bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Las células dendríticas generadas en presencia de vitamina D3 y activadas con lipopolisacáridos incrementan la producción de IL-1β, IL-8 e IL-10 y disminuyen su capacidad de inducir LT CD4+CD25hiFoxp3+
Authors: Muñoz Sindy M. , Rodríguez Luz Stella
Published: June 2016

Introducción. La vitamina D3 actúa como modulador de algunas células del sistema inmunitario, incluidas las células dendríticas. Varios estudios han reportado su importancia en la generación in vitro de células dendríticas tolerogénicas, similares en cuanto a fenotipo y función a las células dendríticas dérmicas CD141 productoras de IL-10 e inductoras de linfocitos T reguladores CD4+.
Objetivo. Se compararon el fenotipo y las citocinas producidas por las células dendríticas generadas en ausencia o en presencia de la vitamina D3, y maduradas con lipopolisacáridos, así como su habilidad de inducir linfocitos T reguladores a partir de linfocitos T CD4+ vírgenes alogénicos.
Materiales y métodos. Se aislaron células mononucleares de sangre periférica para seleccionar monocitos CD14+ y diferenciarlos in vitro de las células dendríticas en presencia o en ausencia de vitamina D3, y madurarlas con lipopolisacáridos. Se analizaron el fenotipo y los niveles de las citocinas en los sobrenadantes de cultivo. Se hizo un cocultivo de las células dendríticas con linfocitos T CD4+ vírgenes alogénicos y se determinaron las frecuencias de LTreg (vírgenes activados).
Resultados. Las células dendríticas no estimuladas generadas con la vitamina D3 conservaron el CD14. Al activarlas con lipopolisacáridos, expresaron bajos niveles de C83, CD83 y CD86, HLA-DR, cantidades elevadas de IL-1β, IL-8 e IL-10, y una tendencia a la disminución de IL-6, IL-12p70 y TGF-β1 con respecto a las que no habían sido tratadas con la vitamina. La frecuencia de los LTreg vírgenes fue similar, aunque se observó una tendencia de las células dendríticas inmaduras generadas con la vitamina a inducir LTreg activados.
Conclusión. Las células dendríticas generadas con vitamina D3 y tratadas con lipopolisacáridos presentaron un fenotipo ‘semimaduro’, así como la capacidad de secretar citocinas antiinflamatorias y citocinas promotoras de la reacción inflamatoria. Además, no se aumentó su capacidad de promover la polarización de LTCD4+ vírgenes alogénicos hacia LTreg.
Comparación y utilidad de las regiones mitocondriales de los genes 16S y COX1 para los análisis genéticos en garrapatas (Acari: Ixodidae)
Authors: Paternina Luis Enrique , Verbel-Vergara Daniel , Bejarano Eduar Elías
Published: June 2016

Introducción. En las últimas décadas, el análisis de los genes mitocondriales se ha utilizado en los estudios poblacionales y filogenéticos de garrapatas, lo cual ha permitido numerosos avances en la sistemática de estos ácaros. El gen mitocondrial de la subunidad 16S del ARN ribosómico (16S) es uno de los más usados, mientras que el gen mitocondrial de la citocromo oxidasa 1 (COX1) se ha empleado recientemente y se propone como un marcador genético alternativo frente al 16S.
Objetivo. Evaluar la utilidad de los genes 16S y COX1 en los estudios genéticos de las garrapatas mediante el análisis de secuencias en tres especies de la región Caribe de Colombia.
Resultados. El análisis de secuencias mostró que los dos genes permitieron identificar las tres especies con mucha confiabilidad y con niveles de divergencia genética interespecífica relativamente similares (19 a 22 %), aunque solo el gen COX1 permitió detectar la variabilidad genética intraespecífica (hasta de ~0,8 %). El análisis de saturación de sustituciones indicó que el gen 16S no se saturó con transiciones, mientras que el COX1 mostró saturación a partir de distancias de ~17 %.
Conclusión. Los resultados indicaron que el gen 16S parece tener mejores características para los análisis filogenéticos interespecíficos dada su alta divergencia genética y baja saturación de transiciones, mientras que el gen COX1 parece ser más útil para estudios de variabilidad genética intraespecífica. Sin embargo, dado que el estudio se hizo a escala local, se requieren más investigaciones en diferentes escalas biogeográficas para establecer su utilidad en circunstancias más amplias y complejas.
Molecular biomarkers to assess health risks due to environmental contaminants exposure
Authors: Poblete-Naredo Irais , Albores Arnulfo
Published: June 2016

