bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Selected Readings in the Anthropology of Religion
Authors: Lohmann Roger Ivar
Published: April 2007

Selected Readings in the Anthropology of Religion. Edited by Stephen D. Glazier and Charles A. Flowerday. Westport, Praeger, 2003. 304 pp. ISBN 0313300909. $72.95 (cloth).
Contemporary Maya Spirituality: The Ancient Ways Are Not Lost
Authors: Glazier Stephen D.
Published: April 2007

Contemporary Maya Spirituality: The Ancient Ways Are Not Lost. Jean Molesky‐Poz. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006. 201 pp. Biblio. ISBN 0292713096, $35.00 (cloth).
The Machinery of Consciousness: A Cautionary Tale
Authors: Mentor Steven
Published: April 2007

The emerging transdisciplinary field of consciousness studies merges transpersonal psychology with recent brain studies. In this paper, I argue that this new discipline must come to terms with the rhetorics of control in the history of brain research. I establish parallels between the discourses of lobotomy and psychosurgery, Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB), and cybernetics, using the work of Jose Delgado, Norbert Wiener, and Bernard Wolfe. The rhetoric of social control remains a shadow side of brain research, of the popularization of brain science, and of attempts to apply such research.
Book Reviews
Authors: BEN‐ARI EYAL
Published: April 2007

The Myth of the Military‐Nation: Militarism, Gender, and Education in Turkey. Ayse Gul Altinay. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. xi + 206 pp., notes, bibliography, index.
Book Reviews
Authors: CLIGGETT LISA
Published: April 2007

From Enslavement to Environmentalism: Politics on a Southern African Frontier. David McDermott Hughes. Seattl: University of Washington Press, 2006. 288 pp., illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.
Book Reviews
Authors: DESMOND JANE
Published: April 2007

Waiting for Wolves in Japan: An Anthropological Study of People‐Wildlife Relations. John Knight. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006. (originally published by Oxford University Press, 2003). xiv + 296 pp., map, photographs, tables, illustrations, bibliography in Japanese and English, index.
Book Reviews
Authors: WOGAN PETER
Published: April 2007

Travels with Ernest: Crossing the Literary/Sociological Divide. Laurel Richardson and Ernest Lockridge. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 2004. ix + 259 pp., appendix, index
The “reputation” of neoliberalism
Authors: FREEMAN CARLA
Published: April 2007

“Flexibility” has been described as the cornerstone of the current neoliberal agenda—embodied in mandates for the fluid movements and restructuring of labor, capital, and information and, at the individual level, in a supple capacity for creative self‐invention and self‐mastery. Flexibility is also a central quality revered within a realm of oppositional cultural practice known in the analytical paradigm of Caribbean anthropology as “reputation.” What is striking about these different logics of flexibility is that one (reputational flexibility) is grounded in a set of cultural values of the Caribbean subaltern in opposition to bureaucratic hierarchy and (neo)colonial domination, and the other (neoliberal flexibility) sits firmly in the center of contemporary global capitalist orthodoxy. On the basis of fieldwork I conducted between 2001 and 2006, I argue that the quest for flexibility among emergent middle‐class entrepreneurs in Barbados represents a new path of opportunity and upward mobility as well as a gendered tightrope of respectability. In this quest, I argue, these entrepreneurs are redefining the dialectics of reputation–respectability and class in Barbados and the cultural meanings of neoliberalism itself.
“Then I do what I want”: Teachers, state, and empire in 2000
Authors: SILVER PATRICIA
Published: April 2007

The continuities from U.S. colonialism through “embedded” liberalism to neoliberalism are visible in distinct forms of discipline, freedom, and choice in the lives of Puerto Rican public school teachers. Historically shifting, but momentarily singular, representations of the good teacher use gender and class ideologies to promote ideals of disciplined uniformity, democratic social service, and disciplined individuality. A sweep of Puerto Rican history across the American Century, coupled with the details of daily life in Puerto Rican public schools, offers a view about what choice means when the conditions for choosing emerge from the neoliberal prescriptions of the “new imperialism.”
Channeling globality: The 1997–98 El Niño climate event in Peru
Authors: BROAD KENNETH , ORLOVE BEN
Published: April 2007

We examine the unfolding of a planetary climate event, the 1997–98 El Niño, in a single country, Peru. Rather than seeing the worldwide attention to the event as an instance of globalization, we look at the actors who, in our terms, channeled globality by evoking a worldwide scale to build connections between disparate elements in cultural and political projects. We document how participants in Peruvian media and in everyday conversations attended selectively to certain international images and ideas as they related to the El Niño event and reworked them in distinctively Peruvian fashion. We also examine the specific context and tactics that allowed the state to succeed in channeling globality to further its ends.
Constructing a shared Bible Land: Jewish Israeli guiding performances for Protestant pilgrims
Authors: FELDMAN JACKIE
Published: April 2007

