bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of a New Prokinetic Agent DA-9701 Formulated with Corydalis Tuber and Pharbitidis Semen on Cytochrome P450 and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Enzyme Activities in Human Liver Microsomes
Authors: Ji Hye Young , Liu Kwang Hyeon , Jeong Ji Hyeon , Lee Dae-Young , Shim Hyun Joo , Son Miwon , Lee Hye Suk
Published: April 2012

DA-9701 is a new botanical drug composed of the extracts of Corydalis tuber and Pharbitidis semen, and it is used as an oral therapy for the treatment of functional dyspepsia in Korea. The inhibitory potentials of DA-9701 and its component herbs, Corydalis tuber and Pharbitidis semen, on the activities of seven major human cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and four UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes in human liver microsomes were investigated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. DA-9701 and Corydalis tuber extract slightly inhibited UGT1A1-mediated etoposide glucuronidation, with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 188 and 290 μg/mL, respectively. DA-9701 inhibited CYP2D6-catalyzed bufuralol1′-hydroxylation with an inhibition constant (Ki) value of 6.3 μg/mL in a noncompetitive manner. Corydalis tuber extract competitively inhibited CYP2D6-mediated bufuralol1′-hydroxylation, with aKivalue of 3.7 μg/mL, whereas Pharbitidis semen extract showed no inhibition. The volume in which the dose could be diluted to generate an IC50equivalent concentration (volume per dose index) value of DA-9701 for inhibition of CYP2D6 activity was 1.16 L/dose, indicating that DA-9701 may not be a potent CYP2D6 inhibitor. Further clinical studies are warranted to evaluate thein vivoextent of the observedin vitrointeractions.
Why does Aristotle Think that Ethical Virtue is Required for Practical Wisdom?
Authors: Coope Ursula
Published: April 2012

Abstract

In this paper, I ask why Aristotle thinks that ethical virtue (rather than mere self-control) is required for practical wisdom. I argue that a satisfactory answer will need to explain why being prone to bad appetites implies a failing of therationalpart of the soul. I go on to claim that the self-controlled person does suffer from such a rational failing: a failure to take a specifically rational kind of pleasure in fine action. However, this still leaves a problem: could there not be someone who (unlike the self-controlled person) took the right kind of pleasure in fine action, but who failed to be virtuous on account of bad appetites? If so, would such a person be practically wise but not virtuous? I end with some suggestions about how Aristotle might answer this.
I Permit No Woman to Teach Except for Thecla
Authors: den Dulk Matthijs
Published: April 2012

Abstract

Analysis of the relationship between the Acts of Paul (APl) and the Pastoral Epistles (PE) that is attentive to the differences between the individual PE provides decisive evidence against the theory that the PE responded to oral traditions later written down in the APl. This study further suggests that the author of the APl did probably not regard 1 Tim as an authoritative Pauline missive and argues that the author of the APl sought to advance 2 Tim’s image of Paul over and against the portrayal of the apostle found in 1 Tim.
Eschatological Ignorance and the Hafṭarah
Authors: Novick Tzvi
Published: April 2012

Abstract

This essay argues that Paul’s condemnation of Israel’s leaders for their ignorance of the meaning of the liturgical reading from the Prophets on the Sabbath (Acts 13:27) should be understood in light of contemporary explanations of the function of the reading from the Torah on the Sabbath.
"Modernity", "Tradition", and the Battleground of Gender in Early 20th-Century Damascus
Authors: Gelvin James L.
Published: April 2012

In early 20th-century Damascus, a group of religious scholars who called themselves mutadayyinūn (the "very pious") and who claimed to represent an Islamic "orthodoxy" launched a journal, al-Haqā'iq, to expose the crimes of the mutafarnijūn (the "overly Frankified") and to agitate for a return to "true Islam". According to the mutadayyinūn, the mutafarnijūn were introducing into the Ottoman Empire practices borrowed from the West and were thus abetting a Western conspiracy against the empire and Islam. Among the practices the mutadayyinūn found particularly irksome were those that threatened "traditional" and "scripturally-dictated" customs relating to gender, such as veiling and the seclusion of women. What becomes clear through an analysis of the debate, the reasons for its prominence on the pages of al-Haqā'iq, and the method and style of argumentation adopted by the mutadayyinūn, however, is that despite their claim to be the upholders of tradition, the mutadayyinūn relied on the same epistemic assumptions as those they castigated. Thus, unbeknownst to them, they were engaged in the process of inventing a religio-political synthesis coherent with contemporary social and political structures and institutions. The traces of this religio-political synthesis, later adopted or reinvented by others, remains embedded within the structures and institutions of the contemporary Syrian state.
Participation of Non-State Actors in ICJ Proceedings
Authors: Ronen Yaël
Published: April 2012

