bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Divine Revelation and Human Imagination: Must we Choose Between the Two?
Authors: McCormack Bruce L.
Published: February 2009

Gazing about himself at the theological landscape in 1967, Gordon Kaufman observed,

… the historical situation has changed and with it the theological task. The great critical questions posed by liberalism and humanism …—questions which could be more or less ignored or overlooked during the crises of recent decades — have come into view once again and are demanding attention. Most notable of all in this respect is the central conception on which the whole theological program rests, the problem of ‘God’, What do we mean by ‘God’? Is this notion intelligible at all to ‘modern man’ or does it depend on outgrown mythological patterns of thought?

Kaufman was not alone in the 1960's in sensing a change in the theological situation. Schubert Ogden saw it as symptomatic of an overall, cultural change. Langdon Gilkey pointed to the rise of the radical ‘God is dead’ theologies as indicative of the truly new element in the present situation: ‘This upheaval, this radical questioning of the foundations of religious affirmation and so of the theological language reflective of it, is now taking place within and not outside of the Church.’ In other words, the meaningfulness of religious language, so long taken for granted while neo-orthodoxy held sway, was now problematic, not just outside the Church, but within as well.
The Nature of the Church in the Thought of John Knox
Authors: Kyle R.
Published: February 2009

The leaders of the Protestant Reformation not only intended a revival of personal piety; they aimed as well to reshape the corporate forms of religion. They did not convert individuals to the Protestant faith only to abandon them to a state of religious detachment. Rather, the Protestant Reformers labored to rebuild the church and felt themselves called to be agents of its restoration. They steadfastly believed that the Holy Catholic Church had been instituted by God for the nurture and fellowship of souls and that outside of this body there exists ‘no ordinary possibility of salvation’. Accordingly, the founders of Protestantism laid great emphasis upon the nature and function of the church. Ecclesiology was a notable and principal part of their theology.
New Testament Eschatology
Authors: Barrett C. K.
Published: February 2009

The ministry of Jesus is represented by the evangelists as itself an eschatological event. This presentation involved them (writing as they did from thirty to seventy years after the event) in paradox, but the paradox is of the essence of their faith.

It is a primary feature of the gospels that the story of Jesus is set forth as the fulfilment of OT prophecy. This is sometimes done in the crudest and most artificial manner, as for example when Jeremiah's picture of Rachel weeping for her children (Jer. 31.14 (38.15)) is applied to the massacre of the innocents (Matt. 2.17 f). Sometimes again the appeal to the OT is made in general terms without citation of a particular passage (e.g. Mark 14.21 ). The passion narratives in particular are marked by OT references and allusions, but the whole ministry is introduced by Mark (1.15) with the proclamation, πεπλ⋯ρωται ⋯ καιρóς, and the καιρóς in question is evidently the time foretold (or currently believed to have been foretold) by the prophets. That which in the past they had longed to see and hear, and had not seen and heard, was now before men, visible and audible: blessed indeed were those who could see and hear (Matt. 13.16 f; Luke 10.23 f).
Moltmann's Theology of Hope Revisited
Authors: Bauckham Richard
Published: February 2009

Jürgen Moltmann's first major work, Theology of Hope, first published in 1964, is arguably one of the truly great theological works of the last few decades, and indisputably one of the most influential. Though Moltmann's own theology has developed considerably in many subsequent works since Theology of Hope, it remains one of his greatest achievements, rivalled only by his second major work, The Crucified God. These two books, which constitute the core of Moltmann's early theology, have, it seems to me, a concentrated power of argument, focused on their central integrating ideas, which is lacking in the more diffuse structure and argument of the later works, significant though these are in their own way. The two early books also have a certain polemical extremeness, which, by contrast with the more balanced and rounded quality of the later works, gives them the sort of impact which one also finds in the passionate extremism of the early Luther or the dialectical rhetoric of the early Barth. The comparison is appropriate, not only because the influence of these two predecessors on Moltmann's work is very evident, but also because, in adopting something of their dialectical and prophetic style of theology, Moltmann had a parallel purpose: that of redirecting theological work. If, having accomplished this, Moltmann has subsequently become more and more like the older Barth of the Church Dogmatics, this is understandable and brings both advantages and disadvantages with it.
Recent Trends in Anglican Evangelical Theology
Authors: Warren Canon M. A. C.
Published: February 2009

An exposition of recent trends in Anglican Evangelical Theology can best be introduced by referring to the Preface of a book which is but little known to-day, the Horae Homileticae of Charles Simeon, one time Vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge. His twenty-eight volumes of sermon “skeletons” are long since dead. They never possessed any very great influence in themselves but remain a monument of patient industry and remind us that the profound influence of Charles Simeon in his own day and upon many in succeeding generations was based on no superficial charm of personality but on a life deeply and profoundly rooted upon the rock of Scripture.
The Thought of Peter Berger
Authors: Cairns David
Published: February 2009

