bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasma β‐Amyloid Peptide, Transforming Growth Factor‐β1, and Risk for Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy
Authors: GREENBERG STEVEN M. , CHO HYUN‐SOON , O'DONNELL HEATHER C. , ROSAND JONATHAN , SEGAL ALAN Z. , YOUNKIN LINDA H. , YOUNKIN STEVEN G. , REBECK G. WILLIAM
Published: January 2006

Abstract:Despite the documented association between apolipoprotein E genotype and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a substantial proportion of CAA‐related hemorrhages occur in patients without known risks for this disorder. Two other factors implicated in the pathogenesis of CAA are the amyloid‐β peptide (preferentially deposited in vessels as a 40‐amino acid species) and the multifunctional cytokine transforming growth factor‐β1 (a specific promoter of vascular amyloid deposition in transgenic models). We measured plasma concentrations of these factors in a series of 25 patients diagnosed with probable or definite CAA‐related hemorrhage and compared them with 21 patients with hemorrhage due to probable hypertensive vasculopathy and 42 elderly control subjects without hemorrhage. We found no differences among the groups in concentrations of the 40‐ or 42‐amino acid species of β‐amyloid or either the active or latent form of transforming growth factor‐β1. While the data do not exclude important roles for these molecules as risks for CAA, they indicate that plasma measurements are not useful in its diagnosis.
Apolipoprotein E Genotype and Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy‐related Hemorrhage
Authors: McCARRON MARK O. , NICOLL JAMES A.R.
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Following the identification of the role of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism in Alzheimer's disease (AD), this gene was examined in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). As in AD, the APOEɛ4 allele was found to be associated with CAA. Lobar intracerebral hemorrhage is the major clinical manifestation of CAA. Initial studies on a small number of patients with CAA‐related hemorrhage (CAAH) identified overrepresentation of APOEɛ4. However, it became clear that confounding bias from concomitant AD and the need for pathologically confirmed cases of CAAH would also have to be considered. A larger series of pathologically confirmed cases of CAAH, also assessed for AD pathology, found a surprising overrepresentation of the APOEɛ2 allele. Because of the association between CAA and AD, it might have been predicted that patients with CAAH would have a low, rather than a high, ɛ2 frequency. The overrepresentation of APOEɛ2 was present both in patients with and without AD, whereas a high ɛ4 frequency correlated with concomitant AD.

Further studies found that overrepresentation of APOEɛ2 is specific for CAAH and is not found in intracranial hemorrhages due to other causes. In CAAH, APOEɛ2 may interact with putative risk factors for hemorrhage, including antiplatelet/anticoagulant medication, minor head trauma, and hypertension. Several microvascular abnormalities in amyloid‐laden blood vessels have been assumed to antedate CAAH and increase its likelihood. APOEɛ2 has now been found to be associated with some of these vascular abnormalities, specifically a “double‐barrel” appearance and fibrinoid necrosis.

The currently favored interpretation is that APOEɛ4 enhances deposition of amyloid‐β protein in the walls of cerebral blood vessels, whereas ɛ2 is a risk factor for hemorrhage from amyloid‐laden blood vessels by promoting specific “CAA‐associated vasculopathies.”
Apolipoprotein E, Smooth Muscle Cells and the Pathogenesis of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy: the Potential Role of Impaired Cerebrovascular Aβ Clearance
Authors: PRIOR REINHARD , WIHL GÜNTHER , URMONEIT BRITTA
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is caused by the deposition of β‐amyloid (Aβ) in Alzheimer disease brains. It also occurs isolated, representing a major cause for cerebral hemorrhage in the elderly. The E4 genotype of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a risk factor for CAA; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this genetic association is unknown. Various findings suggest that cerebrovascular Aβ is derived from the soluble Aβ contained in the cortical extracellular space or the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that communicates and surrounds small cortical or leptomeningeal vessels. CAA deposits are always intimately associated with smooth muscle cells (SMCs) or SMC‐derived pericytes. As we have previously reported, SMCs internalize Aβin vitro via a lipoprotein pathway involving ApoE and the low‐density lipoprotein receptor family. Internalized Aβ is subsequently located to lysosomes, suggesting its intracellular degradation. We show that Aβ is internalized via multiple pathways, because class A and class B scavenger receptors are also colocalized to Aβ‐containing endosomes in SMCs, and Aβ uptake is inhibited by various scavenger receptor antagonists. It has been recently shown for different cell types that the cellular uptake of ApoE is more efficient for the ApoE3 isoform when compared to ApoE4 and that this isoform‐specific difference depends on the presence of heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG). HSPG is produced by SMCs and promotes Aβ fibrillogenesis. We propose a pathogenetic model of CAA, in which the ApoE‐ and HSPG‐mediated clearance of CSF‐derived Aβ peptides by SMCs protects the vascular extracellular matrix against critical Aβ concentrations. Impairment of this pathway or its reduced efficiency in carriers of the ApoE4 genotype may increase the risk of developing CAA.
Earlier Age of Onset of Alzheimer's Disease in Patients with Both the Transferrin C2 and Apolipoprotein E‐ɛ4 Alleles
Authors: VAN RENSBURG S. J. , POTOCNIK F.C. V. , DE VILLIERS J.N. P. , KOTZE M. J. , TALJAARD J.J. F.
Published: January 2006

Abstract: The etiology of Alzheimer's disease is now known to be multifactorial. The genetic factors transferrin C2 (TfC2) and apolipoprotein E ɛ4 (ApoE‐ɛ4) have both been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Transferrin is the carrier protein for iron in the blood, while ApoE is involved with the transport and redistribution of lipids. In the present study, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was used to determine the frequency of both TfC2 and ApoE‐ɛ4 in 27 AD patients, 9 vascular dementia (VaD) patients, and 27 controls. Patients were diagnosed according to the criteria as set out in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM‐IV).

