methods: We present a retrospective analysis of our single-center experience with temsirolimus in patients pretreated with sunitinib, sorafenib or everolimus. Sixteen patients were treated within our center starting in December 2006 until September 2009. The majority of patients (14 of 16) had received a prior antiangiogenic pretreatment. We further analyzed the efficacy of subsequent treatment with temsirolimus in these patients. Results: Stable disease could be achieved in 8 of 14 pretreated patients (57%). The duration of median progression-free survival was 10 weeks (range 1–43). Especially patients with a good response to previous antiangiogenic treatment, a good overall condition and a low Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) score benefited from subsequent treatment with temsirolimus. We did not see any complete or partial response meeting the World Health Organization criteria. Temsirolimus was well tolerated. Conclusion: Temsirolimus appears to be an effective and well-tolerated substance in the treatment of patients with a good performance status, low MSKCC score and stable disease under previous antiangiogenic treatment in advanced renal cell cancer. However, its use is highly questionable in pretreated patients with a poor performance score and a high MSKCC score.
Self-Reported Compliance with Capecitabine: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Analysis
Authors: Winterhalder Ralph , Hoesli Pierre , Delmore Geoffrey , Pederiva Stefanie , Bressoud Albéric , Hermann Frank , von Moos Roger ,   on behalf of the SAEDA Investigators Group (Swiss prospective cohort group)
Published: May 2011

Objectives: While oral anticancer treatment has increased the convenience for patients with no risk of venous access complications compared to intravenous drug administration, a high level of compliance cannot always be assumed. The aim of the present report was to evaluate real-life drug adherence in a prospective cohort analysis of patients with gastrointestinal or breast cancer treated with capecitabine-based chemotherapy. Methods: Twenty-nine Swiss oncologists recruited patients receiving capecitabine, either as monotherapy or in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents, in a prospective fashion. Patients recorded both their capecitabine intake and any adverse effects each day in patient diaries. Results: A total of 177 patients were included, 143 (81%) with gastrointestinal tumours and 34 (19%) with breast cancer. Overall, 161 patients (91%) were considered as fully compliant, while 16 patients (9%) reported some kind of compliance error. Reasons for non-compliance included forgetting to take treatment (n = 9), side effects (n = 4) and misunderstanding instructions (n = 3). Self-reported compliance was not influenced by age or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, but there was a trend towards better compliance with capecitabine therapy if fewer adverse effects occurred (p = 0.07, simple logistic regression). Conclusions: Self-reported compliance with capecitabine-based therapy in clinical practice is high and seems to be adversely affected by side effects.
Donor Effect on Cortical Perfusion Intensity in Renal Allograft Recipients: A Paired Kidney Analysis
Authors: Marti Elizabeth , Bergmann Ivo P. , Uehlinger Dominik E. , Frey Felix J. , Eisenberger Ute
Published: May 2011

Background: The contributions of donor- and recipient-related factors to renal allograft hemodynamics are difficult to dissect due to methodological reasons. We analyzed 28 pairs of kidneys (each pair from the same donor) transplanted to 56 different recipients in order to define the contributions of the donor and the recipient to allograft hemodynamics. Methods: Two different techniques based on color-coded duplex ultrasound were used: renal resistance index (RI; measured in 3 different segmental arteries) and cortical perfusion intensity (PI; calculated as the average PI of selected cortical parenchymal regions during one heart cycle in standardized registered and processed ultrasound videos). All measurements were performed during the same study visit. Results: Donor age was 56 years (median, range 17–78) and recipient age at examination 54 years (range 30–77). Median time after transplant (at the date of examination) was 2.4 years (range 0.7–5.5). RI correlated with pulse pressure (r = 0.64; p < 0.001) and recipient age (r = 0.42; p < 0.03), but not with donor age or transplant function expressed as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or PI. In within- and between-pairs ANOVA, donor-derived factors determined eGFR (p < 0.02) and cortical PI (p < 0.03), but not RI. Conclusions: Intrinsic donor-derived factors are associated with GFR and cortical parenchymal perfusion intensity, but not the RI of segmental arteries in renal allografts.
Outcomes of Epiretinal Membrane Removal in Eyes with and without Concurrent Vision-Limiting Ocular Disease
Authors: Moisseiev Elad , Davidovitch Zvi , Loewenstein Anat , Barak Adiel
Published: May 2011

