Dracula's first term as Prince of Wallachia lasted barely long enough for the royal tailors to refit the court vestments. Within two months, the beaten forces of Jonas Hunyadi had regrouped, this time under one of Hunyadi's vassals, Vandislas. When the latter's huge army appeared on the horizon, Dracula, greatly outnumbered, vacated the throne and sought refuge with the family of the Moldavian prince, Bogdan, a relative of his martyred mother. But, he vowed that Wallachia had not heard the last of Dracula.
"Dracula remained in exile in Moldavia for three years, until Prince Bogdan...was assassinated," explains Ray Porter in his article, "The Historical Dracula," written for a special program sponsored by Georgetown University. "(He then sought) the protection of his family enemy, Hunyadi. The timing was propitious; Hunyadi's puppet on the Wallachian throne (Vandislas) had instituted a pro-Turkish policy and Hunyadi needed a more reliable man in Wallachia. Consequently, Hunyadi accepted the allegiance of his old enemy's son."
That Dracula sided with the man whose forces killed his parents was strictly for self-survival. As well, being a politician first, the advantage suited Dracula. In turn, Hunyadi realized he had gained a fortuitous ally, for Dracula's years spent with the Ottomans in Adrianople had given him useful knowledge of how the Turks thought — and, most importantly, fought. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire In planning military expeditions, Dracula's input would be invaluable.
Both men were Machiavellians. And both were cognizant of the other's style. Yet, as diplomats and opportunists, they played that factor to the bone. Both men were brilliant.
Portrait of Vlad (AP)
Portrait of Vlad (AP)
If one studies their portraits, one would detect the cleverness in both their faces. From the walls of the Academy of the Romanian Socialist Republic, the White Knight's portrait looks down with a scowling, weathered, hard, ambitious countenance; he seems to want to jump off the canvas and tell us all to go to hell. Dracula's face, caught by an anonymous artist and which now hangs in a gallery in Innsbruck, reeks of a man of unbending opinions and an almost paranoid sense of observation. Dark eyes stare off in a deep, thoughtful reverie; his mind seems made up on something that he needs to do as soon as the painter dismisses him.
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi
These two suspicious and suspecting characters met at Hunyadi's mountain castle, Hunedoara, to form a partnership and a pact. Dracula was placed in charge of a fortress at Sibiu, situated at the far southwest corner of Transylvania, guarding the frontier against possible intervention from Vandislas' forces. His immediate charge was keeping the two Transylvania duchies (counties), Faragas and Almas, out of enemy hands.
While in Sibiu, Dracula heard of the fall of Constantinople, a severe blow to Eastern European Christians that marked the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Constantinople had been the city that Holy Crusades for centuries had attempted to keep out of pagan hands. Its loss prompted Pope Nicholas V to declare, "The light of Christianity has suddenly gone out."
Europe was aghast and incensed as stories of the massacre at Constantinople filtered in, tales of thousands of Christians being impaled before the city walls while the Turks laughed, celebrated and pillaged; of how churches were burned; of the Holy Cross' razing from the palace to be used as kindle wood for funeral pyres. In one voice, Romania, Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal and England cried for the death of the then-sultan, Mehmed, who had replaced Murad. Hungary, leading the defense, once again called on its White Knight, Jonas Hunyadi, to strike back hard.
By the first few months of 1456, it became apparent that the Turkish faction was making a beeline for Belgrade. This main outpost, sitting on the border between Turkish Siberia and Hungary, was commanded by Hunyadi's brother-in-law. Hunyadi, with the advice of Dracula, proposed a double offensive: to 1) rush reinforcements to Belgrade while 2) attacking Vandislas in Wallachia to prevent his opening of the back door to the sultan's contingent forces. Hunyadi's crusaders galloped to Belgrade; Dracula's cavalry to Tirgoviste. Both men were successful in meeting their objective.
Belgrade was spared, although Hunyadi, its savior, died of a fever within a year. In Wallachia, Vandislas met sound defeat by Dracula who engaged him in the Carpathian Valley. The hand-to-hand combat was one of Romania's most bloody hours. Old, unchallenged stories tell of Dracula insisting that he kill Vandislas personally after learning that it was he who had ordered the deaths of his family. If the legends are correct, the two men faced off on the field, each with sword in hand, and while their respective armies paused to cheer them on. Dracula, after a tense moment, cleared his foe's head from his shoulders with one well-aimed slice. Vandislas' troops, seeing what had happened to their leader, threw down their weapons and retreated.
Twenty-five-year-old Dracula, without further ado, mounted the throne of Wallachia once again. This time, he would not be routed. He ordered the artisans to emblazon the Dracula Crest — the crest bearing a winged dragon (the symbol of courage) embracing the Cross (a symbol of Catholicism) — on the provincial stamp, banners, coins, public buildings, suits of armor, and on a glorious plaque hanging above his throne. Had he been known by other names — Vlad the Warrior, Prince Vlad, Vlad the Conqueror — the constant sight of the family crest now reminded everyone that he was the son of a high member of the Order of the Dragon. As his reign took effect, and as he proved to be more than just another fleeting member of a hierarchy-in-chaos, he earned the name he wanted more than anything else in the world. Son of the Dragon. Dracula.
*****
The Wallachia in which Dracula ruled was at the time formally known as the state of Tara Romenescu, "Romania's Land". In terms of size, it covered 48,000 square miles (Florescu and McNally compare it to the size of New York State) and contained 3,000-plus hamlets nestled chiefly on the pine-heavy slopes of the Lower Carpathian Mountains. Its populace, mostly peasants governed by a series of Magyar landowners, neared a half-million in numbers. Tirgoviste, where Dracula's palace stood, was the capital. Other important burghs along the Tirgoviste-to-Danube commercial-and-trading route were Tirgsor, Bucharest and Braila.
Since before Dracula's grandfather's time, the province had been ruled by a prince, or domnul. The domnul worked with the landowners, boyars, to keep commerce flowing and the right of land stationary and safe against trespassers and infidels. As well, the domnul maintained a good relationship with members of the Roman Catholic church, which dominated Romania. Of the latter partnership, both parties received parallel respect, God and Caesar kept happy, so to speak.
However, Dracula had new, what he called necessary, plans for his principality, where the Caesar would be just a trifle happier and much more powerful. He did away with the feudal system of the domnul who, he insisted, was no more than a puppet to the ruling class boyars with allegiance to other wealthy barons, and to church leaders with foreign patronage. Upon his coronation as prince, he announced that the people should look upon him rather as a voivode, a warrior prince, ruling his domain henceforth as if under martial law, where there is one sovereign, one decision-maker. Because the reality of the Turks imposed a constant threat upon the land, he considered Wallachia a war state, and a war state requires tougher government.
Up until that time, the boyars had made up their own laws of turfdom and trade; their legislative body had mandated prices; they had controlled merchandise and bargained titles for favors well done. They had even owned the propriety to interfere in the prince's justice. That would end. And those who retaliated, Dracula explained, would be dealt with — severely — from the throne at Tirgoviste.
In laying his plans, Dracula had brought to his side an entourage of strong allies, many of whom had been family champions for decades, and who had served faithfully under his father, the Dragon. Neither he, nor they, had forgotten that during the elder's reign many of the property owners in Wallachia had caused problems. Many had attempted to undermine the Dragon. Dracula had already slain those responsible for the Dragon's death, but it wasn't enough.
After his policies of transition were announced, a number of boyars retaliated by writing letters and calling meetings of protest. Dracula, who realized his message wasn't being taken seriously, called the body together — some two-hundred men — to let them air their complaints (or so he said) over a sumptuous dinner. After they were given time to voice themselves, Dracula, at the head of the table, pushed back his wineglass and spoke.
"You speak of your loyalties to Wallachia, to Romania, and some even to me. But, yet, you have had many princes in your land, including my father. How can you account for that?"
The assembly glanced at each other, waiting for a constituent among them to play spokesperson. When the response was slow in coming, the voivode leapt to his feet:
"Dare any of you admit the truth! I will tell you why princes have come and gone here: because of your shameful intrigue!"
With that, he motioned to a courtier awaiting at the hall door; he, in turn, signaled a number of guards waiting in the vestibule beyond.
"You will be escorted out!" Dracula told his guests. "Get out of my sight!" Toasting them in mockery, he watched as they left, flanked by armed custodians. When the company reached the courtyard, the boyars were speared after a nod from Dracula who appeared on a balcony overhead. Still twitching, their bodies were impaled outside the walls of the palace, overlooking the town below.
Dracula's castle (CORBIS)
Dracula's castle (CORBIS)
A 15th Century Romanian manuscript records another episode of Dracula's revenge. On an Easter Sunday morning not long after the banquet incident, a brigade of soldiery stomped into the town cathedral during High Mass and yanked some three-hundred boyars and their families from the pews. They were chained, women and children too, and delivered to Dracula's private castle overlooking the Arges River where "they were put to work until their clothes were torn and they were left naked."
Greek historian Chalcondyles explains in more detail how the captives were forced to work on the refurbishing of the castle, reinforcing its battlements by mixing mortar, heaving heavy stones and timberwood up steep precipices, digging a moat — all this until many of them succumbed to duress, fatigue and fever. Chalcondyles' estimate of prisoners far exceeds the three hundred chronicled in the Romanian text. The line of manacled peoples, says he, stretched miles from the small villages to the castle gate.
Castle Bran, typical Transylvanian castle often confused with Dracula's (AP)
Castle Bran, typical
Transylvanian castle often
confused with Dracula's (AP)
Dracula's castle should not to be confused with the palace at Tirgoviste. The castle, thirty miles north, was fitted for a long siege in case the district fell under Turkish attack. It was originally built by Mircea in the 1300s, but was left to Dracula to refortify. It consisted of high, deep walls of natural stone, an exterior defensive wall called a barbican, barracks, tall parapets, rectangular battlements, cannon batteries, watchtowers, a prison, a dungeon, an escape tunnel (or salle-port) to the river edge, a moat, a drawbridge and a great-house reserved for the prince. Although no description of the latter exists, it was probably akin to the fictional Transylvanian castle that Bram Stoker describes in Dracula — of studded doorways, great fireplaces, timber floors, winding stairwells, arched columns and cornices, and ceilings that disappeared into the darkness of height. Tapestries, murals or mosaics, and friezes probably decorated the sober walls.
"Everywhere in Europe in the High Middle Ages, the castle played a crucial role: military, political, social, economic, cultural," to quote Joseph and Frances Gies' Life in a Medieval Castle. This home-away-from-home of Dracula's reign often attracted large parties of royal game huntsmen or served to house huge celebrations that the palace could not accommodate. Dracula kept his mistresses there. Plus, it was always reassuring to the prince to know that he had a sanctuary from times of insurrection and war.
By the time Dracula came to power, much of the century-year-old structure had fallen into disrepair and decay, and required a thousand hands to mend its broken condition. These hands belonged to the boyars, whose slave labor, Dracula claimed, taught them humility, if nothing else. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
To strengthen his cornerstone of power, Voivode Dracula reestablished a local church hierarchy that would be more apt to resign itself to his customized government. Princes in those days often had the say-so to manipulate the ministerial organizations, and Dracula wasted no time, for instance, replacing foreign abbots with Wallachian priests. To balance his interference, he paid tribute by erecting beautiful friaries throughout his domain. The most ornate of these was the monastery at Snagov, where he would be eventually buried.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Japan procrastinated 3.pro.0003003 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
On September 6, 1941 Ambassador Oshima made a report concerning Germany's growing economic control over the Balkan States with the exception of Turkey. He declared that since Germany's imports were in excess of its exports especially in its trade with Rumania, it had resorted to changing the exchange rate in its own favor. In addition to this Germany had exported large quantities of arms to these countries, thus strengthening itself militarily as well as adjusting its trade balance.