The frequency of the TfC2 allele for the AD patients was 24%, while for the VaD patients it was 12.5%, which was not significantly different from the controls at 13%. The frequency of ApoE‐ɛ4 for the AD patients was 44%, for the VaD patients 22%, and controls 17%. Of the 27 AD patients, 8 had both TfC2 and ApoE‐ɛ4. The age of onset of the disease in these 8 patients (51–67 years, mean 60.25) was significantly earlier (p <0.02) than in the remaining AD patients (49–76 years, mean 66.9). None of the VaD patients had both the TfC2 and the ApoE‐ɛ4 alleles.
Interface between Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer Syndrome: Nosologic Redefinition
Authors: OLGA EMERY V. , GILLIE EDWARD X. , SMITH JOSEPH A.
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Vascular dementia is redefined so as to include noninfarct vascular dementia: vascular dementia caused by underlying vascular factors other than cerebral infarction. Data are presented that bring into focus the interface between vascular dementia and Alzheimer syndrome, and the ambiguous transition between multifocality and diffuse or generalized disease. By cross‐cutting both stroke and nonstroke vascular groups, arteriosclerosis, abnormal blood pressure, abnormal electrocardiogram, and other vascular factors are implicated in the distal causality of both infarct and noninfarct vascular dementia.
Severity of Cardiovascular Disease, Apolipoprotein E Genotype, and Brain Pathology in Aging and Dementia
Authors: ALAFUZOFF IRINA , HELISALMI SEPPO , MANNERMAA ARTO , SOININEN HILKKA
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Neuropathological lesions, essential for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), such as senile‐neuritic plaques (SP/NPs), neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), the beta‐amyloid load (Aβ4) and the load of PHF‐τ did not increase with increased severity of cardiovascular disease in 126 clinically demented and 303 nondemented aged individuals. In contrast, the extent of AD lesions was greater in nondemented and demented individuals with the ApoE ɛ4 allele compared to those without this allele. On the other hand, the extent of vascular lesions currently used for the diagnosis of vascular dementia (VaD) showed correlation with the cardiovascular index, whereas ApoE ɛ4 allele did not seem to influence the extent of vascular lesions. The calculated CVI showed significant correlation with premortem estimated Hachinski score, and both the CVI and Hachinski score were higher in demented patients with extensive vascular lesions. Our results demonstrate that ApoE ɛ4 allele, a known risk factor for dementia, indeed influences the extent of Alzheimer's lesions seen in the brain tissue of demented patients and asymptomatic controls. The cardiovascular disease again seems to influence the extent of vascular lesions.
CADASIL: Hereditary Arteriopathy Leading to Multiple Brain Infarcts and Dementia
Authors: VIITANEN MATTI , KALIMO HANNU
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) often begins with migraine with aura. Recurrent strokes usually appear between 30 and 50 years of age. The arteriopathy develops slowly, resulting in destruction of smooth muscle cells and thickening and fibrosis of the walls of small and medium‐sized penetrating arteries with consequent narrowing of the lumen. This impairs cerebral blood flow, visible in PET, and produces characteristic white‐matter hyperintensities in T2‐weighted MRI on the basis of which CADASIL may be diagnosed well before the first stroke. Multiple lacunar infarcts, mainly in the frontal white matter and basal ganglia, lead to progressive permanent brain damage manifested as cognitive decline and finally as dementia. At present, no specific therapy is available.