During biblical tours, Jewish Israeli guides and Protestant pastors become coproducers of a mutually satisfying performance that transforms the often‐contested terrain of Israel–Palestine into Bible Land. Guides' emplaced performances of the Bible grant a significance to visitors' movement that constitutes the visitors as pilgrims. The professional authority of the guide is increased by his or her position as “reluctant witness” to scriptural truth and facilitated by historically transmitted practices of viewing, classifying history, and orientalizing shared by Protestants and Zionists. By examining guiding performances of orientation to biblical sites, I demonstrate how Zionist and Protestant understandings become naturalized while marginalizing Palestinian Arabs.
The Middlemen of MACOS
Authors: Wolcott Harry F.
Published: April 2007

Prompted by a recent review in American Anthropologist, I interviewed two people who played central roles in the training and dissemination of MACOS, a social studies curriculum unit designed for the fifth grade during the era of intensive curriculum reform beginning in the sixties. The article briefly discusses both how MACOS came to be and what subsequently happened to it.
Specialization, Context of Production, and Alienation in the Production Process: Comments and Afterthoughts
Authors: Li Yung‐ti
Published: April 2007

The study of craft specialization has gone through several stages since the pioneering work of Childe, each with changing foci and emphases. The current volume marks yet another development in the field that demonstrates both discontents with existing theories and efforts to enhance and strengthen the discourse. Acting as a commentator to facilitate further discussion, the first half of my chapter addresses specific issues in individual chapters, while the second half explores another dimension of production by looking at bronze and pottery production in ancient and premodern China. Whereas some contributors examine alienability in the social role of the objects and the rights over alienation of the product, this discussion examines another form of alienation that can be considered in the study of craft production, one that is both salient and tangible in archaeological data: alienation of the manufacturing process, that is, alienation of the craft producers from their own skills. The work of Ursula Franklin on Shang bronze production is reviewed, and new studies on porcelain production at Jingdezhen and stoneware production at Yixing are incorporated to further develop Franklin's model. I argue that through examining the material patterns of the production process and the type range of finished products, alienation in the workplace can be detected archaeologically.
The Ethnic Script in Action: The Regrounding of Russian Jewish Immigrants in Israel
Authors: Lerner Julia , Rapoport Tamar , Lomsky‐Feder Edna
Published: April 2007

Abstract Working from dynamic, strategic, and collective qualities of activity to discussion of the concept of "Script" in sociological and anthropological literature, this article further develops the idea of the "ethnic script." We consider the ethnic script to be an interpretative framework, tightly connected to group identity and to designing actions of ethnic group members with respect to sociocultural institutions and other social groups within a given society. Our proposition is that migration problematizes the affinity among script, place, and identity. As a result research on immigration allows us to deepen understanding of both the analytical notion of "Script" and the processes of identity construction in migration. The case study of Russian Jewish immigrants in Israel is used to examine empirically how these migrants activate their ethnic script in their struggle for place and identity. This script prescribes acquiring higher education as a means to belonging in the "intelligentsia" and fulfilling Jewishness. The ethnic nature of the examined script exposes its strategic role in the power relations involved in the migration process. The article shows how immigrants mobilize and maneuver the script as a flexible interpretative strategy for relocation within the hierarchical social structure of the receiving society.
Anger and Rank in Tonga and Germany: Cognition, Emotion, and Context
Authors: Bender Andrea , Spada Hans , Seitz Stefan , Swoboda Hannah , Traber Simone
Published: April 2007

People in Tonga generally display less anger than inhabitants of "Western" countries. This emerges partly from the fact that in Tongan culture, socially disruptive feelings are evaluated negatively. To examine whether anger is also less frequently elicited in Tonga and, if so, which factors mediate such a difference, our interdisciplinary project combines anthropological fieldwork with a psychological survey using questionnaires. Following appraisal theories of emotion, we assume that similar evaluations of an event will result in similar emotions, whereas the evaluation itself will depend on culturally defined concepts, experiences, and values. After establishing a conceptual foundation for comparison, we systematically analyze the elicitation of anger. Results support most appraisal theoretic predictions but also indicate a stronger influence of social relations on anger in Tonga than in Germany. This influence can be traced back to the values and norms attached to stratification in Tonga.
Money for Keeling: Monitoring CO2 levels
Authors: Weart Spencer R.
Published: April 2007

C.D. Keeling's measurements of the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere since 1957, tracking a rise that threatens global warming, form one of the most important scienti.c data sets ever created. Yet the relatively small funding Keeling required was rarely secure. He could begin his measurements only because of a one-time injection of funds into geophysics during the International Geophysical Year. The original aim was to take a "snapshot" which could be repeated a few decades later to .nd whether the level of the gas had risen as predicted. Keeling and his sponsors made personal appeals to divert additional funds so he could re.ne and extend his measurements; in consequence, with just two years of data he showed that the level was rising. In the following decades, maintaining fund-ing was problematic. Agencies saw the work as "routine monitoring" rather than cutting-edge research. In the 1970s, the rise of an environmental movement helped reframe climate change and CO2 emissions as a threat. Funding expanded within a context of monitoring atmospheric pollution and government agency empire building. But in the early 1980s, political reaction against environmentalism again threatened Keeling's program. The story re.ects larger trends over the past half-century towards the bureaucratization and politicization of science funding.
Dvořák's Reception in Liberal Vienna: Language Ordinances, National Property, and the Rhetoric of Deutschtum
Authors: BRODBECK DAVID
Published: April 2007