Los biomarcadores, o bioindicadores, son herramientas métricas que, al compararse con los valores de referencia, permiten evaluar los riesgos y generar información objetiva que ayude a las autoridades a planificar estrategias efectivas, solucionar problemas de salud o ambientales y utilizar los recursos asignados de manera eficiente.
La evaluación de riesgos en salud es un ejercicio multidisciplinario y la biología molecular contribuye enormemente a estos estudios, dado que el genoma, el transcriptoma, el proteoma y el metaboloma pueden verse afectados por xenobióticos, lo que causa cambios cuya medición resulta útil en la adopción de decisiones. Dichos cambios pueden variar por la carga genética de cada individuo y su distribución polimorfa en las poblaciones expuestas se convierte en un factor esencial para una adecuada interpretación de resultados.
Por lo tanto, el objetivo del presente artículo fue hacer una revisión de los diferentes biomarcadores moleculares aplicables a la evaluación de riesgos para la salud provenientes de los contaminantes ambientales.
Biodiversity management of organic orchard enhances both ecological and economic profitability
Authors: Meng Jie , Li Lijun , Liu Haitao , Li Yong , Li Caihong , Wu Guanglei , Yu Xiaofan , Guo Liyue , Cheng Da , Muminov Mahmud A. , Liang Xiaotian , Jiang Gaoming
Published: June 2016

Organic farming has been regarded as an alternative solution for both agricultural sustainability and human health maintenance. Few researches have concentrated on the differences of biodiversity and eco-economic benefits between organic and conventional orchards. Organic management (OM) of orchards mainly includes taking advantage of natural enemies and beneficial weeds as well as soil organisms and controlling harmful pests. Here we conducted a three-year experiment on the effects of managing biodiversity in an organic apple orchard, using cattle manure to enrich soil biota, propagating native plant to suppress weeds and applying ecological pest management to control pests. The effect was assessed against the conventional management (CM) model. We found that OM enhanced soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen. The 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing results indicated that the dominant bacterial phyla of the top soil wereProteobacteriaandActinobacteria, and OM had richer bacteria diversity with a 7% higher Shannon’s index than the CM. In particular, the relative abundance of rhizobium in the OM was higher than that of the CM. For OM,Duchesnea indicawas an ideal ground-cover plant to control weeds through winning the niche competition and thus decreased weeds’ Simpson, Shannon–Wiener and Pielou index by 38.2%, 53.8% and 16.9% separately. The phototactic pests’ weight and scarab beetle’s population were effectively decreased by 35% and 86% respectively through long time control and prevention. OM had an average of 20 times more earthworms than CM, and the maximum density had reached 369 m−2(0–20 cm soil). The dominant earthworm species of the OM were detritivores which preferring soil with high organic matter content. Due to no synthetic chemicals being used, the OM produced much safer apple fruits which were sold at high prices. Economically, up to a 103% increase of output–input ratio had been achieved in the OM. Our study clearly demonstrated that biodiversity management without chemical pollution increased the biodiversity of beneficial organisms, reduced antagonists of the fruit tree, and enhanced economic benefits of the apple orchard.
Five new species and one new genus of recent miliolid foraminifera from Raja Ampat (West Papua, Indonesia)
Authors: Förderer Meena , Langer Martin R.
Published: June 2016

Raja Ampat is an archipelago of about 1,500 small islands located northwest off the Bird’s Head Peninsula of Indonesia’s West Papua province. It is part of the Coral Triangle, a region recognized as the “epicenter” of tropical marine biodiversity. In the course of a large-scale survey on shallow benthic foraminifera we have discovered one new genus and five new species of recent miliolid benthic foraminifera from the highly diverse reefal and nearshore environments. The new fischerinid genusDentoplanispirinellais characterized by its planispiral coiling and by the presence of a simple tooth, that differentiate it fromPlanispirinellaWiesner. It is represented in our sample material by the new speciesDentoplanispirinella occulta. The other four species described herein areMiliolinella moia, Miliolinella undina, Triloculina kaweaandSiphonaperta hallocki.All new species are comparatively rare and occur sporadically in the sample material. Detailed morphological descriptions, scanning electron microscopy pictures of complete and dissected specimens as well as micro-computed tomography images are provided.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in the Liver and Antiphospholipid Antibody Production Precede Disease Onset and Respond to Rapamycin in Lupus‐Prone Mice
Authors: Oaks Zachary , Winans Thomas , Caza Tiffany , Fernandez David , Liu Yuxin , Landas Steve K. , Banki Katalin , Perl Andras
Published: June 2016

Objective

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) constitute a diagnostic criterion of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and aPL have been functionally linked to liver disease in patients with SLE. Since the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a regulator of oxidative stress, a pathophysiologic process that contributes to the development of aPL, this study was undertaken in a mouse model of SLE to examine the involvement of liver mitochondria in lupus pathogenesis.

Methods

Mitochondria were isolated from lupus‐prone MRL/lpr, C57BL/6.lpr, and MRL mice, age‐matched autoimmunity‐resistant C57BL/6 mice as negative controls, and transaldolase‐deficient mice, a strain that exhibits oxidative stress in the liver. Electron transport chain (ETC) activity was assessed using measurements of oxygen consumption. ETC proteins, which are regulators of mitochondrial homeostasis, and the mTOR complexes mTORC1 and mTORC2 were examined by Western blotting. Anticardiolipin (aCL) and anti–β2‐glycoprotein I (anti‐β2GPI) autoantibodies were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in mice treated with rapamycin or mice treated with a solvent control.

