bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Religious Beliefs of the Lepchas in the Kalimpong District (West Bengal)
Authors: Jest M. Corneille
Published: March 2011

This note is based on field research made during the summer of 1953, and I must acknowledge the valuable assistance of Fr. J. M. Brahier of the Catholic Mission, Tanyang, the best European speaker of Lepcha. It is by no means exhaustive and certain important aspects require further examination, but even within my present limitations it is interesting to give an account of the religious beliefs of the Lepchas of Tanyang, especially now that their traditions are changing so rapidly.
The Trade of the English East India Company in the Far East, 1623–1684. Part II: 1665–84
Authors: Bassett D. K.
Published: March 2011

It is difficult to decide exactly when English interest in Japan revived; as so often it seems to have been individuals who aroused the enthusiasm of important members of the court of committees. Except for the proposals of Hawley and Smethwick and the ensuing debates, the court minutes contain no reference to the possibility of resuming trade with Japan until 1658. In view of the important role later played by Quarles Browne, it may be worth referring to certain details of the preparations begun in that year. When the directors fitted out the Welcome in December, 1657, her destination was China; no mention was made of a voyage to Japan. The venture was abandoned in January, 1658, because of the lateness of the season. Quarles Browne, the former chief factor in Cambodia, arrived home from Bantam on the Society only on 24th December, 1657, and so cannot have influenced the decision to fit out the Welcome. Besides, Browne had come home under a cloud and it was not until 9th February, 1658, that his accounts for the Cambodian factory were approved by the Company's accountants. Browne then rose rapidly in the favour of the directors: in April he was appointed agent at Bantam but had to surrender his claim to that post because of certain unspecified charges against him. He remained in London to defend himself before the lord protector—successfully as it proved. It may well have been at his instigation that the directors began preparations on 6th September, 1658, to send ships to China and Japan; certainly his selection for the post of chief factor in Japan at the unusual salary of £300 per annum suggests that his influence was considerable. But his usefulness ended together with his employment, when the project collapsed in December, 1658.
Shi'ism under the Umayyads
Authors: Watt W. Montgomery
Published: March 2011

The Shī'ite revolts against the Umayyads may be said to have begun in 671. Immediately after his father's death in 661, al-Ḥasan had made an unsuccessful attempt to resist Mu'āwiyah, and had then retired to a life of luxury in Medina. Ten years later there was an abortive revolt in Kūfah led by Ḥujr b. ‘Adī al-Kindī. Next, in the troubled period after the death of Mu'āwiyah in 680, al-Ḥusayn, the younger son of 'Alī and Fāṭimah, with some encouragement from the Shī'ite party in Kūfah, came to 'Irāq and claimed the caliphate. He did not receive the support he had expected, however, and his small force of about a hundred was massacred at Karbalā'. In the confusion of the following years, with considerable support in ‘Irāq for Ibn az-Zubayr, the Shī'ites remained quiet; but on the death of Yazīd in 684 some of the older Shī'ites of Kūfah, led by Sulaymān b. Ṣuraḍ al-Khuzā'ī, preparedfor military action. The basis of this movement was twofold: they were to show that they repented of the betrayal of al-Ḥusayn (and so are known as the tawwābūn or Penitents), and they were to seek vengeance for his blood. Most of those who carried out the massacre at Karbalā' were living in Kūfah, but the governor who had despatched the army against al-Ḥusayn, 'Ubaydallāh b. Ziyād, had been forced to retire from 'Irāq and was now on the Syrian border with an army. After some debate they decided to march against him with their 4,000 men, but they were defeated and several of their leaders killed (Jan., 685).
The horoscope of Iskandar Sultan
Authors: Keshavarz Fateme
Published: March 2011

In the spring of 1980, the author was asked to prepare a catalogue of the Persian manuscripts preserved in the library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. During preliminary stages of this work a remarkable manuscript came to light which is the subject of the present article. This is the personal horoscope of Iskandar Sultan, the grandson of Tīmūr (d. 807/1405). Iskandar ruled in Fars, South West Iran, for five years from 1409 to 1414. He is best known for his interest in the arts and sciences and for his patronage of manuscript production.
The myth of the Xia Dynasty
Authors: Allan Sarah
Published: March 2011

Was there a Xia Dynasty? By the mid-nineteen thirties, the works of Henri Maspero and other scholars in the West and of Gu Jiegangand his compatriots in China had clearly established the originally mythological character ofthe founder of the Xia Dynasty (traditionally ca. 2200–1760 B.C.) and of the rulers who preceded him in traditional Chinese historiography. The excavations near Anyang of late Shang palaces, tombs and inscribed oracle bones had also established the authenticity of the Shang Dynasty which followed the Xia, or at least of the latter part of it. In 1936, Chen Mengjiapublished an article in which he related the Xia king list to the Shang and argued that the two periods were the same. For the next forty years, the question of the authenticity of the Xia was left largely in abeyance although most scholars did continue to assume that the Xia Dynasty, which was hereditary like the Shang, would some day be authenticated by archaeological excavation.
Wittek and the Austrian Tradition
Authors: Heywood Colin
Published: March 2011