Antonín Dvořák emerged into public consciousness in Vienna in late 1879, at a time of crisis within multinational Austria's German-speaking bourgeoisie. The German Liberals had recently fallen from power in the central government and were replaced by a coalition dominated by clerical, conservative, and Slavic parties. This sudden change in fortune initiated a gradual transformation in liberal ideology. Although the liberals' nationalist project had traditionally been of the “civic,” not “ethnic” variety, with a German liberal identity theoretically available to persons of any ethnicity who professed Bildung and Deutschtum, many increasingly adopted a particularist project of German nationalism, involving a decided defense of Nationalbesitzstand (national property). A comparative reading of the Dvořák reception among Viennese critics during the last decades of the nineteenth century suggests that much of what was seen to be at stake in the Czech composer's music was what did and did not count as “German.” Whereas Eduard Hanslick, critic for the Neue Freie Presse, consistently upheld traditional liberal ideology on this question, Theodor Helm's criticism in the Deutsche Zeitung stood more in line with the newer German-nationalist project. More than that, throughout his writings on Dvořák the younger critic seemed very much aware of acting the part of German-nationalist counterbalance to the more traditional liberal-nationalist Hanslick. Although Hanslick was the more powerful figure among the liberal elite, in many ways by the 1890s Helm had come to be more representative of the broader segment of Vienna's educated and semieducated middle classes.
What is the Value of a Timely Empirical Question?
Authors: Sieber Joan E.
Published: April 2007

Ethical analysis in the human research enterprise often proceeds on the assumption that conceptual ethical analysis alone will suffice. Investigators, ethics committees and others usually agree on the relevant ethical principles, but may argue about what action should follow from those principles. Typically, the debate does not lead to the formulation of empirical questions that could result in elucidation of the problem and, perhaps, yield a solution agreeable to all. Without common ground for resolving these differences with an evidence-based solution, a discouraged investigator and a compromised research method may be the outcome. JERHRE has sought to remedy this situation through publication of empirical solutions, research agendas, editorials calling for various courses of empirical research, and through the first of many conferences seeking to promote evidence-based ethical problem solving. This special issue of JERHRE is devoted, in part, to the results of that first conference.
The Return of the "Unnative": The Transnational Politics of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South
Authors: Lee Julia Sun-Joo
Published: April 2007

This essay offers a new, transnational reading of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South(1854-55), a novel that has traditionally been read in national terms. As a sailor, Frederick Hale belongs to a profession that connects the cotton-producing American South to the cotton-manufacturing British North. This alternate "North and South" resituates Gaskell's novel in transatlantic terms and offers a new, racialized prism through which to view the novel's central conflict between master and man. By historicizing Frederick's narrative within the nineteenth-century transatlantic antislavery movement, I argue that Frederick's metonymic connection to slavery expresses itself in his narrative's generic proximity to the American slave narrative. I consider the implications of Frederick's cosmopolitanism and suggest that it anticipates Gaskell's agonized feelings about the American Civil War, an internecine conflict that places at its center the problem of slavery.
The Place of Translation in Jerusalem's Criminal Trial Court
Authors: Braverman Irus
Published: April 2007

The court-appointed translator is largely an invisible actor in the legal space. The Israeli context provides an extreme example of this invisibility: apart from a general statutory definition of the court's obligation to translate criminal proceedings, the work of translation in the Israeli courtroom is mostly unregulated by state law, rendering it highly susceptible to informal manifestations. This article offers a critical empirical investigation into the micropractices of translation performed in the Jerusalem criminal trial court in 2002. On the face of things, the court-appointed translator performs a technical task in the everyday working of the court. Expected to mediate between the defense, the prosecution, and the judiciary, the translator is usually not perceived as an active participant in the legal procedure. Problematizing this perception, the article examines the multiple tasks of court-appointed translators in the Jerusalem criminal trial court, thereby challenging traditional court roles and legal perceptions. Not exactly court officials yet also not outsiders to the courtroom, the translators exercise a mixed bag of formal and substantive roles. They act not only as linguistic intermediaries, but also as intermediaries between formal legalities and commonsense discourses.

The article is divided into three parts. The first part sketches three primary linguistic challenges, as those are identified by the translators interviewed for this study. The second part of the article adds the perspective of other court practitioners so as to depict a dynamic picture of the particular loyalties of the translators. Finally, the third part of the article examines the liminal, "third space," of translation. Precisely for its extreme articulation of sovereign ideologies, the Israeli/Palestinian setting provides an intriguing geohistorical context within which to think about translation. This last part ties the article together by highlighting the dynamic relationship between language, law, and space, as these are constructed and subverted through practices of translation within the particular setting of the Jerusalem courtroom.
Metastability in hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon solar cells
Authors: Yue Guozhen , Yan Baojie , Ganguly Gautam , Yang Jeffrey , Guha Subhendu
Published: April 2007