Purpose: To evaluate preoperative and intraoperative parameters in patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for epiretinal membrane (ERM) removal and identify prognostic factors for visual recovery and complications. Furthermore, eyes with and without additional vision-limiting ocular disease were compared. Methods: Ninety eyes of 90 patients who underwent PPV and ERM peeling were included in this retrospective study. Patients were divided according to the presence of additional vision-limiting conditions. Results: The mean visual acuity (VA) improvement was –0.156 logMAR. No parameter was found to correlate with the final VA or postoperative complications. Thirty-four patients (37.8%) had concurrent vision-limiting ocular conditions. Although these eyes had lower initial and final VA, there was no significant difference in VA improvement between them and eyes without concurrent disease. Conclusions: PPV and membrane peeling is an effective treatment for patients with ERM, even in the presence of concurrent vision-limiting ocular disease.
Progesterone Level Predicts Serotonin-1A Receptor Binding in the Male Human Brain
Authors: Lanzenberger Rupert , Mitterhauser Markus , Kranz Georg S. , Spindelegger Christoph , Wadsak Wolfgang , Stein Patrycja , Moser Ulrike , Savli Markus , Kletter Kurt , Kasper Siegfried
Published: May 2011

Background: Progesterone (P) is thought to influence mood and affective states. Alterations of the inhibitory serotonin-1A (5-HT1A) receptor distribution are associated with depression and anxiety. This study evaluates the influence of plasma P levels on the 5-HT1A receptor binding in healthy male subjects. Methods: Molecular neuroimaging of the 5-HT1A receptor distribution using positron emission tomography and hormone assays for total plasma P and cortisol were done in a sample of 18 healthy men. Results: Plasma P levels explained up to 65% of the variability in 5-HT1A receptor binding in limbic regions including the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex and retrosplenial cortex. When controlling for cortisol in the model, there was an expected decline in explained variances of 5-HT1A binding attributed to P. Conclusions: The results of this study provide further support for the effect of P on 5-HT1A receptor expression and raise the possibility that P mediates the vulnerability to mood disorders by affecting the serotonergic system.
The Baptism of Death: Rereading the Life and Death of Lakshmi Kaundinya
Authors: Sebastian J. Jayakiran
Published: May 2011

This article re-reads the life and death of a young Brahmin woman, Lakshmi Kaundinya, as reported in a missionary journal in the middle of the nineteenth century. Using the analytical tools of postcolonial theory, it raises urgent questions about our unstable present by giving voice to this woman, who is silenced in a narrative that, though sympathetic, attempts to frame her as an arrogant Brahmin woman who did not want to give up the ways of her culture and conform to the expectations of the mission. It provides a sub-text to the more ‘successful’ story of the conversion of her husband, Anandarao Kaundinya, who is subsequently absorbed into the team of missionaries from the Basel Mission, by focusing on the challenges posed by gender and culture in narratives of nineteenth century conversions to Christianity.
Religion versus the Raj: The Salvation Army’s “Invasion” of British India
Authors: Eason Andrew M.
Published: May 2011

Emerging as a mission in East London in 1865, the Salvation Army quickly became known for its militant and unconventional evangelism on the streets of British towns and cities. Convinced that unrepentant souls were headed for hell, Salvationists employed sensational tactics to attract the attention of the lower working classes. This strategy did not change when the Salvation Army sent a small party of missionaries to Bombay in 1882. They not only arrived in Indian dress but held noisy processions through the city’s streets. While these methods reflected the Salvation Army’s revivalist theology, they brought Salvationists into collision with the colonial authorities. Fearing that the Army’s aggressive and sensational evangelism would lead to religious rioting and reduce the religion of the ruling race to ridicule, the Bombay police arrested the Salvationists on several occasions between September 1882 and April 1883. Although the city’s British residents generally approved of the actions of the police, many Indians and missionaries came to the defence of the evangelical organization, believing that imperial officials had acted unjustly towards the Army’s missionaries. Bolstered by this support, Salvationists repeatedly defied colonial authority for the sake of religious liberty, demonstrating through their words and actions that the Salvation Army could be anything but a benefit to imperial stability and prestige on the subcontinent.
Siddiq Hasan Khan (1832-90) and the Creation of a Muslim Cosmopolitanism in the 19th century
Authors: Alavi Seema
Published: May 2011

