bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dido the Epicurean
Authors: Dyson Julia T.
Published: September 2012

Dido's Epicureanism is as complex and problematic as Aeneas' much-discussed Stoicism. This paper argues that Virgil's allusions to Lucretius form a consistent pattern: Dido embodies the ironies inherent in Epicureanism as practiced by Virgil's contemporaries, mouthing apparently Lucretian sentiments even as she comes to personify a Lucretian exemplum malum. Yet her fall is largely due to the pervasive supernatural machinery of the Aeneid-divine intervention which Lucretius declares impossible. In Book 1, Virgil employs Lucretian allusions in distinctly un-Lucretian contexts to suggest in Dido a disjunction between words and actions. There is a Lucretian flavor in the description of her initial equanimity, in her injunction to the Trojans to put away fear and cares, and in the scientific rationalism of the song of Iopas. These passages contrast with the sensualism evident in her lavish court and her growing passion for Aeneas-excesses of luxury and love described in words that Lucretius used to condemn them. In Book 4, Virgil more directly refutes Lucretian doctrine about the mortality of the soul and the indifference of the gods. The sarcastic questions of Anna and Iarbas are implicitly answered in such a way as to refute the Epicurean stance. Dido points to the gods' indifference a few seconds before she invokes their aid, and her final submission to Fate occurs in words that Lucretius used to deny its existence. Finally, the departure of Dido's soul recalls Lucretius' atoms of "heat and wind," in ironic contrast to the immortality of her Shade.
Ghosts of Exile: Doubles and Nostalgia in Vergil's "Parva Troia" ("Aeneid" 3.294ff.)
Authors: Bettini Maurizio
Published: September 2012

This paper provides an analysis of Aeneas' visit to the "parva Troia" in Epirus (Vergil, "Aeneid" 3.294ff.), centered on the theme of "substitutes" and "doubles," and beginning with Andromache, the heroine of this encounter. With Helenus as a substitute for her deceased husband, Hector, Andromache is involved in a sort of levirate marriage. Moreover, she reacts to Aeneas and his companions as if they too were "substitutes," living persons who immediately evoke images of the dead, "doubles" for her lost loved ones (Hector first and foremost, and also Creusa and Astyanax). This makes Andromache perfectly at home in "parva Troia", which is itself a "double," a "substitute" for the city destroyed by the Greeks. Except that, like all "doubles," "parva Troia" is an insubstantial illusion, the effigy of something that no longer exists. This city and its landscape can only be "seen," not actually "inhabited." These Trojan exiles are thus victims of a syndrome very similar to "nostalgia" (a Greek word unknown to the ancient Greeks, dating to the early eighteenth century, and beautifully described in a remarkable passage by Chateaubriand). Helenus and his companions are "too faithful" to their vanished city; their destiny, like that of the dead, has been hopelessly fulfilled. Aeneas, however, is not allowed to become a prisoner of the past. Against his will, he must be "unfaithful" to his former city: he will not rebuild Troy. The companions of Helenus and Andromache suffer from an "excess of identity" (one way to define nostalgia). Aeneas, on the other hand, submits to the almost total loss of his own identity: except for the Penates, a highly significant, sacred part of the lost patria, which will contribute to the formation of his identity in a way similar to Helenus and Andromache's own nostalgic cult of the image of Troy.
Reading Greek Prayers
Authors: Depew Mary
Published: September 2012

Greek prayers are requests. As such they are speech acts marked off from everyday language by performance conditions on which their effectiveness depends. Inscribed Greek prayers, left in sanctuaries, provide information about these conditions. But inscribed prayers are more than memorials of an original act of praying. When read out loud, they were meant to re-enact and re-perform the prayer to which they refer. Inscriptional and other evidence suggests that eventually inscribed prayers were even meant to be read by the gods to whom they were addressed, who were judged likely to be present in the places where these inscriptions were erected or placed. Votive reliefs are an additional source of information about Greek prayer. They provide visual evidence about the sending of prayers and about their reception by the gods, who are portrayed as attending to the speaker and in that very act, answering his or her prayer. Votive reliefs, that is, are typically representations of successful interchanges with a god, and, as such, are fitting gifts to gods for prayers answered. Like inscribed prayers, subsequent acts of viewing votive reliefs stimulate re-performance of the act of gratitude to which they refer. The gift is on such occasions re-given. A votive relief from the late fourth century B.C.E., now in the Louvre (755), provides visual evidence of these interpretations. In this relief, Hygieia is represented as resting her right hand on a disc or plaque that lies on top of a pillar. I argue that this object is a representation of a votive disc, and that Hygieia's pose signifies acknowledgment of such a gift-offering.
The Bones of a Hero, the Ashes of a Politician: Athens, Salamis, and the Usable Past
Authors: Higbie Carolyn
Published: September 2012