Light-induced metastability in hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) single-junction solar cells was studied systematically. First, we observed no light-induced degradation when the photon energy was lower than the band gap of the amorphous phase; degradation occurred when the energy was higher than the band gap in the amorphous phase. The light-induced degradation could be annealed away at an elevated temperature. We concluded that the light-induced defect generation occurred mainly in the amorphous phase. Second, forward current injection did not degrade the nc-Si:H cell performance. However, a reverse bias during light soaking enhanced the degradation. Third, the nc-Si:H cells made with an optimized hydrogen dilution profile showed minimal degradation although these cells had a high amorphous volume fraction. This indicated that the amorphous volume fraction was not the only factor determining the degradation. Other factors also played important roles in the nc-Si:H stability.
Heteroepitaxial growth of 3C–SiC film on Si(100) substrate by plasma chemical vapor deposition using monomethylsilane
Authors: Morikawa Y. , Hirai M. , Ohi A. , Kusaka M. , Iwami M.
Published: April 2007

We have studied the heteroepitaxial growth of 3C–SiC film on an Si(100) substrate by plasma chemical vapor deposition using monomethylsilane, a single-molecule gas containing both Si and C atoms. We have tried to introduce an interval process, in which we decrease the substrate temperature for a few minutes at a suitable stage of film growth. It was expected that, during the interval process, stabilization such as desorption of nonreacted precursors and lateral diffusion of species produced at the initial stage of film growth would occur. From the results, it appears that the interval process using a substrate temperature of 800 °C effectively suppresses polycrystallization of 3C–SiC growth on the Si(100) surface
Fabrication of Ni-free Ti-based bulk-metallic glassy alloy having potential for application as biomaterial, and investigation of its mechanical properties, corrosion, and crystallization behavior
Authors: Oak Jeong-Jung , Louzguine-Luzgin Dmitri V. , Inoue Akihisa
Published: April 2007

A new Ti-based bulk-metallic glassy (BMG) alloy without Ni was developed in various forms such as melt-spun ribbon and cylindrical rods. Ti metal and Ti-based alloys are well known as biomaterials because Ti has good biocompatibility with the human body. We examined mechanical and chemical properties of a newly developed Ti-based BMG alloy in comparison with pure Ti metal and Ti–6Al–4V alloy, which are used for biomaterials. The new Ti-based BMG (Ti45Zr10Pd10Cu31Sn4) alloy does not contain Ni, Al, and Be elements, which are known to be toxic. The Ti45Zr10Pd10Cu31Sn4 BMG alloy rod with a diameter of 3 mm, which is produced by copper mold casting, exhibits a compressive strength of 1970 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 95 GPa. In addition, the Ti45Zr10Pd10Cu31Sn4 BMG alloy shows a supercooled liquid region of 56 K and a reduced glass-transition temperature, Trg(=Tg/Tl), of 0.56. The high thermal stability of supercooled liquid has enabled the fabrication of a cylindrical rod specimen with a diameter of 4 mm. This alloy exhibits precipitation of a primary nanoscale icosahedral phase upon devitrification followed by the formation of a metastable unidentified phase. Ti2Cu and Ti3Sn are stable phases formed in this alloy. The Ti45Zr10Pd10Cu31Sn4 BMG alloy has a high corrosion resistance and is passivated at a lower passive current density of approximately 10−2 A/m2 compared to those of pure titanium and the Ti–6Al–4V alloy in 1 mass% lactic acid and phosphate-buffered saline solutions at 310 K.
Fabrication of mesoporous bulk composed of titanate nanotubes by hydrothermal hot-pressing technique
Authors: Kubo Takashi , Nakahira Atsushi , Yamasaki Yuki
Published: April 2007

In this study, bulky titanate nanotubes with dense microstructures were successfully fabricated by a hydrothermal hot-pressing (HHP) technique with water as a reactive solvent. Titanate-based nanotubes of about 10 nm outer diameter and 5 nm inner diameter and a few hundred nanometers in length were synthesized by a hydrothermal treatment of anatase-type TiO2 powder in a 10 M NaOH aqueous solution. From results of N2-adsorption and transmission electron microscopy observation, it was obvious that HHP processed samples were composed of nanotubular structures and that the obtained bulks possessed mesopores and high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area. These results suggested that the obtained bulks possessed functionality as good as that of powders of titanate nanotubes. Thus, the HHP technique may be a useful method for fabricating bulky titanate nanotubes and may be applied in the solidification of the other some nanotubular materials.
Solvent and plasma gas influence on the synthesis of Y2O3 nanoparticles by suspension plasma spraying
Authors: Sun X.L. , Tok A.I.Y. , Boey F.Y.C. , Gan C.L , Schreyer M.K.
Published: April 2007

Suspension plasma spraying was used to synthesize Y2O3 nanoparticles. The Y2O3 starting material was first dispersed in a solvent to form a suspension and then injected axially into the plume of an inductive radio frequency plasma. It was found that the as-sprayed Y2O3 particles had a size distribution from nano to micron scale and various morphological features, which varied with processing conditions as well as solvent and plasma gas type. In comparison with water, organic solvents led to a higher productivity and smaller particle size, whereas water introduced impurities such as Y2O2C2, which is isotypic to La2O2C2. Introduction of oxygen as an auxiliary plasma gas was an effective way to eliminate this impurity. In addition, complete combustion of the organic solvent and recombination of oxygen atoms above 4000 K also elevated the heat treatment degree of Y2O3. As a result, application of O2 with an organic solvent resulted in an even smaller mean particle size and narrower size distribution.
On sinterability of nanostructured W produced by high-energy ball milling
Authors: Malewar R. , Kumar K.S. , Murty B.S. , Sarma B. , Pabi S.K.
Published: April 2007

