The Little Metropolis: Religion, Politics, & Spolia

There have been numerous councils throughout the Catholic Church?s history. From the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE to Vatican II in 1962, only a few centuries have passed without any major church doctrinal change. Following hand in hand with changes in doctrine came the bifurcation of the Christian Church into the Roman CatholicChurch and the Orthodox Church. The first split came in 325 CE with Arianism. Arius of Alexandria and his followers did not agree with the Catholic Church?s viewpoint that the son, Jesus, should be on equal footing with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Constantine the Great brought the Arianism debate to the First Council of Nicaea,which declared Arianism a heretical religion. The following Catholic council?s decisions separated the two Churches even more, eventually creating the formal separation of the Church during the East-West Schism in the middle of the 11th century. Although the twoChurches constantly tried to unite, the Churches hit speed bumps along the way. Eventually, the 1274 Second Council of Lyons officially united the two Churches, even if only for an ephemeral time. At first glance, it might not seem that much resulted from the 1274 Second Council of Lyons. Almost immediately after the council?s ruling, the two Churches split again. Little is known as to why the 1274 Second Council of Lyons ultimately failed in its unification attempt. In this thesis, I will examine the churches of the Little Metropolis at Athens, Merbaka in the Argolid, and Agioi Theodoroi in Athens. In detailing the architectural features of these buildings, I will reconstruct the church building program in association with the 1274 Second Council of Lyons. I will also compare these churchesusing historical sources to keep the sociological, religious, political, and historical context accurate.

Hibernacula Microclimate and White-nose Syndrome Susceptibility in the Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus)

The objective of this project was to determine the relationship between hibernacula microclimate and White-nose Syndrome (WNS), an emerging infectious disease in bats. Microclimate was examined on a species scale and at the level of the individual bat to determine if there was a difference in microclimate preference between healthy and WNS-affected little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and to determine the role of microclimate in disease progression. There is anecdotal evidence that colder, drier hibernacula are less affected by WNS. This was tested by placing rugged temperature and humidity dataloggers in field sites throughout the eastern USA, experimentally determining the response to microclimate differences in captive bats, and testing microclimate roosting preference. This study found that microclimate significantly differed from the entrance of a hibernaculum versus where bats traditionally roost. It also found hibernaculum temperature and sex had significant impacts on survival in WNS-affected bats. Male bats with WNS had increased survivability over WNS-affected female bats and WNS bats housed below the ideal growth range of the fungus that causes WNS, Geomyces destructans, had increased survival over those housed at warmer temperatures. The results from this study are immediately applicable to (1) predict which hibernacula are more likely to be infected next winter, (2) further our understanding of WNS, and (3) determine if direct mitigation strategies, such as altering the microclimate of mines, will be effective ways to combat the spread of the fungus.

Exogenous gonadotropins have little impact on follicular but considerable effect on serum cytokine concentrations – a comparison between Natural Cycle and stimulated IVF using a multiplexed assay platform

Introduction: Throughout follicular growth and subsequent corpus luteum formation the leukocyte number increases and follicular vascularisation changes. These processes are enhanced under exogenous stimulation with gonadotropins. Cytokines released by leukocytes contribute to further recruitment and vascularisation of the follicle, and they play an important role in regulating ovarian steroidogenesis by influencing theca and granulosa–lutein cell function. Changes in cytokine and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations in the ovary as a consequence of gonadotropin stimulation may negatively influence oocyte quality. In this project we have compared the intrafollicular production of inflammatory cytokines and growth factors between natural IVF cycles (NC) and classical, gonadotropin-stimulated IVF cycles (gsIVF). Material and Methods: Serum on the day of oocyte retrieval and follicular fluid (FF) were collected in 37 NC and 39 gsIVF cycles. Thirteen women within this population underwent one NC and one gsIVF cycle each. A total of 14 cytokines from Bio-Plex panels I and II were determined in matched serum and FF samples using Luminex xMAP technology on the Bio-Plex(R) platform, using the serum protocol. Results: Tumour necrosis factor-alpha, RANTES, eotaxin and interferon-gamma-induced protein-10 levels were lower in FF than in serum, and thus not further investigated. Interleukin (IL)-6, -8, -10, -15, -18, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), VEGF and leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) showed higher median concentrations in FF than in serum, indicating possible ovarian production. Moreover, most of these showed higher evels in the gsIVF than in the NC groups in the serum, but not in the follicular fluid. IL-8 was reduced in gsIVF cycles. Conclusion: The fact that serum but not FF levels of the studied cytokines were higher in the stimulated than in the natural cycles can be attributed to the increased number of active follicles present after controlled ovarian stimulation.

[Geneva, France, pharmacist. An outline on a little-known French-Genovoise pharmacopoeia]

In the time of the French occupation of Geneva and the formation of a << Départment du Léman >> from 1798 to 1813, the physician Louis Odier published a Manual of practical medicine destined for the Health officers of the Departement. This work encloses at its end a short pharmacopoeia, till today practically unknown in the pharmaceutical bibliography, which is described here. An analysis shows that this formulary does not belong to the popular literature but is corresponding, with some exceptions, to the other similar pharmacopoeal works of the Enlightenment.

Little strokes fill big oaks: a simple in vivo stain of brain cells

High-resolution functional imaging of neural activity in vivo relies on appropriate labeling methods. In this issue of Neuron, Nagayama et al. introduce a simple procedure for staining subsets of neurons with organic calcium indicator dyes via local electroporation. Neuronal populations are sparsely labeled, preserving the ability to resolve calcium signals in dendrites and synaptic structures.