Results

Mitochondrial oxygen consumption was increased in the livers of 4‐week‐old, disease‐free MRL/lpr mice relative to age‐matched controls. Levels of the mitophagy initiator dynamin‐related protein 1 (Drp1) were depleted while the activity of mTORC1 was increased in MRL/lpr mice. In turn, mTORC2 activity was decreased in MRL and MRL/lpr mice. In addition, levels of aCL and anti‐β2GPI were elevated preceding the development of nephritis in 4‐week‐old MRL, C57BL/6.lpr, and MRL/lpr mice. Transaldolase‐deficient mice showed increased oxygen consumption, depletion of Drp1, activation of mTORC1, and elevated expression of NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit S3 (NDUFS3), a pro‐oxidant subunit of ETC complex I, as well as increased production of aCL and anti‐β2GPI autoantibodies. Treatment with rapamycin selectively blocked mTORC1 activation, NDUFS3 expression, and aPL production both in transaldolase‐deficient mice and in lupus‐prone mice.

Conclusion

In lupus‐prone mice, mTORC1‐dependent mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to the generation of aPL, suggesting that such mechanisms may represent a treatment target in patients with SLE.
Transcriptome profiling reveals novel gene expression signatures and regulating transcription factors of TGFβ‐induced epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition
Authors: Du Liutao , Yamamoto Shota , Burnette Barry L. , Huang Danshang , Gao Kun , Jamshidi Neema , Kuo Michael D.
Published: June 2016

Dysregulated epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer cells endows invasive and metastatic properties upon cancer cells that favor successful colonization of distal target organs and therefore play a critical role in transforming early‐stage carcinomas into invasive malignancies. EMT has also been associated with tumor recurrence and drug resistance and cancer stem cell initiation. Therefore, better understanding of the mechanisms behind EMT could ultimately contribute to the development of novel prognostic approaches and individualized therapies that specifically target EMT processes. As an effort to characterize the central transcriptome changes during EMT, we have developed a Transforming growth factor (TGF)‐beta‐based in vitro EMT model and used it to profile EMT‐related gene transcriptional changes in two different cell lines, a non‐small cell lung cancer cell line H358, and a breast cell line MCF10a. After 7 days of TGF‐beta/Oncostatin M (OSM) treatment, changes in cell morphology to a mesenchymal phenotype were observed as well as concordant EMT‐associated changes in mRNA and protein expression. Further, increased motility was noted and flow cytometry confirmed enrichment in cancer stem cell‐like populations. Microarray‐based differential expression analysis identified an EMT‐associated gene expression signature which was confirmed by RT‐qPCR and which significantly overlapped with a previously published EMT core signature. Finally, two novel EMT‐regulating transcription factors, IRF5 and LMCD1, were identified and independently validated.
Prototype CoolCup cryolipolysis applicator with over 40% reduced treatment time demonstrates equivalent safety and efficacy with greater patient preference
Authors: Kilmer Suzanne L.
Published: June 2016

Background and Objectives

Cryolipolysis is a safe, effective non‐surgical procedure to reduce fat. For most cryolipolysis treatments, tissue is pulled between parallel cooling plates with a treatment duration of 60 minutes. A novel contoured cup, medium‐sized applicator was developed to increase tissue contact with reduced skin tension and reduced treatment time. This prototype contoured cup was investigated with a standard cryolipolysis applicator to evaluate safety, efficacy, and patient preference.

Study Design/Material and Methods

A prototype CoolCup medium‐sized vacuum applicator (CoolSculpting System, ZELTIQ Aesthetics) was used to treat n = 19 subjects in the flanks. Randomly assigned, one flank received standard treatment with the CoolCore applicator (−10°C for 60 minutes). The contralateral flank received treatment from the CoolCup (−11°C for 35 minutes). The clinical study primary efficacy endpoint was 70% correct identification of baseline photographs by independent physician review. Incidence of adverse device effects was monitored. Fat layer reduction was measured by ultrasound and subject surveys were administered 12 weeks post‐treatment.

Results

Equivalent efficacy was demonstrated between the CoolCore standard treatment and the prototype CoolCup. Independent review from three blinded physicians found 81% correct identification of baseline photographs for the standard treatment and 79% for the CoolCup. Ultrasound measurements indicated mean fat layer reduction of 4.38 mm for the standard treatment and 4.40 mm for the CoolCup; no statistically significant difference was found when comparing treatment efficacy of the two applicators (P = 0.96). Patient questionnaires revealed 85% preferred CoolCup because of shorter treatment duration and greater comfort. Procedural assessments revealed 45% lower pain scores for CoolCup. Immediate post‐treatment clinical assessments revealed 82% less bruising. Typical side effects, such as numbness and erythema, were similar. There were no adverse events.