Ambassador Oshima also revealed that an optimistic view prevailed in the Balkan states in regard to the new period plans[1111] which were designed to increase production since at the present time agriculture appeared to be in an extremely primitive state. However, by supplying implements and fertilizers, the German government hoped to prevent a decline in agricultural production and, depending upon such endeavor, might eventually be able to increase by 50,000 tons such oil bearing crops as soy beans. However, no general radical increase in agricultural production could be expected within the next two or three years.[1112]
According to Ambassador Oshima, by strict control, Germany was assuring itself of the Balkan supply which was larger than in previous years. The commercial and economic implications of Germany's plan to develop the River Danube water route connecting it with the Rhine to facilitate uninterrupted shipment of petroleum, grains, lumber, etc., were emphasized in regards to the future prosperity of Europe.[1113]
According to Minister Sikao Matashima the German army's activities had only slightly affected agricultural production in the Balkans, and harvest appeared even better than in previous years. There was a resulting tendency toward collaboration of additional Balkan countries with the Reich. These nations were operating under a produce pact with Germany in accordance with which they were supplying raw materials in exchange for German war materials, farm tools, medicines, etc. The mark became the unit of exchange in all trade transactions between Germany and the Balkans. Trade between the Balkan nations themselves was to be regulated in the Berlin Exchange Control Bureau with all loans to Germany being repaid by manufactured articles. This, it will be seen, established a virtual Balkan trade block in which Germany controlled an export market and would be economically sovereign. Germany now was getting more arms from the Balkans and transporting them over safer routes. Although currency exchange rates were unstable at present, Minister Matashima was confident that after Germany had won the Russian war, the situation would improve.[1114]
452. German Army Plans to Advance Along Leningrad-Sverdlovsk Railroad After Leningrad Falls
On September 3, 1941, a message transmitted from Moscow to Tokyo on the progress of Russo-German hostilities was re-broadcast to Hsinking despite the previous warning of Ambassador Oshima in Berlin that Japan should be more cautious of Russian reports. In this case, however, it was predicted that, after the capture of Leningrad, one part of the German army would advance along the line of the Leningrad-Sverdlovsk railroad and other part, the main force, would advance with the central army toward Moscow.
Should the Germans be successful in dealing Russia a knockout blow in Leningrad, Moscow, and Kharkov, it would be but a brief step to the oil fields of Grozny. With the withdrawal from these three important cities Russia would lose four-fifths of its war industries.
The same report revealed that the Soviet Republics' government outwardly appeared calm. As yet there were no signs of collapse in the Red army which stubbornly resisted the Germans
[1111] III, 836. Five or ten year plan worked out or put into effect in the Balkan States.
[1112] III, 836.
[1113] III, 837.
[1114] III, 838.
[229]
in its attempt to carry on a long war. But it was predicted that soon the army would deteriorate, and such possibilities, it was believed, were causing much concern in America and England.[1115]
On September 4, 1941, Ambassador Oshima reported activities at the front as they had been explained by a reliable German source. In this statement the encirclement of Leningrad had been completed with the occupation of Slusselburg. Among the prisoners captured during the fighting in this neighborhood were armed citizens as well as workers operating tanks. The strategy involved in taking the city was to rely principally upon shelling and bombing and to avoid street fighting.
With regard to activities in the Kiev area it was believed that since Soviet forces to the east could no longer retreat, mopping-up activities would be completed in the following week.
German forces had crossed the Dnieper River all along the line from Dnepropetrovsk south and were gaining steadily.[1116]
453. Rumors of Mobilization on Bulgarian-Turkish Border Disproved
From Turkey came rumblings of massive troop concentrations on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. In order to obtain first-hand information Japanese representatives there made an official trip to Bulgaria, where it was discovered that not more than eleven Bulgarian divisions and not more than five German regiments were located. Hence, although at first it had been thought that Field Marshal Sigmund Liszt's army was stationed there, later data seemed to disprove this theory.
With regard to Turkish-German relations, it was believed that Germany would not be inclined to hurry her negotiations until the eastern front had been brought under control even though trade negotiations had been scheduled to begin on September 2, 1941.[1117]
454. Ambassador Oshima Tours Occupied European Countries
On September 8, 1941 Ambassador Oshima advised Foreign Minister Toyoda that he would leave the following day for a tour of German occupied territories in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France at the invitation of the German government.[1118]
455. Ambassador Oshima Again Threatens Resignation
Again on September 20, 1941, Ambassador Oshima threatened Tokyo with his resignation if Japan did not clarify its intentions with regard to the Japanese-American negotiations. Complaining that such an explanation as the Foreign Minister had transmitted on September 10, 1941,[1119] was little more than routine diplomatic material, Ambassador Oshima stated that it was impossible for him to know the truth regarding his own government. The pro-Axis Ambassador continued that although outwardly the Japanese government claimed that the Japanese-American negotiations would not violate the spirit of the Three Power Agreement, he was doubtful.
Asserting that he had been "in a fog" since July 2, 1941 when the national policy was decided, Ambassador Oshima stated that he felt incapable of performing his duties satisfactorily.[1120]
[1115] III, 839.
[1116] III, 840.
[1117] III, 841.
[1118] III, 842.
[1119] III, 843.
[1120] III, 844.
[230]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
456. German National Defense Ministry Estimates Current Situation
The Vice Chief of the General Staff in Tokyo forwarded to the Washington delegation an estimate of the current situation on September 20, 1941. This estimate, reportedly originating from the German attache in the United States, had been sent to the Japanese representatives in Berlin by the German National Defense Ministry; and Tokyo requested that its authenticity be investigated in Washington. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The German attache was credited with stating that if Japan attacked Russia, England would aid the Soviet Union; but that unless Japan attacked the Philippines or seriously menaced the American transport routes, the United States would not declare war against Japan. This reluctance on the part of America would greatly decrease its prestige in the Pacific area. He stressed that it was of vital importance to the Axis Powers that the United States be kept in "some dilemma" concerning Far Eastern problems.
Employing a policy of delay because its fleet was divided between two oceans and because its air force and army were lacking in strength, the United States was attempting to use economic pressure to conceal its weaknesses. The German attache pointed out that if Japan procrastinated, the British and Americans would have had time to combine their naval strength and Japan would have "lost an excellent prize by chasing the sun".[1121]
457. Japan Repudiates Poland
Although Ambassador Oshima had failed in his efforts to persuade former Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka that Japan should accede in Germany's demand that Poland be repudiated, it appeared by August 15, 1941, that under the new Cabinet, final steps in this direction would be taken. The Japanese Ambassador was notified that after talking with Ambassador Ott, Foreign Minister Toyoda had agreed to call a special meeting of the Privy Council in September at which time the Japanese Embassy in Poland would be abolished and the Polish Embassy in Japan would be repudiated.[1122] However, circumstances prohibited the presentation of this request to the Privy Council before October and the Council was not expected to give its approval until October 3, 1941, at which time the Polish Ambassador would be notified.[1123]
458. Germany Explains the Greer Incident
Meanwhile, on September 8, Germany's Vice Minister Ernst Von Weizsacker accounted to Tokyo via Ambassador Oshima for the Greer incident which involved a German submarine attack on a United States warship. He explained that the submarine upon approaching the vessel for identification purposes had been fired upon. However, he said, although attacked, the submarine dove and waited two hours during which the attack continued; and then it surfaced, sighted the warship, and released two torpedoes in self-defense.
At Ambassador Oshima's query as to Germany's intention in the matter, the Vice Minister replied that he did not know Hitler's intentions but personally he did not believe that too much ado should be made about it. According to Ambassador Oshima, President Roosevelt appeared to be using the incident to stir up a war spirit in the United States. Nevertheless, Ambassador Oshima believed that since no diplomatic steps had been taken, nothing more would come of the affair.[1124]
459. Ambassador Oshima Learns of German Transactions for South American Money
On September 11, 1941, Ambassador Oshima divulged that Germany was holding large sums of money in South American branch banks which it was attempting to obtain before the
[1121] III, 845-846.
[1122] III, 847.
[1123] III, 848.
[1124] III, 849.
[231]
American freezing order went into effect. These assets Berlin hoped to obtain primarily by selling gold, but also by affixing the funds held by Germans in South America, purchasing raw materials, and by "bootlegging" South American currencies.[1125]
Only four days later the Ambassador revealed that transactions were being made at 10 per cent under the market price by German representatives in Lisbon with Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.[1126]
460. New Japanese-German Shipping Problems Arise
Meanwhile some new questions were arising regarding neutral shipping. Ambassador Oshima wired his home government on September 17, 1941 to explain its decisions on several points. Items under discussion by the army and navy and Japanese merchants in Berlin involved the transporting of freight. Such problems involved an interpretation of the word "neutral", a decision as to type of freight, and the necessity for obtaining navicerts.
Ambassador Oshima also explained that the Berlin contingent desired that all freight be collected at Marseilles and then shipped by water to Lisbon thereby eliminating the use of the inefficient Spanish railroads. In this regard he wanted to know whether or not there would be an official British inspection and if so how thorough such a search would be.[1127]
461. The German Army Reaches Leningrad
By September 15, 1941 Ambassador Oshima reported that the German army had completely surrounded Kiev's east side, resulting in the encirclement of nearly 1,000,000 Russian soldiers. To the north other divisions had reached the Leningrad suburbs. The sudden invasion of the Crimea had already proved successful although during operations the German General Eugen Ritter von Schobert had been killed.[1128]
In defensive tactics, Ambassador Oshima emphasized the superiority of the German military, comparing the extent of the damage by bombing done to Hamburg to that of London. According to his report, little damage to communication organization had been inflicted and anti-aircraft guns and camouflage maneuvers had been most effective. Apparently, the English were not risking large numbers of men in group bombings.[1129]
462. Ambassador Oshima Inspects Bombing at Hamburg
While inspecting the harbor at Hamburg immediately after its pounding, Ambassador Oshima on September 10, 1941 reaffirmed the German statement that little damage had been accomplished. He noted that four submarines were then under construction while German sources revealed that one ship a week was being completed.
Although German industrial and munitions factories were being hit, little damage in general had been accomplished. However, it was admitted that the Mannheim Castle had sustained heavy losses.[1130]
463. Respective Treatments of Russian and German Nationals Reviewed
At this point, confusing stories regarding the respective treatments of stranded nationals and people of occupied areas were being disseminated by Germans and Russians alike. According to Ambassador Yoshitsugu Tatekawa in Moscow, the Soviet government had been ban-
[1125] III, 850.
[1126] III, 851.
[1127] III, 852.
[1128] III, 853.
[1129] III, 854.
[1130] III, 855.
[232]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
ishing German nationals to Siberia and Turkestan upon 48 hours notice and already had ordered the compulsory removal of 600,000 Germans from the Volga area.
On the other hand, the Germans through refugee spokesman were spreading counter propaganda, apparently advancing their own generosity to all peoples of the occupied areas. Stressing the fact that they had been supplying food and places of shelter, the Nazis had succeeded in influencing even greater numbers of peoples so that still fewer persons believed Soviet stories of German atrocities. Accordingly, Ambassador Tatekawa stated that the numerous Soviet propaganda articles were becoming conspicuous. To him, such stories seemed to be only an outlet for Russian impatience with the unfavorable war conditions.[1131]
464. Ambassador Suma Confers with General Franco
On September 30, 1941 Ambassador Yakichiro Suma in Madrid expressed opinions resulting from a conversation with General Franco at the Parudo[1132] Palace on the previous day. According to this report, the Axis had succeeded in destroying more than half of the Soviet army, and within a month's time the military phase of the Russo-German conflict would be ended.