This paper proposes to give some account and critique of Peter Berger's thought as contained in a selection of his books. No note will be taken of his witty and mordant critique of the Protestant Churches in the United States, The Noise of Solemn Assemblies (1961), nor yet of The Social Construction of Reality (1966), which is a more technical book than the others which will be dealt with here. These are The Precarious Vision (1961), Invitation to Sociology (1963), The Social Reality of Religion (1967) (more entertainingly entitled in its original American edition, The Sacred Canopy), and A Rumour of Angels (1968).
Is Language About God Fraudulent?
Authors: Ferré Frederick
Published: February 2009

The question stated in the title of this paper may seem absurd to many who are unacquainted with the concerns of contemporary philosophy. ‘Is language about God fraudulent?’ How strange (they may say) that anyone should be silly enough to raise the question! Because, therefore, the seriousness of the issue and the genuineness of its challenge may not be immediately apparent to everyone, it will not be amiss to sample some of the ways in which innocent-seeming language is liable to mislead. The failure of philosophers to make such preliminary points—which to them are platitudes too familiar to require repetition—may account for the sense of unreality which many non-philosophers find in modern critiques.
Hippolytus' Conception of Deification
Authors: Ritschl Dietrich
Published: February 2009

It is true that the theology of Tertullian and Novatian has linfluenced later trinitarian conceptions much more than Hippolytus has. His ecclesiology and soteriology, however, are an important point of transition from Irenaeus' doctrine of the Church and of Union with Christ towards the later conceptions of a mystical sacramental understanding of Union with Christ. Hippolytus is in many ways responsible for the development of a doctrine of participation in Christ expressed as deification or mystical union. His theological interest is limited to a part of Trenaeus' doctrine of participation: to the καινòς ἂνθρωπος, and hence to the Church as the assembly of the saints, the baptised, the just, who possess the Holy Spirit, and are connected with the apostles through the hierarchical episcopate.
The Old Testament in Controversy with the Jews
Authors: Wiles M. F.
Published: February 2009

The extensive use of typology and allegory by the early Church is usually and rightly regarded as the Church's effective answer to Marcion's rejection of the Old Testament. It was also a part of her answer to the Jewish acceptance of the Old Testament. Controversy has a stimulating effect upon the development of new ideas, but it has in most cases also the disadvantage of fostering special pleading and unbalanced exaggerations. It seems worth trying to discover in what ways anti-Jewish controversy and the mere fact of the Jews' use and possession of the Old Testament affected the Church's understanding of it in the formative ante-Nicene period.
Political Theology and Social Ethics: The Socialist Humanism of Karl Barth
Authors: Bettis Joseph
Published: February 2009

Thirteen years ago Will Herberg described the work and influence of Karl Barth in the following way:

Karl Barth is, beyond all doubt, the master theologian of our age. Wherever, in the past generation, men have reflected deeply on the ultimate problems of life and faith, they have done so in a way that bears the unmistakable mark of the intellectual revolution let loose by this Swiss thinker in the years immediately following the first world war…. If any man has ever put his sign on the thinking of his time, it is Karl Barth, the father of the ‘dialectical theology’.
Existence and Life in Tillich
Authors: Thatcher Adrian
Published: February 2009

There has to be a pressing reason to add to the mountain of material which has grown up around the work of Paul Tillich. Has not the ground been exhausted, the sponge wrung dry? While it would be presumptuous to claim that the present article deals with some hitherto unturned stone, our contention is that by asking a relatively simple question, a strange defect in Tillich's system becomes evident which seems to have been largely ignored. If this contention succeeds, then perhaps the presence of yet another article on Tillich may be justified.
The Human Perspective
Authors: Clifford Paul Rowntree
Published: February 2009

How far can we claim to know anything for what it actually is? Or, to put the question another way, how far is our so-called knowledge relative to the specifically human perspective? The problem was succinctly put by Fr Paul Verghese in an essay he contributed to the symposium on Technology and Social Justice:

Our present universe is constituted by our sense-equipment, and by the ancillary equipment which we have been able to make for ourselves by technology. Change our sense-equipment and brain-structure, and we will have a different universe. Look at the paranoid or the psychedelic. Is the universe of his experience the same as ours? And which is the true one? For our equipment ours is true, for his, his is true. And if all were paranoid or psychedelic, we would have a totally different universe. … The bee has its world, the spider and the bat have each its own, depending upon die particular perception system of each. Change our sense-equipment—this world disappears and another one takes its place.
Data envelopment analysis approaches for solving the multiresponse problem in the Taguchi method
Authors: Al-Refaie Abbas , Wu Tai-Hsi , Li Ming-Hsien
Published: February 2009