Abstract

This article examines the participation in ICJ proceedings of non-state actors, and particularly non-state territorial entities and NGOs, from both a doctrinal and a practical perspective. An evaluation of the practice of the ICJ against the framework of its Statute sheds light on the ICJ’s openness to the expanding variety of actors in the international arena, as well as on the characteristics of such actors that inform the Court’s policy. The study reveals remarkable flexibility on the part of the ICJ in allowing participation of NSAs in advisory opinions involving territorial entities aspiring to statehood or of otherwise indeterminate territorial status, but resistance insofar as concerns other participation of NSAs. The article proposes a framework for understanding the practice of the ICJ, based on the nature of the NSA, the content of the dispute, and the procedural requirements of justice.
On Balancing Foreign Investment Interests with Public Interests in Recent Arbitration Case Law in the Public Utilities Sector
Authors: Tanzi Attila
Published: April 2012

Abstract

This article addresses the relationship between the protection of foreign investment and the protection of public interests of host States, with special regard to the public utilities sector when privately operated by foreign investors. It primarily focuses on an assessment of the scope of the concept of public interest particularly in the light of the interpretative developments concerning national security and general well-being that may be affected by foreign investment. The article highlights the trend gradually emerging from the recent international investment arbitration case law towards the harmonization between foreign investment interests and local public interests. It considers the policy rationale behind such a trend, as well as the legal reasoning and principles, with special regard to due diligence and proportionality, which may possibly enhance it.
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Case Law Review
Authors: Fouret Julien , Khayat Dany
Published: April 2012

Abstract

The ICSID case law review aims at discussing all the decisions published during a given period of time. This review covers the first semester 2011 with the analysis of three orders, eight decisions and six awards.
Francis Bacon: Constructing Natural Histories of the Invisible
Authors: Rusu Doina-Cristina
Published: April 2012

The natural histories contained in Francis Bacon's Historia naturalis et experimentalis seem to differ from the model presented in De augmentis scientiarum and the Descriptio globi intellectualis in that they are focused on the defining properties of matter, its primary schematisms and the spirits. In this respect, they are highly speculative. In this paper I aim to describe the Historia naturalis et experimentalis as a text about matter theory, the histories of which are ascending from what is most evident to the senses to what is least accessible to them. Moreover, the Latin natural histories are parts of a methodological procedure in which the provisional rules and axioms obtained in one history can be used as theoretical assumptions for another history, thereby permitting one to delve ever more profoundly into the structure of nature.
The Songs of the Taliban: Continuity of Form and Thought in an Ever-Changing Environment
Authors: Weinreich Matthias , Pelevin Mikhail
Published: April 2012

The second half of the 1990s saw the emergence of a new, distinctive type of Afghan poetry, the Taliban tarana performed in Pashto by one or more vocalists without instrumental accompaniment and characterised by the melodic modes of local folk music. Over the last fifteen years the tarana chants have gained wide distribution within Afghanistan and Pashto speaking parts of Pakistan, as well as among the Pashtun diaspora. Considering their unambiguous ideological status and their immense popularity within the country of origin they can be regarded as the signature tune of the Afghan insurgency. The present article, which focuses on the literary roots of these songs, attempts to demonstrate that their authors are following century old patterns of Pashto oral and written poetry while adopting traditional material to the needs and the milieu of contemporary Afghan society. The publication is supplemented by a transcription and English translation of five tarana chants.
Marginal Remarks on the History of Some Persian Words
Authors: Asatrian Garnik
Published: April 2012

The paper includes historical comments on several Persian words from classical texts and vernacular language, particularly the lexical group denoting 'mandrake', some other plant-names ('water-cress', 'fenugreek'), adjectives and social terms ('bald', 'prostitute', 'lame'), names of body-parts ('head', 'thigh'), traditional food, kinship terms ('firstling'), honorific titles ('lord; rich merchant', 'a name of God'), animal-names ('frog, toad'), etc.
BOUNDARIES AND AUDIENCES OF NATIONAL HISTORIES OF SCIENCE: INSIGHTS FROM THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE NETHERLANDS
Authors: HOMBURG ERNST
Published: April 2012