This article uses one incident, the Athenian efforts to acquire Salamis from Megara during the sixth century B.C.E., to study what Greeks themselves believed about their own past and why the past was so powerful an argument for them. The nature of the evidence is an important part of the discussion, since the written sources (primarily Aristotle, Strabo, Plutarch, and Diogenes Laertius) date from long after the events and Greek authors' approaches to the past differ from our own. Although only brief fragments of any Megarian historians survive, they are useful in providing a counterbalance to Athenian sources, since their versions of mythological events and portraits of mythological heroes are very different. The archaeological evidence includes inscriptions, vases, and graves; with one possible exception, this material was not exploited either by Solon and the Athenians or by the ancient authors. Sources credited both Solon and Athens with having used five different kinds of arguments to make the Athenian case for Salamis, and this variety indicates that Greeks of later centuries did not really know what happened in the struggle over the island. Hampered by problems of chronography and influenced by cultural attitudes such as a belief in a culture hero, historians, biographers, and travelers wrote accounts which reveal the importance of the past, especially the Trojan War past, to Greeks.
Was Rome a Polis?
Authors: Ando Clifford
Published: September 2012

The absorption of the Greek world into the Roman empire created intellectual problems on several levels. In the first instance, Greek confidence in the superiority of Hellenic culture made explanations for the swiftness of Roman conquest all the more necessary. In accounting for Rome's success, Greeks focused on the structure and character of the Roman state, on Roman attitudes towards citizenship, and on the nature of the Roman constitution. Greeks initially attempted to understand Roman institutions and beliefs by assimilating them to paradigms within Hellenistic political thought. On the one hand, this process tended to obscure substantial differences between Greek and Roman political theory. At the same time, appreciation of Rome's relations with Italy created a means through which Greeks could imagine their own integration into the Roman community. Among the conceptual models available to Greeks of this age, only the polis provided a paradigm for a collectivity in which individuals had equal rights and toward which they directed their patriotic sentiments. That Roman Italy was not a polis did not force the coinage of new terminology: the polis formed a conceptual boundary that Hellenistic political philosophy never truly escaped. Repeated construals of Roman ideas and institutions on analogy with polis-based models ultimately forced a shift in the semantic fields of Greek political terminology and altered Greeks' conceptual archetype of the political collectivity. This process provided a framework within which Greeks could justify their wholesale participation in imperial culture and political life: they could, on these terms, argue that the gradual evolution of the world toward a single, unified empire actualized man's natural tendency to center his life around a single polis.
Thucydidean Sieges, Prosopitis, and the Hellenic Disaster in Egypt
Authors: Robinson Eric W.
Published: September 2012

This paper reexamines the long-standing problem of the nature and magnitude of the catastrophic Hellenic expedition to Egypt c. 460-454. An uneasy scholarly consensus posits that many fewer than the 200 triremes implied by Thucydides were involved in the momentous defeat, yet the arguments employed by proponents and detractors of this hypothesis have not been decisive. This paper attempts to develop a better understanding of the final stages of the campaign in order to settle the question of losses. Thucydides offers the most reliable narrative of the events in Egypt (1.104, 109-10), but the compressed nature of the pentekontaetia has left us with a brief, lacunary text. Examination of the verbs poliorkein and kataklēiein and the noun poliorkia in appropriate contexts throughout Thucydides' history reveals that the words connote a tight blockade that seeks to deny all supplies to the besieged; the terms do not normally convey less stringent varieties of military harassment. Application of this understanding to the passages in question shows that the 200 triremes initially mentioned by Thucydides could not possibly have been engaged in Egypt when the siege of Prosopitis island began: a force of such size under a tight blockade could never have held out for 18 months. This conclusion is supported by an economic and demographic survey of the fifth-century B.C. Egyptian Delta, which suggests that resources would not have been plentiful in the region. A much smaller Greek force, perhaps 40 to 50 triremes, must have been involved in the final siege.
Performing the Book: The Recital of Epic in First-Century C.E. Rome
Authors: Markus Donka D.
Published: September 2012

The detrimental effect of the public recital on the quality of epic production in the first century is a stock theme both in ancient and in modern literary criticism. While previous studies on the epic recital emphasize its negative effects, or aim at its reconstruction as social reality, I focus on its conflicting representations by the ancients themselves and the lessons that we can learn from them. The voices of critics and defenders reveal anxieties about who controls the prestigious high genre of epic and about the construction of gender and social status through epic's public performance. Critics of the recitatio such as Horace, Persius, Petronius and Juvenal represent it as an informal and popular event that panders to public taste and incurs infamy. These critics charge that the epic recital has an effeminizing effect both on the recitator and on his audience, a charge traditionally advanced against orators and actors. Because the epic recital in Rome lacks a performative context similar to the rhapsodic performances in Greece, its public image mirrors that of other public performances (the theater, the public speech and the public lecture). The main point of divergence is the presence of the book, the symbol of permanent fame, which casts upon the recital the shadow of an evanescent entertainment. Defenders (Statius and Suetonius) see the recital as instrumental to the maintenance of literature's value in society. This means that well into the first century there were those who felt nostalgia for the epic recital as a bulwark of male aristocratic values and who wanted to reclaim its prestige. Both Statius as a poet, who performed regularly at Domitian's court, and Suetonius, who acted as Hadrian's ab epistulis some twenty years after Statius' death, defend the waning reputation of the contemporary epic recital in an effort to reclaim it as a prestigious component of imperial literary culture. While critics unanimously negate the recital's role in the achievement of poetic fame in favor of the book, Suetonius chooses anecdotal evidence about the early performances by grammarians grammarians that show the important role of the recital in forging poetic fame. The emperor and the members of the new aristocracy whom Statius explicitly names as the target audience of his epic recitals have a stake in reclaiming for imperial culture an institution that went back to the second century B.C.E. and carried the prestige of an aristocratic event.
Seneca's Renown: "Gloria, Claritudo," and the Replication of the Roman Elite
Authors: Habinek Thomas
Published: September 2012