However, it was recognized that because of the policy of scorched earth being carried out by a strongly united Communistic people, it was possible that they would withdraw into the Turkestan region to continue resistance. Therefore, Ambassador Suma recognized that an Axis compromise with Stalin could not be considered. Germany would have to annihilate the Soviet Army completely.[1133] Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Ambassador Suma continued with General Franco's views, divulging that the Axis need have no fear of American or British troop landings on Gibraltar, which was obviously too narrow, or in Portugal, which would be swallowed up by Spain should she afford any opportunity of an invasion to the enemy. However, care should be taken against the United States' occupying Dakar and Cape Verde preparatory to its entrance into the war.[1134]
465. Axis Powers Develop Communications Intelligence
Colonel Senjuro Hayashi in a dispatch to the Head of the General Affairs Section in Tokyo dated September 22, 1941 requested an outline of the procedure to be used in sending British messages. Insomuch as he had asked Major Nishi to deliver this material to the Germans during his absence, he felt that he must know immediately how his country planned to handle these wires. Colonel Hayashi remarked that the Germans had expressed their appreciation for the material they had received and conveyed his congratulations to Lt. Colonel Kawamura and to Mr. Sueyoshi on the success of their cryptanalytic work.[1135]
On the same day another message from Berlin to Tokyo suggested that Lt. Colonel Scholz of the German OKW ABWEHR[1136] be awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, third class, at the same time that Mr. Kemp would receive his commendation. The reason for further bestowing an award on Lt. Colonel Scholz who had received the Order of the Rising Sun, fourth class, was that as head of the communications of the attache office, he had given meritorious service, particularly in regard to German-Japanese joint cryptanalytic work.[1137]
From Bangkok to the Vice Chief of the General Staff in Tokyo came a list of steps which should precede air operations in British Malaya. It was suggested on September 26 that if these operations were being considered, there should be a thorough-going reenforcement of the
[1131] III, 856.
[1132] Kana spelling.
[1133] III, 857.
[1134] III, 858.
[1135] III, 859.
[1136] Kana spelling.
[1137] III, 860.
[233]
air units in Saigon. An accurate utilization of the detailed intelligence already collected and the establishment of spy networks would be necessary as well as the execution of wind-speed observation with balloons having radio-sounding equipment, twice daily, in at least five places. These were to include Saigon, Hanoi, and Heito.[1138]
466. Communications Difficulties Noted in Switzerland
Ambassador Oshima's plea for clearer coverage of his government's policies were echoed from Bern, Switzerland, on September 1, 1941, by Consul Takanobu Mitani who suggested that as a result of the difficulty in maintaining communications between Japan and its various outlying stations, some steps should be taken to rectify the situation. In this regard, he proposed that in view of the increase of news of the day and the necessity for its immediate distribution one broadcast a day would last too long if it covered all the news. Henceforth over the Switzerland station two separate periods lasting from 40 to 60 minutes each would be inaugurated, to be scheduled approximately as 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
In harmony with this new plan for reducing the time of an individual broadcast but increasing the over-all coverage of the news, Consul Mitani explained that the content of each broadcast from Bern would be increased while a more careful selection of the news to avoid repetition would be practised. The plan was to give explanations of new place names and personal names. To this end it was decided to arrange for an immediate change in wave length and to distribute reference material.[1139]
467. Berlin and Tokyo Negotiate for Improved Communications
It will be remembered that negotiations had been initiated between Berlin and Tokyo to determine a more efficient and satisfactory method for settling the communication difficulties between Japan and Germany prevalent at this point. An agreement, Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire submitted by Ambassador Oshima, was approved on August 20, 1941 by authorities in Tokyo. This placed the authority for concluding the technical arrangements in the hands of officials of the German and Japanese Broadcasting Companies. Another plan gave ultimate authority to the German and Japanese governments. Of the two plans submitted, Foreign Minister Toyoda approved of the one sanctioning the least possible "meddling" of foreign officials with the private broadcasting companies. However, he stated that in case the German authorities requested it, he had no objections to entering the statement that liaison officers would attend to the business of contracting the broadcasting company according to Foreign Office instructions from the respective countries.[1140]
After conferring with the German government, Ambassador Oshima replied to the Foreign Minister on September 1, that he had been informed by German authorities, that with the growing importance of radio in the world situation they had already established a diplomatic post of radio attache in Tokyo and in other of the important capitols throughout the world. In addition Germany placed much importance upon radio as being an integral part of the functions of a state, and as for leaving anything but the program details up to direct negotiations between the broadcasting companies, it was made clear to Tokyo that Germany was not in accord, furthermore that it expected to retain the right to have the final say in all matters having political implications.
Ambassador Oshima hurried to make it clear to the Foreign Minister that Germany had no intention of interfering with the organizations of foreign countries which had been specifically established to conduct informative and propaganda work, but believed that the matter would have to be arranged and settled in its entirety through governmental negotiations or have the
[1138] III, 861.
[1139] III, 862.
[1140] III, 863.
Ambassador Oshima also revealed that an optimistic view prevailed in the Balkan states in regard to the new period plans[1111] which were designed to increase production since at the present time agriculture appeared to be in an extremely primitive state. However, by supplying implements and fertilizers, the German government hoped to prevent a decline in agricultural production and, depending upon such endeavor, might eventually be able to increase by 50,000 tons such oil bearing crops as soy beans. However, no general radical increase in agricultural production could be expected within the next two or three years.[1112]
According to Ambassador Oshima, by strict control, Germany was assuring itself of the Balkan supply which was larger than in previous years. The commercial and economic implications of Germany's plan to develop the River Danube water route connecting it with the Rhine to facilitate uninterrupted shipment of petroleum, grains, lumber, etc., were emphasized in regards to the future prosperity of Europe.[1113]
According to Minister Sikao Matashima the German army's activities had only slightly affected agricultural production in the Balkans, and harvest appeared even better than in previous years. There was a resulting tendency toward collaboration of additional Balkan countries with the Reich. These nations were operating under a produce pact with Germany in accordance with which they were supplying raw materials in exchange for German war materials, farm tools, medicines, etc. The mark became the unit of exchange in all trade transactions between Germany and the Balkans. Trade between the Balkan nations themselves was to be regulated in the Berlin Exchange Control Bureau with all loans to Germany being repaid by manufactured articles. This, it will be seen, established a virtual Balkan trade block in which Germany controlled an export market and would be economically sovereign. Germany now was getting more arms from the Balkans and transporting them over safer routes. Although currency exchange rates were unstable at present, Minister Matashima was confident that after Germany had won the Russian war, the situation would improve.[1114]
452. German Army Plans to Advance Along Leningrad-Sverdlovsk Railroad After Leningrad Falls
On September 3, 1941, a message transmitted from Moscow to Tokyo on the progress of Russo-German hostilities was re-broadcast to Hsinking despite the previous warning of Ambassador Oshima in Berlin that Japan should be more cautious of Russian reports. In this case, however, it was predicted that, after the capture of Leningrad, one part of the German army would advance along the line of the Leningrad-Sverdlovsk railroad and other part, the main force, would advance with the central army toward Moscow.
Should the Germans be successful in dealing Russia a knockout blow in Leningrad, Moscow, and Kharkov, it would be but a brief step to the oil fields of Grozny. With the withdrawal from these three important cities Russia would lose four-fifths of its war industries.
The same report revealed that the Soviet Republics' government outwardly appeared calm. As yet there were no signs of collapse in the Red army which stubbornly resisted the Germans
[1111] III, 836. Five or ten year plan worked out or put into effect in the Balkan States.
[1112] III, 836.
[1113] III, 837.
[1114] III, 838.
[229]
in its attempt to carry on a long war. But it was predicted that soon the army would deteriorate, and such possibilities, it was believed, were causing much concern in America and England.[1115]
On September 4, 1941, Ambassador Oshima reported activities at the front as they had been explained by a reliable German source. In this statement the encirclement of Leningrad had been completed with the occupation of Slusselburg. Among the prisoners captured during the fighting in this neighborhood were armed citizens as well as workers operating tanks. The strategy involved in taking the city was to rely principally upon shelling and bombing and to avoid street fighting.
With regard to activities in the Kiev area it was believed that since Soviet forces to the east could no longer retreat, mopping-up activities would be completed in the following week.
German forces had crossed the Dnieper River all along the line from Dnepropetrovsk south and were gaining steadily.[1116]
453. Rumors of Mobilization on Bulgarian-Turkish Border Disproved
From Turkey came rumblings of massive troop concentrations on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. In order to obtain first-hand information Japanese representatives there made an official trip to Bulgaria, where it was discovered that not more than eleven Bulgarian divisions and not more than five German regiments were located. Hence, although at first it had been thought that Field Marshal Sigmund Liszt's army was stationed there, later data seemed to disprove this theory.
With regard to Turkish-German relations, it was believed that Germany would not be inclined to hurry her negotiations until the eastern front had been brought under control even though trade negotiations had been scheduled to begin on September 2, 1941.[1117]
454. Ambassador Oshima Tours Occupied European Countries
On September 8, 1941 Ambassador Oshima advised Foreign Minister Toyoda that he would leave the following day for a tour of German occupied territories in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France at the invitation of the German government.[1118]
455. Ambassador Oshima Again Threatens Resignation
Again on September 20, 1941, Ambassador Oshima threatened Tokyo with his resignation if Japan did not clarify its intentions with regard to the Japanese-American negotiations. Complaining that such an explanation as the Foreign Minister had transmitted on September 10, 1941,[1119] was little more than routine diplomatic material, Ambassador Oshima stated that it was impossible for him to know the truth regarding his own government. The pro-Axis Ambassador continued that although outwardly the Japanese government claimed that the Japanese-American negotiations would not violate the spirit of the Three Power Agreement, he was doubtful.
Asserting that he had been "in a fog" since July 2, 1941 when the national policy was decided, Ambassador Oshima stated that he felt incapable of performing his duties satisfactorily.[1120]
[1115] III, 839.
[1116] III, 840.
[1117] III, 841.
[1118] III, 842.
[1119] III, 843.
[1120] III, 844.
[230]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
456. German National Defense Ministry Estimates Current Situation
The Vice Chief of the General Staff in Tokyo forwarded to the Washington delegation an estimate of the current situation on September 20, 1941. This estimate, reportedly originating from the German attache in the United States, had been sent to the Japanese representatives in Berlin by the German National Defense Ministry; and Tokyo requested that its authenticity be investigated in Washington. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The German attache was credited with stating that if Japan attacked Russia, England would aid the Soviet Union; but that unless Japan attacked the Philippines or seriously menaced the American transport routes, the United States would not declare war against Japan. This reluctance on the part of America would greatly decrease its prestige in the Pacific area. He stressed that it was of vital importance to the Axis Powers that the United States be kept in "some dilemma" concerning Far Eastern problems.
