Constructing the persona of the Naturwissenschaftler – German book reviews on galvanism

Scientific book reviews were an important genre in late-18thcentury German journals. The mostly anonymous reviewers regarded themselves as voices of the scientific community, judging the quality of new publications for its benefit. However, as this paper shows, some reviewers aspired to more than judging the books’ content. The reviewers of Christian Heinrich Pfaff ’s, Alexander von Humboldt’s, and Johann Wilhelm Ritter’s monographs on galvanism, published between 1796 and 1805, used the language of epistemic virtues and vices to present their readership with their ideal scientific persona meant to support the development of the empirical sciences.Konstruowanie osobowości przyrodnika – niemieckie recenzje książek na temat galwanizmu Ważnym gatunkiem w czasopismach niemieckich z końca XVIII wieku były recenzje książek naukowych. W większości anonimowi recenzenci uważali się za głosy środowiska naukowego, oceniając na jego rzecz jakość nowych publikacji. Jednak, jak pokazuje ten artykuł, niektórzy recenzenci dążyli do czegoś więcej niż tylko oceniania treści książek. Recenzenci monografii o galwanizmie Christiana Heinricha Pfaffa, Alexandra von Humboldta i Johanna Wilhelma Rittera, opublikowanych w latach 1796–1805, posługiwali  się językiem epistemicznych cnót i wad, aby przedstawić swoim czytelnikom idealną osobowość przyrodnika, mającą wspierać rozwój empiryczny nauki

Review of Gowan Dawson, Bernard Lightman, Sally Shuttleworth, and Jonathan R. Topham, eds, Science Periodicals in Nineteenth-Century Britain: Constructing Scientific Communities (2020)

Review of Gowan Dawson, Bernard Lightman, Sally Shuttleworth, and Jonathan R. Topham, eds, Science Periodicals in Nineteenth-Century Britain: Constructing Scientific Communities (2020

Carbon-nanoparticle-triggered acute lung inflammation and its resolution are not altered in PPARγ-defective (P465L) mice.

BACKGROUND: The alveolar macrophage (AM) - first line of innate immune defence against pathogens and environmental irritants - constitutively expresses peroxisome-proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ). PPARγ ligand-induced activation keeps the AM quiescent, and thereby contributes to combat invaders and resolve inflammation by augmenting the phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils and inhibiting an excessive expression of inflammatory genes. Because of these presumed anti-inflammatory functions of PPARγ we tested the hypothesis, whether reduced functional receptor availability in mutant mice resulted in increased cellular and molecular inflammatory response during acute inflammation and/or in an impairment of its resolution. METHODS: To address this hypothesis we examined the effects of a carbon-nanoparticle (CNP) lung challenge, as surrogate for non-infectious environmental irritants, in a murine model carrying a dominant-negative point mutation in the ligand-binding domain of PPARγ (P465L/wt). Animals were instilled intratracheally with Printex 90 CNPs and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was gained 24 h or 72 h after instillation to investigate its cellular and protein composition. RESULTS: Higher BAL cell numbers - due to higher macrophage counts - were found in mutants irrespective of treatment. Neutrophil numbers in contrast were slightly lower in mutants. Intratracheal CNP instillation resulted in a profound recruitment of inflammatory neutrophils into the alveolus, but genotype related differences at acute inflammation (24 h) and resolution (72 h) were not observed. There were no signs for increased alveolar-capillary membrane damage or necrotic cell death in mutants as determined by BAL protein and lactate-dehydrogenase content. Pro-inflammatory macrophage-derived cytokine osteopontin was higher, but galectin-3 lower in female mutants. CXCL5 and lipocalin-2 markers, attributed to epithelial cell stimulation did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: Despite general genotype-related differences, we had to reject our hypothesis of an increased CNP induced lung inflammation and an impairment of its resolution in PPARγ defective mice. Although earlier studies showed ligand-induced activation of nuclear receptor PPARγ to promote resolution of lung inflammation, its reduced activity did not provide signs of resolution impairment in the settings investigated here.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Comparison of particle-exposure triggered pulmonary and systemic inflammation in mice fed with three different diets

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity can be linked to disease risks such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, but recently, the adipose tissue (AT) macrophage also emerges as actively participating in inflammation and immune function, producing pro- and anti-inflammatory factors. Connections between the AT and chronic lung diseases, like emphysema and asthma and a protective role of adipocyte-derived proteins against acute lung injury were suggested.</p> <p>In this study we addressed the question, whether a diet challenge increases the inflammatory response in the alveolar and the blood compartment in response to carbon nanoparticles (CNP), as a surrogate for ambient/urban particulate air pollutants.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mice were fed a high caloric carbohydrate-rich (CA) or a fat-rich (HF) diet for six weeks and were compared to mice kept on a purified low fat (LF) diet, respectively. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and blood samples were taken 24 h after intratracheal CNP instillation and checked for cellular and molecular markers of inflammation.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>The high caloric diets resulted in distinct effects when compared with LF mice, respectively: CA resulted in increased body and fat mass without affecting blood cellular immunity. Conversely, HF activated the blood system, increasing lymphocyte and neutrophil counts, and resulted in slightly increased body fat content. In contrast to higher pro-inflammatory BAL Leptin in CA and HF mice, on a cellular level, both diets did not lead to an increased pro-inflammatory basal status in the alveolar compartment per se, nor did result in differences in the particle-triggered response. However both diets resulted in a disturbance of the alveolar capillary barrier as indicated by enhanced BAL protein and lactate-dehydrogenase concentrations. Systemically, reduced serum Adiponectin in HF mice might be related to the observed white blood cell increase.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The increase in BAL pro-inflammatory factors in high caloric groups and reductions in serum concentrations of anti-inflammatory factors in HF mice, clearly show diet-specific effects, pointing towards augmented systemic inflammatory conditions. Our data suggest that extended feeding periods, leading to manifest obesity, are necessary to generate an increased susceptibility to particle-induced lung inflammation; although the diet-challenge already was efficient in driving pro-inflammatory systemic events.</p

Mouse nuclear myosin I knock-out shows interchangeability and redundancy of myosin isoforms in the cell nucleus.