The essay highlights the role of one individual, Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan (1832-90), in writing the cultural and intellectual history of imperialisms. It brings his biography, journeys and intellectual forays together to show how he used the temporal moment of the mid 19th century ‘age of revolts’, and the spatial connectivity offered by British and Ottoman imperialisms and re-configured them to his own particular interests. Locating Siddiq Hasan in the connected histories of the British and Ottoman Empires, it views his in-house cosmopolitanism as a form of public conduct that was shaped by Islamic learning that cultivated urbane civility as Muslim universalist virtuous conduct. This was a form of cosmopolitanism enabled by imperial networks, informed by pre-colonial webs of interaction between India and West Asia, and deeply rooted in the scriptures.
Notes on the Ottoman Poll-Tax Reforms of the Late Seventeenth Century: The Case of Crete
Authors: Sariyannis Marinos
Published: May 2011

In 1691 the Ottoman government abolished the old system of collecting the poll-tax (cizye) from non-Muslim subjects; instead of imposing a standard rate per household, the tax would be levied per person according to three classes: rich, middle-class and poor. In 1670, the same reform had been implemented in Crete and the Aegean. Some observations concerning the distribution of the taxpayers into the three classes raise the question of how these latter were defined; it seems that no legal definition was used and that taxpayers declared at will their economic situation. Furthermore, a close study of the implementation of the reform in Crete shows that the government underwent a long process of negotiation and compromise, proposing alternative forms of maktu (lump sum) collection and fixed percentages.
Identity, Narrative, and Lived Experience after Postmodernity: Between Multiplicity and Continuity
Authors: Frie Roger
Published: May 2011

The concept of multiplicity describes the fluid nature of identity and experience in the wake of postmodernity. Yet the question of how we negotiate and maintain our identities, despite our multiplicities, requires phenomenological clarification. I suggest that recognition of multiplicity needs to be combined with an acknowledgement of continuity, however minimal. I maintain that this continuity is evidenced in our pre-reflective self-awareness, embodiment and habitual activities. Our authorship of life narratives and our ability to deliberate and shape our identities takes place against the background of our lived, prereflective experience. I develop the notion of prereflective self-awareness using the work of Sartre, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty. I suggest that prereflective self-awareness, embodiment and habitual activity are themselves shaped by our participation in sociocultural frameworks that give meaning to our lives.
Debord, Time and History
Authors: Bunyard Tom
Published: May 2011

This essay reads Guy Debord’s theoretical work through its primary philosophical and theoretical influences, and in doing so draws attention to his concerns with time and history. These concerns are used as a means of clarifying Debord’s theory of ‘spectacle’ and of highlighting its virtues and failings. The essay uses Debord’s remarks on subjectivity and temporality to pursue the theoretical dimensions of his interest in strategy, and thereby addresses his Hegelian Marxism via his comments on the relation between strategy, history and dialectics. His concerns with temporality are, however, also shown to pertain to the theory of spectacle’s shortcomings as an account of capitalist society. The essay thus attempts to draw out some of the more-neglected foundational material upon which the theory of spectacle rests, contending that the former may be of greater contemporary interest than the latter.
Centuries of Transition
Authors: Davidson Neil
Published: May 2011