title ABSTRACT /title The present paper traces the evolution of writing national-oriented histories of science and technology of the Netherlands. Several episodes are distinguished. A first wave of national histories of science and technology was written during the first decades of the 19th century. These histories had a wide scope, which included science, technology, the humanities and the arts. A second wave, which lasted from about 1865 to 1900, was strongly connected to the rise of the scientific professions. Its focus was on the sciences per se, and on the Dutch "Golden Age" of the 17th century. A third wave occurred during and shortly after the Second World War. Its focus was mainly on the "Second Golden Age" of Dutch science (1870-1910), and its major audience were young boys that were to be recruited to the sciences. The second part of the paper discusses the growing influence of "contextualization" in both the history of science and the history of technology from about 1975 onwards. As a result, local factors often received more attention in historical studies of science and technology than national influences. In 1985, Klaas van Berkel undertook a bold attempt to write a new synthesis of the history of Dutch science, but his approach was too strongly influenced by the three previous waves of national histories. From 1989 to 2003 two projects on the national history of technology resulted in 13 volumes on Dutch technology between 1800 and 1970. New research was initiated, and the issue of "national styles" in the development of technology received ample attention. In his conclusions the author points to lessons to be learned from economic history and the history of art, and he concludes with a plea for more historiographical discussion in the history of science and technology.
THE OLD GLOBES IN FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA (ITALY)
Authors: FRANCO LOREDANA
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Questo scritto si propone un duplice scopo: 1 - Elencare e catalogare gli antichi globi esistenti in Friuli-Venezia Giulia; 2 - Richiamare l'attenzione sulla necessità di salvarli dai danni.
LE LETTERE DI GIUSEPPE PEANO NELLA CORRISPONDENZA DI ERNESTO CESÀRO
Authors: PALLADINO FRANCO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
We have gathered here twenty-six writings from the correspondence of Giuseppe Peano, as well as letters by Alexander Macfarlane and Alexander Ziwet.Peano's letters were addressed to Ernesto Cesaro, an important member of the great Italian school of mathematics founded in the second half of the Nineteenth century. In these writings, Peano discusses various topics: Infinitesimal calculus and Barycentric calculus, the «Rivista di Matematica» and the «Formulario» of which he was editor; didactics and a question about Actuarial mathematics. Some of the writings are confidential in nature: in one letter, Peano proposes exchanging his professorial chair with Cesaro's, and hence transferring from Turin to Naples.The letters written by Macfarlane and Ziwet were sent to Peano; they contain, at the request of Cesaro, information concerning university chairs and the cost of living in the United States.
« ET VIDI COELUM NOVUM ET TERRAM NOVAM »
Authors: TORRINI MAURIZIO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
Contemporary movements, united by their common rejection of traditional knowledge and by their common beginnings and development outside formal school boundaries, libertinism and the new science are often considered, evaluated and classified in the univocal light of modern thought introduced by Descartes. A comparison totally unfavourable to libertinism which did not benefit from the attempt made in some cases to assimilate it to the scientific revolution in the name of a common anti-dogmatic character. The movements were in fact distinct in their aims and motives and their occasional interaction must not make us forget the contemporary presence of different and often contrasting ideas at the dawn of modern thought. The aim of this paper is to overcome the historiographical approach which, by privileging a single access to modern thought, evaluates all the others according to the same measure.The paper, through an examination of the European discussion stimulated by Galileo's Sidereus nuncius, shows the philosophical consequences of the astronomical revolution and the series of projects, hopes and misunderstandings that marked its course. An event that did not encounter the indifference of libertines like Naude, who read in the celestial revolution confirmation of the crisis of terrestrial knowledge. In Italy the bond between libertine thought and the scientific revolution came tragically into being as from the condemnation of Galileo and found its consecration in the Neapolitan trial of the atheists at the end of the seventeenth century, thus reuniting in the name of a single orthodoxy, two different conceptions of nature and knowledge.
COMMISSION ON BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Authors: MAZZOLINI RENATO G
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Il testo riproduce un rapporto della Commissione di bibliografia della International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. Tale rapporto riguarda progetti di ricerca in corso durante il 1986 nella Germania Federale. Esso concerne esclusivamente progetti aventi per oggetto edizioni critiche, traduzioni, edizioni di epistolari, bibliografie e cataloghi di manoscritti o di letteratura scientifica del passato, tutti di interesse per la storia della scienza e della medicina.
INEDITI DI PIETRO MOSCATI. UN EPISODIO DEL DIBATTITO ITALIANO SULL'INSENSIBILITA DELLA DURA MADRE
Authors: MONTI MARIA TERESA
Published: April 2012

title SUMMARY /title The two letters presented here were sent by Pietro Moscati to the surgeon Giambattista Verna, who passed them on to Albrecht von Haller. By referring a polemic episode related to the discussion upon the insensibility of the dura mater, this edition gives account of a moment of the debate in Italy upon the vires insitae in a living body, redefined by Haller, and reconstructs continuity between Moscati's juvenile observations and his later pro-Hallerian choices.
EGNATIO DANTI'S OPTICS. CINQUECENTO ARISTOTELIANISM AND THE MEDIEVAL TRADITION
Authors: FRANGENBERG THOMAS
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Il presente articolo riguarda le fonti della teoria ottica presente nelle edizioni della Prospettiva di Euclide (1573) e de Le Due Regole della Prospettiva Pratica del Vignola (1583), curate da Egnazio Danti (1536-1586). Danti si basa ampiamente su un commentario aristotelico del tempo. Accetta in misura molto limitata l'ottica medievale e rifiuta alcuni concetti fondamentali della teoria medievale della visione. Questo saggio dimostra in maniera esemplare l'influenza dell'aristotelismo nel XVI secolo ed è, insieme, un tentativo di ulteriore conferma delle analisi compiute da Charles B. Schmitt sul ruolo di Aristotele nel pensiero del Cinquecento.
COMMISSION ON BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Authors: MAZZOLINI RENATO G.
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Il testo riproduce un rapporto della Commissione di bibliografia della International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. Tale rapporto riguarda progetti di ricerca in corso durante il 1987 in Inghilterra. Esso concerne esclusivamente progetti aventi per oggetto edizioni critiche, traduzioni, edizioni di epistolari, bibliografie e cataloghi di manoscritti o di letteratura scientifica del passato, tutti di interesse per la storia della scienza e della medicina.
LA THOLOGIE NATURELLE DE LOUIS-FRANOIS JHAN (1803-1871)
Authors: BLANCKAERT CLAUDE
Published: April 2012