Employing a policy of delay because its fleet was divided between two oceans and because its air force and army were lacking in strength, the United States was attempting to use economic pressure to conceal its weaknesses. The German attache pointed out that if Japan procrastinated, the British and Americans would have had time to combine their naval strength and Japan would have "lost an excellent prize by chasing the sun".[1121]
457. Japan Repudiates Poland
Although Ambassador Oshima had failed in his efforts to persuade former Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka that Japan should accede in Germany's demand that Poland be repudiated, it appeared by August 15, 1941, that under the new Cabinet, final steps in this direction would be taken. The Japanese Ambassador was notified that after talking with Ambassador Ott, Foreign Minister Toyoda had agreed to call a special meeting of the Privy Council in September at which time the Japanese Embassy in Poland would be abolished and the Polish Embassy in Japan would be repudiated.[1122] However, circumstances prohibited the presentation of this request to the Privy Council before October and the Council was not expected to give its approval until October 3, 1941, at which time the Polish Ambassador would be notified.[1123]
458. Germany Explains the Greer Incident
Meanwhile, on September 8, Germany's Vice Minister Ernst Von Weizsacker accounted to Tokyo via Ambassador Oshima for the Greer incident which involved a German submarine attack on a United States warship. He explained that the submarine upon approaching the vessel for identification purposes had been fired upon. However, he said, although attacked, the submarine dove and waited two hours during which the attack continued; and then it surfaced, sighted the warship, and released two torpedoes in self-defense.
At Ambassador Oshima's query as to Germany's intention in the matter, the Vice Minister replied that he did not know Hitler's intentions but personally he did not believe that too much ado should be made about it. According to Ambassador Oshima, President Roosevelt appeared to be using the incident to stir up a war spirit in the United States. Nevertheless, Ambassador Oshima believed that since no diplomatic steps had been taken, nothing more would come of the affair.[1124]
459. Ambassador Oshima Learns of German Transactions for South American Money
On September 11, 1941, Ambassador Oshima divulged that Germany was holding large sums of money in South American branch banks which it was attempting to obtain before the
[1121] III, 845-846.
[1122] III, 847.
[1123] III, 848.
[1124] III, 849.
[231]
American freezing order went into effect. These assets Berlin hoped to obtain primarily by selling gold, but also by affixing the funds held by Germans in South America, purchasing raw materials, and by "bootlegging" South American currencies.[1125]
Only four days later the Ambassador revealed that transactions were being made at 10 per cent under the market price by German representatives in Lisbon with Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.[1126]
460. New Japanese-German Shipping Problems Arise
Meanwhile some new questions were arising regarding neutral shipping. Ambassador Oshima wired his home government on September 17, 1941 to explain its decisions on several points. Items under discussion by the army and navy and Japanese merchants in Berlin involved the transporting of freight. Such problems involved an interpretation of the word "neutral", a decision as to type of freight, and the necessity for obtaining navicerts.
Ambassador Oshima also explained that the Berlin contingent desired that all freight be collected at Marseilles and then shipped by water to Lisbon thereby eliminating the use of the inefficient Spanish railroads. In this regard he wanted to know whether or not there would be an official British inspection and if so how thorough such a search would be.[1127]
461. The German Army Reaches Leningrad
By September 15, 1941 Ambassador Oshima reported that the German army had completely surrounded Kiev's east side, resulting in the encirclement of nearly 1,000,000 Russian soldiers. To the north other divisions had reached the Leningrad suburbs. The sudden invasion of the Crimea had already proved successful although during operations the German General Eugen Ritter von Schobert had been killed.[1128]
In defensive tactics, Ambassador Oshima emphasized the superiority of the German military, comparing the extent of the damage by bombing done to Hamburg to that of London. According to his report, little damage to communication organization had been inflicted and anti-aircraft guns and camouflage maneuvers had been most effective. Apparently, the English were not risking large numbers of men in group bombings.[1129]
462. Ambassador Oshima Inspects Bombing at Hamburg
While inspecting the harbor at Hamburg immediately after its pounding, Ambassador Oshima on September 10, 1941 reaffirmed the German statement that little damage had been accomplished. He noted that four submarines were then under construction while German sources revealed that one ship a week was being completed.
Although German industrial and munitions factories were being hit, little damage in general had been accomplished. However, it was admitted that the Mannheim Castle had sustained heavy losses.[1130]
463. Respective Treatments of Russian and German Nationals Reviewed
At this point, confusing stories regarding the respective treatments of stranded nationals and people of occupied areas were being disseminated by Germans and Russians alike. According to Ambassador Yoshitsugu Tatekawa in Moscow, the Soviet government had been ban-
[1125] III, 850.
[1126] III, 851.
[1127] III, 852.
[1128] III, 853.
[1129] III, 854.
[1130] III, 855.
[232]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
ishing German nationals to Siberia and Turkestan upon 48 hours notice and already had ordered the compulsory removal of 600,000 Germans from the Volga area.
On the other hand, the Germans through refugee spokesman were spreading counter propaganda, apparently advancing their own generosity to all peoples of the occupied areas. Stressing the fact that they had been supplying food and places of shelter, the Nazis had succeeded in influencing even greater numbers of peoples so that still fewer persons believed Soviet stories of German atrocities. Accordingly, Ambassador Tatekawa stated that the numerous Soviet propaganda articles were becoming conspicuous. To him, such stories seemed to be only an outlet for Russian impatience with the unfavorable war conditions.[1131]
464. Ambassador Suma Confers with General Franco
On September 30, 1941 Ambassador Yakichiro Suma in Madrid expressed opinions resulting from a conversation with General Franco at the Parudo[1132] Palace on the previous day. According to this report, the Axis had succeeded in destroying more than half of the Soviet army, and within a month's time the military phase of the Russo-German conflict would be ended.
However, it was recognized that because of the policy of scorched earth being carried out by a strongly united Communistic people, it was possible that they would withdraw into the Turkestan region to continue resistance. Therefore, Ambassador Suma recognized that an Axis compromise with Stalin could not be considered. Germany would have to annihilate the Soviet Army completely.[1133] Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Ambassador Suma continued with General Franco's views, divulging that the Axis need have no fear of American or British troop landings on Gibraltar, which was obviously too narrow, or in Portugal, which would be swallowed up by Spain should she afford any opportunity of an invasion to the enemy. However, care should be taken against the United States' occupying Dakar and Cape Verde preparatory to its entrance into the war.[1134]
465. Axis Powers Develop Communications Intelligence
Colonel Senjuro Hayashi in a dispatch to the Head of the General Affairs Section in Tokyo dated September 22, 1941 requested an outline of the procedure to be used in sending British messages. Insomuch as he had asked Major Nishi to deliver this material to the Germans during his absence, he felt that he must know immediately how his country planned to handle these wires. Colonel Hayashi remarked that the Germans had expressed their appreciation for the material they had received and conveyed his congratulations to Lt. Colonel Kawamura and to Mr. Sueyoshi on the success of their cryptanalytic work.[1135]
On the same day another message from Berlin to Tokyo suggested that Lt. Colonel Scholz of the German OKW ABWEHR[1136] be awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, third class, at the same time that Mr. Kemp would receive his commendation. The reason for further bestowing an award on Lt. Colonel Scholz who had received the Order of the Rising Sun, fourth class, was that as head of the communications of the attache office, he had given meritorious service, particularly in regard to German-Japanese joint cryptanalytic work.[1137]
From Bangkok to the Vice Chief of the General Staff in Tokyo came a list of steps which should precede air operations in British Malaya. It was suggested on September 26 that if these operations were being considered, there should be a thorough-going reenforcement of the
[1131] III, 856.
[1132] Kana spelling.
[1133] III, 857.
[1134] III, 858.
[1135] III, 859.
[1136] Kana spelling.
[1137] III, 860.
[233]
air units in Saigon. An accurate utilization of the detailed intelligence already collected and the establishment of spy networks would be necessary as well as the execution of wind-speed observation with balloons having radio-sounding equipment, twice daily, in at least five places. These were to include Saigon, Hanoi, and Heito.[1138]
466. Communications Difficulties Noted in Switzerland
Ambassador Oshima's plea for clearer coverage of his government's policies were echoed from Bern, Switzerland, on September 1, 1941, by Consul Takanobu Mitani who suggested that as a result of the difficulty in maintaining communications between Japan and its various outlying stations, some steps should be taken to rectify the situation. In this regard, he proposed that in view of the increase of news of the day and the necessity for its immediate distribution one broadcast a day would last too long if it covered all the news. Henceforth over the Switzerland station two separate periods lasting from 40 to 60 minutes each would be inaugurated, to be scheduled approximately as 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
In harmony with this new plan for reducing the time of an individual broadcast but increasing the over-all coverage of the news, Consul Mitani explained that the content of each broadcast from Bern would be increased while a more careful selection of the news to avoid repetition would be practised. The plan was to give explanations of new place names and personal names. To this end it was decided to arrange for an immediate change in wave length and to distribute reference material.[1139]
467. Berlin and Tokyo Negotiate for Improved Communications
It will be remembered that negotiations had been initiated between Berlin and Tokyo to determine a more efficient and satisfactory method for settling the communication difficulties between Japan and Germany prevalent at this point. An agreement, Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire submitted by Ambassador Oshima, was approved on August 20, 1941 by authorities in Tokyo. This placed the authority for concluding the technical arrangements in the hands of officials of the German and Japanese Broadcasting Companies. Another plan gave ultimate authority to the German and Japanese governments. Of the two plans submitted, Foreign Minister Toyoda approved of the one sanctioning the least possible "meddling" of foreign officials with the private broadcasting companies. However, he stated that in case the German authorities requested it, he had no objections to entering the statement that liaison officers would attend to the business of contracting the broadcasting company according to Foreign Office instructions from the respective countries.[1140]
After conferring with the German government, Ambassador Oshima replied to the Foreign Minister on September 1, that he had been informed by German authorities, that with the growing importance of radio in the world situation they had already established a diplomatic post of radio attache in Tokyo and in other of the important capitols throughout the world. In addition Germany placed much importance upon radio as being an integral part of the functions of a state, and as for leaving anything but the program details up to direct negotiations between the broadcasting companies, it was made clear to Tokyo that Germany was not in accord, furthermore that it expected to retain the right to have the final say in all matters having political implications.
Ambassador Oshima hurried to make it clear to the Foreign Minister that Germany had no intention of interfering with the organizations of foreign countries which had been specifically established to conduct informative and propaganda work, but believed that the matter would have to be arranged and settled in its entirety through governmental negotiations or have the
[1138] III, 861.
[1139] III, 862.
[1140] III, 863.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
expression 8.exp.993 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
A GRIM expression in a yearbook photo or family snapshot could mean more than just a passing bad mood. It could also signal that the subject is more likely to get divorced than someone with a big smile for the camera. Matthew Hertenstein and his colleagues at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana asked old boys and girls of the university to answer questions about their current sexual relationships and whether they had ever been divorced. The team then looked up pictures of their volunteers in the university’s yearbooks and graded the degree of their smiles. The less a person smiled, it turned out, the more likely he or she was to have been divorced over the course of a lifetime. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
transplant 8.tra.003004 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
It may one day be possible to use cell transplants to treat muscular dystrophy.
A new study used skeletal muscle stem cells to rebuild brawn in mice with faulty muscle-making genes, researchers report in the July 11 Cell. The technique could provide a promising treatment for disorders like Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common form of the muscle disease. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The results offer hope that one day skeletal muscle stem cells from healthy people could be grafted into those with muscle disorders, says Amy Wagers, coauthor of the paper and a stem cell biologist at Harvard University and the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. People with other kinds of muscle damage could benefit as well, she says. “There are a lot of situations where muscle is degenerating or damaged and you might want to boost its regenerative capacity.”
Unlike ordinary cells, which each serve a specific purpose in the muscle, skeletal muscle stem cells are generalists, able to transform into any of the types of cells that make muscles. Different organs have different pools of stem cells.
Some research has tried to use bone marrow cells to regenerate organ cells for the liver, the heart and other organs. But the new work shows that drawing stem cells from the same type of organ being repaired is more effective. “The paper confirms the fundamental idea that we have stem cells residing in adult organs, and those are the cells that we should focus on,” says Irina Conboy, a bioengineer at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study.
