bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada
Authors: Chasmer L. , Quinton W. , Hopkinson C. , Petrone R. , Whittington P.
Published: June 2011

This study examines the links between the spatial distribution of three‐dimensional vegetation structural characteristics and historical permafrost plateau area changes using airborne light detection and ranging and aerial photography. The results show that vegetation is prone to reduced canopy fractional cover (by up to 50%) and reduced canopy heights (by 16−30%) at the edges of plateaus. Reduced biomass may cause a positive feedback, whereby diminished within‐ and below‐canopy shadowing (by 1 h of shadow time per day) results in increased radiation incident on the ground surface (16% greater at open‐ vs closed‐canopy plateau sites) and increased longwave radiation losses (74% greater at open‐ vs closed‐canopy plateau sites). Increased incident shortwave radiation may result in augmented thawing of permafrost and increased meltwater runoff, which further inhibits vegetation and permafrost persistence. Edge influences on ground thaw cause vegetation to die over several years (confirmed using historical aerial photography), thereby exacerbating thaw and plateau area reduction (plateau area reduction = ~27% over 60 years). Permafrost degradation is also evidenced by the increasingly fragmented characteristics of the landscape. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spin dynamics in 57Fe‐doped TiO2 anatase nanoparticles
Authors: Grecu Maria Nicoleta , Constantinescu Serban , Tărăbăşanu‐Mihăilă Doina , Ghica Daniela , Bibicu Ion
Published: June 2011

In this paper we present electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Mössbauer (transmission method, TMS and measurements in the scattering method, CEMS) experiments on 57Fe (0.1–1 at.%) doped nanocrystalline anatase‐type TiO2, synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Different Fe3+ and Fe2+ ions positions, with various hyperfine interactions evidenced in Mössbauer spectra (MS), confirm a partial magnetic ordering at room temperature. The magnetic hyperfine fields in the TMS spectra, better resolved at lower temperatures, do not change essentially with temperature. The first CEMS measurements, carried out on iron‐doped TiO2 nanoparticles, reveal a larger disorder in the surface particles layer. The temperature dependence of the double integral EPR spectral intensity, proportional with the sample susceptibility, shows an anomalous behaviour. It suggests the bound magnetic polaron (BMP) mechanism for the magnetic ordering.
Impurity states on the honeycomb and the triangular lattices using the Green's function method
Authors: Sherafati Mohammad , Satpathy Sashi
Published: June 2011

Using the Green's function (GF) method, we study the effect of an impurity potential on the electronic structure of the honeycomb lattice in the one‐band tight‐binding model that contains both the nearest‐neighbor (NN) (t) and the second‐neighbor (t′) interactions. If t = 0, the honeycomb lattice goes over to the triangular lattice, a case we also discuss. The model is relevant to the case of the substitutional vacancy in graphene. If the second‐neighbor interaction is large enough (t′ > t/3), then the linear Dirac bands no longer occur at the Fermi energy and the electronic structure is therefore fundamentally changed. With only the NN interactions present, there is particle–hole symmetry, as a result of which the vacancy induces a “zero‐mode” state at the band center with its wave function entirely on the majority sublattice, i.e., on the sublattice not containing the vacancy. With the introduction of the second‐neighbor interaction, the zero‐mode state broadens into a resonance peak and its wave function spreads into both sublattices, as may be argued from the Lippmann–Schwinger equation. The zero‐mode state disappears entirely for the triangular lattice and for the honeycomb lattice as well if t′ is large. In case of graphene, t′ is relatively small, so that a well‐defined zero‐mode state occurs in the vicinity of the band center.
Auto‐barrier‐thinning effect under rapid anodization of nanoporous alumina membrane
Authors: Banerjee Arghya Narayan , Joo Sang W.
Published: June 2011

We have developed a rapid non‐steady anodization technique that leads to an in‐situ auto‐thinning of the barrier layer due to a space charge limited condition that modifies the local fields at the interfaces of the Al‐Al2O3‐electrolyte ternary system. Unlike steady‐state growth, in this non‐steady case an unequal movement of the boundaries of barrier takes place which etches the electrolyte‐oxide interface more than the oxide grows at the oxide‐metal interface, leading to a thinner barrier layer and favouring its complete removal via wet‐etching process. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Linseed Oil: An Investigation of its Antiarthritic Activity in Experimental Models
Authors: Singh Surender , Nair Vinod , Gupta Y. K.
Published: June 2011

Food sources rich in omega‐3 fatty acids have been valued for their beneficial effect in the management of inflammatory disorders. The present study evaluates the antiarthritic and immunomodulatory activity of Linum usitatissimum fixed oil (LUFO) in experimental models. The LUFO produced a dose‐dependent reduction in joint swelling and circulating TNF‐α levels in both preventive and curative protocols of arthritis induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Expression of TNF‐R1 and Interleukin (IL) 6 proteins in the arthritic paw was also significantly reduced in the LUFO‐treated animals. In the cotton pellet induced granuloma model, LUFO treatment significantly reduced the dry granuloma weight as compared with the control group. Results of our present study thus demonstrate the antiarthritic and disease modifying activity of LUFO. We believe that dietary incorporation of LUFO may be beneficial in the prevention and management of rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory disorders. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Androgen‐independent Effects of Serenoa repens Extract (Prostasan®) on Prostatic Epithelial Cell Proliferation and Inflammation
Authors: Iglesias‐Gato Diego , Carsten Tober , Vesterlund Mattias , Pousette Ake , Schoop Roland , Norstedt Gunnar
Published: June 2011