This review of Chris Wickham’s Framing the Early Middle Ages situates the book within the context of his earlier writings on the transition to feudalism, and contrasts his explanation for and dating of the process with those of the two main opposing positions set out in Perry Anderson’s Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism (1974) and Guy Bois’s The Transformation of the Year One Thousand (1989). Although Framing modifies some of Wickham’s earlier positions, it largely sidesteps explicit theoretical discussion for a compellingly detailed empirical study which extends to almost the entire territorial extent of the former Roman Empire. The review focuses on three main themes raised by Wickham’s important work: the existence or otherwise of a ‘peasant’-mode of production and its relationship to the ‘Asiatic’ mode; the nature of state-formation and the question of when a state can be said to have come into existence; and the rôle of different types of class-struggle - slave-rebellions, tax-revolts and peasant-uprisings - in establishing the feudal system.
Chris Wickham’s Framing the Early Middle Ages
Authors: Harman Chris
Published: May 2011

While recognising the power and fundamental importance of Wickham’s Framing the Early Middle Ages, this essay explores some of the problems associated with the relative silence within the text about the issue of the forces of production and their development. By contrast, Harman suggests that Wickham’s most important contribution to our understanding of the period, his concept of a peasant-mode of production, is best understood against the backdrop of prior developments of the forces of production. Moreover, the peasant-mode’s temporality is itself best understood against the background of further developments of the forces of production.
Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages: What Kind of Transition?
Authors: Banaji Jairus
Published: May 2011

The stereotype of slave-run latifundia being turned into serf-worked estates is no longer credible as a model of the transition from antiquity to the middle ages, but Chris Wickham’s anomalous characterisation of the Roman Empire as ‘feudal’ is scarcely a viable alternative to that. If a fully-articulated feudal economy only emerged in the later middle ages, what do we make of the preceding centuries? By postulating a ‘general dominance of tenant production’ throughout the period covered by his book, Wickham fails to offer any basis for a closer characterisation of the post-Roman rural labour-force and exaggerates the degree of control that peasants enjoyed in the late Empire and post-Roman world. A substantial part of the rural labour-force of the sixth to eighth centuries comprised groups who, like Rosamond Faith’s inland-workers in Anglo-Saxon England, were more proletarian than peasant-like. The paper suggests the likely ways in which that situation reflected Roman traditions of direct management and the subordination of labour, and outlines what a Marxist theory of the so-called colonate might look like. After discussing Wickham’s handling of the colonate and slavery, and looking briefly at the nature of estates and the fate of the Roman aristocracy, I conclude by criticising the way Wickham uses the category of ‘mode of production’.
Land and Power from Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England?
Authors: Moreland John
Published: May 2011

Archaeology, and in particular the study of ceramics, lies at the heart of the interpretive schemes that underpin Framing the Early Middle Ages. While this is to be welcomed, it is proposed that even more extensive use of archaeological evidence - especially that generated through the excavation of prehistoric burial-mounds and rural settlements, as well as the study of early medieval coins - would have produced a rather more dynamic and nuanced picture of the transformations in social and political structures that marked the passage from late Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England.
A la conquista de la clase obrera: Los comunistas y el mundo del trabajo en la Argentina, 1920-1935 Historia del trotskismo en Argentina y América Latina Marx en la Argentina: Sus primeros lectores obreros, intelectuales y científicos
Authors: Poy Lucas , Gaido Daniel
Published: May 2011

Argentine historiography in general, and the history of the Argentine Left in particular, does not receive the attention it deserves in the Anglo-Saxon academic world, due to linguistic and cultural barriers. In this article, we attempt to review for the English-reading public three recent contributions to the history of Marxism in Argentina (Horacio Tarcus’s Marx en la Argentina: Sus primeros lectores obreros, intelectuales y científicos, Hernán Camarero’s A la conquista de la clase obrera: Los comunistas y el mundo del trabajo en la Argentina, 1920-1935 and Osvaldo Coggiola’s Historia del trotskismo en Argentina y América Latina) covering the entire historical spectrum from the early history of Argentine socialism to the history of the PCA and, finally, to the history of local Trotskyism. We attempt to place these works in the context of Argentine historiography and of the political context in which those books were written.
Marx e Hegel. Contributi a una rilettura
Authors: Cesarale Giorgio
Published: May 2011