This research proposes a procedure for solving the multiresponse problem in the Taguchi method utilizing two data envelopment analysis (DEA) approaches, including comparisons of efficiency between different systems (CEBDS) and bilateral comparisons. In this procedure, each experiment in Taguchi's orthogonal array (OA) is treated as a decision-making unit (DMU) with the multiresponses as the inputs and outputs for all DMUs. For each factor of OA, the DMUs are divided into groups, each at the same factor level. Then, DMU's efficiency is separately evaluated by the CEBDS approach and the bilateral comparisons approach for each factor. The level efficiency, or the average of the efficiencies obtained by the CEBDS and the bilateral comparisons approaches for that factor level, is then used to determine the optimal factor levels for multiresponses. Three case studies are provided for illustration; in all, the proposed procedure provides the largest total anticipated improvements. Hence, it should be considered the most effective among all approaches applied in the case studies, including principal component analysis, DEA-based ranking approach, and others. In addition, the proposed procedure is more effective and requires less computational effort when the DMU's efficiency is evaluated by the bilateral comparisons approach instead of the CEBDS approach. In conclusion, the proposed procedure will provide great assistance to practitioners for solving the multiresponse problems in manufacturing applications on the Taguchi method.
Pharmaceutical approaches to eradication of persistent HIV infection
Authors: Bowman Mary-Catherine , Archin Nancie M. , Margolis David M.
Published: February 2009

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has markedly decreased morbidity and mortality in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals in the developed world. Successful therapy often results in stable plasma levels of HIV-1 RNA below the limits of detection of commercial assays. Nonetheless, HIV-1 has not been cured by HAART. The causes of persistence of HIV infection in the face of current therapy appear to be multifactorial: latent but replication-competent provirus in resting CD4+T cells, cryptic viral expression below the limits of detection of clinical assays, and viral sanctuary sites might all contribute to persistence. Clearance of HIV infection will almost certainly require a multimodality approach that includes potent suppression of HIV replication, therapies that reach all compartments of residual HIV replication and depletion of any reservoirs of persistent, quiescent proviral infection. This review highlights the basic mechanisms for the establishment and maintenance of viral reservoirs and pharmaceutical approaches towards their elimination.
Can Mate Choice Strategies Explain Sex Differences?
Authors: Stieger Stefan , Eichinger Tina , Honeder Britta
Published: February 2009

Online deception is a phenomenon on the Internet, facilitated by restrictions on communication channels. As communication on the Internet is largely exchanged in textual form, deception about personal data such as sex, age, and appearance can be difficult to detect. Research on online deception has been focused thus far on what deceivers lie about and what motivates them to do so. Little is known about how persons feel when they are deceived in an online environment and about whether sex differences exist in the intensity of those feelings. Furthermore, research on online deception largely lacks a theoretical basis. In the current studies, differences between the sexes with respect to their reaction to online deception about sex, age, and appearance were analyzed in a framework of sex-specific mating strategies predicted by evolutionary theory. The results of a structured online interview showed that sex-specific differences in reaction to online gender switching and appearance deception can be explained by mating strategies. Gender switching was found to be more disturbing when committed by a chat partner of the same sex than when committed by a chat partner of the opposite sex. Appearance deception was found to be more disturbing when committed by chat partners of the opposite sex. The data on age deception were not in line with the theory of mate-choice strategies. Even a second online questionnaire study could not entirely clarify the issue but did reveal interfering factors (such as online harassment, legal issues, life expectancy) that probably influence the effect driven by evolution.
Effects of Different Types of Progress Indicators on Drop-Out Rates in Web Surveys
Authors: Matzat Uwe , Snijders Chris , van der Horst Wouter
Published: February 2009

The present study analyzes whether and how different types of progress indicators affect the tendency of respondents to continue filling out a web survey, focusing on whether the progress indicators effects depend on the position of the respondent in the questionnaire. Using a sample of 2460 respondents of a Dutch online access panel, we analyze three kinds of progress indicators (linear, fast-then-slow, slow-then-fast, and a control condition) using survival analysis. The results show that the effect of the indicators on the completion rate is either negative or nonexistent, depending on the questionnaire length. Moreover, the effect of an indicator does not depend on the position of the respondent in the answering process. We interpret our findings in terms of the implicit narrative between survey designer and respondent.
Plain Texts as an Online Mood-Induction Procedure
Authors: Verheyen Christopher , Göritz Anja S.
Published: February 2009

This experiment examined six short texts for their effectiveness in inducing positive or negative mood in an online environment. Compared to two control groups, the texts successfully changed mood in the desired direction for mood measured on a single-item self-report scale. In accordance with previous research, negative mood was induced more effectively than positive mood. In addition to the self-report mood measure, two non-self-report mood measures are used; namely, word-pleasantness ratings and subjective probabilities of negative life-events. Pleasantness ratings of uncommon words seemed to be a suitable measure for mood, whereas subjective probabilities of negative life-events were not.
Groundwater response to changing water‐use practices in sloping aquifers using convolution of transient response functions
Authors: Steward David R. , Yang Xiaoying , Chacon Sergio
Published: February 2009

