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Controversial Question (controversial + question)
Selected AbstractsThe Son's Assumption of a Human Nature: A Call for ClarityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2001Kelly M. Kapic This article seeks to bring some clarity to the controversial question of whether the Son of God assumed a fallen or unfallen human nature. We briefly survey conflicting historical assessments and continuing perplexity related to this question. Next we argue that much contemporary confusion can only be removed by first noting how John Calvin and Reformation catechisms tended to understand the idea of Jesus' sinlessness. In conclusion, from the vast literature on the subject we outline seven points which may serve contemporary reflection on this question by showing where the two views agree, disagree, or show internal divisions. [source] Dopamine and adult neurogenesisJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2007Andreas Borta Abstract Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter implicated in the regulation of mood, motivation and movement. We have reviewed here recent data suggesting that dopamine, in addition to being a neurotransmitter, also plays a role in the regulation of endogenous neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain. In addition, we approach a highly controversial question: can the adult human brain use neurogenesis to replace the dopaminergic neurones in the substantia nigra that are lost in Parkinson's disease? [source] Distant nodal metastases from intrathoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Characteristics of long-term survivors after chemoradiotherapyJOURNAL OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Yin-Kai Chao MD Abstract Background Non-regional lymph node metastasis in intrathoracic esophageal cancer is classified as M1 lesion with poor prognosis following surgery alone. We studied the controversial question of whether chemoradiotherapy (CRT) improves survival of these patients. Methods A cohort of patients with clinically overt nodal M1 disease, which could be encompassed by a tolerable radiation therapy port, was selected from the database of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Results From 1994 to 2005, 54 nodal stage IV intrathoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients received neoadjuvant CRT. Significant response occurred in 24 patients. Scheduled esophagectomy was performed in 26 patients. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) for the whole group were 27% (median: 14.2 months) and 22% (median: 14.7 months), respectively. Multivariate analysis identified pretherapy lymph nodes classified as M1a and R0 resection after CRT as independent favorable prognosticators. Median survival reached 36.9 months in the pretherapy M1a subgroup as opposed to 12.5 months in the M1b subgroup (3-year-DFS: 40% vs. 10%, P,=,0.0117). Scheduled surgery after CRT benefits only after R0 resection (3-year-DFS: 36%, median survival: 45 months). The group with incomplete resection had a high surgical risk and dismal survival compared to the non-surgery group (3-year-DFS: 0% vs. 9%, 9.5 vs. 10.5 months). Conclusions Pretherapy M1a disease had a significantly better survival than nodal M1b disease after CRT in SCC. Aggressive surgical treatment after CRT is reserved for cases when complete resection is anticipated. J. Surg. Oncol. 2010;102:158,162. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Chronic radiation exposure in the Rivne-Polissia region of Ukraine: Implications for birth defectsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Kelsey Needham Dancause Objectives: The health effects of chronic low-dose radiation exposure remains a controversial question. Monitoring after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine suggested that chronic low-dose radiation exposure was not linked to cancer mortality among the general population. However, elevated rates of birth defects in contaminated compared to uncontaminated regions suggest that exposure to radiation in utero might impact development and that chronic radiation exposure might represent an underestimated risk to human health. Methods: We sought to determine current radiation exposure routes in Rivne-Polissia, a region of Ukraine contaminated by the Chernobyl accident. This represents a first step toward comprehensive studies of the effects of chronic radiation exposure on human health. We designed and administered a dietary and activity survey to 344 women in Polissia. We assessed types and sources of food consumed, types of outdoor activities, and alcohol intake. Results: Alcohol intake was low and alone does not account for the observed high rates of birth defects. Wild foods, especially mushrooms and berries, and locally produced foods, especially milk related, were major radiation exposure routes. Additionally, women were exposed to radiation through inhalation while burning grasses and potato vines in fields, and wood for cooking and heating. Conclusions: Twenty four years after the Chernobyl accident, women continue to be chronically exposed to low-dose radiation at levels exceeding current recommendations. This might contribute (especially synergistically with alcohol consumption and micronutrient deficiencies) to higher prevalence of birth defects in areas of Ukraine with high levels of radiation contamination compared to uncontaminated areas. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 22:667,674, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Influence of the Mn compositional distribution on the magnetic order in diluted GaMnN layersPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 6 2008D. Mai Abstract GaMnN is a prototypical GaN-based dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) and its potential as a room temperature ferromagnetic material is still a controversial question to be answered. Diluted GaMnN layers with Mn concentrations up to several percent have been grown by plasma-assisted MBE on MOVPE-GaN templates either on p-Si(111) or on Al2O3(0001) substrates. None of the samples reported here shows second phase precipitates in XRD or in the TEM analysis. However different composition distributions have been evidenced by EDX during the scanning TEM analysis. GaMnN grown at a substrate temperature of TS = 650 °C exhibits extended structural defects and strong compositional inhomogeneity. This could be indicative of decomposition due to local strain. Samples grown at TS = 775 °C with a Mn concentration of about 3% show a homogeneous Mn distribution in the layer. The magnetic properties are found to vary from spin glass to ferromagnetic behaviour at room temperature among different samples. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Self-defence, Defence and Pre-emptionPOLITICS, Issue 3 2004Laurie Calhoun Military supporters and critics often find each others' positions on war preposterous. The divergent attitudes of these two groups may derive from their view about the analogy, or lack thereof, between war and self-defence, an issue recently highlighted by the controversial question of ,pre-emption'. In general, bombing campaigns conducted abroad are better understood as pre-emptive acts of war than as literal acts of ,self-defence'. The support by governments of the weapons export trade is also difficult to reconcile with the ,self-defence' interpretation of war. Accordingly, those who reject ,pre-emptive defence' on the grounds that it exceeds the parameters of ,self-defence' should, in consistency, oppose bombing campaigns and the exportation of weapons as well. [source] Perspective: Assessing the Clinical Utility of Serum CTX in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis and Its Use in Predicting Risk of Osteonecrosis of the Jaw,JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009Sanford Baim Abstract Bone turnover markers (BTMs) have become increasingly important in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO). In bisphosphonate-treated women with PMO, BTMs can provide early indications of treatment efficacy, are predictors of BMD response and fracture risk reduction, and are potentially useful for monitoring patient compliance. The bone resorption marker serum C-telopeptide cross-link of type 1 collagen (sCTX) has shown high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of increased bone resorption. Recently, sCTX has been singled out as a potential indicator of risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in patients receiving oral bisphosphonates who require oral surgery. However, whether BTMs are capable of predicting ONJ risk and whether sCTX is usable for this purpose are controversial questions. This article presents an overview of the current literature regarding critical issues affecting the clinical utility of BTMs (including variability and reference ranges) and the current applications of BTMs in PMO management, with a focus on sCTX. Last, the appropriateness of using sCTX to predict ONJ risk in women receiving oral bisphosphonates for PMO is evaluated. [source] Competition Policy and Property Rights,THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 544 2010John Vickers One of the most controversial questions in current competition policy is when, if ever, should competition law require a firm with market power to share its property, notably intellectual property, with its rivals? And if supply is required, on what terms? These questions are discussed with reference to recent law cases including the EC Microsoft judgment of 2007 and the US linkLine case of 2009. The analysis focuses on whether competition law and regulation are complements or substitutes and on incentives for investment and (sequential) innovation. [source] Analysis of B function in legumes: PISTILLATA proteins do not require the PI motif for floral organ development in Medicago truncatulaTHE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009Reyes Benlloch Summary The B-class gene PISTILLATA (PI) codes for a MADS-box transcription factor required for floral organ identity in angiosperms. Unlike Arabidopsis, it has been suggested that legume PI genes contribute to a variety of processes, such as the development of floral organs, floral common petal,stamen primordia, complex leaves and N-fixing root nodules. Another interesting feature of legume PI homologues is that some of them lack the highly conserved C-terminal PI motif suggested to be crucial for function. Therefore, legume PI genes are useful for addressing controversial questions on the evolution of B-class gene function, including how they may have diverged in both function and structure to affect different developmental processes. However, functional analysis of legume PI genes has been hampered because no mutation in any B-class gene has been identified in legumes. Here we fill this gap by studying the PI function in the model legume species Medicago truncatula using mutant and RNAi approaches. Like other legume species, M. truncatula has two PI homologues. The expression of the two genes, MtPI and MtNGL9, has strongly diverged, suggesting differences in function. Our analyses show that these genes are required for petal and stamen identity, where MtPI appears to play a predominant role. However, they appear not to be required for development of the nodule, the common primordia or the complex leaf. Moreover, both M. truncatula PI homologues lack the PI motif, which indicates that the C-terminal motif is not essential for PI activity. [source] |