If I were to offer one specific reason for our meeting today, beyond a general and justifiable intention to commemorate the contribution made to early Ottoman historical studies by the late Professor Paul Wittek, it would not be that the year 1987 marks any of the usual anniversaries in the life of our subject. Wittek, a Fellow of this Society, was the first occupant of the Chair of Turkish in the University of London, from 1948 to 1961. It is still seven years short of one hundred since he was born, on 11 January 1894, in Baden, to the south of Vienna, the son of aGymnasiumheadmaster; and it is less than a decade sinceThe Timesrecorded the death, at the age of eighty-four, in an outer suburb of London, of this quintessentially Austrian scholar.
Rāvaṇa the Great in modern Tamil fiction
Authors: Zvelebil K. V.
Published: March 2011

The title of this brief essay is an echo of the title of a book once famous, nowadays almost forgotten: M. S. Purnalingam Pillai, Ravana the Great: King of Lanka (Munnirpallam, 1928). The same author, in his better-known Tamil Literature (1929) wrote: “The ten-faced and twenty-armed Ravana was apparently a very intelligent and valiant hero, a cultured and highly civilized ruler, knew the Vedas and was an expert musician. He took away Sita according to the Tamilian mode of warface, had her in the Asoka woods companioned by his own niece, and would not touch her unless she consented.” With this re-evaluation of the character of Rāvaṇa goes hand in hand a milder yet decisive re-evaluation of Rāma, of Rāma's warriors, of Vibhīṣaṇa, and other dramatis personae of the great story. Vibhīṣaṇa is portrayed as “the treacherous brother or deserter of Ravana, who desired to be King by hook or by crook”, the Aryans are described as haughty, cowardly, of low morality; Rāma “has his specks”, he lacks courage and falters in crises. In contrast, Rāvaṇa is not only “a physical and an intellectual giant” but also “great administrator and leader of men, … a man of his word”.
Social and economic factors in the Chinese porcelain industry in Jingdezhen during the late Ming and early Qing period, Ca. 1620–1683
Authors: Wen-Chin Hsu
Published: March 2011

In the study of Chinese ceramics, the XVIIth century is a period of particular interest, when many changes took place which affected porcelain production in Jingdezhen, the porcelain centre in China. These were fluctuations in economic activity, social upheaval, political turmoil and foreign penetration in trade. However, very few records, dated material or archaeological finds of this period exist which can provide us with a better understanding. This problem is particularly acute from the late Wanli period (1573–1620) to the reinstatement of imperial supervision in Jingdezhen around 1683, the so-called Transitional Period. For this reason, there is still controversy about dating the porcelain of this period, one which has been overlooked, except for a couple of sentences in books on Chinese ceramic history. This attitude, popular in China, arises partly from the traditional neglect of folk wares, and also from the lack of material evidence available for study. Fortunately, Chinese porcelain of this period has been highly regarded by westerners from the day it reached their countries, and this long-lasting enthusiasm has resulted in several studies which have increased our knowledge of it.
Art. III.—The Seven Churches of Asia in 1846
Authors: Captain Newbold
Published: March 2011

Under the impression that any notice, however scant, bearing on the present state of the sites of the Seven Churches of Asia, will not prove wholly unacceptable to the Society, I have ventured to offer a few notes taken during a recent tour to these interesting localities.
Art. V. On the Sacrifice of Human Beings as an Element of the Ancient Religion of India
Authors: Wilson H. H.
Published: March 2011

I Propose to offer to the Society some illustrations of the sacrifice of human beings as an element of the ancient religion of India.

In the first book of the Ramayana a curious legend is narrated of the son of the Rishi Richíka, named S'unahśephas, who was sold by his father for a hundred thousand cows to Ambarísha, the king of Ayodhyá, to supply the place of a sacrificial animal or victim intended for a sacrifice, but stolen by Indra. S'unahśephas is accordingly conveyed to the place of sacrifice, and being dressed in red garments and decorated with garlands of red flowers, is bound to the stake. By the advice of Viśwámitra he prays to Indra and Agni with two sacred verses (gáthás, according to Schlegel's edition; richas, in Gorresio's) communicated to him by the Rishi, and Indra bestows upon him long life, whilst at the same time the king is not disappointed of his reward. This version of the legend leaves it doubtful whether an actual sacrifice of the victim, or one only typical, is intended.
Art. IX.—Some Additional Remarks upon the Ancient City of Anurájapura or Anurádhapura, and the Hill Temple of Mehentélé, in the island of Ceylon
Authors: Chapman I. J.
Published: March 2011

On presenting to the Society the accompanying plan of some of the ruins of Anurádhapura, in the island of Ceylon, made by Major Skinner, the Surveyor-general of the island, to whose kindness I am indebted for it, I avail myself of the assistance of my friend Captain Gascoyne, to add to the observations which are contained in a former paper, entitled, “Some remarks upon the ancient city of Anurádhapura, and the Hill Temple of Mehentélé, in the island of Ceylon,” which the Society did me the honour to insert in the third volume of its Transactions.
Art. XIV.—Translation of the Takwiyat-ul-Imán, preceded by a Notice of the Author, Maulavi Isma'il Hajji
Authors: Ali Mir Shahamat
Published: March 2011