title RIASSUNTO /title Louis-Franois Jhan (1803-1871), l'editore principale dei dizionari scientifici dell'Encyclopdie thologique dell'abate Migne, divulg presso un pubblico ecclesiastico la tradizionale prova dell'esistenza di Dio tratta dallo scopo della Natura. Nel Dictionnaire d'Anthropologie (1853) egli plagi abbondantemente la traduzione francese della Natural Theology di William Paley al fine di meglio dimostrare la forza, la saggezza e la bont del Creatore . Come presentazione di un testo scientifico, egli divulg quindi l'argomento del disegno dei fisico-teologi inglesi offrendo strumenti teoretici e educativi agli apologeti cristiani. Egli attribuiva in questo modo alla rivelazione di Dio in natura una sorta di evidenza logica suscettibile di riconciliare scienza e cause finali. Nella sua lotta contro le dottrine atee , materialistiche e evoluzionistiche, egli cerc nello stesso tempo di ottenere, per un clero tradizionale e spesso riluttante, un quadro delle conoscenze contemporanee. Il presente articolo esamina le funzioni sociali e mediatrici della teologia naturale in seno alle scienze francesi negli anni 1850.
LA BIBLIOTECA DI ROMELIO DA BRESCIA MAGISTER ARTIUM ET MEDICINE *
Authors: CAROTI STEFANO
Published: April 2012

title SUMMARY /title The inventory of Romelio from Brescia's library is an interesting historical document either as a witness of the medical and scientific interests in Italian universities in the second half of XIVth century, or as the sole testimony of writings of some medieval magistri.
AMICI ET LE PRINCIPE DE DUPLICATION D'IMAGE: LE MICROMETRE D'AMICI
Authors: FAUQUE DANIELLE
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Amici applicò il principio della duplicazione dell'immagine ad alcuni strumenti astronomici. Tra le numerose invenzioni, in particolare egli costruì un nuovo micrometro basato sul principio della duplicazione dell'immagine fornita da un telescopio.Egli conosceva l'invenzione del micrometro obiettivo di Dollond, del micrometro prismatico di Rochon e del micrometro oculare di Ramsden, ma il suo presentava alcune differenze che egli definì in numerose pubblicazioni.Il micrometro di Amici può venire applicato ad un telescopio a rifrazione con una lunghezza focale molto grande, e veniva utilizzato per misurare la distanza tra stelle doppie. Perciò il vetro, che proveniva dalle manifatture di Fraunhofer, doveva essere di ottima qualità.Sarebbe interessante ricollocare il micrometro di Amici tra quelli simili del suo periodo. In questo modo potremmo precisare le cause e le consequenze dello spirito con cui la ricerca attiva per perfezionare gli strumenti costituiva una emulazione intellettuale e favoriva lo sviluppo di un positivismo relativo.
PER UN ARCHIVIO DELLA CORRISPONDENZA DEGLI SCIENZIATI ITALIANI
Authors: VACCARI EZIO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
The aim of the presentation of the correspondence of the venetian scientist Giovanni Arduino (1714-1795) is to provide a tool for future research concerning the body of scientific work of this important scholar who has scarcely been appreciated by historians of eighteenth century geology until now. The inventory of correspondence includes unpublished letters found in various collections of manuscripts and letters published in periodicals of the eighteenth century. The correspondence, covering the period 1753-1795, allows the reconstruction of the stages of development of Giovanni Arduino scientific and technical contribution.
DOCUMENTI DI ARCHEOLOGIA FORESTALE: LESEGHERIEIDRAULICHE DELLA VALLE DEL PIAVE
Authors: AGNOLETTI MAURO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
Water-powered saws were the first kind of mechanized installations to saw logs. The author analyses the technical features and the history of the «Venetian saws» of the Cadore region, an area that was at the centre of an economic system based on the use of forest resources, saw milling and water transportation of wood. The presence of these installations in this area dates back to the twelfth century. In the middle of the nineteenth century they reached their largest number. Some of these saws are still in operation in the province of Belluno.
GEOLOGIA E ATTIVITÀ MINERARIA IN ITALIA SETTENTRIONALE TRA SETTECENTO ED OTTOCENTO: L'INFLUENZA DELLA «SCUOLA DI FREIBERG» SU ALCUNI SCIENZIATI ITALIANI 1
Authors: VACCARI EZIO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
The relevance of German mineralogy and mining was completely recognized in northern Italy during the eighteenth century, for example in the work of two distinguished Italian scientists such as Giovanni Arduino and Benedetto Spirito Nicolis di Robilant Malet. Nevertheless, between the end of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century, the growing diffusion of the lithogenetic theories of Abraham Gottlob Werner caused the internal division of the Italian scientific community between «volcanists» and «neptunists». The present study gives a general look at this controversy, through published and unpublished sources, paying particular attention to the Venetian area.
'NOTHING IN NATURE THAT IS NOT USEFUL' THE ANTI-VACCINATION CRUSADE AND THE IDEA OF HARMONIA NATURAE IN ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE *
Authors: SCARPELLI GIACOMO
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Nella seconda meta del XIX sec. la coscienza del Vittorianesimo fu turbata dal dilagare del movimento avverso alla vaccinazione antivaiolosa imposta dal governo inglese. II timore preconcetto dell'inoculazione artificiale del virus nell'individuo provoco la reazione sia degli strati popolari e del clero, sia di politici progressisti che pure giudicavano prioritario un aggiornamento della sanita sociale, sia di filosofi e naturalisti quali Spencer e Darwin, la cui opposizione al vaccino trovava un precedente in Kant. Proprio Wallace, che con Darwin era autore della teoria della selezione naturale, fu figura centrale del movimento contro la vaccinazione obbligatoria. Ritenendosi «piu darwiniano di Darwin», ma in realta rivelandosi fondamentalmente spiritualista, Wallace attribuiva all'opera della selezione naturale un valore assoluto, e vedeva in essa la manifestazione del sublime accordo dell'intero mondo vivente. L'evoluzione secondo Wallace aveva seguito un piano prestabilito, e l'uomo ne rappresentava il coronamento e il balzo qualitativo; il suo equilibrio con l'ambiente circostante, virus e batteri compresi, non doveva percio essere sconvolto da vaccini; piuttosto occorreva un innalzamento morale e sociale: migliori condizioni di vita avrebbero garantito maggiore igiene e minore predisposizione alle malattie. In seguito il vaiolo sarebbe stato ugualmente debellato col vaccino, ma mediante la somministrazione in dosi ridotte e piu raffinate rispetto a quelle dell'epoca di Wallace.
BOSCOVICH E LA TRADIZIONE GESUITICA IN FILOSOFIA NATURALE: CONTINUITÀ E CAMBIAMENTO*
Authors: BALDINI UGO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
Boscovich is usually considered an original thinker not only in the sense that some concepts of his are highly characteristic (something that is surely true), but also in the sense that they may be more related with a random choice of elements than with a specific genetic context. This looks like an anomaly, in so far as he was formed in a tradition that was both characterized and formalized (namely, the epistemology and the natural philosophy taught by the Society of Jesus). This paper tries to recognize some elements in that tradition which influenced (if not determined) his thought, partly in the choice and formulation of problems, partly in concepts and methods of analysis, partly in solutions.
FILIPPO SALVIATI: A BAROQUE VIRTUOSO
Authors: BIAGIOLI MARIO
Published: April 2012