The attention Seneca attracted in his lifetime and succeeding generations not only preserves information about his biography: it also merits interpretation as a cultural phenomenon on its own terms. This paper argues that the life of Seneca achieved exemplary status because it enabled Romans to think through issues critical to the preservation of social order. As a new man who rose to power as the republican noble families were dying out, Seneca posed the question of imperial succession in an acute form. As a member of an imperial elite that was increasingly inclusive in its recruitment strategies, Seneca validated reliance on education and key cultural competencies as markers of elite status and legitimacy. His renown articulates a shift in emphasis within Roman culture from gloria-the old republican ideal based on zero-sum competition for honor-to claritas, or claritudo-distinction for special achievement or characteristics that grants entrée to a collective elite. The specific cultural competencies demonstrated by Seneca and noted by those who spread his renown alert us to practices the Romans especially valued, namely theatricality, the use of writing to display a persona, the mastery of general discourse, and the interpretation of politics in ethical terms. As an exemplum Seneca could be-and was-the target of both praise and blame. The story of his close relationship with Nero and subsequent tragic death placed him among the sacrificial victims Romans seemed to regard as legitimizing a social order based on domination by a well-defined elite. In addition to various of Seneca's writings, this essay considers in particular the Tacitean narrative of his relationship with Nero, Quintilian's analysis of his achievement and influence, and his depiction in Octavia.
The Spectation of Gyges in P. Oxy. 2382 and Herodotus Book 1
Authors: Travis Roger
Published: September 2012

The paper argues that the act of looking, as defined between the story of Gyges, Candaules, and the offended queen and the story of Solon's visit to Lydia, functions in the first book of Herodotus, and perhaps also elsewhere throughout the Inquiry, as a metaphor for the relation of the histôr to the object of his investigation. Further, by a careful comparison of the Gyges story in Herodotus with the queen's own narration in the enigmatic "Gyges Tragedy" (P. Oxy. 2382), we can define a Herodotean psychology of spectation that bears a striking resemblance to the specifically tragic psychology manifest in the fragment. Herodotus positions his readers, the paper argues, in the place of Gyges, forcing them to look-in their imaginations-on what does not belong to them, just as the theatai in the Theater of Dionysus must look in imagination on the scene described by the queen. While the tragic audience is protected from the fate of Candaules and of Gyges' descendant Croesus by the constitutive blindness of tragedy that prevents the spectators from seeing what happens in the mukhos, Herodotus' audience must seek some other reassurance that they will not face the voyeur's penalty. This paper finally argues that Solon's theôria, with its crucial purpose of establishing the nomoi of Athens and its crucial ethic of looking not at the object of desire but at the end, installs in Herodotus' historiê the psychology of tragedy: to look desiringly is to lose, but to look inquiringly is to learn.
Urban Unrest—Whose Problem is It?
Authors: Moore L. W.
Published: September 2012

The executive who is appalled by urban unrest and poverty problems may be tempted to put them aside when he sees their complexity and magnitude and the limited capacities of himself and his company to work on their solution. On the other hand, even though there are no evident answers to the problems, business does have the capacity for producing some solutions if it sees the problems in proper perspective. The author provides an example of one project created by middle management in his company.
A Hidden Issue in Minority Employment
Authors: Goodman Richard Alan
Published: September 2012

Corporations frequently anticipate problems when hiring minority employees due to their lack of skills, educational weaknesses, and cultural differences. Underlying the corporations concern is the difficulty they have experienced in handling white employees whose personal value system does not match that of the corporation. An increase in minority employment could then intensify an already difficult situation by increasing value conflict in an organization which has a low tolerance for such conflict. The hidden issue of organizing to achieve constructive value conflict is an a priori condition to an effective minority employment program.
Updating Impressions of the Military-Industry Complex
Authors: Lieberman A. E.
Published: September 2012

To connote a somewhat sinister relationship, or worse, between the Department of Defense and its industrial suppliers, the phrase “military-industry complex” may he invoked.