Infarcts result from thickening and fibrosis of the walls of small and medium‐sized penetrating arteries with consequent obliteration and/or thrombosis. Although the symptoms are almost exclusively neurological, the arteriopathy is generalized and diagnosis can be made on the basis of accumulation of pathognomonic basophilic, PAS‐positive and in electron microscopy osmiophilic material between degenerating smooth muscle cells in dermal arteries. CADASIL is caused by missense point mutations in the Notch3 gene, which enodes a transmembrane receptor protein with an important signaling function during development. The gene defects lead to either a gain or loss of a cysteine residue in the extracellular N‐terminal part of the molecule, most probably causing a conformational and functional alteration. The function of Notch3 in adults and the definite pathogenesis of CADASIL are still unknown, but interestingly its intramembranous proteolytic cleavage may be regulated or implemented by presenilin similarly as cleavage of amyloid precursor protein in Alzheimer's disease.
Mechanisms of Cerebrovascular Amyloid Deposition: Lessons from Mouse Models
Authors: BURGERMEISTER PATRICK , CALHOUN MICHAEL E. , WINKLER DAVID T. , JUCKER MATHIAS
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Cerebrovascular deposition of amyloid is a frequent observation in Alzheimer's disease patients. It can also be detected sporadically in normal aged individuals and is further found in familial diseases linked to specific gene mutations. The source and mechanism of this pathology are still unknown. It has been suggested that amyloidogenic proteins are derived from blood, the vessel wall itself, or from the central nervous system. in this article evidence is reviewed for and against each of these hypotheses, including new data obtained from transgenic mouse models. in app23 transgenic mice that develop cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in addition to amyloid plaques, the transport and drainage of neuronally produced amyloid‐β (aβ) seem to be responsible for CAA rather than vascular aβ production or blood uptake. although a number of mechanisms may contribute to CAA in humans, these results suggest that a neuronal source of aβ is sufficient to induce vascular amyloid deposition. The possibility to cross genetically defined mouse models of CAA with other mutant mice now has the potential to identify molecular mechanisms of CAA.
Alzheimer's Disease‐like Cerebrovascular Pathology in Transforming Growth Factor‐β1 Transgenic Mice and Functional Metabolic Correlates
Authors: WYSS‐CORAY T. , LIN C. , VON EUW D. , MASLIAH E. , MUCKE L. , LACOMBE P.
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is frequently associated with cerebrovascular changes, including perivascular astrocytosis, amyloid deposition, and microvascular degeneration, but it is not known whether these pathological changes contribute to functional deficits in AD. To characterize the temporal relationship between amyloid deposition, cerebrovascular abnormalities, and potential functional changes, we studied transgenic mice that express transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) at low levels in astrocytes. TGF‐β1 induced a prominent perivascular astrocytosis, followed by the accumulation of basement membrane proteins in microvessels, thickening of capillary basement membranes, and later, around 6 months of age, deposition of amyloid in cerebral blood vessels. At 9 months of age, various AD‐like degenerative alterations were observed in endothelial cells and pericytes. Associated with these morphological changes were changes in regional cerebral glucose utilization. Preliminary results showed that TGF‐β1 mice had significantly decreased glucose utilization in the mammillary bodies, structures involved in mnemonic and learning processes. Glucose utilization tended to be decreased in several other brain regions as well; however, in the inferior colliculus, it was markedly higher in TGF‐β1 mice than in controls. We conclude that chronic overproduction of TGF‐β1 triggers a pathogenic cascade leading to AD‐like cerebrovascular amyloidosis, microvascular degeneration, and local alterations in brain metabolic activity. Similar mechanisms may be involved in AD pathogenesis.
The Role of Apolipoprotein E in the Deposition of β‐Amyloid Peptide during Ischemia‐Reperfusion Brain Injury: A Model of Early Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: PLUTA RYSZARD
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Transient brain ischemia in the rat produces a stereotyped pattern of selective neuronal degeneration which simulates early Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. The aim of the present study was to determine if apolipoprotein E (ApoE) variables are related to alterations in other proteins which play a central role in the pathogenesis of AD; amyloid precursor protein (APP) and β‐amyloid peptide (Aβ). The postischemic time course of ApoE and APP and Aβ immunoreactivity in brain was examined at survival time from 2 days to 1 year in rats subjected to 10 min cardiac arrest. These data indicate that there are long lasting alterations of ApoE and Aβ after brain ischemia. The most likely stimulus for promoting increase of both ApoE and Aβ expression are ischemic reperfusion processes. Our data suggest that ApoE modulates the outcome following cerebral ischemia via molecular events in common with AD pathogenesis. We propose that ischemic‐reperfusion processes in brain are the fountainhead of a cycle of molecular and cellular events that have neurodegenerative consequences which finally lead to AD.
β‐Amyloid Excitotoxicity in Rat Magnocellular Nucleus Basalis: Effect of Cortical Deafferentation on Cerebral Blood Flow Regulation and Implications for Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: HARKANY TIBOR , PENKE BOTOND , LUITEN PAUL G.M.
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia with a still largely unclear etiopathology. One of the factors that may directly contribute to the development and progression of the disorder is the abundant accumulation of β‐amyloid peptides (Aβ) in senile plaques. In the present account we review coherent in vivo experimental evidence that Aβ infusion into the rat magnocellular nucleus basalis (MBN) induces abrupt and persistent behavioral dysfunctions, perturbations of sensory information processing, storage, and retrieval. These substantial behavioral changes are due to the loss of cholinergic neurons in the MBN and their ascending projections to the fronto‐parietal cortex. Both neuroanatomical and neurochemical observations pinpoint that infusion of Aβ into the rat basal forebrain significantly decreases choline‐acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase activities and the population of‐probably‐M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the cerebral cortex. Neuropharmacological data indicate that Aβ toxicity is mediated by an excitotoxic cascade involving blockade of astroglial glutamate uptake, sustained activation of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptors and an overt intracellular Ca2+ influx. These changes are associated with increased nitric oxide synthase activity in cortical target areas that may directly lead to the generation of free radicals. Besides, as microvessels of the neocortex receive direct input from the MBN we assume that the loss of cholinergic innervation and hence that of tonic cholinergic vasoregulation ultimately leads to disturbances of vascular (endothelial) function and nutrient supply that may directly enhance neuronal vulnerability during aging and in Alzheimer's disease.
Cardiovascular and Other Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Dementia
Authors: MEYER JOHN S. , RAUCH GAIANE M. , RAUCH RONALD A. , HAQUE ANWARUL , CRAWFORD KATE
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Factors accelerating cerebral degenerative changes represent potentially modifiable risks for cognitive decline. Putative risks accelerating subtle cognitive decline and dementia were correlated with repeated measures of cerebral atrophy, CT densitometry, perfusions, and cognitive testing among 224 neurologically and cognitively normative aging volunteers. After age 60, cerebral atrophy, ventricular enlargement, polioaraiosis, and leukoaraiosis geometrically increased as perfusions declined. Risks accelerating perfusional decline, cerebral atrophy, polioaraiosis, and leukoaraiosis were: transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), hypertension, smoking, hyperlipidemia, male gender. At age 71.5 ± 11.9, subtle cognitive decline began, accelerated by TIAs, hypertension, and heart disease. Leukoaraiosis began before cognitive decline. TIAs, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia correlated with vasciular dementias. Excessive cortical perfusional decreases and cerebral atrophy correlated with cognitive decline. Family history of neurodegenerative disease correlated with Alzheimer's disease. We concluded that TIAs, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, and male gender accelerate cerebral degenerative changes, cognitive decline, and dementia.
The Renin Angiotensin System and Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: AMOUYEL PHILIPPE , RICHARD FLORENCE , BERR CLAUDINE , DAVID‐FROMENTIN ISABELLE , HELBECQUE NICOLE
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Recent reports sustain the hypothesis of tight links between vascular and neurodegenerative diseases: associations between atherosclerosis lesions and Alzheimer's disease (AD), increased risk of AD for hypertensive subjects, decreased risk of dementia for elderly treated with hypotensive drugs, and a major impact of apolipoprotein E polymorphism, a protein of the lipid metabolism, on the occurrence of AD. All these results suggest that vascular determinants, both environmental and genetic, may predispose to or speed up dementia. As a major player of vascular homeostasis, the renin angiotensin system (RAS) proteins constitute an interesting source of candidate genes. Among these, the angiotensin I‐converting enzyme gene (ACE), a central enzyme of the RAS, presents in its sequence a deletion (D)/insertion (I) polymorphism associated with variations of plasma ACE levels and with the risk of myocardial infarction. We explored the impact of this genetic polymorphism on the risk of cognitive impairment and of dementia in several epidemiological studies. Physiopathological hypotheses suggest a possible involvement of the RAS proteins in the occurrence and evolution of AD. Moreover, although inconsistent, several results of case‐control studies tend to suggest that the ACE I/D genetic polymorphism may constitute a genetic susceptibility factor for dementia, reinforcing the hypothesis of a major implication of vascular risk factors in the occurrence of dementia.
Vascular Actions of Estrogen and Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: THOMAS T. , RHODIN J.
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Women are two to three times more likely to develop late‐onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) than age‐matched men. A large number of observational reports and a few randomized clinical trials have indicated that estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) may retard the development and severity of dementia in postmenopausal women. A chronic inflammatory reaction mediated by abnormal deposition of proteins such as amyloid‐β (Aβ) is central to the pathology of AD. We investigated the effect of low doses of conjugated estrogen (Premarin) in an animal model of Aβ‐induced vascular disruption and inflammatory reaction. Estrogen prevented vascular deposition of Aβ, endothelial and vessel wall disruption with plasma leakage, platelet and mast cell activation, and characteristic features of an inflammatory reaction: adhesion and transmigration of leukocytes. The beneficial effect was lost when estrogen treatment was discontinued. This novel protective effect of estrogen against Aβ‐induced vascular dysfunction may contribute to the therapeutic efficacy of estrogen in AD and coronary vascular disease.
Subcortical Vascular Dementia as a Specific Target for Clinical Trials
Authors: INZITARI DOMENICO , ERKINJUNTTI TIMO , WALLIN ANDERS , DEL SER TEODORO , ROMANELLI MARCO , PANTONI LEONARDO
Published: January 2006