The present investigation reports for the first time a dramatic decrease in the sintering temperature of elemental W from the conventional temperature of ≥2500 °C to the modest temperature range of 1700–1790 °C by making the W powder nanostructured through high-energy mechanical milling (MM) prior to sintering. The crystallite size of the initial W powder charge with a particle size of 3–4 μm could be brought down to 8 nm by MM for 5 h in WC grinding media. Further milling resulted in a high level of WC contamination, which apparently was due to work hardening and the grain refinement of W. A sintered density as high as 97.4% was achieved by sintering cold, isostatically pressed nanocrystalline (8 nm) W powder at 1790 °C for 900 min. The microstructure of the sintered rods showed the presence of deformation bands, but no cracks, within a large number of W grains. The mechanical properties, when compared with the hardness and elastic modulus, of the sintered nano-W specimen were somewhat superior to those reported for the conventional sintered W.
An extended criterion for estimation of glass-forming ability of metals
Authors: Louzguine-Luzgin Dmitri V. , Inoue Akihisa
Published: April 2007

If a metal contracts upon solidification, the specific volume of a metallic liquid phase must not be smaller than that of the corresponding crystal. As molten metals have higher thermal expansion coefficients compared with those of the corresponding crystals, the intersection point of two specific-volume–temperature plots of the liquid and the corresponding solid crystalline phase by analogy with Kauzmann’s paradox for entropy could be treated as an ideal glass-transition temperature. This paper describes this phenomenon observed for a number of pure metals and gives a semiempirical criterion for the achievement of a good glass-forming ability.
Structural and ferromagnetic properties of Cu-doped GaN
Authors: Seipel B. , Erni R. , Gupta Amita , Li C. , Owens F.J. , Rao K.V. , Browning N.D. , Moeck P.
Published: April 2007

The wurtzite polymorph of GaN was calcined with CuO in flowing nitrogen. As a result of this processing, both superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry and ferromagnetic resonance studies showed ferromagnetism in these samples at room temperature. These magnetic results are qualitatively consistent with very recent first-principle calculations [Wu et al., Appl. Phys. Lett.89, 062505 (2006)] that predict ferromagnetism in Cu-doped GaN. We focus in this paper on analyzing changes in the GaN atomic and electronic structure due to calcination with CuO using multiple analytical methods. Quantitative powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) showed changes in the lattice constants of the GaN due to the incorporation of copper (and possibly oxygen). Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy proved the incorporation of copper into the GaN crystal structure. Electron-gun monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy showed CuO calcinations-induced GaN band gap changes and indicated changes in the atomic arrangements due to the calcination process. The fine structure of the N K-edge showed differences in the peak ratios with respect to higher nominal CuO contents, corresponding to an increase in the c-lattice constant as confirmed by XRD.
Enhanced hydrothermal conversion of surfactant-modified diatom microshells into barium titanate replicas
Authors: Ernst Eric M. , Church Ben C. , Gaddis Christopher S. , Snyder Robert L. , Sandhage Kenneth H.
Published: April 2007

The three-dimensional nanostructured SiO2-based microshells of diatoms have been converted into nanocrystalline BaTiO3 via a series of shape-preserving reactions. The microshells, obtained as diatomaceous earth, were first exposed to a surfactant-induced dissolution/reprecipitation process [C.E. Fowler, et al., Chem. Phys. Lett.398, 414 (2004)] to enhance the microshell surface area, without altering the microshell shape. The SiO2 microshells were then converted into anatase TiO2 replicas via reaction with TiF4 gas and then humid oxygen. Hydrothermal reaction with a barium hydroxide-bearing solution then yielded three-dimensional nanocrystalline microshell replicas composed of BaTiO3. The enhanced surface area of the surfactant-treated microshells resulted in faster conversion into phase-pure BaTiO3 at 100 °C.
Synthesis of nanosized calcium hydroxyapatite particles by the catalytic decomposition of urea with urease
Authors: Jokic Bojan , Tanaskovic Dusanka , Jankovic-Castvan Ivona , Drmanic Sasa , Petrovic Rada , Janackovic Djordje
Published: April 2007

Nanosized calcium hydroxyapatite particles were synthesized by the catalytic decomposition of urea with urease. The influence of the synthesis parameters, i.e., temperature and ratio of the reagents/urease concentrations, on the size and morphology of the hydroxyapatite particles were investigated. As reagents for the synthesis of hydroxyapatite, various amounts of CaCl2, NaH2PO4, urea, and urease were used. The urease-catalyzed decomposition of urea leads to the homogeneous precipitation of hydroxyapatite because of the release of OH−ions during the hydrolysis of urea. In the same process, CO32−ions are also released and incorporated into the crystal structure of the hydroxyapatite. In the temperature range from 30–40 °C, it was found that low crystalline carbonate hydroxyapatite was formed in all cases. It was found that decreasing the ratio of the concentrations of the reagents to the urease concentration leads to decrease in the particle size to below 100 nm and the morphology changes from leafy-like to spherical.
Standard Gibbs energy of formation of Pb2Ru2O6.5
Authors: Jacob K.T. , Saji V.S. , Waseda Y.
Published: April 2007