However, all of industry has a role in supplying defense requirements, whether as an active participant or on call. Rather than conspiratorial gain, the element of indenture in industry's responsibility suggests that major companies engaged in defense contracting may soon alter their business emphasis in favor of civilian markets and that the industry stake in DOD as a market may become relatively smaller.
The Twilight of the Mechanical Technology
Authors: Fried Louis
Published: September 2012

Jacques Ellul, Norbert Weiner, and Marshall McLuhan have pointed out the revolutionary impact of the electronic technology on man and his society. This article explores the validity of their observations and extends their ideas for an examination of the impact of the new technology on the organization and the individual.

The author predicts that the electronic technology's reorientation of individual motivation, as seen in the current college group's move toward social involvement, will result in an “anti-specialist” with major implications to present organization structures and goals.
Production Planning in a Multiplant System
Authors: Schrier Elliot
Published: September 2012

The author describes a centralized production planning system for multiplant operations, based on a research project conducted by Matson Research Corporation for a large food-processing firm. The system assigns clear responsibilities to the departments of sales, distribution, material, and production and provides organizational and functional buffers (including production inventories) to soften conflicts.

All of the procedures are within the normal reach of any manufacturing company.
Understanding Contract Audits: An Experimental Approach
Authors: Bertrand Robert M. M. , Schram Arthur J. H. C. , Vaassen Eddy H. J.
Published: September 2012

A contract audit is a buyer-initiated audit of prices and other conditions, which aims to decrease the information asymmetry between a buyer and a seller. Contract audits are frequently used in monopolistic or oligopolistic markets, as in government procurement. We draw upon three distinct literatures to develop hypotheses (transaction cost theory, the theory of planned behavior, and social preference theory) and test these hypotheses using data obtained in a laboratory experiment. Our results show that contract audits are widely used, a phenomenon that cannot be explained by traditional economic reasoning. Their demand is well explained by the theory of planned behavior, however. Our data show that contract audits decrease transaction costs by increasing the probability of successful negotiations. Audits lead to an increased share of the trade surplus for the buyer, but this increased welfare may be offset by the audit costs. They also yield lower transaction prices.
Remogliflozin Etabonate, a Selective Inhibitor of the Sodium-Glucose Transporter 2, Improves Serum Glucose Profiles in Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Mudaliar Sunder , Armstrong Debra A. , Mavian Annie A. , O’Connor-Semmes Robin , Mydlow Patricia K. , Ye June , Hussey Elizabeth K. , Nunez Derek J. , Henry Robert R. , Dobbins Robert L.
Published: September 2012

OBJECTIVE

Remogliflozin etabonate (RE), an inhibitor of the sodium-glucose transporter 2, improves glucose profiles in type 2 diabetes. This study assessed safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of RE in subjects with type 1 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Ten subjects managed with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion were enrolled. In addition to basal insulin, subjects received five randomized treatments: placebo, prandial insulin, 50 mg RE, 150 mg RE, and mg RE 500.

RESULTS

Adverse events and incidence of hypoglycemia with RE did not differ from placebo and prandial insulin groups. RE significantly increased urine glucose excretion and reduced the rise in plasma glucose concentration after oral glucose. RE reduced incremental adjusted weighted mean glucose (0–4 h) values by 42–49 mg/dL and mean glucose (0–10 h) by 52–69 mg/dL.

CONCLUSIONS

RE can be safely administered with insulin in type 1 diabetes and reduces plasma glucose concentrations compared with placebo.
Reduced Incidence of Lower-Extremity Amputations in People With Diabetes in Scotland
Authors: Kennon Brian , Leese Graham P. , Cochrane Lynda , Colhoun Helen , Wild Sarah , Stang Duncan , Sattar Naveed , Pearson Donald , Lindsay Robert S. , Morris Andrew D. , Livingstone Shona , Young Matthew , McKnight John , Cunningham Scott
Published: September 2012

OBJECTIVE

To establish the incidence of nontraumatic lower-extremity amputation (LEA) in people with diabetes in Scotland.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This cohort study linked national morbidity records and diabetes datasets to establish the number of people with diabetes who underwent nontraumatic major and minor LEA in Scotland from 2004 to 2008.

RESULTS

Two thousand three hundred eighty-two individuals with diabetes underwent a nontraumatic LEA between 2004 and 2008; 57.1% (n = 1,359) underwent major LEAs. The incidence of any LEA among persons with diabetes fell over the 5-year study period by 29.8% (3.04 per 1,000 in 2004 to 2.13 per 1,000 in 2008, P < 0.001). Major LEA rates decreased by 40.7% from 1.87 per 1,000 in 2004 to 1.11 per 1,000 in 2008 (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

There has been a significant reduction in the incidence of LEA in persons with diabetes in Scotland between 2004 and 2008, principally explained by a reduction in major amputation.
Assessments of thermal antinociceptive effects of butorphanol and human observer effect on quantitative evaluation of analgesia in green iguanas (Iguana iguana)
Authors: Fleming Gregory J. , Robertson Sheilah A.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To determine whether butorphanol induces thermal antinociception in green iguanas (Iguana iguana) and assess the human observer effect on quantitative evaluation of butorphanol-induced analgesia.