Conclusion

This clinical study of a prototype medium‐sized vacuum applicator with a cooled contoured surface indicates that the CoolCup produces equivalent safety and efficacy to the standard CoolCore cryolipolysis applicator. With a 42% reduction in treatment time, the procedure was found to be more comfortable because of lower vacuum skin tension and shorter treatment duration. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:63–68, 2017. © 2016 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Gastroprotective effect of bezafibrate, a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α agonist and its mechanism in a rat model of aspirin‐induced gastric ulcer
Authors: Saha Lekha , Bhatia Alka , Chakrabarti Amitava
Published: June 2016

Background

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the antiulcer activity and mechanism of bezafibrate in a rat model of aspirin‐induced gastric ulcer.

Methods

We used an aspirin‐induced gastric ulcer model. Bezafibrate was administered orally in graded doses (10 mg/kg, 25 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 200 mg/kg) to detect the best effective antiulcer dose of bezafibrate. The parameters measured were: ulcer index, histopathological scoring of gastric ulcer, gastric juice analysis, gastric mucosal lipid peroxidation parameters, estimation of NO metabolite in blood, mRNA expression of inducible NO synthase iNOS and constitutive NO synthase (cNOS) in gastric mucosa, and gastric mucosal DNA fragmentation.

Results

The dose‐dependent antiulcer activity of bezafibrate was shown by the ulcer index and histopathological score. Bezafibrate (100 mg/kg) significantly reduced total acidity, free acidity, and pepsin activity, and increased total hexoses and total proteins. Bezafibrate (100 mg/kg) also significantly reduced lipid peroxidation, inhibited iNOS expression, preserved cNOS expression, and inhibited DNA fragmentation.

Conclusion

Bezafibrate can decrease aspirin‐induced gastric mucosal injury via reducing lipid peroxidation, inhibiting iNOS expression, preserving cNOS expression, and decreasing DNA fragmentation.
Long noncoding RNAs: Central to nervous system development
Authors: Hart Ronald P. , Goff Loyal A.
Published: June 2016

The development of the central nervous system (CNS) is a complex orchestration of stem cells, transcription factors, growth/differentiation factors, and epigenetic control. Noncoding RNAs have been identified, classified, and studied for their functional roles in many systems including the CNS. In particular, the class of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has generated both enthusiasm and skepticism due to the unexpected discovery, the diversity of mechanisms, and the lower level of expression than found in protein‐coding RNAs. Here we describe evidence supporting the role of lncRNAs in driving CNS‐specific differentiation. It is clear that lncRNAs exhibit a functional diversity that makes their study and compartmentalization more challenging than other classes of noncoding RNAs. We predict, however, that lncRNAs will be essential for the characterization of discrete neuronal cell types in the age of single‐cell transcriptomics and that these regulatory RNAs contribute to the multitude of functional mechanisms during CNS differentiation that will rival the diversities of protein‐based mechanisms.
Comparison of rapid bedside tests for phosphorylated insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein 1 and fetal fibronectin to predict preterm birth
Authors: Tripathi Reva , Tyagi Shakun , Mala Yedla M. , Singh Nilanchali , Pandey Nalini B. , Yadav Preeti
Published: June 2016

Objective

To compare the accuracy of rapid bedside tests for phosphorylated insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein 1 (phIGFBP‐1) and fetal fibronectin (fFN) to predict preterm delivery among women with threatened preterm labor.

Methods

A prospective observational study was conducted among women with a singleton pregnancy of 28–36 weeks, intact membranes, and symptoms suggestive of preterm labor who attended a center in New Delhi, India, between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2014. Rapid bedside tests were performed at presentation to measure the levels of phIGFBP‐1 and fFN in cervicovaginal secretions. All patients were managed as per the standard hospital protocol and followed up until delivery.

Results

Data were available for 468 participants. For delivery before 37 weeks, the phIGFBP‐1 test exhibited a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 81.1%, 97.1%, 95.2% and 87.7%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV for the fFN test were 19.4%, 99.4%, 97.4%, and 63.2%, respectively. The phIGFBP‐1 test displayed higher sensitivity and NPV than did the fFN test for delivery before 34 weeks and within 7 days of testing (P< 0.05 for all).

Conclusion

The rapid bedside test for phIGFBP‐1 was more reliable in the prediction of preterm delivery than was the equivalent test for fFN.
Demographic and Clinical Correlates of Patient-Reported Improvement in Sex Drive, Erectile Function, and Energy with Testosterone Solution 2%
Authors: Wu Frederick , Zitzmann Michael , Heiselman Darell , Donatucci Craig , Knorr Jack , Patel Ankur B. , Kinchen Kraig
Published: June 2016

Introduction

Evidence from well-designed studies documenting the benefit of testosterone replacement therapy as a function of patient demographic and clinical characteristics is lacking.

Aim

To determine demographic and clinical predictors of treatment outcomes in hypogonadal men with low sex drive, low energy, and/or erectile dysfunction.