Lead ruthenate is used as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for both oxygen evolution and reduction and as a conducting component in thick-film resistors. It also has potential applications in supercapacitors and solid oxide fuel cells. However, thermodynamic properties of the compound have not been reported in the literature. The standard Gibbs energy of formation has now been determined in the temperature range from 873 to 1123 K using a solid-state cell incorporating yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the electrolyte, a mixture of PbO + Pb2Ru2O6.5 + Ru as the measuring electrode, and Ru + RuO2 as the reference. The design of the measuring electrode is based on a study of phase relations in the ternary system Pb–Ru–O at 1123 K. For the reaction,

the standard enthalpy of formation and standard entropy at 298.15 K are estimated from the high-temperature measurements. An oxygen potential diagram for the system Pb–Ru–O is composed based on data obtained in this study and auxiliary information from the literature
Abnormal piezoelectric and dielectric behavior of 0.92Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-0.08BaTiO3 induced by La doping
Authors: Liu Liying , Zhu Mankang , Hou Yudong , Yan Hui , Liu Riping
Published: April 2007

Properties and phase structures of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics 0.92Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-0.08BaTiO3 (NBT-BT) modified with La2O3 have been studied. Because of the different valence and ionic radius between La3+ and the exchangeable A-site ions, the lattice distortion and arrangement in the modified compounds can be expected, which will directly influence the phase composition and electrical characteristics of NBT-BT. Differing from familiar frame of gradual variability going with adulteration, NBT-BT doping 0.2–1.0 at.% La2O3 presents an abnormal increase of dielectric constant and a dramatic vanish of piezoelectricity. Further study on the relaxor property and domain structure implies that it originates from a typical relaxor-to-antiferroelectric crossover phase transition. However, a larger addition of La2O3 could rejuvenate the ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity of NBT-BT, correlating well with the model of competing ferro- and antiferroelectric interactions and metastable intermediate phase behavior in the morphotropic phase boundary region of complex perovskites.
Structure of improved tribological properties of V–5at.%Ti alloys by nitrogen implantation at low energy
Authors: Colera I. , Roman E. , García J.A. , Rodríguez R. , Ballesteros C. , de Segovia J.L.
Published: April 2007

The aim of the present work was to study the morphological, structural, and chemical analysis as a function of depth in vanadium alloys with a 5 at.% of titanium implanted at 673 K with 1.2 keV N+ ions, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), glow discharge (GD) analysis, and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. These results are correlated with those of previously published nanoindentation tests, and the species and chemical states responsible for the increase in hardness are identified. The maximum increase in hardness corresponds to the highest N concentration, measured by both photoemission spectroscopy and GD. In addition, the thickness of the layer (≈1000 nm), where structural modifications are observed using TEM, can also be directly correlated with the thickness of the implanted layer, where an incremental increase in hardness has previously been measured. These findings support the conclusion that the formation of vanadium and titanium nitride/oxynitrides (–N–O,–O–N–H) compounds are responsible for the increased hardness of these V–5at.% Ti samples implanted with N at low ion energy and high sample temperature.
Capecitabine in Combination with Novel Targeted Agents in the Management of Metastatic Breast Cancer: Underlying Rationale and Results of Clinical Trials
Authors: Tripathy Debu
Published: April 2007

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the reader will be able to: Provide the biological basis for using capecitabine in combination therapy.Describe the results of trials assessing capecitabine in combination with the biological response modifiers trastuzumab and bevacizumab in the setting of metastatic breast cancer.Detail the other molecularly targeted agents that are being studied in combination with capecitabine in this setting and the rationale for these investigations.

CME Access and take the CME test online and receive 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ at CME.TheOncologist.com
BAC Clones Related to Prognosis in Patients with Esophageal Squamous Carcinoma: An Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization Study
Authors: Hirasaki Shigeo , Noguchi Tsuyoshi , Mimori Koshi , Onuki Junko , Morita Keiko , Inoue Hiroshi , Sugihara Kenichi , Mori Masaki , Hirano Takashi
Published: April 2007

Purpose.

The prognosis of patients with esophageal carcinoma is poor. To identify genomic alterations associated with poor patient prognosis, we analyzed whole DNA copy number profiles of esophageal squamous carcinomas (ESCs) using array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH).

Materials and Methods.

Twenty-one operated and two biopsied cases of esophageal squamous cancer were examined for study. Each sample was laser microdissected to obtain pure cancer cell populations. The extracted DNA was analyzed using aCGH.

Results.