People with Duchenne face progressive muscle weakness. Because of a genetic defect, their bodies don’t make a protein called dystrophin, which is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of muscle. Without it, muscle becomes damaged and wastes away. Wheelchair-bound by their early teens, Duchenne patients typically die soon after, when their heart and diaphragm muscles can no longer keep them breathing, Conboy says.
To determine which cell types in the mice could best rebuild muscle tissue, Wagers and colleagues extracted stem cells from a pool of cells known to play a role in muscle growth and repair. To identify the best muscle rebuilders, the group analyzed the receptors on the cell surfaces.
Next, the group implanted muscle stem cells from normal mice into mice lacking the gene to make dystrophin. The mice have the same genetic defect as that implicated in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Conboy says.
Within a couple of weeks of the transplant, mice with the stem cell transplant had markedly improved muscle fibers.
“They show 94 percent recovery, which is great,” Conboy says. “The first step is to discover how to restore muscle in an animal model, and I think that was done very successfully.”
A new study used skeletal muscle stem cells to rebuild brawn in mice with faulty muscle-making genes, researchers report in the July 11 Cell. The technique could provide a promising treatment for disorders like Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common form of the muscle disease. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The results offer hope that one day skeletal muscle stem cells from healthy people could be grafted into those with muscle disorders, says Amy Wagers, coauthor of the paper and a stem cell biologist at Harvard University and the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. People with other kinds of muscle damage could benefit as well, she says. “There are a lot of situations where muscle is degenerating or damaged and you might want to boost its regenerative capacity.”
Unlike ordinary cells, which each serve a specific purpose in the muscle, skeletal muscle stem cells are generalists, able to transform into any of the types of cells that make muscles. Different organs have different pools of stem cells.
Some research has tried to use bone marrow cells to regenerate organ cells for the liver, the heart and other organs. But the new work shows that drawing stem cells from the same type of organ being repaired is more effective. “The paper confirms the fundamental idea that we have stem cells residing in adult organs, and those are the cells that we should focus on,” says Irina Conboy, a bioengineer at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study.
People with Duchenne face progressive muscle weakness. Because of a genetic defect, their bodies don’t make a protein called dystrophin, which is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of muscle. Without it, muscle becomes damaged and wastes away. Wheelchair-bound by their early teens, Duchenne patients typically die soon after, when their heart and diaphragm muscles can no longer keep them breathing, Conboy says.
To determine which cell types in the mice could best rebuild muscle tissue, Wagers and colleagues extracted stem cells from a pool of cells known to play a role in muscle growth and repair. To identify the best muscle rebuilders, the group analyzed the receptors on the cell surfaces.
Next, the group implanted muscle stem cells from normal mice into mice lacking the gene to make dystrophin. The mice have the same genetic defect as that implicated in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Conboy says.
Within a couple of weeks of the transplant, mice with the stem cell transplant had markedly improved muscle fibers.
“They show 94 percent recovery, which is great,” Conboy says. “The first step is to discover how to restore muscle in an animal model, and I think that was done very successfully.”
Monday, May 4, 2009
dense 1.den.0002 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Men are dense — in the temporal neocortex anyway.
An investigation of brain tissue recovered from epilepsy patients during surgery showed men had a higher density of brain cell connectors, called synapses, than their female counterparts, researchers report September 8 online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The find might explain why men have better spatial perception, while women better remember what they hear and can talk faster, the researchers suggest.
“Or, it could mean men’s brains are just more redundant,” says Edward Jones, director of the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study. Right now, it’s hard to know exactly what the difference means, he says.
For many years, scientists have searched for structural variations between men’s and women’s brains to explain psychological studies showing that, overall, the sexes think and act differently. Past studies found differences in brain mass and neuron density, but “they were hyped and untrustworthy,” Jones says.
This study is meticulously detailed, he notes. It is the first to show gender differences on such a fine scale — at the synapse, which is the juncture where an electrical signal passes from one brain cell to another. “The level of detail and meticulousness are why I have confidence in the results,” he says.
To measure the difference in synapse density, four Spanish scientists studied brain tissue taken from eight patients, four men and four women. The patients were having surgery on the hippocampus regions of their brains to treat epileptic seizures. As part of the procedure, tissue from the temporal neocortex was extracted, along with the culprit hippocampus tissue.
The temporal neocortex is related to speech, memory and hearing. Tests showed that the temporal tissue was not affected by the patients’ epilepsy, the researchers report.
The team then analyzed the temporal tissue with an electron microscope. All the samples had similar numbers and densities of neurons, as well as similar thicknesses throughout the six layers of tissue. The only difference by gender was synapse density. The four men had, on average, 33 percent more synapses per cubic millimeter of tissue, says study coauthor Javier DeFelipe of the Cajal Institute in Madrid, Spain.
“But, the sample size is small,” comments Karl Zilles of the Institute of Neurosciences and Biophysics in Jülich, Germany. And, he adds, epilepsy leads to synapse changes even outside the epileptic focus. So, undetected changes could have occurred in the synapses of the temporal neocortex.
DeFelipe admits that this study is a first step and only focuses on one area of the brain. Women’s brains could have a higher synapse density in other regions, he explains.
“Given the challenges, like getting fresh tissue, it is great work,” but more research is needed, Zilles says. http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN.NET
Jones notes, though, that the epilepsy treatment that produced the samples for this study is becoming more common. “I just hope the results encourage researchers to start taking a look at that available tissue,” he says. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
An investigation of brain tissue recovered from epilepsy patients during surgery showed men had a higher density of brain cell connectors, called synapses, than their female counterparts, researchers report September 8 online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The find might explain why men have better spatial perception, while women better remember what they hear and can talk faster, the researchers suggest.
“Or, it could mean men’s brains are just more redundant,” says Edward Jones, director of the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study. Right now, it’s hard to know exactly what the difference means, he says.
For many years, scientists have searched for structural variations between men’s and women’s brains to explain psychological studies showing that, overall, the sexes think and act differently. Past studies found differences in brain mass and neuron density, but “they were hyped and untrustworthy,” Jones says.
This study is meticulously detailed, he notes. It is the first to show gender differences on such a fine scale — at the synapse, which is the juncture where an electrical signal passes from one brain cell to another. “The level of detail and meticulousness are why I have confidence in the results,” he says.
To measure the difference in synapse density, four Spanish scientists studied brain tissue taken from eight patients, four men and four women. The patients were having surgery on the hippocampus regions of their brains to treat epileptic seizures. As part of the procedure, tissue from the temporal neocortex was extracted, along with the culprit hippocampus tissue.
The temporal neocortex is related to speech, memory and hearing. Tests showed that the temporal tissue was not affected by the patients’ epilepsy, the researchers report.
The team then analyzed the temporal tissue with an electron microscope. All the samples had similar numbers and densities of neurons, as well as similar thicknesses throughout the six layers of tissue. The only difference by gender was synapse density. The four men had, on average, 33 percent more synapses per cubic millimeter of tissue, says study coauthor Javier DeFelipe of the Cajal Institute in Madrid, Spain.
“But, the sample size is small,” comments Karl Zilles of the Institute of Neurosciences and Biophysics in Jülich, Germany. And, he adds, epilepsy leads to synapse changes even outside the epileptic focus. So, undetected changes could have occurred in the synapses of the temporal neocortex.
DeFelipe admits that this study is a first step and only focuses on one area of the brain. Women’s brains could have a higher synapse density in other regions, he explains.
“Given the challenges, like getting fresh tissue, it is great work,” but more research is needed, Zilles says. http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN.NET
Jones notes, though, that the epilepsy treatment that produced the samples for this study is becoming more common. “I just hope the results encourage researchers to start taking a look at that available tissue,” he says. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Friday, May 1, 2009
treating 1.tre.003 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
A viral infection of the heart can be eliminated or at least slowed by treatment with the drug interferon, a team of European researchers reports. http://Louis1J1Sheehan1Esquire.us Viral infections show up in some patients with heart failure and may bear some responsibility for the condition, particularly when it shows up in young or middle-age patients.
Although the new results are preliminary, many patients reported feeling better, cardiologist Heinz-Peter Schultheiss of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin reported November 11 at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions meeting.
The findings also suggest yet another role for interferon, a multipurpose drug that, in slightly different forms, is used against the hepatitis C virus and multiple sclerosis.
Heart failure is a catch-all diagnosis for a decline in heart function that can’t be directly attributed to a heart attack. It typically shows up as a shortness of breath and a weakened ability of the heart to pump blood. But it can have few outward symptoms.
Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among elderly people. More than 80 percent of heart failure cases result from atherosclerosis (clogging and stiffening of the arteries) or high blood pressure or both, says Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago. Beyond that, its causes are less clear. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire A common form of heart failure is cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and the heart functions poorly. Cardiomyopathy is a frequent reason for getting a heart transplant.
In the new study, the researchers biopsied heart tissue in 368 people with cardiomyopathy and found that more than two-thirds had a viral infection in the heart. The scientists then randomly assigned 95 of these people to receive injections of the drug interferon beta-1b every other day for six months. Another 47 received placebo injections over that time.
Three months after the last shot, a second round of heart biopsies showed that the interferon recipients were more than twice as likely to have reduced the presence of or cleared the virus from the heart, compared with those getting the placebo, Schultheiss reported.
Although follow-up heart biopsies taken six months after the end of treatment showed no statistically significant difference in viral concentration between the groups, other assessments made during that time frame suggest that the gains were still holding. For example, interviews with the patients showed that those getting interferon reported a higher quality of life than the placebo recipients. And other tests indicated that the interferon group scored higher on measures of everyday activities, compared with those who had gotten the placebo.
Several viruses that normally cause common colds or respiratory infections have been found to set up shop in the heart, including adenovirus, parvovirus and enterovirus. Whether these viruses directly cause heart inflammation in people with cardiomyopathy remains unclear, which makes studies such as the new one valuable, says Michael Felker, a cardiologist at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.
Only in the past decade have scientists developed the techniques to identify patients with such viral infections and the virus involved, he says. But those techniques require a biopsy. Short of that, it’s impossible to know who has a viral heart infection. Bonow says that’s why it’s not clear what percentage of heart failure patients might fall into this category.
Although the new findings are promising, he says, obstacles remain. The downsides of getting a heart biopsy are obvious. And interferon treatment, in the form of a subcutaneous injection given every other day, is a lot to bear. Deciding which heart failure patients with cardiomyopathy would be likely to benefit from either the test or the treatment might require some calculation, Bonow says. “Maybe we would choose a certain age group, or people who don’t have underlying coronary disease.”
Interferon therapies are based on natural proteins that have antiviral and immune-modulating roles in the body. When used in drug form, they duplicate some of these roles, though their mode of action is poorly understood.
Interferon therapy can cause some side effects and is expensive — about $10,000 for the six-month treatment.
Further studies may clarify whether spending that kind of money yields results that are worthwhile, Felker says. “But theoretically, if you prevent the progression of worse heart failure — and the need for a heart transplant — you can imagine that even a pretty expensive therapy could be cost-effective,” he says.
Although the new results are preliminary, many patients reported feeling better, cardiologist Heinz-Peter Schultheiss of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin reported November 11 at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions meeting.
The findings also suggest yet another role for interferon, a multipurpose drug that, in slightly different forms, is used against the hepatitis C virus and multiple sclerosis.
Heart failure is a catch-all diagnosis for a decline in heart function that can’t be directly attributed to a heart attack. It typically shows up as a shortness of breath and a weakened ability of the heart to pump blood. But it can have few outward symptoms.
Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among elderly people. More than 80 percent of heart failure cases result from atherosclerosis (clogging and stiffening of the arteries) or high blood pressure or both, says Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago. Beyond that, its causes are less clear. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire A common form of heart failure is cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and the heart functions poorly. Cardiomyopathy is a frequent reason for getting a heart transplant.
In the new study, the researchers biopsied heart tissue in 368 people with cardiomyopathy and found that more than two-thirds had a viral infection in the heart. The scientists then randomly assigned 95 of these people to receive injections of the drug interferon beta-1b every other day for six months. Another 47 received placebo injections over that time.
Three months after the last shot, a second round of heart biopsies showed that the interferon recipients were more than twice as likely to have reduced the presence of or cleared the virus from the heart, compared with those getting the placebo, Schultheiss reported.
Although follow-up heart biopsies taken six months after the end of treatment showed no statistically significant difference in viral concentration between the groups, other assessments made during that time frame suggest that the gains were still holding. For example, interviews with the patients showed that those getting interferon reported a higher quality of life than the placebo recipients. And other tests indicated that the interferon group scored higher on measures of everyday activities, compared with those who had gotten the placebo.
Several viruses that normally cause common colds or respiratory infections have been found to set up shop in the heart, including adenovirus, parvovirus and enterovirus. Whether these viruses directly cause heart inflammation in people with cardiomyopathy remains unclear, which makes studies such as the new one valuable, says Michael Felker, a cardiologist at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.
Only in the past decade have scientists developed the techniques to identify patients with such viral infections and the virus involved, he says. But those techniques require a biopsy. Short of that, it’s impossible to know who has a viral heart infection. Bonow says that’s why it’s not clear what percentage of heart failure patients might fall into this category.
Although the new findings are promising, he says, obstacles remain. The downsides of getting a heart biopsy are obvious. And interferon treatment, in the form of a subcutaneous injection given every other day, is a lot to bear. Deciding which heart failure patients with cardiomyopathy would be likely to benefit from either the test or the treatment might require some calculation, Bonow says. “Maybe we would choose a certain age group, or people who don’t have underlying coronary disease.”
Interferon therapies are based on natural proteins that have antiviral and immune-modulating roles in the body. When used in drug form, they duplicate some of these roles, though their mode of action is poorly understood.
Interferon therapy can cause some side effects and is expensive — about $10,000 for the six-month treatment.
Further studies may clarify whether spending that kind of money yields results that are worthwhile, Felker says. “But theoretically, if you prevent the progression of worse heart failure — and the need for a heart transplant — you can imagine that even a pretty expensive therapy could be cost-effective,” he says.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
loggewd 4.log.001 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The long-standing connection between depression and heart problems might be traceable to the fact that depressed people are less physically active than others, a new study of heart patients shows. A greater tendency in depressed people to smoke and to fail to take medications regularly may also play a role, researchers report in the Nov. 26 Journal of the American Medical Association.http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
Previous studies have suggested that depression seems to increase the risk of heart problems in people with no history of them, and that depression often coincides with worsening health in people who have an existing heart condition. Yet the medical reason for this association is unknown, and it’s not even clear whether depression leads to heart problems or vice versa.
Scientists have investigated possible side effects from antidepressant drugs, chemical imbalances in the brain, stress, diet, chronic inflammation, smoking and a lack of exercise as reasons for the link between depression and heart problems.
To sort out these possibilities, researchers began a study in 2000, identifying people visiting clinics in the San Francisco Bay area who had chronic but stable coronary heart disease. Of the 1,017 patients enrolled, tests showed that one-fifth, average age 63, had symptoms of depression at the start of the study. The other four-fifths were age 68 on average and weren’t depressed. Researchers monitored the health of all the volunteers using lab tests, checkups, interviews, death records. Follow-up averaged five years, and researchers logged the final data entries in early 2008.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
During the study, the scientists periodically asked volunteers whether they had had any episodes of “heart trouble” or stroke that had necessitated a visit to a hospital. In cases where a volunteer had died or couldn’t respond, relatives or other caregivers provided information.
By the end of the study, 341 incidents were reported. These included cases of heart failure, heart attacks, strokes or deaths. After accounting for past medical histories and other differences between the depressed and nondepressed groups, the researchers calculated that people with depression had a 31 percent increased risk of having at least one such incident during the study, says study coauthor Mary Whooley, an internist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.
The depressed people were also slightly more likely to have high levels of inflammatory proteins in the blood, which may have explained some of these participants’ added coronary risk. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us Inflammatory cells and proteins contribute to plaque formation and vessel damage.
But the clearest differences between groups were behavioral, Whooley says. When researchers accounted for differences between the groups in smoking habits, exercise habits and discipline in taking medications, the heart risk apparently imparted by depression evaporated.
Meanwhile, the depressed people were nearly twice as likely to smoke and were more likely than the nondepressed group to fail to take medications on schedule. The depressed group also exercised less.
“This particular finding is important,” says cardiovascular epidemiologist Viola Vaccarino of Emory University in Atlanta. “In this particular group, behavioral risk factors, especially low physical activity, seem to explain away the depression risk.”
But she cautions that this explanation might not hold for other groups. For example, it’s unclear whether these findings apply to people who are outwardly healthy with no signs or history of heart trouble, but may nonetheless be at risk of heart disease.
On the other end of the spectrum, these findings also might not apply to people with acute coronary ailments, such as recurring chest pain. “It doesn’t really make any sense to ask them to up their physical activity,” Vaccarino says.
Meanwhile, Whooley and her coauthors note that it’s also difficult to determine whether a relative lack of physical inactivity is the cause or the result of depression, since the effect probably goes both ways.
Whooley and Vaccarino agree that it can be very difficult to change the behavior of depressed patients, who often aren’t very motivated, even while on medication. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire “They’ll [exercise] for a few months, then stop,” Whooley says.
She hopes these new findings make doctors more aware of the risks that depressed patients with heart disease run in maintaining a sedentary lifestyle and other detrimental behaviors.
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Comments 3
* My observation is that when man have no true motive, no aim in his lfe he more drepress, and victim of many desease.Today in techological era more and more people lossing motive in life so we are experiences more drepression.
Ramesh Raghuvanshi Ramesh Raghuvanshi
Dec. 1, 2008 at 12:58am http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
* Depression isn't just linked to lack of exercise, although that is a major factor. Depression makes people refrain from social contact. It makes them eat too much or too little. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire It makes them quit taking medicines they know they need to take, or take too much, or take them at the wrong times. Depression robs people of their motivation, all right, but it also robs them of their judgment, of their reason to do anything that anybody says is good for them. "Why should I take my medicine?" the depressed person wonders. "It won't do any good. Why should I keep doing these exercises? It's a lot of work and it isn't helping. I still don't feel good. My doctor doesn't care if I live or die. My family doesn't care if I live or die. I'm hurting, I'm tired, so very, very tired. You know, I don't care if I live or die either. I'm just going to give up." And then they do. You can't make a depressed person care again by writing prescriptions, either. It doesn't what's written on that little piece of paper or who writes it. That isn't the answer. They need TLC and that doesn't come in paper and ink or in a little bottle at the pharmacy.
Previous studies have suggested that depression seems to increase the risk of heart problems in people with no history of them, and that depression often coincides with worsening health in people who have an existing heart condition. Yet the medical reason for this association is unknown, and it’s not even clear whether depression leads to heart problems or vice versa.
Scientists have investigated possible side effects from antidepressant drugs, chemical imbalances in the brain, stress, diet, chronic inflammation, smoking and a lack of exercise as reasons for the link between depression and heart problems.
To sort out these possibilities, researchers began a study in 2000, identifying people visiting clinics in the San Francisco Bay area who had chronic but stable coronary heart disease. Of the 1,017 patients enrolled, tests showed that one-fifth, average age 63, had symptoms of depression at the start of the study. The other four-fifths were age 68 on average and weren’t depressed. Researchers monitored the health of all the volunteers using lab tests, checkups, interviews, death records. Follow-up averaged five years, and researchers logged the final data entries in early 2008.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
During the study, the scientists periodically asked volunteers whether they had had any episodes of “heart trouble” or stroke that had necessitated a visit to a hospital. In cases where a volunteer had died or couldn’t respond, relatives or other caregivers provided information.
By the end of the study, 341 incidents were reported. These included cases of heart failure, heart attacks, strokes or deaths. After accounting for past medical histories and other differences between the depressed and nondepressed groups, the researchers calculated that people with depression had a 31 percent increased risk of having at least one such incident during the study, says study coauthor Mary Whooley, an internist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.
The depressed people were also slightly more likely to have high levels of inflammatory proteins in the blood, which may have explained some of these participants’ added coronary risk. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us Inflammatory cells and proteins contribute to plaque formation and vessel damage.
But the clearest differences between groups were behavioral, Whooley says. When researchers accounted for differences between the groups in smoking habits, exercise habits and discipline in taking medications, the heart risk apparently imparted by depression evaporated.
Meanwhile, the depressed people were nearly twice as likely to smoke and were more likely than the nondepressed group to fail to take medications on schedule. The depressed group also exercised less.
“This particular finding is important,” says cardiovascular epidemiologist Viola Vaccarino of Emory University in Atlanta. “In this particular group, behavioral risk factors, especially low physical activity, seem to explain away the depression risk.”
But she cautions that this explanation might not hold for other groups. For example, it’s unclear whether these findings apply to people who are outwardly healthy with no signs or history of heart trouble, but may nonetheless be at risk of heart disease.
On the other end of the spectrum, these findings also might not apply to people with acute coronary ailments, such as recurring chest pain. “It doesn’t really make any sense to ask them to up their physical activity,” Vaccarino says.
Meanwhile, Whooley and her coauthors note that it’s also difficult to determine whether a relative lack of physical inactivity is the cause or the result of depression, since the effect probably goes both ways.
Whooley and Vaccarino agree that it can be very difficult to change the behavior of depressed patients, who often aren’t very motivated, even while on medication. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire “They’ll [exercise] for a few months, then stop,” Whooley says.
She hopes these new findings make doctors more aware of the risks that depressed patients with heart disease run in maintaining a sedentary lifestyle and other detrimental behaviors.
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Comments 3
* My observation is that when man have no true motive, no aim in his lfe he more drepress, and victim of many desease.Today in techological era more and more people lossing motive in life so we are experiences more drepression.
Ramesh Raghuvanshi Ramesh Raghuvanshi
Dec. 1, 2008 at 12:58am http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
* Depression isn't just linked to lack of exercise, although that is a major factor. Depression makes people refrain from social contact. It makes them eat too much or too little. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire It makes them quit taking medicines they know they need to take, or take too much, or take them at the wrong times. Depression robs people of their motivation, all right, but it also robs them of their judgment, of their reason to do anything that anybody says is good for them. "Why should I take my medicine?" the depressed person wonders. "It won't do any good. Why should I keep doing these exercises? It's a lot of work and it isn't helping. I still don't feel good. My doctor doesn't care if I live or die. My family doesn't care if I live or die. I'm hurting, I'm tired, so very, very tired. You know, I don't care if I live or die either. I'm just going to give up." And then they do. You can't make a depressed person care again by writing prescriptions, either. It doesn't what's written on that little piece of paper or who writes it. That isn't the answer. They need TLC and that doesn't come in paper and ink or in a little bottle at the pharmacy.