Abstract: Vascular cognitive impairment is considered the second most common form of mental deterioration in the elderly after degenerative dementias. Therapeutic approaches to vascular dementia mainly rely on the identification and treatment of risk factors. A number of drugs have also been tested with the aim of improving or slowing cognitive decline in patients affected by various forms of cerebrovascular disease. Most of these trials have yielded unsatisfactory results. We hypothesize that some of these failures depend on the inclusion of patients with pathophysiologically heterogeneous types of vascular cognitive decline. In this paper, we review some of the most important trials that tested drugs with a preventive or therapeutic aim in vascular dementia patients. Preliminary results suggest that some beneficial effects can be detected only when the trial population is homogeneous on a clinical and pathogenic basis. In particular, subcortical vascular dementia, a form with a rather univocal clinical, radiological, and pathological picture, seems a particularly apt choice as a target for future clinical studies. At present, only one therapeutic trial is being conducted in patients affected by this specific form of vascular dementia.
The Diagnosis of “Mixed” Dementia in the Consortium for the Investigation of Vascular Impairment of Cognition (CIVIC)
Authors: ROCKWOOD K. , MACKNIGHT C. , WENTZEL C. , BLACK S. , BOUCHARD R. , GAUTHIER S. , FELDMAN H. , HOGAN D. , KERTESZ A. , MONTGOMERY P. ,   FOR THE CIVIC INVESTIGATORS
Published: January 2006

Abstract: If vascular risk factors are risks for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and if “pure” vascular dementia (VaD) is less common than has been thought, what do we make of the diagnosis of mixed dementia? We report characteristics of those with mixed dementia in a prospective, seven center, clinic‐based Canadian study.