Extracts from Serenoa repens are widely used for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and traditionally for prostatitis. In the present study we evaluated the biological effects of Serenoa repens extract (Prostasan®) on prostate cells beyond its known antiandrogenic actions. Prostasan® inhibited epidermal growth factor (EGF) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced proliferation of the prostatic epithelial, androgen independent cell line PC‐3. At effective concentrations of 50 µg/mL, Prostasan® partly displaced EGF from EGF receptor (EGFR) but fully blocked EGF‐induced cell proliferation of PC‐3 cells. Similarly, Prostasan® inhibited LPS‐induced proliferation of PC‐3 cells without affecting LPS activation of the NFĸB pathway via toll‐like receptor‐4 (TLR‐4). Additionally, Prostasan® reduced the constitutive secretion of monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1), the LPS‐induced secretion of IL‐12 and inhibited MCP‐1 and granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) production in the presence of LPS on PC‐3 cells. Taken together, our results suggest that S. repens extracts, in addition to other reported effects on BPH development and prostatitis, inhibits EGF‐dependent growth and proinflammatory responses of the prostate epithelial cells. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Uncaria tomentosa Aqueous‐ethanol Extract Triggers an Immunomodulation toward a Th2 Cytokine Profile
Authors: Domingues Alexandre , Sartori Alexandrina , Valente Ligia Maria Marino , Golim Marjorie Assis , Siani Antonio Carlos , Viero Rosa Marlene
Published: June 2011

Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC (Rubiaceae) is a large woody vine that is native to the Amazon and Central American rainforests and is used widely in traditional medicine for its immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory activities. The present work used in vivo immunotoxic and in vitro immunomodulatory experiments to investigate the effects of a pentacyclic oxindole alkaloid extract from U. tomentosa bark on lymphocyte phenotype, Th1/Th2 cytokine production, cellular proliferation and cytotoxicity. For the in vivo immunotoxicity testing, BALB/c male mice were treated once a day with 125, 500 or 1250 mg/kg of U. tomentosa extract for 28 days. For the in vitro protocol, lymphocytes were cultured with 10–500 μg/mg of the extract for 48 h. The extract increased the cellularity of splenic white pulp and the thymic medulla and increased the number of T helper lymphocytes and B lymphocytes. Also, a large stimulatory effect on lymphocyte viability was observed. However, mitogen‐induced T lymphocyte proliferation was significantly inhibited at higher concentrations of U. tomentosa extract. Furthermore, an immunological polarization toward a Th2 cytokine profile was observed. These results suggest that the U. tomentosa aqueous‐ethanol extract was not immunotoxic to mice and was able to modulate distinct patterns of the immune system in a dose‐dependent manner. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Radar characteristics of continental, coastal, and maritime convection observed during AMMA/NAMMA
Authors: Guy Nick , Rutledge Steven A. , Cifelli Robert
Published: June 2011

Ground‐based radar observations at three distinct geographical locations in West Africa along a common latitudinal band (Niamey, Niger (continental), Kawsara, Senegal (coastal), and Praia, Republic of Cape Verde (maritime)) are analyzed to determine convective system characteristics in each domain during a 29‐day period in 2006. Ancillary datasets provided by the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA) and NASA‐AMMA (NAMMA) field campaigns are also used to place the radar observations in context. Results show that the total precipitation is dominated by propagating mesoscale convective systems. Convective characteristics vary according to environmental properties, such as vertical shear, CAPE, and the degree of synoptic forcing. Data are bifurcated based on the presence or absence of African easterly waves. In general, African easterly waves appear to enhance mesoscale convective system strength characteristics (e.g. total precipitation and vertical reflectivity profiles) at the inland and maritime sites. The wave regime also resulted in an increased population of the largest observed mesoscale convective systems observed near the coast, which led to an increase in stratiform precipitation. Despite this increase, differentiation of convective strength characteristics was less obvious between wave and no‐wave regimes at the coast. Owing to the propagating nature of these advecting mesoscale convective systems, interaction with the regional thermodynamic and dynamic environment appears to result in more variability than enhancements due to the wave regime, independent of location. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society
Integration test effort in sap r/3 systems
Authors: van de Griend P. A. , Kusters R. J.
Published: June 2011