Monday, April 13, 2009
outlook 1.out.9987 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire Women with rapidly lethal ovarian cancer are more likely to harbor tumors lacking a normal complement of two enzymes that facilitate the silencing of genes, a new study shows. Meanwhile, patients who survive significantly longer tend to have ample supplies of both compounds, scientists report in the Dec. 18 New England Journal of Medicine.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Data on patients with other cancers also linked better survival to adequate levels of one of these enzymes, the researchers find
If confirmed, the new finding might enable doctors to make more precise prognoses for patients with ovarian cancer and possibly other malignancies by testing for these enzymes in tumor tissue. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire The work may also contribute to a further understanding of RNA interference, in which microRNAs or another type of genetic fragment called small interfering RNAs stop biosynthesis of proteins in a cell.
Dicer and Drosha, the enzymes measured in the new study, facilitate the RNA interference process. Human cells make thousands of kinds of RNA fragments, which scientists believe serve as safeguards that keep abnormal proteins — or the wrong amount of them — from being manufactured from their gene blueprints.
Dicer and Drosha also appear in normal cells, where the enzymes perform their work unnoticed much of the time. “We are trying to understand why this machinery is altered in cancer cells,” says Anil Sood, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Earlier work suggested that in cancerous cells a lack of Dicer might contribute to the malignant nature of the cells.
Sood and his colleagues analyzed Dicer and Drosha concentrations in ovarian tumor tissue from 111 patients, dividing the samples into those that contained high or low levels of the enzymes. The team found that 39 percent of women had the lower amounts of both enzymes.
On average, women with higher levels of both enzymes survived more than11 years from the time of their diagnosis, whereas those with lower amounts of Dicer and Drosha lived 2.7 years on average, the team reports.
When the scientists accounted for differences between the groups that included age, stage of the cancer and initial response to chemotherapy, women with ample Dicer and Drosha still showed a median survival that was four times longer than those with a shortage of the enzymes.
The researchers then analyzed information obtained from other sets of patients with lung, breast and ovarian cancer. The team found that shortages of both enzymes led to bleaker survival prospects in the ovarian cancer group. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us But only low Dicer levels worsened survival in people with the other two cancers.
Apparently, low amounts of these enzymes allow some genes to remain switched on and encode proteins when they would be better off shut down, Sood says.
The study “provides evidence for a simple mechanism, based on the biologic characteristics of microRNAs, for formulating a prognosis and potentially guiding therapy in ovarian cancer,” say Frank Slack and Joanne Weidhaas of Yale University, writing in the same issue of NEJM.
The researchers are still missing an explanation for the shortage of Dicer and Drosha in some of these cancer patients in the first place. “I wish we had the exact answer,” says Sood. He and his team found mutations in genes encoding the enzymes, but these defects didn’t seem related to Dicer or Drosha amounts, he says.http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
The long-term hope is to harness these RNA fragments as drugs to fight cancer, but that research is still at a theoretical stage, he says.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Data on patients with other cancers also linked better survival to adequate levels of one of these enzymes, the researchers find
If confirmed, the new finding might enable doctors to make more precise prognoses for patients with ovarian cancer and possibly other malignancies by testing for these enzymes in tumor tissue. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire The work may also contribute to a further understanding of RNA interference, in which microRNAs or another type of genetic fragment called small interfering RNAs stop biosynthesis of proteins in a cell.
Dicer and Drosha, the enzymes measured in the new study, facilitate the RNA interference process. Human cells make thousands of kinds of RNA fragments, which scientists believe serve as safeguards that keep abnormal proteins — or the wrong amount of them — from being manufactured from their gene blueprints.
Dicer and Drosha also appear in normal cells, where the enzymes perform their work unnoticed much of the time. “We are trying to understand why this machinery is altered in cancer cells,” says Anil Sood, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Earlier work suggested that in cancerous cells a lack of Dicer might contribute to the malignant nature of the cells.
Sood and his colleagues analyzed Dicer and Drosha concentrations in ovarian tumor tissue from 111 patients, dividing the samples into those that contained high or low levels of the enzymes. The team found that 39 percent of women had the lower amounts of both enzymes.
On average, women with higher levels of both enzymes survived more than11 years from the time of their diagnosis, whereas those with lower amounts of Dicer and Drosha lived 2.7 years on average, the team reports.
When the scientists accounted for differences between the groups that included age, stage of the cancer and initial response to chemotherapy, women with ample Dicer and Drosha still showed a median survival that was four times longer than those with a shortage of the enzymes.
The researchers then analyzed information obtained from other sets of patients with lung, breast and ovarian cancer. The team found that shortages of both enzymes led to bleaker survival prospects in the ovarian cancer group. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us But only low Dicer levels worsened survival in people with the other two cancers.
Apparently, low amounts of these enzymes allow some genes to remain switched on and encode proteins when they would be better off shut down, Sood says.
The study “provides evidence for a simple mechanism, based on the biologic characteristics of microRNAs, for formulating a prognosis and potentially guiding therapy in ovarian cancer,” say Frank Slack and Joanne Weidhaas of Yale University, writing in the same issue of NEJM.
The researchers are still missing an explanation for the shortage of Dicer and Drosha in some of these cancer patients in the first place. “I wish we had the exact answer,” says Sood. He and his team found mutations in genes encoding the enzymes, but these defects didn’t seem related to Dicer or Drosha amounts, he says.http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
The long-term hope is to harness these RNA fragments as drugs to fight cancer, but that research is still at a theoretical stage, he says.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Friday, April 10, 2009
budget 1.bud.0003 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
In his not-exactly-State-of-the-Union address to Congress Tuesday night, the President Obama promised that his administration would boost support for science. This morning, we got an inkling of what he was referring to. The official “outline” of the first Obama budget was released at 11 a.m. And this broad-brush blueprint asks Congress to fatten the National Science Foundation, for example, with an extra $7 billion — a hefty 16 percent increase over last year’s funding.
The new budget document argues that “investments in science and technology foster economic growth, create millions of high-tech, high-wage jobs that allow American workers to lead the global economy” and more. For that reason, the budget document says, the president’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 is aimed at beginning to move toward a doubling of federal funding for basic research over the next 10 years. The actual increase in the coming year would be $950 million, it says.
The Energy Department would see lots of boosts. Most of the dollar figures mentioned in today’s budget document reflect money already targeted to be spent from the stimulus. This includes $3.4 billion for low-carbon coal technologies, including the carbon sequestration. But in addition to the $1.6 billion in the recently passed economic stimulus package for basic energy research at DOE, the new budget would provide “substantially increased support for the [DOE] Office of Science.” What does that mean? We’ll have to wait a month or so for the actual line-item budget blueprint to see. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire But we already know that Energy Secretary Steven Chu has been a big booster for this, something he views as his agency’s crown jewel.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Words you wouldn’t have seen in George W. Bush’s budget documents: statements like the president’s intention to make “climate change research and education a priority.” Yep, that’s what it says in today’s document. Toward that end, there’s not only money in the NSF budget for climate science, but also the call for spending $1.3 billion for development and lofting of “vital weather satellites and climate sensors.” (I guess some of that will have to go toward replacing the carbon-monitoring satellite that crashed shortly after takeoff a couple days ago.) http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
There is a curious and fairly long section of text under the Environmental Protection Agency heading that describes plans to begin “a comprehensive approach to transform our energy supply and slow global warming.” Global warming has never been a big EPA issue. Most efforts to limit our carbon footprint are managed through programs at Commerce and Energy. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us But in today’s outline, the administration describes its hope to jump-start an ambitious cap-and-trade program for greenhouse-gas emissions. This program would look to cut greenhouse emissions 14 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and approximately 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. Talks of cap-and-trade proposals have been floating around for years. It looks like this president is committed to finally making something happen.
In his Tuesday night address, the president hinted at big boosts for biomedical research. Today’s outline calls for investing more than $6 billion in research at the National Institutes of Health “as part of the administration’s multi-year commitment to double cancer research funding.” Today’s budget outline explains that this influx of funds would “build upon the unprecedented $10 billion” for NIH research in the economic stimulus.
The president’s new budget also advocates expanding research that compares the effectiveness of competing medical treatments — something you can read more about in the upcoming March 14 print Science News, set to be available online Friday.
The EPA would get a boost in funding, but largely for infrastructure improvements and things like a new Great Lakes restoration program.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (once called the National Bureau of Standards) is a small but important Commerce Department agency charged with making sure new “yardsticks” exist for helping develop new technologies — ones that will keep the nation competitive with other economic powerhouses. In recent years, NIST has been marginalized, with large sections of it targeted for elimination (but usually rescued by Congress, sometimes at the 11th hour). In a turnabout, the Obama administration acknowledges that NIST’s health is important to the nation’s technology infrastructure — infrastructure being a priority in the stimulus. Under the president’s budget plan, NIST would get money to keep important programs alive and would be designated the headquarters for administering $4.7 billion in stimulus money “to expand broadband deployment, adoption, and data collection.”
Something you don’t see in today’s budget outline is any mention of beefing up research programs at the Department of Agriculture. USDA’s research service has been hurting in recent years. And a failure to boast about turning that around suggests that the president won’t be trying to turn that around — at least not in the coming year.
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Found in: Biomedicine, Body & Brain, Climate Change, Earth Science, Environment, Matter & Energy, Science & Society and Technology
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* How can a total of several billions (7 for NSF, 6 for NIH) come to only "$950 million" in all?
Merry Maisel
Merry Maisel Merry Maisel Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Mar. 3, 2009 at 7:27pm
* Boosting government spending in the name of science is not the same thing as boosting science. Some money that the private and voluntary sectors would otherwise spend on research will instead be spent on efforts to steer the grants, or consumed by taxes, with no guarantee that government-sponsored activities produce more science.
Anton Sherwood Anton Sherwood
Feb. 27, 2009 at 5:02pm
* I think Obama has a good sense of what to spend money on and a sincere desire for the greater good. I hope that greed and lack of integrity in our country don't ruin things. We should have the guillotines ready just in case.
Randell Grenier Randell Grenier
Feb. 27, 2009 at 3:21pm
* That's not good. USDA is one of the highest ROI programs in science.
The new budget document argues that “investments in science and technology foster economic growth, create millions of high-tech, high-wage jobs that allow American workers to lead the global economy” and more. For that reason, the budget document says, the president’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 is aimed at beginning to move toward a doubling of federal funding for basic research over the next 10 years. The actual increase in the coming year would be $950 million, it says.
The Energy Department would see lots of boosts. Most of the dollar figures mentioned in today’s budget document reflect money already targeted to be spent from the stimulus. This includes $3.4 billion for low-carbon coal technologies, including the carbon sequestration. But in addition to the $1.6 billion in the recently passed economic stimulus package for basic energy research at DOE, the new budget would provide “substantially increased support for the [DOE] Office of Science.” What does that mean? We’ll have to wait a month or so for the actual line-item budget blueprint to see. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire But we already know that Energy Secretary Steven Chu has been a big booster for this, something he views as his agency’s crown jewel.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Words you wouldn’t have seen in George W. Bush’s budget documents: statements like the president’s intention to make “climate change research and education a priority.” Yep, that’s what it says in today’s document. Toward that end, there’s not only money in the NSF budget for climate science, but also the call for spending $1.3 billion for development and lofting of “vital weather satellites and climate sensors.” (I guess some of that will have to go toward replacing the carbon-monitoring satellite that crashed shortly after takeoff a couple days ago.) http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
There is a curious and fairly long section of text under the Environmental Protection Agency heading that describes plans to begin “a comprehensive approach to transform our energy supply and slow global warming.” Global warming has never been a big EPA issue. Most efforts to limit our carbon footprint are managed through programs at Commerce and Energy. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us But in today’s outline, the administration describes its hope to jump-start an ambitious cap-and-trade program for greenhouse-gas emissions. This program would look to cut greenhouse emissions 14 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and approximately 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. Talks of cap-and-trade proposals have been floating around for years. It looks like this president is committed to finally making something happen.