Animals—6 juvenile green iguanas.

Procedures—Skin temperature was recorded, and then a direct increasing heat stimulus was applied to the lateral aspect of the tail base of each iguana. Temperature of the stimulus at which the iguana responded (thermal threshold) was measured before and for 8 hours after IM injection of either butorphanol tartrate (1.0 mg/kg) or an equal volume of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. Six experiments (butorphanol [n = 3] and saline solution [3]) were conducted with the observer in the iguanas' field of vision, and 11 experiments (butorphanol [n = 5] and saline solution [6]) were conducted with the observer hidden from their view. The interval between treatments or tests was ≥ 1 month.

Results—Temperature difference between thermal threshold and skin temperature when iguanas were administered saline solution did not differ from temperature difference when iguanas were administered butorphanol regardless of whether the observer was or was not visible. Temperature difference between thermal threshold and skin temperature was significantly lower when iguanas were tested without the observer in visual range, compared with the findings obtained when iguanas were tested with an observer in view, at multiple times after either treatment.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Intramuscular administration of 1.0 mg of butorphanol/kg did not induce thermal antinociception in juvenile green iguanas. The visible presence of an observer appeared to influence the results of noxious stimulus testing in this reptile species.
Concentration-dependent effects of tiludronate on equine articular cartilage explants incubated with and without interleukin-1β
Authors: Duesterdieck-Zellmer Katja F. , Driscoll Nellie , Ott Jesse F.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To determine concentration-dependent effects of tiludronate on cartilage explants incubated with or without recombinant equine interleukin-1β (rEq IL-1).

Sample—Articular cartilage explants from the femorotibial joints of 3 young adult horses.

Procedures—Cartilage explants were incubated with 1 of 6 concentrations (0, 0.19, 1.9, 19, 190, or 1,900 mg/L) of tiludronate and with or without rEq IL-1 (0.01 ng/mL) for 96 hours. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) concentrations in culture medium and explant digests were analyzed via PGE2 enzyme immunoassay. Sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) concentrations in culture medium were quantified via 1,9-dimethylmethylene blue assay. Chondrocyte apoptosis in paraffin embedded explant sections was measured via terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end–labeling assay. Relative gene expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8 was determined via the comparative cycle threshold method.

Results—rEq IL-1 increased PGE2 concentration, sGAG release from explants, chondrocyte apoptosis, and MMP gene expression. Lower tiludronate concentrations reduced rEq IL-1–induced sGAG release and chondrocyte apoptosis, whereas the higher tiludronate concentrations increased sGAG release and chondrocyte apoptosis. At the highest tiludronate concentration evaluated, IL-8 gene expression was increased independent of whether rEq IL-1 was present.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Tiludronate had biphasic concentration-dependent effects on cartilage explants that were independent of PGE2 secretion or MMP gene expression. Low tiludronate concentrations had some chondroprotective effects, whereas high tiludronate concentrations were detrimental to equine articular cartilage. Administration of tiludronate intra-articularly to horses may be detrimental, dependent on the dose used. In vivo studies are needed before intra-articular tiludronate administration to horses can be recommended.
Evaluation of experimental impact injury for inducing post-traumatic osteoarthritis in the metacarpophalangeal joints of horses
Authors: Rickey Ellen J. , Cruz Antonio M. , Trout Donald R. , McEwen Beverly J. , Hurtig Mark B.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To determine whether a single contusive impact injury to the palmar aspect of the metacarpus would progress to post-traumatic osteoarthritis or palmar osteochondral disease in horses.

Animals—12 horses.

Procedures—In each horse, an impact injury was created on the palmar aspect of the medial metacarpal condyle of 1 randomly chosen limb with an impactor device under arthroscopic and fluoroscopic guidance. The opposite limb was sham operated as a control. A low to moderate amount of forced exercise was instituted, and horses were evaluated clinically via lameness examinations weekly for 5 months, then biweekly until endpoint, with synovial fluid analysis performed at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10 months and radiography at baseline and endpoint. Macroscopic examination, micro-CT, and sample collection for cartilage viability and sulfated glycosaminoglycan content, histologic evaluation, immunohistochemical analysis, and fluorochrome analysis were performed following euthanasia at 1 (3 horses), 4 (4), and 8 to 10 (5) months after surgery.

Results—There was variability in impact lesion location, depth, and area on macroscopic inspection, but on histologic evaluation, cartilage defects were less variable. Mean sulfated glycosaminoglycan concentration from cartilage at the impact site was significantly lower than that at a similar site in control limbs. Higher concentrations of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein were observed in synovial fluid from impact-injured joints.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The impact injury method caused mild focal osteoarthritic lesions in the metacarpophalangeal joint, but did not progress to palmar osteochondral disease at this site. Repeated injury is probably required for the development of palmar osteochondral disease.
Evaluation of a commercially available radioimmunoassay and species-specific ELISAs for measurement of high concentrations of insulin in equine serum
Authors: Borer-Weir Kate E. , Bailey Simon R. , Menzies-Gow Nicola J. , Harris Patricia A. , Elliott Jonathan
Published: September 2012

Objective—To evaluate a human radioimmunoassay (RIA) and equine and high-range porcine (hrp) species-specific ELISAs for the measurement of high serum insulin concentrations in ponies.