Maulavi Isma'il was the nephew of Maulavi Sháh Abd-ul-Azíz, whose family is yet universally held in great veneration and respect at Delhi. He was the only son of Abd-ul-Ghani, the son of Shah Tali Allah, the most celebrated traditionist and the best student of divinity of his time. The latter had four sons; namely, the father of the subject of this biography, Maulavi Abd-ul-Azíz, Rafia-ud-dín, and Abd-ul-Kádir. They were all famous for their literary attainments and religious characters. The family traces its pedigree to Omar, the second khálif of Muhammad the Prophet.
Art. XVIII.—On Manu, the progenitor of the Aryyan Indians, as represented in the hymns of the Rigveda
Authors: Muir J.
Published: March 2011

It is well known that the ordinary theory of the Indian books, from the Institutes of Manu downwards, is, that the inhabitants of Hindūstan were originally divided into four castes, Brahmans, Kshattriyas, Vaiśyas, and Sūdras, who are asserted to have sprung respectively from the mouth, arms, thighs, and feet, of the Creator. It is true that in these books this theory is not consistently maintained, as we sometimes find a different origin assigned to the four classes. In one passage, the Mahā-Bhārata (xii, 6939) even goes the length of denying that there was at first any distinction of castes, and of affirming that all the world was formed of Brahma, and that, at a period subsequent to their creation, men became divided into classes according to their different occupations. In another part of the same great poem (i, 3138 f.) it is declared that the “descendants of Manu became known as Mānavas (or men); that men, Brahmans, Kshattriyas, and the rest, were sprung from this Manu.” These declarations are clearly inconsistent with the myth of the four castes having issued separately from the Creator's body.
Art. XIX.—On a Neo-Syriac Language, still spoken in the Anti-Lebanon
Authors: Ferrette Jules
Published: March 2011

In the spring of 1861 I passed through the town of Ma'lula, on my way from Ba'labakk (Baalbek) to Damascus. Ma'lula is one of the most curious towns not only in Syria, but in the world. It hangs in an apparently unsafe manner on the side of a perpendicular rock of very great height. The houses are partly excavated from the rock, and partly built upon one another. The streets are so steep that men have to walk on all fours and mules on two legs. The dogs, which in other eastern cities manage their affairs among themselves without belonging to any master, or seeming to notice any passer by, are here of an exceptional temper. They bark at travellers, and especially at the skirts of European coats, in a most threatening manner, so that one has to look after his legs, beside trying to keep his equilibrium. Ma'lula is full of antiquities, the study of which would abundantly repay the sojourn of an antiquarian for a whole summer. They consist chiefly of innumerable caves and tombs cut in the rock, wondrous carved figures of priests and kings, &c. The top of the mountain is a plateau, fertilized by a very large stream, the waters of which, divided into two mighty torrents, encircle the town, and loose themselves in a thousand rivulets under the walnut, mulberry, and pomegranate trees of the oasis below.
Art. XX.—On the Bodily Proportions of Buddhist Idols in Tibet
Authors: Schlagintweit Emil
Published: March 2011

We learn from the ancient legends, that in the very earliest periods of Buddhism relics and images of Buddha were highly honoured. The religious works recommend their worship, as also that of the monuments in which the relics are deposited; and we find it mentioned that the images sent to royal personages at their desire were previously inscribed with the sacred dogma, “Ye Dharma,” &c., and similar formulas, in order to make those personages acquainted with the Bhuddist doctrines. Such were the first objects of worship. In the seventh century A.D., however, this adoration and worship had already been considerably increased; for Thien Thsang, the Chinese pilgrim, mentions, that all the principal disciples of Sákyamuni were then addressed, as also the Bodhisattwas who had excelled in virtue and the sciences, as Manjusrí. “The Maháyána schools,” he says, “have adored even all Bódhisattwas without any further distinction.”
Art. XXII.—Abstract of a Sanskrit Inscription, accompanied by a Decipherment of the Original
Authors: Hall Fitz-Edward
Published: March 2011

The two facsimile copies from which the following inscription is edited were obtained, some years ago, from Colonel Dawes. This gentleman has had the goodness to inform me that the stone containing it “was found in a very old temple, which was filled with images of different kinds, situated in the village of Lakhamundul, in the Sirmoor District. It is on the right bank of the river Jumna, and only a few miles from the spot where that river leaves the Himalaya mountains. The slab was in good preservation; two feet by one and a half; and of good durable stone.”
Art. IX.—The Stories of Jîmûtavâhana, and of Hariśarman
Authors: Wortham B. Hale
Published: March 2011

The Buddhist legend of Jîmûtavâhana is related twice in the Kathâ Sarit Sâgara, in the 22nd Tarânga, from which the following translation is made, as well as in the 90th Tarânga. The two versions of the legend differ somewhat in their treatment of the story, the latter version giving a fuller account of Jîmûtavâhana's courtship and home-life, at the same time omitting all account of his actions in a former birth, and their results. The legend has also been dramatised in the Nâgânanda, or Joy of the Snake World, a highly sensational drama, remarkable as being the only known existing drama commencing with an invocation to Buddha. The drama follows the lines of the legend as laid down in Tarânga 90.
Art. VII.—The Land of the Four Rivers. A Supplement forming Part III. of the Series of Notes on the Early History of Northern India
Authors: Hewitt J. F.
Published: March 2011