Methods

Post hoc analysis of a randomized, multicenter, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 16-week study of 715 hypogonadal men (mean age = 55.3 years, age range = 19–92 years) presenting with low sex drive and/or low energy who received placebo or testosterone solution 2% for 12 weeks.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Two levels defined patient-reported improvement (PRI) in sex drive or energy: level 1 was at least “a little better” and level 2 was at least “much better” in energy or sex drive on the Patient Global Impression of Improvement at study end point. PRI in erectile function was stratified by erectile dysfunction severity at baseline as measured by the erectile function domain of the International Index for Erectile Function: mild at baseline (change of 2), moderate at baseline (change of 5), and severe at baseline (change of 7). Associations of demographic and clinical characteristics with PRI were calculated with stepwise forward multiple logistic regression analysis. Odds ratios represented the likelihood of PRI in symptoms among variable categories.

Results

Higher levels of end-point testosterone were associated with higher rates of PRI (at levels 1 and 2) in sex drive and energy (P < .001 for the two comparisons). Lower baseline testosterone levels were associated with higher rates of level 1 PRI in sex drive (P = .028); and classic hypogonadism (vs non-classic hypogonadism) was associated with higher rates of level 2 PRI in sex drive (P = .005) and energy (P = .006).

Conclusion

When assessing the potential for improvements in men with testosterone deficiency using patient-reported outcome questionnaires, possible predictors of treatment outcomes to consider include the etiology of hypogonadism and testosterone levels (baseline and end point).
Chasing the green buck? Environmental activism in post-communist Baltic States
Authors: Agarin Timofey , Grīviņš Miķelis
Published: June 2016

The paper investigates the dynamics and volution of issues on the agenda of Baltic environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) since the collapse of communism. The past research on Baltic environment activism suggests that these enjoy high visibility because they tapped the core societal views of natural environment as a crucial asset of a nation. As we demonstrate in this paper, the changes in agendas of Baltic environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) make clear that the rhetorical toolbox of ‘national environment’ is often used to mainly achieve greater financial gains for individual members, rather than for society at large. We illustrate how the dearth of economic opportunities for domestic public has impacted perceptions of ‘nature’ advocated by the environmental activists, focussing specifically on national perceptions of ownership and the resulting actions appropriating ‘nature’ as a source for economic development, only tangentially attaining environmental outcomes on the way. The vision that the ‘environment’ is an economic resource allowed ENGO activists to cooperate with the domestic policymaking, while tapping international networks and donors for funding. Throughout the past decades they worked to secure their own and their members’ particularistic economic interests and, as we demonstrate, remained disengaged from the political process and failed to develop broader reproach with publics.
Do Islamic stock indices perform better than conventional counterparts? An empirical investigation of sectoral efficiency
Authors: Alam Nafis , Arshad Shaista , Rizvi Syed Aun R.
Published: June 2016

Literature is rife with studies on efficiency of stock markets and financial performance aspects. One such aspect is the measurement of sectoral efficiency amongst stock markets. While there are several studies analysing sectorial efficiency, there is no study on the efficiency of Islamic sector indexes. The rise of Islamic indices has raised the question and multiple studies have been undertaken in exploring and validating the better performance from a risk return framework for the Islamic indices. This study attempts to pioneer in this niche area by conducting a comparative analysis of 10 sectoral global indices for both conventional and Islamic counterpart spanning over 18 years. The sample time period runs from 1 January 1996 until 31 December 2014. To further validate our study, we have divided our data into four major time periods, to factor in different phases the world markets have gone through in the sample period, i.e. 1996–2000; 2001–2002; 2003–2006 and 2006 to 2014. The methodology selected in understanding the efficiency of these sectoral stock indices is the multifractal de‐trended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA). Our analysis reveals that in the shorter horizon, efficiency tends to follow a similar pattern amongst the conventional and Islamic counterpart. Furthermore, Islamic sectoral indices generally tend to exhibit a higher efficiency regime across the last decade. Overall, Islamic index seems to have stayed attractive and resilient, allowing conformity with the weak form efficient market hypothesis.
Speculative Histories: Photo essay
Authors: PHILIP KAVITA
Published: June 2016

History and Speculation, Past and Future, are not as separate as they once were in our disciplinary imaginations. Science fiction has emerged as one of many new speculative frequencies in today's scholarly spectrum. Visual representation is an older mode that brings thought and feeling, analytics and prediction together. It pre-dates both historical and fictional narrative forms. Shaped by long histories of artistic and critical conversations, images today are being used in ways that extend and complicate our interdisciplinary scholarly methods. Here, they are put to work in order to pose different questions and suggest alternative analyses of the histories and futures of Asia's changing landscapes.
An Afro-German Microhistory: Gender, Religion, and the Challenges of Diasporic Dwelling
Authors: Roos Julia
Published: June 2016