Of 1,008 patients, 372 were diagnosed with AD, 149 with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) including 76 with mixed AD/VaD, and 82 with other types of dementia. The mean age of patients with mixed AD/VaD was 78.0 ± 7.6 years; 49% were female. These proportions differed significantly between dementia diagnosis subgroup (p <0.001) showing a trend which is evident in all comparisons‐AD/VaD patients fall in between AD and VaD.

Vascular risk factors were present significantly more often in mixed AD/VaD than in AD (p <0.001). More mixed AD/VaD (20%) than AD patients (4%) had focal signs, compared with 38% of those with vascular dementia and 12% with other types of dementia. Between the initial clinical diagnosis and the final diagnosis (which utilized neuroimaging and neuropsychological data) AD/VaD was the least stable diagnosis. Neuroimaging of ischemic lesions was the most common reason for reassignment from AD to the mixed AD/VaD diagnosis (17 cases).

These data suggest that an operational definition of mixed AD/VaD can be proposed on presentation and clinical/radiographic findings, but indifferent to vascular risk factors. The concept of mixed dementia should be extended to include vascular dementia in combination with dementias, other than Alzheimer's disease.
Clonal structure and genet‐level sex ratios suggest different roles of vegetative and sexual reproduction in the clonal moss Hylocomium splendens
Authors: Cronberg Nils , Rydgren Knut , Økland Rune H.
Published: January 2006

The allozyme haplotype was determined for 157 ramets of the unisexual, perennial, clonal moss Hylocomium splendens within five 10×10 cm plots, which had been the subject of demographic studies over a 5‐yr period. In addition, 25 shoots were analyzed from outside the plots and from four neighbouring patches. Only four haplotypes were encountered within the plots; one female type occurred in all plots and one male type in four plots, whereas two male haplotypes occurred in only one plot. Genets grew intermingled in all but one plot. The sex ratio within the five plots was female‐biased at the ramet level (male:female=1:2.6), but male‐biased at the genet level (3:1). Sporophytes were produced abundantly during the study period, but no signs of recruitment from spores were observed in the plots. Nine additional genets were encountered in neighbouring patches but from only one patch each. Four (44%) of these could potentially have been derived from spores generated within the plots. Our results suggest that each patch of H. splendens is colonized by a small number of genets, whereas different patches have different sets of genets, i.e. clonal diversity is determined by vegetative reproduction at within‐patch scales and structured by sexual processes at among‐patch scales.
Impact of warming and timing of snow melt on soil microarthropod assemblages associated withDryas‐dominated plant communities on Svalbard
Authors: Dollery Rebecca , Hodkinson Ian D. , Jónsdóttir Ingibjörg S.
Published: January 2006

Open Top Chambers (OTCs) were used to measure impacts of predicted global warming on the structure of the invertebrate community of aDryas octopetalaheath in West Spitsbergen. Results from the OTC experiment were compared with natural variation in invertebrate community structure along a snowmelt transect through similar vegetation up the adjacent hillside. Changes along this transect represent the natural response of the invertebrate community to progressively longer and potentially warmer and drier growing seasons. Using MANOVA, ANOVA, Linear Discriminant Analysis and χ2tests, significant differences in community composition were found between OTCs and controls and among stations along the transect. Numbers of cryptostigmatic and predatory mites tended to be higher in the warmer OTC treatment but numbers of the aphidAcyrthosiphon svalbardicum, hymenopterous parasitoids, Symphyta larvae, and weevils were higher in control plots. Most Collembola, includingHypogastrura tullbergi,Lepidocyrtus lignorumandIsotoma anglicana, followed a similar trend to the aphid, butFolsomia bisetosawas more abundant in the OTC treatment. Trends along the transect showed clear parallels with the OTC experiment. However, mite species, particularlyDiapterobates notatus, tended to increase in numbers under warming, with several species collectively increasing at the earlier exposed transect stations. Overall, the results suggest that the composition and structure of Arctic invertebrate communities associated withDryaswill change significantly under global warming.
Taxonomic distinctness in a linear system: a test using a tropical freshwater fish assemblage
Authors: Bhat Anuradha , Magurran Anne E.
Published: January 2006

Taxonomic distinctness, a measure of diversity that captures the phylogenetic relatedness of an assemblage, has been successfully applied in several marine communities and appears to have considerable potential for environmental assessment and conservation. This approach has, however, not hitherto been used in structured freshwater systems. We evaluated this technique in the context of vulnerable tropical river drainages in India. We found that the inherent physical structure of river systems and longitudinal gradients in habitat characteristics influenced the pattern of taxonomic distinctness. Downstream locations were in general more taxonomically diverse than upstream ones. This in turn means that highly perturbed sites in the lower reaches of rivers would not display a reduction in taxonomic distinctness relative to a random expectation. The utility of the approach for detecting habitat and other disturbances on stream fish communities is thus limited. Implications of these unique properties of river ecosystems and their communities to conservation are discussed.
An Economical Analysis on a Solar Greenhouse Integrated Solar Assisted Geothermal Heat Pump System
Authors: Ozgener Onder , Hepbasli Arif
Published: January 2006