In two previous papers written in the Journal of this Society I have adduced reasons for believing that the earliest Indian civilization was originated by the Dravidian immigrant races who formed stable governments in the countries previously ruled under the more loosely organized system of the Kolarian tribes, and who founded and maintained a flourishing internal and foreign trade. In my latest paper I brought forward arguments, based chiefly on the early religious history of India, to prove that there were at least two Dravidian immigrations into Northern India before the Aryans entered the country, or at least before the arrival of that section of the Aryan race who founded the Brahmanical religion. The first Dravidian immigrants were the Accadian moon and snake worshippers, called in India Haihayas, or Sombunsi, the sons of the moon or Lunar Rajputs, and the second were the Semite-Accad trading and warrior tribes, called Sukas Sans, sons of Ikshvaku, or Solar Rajputs. These latter immigrants worshipped the snake as their predecessors had done, but regarded the snake sun-god Vasuki, or Vishnu, as their parent and as the true symbol of the creative energy of nature, instead of the moon, which had occupied a similar position in the theology of their Accadian predecessors.
Art. XII.—The Bábís of Persia. II. Their Literature and Doctrines
Authors: Browne Edward Granville
Published: March 2011

On a former occasion I described some of my experiences amongst the sect of the Bábís in Persia, and gave a short sketch of the history of their appearance and development. In the present paper I propose to speak of their literature and doctrine, so far as these are known to me.
Art. XIII.—The Early Pallavas of Kánchípura
Authors: Foulkes T.
Published: March 2011

The remarkable Pallava inscription edĭted by Professor G. Bühler in the first number of the “Epigraphia Indica” very appropriately inaugurates that new publication, not only because it is the earliest copper-plate muniment which has hitherto been discovered in India, presuming the argument for its date in this present paper is sound, but more especially because its contemporaneous evidence stamps the rule of the Pallavas in Southern India at that early time with historical certainty. Moreover, it supplies authentic materials for an outline sketch of the condition of the Pallava region of the Dakhaṇ at this period of its ancient history, and its political, religious, and social institutions, and of its intellectual and literary advancement.
Anatomical and pathological terms in Akkadian: Part IV
Authors: Adamson P. B.
Published: March 2011

It is known that the worderimmaturefers to an ornament of beads which is worn round the neck. It sometimes appears in medical prognostic texts, and it is here proposed that such passages refer to a skin lesion, although Labat was unable to identify the actual disease.

The ZÁ.NUNUZ.MEŠ (erimmatu) is closely associated in these texts with general symptoms of illness and may well be an integral part of the disease. Although it is never actually referred to as a disease, its close association with descriptive terms used in omen texts concerned with the exta, does suggest an abnormal tissue. The description of the lesion affecting the region of the neck is characteristic of that which occurs in pellagra, and is referred to as the “necklace of Cajal”. A deficiency of the vitamin niacin in the diet causes pellagra. There is increased pigmentation, roughening and thickening of the skin, particularly in the exposed areas around the neck, on the backs of the hands and on the dorsum of the feet.
The admonitions of Ādurbād and their relationship to the Aḥīqar legend
Authors: De Blois François
Published: March 2011

Ādurbād, son of Māraspand, is a well known figure in the history of Zoroastrianism. The historical Ādurbād appears to have played an important rôle in the religious controversies during the reign of Šābūr II (309–379) and in the suppression of Manichaeism. The third book of the Dēnkard contains the ten precepts with which Ādurbād contradicted the teachings of Mānī and which are likely enough to be authentic. Besides these, we possess a good number of wise sayings attributed to him in various Middle Persian books and, more sparsely, in Arabic adab collections, and whose historicity seems more open to doubt. In particular we have two fairly extensive Middle Persian works attributed to him, the Handarz ī Ādurbād ī Māraspandān (HA) or “Admonitions of Ādurbād”, and the work entitled Wāzag ī ēwcand ī Ādurbād ī Māraspandān (WE) or “Some sayings of Ādurbād”, as well as an Arabic text, Mawā'iẓ Ādhurbādh, included in Miskawayh's anthology of wisdom literature of the Arabs, Persians, Greeks, and other nations.
Statistical patterns in Herbrew & Arabic Roots
Authors: Weitzman Michael
Published: March 2011

In his pioneering article “The Patterning of Root Morphemes in Semitic” (1950), J. H. Greenberg tabulated the frequency of every possible pair of Arabic consonants in each possible position (I–II, I–III, II–III) over a total of 3775 triliteral verbal roots, alternative statistics, for positions I–II only, were presented by J. Kurytowicz (1973), who, unlike Greenberg, excluded weak roots (i.e. those containing semivowels or geminated consonants) and admitted denominative verbs in the simple stem. Tabulations for Hebrew were prepared by K. Koskinen (1964), who included nominal roots, and excluded weak roots. The analyses by these three scholars have won deserved renown, but still more patterns can be detected in the rich data. Despite the differences of approach, the data are used here without modification, so that the results can be readily verified.
Syriac fragments in the Wellcome Institute Library
Authors: Allan Nigel
Published: March 2011

The collections of oriental material in the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine have been described in a previous issue of this journal. They include, among the Semitic language material, a few Syriac manuscript fragments which comprise nine leaves from the Ecclesiastical History of Socrates and a XlXth century letter.