This paper describes an experimental approach towards the definition of a metric for integration test effort based on enterprise resource planning (ERP) system logs. By nature, ERP systems are complex. After implementing an ERP‐system, it is typically subjected to many, and often concurrent, changes. On the one hand, these factors that cause the effort, which is to be invested in integration testing, become exceptionally hard to predict. On the other hand, the effect of invested integration test effort can seldom be determined for the same reasons. To show how aspects of effort can be distilled from the flow of changes, we propose a change stream reconstruction process based on sap r/3 (SAP AG, Walldorf, Germany) system logs. Next, we introduce sampling methods yielding multivariate datasets, which bring the following results. The number of carriers of the change and their testing lead‐time correlate moderately. The number of objects comprising the system's code and configuration, which have been touched during the change process, and lapsed testing lead‐time are not correlated. Six independent cases are subjected to two distinct lines of investigation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Data confidentiality
Authors: Reiter Jerome P.
Published: June 2011

When releasing data to the public, data disseminators typically are required to protect the confidentiality of survey respondents' identities and attribute values. Removing direct identifiers such as names and addresses generally is not sufficient to eliminate disclosure risks, so that data must be altered before release to limit the risks of unintended disclosures. When intense data alteration is needed to ensure protection, the quality of the released data can be seriously degraded. This article reviews a disclosure limitation approach called synthetic data, in which values of confidential data are replaced with simulations from statistical models. Theoretical and empirical investigations have shown that synthetic data approaches have the potential to result in higher data quality than other disclosure limitation procedures, particularly when intense data alteration is necessary. The article discusses the main variants of synthetic data approaches, namely full synthesis and partial synthesis. It includes discussions of synthetic data generation and disclosure risk assessment. WIREs Comp Stat 2011 3 450–456 DOI: 10.1002/wics.174

This article is categorized under:

Algorithms and Computational Methods > Networks and Security

Data: Types and Structure > Data Preparation and Processing
d‐dimer as a marker of severity in patients with severe acute pancreatitis
Authors: Ke Lu , Ni Hai‐bin , Tong Zhi‐hui , Li Wei‐qin , Li Ning , Li Jie‐shou
Published: June 2011

Background/purpose

Coagulative disorder is known to occur in the early phase of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) andd‐dimer is a commonly used clinical parameter of hemostasis. The aim of this study was to assess the value of the plasmad‐dimer level as a marker of severity in the first 3 days after admission in patients with SAP.

Methods

From January 2009 to February 2011, 45 patients admitted for SAP were included in this observational study. Thed‐dimer level was measured on a daily basis during days 1‐3 after admission and the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and other clinical parameters were recorded at the same time. The maximum and the meand‐dimer values were used for analysis and compared with other prognostic factors of SAP.

Results

Both the maximum and mean levels ofd‐dimer were significantly different between patients with and without clinical variables such as multiple‐organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), need for surgical intervention, and the presence of pancreatic infection. Thed‐dimer level also showed great precision for the prediction of MODS and secondary infection. Additionally, thed‐dimer level correlated well with two usual markers of SAP severity—the APACHE II score and the C‐reactive protein level.

Conclusion

d‐dimer measurement is a useful, easy, and inexpensive early prognostic marker of the evolution and complications of SAP.
Comparative Regionalism: Eurasian Cooperation and European Integration. the Case for Neofunctionalism?
Authors: Obydenkova Anastassia
Published: June 2011

The Post-Soviet regionalism is a new phenomenon and it requires a theory which addresses the very beginning of regional integration. Both Neofunctionalism and (liberal) intergovernmentalism conceptualize the very outset of European integration, thus, presenting the most adequate theoretical framework for understanding post-Soviet case of regionalism. This study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the impediments to regional integration but also to conditions under which integration might succeed in Post-Soviet Eurasia. The numerous and unsuccessful attempts at regional integration in the post-Soviet Eurasia provide an opportunity to analyze the factors unfavorable to integration and to identify the impediments to this process. The issue motivating this study is that unsuccessful attempts should be analyzed not less than successful ones. Eurasian case is different from European integration due to different historical legacies, institutional choices, structural-developmental contexts and on-going state- and regime-building problems. Regionalism and democratic development are a salient feature of recent developments in Russia and the other republics of the former Soviet Union. The working premise is that through various regional arrangements that operate across Eurasia, countries will be able to find new cooperative solutions to existing problems. The main question is, given the undeniable advantages of the integration, why there has been little progress achieved? How the theories of regional integration can contribute to our understanding of the puzzles of Eurasian regionalism? To address this question, the paper focuses on a few theories of regional integration which will be applied to empirical analysis of post-Soviet Eurasia. The main focus is made on neofunctionalism. However, the study, will also consider the alternative explanation provided by (liberal) intergovernmentalism. The article also analyses the role of historical legacies and the attempts of post-Soviet states (PSSs) at regional integration and provides theoretical explanations of the outcome of these attempts. The analysis evaluates the outcome of post-Soviet Eurasian regionalism and tests the main theoretical assumptions. The analysis offered in this article aspires to contribute to the studies of comparative regionalism and area studies.
Fish consumption in relation to other foods in the diet
Authors: Turunen Anu W. , Männistö Satu , Suominen Anna L. , Tiittanen Pekka , Verkasalo Pia K.
Published: June 2011