One of the most representative alterations was a previously reported amplification at 11q13.3. In addition, some novel alterations, such as deletion of 16p13.3, were identified. Of the 19 patients who were reassessed more than 5 years after the operation, nine were still living and 10 had died from disease recurrence. When aCGH profiles from the surviving group and the deceased group were compared, significant differences were recognized in 68 of 4,030 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones. Almost half of these clones were present at nine limiting regions in 4q, 13q, 20q, and Xq. For 22 of these 68 BAC clones, there also was a significant difference in the Kaplan-Meier survival curve, using the log-rank test, when comparing patients who had an alteration in a particular clone with those who did not.

Conclusions.

aCGH study of esophageal squamous cancer clearly identified BAC clones that are related to the prognosis of patients. These clones give us the opportunity to determine specific genes that are associated with cancer progression.
Cancer of Unknown Primary Site: Missing Primary or Missing Biology?
Authors: Pentheroudakis George , Briasoulis Evangelos , Pavlidis Nicholas
Published: April 2007

Cancer of unknown primary site (CUP) ranks as the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths and represents both a diagnostic and a management challenge. In CUP, the regression or dormancy of the primary tumor, the development of early, uncommon, systemic metastases, and the resistance to therapy are hallmarks of this heterogeneous clinical entity. Still, no consensus exists on whether CUP is simply a group of metastatic tumors with unidentified primaries or a distinct entity with specific genetic/phenotypic aberrations that define it as “primary metastatic disease.” In this review, we present karyotypic analyses as well as the single-gene, single-protein studies done on the expression of oncogenes, tumor- or metastasis-suppressor genes, as well as angiogenesis effectors. These studies show frequent expression of oncoproteins, lack of activating epidermal growth factor receptor/c-Kit mutations or amplification, uncommon presence of tumor- or metastasis-suppressor gene mutations and highly active angiogenesis in CUP. Informative as they may be, these data have been observed in several solid tumors of known primary and failed to identify a CUP-specific molecular signature. The latter, if it exists, probably consists of a multigene expression pattern not captured by single-gene studies. Gene and protein microarray technologies offer promise for the unraveling of complex genetic programs that would either identify each CUP's primary tissue of origin or instead define the CUP-specific molecular signature. Confirmation of one of the two hypotheses would either improve primary disease–oriented therapy or develop CUP-oriented treatments targeting molecular aberrations that drive neoplastic growth/dissemination.
Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Preliminary Antitumor Activity of Sorafenib: A Review of Four Phase I Trials in Patients with Advanced Refractory Solid Tumors
Authors: Strumberg Dirk , Clark Jeffrey W. , Awada Ahmad , Moore Malcolm J. , Richly Heike , Hendlisz Alain , Hirte Hal W. , Eder Joseph P. , Lenz Heinz-Josef , Schwartz Brian
Published: April 2007

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the reader will be able to: Describe the mechanisms of action of sorafenib.Discuss the safety and toxicity data from phase I trials of sorafenib.Evaluate phase I and II trials of sorafenib with activity data.Discuss future areas for research in the development of this drug.

CME Access and take the CME test online and receive 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ at CME.TheOncologist.com
Sequential, Alternating, and Maintenance/Consolidation Chemotherapy in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Grossi Francesco , Aita Marianna , Follador Alessandro , Defferrari Carlotta , Brianti Annalisa , Sinaccio Graziella , Belvedere Ornella
Published: April 2007

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the reader will be able to: Describe the new chemotherapy design strategies (i.e., sequential, alternating, and maintenance/consolidation chemotherapy).Identify potential advantages and drawbacks of these new strategies in advanced NSCLC.Discuss the results of clinical trials testing sequential, alternating, and maintenance/consolidation chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC.

CME Access and take the CME test online and receive 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ at CME.TheOncologist.com
Advanced glycation endproducts mediate pro-inflammatory actions in human gestational tissues via nuclear factor-κB and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2
Authors: Lappas Martha , Permezel Michael , Rice Gregory E
Published: April 2007

Processes of human labour include increased oxidative stress, formation of inflammatory mediators (e.g. cytokines) and uterotonic phospholipid metabolites (e.g. prostaglandins). In non-gestational tissues, advanced glycation endproducts (AGE) induce the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules through mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)-dependent pathways. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of AGE on 8-isoprostane (a marker of oxidative stress), pro-inflammatory cytokine and prostaglandin release in human gestational tissues, and to define the signalling pathways involved. Human placenta and gestational membranes (amnion and choriodecidua combined; n=5) were incubated in the absence or presence of AGE–BSA (0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/ml) for 18 h. AGE significantly increased in vitro release of tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, prostaglandin (PG)E2, PGF2α and 8-isoprostane from human placenta and gestational membranes. This was associated with a concomitant increase in NF-κB p65 activation and ERK 1/2 phosphorylation. AGE-stimulated 8-isoprostane, cytokine and prostaglandin production was significantly suppressed by the ERK 1/2 inhibitor U0126 and the NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-7082. In conclusion, AGE mediates inflammatory actions in human gestational tissues. Protein kinases and the NF-κB pathway play an essential role in AGE signalling in human gestational tissues.
Neuropeptide Y expression in phaeochromocytomas: relative absence in tumours from patients with von Hippel–Lindau syndrome
Authors: Cleary Susannah , Phillips Jacqueline K , Huynh Thanh-Truc , Pacak Karel , Elkahloun Abdel G , Barb Jennifer , Worrell Robert A , Goldstein David S , Eisenhofer Graeme
Published: April 2007