Nuclear myosin I (NM1) is a nuclear isoform of the well-known "cytoplasmic" Myosin 1c protein (Myo1c). Located on the 11(th) chromosome in mice, NM1 results from an alternative start of transcription of the Myo1c gene adding an extra 16 amino acids at the N-terminus. Previous studies revealed its roles in RNA Polymerase I and RNA Polymerase II transcription, chromatin remodeling, and chromosomal movements. Its nuclear localization signal is localized in the middle of the molecule and therefore directs both Myosin 1c isoforms to the nucleus. In order to trace specific functions of the NM1 isoform, we generated mice lacking the NM1 start codon without affecting the cytoplasmic Myo1c protein. Mutant mice were analyzed in a comprehensive phenotypic screen in cooperation with the German Mouse Clinic. Strikingly, no obvious phenotype related to previously described functions has been observed. However, we found minor changes in bone mineral density and the number and size of red blood cells in knock-out mice, which are most probably not related to previously described functions of NM1 in the nucleus. In Myo1c/NM1 depleted U2OS cells, the level of Pol I transcription was restored by overexpression of shRNA-resistant mouse Myo1c. Moreover, we found Myo1c interacting with Pol II. The ratio between Myo1c and NM1 proteins were similar in the nucleus and deletion of NM1 did not cause any compensatory overexpression of Myo1c protein. We observed that Myo1c can replace NM1 in its nuclear functions. Amount of both proteins is nearly equal and NM1 knock-out does not cause any compensatory overexpression of Myo1c. We therefore suggest that both isoforms can substitute each other in nuclear processes

High tech cognitive and acoustic enrichment for captive elephants

This paper investigates the potential for using technology to support the development of sensory and cognitive enrichment activities for captive elephants. It explores the usefulness of applying conceptual frameworks from interaction design and game design to the problem of developing species-specific smart toys that promote natural behaviours and provide stimulation. We adopted a Research through Design approach, and describe how scientific inquiry supported our design process, while the creation of artefacts guided our investigations into possible future solutions. Our fieldwork resulted in the development of an interactive prototype of an acoustic toy that elephants are able to control using interface elements constructed from a range of natural materials

The Metric of the Cosmos from Luminosity and Age Data

This paper presents the algorithm for determining the Lemaitre-Tolman (LT) model that best fits given datasets for maximum stellar ages, and SNIa luminosities, both as functions of redshift. It then applies it to current cosmological data. Special attention must be given to the handling of the origin, and the region of the maximum diameter distances. As with a previous combination of datasets (galaxy number counts and luminosity distances versus redshift), there are relationships that must hold at the region of the maximum diameter distance, which are unlikely to be obeyed exactly by real data. We show how to make corrections that enable a self-consistent solution to be found. We address the questions of the best way to approximate discrete data with smooth functions, and how to estimate the uncertainties of the output - the 3 free functions that determine a specific LT metric. While current data does not permit any confidence in our results, we show that the method works well, and reasonable LT models do fit with or without a cosmological constant.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures; matches published versio

Establishing homogeneity of the universe in the shadow of dark energy

Assuming the universe is spatially homogeneous on the largest scales lays the foundation for almost all cosmology. This idea is based on the Copernican principle, that we are not at a particularly special place in the universe. Surprisingly, this philosophical assumption has yet to be rigorously demonstrated independently of the standard paradigm. This issue has been brought to light by cosmological models which can potentially explain apparent acceleration by spatial inhomogeneity rather than dark energy. These models replace the temporal fine tuning associated with Lambda with a spatial fine tuning, and so violate the Copernican assumption. While is seems unlikely that such models can really give a realistic solution to the dark energy problem, they do reveal how poorly constrained radial inhomogeneity actually is. So the bigger issue remains: How do we robustly test the Copernican principle independently of dark energy or theory of gravity?Comment: 40 pages, 15 figures. Accepted review article to appear in a special volume of the "Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences" about Dark Energy and Dark Matte

One-dimensional diffuse scattering of 1,3-di(terttert-butyl)cyclopentadienyl pentaphosphaferrocene modelled with closed-form expressions

1,3-di($tert$-butyl)cyclopentadienyl pentaphosphaferrocene (Cp''FeP$_5$) crystallizes as polytypes, where adjacent layers are related by either a $c$ or an $n$-glide reflection. In the simplest possible polytypes only one kind of glide reflections is realized, leading to overall $Pca2$$_1$ or $Pna2$$_1$ symmetry respectively. Crystals isolated from the same crystallization experiment feature a varying degree of stacking disorder. One-dimensional diffuse scattering of a crystal with particularly strong disorder was modelled with closed-form expressions derived from a growth model. A range of interaction of $s$ = 2 was necessary to satisfactorily describe the observed diffraction intensities. The crystal can be described as a disordered analogue of an allotwin, that is an intergrowth of the $Pca2$$_1$ or $Pna2$$_1$ polytypes with a distinct preference for the former