In Marx e Hegel. Contributi a una rilettura, Roberto Fineschi examines the complex relation between Marx and Hegel. According to Fineschi, Marx’s relation to Hegel changed over time: in the early period, Marx understood Hegel to be theorising a self-consciousness that in-itself generates reality; while, in his maturity, Marx interpreted Hegel as a more rigorous theoretician of a conceptual Darstellung based on the transition from abstract to concrete. This review-article discusses Fineschi’s thesis, according to which Marx’s ‘materialistic overturning’ of Hegel involves two aspects: the narrowing of the scope of the conceptual development, and the idea that the beginning of Capital is to be understood as being both logical and empirical. We will argue that the first element was, in some ways, also claimed by Hegel and that the second contradicts other characteristics of Marxian theoretical discourse, such as the idea that demonstrative sequences must be governed by necessity and the centrality of the logic of the presupposed-posited.
Sexual dimorphism and female reproduction in two sympatric toad-headed lizards, Phrynocephalus frontalis and P. versicolor (Agamidae)
Authors: Qu Yan-Fu , Gao Jian-Fang , Mao Lu-Xi , Ji Xiang
Published: May 2011

We studied sexual dimorphism and female reproduction in two sympatric species of toad-headed lizards, Phrynocephalus frontalis and P. versicolor, from Inner Mongolia, North China. The smallest reproductive females of P. frontalis and P. versicolor we recorded were 43.5 mm and 44.2 mm SVL, respectively. Females were the larger sex in P. versicolor, whereas female and male adults of P. frontalis did not differ in mean SVL. Females of P. frontalis were on average smaller than females of P. versicolor, so were males of P. frontalis. In both species females were larger in abdomen length (AL) but smaller in head length (HL), head width (HW) and tail length (TL); adults of P. frontalis were larger in HL and TL but smaller in AL and HW than adults of P. versicolor of the same size. Females of both species laid a single clutch of 2-6 eggs per breeding season. The trade-off between size and number of eggs was evident in both species. Of the examined female reproductive traits, only clutch size and egg size differed between the two species, with females of P. frontalis laying fewer but larger eggs than did females of P. versicolor of the same SVL. However, as the observed between-species difference in egg size (and thus, offspring size) was small, any niche divergence resulting from this difference could be less important in reducing competitions between these two sympatric species of lizards.
Differentiation of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) antennal lobes during metamorphosis: a comparative study among castes and sexes
Authors: Roat Thaisa Cristina , Cruz-Landim Carminda da
Published: May 2011

In insects the antennal lobes (AL) constitute the brain deutocerebrum. In bees they consist of two neuropil regions, each associated with one antenna, delimited by a layer of glial cells and somata of neurons. The neuropil is organized in distinct globular structures of dense synaptic axons coming from the olfactory organs of the antennae, known as glomeruli. In Apis mellifera, as in other eusocial species of bees, queens, workers, and drones perform different functions in the colony and consequently the organs associated with these functions undergo a differential development. In this paper we analyzed the structure and size of the differentiating AL of queens, workers, and drones during metamorphosis using light microscopy. During metamorphosis the neuropil enlarge and differentiates into concentric structures known as glomeruli. The results showed size, structural and temporal differences in the glomeruli development among the classes of individuals of the colony. The neuropil differentiation starts early and is faster in drones and newly emerged worker is the colony individual class with greater neuropil area in AL. These results are discussed taking in account the functions of the individuals in the colony.
Gross anatomy and histology of giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) and neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) testes
Authors: de Oliveira Gabriel , Barcellos José , Lazzarini Stella , Rosas Fernando
Published: May 2011