Our aim was to investigate whether fish consumption is associated with the consumption of other healthy foods. The study population consisted of 2605 men and 3199 women from the nationally representative Health 2000 survey and 114 professional fishermen and 114 fishermen's wives (the Fishermen substudy) in Finland. Dietary data were collected using a calibrated (i.e. determined to have relative validity) FFQ. Model-adjusted means for food consumption and P values for linear trend were calculated across fish consumption tertiles. Those with the highest fish consumption had the highest consumption of vegetables, fruit and berries, potatoes, oil and wine even after adjusting for other food groups. The consumption of red meat and sausages had a tendency to decrease across fish consumption tertiles but the associations were inconsistent in the study populations. In conclusion, fish consumption had a positive linear association with the consumption of some other healthy foods such as vegetables, fruit, berries, and oil both in the general population of Finland and in a population with high fish consumption. Additional adjustment for other food groups had a clear effect on some of the studied associations. Therefore, when evaluating the health effects of fish consumption, confounding by other foods characterising a healthy diet needs to be considered.
Glycaemic index and glycaemic load of breakfast predict cognitive function and mood in school children: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Micha Renata , Rogers Peter J. , Nelson Michael
Published: June 2011

The macronutrient composition of a breakfast that could facilitate performance after an overnight fast remains unclear. As glucose is the brain's major energy source, the interest is in investigating meals differing in their blood glucose-raising potential. Findings vary due to unaccounted differences in glucoregulation, arousal and cortisol secretion. We investigated the effects of meals differing in glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) on cognition and mood in school children. A total of seventy-four school children were matched and randomly allocated either to the high-GL or low-GL group. Within each GL group, children received high-GI and low-GI breakfasts. Cognitive function (CF) and mood were measured 95–140 min after breakfast. Blood glucose and salivary cortisol were measured at baseline, before and after the CF tests. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to identify differences in CF, mood, glucose and cortisol levels between the breakfasts. Low-GI meals predicted feeling more alert and happy, and less nervous and thirsty (P < 0·05 for each); high-GL meals predicted feeling more confident, and less sluggish, hungry and thirsty (P < 0·05 for each). High-GL (P < 0·001) and high-GI (P = 0·05) meals increased glucose levels 90 min after breakfast, and high-GI meals increased cortisol levels (P < 0·01). When baseline mood, glucose and cortisol levels were considered, low-GI meals predicted better declarative-verbal memory (P = 0·03), and high-GI meals better vigilance (P < 0·03); observed GI effects were valid across GL groups. GI effects on cognition appear to be domain specific. On balance, it would appear that the low-GI high-GL breakfast may help to improve learning, and of potential value in informing government education policies relating to dietary recommendations and implementation concerning breakfast.
Some Justifications for Violence in the Puritan Revolution
Authors: Little David
Published: June 2011

Whatever else it may be, the study of political revolution is the study, in a given case, of competing and incompatible assertions regarding the legitimation or justification of violence. This is true because: Since, as Weber put it, the state by definition possesses the legitimate monopoly of violence, and to propose radical changes in the character of a state, as happens in political revolutions, is to propose a radical alternative to the existing pattern of legitimating violence. In short, a revolution is, among other things, a contest over who may properly employ violence under what circumstances.
A Conjectural Emendation Of 1 Cor 15:31–32: Or the Case of the Misplaced Lion Fight
Authors: MacDonald Dennis Ronald
Published: June 2011

Even though the text of 1 Cor 15:31–32 printed above agrees with all recent critical editions of the NT, it almost certainly is false to the autograph. The basis for this claim comes neither from new textual evidence nor from a more scientific analysis of the old evidence, but from conjecture prompted by internal problems in the passage which other methods have not yet solved. Before I make my case, however, I should mention the two points in these verses where the ancient versions differ. Some texts do not contain the ἀδελϕοί (“brothers”) in line 31b, and others expand it to ἀδελϕοί μου (“my brothers”) or to ἀδελϕοί ἡμῶν (“our brothers”). Because it is difficult to know which reading is best, the American Bible Society edition is wise to put ἀδελϕοί in brackets and to acknowledge the difficulty in the apparatus.
Reformed Pietism and Protestant Missions
Authors: Tanis James
Published: June 2011

As Matthew concludes his Gospel, he records that the resurrected Christ met with the eleven disciples on the mountain which He had appointed. There the Lord spoke to them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” In our time, these words are synonymous with the missionary movement of the Protestant Church. Yet among the first generations of Protestants there were few voices raised on behalf of missions, and more than seventy years passed before the first Reformed exegete declared that Christ's injunction “remains in full force, and perfectly binding on the Church, so long as there shall be nations ignorant of the Lord.” And nearly two more decades were to pass before a small group of Reformed pietists gave form to the earliest, continuing Protestant missionary endeavor.
Old Testament Promissio and Luther's New Hermeneutic
Authors: Preus James S.
Published: June 2011

In the main stream of contemporary Luther scholarship, there is broad agreement that the emergence of “reformation theology” is organically related to, if not constituted by, a new biblical hermeneutic.

Furthermore, in the search for the “sources of Luther's theology,” historians have to be, and are, frequently reminded that Luther may have gotten some of his key ideas from the Bible — however important Augustine, Bernard, Occam, Biel or Staupitz may have been for his theological formation.