The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates commences with the accession of Constantine in 306, following the cessation of Diocletian's persecution of Christians, and traces the history of the church through the reigns of the seven following eastern emperors, the seventh and final book covering the years of Theodosius the Younger (408–450) between his accession and his 17th consulate (439).
A Pālu Kuṟumba mantra for curing head-ache
Authors: Kapp Dieter B.
Published: March 2011

While I was conducting linguistic and ethnographic field research among the Pālu Kuṟumbas of the Nilgiri Hills, South India, in the spring of 1976, I managed – but not without some difficulty – to obtain a single mantra from one of my main informants. In general, the manduraga:ra-s or “black magicians”, the only persons in the tribe who know mantras and use them ritually, are extremely reluctant to reveal even a particle of their secret knowledge to outsiders. They fear that a magic formula or ritual loses its potency as soon as it is divulged to another person. Nevertheless, I pressed my informant Gïḍḍanu (born c. 1946), son of the headman of Toḍiki, who held the office of black magician, to communicate at least one mantra to me. It was only after long deliberation and hesitation that he finally consented to comply with my request.
Art. VIII.—The Early Faith of Aṣoka
Authors: Thomas E.
Published: March 2011

In most of the modern discussions on the ancient religions of India, the point at issue has been confined to the relative claims to priority of Buddhism and Brahmanism, a limitation which has led to a comparative ignoring of the existence of the.exceptionally archaic creed of the Jainas.

This third competitor for the honours of precedence has lately been restored to a very prominent position, in its archæologicalstatus, by the discovery of numerous specimens of the sculptures and inscriptions of its votaries on the sacred site of Mathurá, the Μόδουρα τν Θεν of the Greeks, that admit of no controversy, either as to the normal date or the typical import of the exhumed remains.
China and Calicut in the early Ming period: envoys and tribute embassies
Authors: Ptak Roderich
Published: March 2011

Calicut was the most important port in southwest India during the late fourteenth and the fifteenth century. Its rulers, the Zamorins, maintained a vast network of trading relations extending from the coast of East Africa to the Indonesian archipelago and the Far East. This is amply documented in the accounts of foreign travellers, practically all of whom passed through the Malabar ports on the lengthy voyage from west to east and back. Marco Polo, Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, 'Abd al-Razzāq, to name but a few, figure most prominently in a long line of writers whose reports describe various aspects of old Colychachia, as Calicut was then called by Nicolo di Conti, an Italian traveller.
Molecular and morphological diversity in Japanese rice germplasm
Authors: Bosetti Fátima , Imaculada Zucchi Maria , Baldin Pinheiro José
Published: March 2011

Germplasm molecular and phenotypic characterization is instrumental to its utilization and to genetic variability incorporation into rice breeding programmes. The diversity within 192 Japanese rice accessions was analysed for 22 agro-morphological traits and 24 single sequence repeat markers. A total of 181 alleles were detected, 38 of which were exclusive. The number of alleles/marker ranged from 2 to 16, with an average of 7.54 alleles/locus and the He value ranged from 0.01 to 0.82, with an average of 0.46. The accessions showed diversity at molecular and phenotypic level and few showed also good agronomic performance. Tocher's method applied on a total-dissimilarity matrix was used to determine cluster formation of 13 diversity groups. Most of the accessions (81%) were clustered within a group, whereas eight accessions (Kyuushuu, Eika Ine, Ishiwari Mochi, Col/Fukui/1965, Ookuma Nishiki, Suzume Shirazu, Iwate Ryoon and Toga) did not cluster with other accessions.
Between Market and State: Directions in Social Science Research on Disaster
Authors: Aldrich Daniel P.
Published: March 2011

Governing after Crisis: The Politics of Investigation, Accountability, and Learning. Edited by Arjen Boin, Allan McConnell, and Paul 'T Hart. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 336p. $99.00 cloth, $34.99 paper.

Learning from Catastrophes: Strategies for Reaction and Response. Edited by Howard Kunreuther and Micheel Useem. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing, 2010. 352p. $37.99 paper.

The Next Catastrophe: Reducing Our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial, and Terrorist Disasters. By Charles Perrow. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. 388p. $29.95 paper.

Developed and developing nations alike face low-probability but high-consequence exogenous shocks, including ice storms, chemical spills, terrorist attacks, and regional blackouts. Recently, “natural” disasters have dominated the airwaves; mega-catastrophes that claim more than 1,000 lives have become an almost yearly occurrence. In 2010, the Haiti and Chile earthquakes killed more than 200,000 people between them and felt all too familiar to many observers in the West. Before them were Cyclone Nargis in Burma, which took 130,000 lives in 2008; Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,500 New Orleans residents and left 80% of the city flooded in 2005; and the Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed roughly a quarter of a million lives in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand in 2004.
Editor's Introduction
Authors: Isaac Jeffrey C.
Published: March 2011