Samples—Serum samples from 12 healthy nonobese ponies (7 clinically normal and 5 laminitis prone; 13 to 26 years of age; 11 mares and 1 gelding) before and after glucose, insulin, and dexamethasone administration.

Procedures—Intra-and interassay repeatability, freeze-thaw stability, dilutional parallelism, and assay agreement were assessed.

Results—Assay detection limits were as follows: RIA, < 389 μU/mL; equine ELISA, < 175 μU/mL; and hrp ELISA, 293 to 8,775 μU/mL. Mean ± SD intra- and interassay repeatability were respectively as follows: RIA, 6.5 ± 5.1 % and 74 ± 3.4%; equine ELISA, 10.6 ± 11.0% and 9.0 ± 4.6%; and hrp ELISA, 19.9 ± 172% and 173 ± 16.6%. Freezing and thawing affected measured concentrations. Dilutional parallelism in the RIA was only evident when insulin-depleted equine serum was used as a diluent (percentage recovery, 95.7 ± 274%); in the ELISAs, dilutional parallelism was observed when a zero calibrator was used. Agreement between RIA and equine ELISA results was good for samples containing concentrations < 175 μU of insulin/mL (bias, −18.5 ± 25.5 μU/mL; higher in RIA). At higher concentrations, assay agreement was poor between RIA and equine ELISA results (bias, −185.3 ± 98.7 μU/mL) and between RIA and hrp ELISA results (bias, 25.3 ± 183.0 μU/mL).

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Agreement among results of the 3 assays was variable, and dilutional parallelism was only evident with the RIA when insulin-depleted equine serum was tested. Caution is recommended when evaluating high insulin concentrations measured with the RIA or ELISAs.
Association of airborne concentration of virulent Rhodococcus equi with location (stall versus paddock) and month (January through June) on 30 horse breeding farms in central Kentucky
Authors: Cohen Noah D. , Kuskie Kyle R. , Smith Jacqueline L. , Slovis Nathan M. , Brown Stuart E. , Stepusin Randolph S. , Chaffin M. Keith , Takai Shinji , Carter Craig N.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To determine whether the concentration of airborne virulent Rhodococcus equi varied by location (stall vs paddock) and month on horse farms.

Sample—Air samples from stalls and paddocks used to house mares and foals on 30 horse breeding farms in central Kentucky.

Procedures—Air samples from 1 stall and 1 paddock were obtained monthly from each farm from January through June 2009. Concentrations of airborne virulent R equi were determined via a modified colony immunoblot assay. Random-effects logistic regression was used to determine the association of the presence of airborne virulent R equi with location from which air samples were obtained and month during which samples were collected.

Results—Of 180 air samples, virulent R equi was identified in 49 (27%) and 13 (7%) obtained from stalls and paddocks, respectively. The OR of detecting virulent R equi in air samples from stalls versus paddocks was 5.2 (95% confidence interval, 2.1 to 13.1). Of 60 air samples, virulent R equi was identified in 25 (42%), 18 (30%), and 6 (10%) obtained from stalls during January and February, March and April, and May and June, respectively. The OR of detecting virulent R equi from stall air samples collected during May and June versus January and February was 0.22 (95% confidence interval, 0.08 to 0.63).

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Foals were more likely to be exposed to airborne virulent R equi when housed in stalls versus paddocks and earlier (January and February) versus later (May and June) during the foaling season.
Associations between yearling exercise and interruptions during race training in Thoroughbred racehorses
Authors: Bolwell Charlotte F. , Rogers Christopher W. , French Nigel P. , Firth Elwyn C.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To investigate the effect of exercise during yearling sales preparation on the risk of interruptions during training in Thoroughbred racehorses.

Animals—114 Thoroughbred racehorses.

Procedures—Information regarding the daily exercise of yearlings during sales preparation was obtained prospectively from a convenience sample of stud farms. Yearlings were followed to entry into race training, and subsequently, daily training information was recorded until the end of the racing season. Competing-risks survival analysis was used to model time from entry into race training to voluntary training interruption (no known condition or disease identified) and time from entry into race training to involuntary training interruption (due to presence of a condition or disease) occurring before the first trial (practice race for education). Total hand walking time and mechanical walker time accumulated during sales preparation were the main exposures of interest.