Accepting these two assertions, I wish to question the adequacy of the current interpretation of Luther's hermeneutical development, and to indicate the direction in which I believe the hermeneutical changes evident in Luther's earliest exegetical writing (the Dictata super psalterium, 1513–15) can help make better sense of the well-known theological innovations which appear in his writings of the 1520's.
William Roye's “Brefe Dialoge” (1527): An English Version of a Strassburg Catechism
Authors: Hume Anthea
Published: June 2011

The first printed work of an English Protestant was Tyndale's translation of the New Testament (Cologne, 1525; Worms, 1526), and the second was his free translation of Luther's introduction to the Epistle to the Romans: “A compendious introduction / prologe or preface vn to the pistle off Paul to the Romayns” (Worms, 1526). The third came from the pen of William Roye, one of two apostate Friars from Greenwich, who, like Tyndale, left England for the Continent in the mid 1520's. Having served as Tyndale's assistant in the preparation of the New Testament for the press, Roye made his way to Strassburg, leaving Tyndale at Worms. There had apparently been some friction between them.
Kierkegaard and the Blue Testament
Authors: Dewey Bradley Rau
Published: June 2011

Kierkegaard was as clever as a professional criminal in leaving a confusing trail—albeit including some tantalizing clues—for those scholarly detectives who he predicted would come sleuthing after him. As a result of his method of operation “the real Kierkegaard” is exceptionally elusive. Hypotheses compete to explain his extravagant behavior. Opinions vary as to how Kierkegaard was related to his pseudonyms. Even the work published under his own name is not free from the charge of wily posturing. And often the entries in his own private diary appear contrived.
Vista Tigurina: Peter Martyr and European Reform (1556–1562)
Authors: Anderson Marvin W.
Published: June 2011

John Calvin urged Peter Martyr Vermigli to leave Zurich to serve as pastor of the Italian church in Geneva. If Martyr were to join him, Calvin wrote in his February 1557 letter, he would share the task of giving biblical lectures and might even “resign the whole task to you, so far as your convenience will permit.” In a September letter to the Zurich Senate, Calvin again invited Martyr to Geneva where his mission would be “to the incredible profit of both the men of his own nation and ourselves.”
Why Unnatural? The Tradition behind Romans 1:26–27
Authors: Ward Roy Bowen
Published: June 2011

In his discussion of Romans 1:26–27, Robin Scroggs raised two important questions which have been the subject of much debate since the publication of his 1983 book. One is the question of why this passage mentions women at all in its remarks concerning same-sex acts. Scroggs commented:

Since there are no Old Testament laws prohibiting female homosexuality, why does Paul include it here? If Paul is dependent on a preformed tradition for these two verses, he of course found it in that tradition. Why the tradition included it is a question to which I see no answer.
The So-Called Therapeutae ofDe Vita Contemplativa: Identity and Character
Authors: Taylor Joan E. , Davies Philip R.
Published: June 2011

It has become quite common in scholarship to consider the community described by Philo inDe vita contemplativaas a specific Jewish group comprising contemplative Essenes or people somehow related to the Essenes. In this study, we shall explore the meaning of Philo's masculine and feminine designations, θεραπευταί and θεραπευτρίδες, and consider the possibility that these words referred not to the male and female members of one group that was part of a Therapeutae sect, but to individuals whom Philo understood as exemplary devotees of God. We shall also consider a few matters concerning the character of the group. Overall, this study seeks to call into question the assumption that, in hisDe vita contemplativa, Philo is describing an Essene community in Egypt.
Friedrich Schleiermacher on the Central Place of Worship in Theology
Authors: Vial Theodore M.
Published: June 2011

Suspicion raised by the Neo-orthodox movement concerning Schleiermacher's theological enterprise continues to cast its shadow. Karl Barth framed this suspicion perspicaciously in terms of an “either/or” in his “Concluding Unscientific Postscript on Schleiermacher”:

Is Schleiermacher's enterprise concerned (a) necessarily, intrinsically, and authentically with a Christiantheologyoriented toward worship, preaching, instruction, and pastoral care? Does it only accidentally, extrinsically, and inauthentically wear the dress of a philosophy accommodated to the person of his time…? Or is his enterprise concerned (b) primarily, intrinsically, and authentically with aphilosophy…indifferent as to Christianity and which would have wrapped itself only accidentally, extrinsically, and inauthentically in the garments of a particular theology, which here happens to be Christian?
From Emerson to Edwards: Henry Whitney Bellows and an “Ideal” Metaphysics of Sovereignty
Authors: Duban James
Published: June 2011