 RIASSUNTO
Si presentano nuove indicazioni documentarie a proposito della biografia di Filippo Salviati. Si mostra che, contrariamente a quanto creduto, la partenza di Filippo da Firenze nel 1613 non fu conseguenza di dispute a corte. La seconda parte dell'articolo discute una possibile relazione tra la cultura patrizia di Filippo e il suo sostegno alla scienza di Galileo.
VINCENZIO CHIARUGI
Authors: BERNI STEFANO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
In 1788 the Bonifazio Hospital in Florence was again open to public and to its insane guests, after it had been restored following the illuministic ideas of the Granduca of Tuscany, Leopoldo I. Vincenzio Chiarugi became the head physician of the hospital and in 1789 he wrote the Leopoldian Regulation. In 1793 he published his new book, Della Pazzia [On Madness], on the grounds of the new rationalistic code.
Strengthening the OSCE's capacities in conflict prevention, crisis management and conflict resolution
Authors: Ackermann Alice
Published: April 2012

Twenty years after the 1992 Helsinki Document — Challenges of Change, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) agreed at the 2011 Ministerial Council in Vilnius, Lithuania, on a decision intended to strengthen the OSCE's capacities in early warning, early action, dialogue facilitation and mediation-support as well as post-conflict rehabilitation. MC Decision 3/11 is an important one, in particular, as OSCE participating States were required to revisit the Organization's approach to conflict prevention and resolution over the last three years. The outcome was been an impressive document that demands the implementation of concrete action toward the creation of a systematic early warning and mediation-support capacity and the enhancement of early response to emerging crisis and conflict situations.
Principle of Subsidiarity and the EU Environmental Policy
Authors: Sadeleer Nicolas de
Published: April 2012

The principle of subsidiarity is a fundamental principle of the European Union. It has first been introduced in the field of environmental policy by the Single European Act in 1987 and extended to all fields of shared competencies by the Maastricht treaty in 1992. Since then much has been done to operationalize the principle, and subsidiarity has received increasing attention by the Union’s institutions and Member States. The following contribution provides a brief appraisal of the role of the principle and of how it has influenced environmental legislation, so far.
Citizen’s Rights in European Environmental Law: Stock-Taking of Key Challenges and Current Developments in Relation to Public Access to Information, Participation and Access to Justice
Authors: Jendrośka J.
Published: April 2012

The article aims to provide a short overview of the current situation regarding public access to information, participation and access to justice in Europe. The article briefly presents the role of the Aarhus Convention and its compliance mechanism in shaping the respective legal framework at both national level and EU level. On that basis it summarises some key challenges and implementation problems respectively in relation to public access to information, participation and access to justice.
Compliance with European Environmental Law—Deficiencies and Approaches: The Role of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Authors: Sobotta Christoph
Published: April 2012

The article discusses the contribution of the ECJ to the reduction of compliance deficiencies with regard to European environmental law. The Court is not a specialised environmental court but the supreme court of the European multilevel legal system. Therefore its contribution is primarily characterised by a concern for effective and uniform application of EU law in general while specific environmental considerations do not figure as prominently.
Weather Regime Transitions and the Interannual Variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Part II: Dynamical Processes
Authors: Luo Dehai , Cha Jing , Feldstein Steven B.
Published: April 2012