The gonads of six adult giant otter males (Pteronura brasiliensis) and of one adult neotropical otter male (Lontra longicaudis) were analyzed both for histology and gross anatomy. The mean testes mass/body mass ratio in giant otters was 0.046 ± 0.0071%. The presence of spermatozoa inside the seminiferous and epididymal tubules revealed that two-year-old giant otters were already sexually mature. The mean diameter of the seminiferous and epididymal tubules of mature giant otters was 126.3 ± 13.37 μm and 198.8 ± 31.19 μm, respectively. The small amount of spermatozoa in the testes and epidimydes of 5 out of 6 giant otters analyzed suggests a seasonal testes activity in this species, which is in accordance to the observations of a monogamous mating system and seasonal reproduction of free-ranging giant otters. The testes of the neotropical otter were proportionally larger, wider and heavier than the testes of the giant otters. The testes mass/body mass ratio in L. longicaudis was 0.25%, 5.5 times greater than that of giant otters. The mean diameter of the seminiferous and epididymal tubules of the neotropical otter were 179.8 ± 17.01 μm and 238.5 ± 24.64 μm, respectively, which were significantly larger than those of the giant otter. The differences in testes size between these two otter species might be related to different mating systems. The greater dimensions of the testes of the neotropical otter, together with the greater body size of males when compared to females, suggest a non-monogamous mating system in this species, probably polyginy or promiscuity, which, however, needs to be better investigated.
Understanding the Planets in Ancient China: Prediction and Divination in the Wu xing zhan
Authors: Cullen Christopher
Published: May 2011

The untitled and anonymous text known by modern scholars under the name Wu xing zhan 'Prognostics of the Five Stars [sc. 'planets']', datable to before 168 bce, is the earliest known surviving Chinese document to give a substantive account of the apparent motions of the five visible planets, and to discuss the significance of those motions. The text includes tabulated predictions of the motions of three planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Venus) from 246 bce to 177 bce. In each case it is possible to reconstruct simple rationales for the data given. It is however clear from the text that its primary purpose is to serve as an aid to celestial divination rather than as an attempt to discover laws of planetary motion for their own sake. The user of the text was not only expected to observe deviations from the rules underlying the tabulations given, but also actively to exploit such deviations as means of prognostication.
“Rounding Up the Usual Suspects”: Exclusion, Selectivity, and Impunity in the Enforcement of International Criminal Justice and the African Union’s Emerging Resistance
Authors: Eberechi Ifeonu
Published: May 2011

Despite the overwhelming ratification of the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by African states, recent attempts to prosecute the perpetrators of egregious crimes in the region have come under a sustained opposition from its regional body, the African Union (AU). In fact, the blunt accusation is that international criminal justice has become an instrument of colonization. Within the context of the AU’s claim, this article engages the question of selective enforcement of international criminal accountability, ironically beginning with the Nuremberg trial. Without necessarily justifying the senseless perpetration of heinous crimes in Africa, this article argues that an international justice regime complex that is perceived to be skewed in favour of the West engenders a crisis of legitimacy and ultimately robs it of the much needed cooperation from the region.
May You Learn from Their Model: The Exemplary Father-Daughter Relationship of Mohammad and Fatima in South Asian Shiism
Authors: Ruffle Karen
Published: May 2011

The special father-daughter relationship shared by Mohammad and Fatima (Fātema) is a source of inspiration and emulation for the Shia, who seek to cultivate idealized religious and ethical selves based upon their model. While Fatima and Mohammad are exceptional people who have been chosen by God to deliver and enact His message of creation, monotheism (tawhid), and the resurrection and Day of Judgment, they are also truly human beings, whose emotional and material needs resonate with everyday Shia. This essay focuses on three ways in which Mohammad and Fatima’s father-daughter relationship teaches the Shia of South Asia Islamic religious values, idealized socio-ethical norms, and proper filial relationships. First, Fatima’s earthly wedding to Ali and accounts of the minimal dowry that Mohammad provided for his daughter is frequently cast in a reformist light by South Asian Shia, who consider the adaptation of Hindu wedding practices and rituals to be contrary to the Sunna of the Prophet. Second, Fatima’s extreme poverty is a popular subject in Indo-Persian hagiographies, in which Fatima is narratively engaged to epitomize the socio-ethical ideals of charity (sadaqa), patience (sabr), and faith (imān). Third, Fatima’s impassioned speech claiming her right to inherit the orchards at Fadak is rooted in her status as Mohammad’s daughter and, more importantly, as a Muslim woman.
Süleyman and Mihrimah: The Favorite’s Daughter
Authors: Isom-Verhaaren Christine
Published: May 2011