The main objective in doing the present study is twofold, namely (i) to review briefly the utilization of geothermally heated greenhouses and geothermal heat pumps in Turkey, since the system studied utilizes both renewable energy resources and (ii) to present the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a potential decision making method for use in a greenhouse integrated solar assisted geothermal heat pump system (GISAGHPS), which was installed in the Solar Energy Institute of Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. This investigation may also be regarded as the one of the limited studies on the application of the AHP method to GISAGHPs, as no studies on the GISAGHPS have appeared in the literature. In this context, an economic analysis is performed based on the life cycle costing technique first. The results are then evaluated by applying the AHP method to a study, which is a comparative study on the GISAGHPS and split system. The results indicated that the GISAGHPS is economically preferable to the conventional split heating/cooling system under Turkey’s conditions.
Hygro-Mole: A Logging Tool for Determining Moisture Content in Environmentally Sensitive Subsurface Zones
Authors: Weimer Mindy L. , David Constant W.
Published: January 2006

The Hygro-Mole’s success has been proven both in the laboratory and in the Waste-management Education and Research Consortium (WERC) competition. This logging tool is designed to determine the value of low moisture content present in subsurface regions, at very low cost. The Hygro-Mole yields immediate results, and can be calibrated to specifically monitor multiple types of subsurface material. All that is required for the current design is a 0.1m diameter borehole to the point of interest in the subsurface zone for tool access.
Fundamentals of Exergy Cost Accounting and Thermoeconomics Part II: Applications
Authors: Valero A. , Serra L. , Uche J.
Published: January 2006

Part II of this paper develops the mathematical formulations of three applications of the thermoeconomic analysis methodology described in Part I of the paper: the operation diagnosis study, including new concepts that helps to separate different contributions to those inefficiencies; the local optimization process in case of special conditions for the whole plant, and the benefit maximization (a direct application of the exergy costs accounting analysis). The operation diagnosis, which is the most complex and sophisticated application, is presented with the help of an example: the co-generation plant, as it was described in Part I.
Effect of the Inlet Geometry on the Flow in a Cylindrical Cyclone Separator
Authors: Erdal Ferhat M. , Shirazi Siamack A.
Published: January 2006

The use of Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLLC©) separators for gas-liquid separation is a new technology for oil and gas industry. Consequently, it is important to understand the flow behavior in the GLLC© and the effect of different geometrical geometries to enhance separation. The main objective of this study is to address the effect of different inlet geometries on the flow behavior in the GLLC© by measuring velocity components and the sum of the axial and tangential velocity fluctuations inside the GLLC© using a Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV). Three different inlet geometries were considered, namely, one inclined inlet, two inclined inlets, and a gradually reduced inlet nozzle. Axial and tangential velocities and turbulent intensities across the GLLC© diameter were measured at 24 different axial locations (318-900mm below the inlet) for each inlet geometry. Flow rates of 0.00454 and 0.00063m3∕s were selected to investigate the effect of flowrate (Reynolds number) on the flow behavior. Color contour maps color contour plots of axial and tangential velocity and the sum of the axial and tangential velocity fluctuations revealed some remarkable details of the flow behavior.
Nursing, obedience, and complicity with eugenics: a contextual interpretation of nursing morality at the turn of the twentieth century
Authors: Berghs M , Dierckx de Casterlé B , Gastmans C
Published: January 2006

This paper uses Margaret Urban Walker’s “expressive collaborative” method of moral inquiry to examine and illustrate the morality of nurses in Great Britain from around 1860 to 1915, as well as nursing complicity in one of the first eugenic policies. The authors aim to focus on how context shapes and limits morality and agency in nurses and contributes to a better understanding of debates in nursing ethics both in the past and present.
Psychopharmacology and memory
Authors: Glannon W
Published: January 2006

Psychotropic and other drugs can alter brain mechanisms regulating the formation, storage, and retrieval of different types of memory. These include “off label” uses of existing drugs and new drugs designed specifically to target the neural bases of memory. This paper discusses the use of beta-adrenergic antagonists to prevent or erase non-conscious pathological emotional memories in the amygdala. It also discusses the use of novel psychopharmacological agents to enhance long term semantic and short term working memory by altering storage and retrieval mechanisms in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Although intervention in the brain to alter memory as therapy or enhancement holds considerable promise, the long term effects of experimental drugs on the brain and memory are not known. More studies are needed to adequately assess the potential benefits and risks of these interventions.
Animal rights, animal minds, and human mindreading
Authors: Mameli M , Bortolotti L
Published: January 2006

Do non-human animals have rights? The answer to this question depends on whether animals have morally relevant mental properties. Mindreading is the human activity of ascribing mental states to other organisms. Current knowledge about the evolution and cognitive structure of mindreading indicates that human ascriptions of mental states to non-human animals are very inaccurate. The accuracy of human mindreading can be improved with the help of scientific studies of animal minds. However, the scientific studies do not by themselves solve the problem of how to map psychological similarities (and differences) between humans and animals onto a distinction between morally relevant and morally irrelevant mental properties. The current limitations of human mindreading—whether scientifically aided or not—have practical consequences for the rational justification of claims about which rights (if any) non-human animals should be accorded.
Medicating the mind: a Kantian analysis of overprescribing psychoactive drugs
Authors: Manninen B A
Published: January 2006