In this study, attention is focused on identifying the dynamical processes that contribute to the negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)− to positive NAO (NAO+) and NAO+ to NAO− transitions that occur during 1978–90 (P1) and 1991–2008 (P2). By constructing Atlantic ridge (AR) and Scandinavian blocking (SBL) indices, the composite analysis demonstrates that in a stronger AR (SBL) winter NAO− (NAO+) event can more easily transition into an NAO+ (NAO−) event. Composites of 300-hPa geopotential height anomalies for the NAO− to NAO+ and NAO+ to NAO− transition events during P1 and P2 are calculated. It is shown for P2 (P1) that the NAO+ to SBL to NAO− (NAO− to AR to NAO+) transition results from the retrograde drift of an enhanced high-latitude, large-scale, positive (negative) anomaly over northern Europe during the decay of the previous NAO+ (NAO−) event. This finding cannot be detected for NAO events without transition.

Moreover, it is found that the amplification of retrograding wavenumber 1 is more important for the NAO− to NAO+ transition during P1, but the marked reintensification and retrograde movement of both wavenumbers 1 and 2 after the NAO+ event decays is crucial for the NAO+ to NAO− transition during P2. It is further shown that destructive (constructive) interference between wavenumbers 1 and 2 over the North Atlantic during P1 (P2) is responsible for the subsequent weak NAO+ (strong NAO−) anomaly associated with the NAO− to NAO+ (NAO+ to NAO−) transition. Also, the weakening (strengthening) of the vertically integrated zonal wind (upstream Atlantic storm track) is found to play an important role in the NAO regime transition.
The Relationship between the Speed and the Latitude of an Eddy-Driven Jet in a Stirred Barotropic Model
Authors: Kidston Joseph , Vallis G. K.
Published: April 2012

A stirred barotropic model on a sphere is used to investigate the relationship between the speed and the latitude of an eddy-driven jet. When the wind speed is increased in the model, the jet shifts poleward, despite the fact that the stirring of vorticity remains statistically constant. The cause is found to be increasing meridional shear that results from increasing the wind speed in a meridionally confined region and reduces the absolute vorticity gradient on the flanks of the jet. This has two related consequences. The first is that wave propagation is discouraged, as a turning latitude is created where the absolute vorticity gradient tends to zero. On the sphere, this occurs first at high latitudes, thereby shifting wave dissipation toward the equator. The reduced high-latitude dissipation causes a poleward shift of the jet. The second consequence occurs when the vorticity gradient actually becomes negative, in which case the waves may overreflect where an instability is present, providing a high-latitude source of pseudomomentum. This may further encourage the jet to shift poleward.

The relevance of the barotropic dynamics to more realistic atmospheres is unclear, but the intermodel variability of the poleward shift of the jet in response to increasing CO2 across a suite of state-of-the-art GCMs is consistent with the barotropic dynamics, suggesting that further investigation is warranted.
The Hydrological Cycle in Three State-of-the-Art Reanalyses: Intercomparison and Performance Analysis
Authors: Lorenz Christof , Kunstmann Harald
Published: April 2012

The three state-of-the-art global atmospheric reanalysis models—namely, ECMWF Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim), Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA; NASA), and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR; NCEP)—are analyzed and compared with independent observations in the period between 1989 and 2006. Comparison of precipitation and temperature estimates from the three models with gridded observations reveals large differences between the reanalyses and also of the observation datasets. A major source of uncertainty in the observations is the spatial distribution and change of the number of gauges over time. In South America, active measuring stations were reduced from 4267 to 390. The quality of precipitation estimates from the reanalyses strongly depends on the geographic location, as there are significant differences especially in tropical regions. The closure of the water cycle in the three reanalyses is analyzed by estimating long-term mean values for precipitation, evapotranspiration, surface runoff, and moisture flux divergence. Major shortcomings in the moisture budgets of the datasets are mainly due to inconsistencies of the net precipitation minus evaporation and evapotranspiration, respectively, (P − E) estimates over the oceans and landmasses. This imbalance largely originates from the assimilation of radiance sounding data from the NOAA-15 satellite, which results in an unrealistic increase of oceanic P − E in the MERRA and CFSR budgets. Overall, ERA-Interim shows both a comparatively reasonable closure of the terrestrial and atmospheric water balance and a reasonable agreement with the observation datasets. The limited performance of the three state-of-the-art reanalyses in reproducing the hydrological cycle, however, puts the use of these models for climate trend analyses and long-term water budget studies into question.
Cancer Survivor Identity Shared in a Social Media Intervention
Authors: Song Hayeon , Nam Yujung , Gould Jessica , Sanders W. Scott , McLaughlin Margaret , Fulk Janet , Meeske Kathleen A. , Ruccione Kathleen S.
Published: April 2012