Due to the fact that an Ottoman princess never succeeded to the throne, princesses are usually dismissed as political ciphers lacking power or influence. Mihrimah (Mehr-o-māh), the only daughter of Süleyman (Solaymān) and his concubine (later wife) Hurrem (Khorram), wielded more power during her father’s reign than did her brothers. Together with her mother, and her grand vizier husband, Rüstem (Rostam) Pasha, she belonged to the most powerful faction of her father’s reign. Rare among Süleyman’s favorites, these three never lost his regard leading to loss of status and/or life. By examining Mihrimah’s architectural patronage, her correspondence with her father, her amassment of great wealth, and her involvement in administrative appointments and decisions regarding military expeditions, this article analyzes the particular quality and origin of Mihrimah’s influence and power. It argues that because Mihrimah was female and ineligible to succeed to the sultanate, she was able to develop a closer relationship with her father than could his sons who were candidates for the throne, and thus potentially could revolt against him. This closeness continued even after death, for Mihrimah was the only one of Süleyman’s children to be buried with him in his tomb.
Imperial Transgressions and Spiritual Investitures: A Begam’s “Ascension” in Seventeenth Century Mughal India
Authors: Bokhari Afshan
Published: May 2011

Islamic jurisprudence and social customs regarding laws of inheritance privilege Muslim males as legitimate successors to family legacies and wealth. Furthermore, these heads of households were and are expected to sustain and uphold family values while representing the noble “face” of their legacies. Though women in pre-modern Islamic societies were awarded property and income to support them, they were neither required nor encouraged like their male counterparts to use their agencies or largesse to make banner representations of their lineage or heritage. This essay challenges androcentric ideas and practices surrounding Islamic laws of inheritance through the example of the Mughal princess Jahānārā Begam (1614-81) and her articulations of ascension. This analysis demonstrates how the princess’s extraordinary relationship with her emperor father, Shah Jahān (r. 1628-59), facilitated her spiritual and imperial achievements and elevated her rank in imperial and Sufi hierarchies.
On Constraining Estimates of Climate Sensitivity with Present-Day Observations through Model Weighting
Authors: Klocke Daniel , Pincus Robert , Quaas Johannes
Published: May 2011

The distribution of model-based estimates of equilibrium climate sensitivity has not changed substantially in more than 30 years. Efforts to narrow this distribution by weighting projections according to measures of model fidelity have so far failed, largely because climate sensitivity is independent of current measures of skill in current ensembles of models. This work presents a cautionary example showing that measures of model fidelity that are effective at narrowing the distribution of future projections (because they are systematically related to climate sensitivity in an ensemble of models) may be poor measures of the likelihood that a model will provide an accurate estimate of climate sensitivity (and thus degrade distributions of projections if they are used as weights). Furthermore, it appears unlikely that statistical tests alone can identify robust measures of likelihood. The conclusions are drawn from two ensembles: one obtained by perturbing parameters in a single climate model and a second containing the majority of the world’s climate models. The simple ensemble reproduces many aspects of the multimodel ensemble, including the distributions of skill in reproducing the present-day climatology of clouds and radiation, the distribution of climate sensitivity, and the dependence of climate sensitivity on certain cloud regimes. Weighting by error measures targeted on those regimes permits the development of tighter relationships between climate sensitivity and model error and, hence, narrower distributions of climate sensitivity in the simple ensemble. These relationships, however, do not carry into the multimodel ensemble. This suggests that model weighting based on statistical relationships alone is unfounded and perhaps that climate model errors are still large enough that model weighting is not sensible.
Preference and Tranquility for Houses of Worship
Authors: Herzog Thomas R. , Gray Lauren E. , Dunville Amy M. , Hicks Angela M. , Gilson Emily A.
Published: May 2011