This article traces the biography of an Afro-German woman born during the 1920s Rhineland occupation to examine the peculiarities of the black German diaspora, as well as potential connections between these peculiarities and larger trends in the history of German colonialism and racism. “Erika Diekmann” was born in Worms in 1920. Her mother was a German citizen, her father a Senegalese French soldier. Separated from her birth mother at a young age, Erika spent her youth and early adulthood in a school for Christian Arab girls in Jerusalem run by the Protestant order of the Kaiserswerth Deaconesses (KaiserswertherDiakonissen). After World War II, Erika returned to West Germany, but in 1957, she emigrated to the United States, along with her (white) German husband and four children. Erika's story offers unique opportunities for studying Afro-German women's active strategies of making Germany their “home.” It underlines the complicated role of conventional female gender prescriptions in processes of interracial family-building. The centrality of religion to Erika's social relationships significantly enhances our understanding of the complexity of German attitudes toward national belonging and race during the first half of the twentieth century.
3. On a new Entozoon (Pentastomum protelis) from the Mesentery of Proteles cristatus, Sparrmann
Authors: Hoyle W. E.
Published: June 2016

The entozoon, which is a new species of Pentastomum, was found by Professor Morrison Watson in a male Proteles cristatus which had died in the Zoological Society's Gardens.
3. A Re-Statement of the Cell Theory, with Applications to the Morphology, Classification, and Physiology of Protists, Plants, and Animals. Together with an Hypothesis of Cell-Structure, and an Hypothesis of Contractility
Authors: Geddes Patrick
Published: June 2016

Position and Importance of the Cell Theory in Morphology.—Vast though is the literature of vegetable and animal morphology, it becomes more readily grasped than that perhaps of any other science, when we classify it in relation to the few great works which initiated and for ever mark the successive waves of advance. Thus of the early pre-morphological or encyclopædic stage, when materials were being little more than heaped together, the works of Pliny or Gesner may be taken as types, to which the other encyclopædias of Natural History by Jonston, &c, furnish at first mere supplements. The Systema Naturæ of Linnæus closes the old and marks a new era, and initiates that systematic enumeration of the flora and fauna of the globe which has since made such vast progress. All subsequent systematic literature, no matter how important, no matter how much exceeding in quantity of new forms, involves no essential, no qualitative advance: thus the greater part of the proceedings of such Societies as the Zoological or the Linnean, such new and important faunistic literature as that contained in the magnificent volumes of the “Challenger” Expedition, or even the greatest systematic works, find their highest place not as superseding, but as supplementing the fundamental classic of Linnæus.
5. On Vortex Motion
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

This paper contained a discussion of the consequences of the assumption of continuity of motion throughout a perfect fluid; one of the bases of von Helmholtz's grand investigation, on which W. Thomson founded his theory of vortex-atoms. It is entirely on the assumed absence of finite slip that von Helmlioltz deduces the action of a rotating element on any other element of the fluid, and that Thomson calculates the action of one vortex-atom or part of such an atom on another atom, or on the remainder of itself. The creation of a single vortex-atom, in the sense in which it is defined by Thomson, involves action applied simultaneously to all parts of the fluid mass, not to the rotating portion alone.
7. On a Singular Electrical Result
Authors: Rainy Harry , Tait
Published: June 2016

In order to observe the spectrum of coal gas at atmospheric pressure, I passed a stream of the gas through a tube open at both ends, and into the sides of which the platinum electrodes of an induction coil were inserted. I noticed that the spectrum gradually became narrower. On observing this, I stopped the current, and found that a filament of carbon had grown upwards from the lower electrode. On examining it carefully it appeared to have numerous short branches, all of which pointed in the direction of the electrode towards which the filament was growing. The time which it took to form between the electrodes was, I think, under two minutes.
7. On the Periodic Variation of Temperature in Tidal Basins
Authors: Mill Hugh Eobert , Brown Crum
Published: June 2016

The periodic variations of the temperature of water have been studied for some months at the Scottish Marine Station at Granton. The only tidal basin which has been considered as yet is the haven formed by the irruption of the sea into Granton Quarry. It has an area of about 7 acres; the tidal entrance is on the west side, and is so situated that no water can enter until about half tide; then it comes in as a very rapid stream for about three-quarters of an hour, when the rate falls off, and near high water it is the same as that of the rising tide on the shore. The ebb is gradual until the tide has narrowed the channel by uncovering the sandbanks which lie on each side of the entrance, then it is rapid for about an hour and a half, after which the water runs out ext'remely slowly, and does not absolutely cease until the tide begins to re-enter; but for from four to five hours the water-level inside is practically unaltered. The depth of the quarry at low water varies from 5 to 8 fathoms in the parts where observations were made, and at high water the depth is slightly more than 1 fathom greater. The bottom shelves off abruptly from the bar at the entrance.
8. On the Isothermals and Adiabatics of Water near the Maximum Density Point
Authors: Peddie W. , Brown Crum
Published: June 2016