Psychoactive drugs are being prescribed to millions of Americans at an increasing rate. In many cases these drugs are necessary in order to overcome debilitating emotional problems. Yet in other instances, these drugs are used to supplant, not supplement, interpersonal therapy. The process of overcoming emotional obstacles by introspection and the attainment of self knowledge is gradually being eroded via the gratuitous use of psychoactive medication in order to rapidly attain a release from the common problems that life inevitably presents us with. In this paper, I argue that Kant’s formula of humanity, which maintains that persons ought never to treat others or themselves soley as a means to an end, proscribes this. Moreover, Kant argues that we have an imperfect duty of self development, and I argue that we fail to adhere to such a duty whenever we seek to evade the process of introspection and self knowledge in favour of the expedient results that drugs may provide us with as we attempt to overcome the emotional hurdles in our lives.
Stimulating debate: ethics in a multidisciplinary functional neurosurgery committee
Authors: Ford Paul J , Kubu Cynthia S
Published: January 2006

Multidisciplinary healthcare committees meet regularly to discuss patients’ candidacy for emerging functional neurosurgical procedures, such as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Through debate and discussion around the surgical candidacy of particular patients, functional neurosurgery programs begin to mold practice and policy supported both by scientific evidence and clear value choices. These neurosurgical decisions have special considerations not found in non-neurologic committees. The professional time used to resolve these conflicts provides opportunities for the emergence of careful, ethical practices simultaneous with the expansion of therapy applications
Evidence That Hydrogen Sulfide Is a Genotoxic Agent
Authors: Attene-Ramos Matias S. , Wagner Elizabeth D. , Plewa Michael J. , Gaskins H. Rex
Published: January 2006

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) produced by commensal sulfate-reducing bacteria, which are often members of normal colonic microbiota, represents an environmental insult to the intestinal epithelium potentially contributing to chronic intestinal disorders that are dependent on gene-environment interactions. For example, epidemiologic studies reveal either persistent sulfate-reducing bacteria colonization or H2S in the gut or feces of patients suffering from ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer. However, a mechanistic model that explains the connection between H2S and ulcerative colitis or colorectal cancer development has not been completely formulated. In this study, we examined the chronic cytotoxicity of sulfide using a microplate assay and genotoxicity using the single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE; comet assay) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and HT29-Cl.16E cells. Sulfide showed chronic cytotoxicity in CHO cells with a %C1/2 of 368.57 μmol/L. Sulfide was not genotoxic in the standard SCGE assay. However, in a modified SCGE assay in which DNA repair was inhibited, a marked genotoxic effect was observed. A sulfide concentration as low as 250 μmol/L (similar to that found in human colon) caused significant genomic DNA damage. The HT29-Cl.16E colonocyte cell line also exhibited increased genomic DNA damage as a function of Na2S concentration when DNA repair was inhibited, although these cells were less sensitive to sulfide than CHO cells. These data indicate that given a predisposing genetic background that compromises DNA repair, H2S may lead to genomic instability or the cumulative mutations found in adenomatous polyps leading to colorectal cancer. (Mol Cancer Res 2006;4(1):9–14)
A Prospective Analysis of 184 Hemoptysis Cases – Diagnostic Impact of Chest X-Ray, Computed Tomography, Bronchoscopy
Authors: Tsoumakidou Maria , Chrysofakis Georgios , Tsiligianni Ioanna , Maltezakis Georgios , Siafakas Nikolaos M. , Tzanakis Nikolaos
Published: January 2006

Background:The clinical presentation of hemoptysis often raises a number of diagnostic possibilities. Objectives:This study was designed to evaluate the relative frequency of different causes of hemoptysis and the value of chest radiography, computed tomography (CT) scanning and fiber-optic bronchoscopy in the evaluation of a Greek cohort population. Methods:We prospectively followed a total of 184 consecutive patients (137 males/47 females, 145 smokers/39 nonsmokers) admitted with hemoptysis between January 2001 and December 2003 to the University Hospital of Heraklion. Follow-up data were collected on August 2005. Results:The main causes of hemoptysis were bronchiectasis (26%), chronic bronchitis (23%), acute bronchitis (15%) and lung cancer (13%). Bronchiectasis was significantly more frequent in nonsmokers (p < 0.02). Among nonsmokers, patients with moderate/severe bleeding or a history of tuberculosis were more likely to have bronchiectasis (OR 8.25; 95% CI 1.9–35.9, p = 0.007 and OR 16.5; 95% CI 1.7–159.1, p = 0.007, respectively). Nonsmokers with normal or abnormal X-rays were equally likely to have bronchiectasis (OR 2.5; 95% CI 0.66–9.39, p = 0.2). Lung cancer was only found in smokers. Smokers with normal X-rays were less likely to have lung cancer compared to smokers with abnormal X-ray (OR 5.4; 95% CI 1.54–19.34, p = 0.004). There were no smokers with normal CT and lung cancer. Follow-up data were collected in 91% of patients. Lung cancer did not develop in any patient assumed to have hemoptysis of another origin than lung cancer on initial evaluation. Conclusions:Bronchiectasis is the main diagnosis in patients admitted with hemoptysis to a Greek University Hospital and it is more frequent among nonsmokers with moderate/severe bleeding and/or previous tuberculosis infection. Nonsmokers with moderate/severe hemoptysis and/or a history of tuberculosis should be evaluated with high-resolution CT. Smokers with hemoptysis are at increased risk for lung cancer and need to be extensively evaluated with chest CT and bronchoscopy.
Jotham's fable and the crux interpretum in Judges ix
Authors: Tatu Silviu
Published: January 2006