Participants rated houses of worship for one of seven variables: preference, tranquility, age, visual richness, building care, potential for recovery from fatigued attention, and potential for reflection. Factor analysis of the preference ratings yielded four content categories: “contemporary,” “traditional,” “unusual architecture,” and “older red brick churches.” Preference was positively correlated with visual richness and building care in the contemporary and traditional categories and had a positive partial correlation with age in the traditional category. Tranquility was positively correlated with preference, building care, recovery, and reflection in the contemporary category but only with reflection in the traditional category. Tranquility was rated higher overall than preference. Preference and visual richness were lower for contemporary architecture than for the other categories, but there were no differences in tranquility. Apparently, raters felt they could achieve tranquility in most houses of worship but preferred those higher in visual richness.
Tensile behaviors of co-woven-knitted fabric reinforced composites under various strain rates
Authors: Ma Pibo , Hu Hong , Zhu Lvtao , Sun Baozhong , Gu Bohong
Published: May 2011

This article reports the tensile behaviors of a novel kind of 3D textile composite, named as co-woven-knitted fabric (CWKF) reinforced composite, under quasi-static and high strain rates. The tensile tests were conducted along the warp direction (0°), bias direction (45°), and weft direction (90°) at quasi-static strain rate of 0.001/s and high strain rates ranging from 1589/s to 2586/s. The results indicate that the tensile strength, failure strain, tensile stiffness, energy absorption, and resilient energy are strain rate sensitive along all the three directions. The relationships between the mechanical parameters and the strain rate were also analyzed. The fractograph of the CWKF composite demonstrate that the tensile failure modes are matrix shear failure and fibers breakage under the quasi-static testing condition while interface failure and fibers pullout are at high strain rates.
Synthesis of PPy/PW12 O3-40 organic-inorganic hybrid material on polyester yarns and subsequent weaving to obtain conductive fabrics
Authors: Romero Eduardo , Molina Javier , del Río Ana Isabel , Bonastre José , Cases Francisco
Published: May 2011

In this paper, we study the morphological, chemical and electrochemical characteristics of conductive fabrics obtained by weaving conductive yarns of polyester chemically coated with PPy (polypyrrole)/PW12O3-40. The weaving process allows us to obtain conductive fabrics with higher dimensions than those traditionally obtained by in-situ chemical oxidation methods. Untwisted yarns and satin fabrics produced the most satisfactory results. The yarns of PES - PPy/PW12O3-40 as well as the fabric obtained after weaving, were chemically characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection and energy dispersive X-ray. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to observe the morphology of the coating as well as the formation of defects during the weaving process. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was employed to measure the conductivity of the fabrics and the conductive nature by means of the phase angle. The process was satisfactory since the coating of polypyrrole was not excessively damaged by the weaving process.
Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamic Properties of the GPR40 Agonist TAK‐875: Results From a Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled Single Oral Dose Rising Study in Healthy Volunteers
Authors: Naik Himanshu , Vakilynejad Majid , Wu Jingtao , Viswanathan Prabhakar , Dote Nobuhito , Higuchi Tomoaki , Leifke Eckhard
Published: May 2011

TAK‐875 is a selective G‐protein‐coupled receptor 40 agonist in development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. This randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study evaluated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of TAK‐875 following administration of a single oral dose of TAK‐875 (25–800 mg) in 60 healthy volunteers. TAK‐875 was eliminated slowly with a mean terminal elimination t1/2 of approximately 28.1 to 36.6 hours. Systemic exposure of TAK‐875 did not exhibit dose‐proportional increases across the dose range evaluated due to a greater than proportional increase in exposure at doses greater than 200 mg. A preliminary food effect assessment indicated that coadministration of TAK‐875 with a high‐fat meal decreased Cmax of TAK‐875 by 40% and AUC by 17%. Clinical adverse experiences were generally mild and transient. No dose‐dependent pattern was observed. In healthy volunteers, no glucose‐lowering effect and no increase in insulin or c‐peptide secretion were evident following administration of TAK‐875; the frequency of plasma glucose concentrations <70 mg/dL was similar in the TAK‐875 and pooled placebo groups. TAK‐875 was well tolerated in the study and has pharmacokinetic characteristics suitable for a once‐daily regimen. The pharmacodynamic data support the notion that TAK‐875, if effective in diabetic patients, may bear a low risk of hypoglycemia.