On December 1, 2010, a spokesperson for Rep. John Boehner, the leader of the incoming House Republican majority, declared that the Republicans will dissolve the House Select Committee on Global Warming, established in 2007 to provide a forum for discussion of climate change issues. Boehner, like most of the Republican leadership, has long denied the urgency of climate change. In April 2009, as a guest on ABC's “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” he notoriously compared carbon dioxide emissions to cow flatulence, asserting: “George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you've got more carbon dioxide.”
Application of an inverse method to interpret 231Pa/230Th observations from marine sediments
Authors: Burke Andrea , Marchal Olivier , Bradtmiller Louisa I. , McManus Jerry F. , François Roger
Published: March 2011

Records of 231Pa/230Th from Atlantic sediments have been interpreted to reflect changes in ocean circulation during the geologic past. Such interpretations should be tested with due regard to the limited spatial coverage of 231Pa/230Th data and the uncertainties in our current understanding of the behavior of both nuclides in the ocean. Here an inverse method is used to evaluate the information contained in 231Pa/230Th compilations for the Holocene, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and Heinrich Event 1 (H1). An estimate of the abyssal circulation in the modern Atlantic Ocean is obtained by combining hydrographic observations and dynamical constraints. Then sediment 231Pa/230Th data for each time interval are combined with an advection‐scavenging model in order to determine their (in)consistency with the modern circulation estimate. We find that the majority of sediment 231Pa/230Th data for the Holocene, LGM, or H1 can be brought into consistency with the modern circulation if plausible assumptions are made about the large‐scale distribution of 231Pa and about model uncertainties. Moreover, the adjustments in the data needed to reach compatibility with a hypothetical state of no flow (no advection) are positively biased for each time interval, suggesting that the 231Pa/230Th data (including that for H1) are more consistent with a persistence of some circulation than with no circulation. Our study does not imply that earlier claims of a circulation change during the LGM or H1 are inaccurate, but that these claims cannot be given a rigorous basis given the current uncertainties involved in the analysis of the 231Pa/230Th data.
In Brief: NOAA moving forward with scientific integrity policy
Authors: Showstack Randy
Published: March 2011

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is moving forward with an agency‐wide scientific integrity policy and has released a draft policy to all of NOAA's employees for their review and comment, NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said on 8 February. The draft policy lays out guidance for scientific conduct at the agency, encourages scientists to publish their data and findings, provides whistle‐blower protection, encourages NOAA scientists to be leaders in the scientific community, and explicitly states that NOAA science managers and supervisors “must never suppress, alter or otherwise impede the timely release of scientific or technological findings or conclusions,” Lubchenco said at a meeting of the Union of Concerned Scientists' board of directors.
AGU's Support of Hazards Workshop Appreciated
Authors: Simpson David
Published: March 2011

On behalf of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and of the organizing committee of the workshop entitled “Geophysical Hazards and Plate Boundary Processes in Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean,” I thank AGU for providing funding for the workshop to supplement the core support from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development. The workshop, which was held 24–28 October 2010 in Heredia, Costa Rica, was attended by 87 geophysicists and stakeholders from the public, private, and development sectors from 21 countries. We were able to outline and coordinate initiatives that will contribute to geophysical research and hazard mitigation in the region through international collaboration and to establish a forum to initiate efforts with the potential for immediate societal benefits.
An International Effort to Quantify Regional Carbon Fluxes
Authors: Canadell Josep G. , Ciais Philippe , Gurney Kevin , Le Quéré Corinne , Piao Shilong , Raupach Michael R. , Sabine Christopher L.
Published: March 2011

The international carbon cycle research community is currently coordinating the largest, most comprehensive assessment it has ever undertaken: the Regional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP; http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/reccap). The objective is to establish the mean carbon balance and change over the period 1990–2009 for all subcontinents and ocean basins. The global coverage will provide, for the first time, opportunities to link regional budgets with the global carbon budget. Regional details on or insights into processes driving fluxes have not, to date, been incorporated into efforts addressing the global carbon budget [Canadell et al., 2007; Le Quéré et al., 2009]. The consistency check between the sum of regional fluxes and the global budget will be a unique measure of the level of confidence there is in scaling carbon budgets up and down.
The Need for Scientific Ocean Drilling
Authors: Humphris Susan E. , deMenocal Peter B. , Edwards Katrina J. , Fisher Andrew T. , Saffer Demian
Published: March 2011

Mark Twain once said, “I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.” The scientific community could soon miss an opportunity in ocean drilling. A recent article in Eos by D. K. Smith et al. (Ocean drilling: Forty years of international collaboration, Eos, 91(43), 393–394, 2010) summarized the history of scientific ocean drilling and presented an overview of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) as it currently operates. IODP will end in 2013, and an ambitious science plan is being developed to launch a new drilling program. Some people have asked, Given the program's past successes, why do we need more scientific ocean drilling?
IFN‐γ‐mediated efficacy of allergen‐free immunotherapy using mycobacterial antigens and CpG‐ODN
Authors: Fonseca Denise M , Paula Marina O , Wowk Pryscilla F , Campos Lívia W , Gembre Ana F , Turato Walter M , Ramos Simone G , Dias‐Baruffi Marcelo , Barboza Renato , Gomes Eliane , Horn Cynthia , Marchal Gilles , Arruda Luisa K , Russo Momtchilo , Bonato Vânia LD
Published: March 2011