Phaeochromocytomas are rare neuroendocrine tumours that produce catecholamines and numerous secretory proteins and peptides, including neuropeptide Y (NPY), a vasoactive peptide with influences on blood pressure. The production of catecholamines and NPY by phaeochromocytomas is highly variable. This study examined influences of hereditary factors and differences in catecholamine production on tumour expression of NPY, as assessed by quantitative PCR, enzyme immunoassay and immunohistochemistry. Phaeochromocytomas included hereditary adrenaline-producing tumours (adrenergic phenotype) in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2), predominantly noradrenaline-producing tumours (noradrenergic phenotype) in von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) syndrome, and other adrenergic and noradrenergic tumours where there was no clear hereditary syndrome. NPY levels in phaeochromocytomas from VHL patients were lower (P<0.0001) than in those from MEN 2 patients for both mRNA (84-fold difference) and the peptide (99-fold difference). These findings were supported by immunohistochemistry. NPY levels were also lower in VHL tumours than in those where there was no hereditary syndrome. Relative absence of expression of NPY in phaeochromocytomas from VHL patients when compared with other groups appears to be largely independent of differences in catecholamine production and is consistent with a unique phenotype in VHL syndrome.
Corticotropin-releasing hormone or dexamethasone regulates rat proopiomelanocortin transcription through Tpit/Pitx-responsive element in its promoter
Authors: Murakami Itsuo , Takeuchi Sakae , Kudo Toshiyuki , Sutou Shizuyo , Takahashi Sumio
Published: April 2007

Tpit/Pitx-responsive element (Tpit/PitxRE), which binds transcription factors Tpit and Pitx1, confers cell-type specific expression of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene in pituitary corticotrops where the gene expression is mainly regulated by corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and glucocorticoids (Gcs). CRH stimulates POMC gene expression, which is mediated by the accumulation of intracellular cAMP and requires binding of Nur factors to Nur-responsive element (NurRE). Gcs antagonize NurRE-dependent POMC gene expression through direct interaction between glucocorticoid receptors and Nur factors. We examined whether Tpit/PitxRE and NurRE are involved in CRH/cAMP-induced activation and Gc-induced repression of POMC gene expression by reporter assay in AtT-20 corticotropic cells. Deletion and mutation of Tpit/PitxRE markedly reduced basal activity of the promoter, and those of NurRE decreased the levels of the CRH/cAMP-induced activation. Nifedipine, KN-62, and W-7, specific inhibitors of the L-type calcium channel, calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, and calmodulin respectively, attenuated CRH/cAMP-induced activation of promoters with three copies of either Tpit/PitxRE or NurRE, indicating that both Tpit/PitxRE and NurRE mediate CRH-induced activation of POMC gene expression in a calcium-dependent manner. Deletion and mutation of Tpit/PitxRE abolished dexamethasone (DEX)-induced repression of POMC gene expression, while those of NurRE did not, indicating that Tpit/PitxRE predominantly mediates Gc-induced repression of POMC transcription. However, DEX treatment attenuated activities of promoters with three copies of either Tpit/PitxRE or NurRE, suggesting that Gcs act at NurRE as well as Tpit/PitxRE to repress POMC gene expression. We conclude that Tpit/PitxRE is an important element by which CRH and Gcs regulate the POMC gene expression.
Distribution and characterization of estrogen receptor G protein-coupled receptor 30 in the rat central nervous system
Authors: Brailoiu Eugen , Dun Siok L , Brailoiu G Cristina , Mizuo Keisuke , Sklar Larry A , Oprea Tudor I , Prossnitz Eric R , Dun Nae J
Published: April 2007

The G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR 30) has been identified as the non-genomic estrogen receptor, and G-1, the specific ligand for GPR30. With the use of a polyclonal antiserum directed against the human C-terminus of GPR30, immunohistochemical studies revealed GPR30-immunoreactivity (irGPR30) in the brain of adult male and non-pregnant female rats. A high density of irGPR30 was noted in the Islands of Calleja and striatum. In the hypothalamus, irGPR30 was detected in the paraventricular nucleus and supraoptic nucleus. The anterior and posterior pituitary contained numerous irGPR30 cells and terminal-like endings. Cells in the hippocampal formation as well as the substantia nigra were irGPR30. In the brainstem, irGPR30 cells were noted in the area postrema, nucleus of the solitary tract, and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus; a cluster of cells were prominently labeled in the nucleus ambiguus. Tissue sections processed with pre-immune serum showed no irGPR30, affirming the specificity of the antiserum. G-1 (100 nM) caused a large increase of intracellular calcium concentrations [Ca2+ ]i in dissociated and cultured rat hypothalamic neurons, as assessed by microfluorometric Fura-2 imaging. The calcium response to a second application of G-1 showed a marked homologous desensitization. Our result shows a high expression of irGPR30 in the hypothalamic–pituitary axis, hippocampal formation, and brainstem autonomic nuclei; and the activation of GPR30 by G-1 is associated with a mobilization of calcium in dissociated and cultured rat hypothalamic neurons.