The date was 19 July 1859; the occasion, the commencement address at the Harvard Divinity School. Twenty-one years earlier, as Henry Whitney Bellows well knew, Ralph Waldo Emerson had there delivered the famous Divinity School Address, which offended the Unitarian faculty by berating historical Christianity, by advancing that the moral and religious sentiments were synonymous, and by claiming that intuitive apprehension of these sentiments could elevate persons to Christ-like stature. The ensuing “miracles controversy”—including, on the one hand, Andrews Norton's charges about “The Latest Form of Infidelity” and, on the other, George Ripley's, Theodore Parker's, and (early on, at least) Orestes Brownson's efforts to establish a “religion of the heart” by championing Kant over Locke—has been chronicled elsewhere. More to the present point is the way that, at a time when heated controversy over Emerson and his intuitionalist disciples might have seemed dated, Bellows attacked the self-reliant tendencies of Emerson's 1838 address: “The Emersonian and transcendental school at home, acknowledge[s] only one true movement in humanity—the egoistic—the self-asserting and self-justifying movement—which is Protestantism broken loose from general history.” Such criticism was hardly unprecedented in the school of divinity from which Bellows himself had graduated just a year before Emerson would deliver the Divinity School Address; nor would the faculty at Harvard have deemed Bellows innovative in chastising “the transcendental philosophy” for “making the … human and the divine, the natural and the supernatural, one and the same.
Rabbinic Universalism in the Second and Third Centuries
Authors: Hirshman Marc
Published: June 2011

In the eye of a protracted political storm, the rabbinic sages of the first centuries of the common era preserved and nurtured their Jewish heritage. This was not a univocal heritage, but one of significant diversity. Although these rabbis were fully aware of the divisiveness that had plagued Jewish religious attitudes over the centuries, they turned debate and dissent into their very trademark. Whether in matters legal, ethical, or theological, differing and even contradictory opinions were the norm. A natural result of this rabbinic posture is that the entire rabbinic corpus is anthological. We do not possess individual works of the rabbis, great as they might have been. We have instead catenae or collections of statements. Sometimes they represent real conversations between sages, but other times they reflect an editorial juxtaposition of opposing views. These characteristics of rabbinic literature create a formidable challenge for those who wish to treat rabbinic thought systematically.
The Hypostasis of the Archons orThe Reality of the Rulers
Authors: Layton Bentley
Published: June 2011

The Manuscript. This extraordinary tale survives in a single Coptic manuscript from the Gnostic Library of Nag‘Ḥammadi. Acquired by the Coptic Museum of Old Cairo in 1956, the manuscript bears theinventory number10544 and in current nomenclature is designated codexCairensis gnosticus II(CG II). In earlier scholarship it was codex I (J. Doresse, Vig. Christ. 3 [1949] 133–134), codex III (H.-Ch. Puech, Coptic Studies…Crum [1950]), and codex X (Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostique d'Egypte, vol. I [1958].
The Non-Existence of God: Tillich, Aquinas, and the Pseudo-Dionysius
Authors: Ross Robert R. N.
Published: June 2011

Because the notions of finitude and temporality often get associated with the concept of “existence,” theologians have sometimes found cause to worry about what we are doing when we assert the existence of God. Perhaps the most radical expression of this worry occurs in Paul Tillich's Systematic Theology where he claims, paradoxically, that “God does not exist.” Despite the fact that the remark appears in a book written both within the tradition of, and about, Christian theology, Tillich spends considerable effort trying to convince us why the affirmation that God does exist must be stricken from Christian discourse. Tillich tells us, for example, that “however it is defined, the ‘existence of God’ contradicts the idea of a creative ground of essence and existence.” Therefore, “to argue that God exists is to deny him.” Not only would it be “a great victory for Christian apologetics if the words ‘God’ and ‘existence’ were very definitely separated”; indeed, theology “must eliminate the combination of the words ‘existence’ and ‘God.’” In short, “it is as atheistic to affirm the existence of God as it is to deny it.”
Dynamic Religion, Formative Culture, and the Demonic in History
Authors: Slater Peter
Published: June 2011

Modern German thought owed much to classical Greece. Yet in philosophy and theology, beginning with Hegel and his contemporaries, the debt to Platonic idealism was radically modified by insistence on the reality of history. Construed dialectically, history became a key to overcoming difficulties with both Platonic and Cartesian dualism left unresolved by Kant. In theology, after World War I dialectical theologians, including Barth and Tillich, embraced in varying degrees the existentialists' critique of Hegelian essentialism and belief in progress. This affected how they understood incarnation in christology, sacramental presence in ecclesiology, and Christian responses to what they saw as the demonic threat of German National Socialism. Anglo-American critics, especially of Tillich, often miss the dialectical nuances of his admittedly abstract theology and his religious socialist response to Marxism.
Socinians, John Toland, and the Anglican Rationalists
Authors: Reedy Gerard
Published: June 2011

The late seventeenth century in England is, theologically, a critical period, a time when old forms of thought and traditional methodologies were being challenged. Two theological events of the 1690s stand out as true signs of the changing times: the appearance of a number of collections of Socinian tracts, in which, in fact, the term “Unitarian” is first used in English literature. Also, in 1696, John Toland published his short but challenging Christianity Not Mysterious. In the following essay, I an interested in showing the methodological similarities and discontinuities between the Socinians and Toland, especially in regard to their scriptural interpretation and mutual insistence on the inadmissability of the concept of mystery to Christian theology.
“Protean Man”: Did John Eck Contradict Himself at Leipzig?
Authors: Moore Walter L.
Published: June 2011