Epidemiological and experimental evidence supports the notion that microbial infections that are known to induce Th1‐type immune responses can suppress Th2 immune responses, which are characteristics of allergic disorders. However, live microbial immunization might not be feasible for human immunotherapy. Here, we evaluated whether induction of Th1 immunity by the immunostimulatory sequences of CpG‐oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG‐ODN), with or without culture filtrate proteins (CFP), from Mycobacterium tuberculosis would suppress ongoing allergic lung disease. Presensitized and ovalbumin (OVA)‐challenged mice were treated subcutaneously with CpG, or CpG in combination with CFP (CpG/CFP). After 15 days of treatment, airway inflammation and specific T‐ and B‐cell responses were determined. Cell transfer experiments were also performed. CpG treatment attenuated airway allergic disease; however, the combination CpG/CFP treatment was significantly more effective in decreasing airway hyperresponsiveness, eosinophilia and Th2 response. When an additional intranasal dose of CFP was given, allergy was even more attenuated. The CpG/CFP therapy also reduced allergen‐specific IgG1 and IgE antibodies and increased IgG2a. Transfer of spleen cells from mice immunized with CpG/CFP also reduced allergic lung inflammation. CpG/CFP treatment induced CFP‐specific production of IFN‐γ and IL‐10 by spleen cells and increased production of IFN‐γ in response to OVA. The essential role of IFN‐γ for the therapeutic effect of CpG/CFP was evidenced in IFN‐γ knockout mice. These results show that CpG/CFP treatment reverses established Th2 allergic responses by an IFN‐γ‐dependent mechanism that seems to act both locally in the lung and systemically to decrease allergen‐specific Th2 responses.
Engineering generalized synchronization in chaotic oscillators
Authors: Roy P. K. , Hens C. , Grosu I. , Dana S. K.
Published: March 2011

We report a method of engineering generalized synchronization (GS) in chaotic oscillators using an open-plus-closed-loop coupling strategy. The coupling is defined in terms of a transformation matrix that maps a chaotic driver onto a response oscillator where the elements of the matrix can be arbitrarily chosen, and thereby allows a precise control of the GS state. We elaborate the scheme with several examples of transformation matrices. The elements of the transformation matrix are chosen as constants, time varying function, state variables of the driver, and state variables of another chaotic oscillator. Numerical results of GS in mismatched Rössler oscillators as well as nonidentical oscillators such as Rössler and Chen oscillators are presented.
Implementation of an integrated op-amp based chaotic neuron model and observation of its chaotic dynamics
Authors: Jung Jinwoo , Lee Jewon , Song Hanjung
Published: March 2011

This paper presents a fully integrated circuit implementation of an operational amplifier (op-amp) based chaotic neuron model with a bipolar output function, experimental measurements, and analyses of its chaotic behavior. The proposed chaotic neuron model integrated circuit consists of several op-amps, sample and hold circuits, a nonlinear function block for chaotic signal generation, a clock generator, a nonlinear output function, etc. Based on the HSPICE (circuit program) simulation results, approximated empirical equations for analyses were formulated. Then, the chaotic dynamical responses such as bifurcation diagrams, time series, and Lyapunov exponent were calculated using these empirical equations. In addition, we performed simulations about two chaotic neuron systems with four synapses to confirm neural network connections and got normal behavior of the chaotic neuron such as internal state bifurcation diagram according to the synaptic weight variation. The proposed circuit was fabricated using a 0.8-μm single poly complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. Measurements of the fabricated single chaotic neuron with ±2.5 V power supplies and a 10 kHz sampling clock frequency were carried out and compared with the simulated results.
Theoretical analysis of ultrahigh electromechanical coupling surface acoustic wave propagation in Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 crystals
Authors: Chen Jing , Wang Hualei , Hashimoto Ken-ya , Omori Tatsuya , Changjun An , Zhao Xiangyong , Luo Haosu
Published: March 2011

The propagation characteristics of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on the Y-cut X-propagating Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PIN–PMN–PT) substrate are theoretically analyzed. The results indicate the existence of a shear horizontal (SH)-type SAW with an ultrahigh electromechanical coupling factor K2. Different metal layers (Au, Al, and Cu) were examined as the electrode material. With gold, the maximum K2 for the SH SAW reaches 72.6%, while it is smaller (69.7%) for Al or Cu. There also exists a Rayleigh SAW causing the spurious response. It is shown that the response can be suppressed sufficiently by properly adjusting the thickness of the metal layer. This feature is very attractive for the realization of ultrawideband SAW filters. Variation of SAW properties with the substrate rotating angle θ was also investigated. The result indicates that θ = 0° is the best due to the relatively larger K2 for SH SAW and lower value for Rayleigh spurious response.
Characteristic free volumes of bulk metallic glasses: Measurement and their correlation with glass-forming ability
Authors: Hu Qiang , Zeng Xie-Rong , Fu M. W.
Published: March 2011

A convenient method is proposed for the measurement of the characteristic free volumes, viz., the amount of excess free volume annihilation in structural relaxation Vf-sr and the amount of new free volume production in glass transition Vf-gt of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) by thermal dilation (DIL) test. Through the DIL tests, the characteristic free volumes are found to be sensitive to the change of glass forming ability (GFA). The Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 BMG has a quite small Vf-sr. For a series of Fe–Cr–Mo–C–B–(Er) BMGs, Fe48Cr15Mo14C15B6Er2 with the largest GFA is identified to have the largest Vf-gt and smallest Vf-sr. The correlation between Vf-sr and the squares of critical diameters of these iron-based BMGs can be fitted as a negative exponential function with high accuracy.
Investigation of photoluminescence in undoped and Ag-doped ZnO flowerlike nanocrystals
Authors: Jin Yunxia , Cui Qiliang , Wang Kai , Hao Jian , Wang Qiushi , Zhang, Jian
Published: March 2011