This study examines the impact of a sloping base on the movement of transients through groundwater systems. Dimensionless variables and regression of model results are employed to develop functions relating the transient change in saturated thickness to the distance upgradient and downgradient from recharge or withdrawal. Convolution of these transient response functions (made possible due to linearity of partial differential equations in the model) enables computation of changes in saturated thickness over recharge/withdrawal that varies over space and time. Establishing the criteria and form of these functions led to the discovery of fundamental underlying properties: upgradient and downgradient responses may be scaled to achieve a symmetrical relationship, expressions are developed to compute change in saturated thickness at the location of water use, and downgradient response at large times form a S‐shaped curve that effectively adds a diffusive component to the average velocity of the kinematic wave approximation, where the hydraulic gradient is equal to the bed slope. Hydrogeologic data for three study regions in the High Plains Aquifer are summarized, and model results are presented for changes in saturated thickness. The transient response functions are used to reconstruct and interpret groundwater response to historical water‐use practices and to predict future changes in saturated thickness for a series of hypothetical alternative water‐use scenarios. Depressions in groundwater elevation are observed both upgradient and downgradient from areas of high water use; however, these depressions preferentially move downgradient over time and may continue to spread downgradient far into the future. This approach quantifies and provides understanding of the impacts of changes in natural and anthropogenic hydrologic forcings on aquifer systems.
North Pacific premonitory sign of the ENSO event
Authors: Chang Rui , Zhang Qing‐Yun , Li Rong‐Feng
Published: February 2009

The premonitory sign of the ENSO event shows up in the North Pacific subtropical Mode Water (STMW) 18 months earlier, and this should be useful in forecasting the occurrence of this important phenomenon. The premonitory connection involves an air‐sea coupling between the longtime persistent mid‐latitude SSTA induced by the remote re‐emergence of STMW and the following spring subtropical atmospheric circulation anomalies. Examination of the air‐sea interaction reveals that the following spring subtropical atmospheric circulation which responds to the longtime persistent SSTA is dominated by the anomalous negative (positive) geopotential height downstream of the negative (positive) SSTA in the strong (weak) STMW case. Then, the tropics adjust to these anomalies through coupled dynamics, producing ENSO‐like pattern of variability. Details of the connection and possible process are presented.
Long‐term observations of transport, eddies, and Rossby waves in the Mozambique Channel
Authors: Harlander U. , Ridderinkhof H. , Schouten M. W. , de Ruijter W. P. M.
Published: February 2009

Data from an array of current meter moorings covering a period of two and a half years are used to estimate the varying transport through the Mozambique Channel. The total transport during this period is small (8.6 · 106 m3 s−1 or 8.6 Sv southward). Below 1200 m the transport is weak but a prominent deep western boundary undercurrent with cores at 1700 and 2200 m is found that transports 1.5 Sv to the north. The transport shows a large temporal variability, and neither a continuous upper layer western boundary current nor a continuous deep undercurrent is found. The variability in the upper layer is dominated by a period of 68 days and results mainly from eddies that migrate southward through the Mozambique Channel. In addition to this southward propagation, a westward‐propagating signal is evident from a space‐time diagram of the throughflow. The signal is interpreted as a Mozambique Channel Rossby normal mode. This interpretation is consistent with results from a Principal Oscillation Pattern Analysis (that estimates normal modes from the data) and a quasi‐geostrophic channel model. A detailed inspection of a single “eddy event” shows that a precursor of an anticyclone is a strong southward current along the Madagascar coast that propagates westward to the center of the Channel. During the westward propagation, the current becomes unstable inducing an anticyclone. This scenario connects the westward‐propagating mode with the eddy growth and explains the coincidence of the eddy and Rossby mode frequency. Still, the type of instability that leads to eddy growth could not be determined yet.
Characterization of return‐stroke currents in rocket‐triggered lightning
Authors: Schoene J. , Uman M. A. , Rakov V. A. , Rambo K. J. , Jerauld J. , Mata C. T. , Mata A. G. , Jordan D. M. , Schnetzer G. H.
Published: February 2009

We present a statistical analysis of the salient characteristics of current waveforms for 206 return strokes in 46 rocket‐triggered lightning flashes. The flashes were triggered during a variety of experiments related to the interaction of lightning with power lines that were conducted from 1999 through 2004 at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing at Camp Blanding, Florida. The return‐stroke current, after measurement, was injected into either one of two test power lines or into the Earth near a power line via a grounding system of the rocket launcher. Statistical information is presented for return‐stroke peak current, charge transfer, half‐peak width, and 10%–90% risetime. Our return‐stroke peak current statistics are found to be generally consistent with those reported from other triggered‐lightning studies and appear to be independent of electrical properties of the strike object, as previously found in another study. We found significant correlation (R2 = 0.76) between lightning return‐stroke peak current and the corresponding charge transfer within 1 ms after return‐stroke initiation. The dependence is surprisingly similar to that found by Berger and co‐workers for the natural first return‐stroke peak currents and 1‐ms charge transfers. The means of the 10%–90% current risetimes for strikes to the power line (geometric mean 1.2 μs) and for strikes to the Earth (geometric mean 0.4 μs) are significantly different which indicates that the electrical properties of the strike object affect the risetime. This effect is likely related to the impedance seen by lightning at the strike point and/or to reflections at impedance discontinuities within the strike object, larger effective impedances apparently resulting in larger risetimes. A dependence of the return‐stroke current half‐peak width on the electrical properties of the strike object was not observed in our direct and nearby‐strike experiments.
Characterization of the vaccinia virus D10 decapping enzyme provides evidence for a two-metal-ion mechanism
Authors: Soulière Marie F. , Perreault Jean-Pierre , Bisaillon Martin
Published: February 2009