One of the celebrated moments of the Reformation age occurred in Leipzig in the summer of 1519. The young Wittenberg theologian Luther, with his colleague Carlstadt, engaged in debate with the even younger scholar from Ingolstadt, John Eck. The present article is an assessment of a well-known conclusion reached about that debate. I mean Luther's judgment that Eck “imitated Proteus” and contradicted himself, rejecting against one debater a position he had affirmed against the other. The charge, which Luther published, did nothing to enhance Eck's reputation at a time when he had already cultivated an assortment of enemies on other grounds.
Gentiles, Christians, and Israelites in the Epistle to the Ephesians
Authors: Dahl Nils Alstrup
Published: June 2011

Most early Christians perceived the world in which they lived as a world of Jews and Gentiles. Ephesians speaks most impressively about the unity of the two parts in the church, which is the body of Christ. Studies of Ephesians have very often concentrated on the idea of the church and the relationship between ecclesiology, christology, and soteriology. Some scholars have paid special attention to the relationship between the church and Israel, Christians and Jews. Statements about the Gentiles have received much less attention, but for reasons which will become apparent in the course of this article, I prefer to begin with them*.
Death-Scenes and Farewell Stories: an Aspect of the Master-Disciple Relationship in Mark and in Some Talmudic Tales
Authors: Neusner Jacob
Published: June 2011

Vernon K. Robbins' Jesus the Teacher: A Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation of Mark points to the master-disciple relationship as the critical structure in that Gospel. He sees three phases: the initial one, involving summons and response; the intermediate phase, encompassing teaching and learning; and the final phase, one of farewell and death. Robbins' stimulating account at the first two points compares Mark's portrait of the relationship with, among others, the relationship between master and disciple related in stories in the writings of the ancient rabbis of the Talmud and related literature. When he reaches the final phase, however, Robbins does not undertake such a comparison. It seems to me a suggestive exercise. So, in honor of the great master honored in this volume, I shall begin to fill the gap in Robbins' fine account.
The Story of Dinah in theTestament of Levi
Authors: Kugel James
Published: June 2011

It is normal for scholars to read a text of the Second Temple period with an eye to the particular historical circumstances and ideology that it seems to embody. For this was a period of rapid historical changes and sharp ideological conflicts, and by paying attention to reflections of history and ideology in a text, one can often better understand its meaning and situate it chronologically with greater accuracy. And so, scholars regularly ask: What can be deduced on the basis of this text about the precise period in which its author lived? What is there in the content of this text that can tell us something about its author's beliefs?
The Significance of Bonhoeffer's Interest in India
Authors: Peck William Jay
Published: June 2011

Several important contributions to Bonhoeffer scholarship which have come out within the past year or so and some which have not yet been published have so decisively advanced our knowledge that a wholly new understanding of many questions is now possible. The unity, the comprehensiveness, and the range of Bonhoeffer's vision are beginning to emerge. One streak of faroff light in that vision was India.
Imitating Paul: 1 Cor 4:16
Authors: Sanders Boykin
Published: June 2011

In 1 Cor 4:8–13 Paul sharply contrasts his life of hardship as an apostle with that of the Corinthians who glory in spiritual riches and power. In this context he admonishes the Corinthians to imitate him (μιμηταί μoυ γίνεσθε) and even sends Timothy to remind them of “my ways in Christ” (ἀναμήσει τὰϛ ‘δoύϛ μoυ τὰϛ ἐν Ξριττῷ 'I7eta;σoῦ, 1 Cor 4:16–17). But Paul offers almost no guidance that would enable us to ascertain specifically what aspects of his life are to be imitated. The lack of specificity on Paul's part has vexed many interpreters of 1 Cor 4:16. In the hope of clarifying what Paul means by the central term, “imitator,” scholars have studied its use elsewhere in the Pauline corpus (1 Cor 11:1; 1 Thess 1:6–7; 2:14; Phil 3:17; cf. also the deutero-Pauline passages, 2 Thess 3:7–9; Eph 4:32–5:1).
Influence of Thomas Christianity on Luke 12:14 and 5:39
Authors: Riley Gregory J.
Published: June 2011

The argument that the Gospel of Thomas is or is not independent of the canon has often turned on the issue of whether or not there are visible in the text of Thomas words or phrases that arose in the redactional efforts of the individual evangelists. If specific Lukan or Matthean redactional traits of a saying, for example, are present in the text of Thomas, then, the argument runs, the Gospel of Thomas must have post-dated and been derived from that author and work and not from some independent tradition. The argument has not yet been made, so far as I am aware, for influence in the other direction, that sayings of the community that produced the Gospel of Thomas have influenced the text of the Synoptic Gospels. The method used in this study is the same: where Thomas redaction is found in the text of Luke, then the text of Luke must post-date and be dependent on sayings formed in Thomas Christianity.
John Chrysostom on Philemon: A Second Look
Authors: Mitchell Margaret M.
Published: June 2011