The state of water, as regards pressure, volume, temperature, entropy, and energy, may be represented by surfaces in a number of ways, depending upon which of the properties we choose to have their numerical values measured off along the axes to which the surface is referred. The surface most suited for the consideration of the forms of the isothermals and adiabatics is that one the co-ordinates of each point of which represent pressure, volume, and temperature. The nature of this surface as constructed for water, and some of its peculiar features, were first studied by Professor James Thomson, and described by him in a communication made to this Society. Designating pressure, volume, and temperature by the letters p, v, t, the isothermals are the projections upon the plane (p, v) of the lines of intersection of planes of constant temperature with the surface. The adiabatics are the projections, upon the same plane of curves laid down upon the surface, such that, as the substance passes from one state to another as represented by points on the curve, it does so without absorption or emission of heat. The actual curve upon the surface may be termed the complete adiabatic. The chief features of the projection of the surface upon the plane (p, t) are three curves, which separate the regions representing the liquid, solid, and gaseous states. These three curves meet in a point, which Professor J. Thomson terms the triple point. If we measure pressure downwards and temperature to the right, the curve separating the liquid and gaseous regions slopes downwards from this point towards the right. The curve separating the solid and gaseous regions slopes upwards towards the left, making a greater angle with the t axis; while the other curve slopes downwards towards the left, and is very much steeper. The maximumdensity curve slopes downwards to the left, but is not nearly so steep as the liquid solid curve which it meets at a point corresponding to a pressure of nearly three tons weight per square inch.
1. Chairman's Opening Address
Authors: Murray John
Published: June 2016

It is my privilege to welcome you at the commencement of this new Session, which, from many indications, promises to be one of great activity among the Fellows of the Society.
4. An Effective Arrangement for Observing the Passage of the Sun's Image across the Wires of a Telescope
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

At night the cobwebs of the telescope are invisible for want of light; we have to illuminate either the field or the wires, so as to make them visible by contrast. At noon the astronomer meets with the same kind of difficulty from an opposite cause; the intense sun's light has to be obscured by a dark glass, which, at the same time, completely obliterates the spider-lines; these are only seen on the sun's face. In consequenoe, the advent of the sun's edge to a wire cannot be observed ; the line must be fairly on the sun's face before we can see it, and thus the noted instant is necessarily too late,—too late by a quantity depending on the power of the telescope and on the skill of the observer. Hence the estimate of the sun's apparent diameter from observations of the meridian passage may be expected to err slightly in defect, while the thence-deduced right ascension must be too great.
2. Note on the Epiblastic Origin of the Segmental Duct in Teleostean Fishes and in Birds
Authors: Brook George
Published: June 2016

Our knowledge of the development of the excretory system in both vertebrates and invertebrates is as yet very incomplete, perhaps more so than of any other system. Until quite recently the whole of the urogenital system of the vertebrates was supposed to be derived from the niesoblast. This view received a sudden check when, on the publication of Graf Spee's researches on the guinea pig in 1884, the segmental (pronephrie) duct was shown to have an epiblastic origin. Hensen, indeed, had noted the fact some years previously, but no notice had been taken of his discovery until Graf Spee called attention to it. Hensen has recently taken up the subject again, and Flemming has published a confirmatory account for the rabbit. Thus there appears no further room for doubting the epiblastic origin of the segmental duct in mammals. It does not necessarily follow that the whole excretory system has an epiblastic origin, but further information is required on the subject. Towards the end of 1886 Van Wijhe demonstrated the epiblastic origin of the segmental duct in Elasmobranchs, and during the present year Von Perenyi has announced that the epiblast plays a similar part in Rana and Lacerta. During the past few months I have been enabled to confirm Von Perenyi's researches so far as Rana is concerned, and have also found that, in regard to the formation of the segmental duct, Teleostean fishes, and probably also birds, are in agreement with other types. The epiblastic origin of the segmental duct is probably a feature common to the Vertebrata generally.
10. An Account of some Experiments which show that Fibrin-Ferment is absent from circulating Blood-Plasma, and which support the view, first advanced by Sir Joseph Lister, that the Blood has ho spontaneous tendency to Coagulate
Authors: Haycraft John Berry
Published: June 2016

Sir Astley Cooper and Turner Thackrah taught that blood was a fluid tending to coagulate, but inhibited from doing so by the living vascular walls. This view is erroneously ascribed to Brücke, who himself only professes to support it.
2. The Pineal Body (Epiphysis cerebri) in the Brains of the Walrus and Seals
Authors: Turner Wm.
Published: June 2016

In this paper the author described the pineal body in the walrus and in Phoca vitulina and Macrorhinus leoninus, in which animals, but more especially in the walrus, it is of larger size than is usual in mammalia. In one walrus it measured 30 mm. (1.18 inch) in length and 18 mm. (0.7 inch) in its greatest transverse diameter; in another it was 29 mm. long, 13 mm. broad, and 13 mm. in vertical diameter. It rested on the superior vermiform process of the cerebellum, and was visible between the two diverging hemispheres of the cerebrum when the brain was looked at from above. [The paper is printed in extenso in the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, January 1888, and as a part of the ‘Report on the Seals’ collected by H.M.S. ‘Challenger,’ Part LXVIIL, 1888.]
3. The Effect of Differential Mass-Motion on the Permeability of a Gas
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

This will appear in the Transactions in Part III. of Prof. Tait's paper “On the Foundations of the Kinetic Theory of Gases.”
3. On John Leslie's Computation of the Ratio of the Diameter of a Circle to its Circumference
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