Decapping enzymes are required for the removal of the 5′-end cap of mRNAs. These enzymes exhibit a specific hydrolase activity, resulting in cleavage between the α- and β-phosphates of the m7GpppN cap to generate both m7GDP and monophosphorylated RNA products. Decapping enzymes have been found in humans, plants and yeasts, and have been discovered more recently in vaccinia virus (D10 protein). Although experimental evidences are lacking, three-metal- and two-metal-ion mechanisms have been proposed so far for the decapping enzymes. In the present study, we performed a biochemical characterization of the interaction of bivalent cations with the vaccinia virus D10 protein. Synergistic activation of the enzyme was observed in the presence of Mg2+ and Mn2+ ions, suggesting the existence of two metal-ion-binding sites on the D10 protein. Moreover, dual-ligand titration experiments using fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated the presence of two metal-ion-binding sites on the enzyme. A three-dimensional structural model of the active site of the enzyme was generated which highlighted the importance of three glutamate residues involved in the co-ordination of two metal ions and a water molecule. Mutational analyses confirmed the role of two glutamate residues for the binding of metal ions. We demonstrate that one metal ion is co-ordinated by Glu132, while the second metal ion is co-ordinated by Glu145. Taken together, these results support the proposed two-metal-ion mechanistic model for the D10 decapping enzyme.
The role of grain boundaries in the coercivity of hydrogenation disproportionation desorption recombination processed Nd–Fe–B powders
Authors: Li W. F. , Ohkubo T. , Hono K. , Nishiuchi T. , Hirosawa S.
Published: February 2009

The microstructure of hydrogenation disproportionation desorption recombination processed powders with a nominal composition of Nd12.5Fe73Co8B6.5 was investigated by high resolution scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The Lorenz observation of the magnetic domain motion of various stages of the desorption recombination stage indicated that domain walls are strongly pinned by Nd-enriched grain boundaries in high coercivity powder.
Finite element method based on a minimization theorem to obtain unique magnetization distribution
Authors: Vashghani Farahani A. , Lavers J. D. , Konrad A.
Published: February 2009

A new approach to obtain unique magnetization distribution M and the corresponding internal magnetic field H inside magnetic materials subject to an applied field is introduced. The proposed finite element method obtains M directly by finding the minimum of a given mathematical function WM(M) that can be interpreted as the sum of the internal free energy of polarization, and internal and external magnetic energies. According to a theorem in magnetostatics, the magnetization state that satisfies the constitutive equation minimizes WM(M) and is unique. It is shown that the numerical solution satisfies both the condition for a minimum state and the constitutive equation. Therefore there is theoretical confidence that the proposed method yields the unique distributions M and H.
Enhancement of ferro-para transition in ethanol doped ferroelectric liquid crystals
Authors: Malik A. , Choudhary A. , Prakash J. , Coondoo I. , Biradar A. M.
Published: February 2009

The influence of ethanol (C2H5OH) doping in the electroclinic liquid crystal has been investigated using dielectric spectroscopy. A giant shift in ferroelectric (SmC∗) to paraelectric (SmA) phase transition has been observed. After analyzing collective relaxation processes, it is confirmed that Curie–Weiss law is obeyed in the vicinity of SmC∗ to SmA phase transition after doping with ethanol. It has been predicted that the dipole-dipole interaction due to ethanol molecules creates the uniformity in the randomized liquid crystal molecules in paraelectric phase, resulting in the increase in the ferroelectric phase in de Vries electroclinic liquid crystal materials.
Effect of Debye shielding on electric field emission from spherical and cylindrical surfaces
Authors: Sodha Mahendra Singh , Dixit Amrit
Published: February 2009

In this paper the authors have derived almost exact expressions for the tunneling probability of an electron through the surface potential barrier on account of a negative charge on spherical and cylindrical metallic dust particles; Debye shielding has been taken into account. Expressions for the electric current density corresponding to emitted electrons from the charged spherical and cylindrical surfaces have been derived, and corresponding numerical computations have been made for typical set of parameters. Based on these results, a parametric analysis of the phenomenon has been presented. The investigation is of relevance to dusty plasmas in space and laboratory. The results are also applicable to a number of applications, based on electric field emission from a thin metallic wire surrounded by a coaxial cylindrical surface at a high electric potential with respect to the wire.
Acoustic phonon mode anomalies in lanthanum doped lead zirconate-titanate relaxor ferroelectric ceramics
Authors: Shabbir Ghulam , Kojima Seiji
Published: February 2009

Lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate, PLZT-x/65/35 (x=8.0, 9.0, and 9.4), relaxor ferroelectric ceramics were investigated by the high resolution Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy in the temperature range from ∼870 down to ∼170 K. Broad anomalies were observed in the acoustic phonon mode velocity and related elastic stiffness coefficient showing minimum between ∼320–∼240 K. The deviation in the acoustic mode velocity from the high temperature linearity at the Burns temperature (TB∼720 K) and presence of a broad central peak in the temperature range 200≤T≤540 K were attributed to the dynamics of polar nanoregions with randomly oriented local polarization appearing due to site and/or charge disorder at both A- and B-sites of the ABO3 perovskite lattice. The presence of a new temperature point Td (∼575 K) was conclusively established in PLZT-x/65/35 relaxor ceramics.
Colossal dielectric response in all-ceramic percolative composite 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3–Pb2Ru2O6.5
Authors: Bobnar V. , Hrovat M. , Holc J. , Filipič C. , Levstik A. , Kosec M.
Published: February 2009

An exceptionally high dielectric constant was obtained by making use of the conductive percolative phenomenon in all-ceramic composite, comprising of Pb2Ru2O6.5 with high electrical conductivity denoted as the conductive phase and ferroelectric 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) perovskite systems. Structural analysis revealed a uniform distribution of conductive ceramic grains within the PMN-PT matrix. Consequently, the dielectric response in the PMN-PT-Pb2Ru2O6.5 composite follows the predictions of the percolation theory. Thus, close to the percolation point exceptionally high values of the dielectric constant were obtained—values higher than 105 were detected at room temperature at 1 kHz. Fit of the data, obtained for samples of different compositions, revealed critical exponent and percolation point, which reasonably agree with the theoretically predicted values.
Interfacial reactions at Al/LiF and LiF/Al
Authors: Xie Z. T. , Zhang W. H. , Ding B. F. , Gao X. D. , You Y. T. , Sun Z. Y. , Ding X. M. , Hou X. Y.
Published: February 2009

High-resolution synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy was used to investigate the chemical properties of Al–LiF interfaces. An electronic state appeared at the Al/LiF interface with a binding energy 4.8 eV higher than that of the metallic Al 2p core level, but the state was hardly found to be present at the LiF/Al interface. This indicates that intensive chemical reaction could occur at the Al/LiF interface, while the reaction occurring at the LiF/Al interface would be weak. This result explains well the unsymmetrical electron injection from different sides of the symmetrical device of indium-tin-oxide\Al\LiF\tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum\LiF\Al showing unsymmetrical current-voltage characteristics.
Properties of sol-gel derived YAG:Eu3+ hierarchical nanostructures with their time evolution studies
Authors: Sharma Prashant K. , Kumar Manvendra , Singh Prashant K. , Pandey Avinash C. , Singh V. N.
Published: February 2009

Eu 3 + doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel method. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy including vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) PL spectroscopy. XRD confirmed that each and every phases of YAG were present, indicating very good quality of sample. The crystallite size, estimated by XRD, increased from 10 to 30 nm with annealing temperatures and significant changes in morphology with annealing temperature was also found in TEM study. The particles were in spherical shape initially but agglomeration of particles started at higher temperatures resulting in hierarchical nanostructures having dimension more than 50 nm. The annealed YAG:Eu3+ hierarchical nanostructures showed strong red luminescence under VUV excitation, corresponding to D50→F72 transition. PL spectra also showed significant increase in luminescence intensity with the increase in annealing temperature. Time evolution studies were also performed continuously for 150 days to check the stability of prepared hierarchical nanostructures and were found to be extremely stable, making them one of the most feasible candidate for red phosphor and seize great potential in flat panel display application that underlies the importance of the current work.
Near-infrared quantum cutting in YPO4:Yb3+, Tm3+ via cooperative energy transfer
Authors: Xie Lechun , Wang Yuhua , Zhang Huijuan
Published: February 2009

The experimental evidences of the cooperative energy transfer from Tm3+ to Yb3+ have been presented by the photoluminescence properties of YPO4:Yb3+, Tm3+, and the decay lifetime curves of the G14 emission of Tm3+. Near-infrared quantum cutting involving the F25/2→F27/2 emission of Yb3+ (about 970–1010 nm) is achieved upon the excitation of G14 energy level of Tm3+ at 474 nm. Quantum efficiency related to Yb3+ concentration is calculated, and the maximum efficiency reaches 172.8%. Because the energy of Yb3+ transition is matched with the band gap of the crystalline Si, the phosphors could be applied potentially in silicon-based solar cells.
Formation of high density tungsten nanodots embedded in silicon nitride for nonvolatile memory application
Authors: Pei Yanli , Yin Chengkuan , Nishijima Masahiko , Kojima Toshiya , Fukushima Takafumi , Tanaka Tetsu , Koyanagi Mitsumasa
Published: February 2009