Recently in this journal Allen D. Callahan argued for a bold, distinctive interpretation of Paul's Epistle to Philemon. Contrary to the conventional interpretation, Onesimus was not a (runaway) slave, but was Philemon's own estranged blood brother. Rather than an appeal for forgiveness for afugitivus, or a request to retain a slave for further service, the Epistle to Philemon is the apostle's attempt to bring about reconciliation between two brothers. Callahan's thesis constitutes a powerful reminder of how the interpretation of each of Paul's letters, perhaps especially this shortest and most subtle letter, depends acutely upon the interplay between historical reconstruction of the original context and the text itself. Callahan calls for a reconsideration of the most basic, universal presupposition of the interpretation of the letter—that Onesimus was Philemon's slave.
Meaning and Reference in Maimonides' Negative Theology
Authors: Benor Ehud Z.
Published: June 2011

The theory of religious language advocated by the twelfth-century philosopher-jurist Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) contains an apparent paradox. Maimonides’ radical stance regarding the absolute unknowability of God leads him to an austere theology of negation, which appears to be incongruous with his representation of God as a moral agent or intellect. Through analysis of the functions of meaning and reference in Maimonides’ theory of language, as well as his explicit or implicit distinctions between literal, metaphoric, and symbolic uses of language in theological discourse, I argue that the purpose of the Maimonidean theology of negation is to establish the reference of the name “God,” thereby making possible a rationally disciplined constructivist theology. This article shows how Maimonides sought to include a certain type of religious anthropomorphism in a theology that upholds the wholly other nature of God.
The Words of Life in the Acts of the Apostle Andrew
Authors: Bovon François
Published: June 2011

Christianity always expressed the necessity of the proclamation of the gospel. During the second century, however, the different groups and churches were not able to agree on the nature of this proclamation. For some, the apostolic witness was constituted by a memory of fundamental salvific events, namely, the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. For others, particularly the author of the Acts of Andrew, preaching the gospel meant communicating divine wisdom and proclaiming life-giving words.
High levels of Schistosoma mansoni infections among schoolchildren in central Sudan one year after treatment with praziquantel
Authors: Ahmed A.M. , El Tash L.A. , Mohamed E.Y. , Adam I.
Published: June 2011

A longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate the impact of praziquantel (PZQ) for the treatment of Schistosoma mansoni infection among schoolchildren in Al Gunaid in Central Sudan. A cohort of schoolchildren (6–15 years of age) was investigated before and 1 year after treatment with a single dose of PZQ 40 mg/kg. Parasitological examinations for S. mansoni were performed before and after treatment, and prevalence and intensity of infection were analysed. Of 2741 schoolchildren recruited from six elementary schools at baseline, 2521 were successfully traced and re-examined at follow-up, with two complete sets of longitudinal parasitological data on S. mansoni. Boys showed significantly higher prevalence of S. mansoni infection than girls. A single dose of PZQ reduced the overall prevalence of S. mansoni infection by 36.7% (from 59.1 to 37.4%) and the intensity of infection by 41.1% (from 116.7 to 68.7 eggs per gram of stool) 1 year after treatment. The reduction in prevalence was significantly higher among the group of children with heavy infections (by 76.1%, from 6.7 to 1.6%) and among girls (by 54.1%, 42.3 to 19.4%) at 1 year after treatment. Thus, in spite of a significant reduction in the prevalence and intensity of S. mansoni infection 1 year after PZQ treatment, the prevalence of the disease was still high and further research is needed on this topic.
Endoscopic management of rhinocerebral mucormycosis with topical and intravenous amphotericin B
Authors: Saedi B , Sadeghi M , Seilani P
Published: June 2011

Objective:

Mucormycosis is an aggressive fungal infection which may still cause fatal complications. However, the rarity of this disease has made optimal treatment a controversial issue. This study aimed to evaluate the use of topical amphotericin B in endoscopic management of rhinocerebral mucormycosis.

Subjects and methods:

Thirty patients with infection limited to the nose and sinuses were selected. Patients underwent endoscopic debridement of all necrotic tissue; cottonoid pledgets soaked in amphotericin B solution were then placed in the nasal cavity. Subsequently, long-term antifungal therapy was administered.

Results:

The overall survival rate was 60 per cent (18 cases); survival rates in the diabetic and malignancy groups were 70.58 and 40 per cent, respectively. Apart from predisposing factors, orbital and maxillary sinus involvement also had a significant correlation with patient outcome.

Conclusion:

Topical use of amphotericin B combined with endoscopic surgical debridement, followed by intravenous amphotericin B treatment, may constitute acceptable management for selected patients, with less morbidity than conventional treatments.
Galatians 5.11: Evidence of an Early Law-observant Mission by Paul?
Authors: Campbell Douglas A.
Published: June 2011

Galatians 5.11 refers to Paul ‘proclaiming circumcision’—a proposition that he is concerned to refute because he constructs two compact but powerful inferences designed to falsify it. One argues from present persecution, the other from the cross. Following a precise reconstruction of these it can be shown that the three main previous interpretations of thereferenceof Paul's ‘proclamation of circumcision’ are dubious, whether in terms of a blatantly false charge by opponents, a phase in Paul's pre-Christian Jewish life, or an occasional apostolic mission to Jews. A fourth, embarrassing reading is more likely, especially when other comparable missionary work is considered. Early on Paul proclaimed a fully law-observant gospel to pagans that included circumcision, but then later revised his praxis.