This study investigates how cancer survivors construct their identities and the impact on their psychological health, as measured by depression and survivor self-efficacy. Fourteen young adult survivors of pediatric cancer participated in a customized social networking and video blog intervention program, the LIFECommunity, over a 6-month period. Survivors were asked to share their stories on various topics by posting video messages. Those video blog postings, along with survey data collected from participants, were analyzed to see how cancer survivors expressed their identities, and how these identities are associated with survivors’ psychosocial outcomes. In survivors who held negative stereotypes about cancer survivors, there was a positive relationship with depression while positive stereotypes had a marginal association with cancer survivor efficacy. Findings indicate that although pediatric cancer survivors often do not publicly discuss a “cancer survivor identity,” they do internalize both positive and negative stereotypes about cancer survivorship. It is important for practitioners to be aware of the long-term implications of cancer survivor identity and stereotypes.
Reliability and validity of the ultrasound technique to measure the rectus femoris muscle diameter in older CAD-patients
Authors: Thomaes Tom , Thomis Martine , Onkelinx Steven , Coudyzer Walter , Cornelissen Véronique , Vanhees Luc
Published: April 2012

Background

The increasing age of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and the occurrence of sarcopenia in the elderly population accompanied by 'fear of moving' and hospitalization in these patients often results in a substantial loss of skeletal muscle mass and muscle strength. Cardiac rehabilitation can improve exercise tolerance and muscle strength in CAD patients but less data describe eventual morphological muscular changes possibly by more difficult access to imaging techniques. Therefore the aim of this study is to assess and quantify the reliability and validity of an easy applicable method, the ultrasound (US) technique, to measure the diameter of rectus femoris muscle in comparison to the muscle dimensions measured with CT scans.

Methods

45 older CAD patients without cardiac event during the last 9 months were included in this study. 25 patients were tested twice with ultrasound with a two day interval to assess test-retest reliability and 20 patients were tested twice (once with US and once with CT) on the same day to assess the validity of the US technique compared to CT as the gold standard. Isometric and isokinetic muscle testing was performed to test potential zero-order correlations between muscle diameter, muscle volume and muscle force.

Results

An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.97 ((95%CL: 0.92 - 0.99) was found for the test-retest reliability of US and the ICC computed between US and CT was 0.92 (95%CL: 0.81 - 0.97). The absolute difference between both techniques was 0.01 ± 0.12 cm (p = 0.66) resulting in a typical percentage error of 4.4%. Significant zero-order correlations were found between local muscle volume and muscle diameter assessed with CT (r = 0.67, p = 0.001) and assessed with US (r = 0.49, p < 0.05). Muscle strength parameters were also significantly correlated with muscle diameter assessed with both techniques (range r = 0.45-r = 0.61, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Ultrasound imaging can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool to assess the rectus femoris muscle diameter in older CAD patients.
Obesity-associated insulin resistance is correlated to adipose tissue vascular endothelial growth factors and metalloproteinase levels
Authors: Tinahones Francisco José , Coín-Aragüez Leticia , Mayas Maria Dolores , Garcia-Fuentes Eduardo , Hurtado-del-Pozo Carmen , Vendrell Joan , Cardona Fernando , Calvo Rosa-Maria , Obregon Maria-Jesus , El Bekay Rajaa
Published: April 2012

Background

The expansion of adipose tissue is linked to the development of its vasculature, which appears to have the potential to regulate the onset of obesity. However, at present, there are no studies highlighting the relationship between human adipose tissue angiogenesis and obesity-associated insulin resistance (IR).

Results

Our aim was to analyze and compare angiogenic factor expression levels in both subcutaneous (SC) and omentum (OM) adipose tissues from morbidly obese patients (n = 26) with low (OB/L-IR) (healthy obese) and high (OB/H-IR) degrees of IR, and lean controls (n = 17). Another objective was to examine angiogenic factor correlations with obesity and IR.

Here we found that VEGF-A was the isoform with higher expression in both OM and SC adipose tissues, and was up-regulated 3-fold, together with MMP9 in OB/L-IR as compared to leans. This up-regulation decreased by 23% in OB/-H-IR compared to OB/L-IR. On the contrary, VEGF-B, VEGF-C and VEGF-D, together with MMP15 was down-regulated in both OB/H-IR and OB/L-IR compared to lean patients. Moreover, MMP9 correlated positively and VEGF-C, VEGF-D and MMP15 correlated negatively with HOMA-IR, in both SC and OM.

Conclusion

We hereby propose that the alteration in MMP15, VEGF-B, VEGF-C and VEGF-D gene expression may be caused by one of the relevant adipose tissue processes related to the development of IR, and the up-regulation of VEGF-A in adipose tissue could have a relationship with the prevention of this pathology.
Toxicity of various silver nanoparticles compared to silver ions in Daphnia magna
Authors: Asghari Saba , Johari Seyed Ali , Lee Ji Hyun , Kim Yong Seok , Jeon Yong Bae , Choi Hyun Jung , Moon Min Chaul , Yu Il Je
Published: April 2012

Background

To better understand the potential ecotoxicological impacts of silver nanoparticles released into freshwater environments, the Daphnia magna 48-hour immobilization test was used.

Methods

The toxicities of silver nitrate, two types of colloidal silver nanoparticles, and a suspension of silver nanoparticles were assessed and compared using standard OECD guidelines. Also, the swimming behavior and visible uptake of the nanoparticles by Daphnia were investigated and compared. The particle suspension and colloids used in the toxicity tests were well-characterized.