In this letter, the formation of high density tungsten nanodots (W-NDs) embedded in silicon nitride via a self-assembled nanodot deposition is demonstrated. In this method, tungsten and silicon nitride are cosputtered in high vacuum rf sputtering equipment. The W-NDs with small diameters (1–1.5 nm) and high density (∼1.3×1013/cm2) were achieved easily by controlling W composition; this is the ratio of total area of W chips to that of silicon nitride target. The metal-oxide-semiconductor memory device was fabricated with high density W-NDs floating gate and high-k HfO2 blocking dielectric. A wide range memory window (0–29 V) was obtained after bidirectional gate voltages sweeping with range of ±1–±23 V. It is feasible to design the memory window with propriety power consumption for nonvolatile memory application.
A web-based software system for dynamic gene cluster comparison across multiple genomes
Authors: Revanna Kashi Vishwanath , Krishnakumar Vivek , Dong Qunfeng
Published: February 2009

Summary: Investigating the conservation of gene clusters across multiple genomes has become a standard practice in the era of comparative genomics. However, all existing software and databases rely heavily on pre-computation to identify homologous genes by genome-wide comparisons. Such pre-computing strategies lack accuracy and updating the data is computationally intensive. Since most molecular biologists are often interested only in a small cluster of genes, catering to this need, we have developed a web-based software system that allows users to upload a list of genes, perform dynamic search against the genomes of their choices and interactively visualize the gene cluster conservation using a novel multi-genome browser. Our approach avoids expensive genome-wide pre-computing and allows users to dynamically change the search criteria to fit their genes of interest. Our system can be customized for any genome sequences. We have applied it to both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes to illustrate its usability.

Availability: Our software is freely available at http://cgcv.cgb.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/index.cgi.

Contact:  dongq@indiana.edu
Preventive Effect of Boiogito on Metabolic Disorders in the TSOD Mouse, a Model of Spontaneous Obese Type II Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Shimada Tsutomu , Akase Tomoko , Kosugi Mitsutaka , Aburada Masaki
Published: February 2009

“Boiogito" is a Kampo preparation which has been used since ancient times in patients with obesity of the “asthenic constitution" type, so‐called “watery obesity", and its effect has been recognized clinically. In this study, we investigated the anti‐obesity effect of Boiogito in the TSOD (Tsumura Suzuki Obese Diabetes) mouse, a model of spontaneous obese type II diabetes mellitus. Boiogito showed a significant anti‐obesity effect in TSOD mice by suppressing body weight gain in a dosage‐dependent manner. In addition, Boiogito showed significant ameliorative effects on features of metabolic syndrome such as hyperinsulinemia, fasting hyperglycemia and abnormal lipid metabolism. Regarding lipid accumulation in TSOD mice, Boiogito showed a significant suppressive effect on accumulation of subcutaneous fat, but the effect on the visceral fat accumulation that constitutes the basis of metabolic syndrome was weak, and the suppressive effect on insulin resistance was also weak. Furthermore, Boiogito did not alleviate the abnormal glucose tolerance, the hypertension or the peripheral neuropathy characteristically developed in the TSOD mice. In contrast, in the TSNO (Tsumura Suzuki Non‐Obesity) mice used as controls, Boiogito suppressed body weight gain and accumulation of subcutaneous and visceral fat. The above results suggested that Boiogito is effective as an anti‐obesity drug against obesity of the “asthenic constitution" type in which subcutaneous fat accumulates, but cannot be expected to exert a preventive effect against various symptoms of metabolic syndrome that are based on visceral fat accumulation.
Phytochrome A Mediates Rapid Red Light–Induced Phosphorylation ofArabidopsisFAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL1 in a Low Fluence Response
Authors: Shen Yunping , Zhou Zhenzhen , Feng Suhua , Li Jigang , Tan-Wilson Anna , Qu Li-Jia , Wang Haiyang , Deng Xing Wang
Published: February 2009

Phytochrome A (phyA) is the primary photoreceptor for mediating the far-red high irradiance response in Arabidopsis thaliana. FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL1 (FHY1) and its homolog FHY1-LIKE (FHL) define two positive regulators in the phyA signaling pathway. These two proteins have been reported to be essential for light-regulated phyA nuclear accumulation through direct physical interaction with phyA. Here, we report that FHY1 protein is phosphorylated rapidly after exposure to red light. Subsequent exposure to far-red light after the red light pulse reverses FHY1 phosphorylation. Such a phenomenon represents a classical red/far-red reversible low fluence response. The phosphorylation of FHY1 depends on functioning phyA but not on other phytochromes and cryptochromes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that FHY1 and FHL directly interact with phyA by bimolecular fluorescence complementation and that both FHY1 and FHL interact more stably with the Pr form of phyA in Arabidopsis seedlings by coimmunoprecipitation. Finally, in vitro kinase assays confirmed that a recombinant phyA is able to robustly phosphorylate FHY1. Together, our results suggest that phyA may differentially regulate FHY1 and FHL activity through direct physical interaction and red/far-red light reversible phosphorylation to fine-tune their degradation rates and resulting light responses.
Recent progress in pathogenesis and management of colorectal cancer. Eighteenth International Symposium of the Hiroshima Cancer Seminar, November 2008
Authors: Yasui Wataru , Ito Hisao , Du Bois Raymond N. , Tahara Eiichi
Published: February 2009