Results—82 of 114 (71.9%) horses had an interruption before the first trial; 65 (79%) interruptions were voluntary, and 17 (21 %) interruptions were involuntary. Increased total hand walking time was significantly associated with decreased risk of voluntary interruptions, whereas longer cumulative distances at a canter were significantly associated with decreased risk of involuntary interruptions.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results identified an association between early exercise during sales preparation and decreased risk of voluntary interruption and increased risk of involuntary interruption during training of 2-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses. Further investigation into the effects of early exercise on racing performance is needed, but results have indicated that there may be an opportunity to modify early exercise programs.
Evaluation of factors important in modeling plasma concentrations of tetracycline hydrochloride administered in water in swine
Authors: Mason Sharon E. , Almond Glen W. , Riviere Jim E. , Baynes Ronald E.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To model the plasma tetracycline concentrations in swine (Sus scrofa domestica) treated with medication administered in water and determine the factors that contribute to the most accurate predictions of measured plasma drug concentrations.

Sample—Plasma tetracycline concentrations measured in blood samples from 3 populations of swine.

Procedures—Data from previous studies provided plasma tetracycline concentrations that were measured in blood samples collected from 1 swine population at 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 32, 48, 56, 72, 80, 96, and 104 hours and from 2 swine populations at 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours hours during administration of tetracycline hydrochloride dissolved in water. A 1-compartment pharmacostatistical model was used to analyze 5 potential covariate schemes and determine factors most important in predicting the plasma concentrations of tetracycline in swine.

Results—2 models most accurately predicted the tetracycline plasma concentrations in the 3 populations of swine. Factors of importance were body weight or age of pig, ambient temperature, concentration of tetracycline in water, and water use per unit of time.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The factors found to be of importance, combined with knowledge of the individual pharmacokinetic and chemical properties of medications currently approved for administration in water, may be useful in more prudent administration of approved medications administered to swine. Factors found to be important in pharmacostatistical models may allow prediction of plasma concentrations of tetracycline or other commonly used medications administered in water. The ability to predict in vivo concentrations of medication in a population of food animals can be combined with bacterial minimum inhibitory concentrations to decrease the risk of developing antimicrobial resistance.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of zolpidem after oral administration of a single dose in dogs
Authors: Giorgi Mario , Portela Diego Angel , Breghi Gloria , Briganti Angela
Published: September 2012

Objective—To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of zolpidem after oral administration of a single dose (0.15 or 0.50 mg/kg) and assess any associated antianxiety and sedative effects in dogs.

Animals—8 clinically normal sexually intact male dogs of various breeds.

Procedures—Dogs were assigned to 2 groups (4 dogs/group) and administered zolpidem orally once at a dose of 0.15 or 0.50 mg/kg in a crossover study; each dog received the other treatment once after an interval of 1 week. Blood samples were collected before and at intervals during the 24-hour period following dose administration. For each time point, plasma zolpidem concentration was evaluated via a validated method of high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection, and pharmacodynamics were assessed via subjective assessments of sedation and level of agitation and selected clinical variables.

Results—The pharmacokinetic profile of zolpidem in dogs was dose dependent, and the plasma drug concentrations attained were lower than those for humans administered equivalent doses. The lower dose did not result in any clinical or adverse effects, but the higher dose generated paradoxical CNS stimulation of approximately 1 hour's duration and a subsequent short phase of mild sedation. This sedation phase was not considered to be of clinical relevance. The desired clinical effects were not evident at plasma zolpidem concentrations ≤ 30 ng/mL, and the minimal plasma concentration that induced adverse effects was 60 ng/mL.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that zolpidem is not a suitable drug for inducing sedation in dogs.
Randomized controlled field trial to assess efficacy of a Moraxella bovis pilin-cytotoxin–Moraxella bovoculi cytotoxin subunit vaccine to prevent naturally occurring infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis
Authors: Angelos John A. , Gohary Khaled G. , Ball Louise M. , Hess John F.
Published: September 2012

Objective—To evaluate efficacy of a recombinant Moraxella bovis pilin-cytotoxin-Moraxella bovoculi cytotoxin subunit vaccine to prevent naturally occurring infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK).

Animals—107 beef steers.

Procedures—2 groups of calves were inoculated SC with an immunostimulating complex (ISCOM) matrix adjuvant (control group; n = 54) or a recombinant M bovis pilin-cytotoxin–M bovoculi cytotoxin subunit antigen with the ISCOM matrix adjuvant (vaccine group; 53); calves received booster injections 21 days later. Calves were examined once weekly for 16 weeks. Investigators and herd managers were not aware of the inoculum administered to each calf throughout the trial. Primary outcome of interest was the cumulative proportion of calves that developed IBK. Serum samples were obtained before inoculation (day 0) and on days 42 and 112. Serum hemolysin-neutralizing titers against native M bovis and M bovoculi cytotoxin were determined.