Flower-shaped undoped and Ag-doped ZnO nanocrystals have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The nanocrystals have been investigated by x-ray powder diffraction and all the particles are found to show the wurtzite structure. Scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy reveal the flower-shaped structures of the samples consist of many pricklelike nanopetals. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results provide evidence that Ag ions are mainly in the monovalent state and incorporated into the ZnO lattice at Zn2+ sites. It was found from the UV–visible spectra that the bandgap of ZnO decreases due to Ag doping. Excellent enhancement of luminescence properties in the green band is observed in Ag-doped ZnO nanocrystals. The origin of this enhancement was discussed. It was demonstrated that oxygen vacancies and a spin-split impurity band are the key factors for deep level emissions. We believe that the present approach is a very simple but effective one for synthesis of novel ZnO complex micro/nanostructures, and these flowerlike Ag-doped ZnO nanocrystals may have good prospects in scientific and industrial applications.
Water-related abnormal instability of transparent oxide/organic hybrid thin film transistors
Authors: Yang Shinhyuk , Hwang Chi-Sun , Lee Jeong-Ik , Yoon Sung-Min , Ryu Min-Ki , Cho Kyoung-Ik , Park Sang-Hee Ko , Kim Se-Hyun , Park Chan-Eon , Jang Jin
Published: March 2011

We have fabricated fully patterned transparent oxide/organic hybrid transistors on glass substrates that contain In-Ga-Zn-O as the active layer and a poly(4-vinyl phenol-comethyl methacrylate) copolymer as the dielectric layer. These devices exhibit a saturation mobility of 6.04 cm2/V s, a threshold voltage value of 3.53 V, a subthreshold slope of 360 mV/decade, and an on-off ratio of 1.0×109 at a maximum processing temperature of 200 °C. We found that the bias stability characteristics of the hybrid transistors are dependent on the ambient conditions, but can also be dramatically improved by applying a hydrophobic organic passivation layer to the gate insulator.
Analysis of electromechanically induced long-wavelength rippling instability on surfaces of crystalline conductors
Authors: Tomar Vivek , Gungor M. Rauf , Maroudas Dimitrios
Published: March 2011

We report a systematic analysis of the surface morphological stability of mechanically stressed electrically conductive crystalline solids that are disturbed from their planar surface state according to long-wavelength shape perturbations under the simultaneous action and in the absence of an applied electric field. The analysis is based on self-consistent dynamical simulations according to a fully nonlinear model of driven surface morphological evolution in conjunction with linear stability theory. We find that for perturbations with a longer-than-critical wavelength a morphological instability is triggered that leads to the formation of a pattern of secondary ripples on the surface morphology. Special emphasis is placed on the effects of the amplitude and the wavelength of the initial perturbation on the surface morphological evolution beyond the onset of the rippling instability. The analysis establishes the relationship between this secondary rippling instability and surface cracking instabilities and provides a detailed characterization of the rippled surface morphologies. The effects of surface diffusional anisotropy on this rippling phenomenon also are examined. We demonstrate that this secondary rippling is a general long-wavelength surface morphological instability phenomenon and is not due to the action of the applied electric field. Furthermore, we show that a sufficiently strong electric field can inhibit both this rippling instability and surface cracking instabilities.
The effect of surface alignment on analog control of director rotation in polarization stiffened SmC* devices
Authors: Reznikov Mitya , Lopatina Lena M. , O’Callaghan Michael J. , Bos Philip J.
Published: March 2011

The effect of surface alignment on the achievement of analog (“V”-shaped) electric field control of director rotation in SmC* liquid crystal devices is investigated experimentally and through numerical modeling. Ferroelectric SmC* liquid crystals are intrinsically analog and thresholdless, i.e. the director can be rotated freely around the tilt cone. Whether or not a SmC* liquid crystal cell exhibits thresholdless switching depends strongly on the influence of the cell’s alignment layers, on the magnitude of the liquid crystal’s spontaneous polarization, and on whether smectic layers adopt a bookshelf or chevron configuration. To study the effect of the surface alignment layers, we have exploited a technique for the vertical (bookshelf) alignment of the smectic layers that does not depend on surface anisotropy. The alignment technique allows an experimental study of the influence of surfaces spanning a wide range of pretilt angles, azimuthal and zenithal anchoring energies. This technique is used to study the effect of surfaces on the threshold behavior of director rotation in SmC* materials under the influence of an electric field. The alignment technique also allowed us to use a high-PS liquid crystal material having an I-A-C phase sequence and reduced layer shrinkage thought to be well suited to thresholdless switching. We show that the alignment layer has a strong effect, and that excellent analog response can be achieved for the case of alignment layers which promote homeotropic director orientation. We further model and discuss the potential effect of a thin layer of nematic at the surface and the possibility of gliding of the easy axis during switching.