Of all the processes for computing to great precision this most important ratio, that by means of the series for the arc in terms of its tangent is the most rapid. Seemingly short, however, it is truly a very long process; to reach its beginning we must know the laws of differentials and integrals, must be familiar with the higher algehra, and with the advanced branches of trigonometry; must know how to divide an arc whose tangent is an aliquot part of the radius, into smaller arcs whose tangents have the same character; and while studying these chapters in mathematical science we shall have often used our knowledge of this very ratio of which we are in search. The real utility of this formula lies in its enabling us to extend the approximation to a great number of decimal places. Even although the labour be not overwhelming, we can hardly regard as other than useless, the toil of computing and verifying the value of π to upwards of five hundred places.
On Certain Bodies, apparently of Organic Origin, from a Quartzite Bed near Inveraray
Authors: His Grace the Duke of Argyll
Published: June 2016

The magnificent sections of the Archæan and Palæozoic rocks which are presented on the north-west coast of Scotland, have long been known to all British geologists. They occur principally in the counties of Sutherland and Wester Ross, from Cape Wrath on the north to Loch Kishorn on the south. They are not less striking in an artistic, than they are instructive in a scientific point of view. The height of the mountains, their abrupt and precipitous forms, and the thinness, or almost total absence of, superficial covering, are characteristics which combine with great variety and richness of colouring, to produce scenery which stands altogether by itself
A Contribution to the Chromatology of the Bile
Authors: Haycraft John Berry , Scofield Harold
Published: June 2016

One of the chief biliary pigments is bilirubin. It has a red-orange colour, and is derived from the decomposition of haemoglobin. It can be oxidised first into a green, then into a blue, then into a red, and finally into a yellow-brown pigment. Between the blue and red a violet substance is produced, but it is uncertain whether or not this is only a mixture of the blue and red pigment. The formation of the green pigment, according to Städeler, is due to oxidation, together with the addition of a molecule of water.
The Electrotonic Variation with Strong Polarising Currents
Authors: Stewart George N.
Published: June 2016

Let AB (fig. 1) be a piece of nerve interposed in the galvanometer circuit, and CD in the battery circuit. Then, as has long been known, on closing the battery circuit, one obtains a current in the galvanometer circuit, the direction of which in the nerve is the same as that of the polarising current. If, now, stimulation be made, say at I, this current undergoes a negative variation. Hermann, who investigated the subject, after Bernstein, was at first inclined to explain the negative variation by his law of “polarisation increment.”
On the Placentation of the Halicore Dugong
Authors: Turner William
Published: June 2016

(Abstract.)

The only observations hitherto recorded on the placentation of the Dugong are by Paul Harting, of Utrecht, in 1878, who examined the foetal membranes of a foetus 27.8 cent. long. He stated that the placenta was diffused and non-deciduate.

The gravid uterus described in this communication was presented to the author by C. W. de Vis, Esq., M.A., curator of the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, through Professor Anderson Stuart of the University of Sydney.

The uterus was bicornuate, and contained a single fœtus, 5 feet 4 inches long. The fœtus and its membranes occupied the left cornu, and there was no extension of the membranes into the right cornu.

The chorion was an elongated sac, upwards of 5 feet long from pole to pole.
Notes on the Zodiacal Light
Authors: Smith C. Michie
Published: June 2016

So much has been written on the zodiacal light that it may appear rather rash to say that a really accurate examination of this phenomenon has yet to be made. Still I have no hesitation in saying that neither its position, its shape, nor its spectrum has yet been determined with sufficient accuracy. In the hope of being able to add something to our knowledge of the last of these, I obtained, in 1882, a grant from the Government Grant Fund for the construction of a spectroscope specially designed for observing and, if possible, photographing the spectrum of the zodiacal light. The apparatus, which was made by Mr A. Hilger, consists of two interchangeable collimators of 36 inches and 8 inches focal length and 1½ inch aperture; an Iceland spar prism 1¼ inch high, 2¼ inches side, a camera with a lens of 8 inches focal length, and an observing telescope and a heavy glass prism which can be used for eye observations. The camera and telescope are fixed to a common base movable about a pivot concentric with the pillar carrying the prism, so that they are readily interchanged. The lenses are all of quartz, and the dark slide carrying the sensitive plate can be placed at such an angle that the whole or at least a considerable part of the spectrum is in focus at the same time.
Pharmacology of Morphine and its Derivatives
Authors: Stockman Ralph
Published: June 2016

It is necessary for a clear understanding of the chemical changes which occur on treating morphine in various ways, and for comparing its physiological action with that of the bodies so formed, that we should summarise at some length the exact position of our present knowledge regarding its chemistry and pharmacology.

Morphine has the composition represented by the formula C17H19NO3. It is generally supposed to crystallise with one molecule of water, but there is reason to believe that the composition of the hydrated base is really 8 C17H19NO3, 9 H2O, the water being present in the proportion of 1⅛ molecule. Morphine is a monacid base, forming neutral and readily soluble salts with all the stronger acids. Like all alkaloids, it is built up on the ammonia (NH3) type, and is a tertiary amine, all the hydrogen atoms having been replaced by more or less complex radicals.