Results—No difference was detected between groups for the cumulative proportion of calves that developed IBK at weeks 8 and 16 after inoculation. Non–IBK-affected calves in the vaccine group had a significantly higher fold change in serum hemolysin-neutralizing titer against native M bovoculi cytotoxin from day 0 to 42 compared to control calves.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The M bovis pilin-cytotoxin-M bovoculi cytotoxin subunit vaccine with the ISCOM matrix adjuvant was not effective at preventing naturally occurring IBK. It is likely that the incorporation of additional protective antigens in a recombinant Moraxella spp subunit vaccine will be required to yield a product that can be used for effective immunization of cattle against IBK.
Exploring Antarctic subglacial lakes with scientific probes: a formal probabilistic approach for operational risk management
Authors: Brito M.P. , Griffiths G. , Mowlem M.
Published: September 2012

Since their discovery, Antarctic subglacial lakes have become of great interest to the science community. It is hypothesized that they may hold unique forms of biological life and that they hold detailed sedimentary records of past climate change. According to the latest inventory, a total of 387 subglacial lakes have been identified in Antarctica (Wright and Siegert, 2011). However, exploration using scientific probes has yet to be performed. We propose a generic, formal approach to manage the operational risk of deploying probes during clean access to subglacial lake exploration. A representation of the entire probe deployment process is captured in a Markov chain. The transition from one state to the next depends on several factors, including reliability of components and processes. We use fault trees to quantify the probability of failure of the complex processes that must take place to facilitate the transition from one state to another. Therefore, the formal framework consists of integrating a Markov chain, fault trees, component and subsystem reliability data and expert judgment. To illustrate its application we describe how the approach can be used to address a series of what-if scenarios, using the intended Ellsworth Subglacial Lake probe deployment as a case study.
Transient Analysis of Large Scale PV Systems with Floating DC Section
Authors: Brenna Morris , Dolara Alberto , Foiadelli Federica , Lazaroiu George C. , Leva Sonia
Published: September 2012

The increasing penetration of renewable sources with power-electronic interfaces in power systems is raising technical problems and the overall efficiency of photovoltaic systems can decrease dramatically. In this context, the optimal layout for the photovoltaic system is required. The most adequate strategy to connect the renewable system to the electrical power grid or to supply the end users must be adopted. The present paper proposes a design layout of a PV plant using a DC bus system to improve the overall energy conversion efficiency. An analysis of steady-state system stability, voltage drop and DC cable conduction losses is conducted. The leakage currents to the ground are investigated through simulations. Experimental results are shown focused on the analysis of optimal layout of photovoltaic systems under particular operating conditions.
Collection of Thermal Energy Available from a Biogas Plant for Leachate Treatment in an Urban Landfill: A Sicilian Case Study
Authors: Messineo Antonio , Freni Gabriele , Volpe Roberto
Published: September 2012

The landfill of Bellolampo is located in northern Sicily and serves the greater area of Palermo (Sicily). In the recent past, the landfill has been progressively renovated in order to align the waste disposal process with the state-of-the-art technology. During the past years, the site had been equipped with seven biogas engines, fuelled with the biogas produced at the oldest part of the landfill. More recently, another two engines of the same type have been installed for a total of 9 MW electrical power installed at the landfill. The landfill of Bellolampo faces a significant leachate disposal problem. Some 250 m3 of contaminated leachate are produced daily and transported by ships and trucks to an area about 1000 km away before being treated and disposed. The disposal of this extremely polluting fluid causes significant nuisance in the integrated waste management process and significant disposal expenses (in excess of € 60 per ton of fluid disposed and € 4.5 mln per year). Furthermore, the recent legislation strongly suggests the landfill manager to activate fully integrated systems and 100% landfill auto-sustainability. On the other hand, the above mentioned biogas engines produce a great quantity of unused thermal energy yearly. This study demonstrates that this energy could be effectively and efficiently used to enable the sustainable in-house treatment of the leachate. The treatment is aimed to significantly reduce leachate volume in order to reduce fluid disposal costs. A thorough economical analysis is also performed. The study demonstrates that a medium sized landfill can sustainably and cost-effectively be managed through a fully integrated system thus producing substantial economies.
Study of Pea Accessions for Development of an Oilseed Pea
Authors: Khodapanahi Ehsan , Lefsrud Mark , Orsat Valerie , Singh Jaswinder , Warkentin Tom D.
Published: September 2012

Global interest in stable energy resources coupled with growing demand for bio-oils in various conventional and arising industries has renewed the importance of vegetable oil production. To address this global interest, oilseed production has been increased in recent decades by different approaches, such as extending the cultivation area of oil crops, or breeding and growing genetically modified plants. In this study, pea (Pisum sativum L.) accessions were screened for lipid content using a rapid extraction method. This method quantifies lipid concentration in pea seeds and was developed by assessing and comparing the results of existing extraction methods used for canola and soybean, the top two Canadian oilseeds. Seeds of 151 field pea accessions were grown to maturity in 2009 and 2010 at McGill University (Quebec, Canada). Overall, lipid concentration in pea seeds ranged from 0.9 to 5.0%. Among several seed characteristics, only seed shape (wrinkled verses round) had a significant effect on the total lipid production in the seeds. Peas are a valuable source of protein and starch, but the lipid concentration in their seeds has been undervalued. This research supports the idea of developing a novel dual-purpose oilseed pea that emulates the protein and oil production in soybean seeds while being conveniently adapted to a colder climate.