Results

The results obtained from the exposure studies showed that the toxicity of all the silver species tested was dose and composition dependent. Plus, the silver nanoparticle powders subsequently suspended in the exposure water were much less toxic than the previously prepared silver nanoparticle colloids, whereas the colloidal silver nanoparticles and AgNO3 were almost similar in terms of mortality. The silver nanoparticles were ingested by the Daphnia and accumulated under the carapace, on the external body surface, and connected to the appendages. All the silver species in this study caused abnormal swimming by the D. magna.

Conclusion

According to the present results, silver nanoparticles should be classified according to GHS (Globally Harmonized System of classification and labeling of chemicals) as "category acute 1" to Daphnia neonates, suggesting that the release of nanosilver into the environment should be carefully considered.
DeviceEditor visual biological CAD canvas
Authors: Chen Joanna , Densmore Douglas , Ham Timothy S , Keasling Jay D , Hillson Nathan J
Published: April 2012

Background

Biological Computer Aided Design (bioCAD) assists the de novo design and selection of existing genetic components to achieve a desired biological activity, as part of an integrated design-build-test cycle. To meet the emerging needs of Synthetic Biology, bioCAD tools must address the increasing prevalence of combinatorial library design, design rule specification, and scar-less multi-part DNA assembly.

Results

We report the development and deployment of web-based bioCAD software, DeviceEditor, which provides a graphical design environment that mimics the intuitive visual whiteboard design process practiced in biological laboratories. The key innovations of DeviceEditor include visual combinatorial library design, direct integration with scar-less multi-part DNA assembly design automation, and a graphical user interface for the creation and modification of design specification rules. We demonstrate how biological designs are rendered on the DeviceEditor canvas, and we present effective visualizations of genetic component ordering and combinatorial variations within complex designs.

Conclusions

DeviceEditor liberates researchers from DNA base-pair manipulation, and enables users to create successful prototypes using standardized, functional, and visual abstractions. Open and documented software interfaces support further integration of DeviceEditor with other bioCAD tools and software platforms. DeviceEditor saves researcher time and institutional resources through correct-by-construction design, the automation of tedious tasks, design reuse, and the minimization of DNA assembly costs.
Description of a multicenter safety checklist for intraoperative hemorrhage control while clamped during robotic partial nephrectomy
Authors: Nepple Kenneth G , Sandhu Gurdarshan S , Rogers Craig G , Allaf Mohamad E , Kaouk Jihad H , Figenshau Robert S , Stifelman Michael D , Bhayani Sam B
Published: April 2012

Background

The adoption of robotic assistance has contributed to the increased utilization of partial nephrectomy for the management of renal tumors. However, partial nephrectomy can be technically challenging because of intraoperative hemorrhage, which limits the ability to identify the tumor margin and may necessitate the conversion to open surgery or radical nephrectomy. To our knowledge, a comprehensive safety checklist does not exist to guide surgeons on the management of hemorrhage during robotic partial nephrectomy. We developed such an safety checklist based on the cumulative experiences of high volume robotic surgeons.

Methods

A treatment safety checklist for the management of hemorrhage during robotic partial nephrectomy was collaboratively developed based on prior experiences with intraoperative hemorrhage during robotic partial nephrectomy.

Results

Reducing the risk of hemorrhage during robotic partial nephrectomy begins with reviewing the preoperative imaging for renal vasculature and tumor anatomy, with a focus on accessory vessels and renal tumor proximity to the renal hilum. During hilar exposure, an attempt is made to identify additional accessory renal arteries. The decision is then made on whether to clamp the hilum (artery +/- vein). If bleeding is encountered during resection, management is based on whether the bleeding is suspected to be arterial or from venous backbleeding. Operative maneuvers that may increase the chance of success are highlighted in safety checklists for arterial and venous bleeding.

Conclusions

Safely performing robotic partial nephrectomy is dependent on attention to prevention of hemorrhage and rapid response to the challenge of intraoperative bleeding. Preparation is essential for maximizing the chance of success during robotic partial nephrectomy.
Phenomenology of depression in older compared with younger adults: Meta-analysis
Authors: Hegeman J. M. , Kok R. M. , van der Mast R. C. , Giltay E. J.
Published: April 2012

Background

Late-life depression may differ from early-life depression in its phenomenology.

Aims

To investigate the effect of age on the phenomenology of major depression.

Method

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase and PsycINFO for all studies examining the relation between age and phenomenology of major depression according to RDC, DSM and ICD criteria. Studies were included only if the age groups were compared at the single-item level using the 17-, 21- or 24-item versions of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression; a meta-analysis was done for each item of the 17-item scale.

Results

Eleven papers met the inclusion criteria. Older depressed adults, compared with younger depressed adults, demonstrated more agitation, hypochondriasis and general as well as gastrointestinal somatic symptoms, but less guilt and loss of sexual interest.

Conclusions

The phenomenology of late-life depression differs only in part from that of early-life depression. Major depression in older people may have a more somatic presentation, whereas feelings of guilt and loss of sexual function may be more prevalent in younger people.