This symposium presented recent progress of the pathogenesis and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). Field cancerization by modified stem cells may be the earliest changes associated with CRC. CD34+‐immature myeloid cells are deeply involved in CRC invasion. Inflammatory mediators stimulate cancer progression. We must strive for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for this connection. Serial analysis of gene expression data analysis has identified novel biomarkers for cancer detection and possible prognosis. Better endoscopic techniques are suitable for early detection and resection of colonic lesions. Chemoprevention of CRC using sulindac and aberrant crypt foci as a clinical endpoint have shown glutathione S‐transferase π as a possible new target. A new drug delivery system using nanoparticles is being developed with SN‐38, a biologically active metabolite of irinotecan. Survival of Japanese male patients with CRC is the best in the world due to lymph node dissection and surveillance. The use of laparoscopic surgery has increased, especially for advanced cancer. A treatment trial by the Sanin Study Group suggests that modified 5‐fluorouracil and leucovorin with oxaliplatin treatment could be carried out in elderly patients. A great deal of information for understanding carcinogenesis and treatment has provided us with novel strategies for the management and prevention of CRC. (Cancer Sci 2009; 100: 978–981)
Effects of moderate acute isovolaemic haemodilution on myocardial function in patients undergoing coronary surgery under volatile inhalational anaesthesia
Authors: De Hert S. G. , Cromheecke S. , Lorsomradee S. , Van der Linden P. J.
Published: February 2009

When myocardial oxygen demand is increased by elevated heart rate in patients undergoing coronary artery surgery under total intravenous anaesthesia, acute isovolaemic haemodilution may be associated with a deterioration of cardiac function. We investigated the effects of acute isovolaemic haemodilution during volatile inhalational anaesthesia. Forty patients undergoing coronary surgery were randomly assigned to two groups according to the rate of atrioventricular pacing (Group 70 at 70.min−1 and Group 90 at 90.min−1). While paced at the fixed heart rate, acute isovolaemic haemodilution was performed before the start of cardiopulmonary bypass. In both groups mean (SD) stroke volume increased with haemodilution (from 65 (9) to 83 (10) ml.min−1 (p < 0.01) in Group 70 and from 65 (9) to 81 (9) ml.min−1 (p < 0.01) in Group 90) as a result of a decrease in systemic vascular resistance (from 1175 (231) to 869 (164) dynes.s.cm−5 (p < 0.01) and from 1060 (185) to 849 (146) dynes.s.cm−5 (p < 0.01), respectively) and an increase in end‐diastolic volume (from 1049 (234) to 1405 (211) ml (p < 0.01) and from 1078 (106) to 1438 (246) ml (p < 0.01), respectively). Left ventricular pressure‐derived data remained unchanged with acute isovolaemic haemodilution in both groups.
A retrospective study of anaesthetic caseload of Specialist Registrars following the introduction of new working patterns in the Wessex region*
Authors: Al‐Rawi S. , Spargo P.
Published: February 2009

The impact of implementing the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) and the consequent reduction in hours of work has led to concerns about training. This retrospective study compared total caseload, obstetric caseload, out‐of‐hours caseload and supervision levels of trainee anaesthetists in one region of the UK (Wessex) before and after the implementation of EWTD compliant rotas. Anaesthetic trainee logbooks submitted at the annual Record of In‐Training Assessment were compared between the years 1999 and 2006. The logbook data was divided into two groups, group A (13‐h shift) and group B (24‐h on‐call rota). There was no difference in total caseload, obstetric caseload or supervision. Out‐of‐hours caseload was greater in group A (p < 0.01).
Caseinolytic protease: a protein vaccine which could elicit serotype-independent protection against invasive pneumococcal infection
Authors: Cao J , Li D , Gong Y , Yin N , Chen T , Wong C K , Xu W , Luo J , Zhang X , Lam C W K , Yin Y
Published: February 2009

Invasive pneumococcal diseases incur significant mortality, morbidity and economic costs. The most effective strategy currently available to reduce the burden of these diseases is vaccination. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy of immunizing mice with caseinolytic protease (ClpP) protein antigen whose gene sequences were shown to be highly conserved in different strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae in an invasive-disease model (intraperitoneal infection model), and protection against invasive challenge with 12 different serotypes of S. pneumoniae was assessed in two murine strains. Our findings demonstrated that active immunization with ClpP and passive immunization with antibodies specific for ClpP could elicit serotype-independent protection effectively against invasive pneumococcal infection. Therefore, to our knowledge, this study is the first report that immunization with single pneumococcal ClpP protein antigen could protect against such broad-range pneumococal strains, which thus supports the development of ClpP as a human penumococcal vaccine.