The article surveys the linguistic and historical data available in order to assess the identity of the plant called upon in Jotham's fable as the last of the candidates to king-ship, the 'ātād. Mesopotamian linguistics and literary tradition indicate that the interpretation of the term ed-de-tu allows one to interpret it as a thorn-tree. Although not always coherent, the historical renderings regarding this plant admit the possibility of multiple varieties of plants sharing several qualities of which the most important are extreme habitat, valuable shade, healthy fruits and green foliage, and combustible wood. Modern botanists do not exclude totally 'ātād 's interpretation as Ziziphus spina-Christi, but it is contemporary Israeli botanists who holds it as the only legitimate interpretation. Its presence in the Levant and particularly in Israel throughout the centuries is just one more reason to support such a possibility. Only such a literal rendering prompts the prophetic value of Jotham's imprecation on the irony of dilemma in which the citizens of Shechem found themselves.
Vom Opfer zur Auslösung. Analyse ausgewählter Texte zum Thema Erstgeburt im Alten Testament
Authors: Finsterbusch Karin
Published: January 2006

In the present study the relevant texts in the Hebrew Bible concerning sacrifice or redemption of the first born of humans and animals are considered in detail. The most important findings are the following: 1. An Israelite could understand the instructions in Ex. xxii 28f. to mean that he should sacrifice his first-born child to JHWH. 2. Ez. xx 25f. describes such first-born sacrifices for JHWH as practised. Therefore it cannot be ruled out that in early Israel at a particular time such a sacrificial practice could indeed have occurred. 3. In the laws of the first-born in the Book of Covenant, in the Dodecalogue and in the original layer of Num. xviii 15-18 (P) the corresponding terms bekôr and peter rekhem refer to the male and female first-born of human and animal. The regulation in Deut. xv, to consecrate only the male first-born clean animals to JHWH and to consume them in JHWH's presence during the Feast, is connected with a clearly farmer-friendly tendency of the deuteronomic law-maker. Apart from that a limitation to the male first-born prevails only in the later post-exilic period. According to the note in Num. xviii 16, the redemption of the human first-born applies only to male children; according to the law of the first-born in Exod. xiii only the male first-born of human and animal (of female Israelites and animals) are affected.
"Holy" land in the Old Testament: Numbers and Joshua
Authors: Seebass Horst
Published: January 2006

Looking through the Numbers-traditions of the holy land one has to answer the question whether Joshua is thought of as the literary continuation of Numbers. The survey shows that the traditions of Numbers and Joshua seem to be quite different, though there are parallels in the dividing of the land among the tribes. Probably there is one real connection, because elements of Josh. xviii 1-10 are used in Num. xxvi 55f. All other affinities regarding the theme of the holy land seem to be redactional and quite late. In Numbers one finds awareness of Transjordan as being holy to YHWH, though xxxiv 1-12 excludes it. xxxii 4 remembers land that YHWH had smitten and that is therefore available for Gad and Reuben. Numbers xxxv mentions cities of asylum in Transjordan as much as in West Jordan, for an already existing population.
A case of metathesis in Isaiah lii 5b?
Authors: Greenwood Kyle R.
Published: January 2006

Scribal metathesis in Is. lii 5b can account for the textual and exegetical difficulties associated with the phrase. The reconstructed Proto text eradicates the Kethib-Qere situation and eliminates the morphological concerns.
James J. Bradac as Teacher, Researcher, and Role Model
Authors: Tardy Charles H. , Hemphill Michael R. , Crow Bryan K.
Published: January 2006

James J. Bradac's scholarship contributed significantly to several domains of communication research. However, Bradac's legacy to the field also includes a personal element. He influenced the lives of many students and colleagues during a career exceeding 30 years. This article recounts the impact he had on the authors in their roles as students, advisees, and research assistants from 1975 to 1980 when he served on the faculty in the Communication Research Division of the Department of Speech and Dramatic Art at the University of Iowa.
Powerful and Powerless Language Forms
Authors: Hosman Lawrence A. , Siltanen Susan A.
Published: January 2006

This study investigates the effect of hedges, tag questions, intensifiers, and powerful messages on four sets of dependent variables: speaker evaluation, control of self and control of others attributions, cognitive responses, and message memorability. The results show that the four message types differ across measures of dynamism, control of self and control of others attributions, and three cognitive response categories. For the speakerevaluation and control-attribution variables, intensifiers are evaluated most positively and hedges are evaluated most negatively. On the cognitive-response measures, a more mixed pattern of results emerges. The results are discussed in terms of their importance for understanding the cognitive processing of these four message types.