In his Tuesday night address, the president hinted at big boosts for biomedical research. Today’s outline calls for investing more than $6 billion in research at the National Institutes of Health “as part of the administration’s multi-year commitment to double cancer research funding.” Today’s budget outline explains that this influx of funds would “build upon the unprecedented $10 billion” for NIH research in the economic stimulus.
The president’s new budget also advocates expanding research that compares the effectiveness of competing medical treatments — something you can read more about in the upcoming March 14 print Science News, set to be available online Friday.
The EPA would get a boost in funding, but largely for infrastructure improvements and things like a new Great Lakes restoration program.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (once called the National Bureau of Standards) is a small but important Commerce Department agency charged with making sure new “yardsticks” exist for helping develop new technologies — ones that will keep the nation competitive with other economic powerhouses. In recent years, NIST has been marginalized, with large sections of it targeted for elimination (but usually rescued by Congress, sometimes at the 11th hour). In a turnabout, the Obama administration acknowledges that NIST’s health is important to the nation’s technology infrastructure — infrastructure being a priority in the stimulus. Under the president’s budget plan, NIST would get money to keep important programs alive and would be designated the headquarters for administering $4.7 billion in stimulus money “to expand broadband deployment, adoption, and data collection.”
Something you don’t see in today’s budget outline is any mention of beefing up research programs at the Department of Agriculture. USDA’s research service has been hurting in recent years. And a failure to boast about turning that around suggests that the president won’t be trying to turn that around — at least not in the coming year.
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Found in: Biomedicine, Body & Brain, Climate Change, Earth Science, Environment, Matter & Energy, Science & Society and Technology
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Comments 4
* How can a total of several billions (7 for NSF, 6 for NIH) come to only "$950 million" in all?
Merry Maisel
Merry Maisel Merry Maisel Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Mar. 3, 2009 at 7:27pm
* Boosting government spending in the name of science is not the same thing as boosting science. Some money that the private and voluntary sectors would otherwise spend on research will instead be spent on efforts to steer the grants, or consumed by taxes, with no guarantee that government-sponsored activities produce more science.
Anton Sherwood Anton Sherwood
Feb. 27, 2009 at 5:02pm
* I think Obama has a good sense of what to spend money on and a sincere desire for the greater good. I hope that greed and lack of integrity in our country don't ruin things. We should have the guillotines ready just in case.
Randell Grenier Randell Grenier
Feb. 27, 2009 at 3:21pm
* That's not good. USDA is one of the highest ROI programs in science.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
crime 3.cri.1 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire . Math as a tool for tracking down criminals has never been as precise as the TV show Numb3rs depicts. But mathematicians are developing better ways to at least estimate where a person on a crime spree might live. http://Louis-J-Sheehan.de
Using information about the layout of a city, such as the location of similar crimes during the past few years, beefed up mathematical tools could improve estimates of where a criminal lives based on where he or she commits crimes, according to new research presented January 7 at the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings.
"I feel like I'm in a gold mine and I'm the only one who knows what gold looks like," says Mike O'Leary, an applied mathematician at Towson University in Maryland who performed the new research. "There are so many good mathematical problems in this field" of criminology. http://Louis-J-Sheehan.de
A well established principle of criminology is that perpetrators will tend to commit more crimes close to their homes simply because of convenience and the realities of transportation. So older techniques estimate where a criminal lives based on the locations of a string of unsolved crimes that are all attributed to that criminal.
But those techniques ignore the actual geography of a city, assuming instead that the likelihood of a criminal striking near his or her home drops off evenly in all directions regardless of geography.
"They don't have any way to incorporate yet data about geography," O'Leary says. "Mathematically they just don't have the tools for it."
To find the perpetrator of a type of crime, such as robbing a convenience store, O'Leary's methods would use historical records of incidences of similar crimes to generate a likelihood distribution for that crime for the whole city. This distribution inherently contains geographic information such as where the major roads are located and where easy targets are located. The analysis also folds in census data about neighborhood demographics, as well as a mathematical analysis of how far from home criminals of different ages typically strike. Younger criminals tend to commit crimes closer to home.
Other researchers have also developed software tools in recent years that attempt to incorporate geographic information. However, "Up until now the majority of the research has been done by social scientists such as myself," comments Ned Levine, a geographical researcher at Ned Levine & Associates in Houston who developed crime-analysis software called CrimeStat. O'Leary has "added some insights into the mathematics that previously we were struggling with,” he says. “He's really cleaning up the mathematics."
At their best, such analyses, including O’Leary’s, are prone to error and only give police a starting point — perhaps for checking whether people previously convicted of the same crime live in the area identified by the techniques. O'Leary is working on computer software that performs his analysis. The code for the software will be made freely available, and the complete software package will be free for police departments to use.
"It's a lot of fun," O'Leary says. "I can't wait until this goes and does something." Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Using information about the layout of a city, such as the location of similar crimes during the past few years, beefed up mathematical tools could improve estimates of where a criminal lives based on where he or she commits crimes, according to new research presented January 7 at the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings.
"I feel like I'm in a gold mine and I'm the only one who knows what gold looks like," says Mike O'Leary, an applied mathematician at Towson University in Maryland who performed the new research. "There are so many good mathematical problems in this field" of criminology. http://Louis-J-Sheehan.de
A well established principle of criminology is that perpetrators will tend to commit more crimes close to their homes simply because of convenience and the realities of transportation. So older techniques estimate where a criminal lives based on the locations of a string of unsolved crimes that are all attributed to that criminal.
But those techniques ignore the actual geography of a city, assuming instead that the likelihood of a criminal striking near his or her home drops off evenly in all directions regardless of geography.
"They don't have any way to incorporate yet data about geography," O'Leary says. "Mathematically they just don't have the tools for it."
To find the perpetrator of a type of crime, such as robbing a convenience store, O'Leary's methods would use historical records of incidences of similar crimes to generate a likelihood distribution for that crime for the whole city. This distribution inherently contains geographic information such as where the major roads are located and where easy targets are located. The analysis also folds in census data about neighborhood demographics, as well as a mathematical analysis of how far from home criminals of different ages typically strike. Younger criminals tend to commit crimes closer to home.
Other researchers have also developed software tools in recent years that attempt to incorporate geographic information. However, "Up until now the majority of the research has been done by social scientists such as myself," comments Ned Levine, a geographical researcher at Ned Levine & Associates in Houston who developed crime-analysis software called CrimeStat. O'Leary has "added some insights into the mathematics that previously we were struggling with,” he says. “He's really cleaning up the mathematics."
At their best, such analyses, including O’Leary’s, are prone to error and only give police a starting point — perhaps for checking whether people previously convicted of the same crime live in the area identified by the techniques. O'Leary is working on computer software that performs his analysis. The code for the software will be made freely available, and the complete software package will be free for police departments to use.
"It's a lot of fun," O'Leary says. "I can't wait until this goes and does something." Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Monday, January 5, 2009
jets 3.jet.004005 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The two top toymakers in the United States posted disappointing third-quarter results yesterday and softened expectations for the crucial holiday season, citing a wobbly economy and cautious retailers. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire.
The No. 1 toy maker, Mattel Inc., said third-quarter earnings slid 5 percent from a year earlier, with overall sales down 2 percent. Sales of Barbie dolls in the United States fell 26 percent. Mattel said it was struggling to hang on to shelf space at retailers. http://louisjsheehanesquire.blogsavy.com
The other toy maker, Hasbro Inc., posted higher third-quarter earnings as it cut costs, but the results were weaker than expected, with revenue down 2 percent as sales of its once-hot Beyblade battling tops continued falling. http://louisjsheehanesquire.blogsavy.com
Hasbro shares slipped 6.5 percent to $17.26, while Mattel shares were down 2.6 percent at $17.50. Both toymakers said the retail environment remained challenging.
"We are currently dealing with broad consumer uncertainty related to higher gasoline prices and a lackluster employment picture, which translates into uninspiring consumer confidence levels," Robert A. Eckert, the chief executive of Mattel, said.
On a conference call, Mr. Eckert said most retailers were allocating shelf space based on past performance and would rather "chase demand" than buy goods early.
Sean McGowan, an analyst at Harris Nesbitt, said: "Both companies are facing the fact that some of their products are declining. I don't think anybody's not buying a particular toy because it costs more to drive to the toy store or Wal-Mart."
Roughly 50 percent of toy sales are in the fourth quarter, according to the NPD Group, a market information company. Adding to the dismal retail landscape, Toys "R" Us Inc., the No. 2 toy seller after Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is evaluating its business and analysts have estimated the company will close 100 to 200 stores in 2005.
Mattel said third-quarter earnings fell to $255.9 million, or 61 cents a share, from $270 million, or 61 cents, while sales fell 2 percent, to $1.67 billion. http://louisjsheehanesquire.blogsavy.com
Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, R.I., said third-quarter net income rose to $88.7 million from $85.8 million, while earnings fell to 45 cents a share from 48 cents.
Analysts, on average, estimated profit of 51 cents a share from Hasbro, according to Reuters Estimates.
Hasbro's revenue fell 2 percent, to $947.3 million. The chief executive, Alfred J. Verrecchia, said the company was confident that it could increase earnings as it cut costs and achieved its operating margin goal of 12 percent or better by 2005. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The No. 1 toy maker, Mattel Inc., said third-quarter earnings slid 5 percent from a year earlier, with overall sales down 2 percent. Sales of Barbie dolls in the United States fell 26 percent. Mattel said it was struggling to hang on to shelf space at retailers. http://louisjsheehanesquire.blogsavy.com
The other toy maker, Hasbro Inc., posted higher third-quarter earnings as it cut costs, but the results were weaker than expected, with revenue down 2 percent as sales of its once-hot Beyblade battling tops continued falling. http://louisjsheehanesquire.blogsavy.com
Hasbro shares slipped 6.5 percent to $17.26, while Mattel shares were down 2.6 percent at $17.50. Both toymakers said the retail environment remained challenging.
"We are currently dealing with broad consumer uncertainty related to higher gasoline prices and a lackluster employment picture, which translates into uninspiring consumer confidence levels," Robert A. Eckert, the chief executive of Mattel, said.
On a conference call, Mr. Eckert said most retailers were allocating shelf space based on past performance and would rather "chase demand" than buy goods early.
Sean McGowan, an analyst at Harris Nesbitt, said: "Both companies are facing the fact that some of their products are declining. I don't think anybody's not buying a particular toy because it costs more to drive to the toy store or Wal-Mart."
Roughly 50 percent of toy sales are in the fourth quarter, according to the NPD Group, a market information company. Adding to the dismal retail landscape, Toys "R" Us Inc., the No. 2 toy seller after Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is evaluating its business and analysts have estimated the company will close 100 to 200 stores in 2005.
Mattel said third-quarter earnings fell to $255.9 million, or 61 cents a share, from $270 million, or 61 cents, while sales fell 2 percent, to $1.67 billion. http://louisjsheehanesquire.blogsavy.com
Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, R.I., said third-quarter net income rose to $88.7 million from $85.8 million, while earnings fell to 45 cents a share from 48 cents.
Analysts, on average, estimated profit of 51 cents a share from Hasbro, according to Reuters Estimates.
Hasbro's revenue fell 2 percent, to $947.3 million. The chief executive, Alfred J. Verrecchia, said the company was confident that it could increase earnings as it cut costs and achieved its operating margin goal of 12 percent or better by 2005. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
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