bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inclusion of Flaxseed in Hay‐ and Barley Silage Diets Increases Alpha‐Linolenic Acid in Cow Plasma Independent of Forage Type
Authors: He M. L. , Chung Y.‐H. , McAllister T. A. , Beauchemin K. A. , Mir P. S. , Aalhus J. L. , Dugan M. E. R.
Published: February 2011

Feeding flaxseed to cattle may be a means of increasing omega‐3 fatty acid levels in ruminant products, but possible interactions with conserved forages have not been investigated. Twelve Holstein cows were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin Square experiment. Cows were fed one of four 50:50 forage:concentrate diets (DM basis): hay (hay control, HC), hay plus 15% ground flaxseed (hay‐flaxseed, HF), barley silage (silage control, SC), and barley silage plus 15% ground flaxseed (silage‐flaxseed, SF). Plasma concentrations of alpha‐linolenic acid (ALA) did not differ between SC and HC diets. Flaxseed increased ALA (P < 0.05), but levels were not influenced by forage type. Flaxseed slightly increased 18:2n‐6 (P < 0.05) and some n‐6 and n‐3 elongation and desaturation products, particularly arachidonic acid (ARA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Flaxseed also increased C18:0 (P < 0.05) with this increase being greater (P < 0.01) for cows fed SF than HF. Feeding flaxseed also increased plasma C18:1‐trans isomers (P < 0.01), predominantly vaccenic acid (VAA, 18:1‐t11), with this increase being greater (P < 0.05) in cows fed HF than SF. Although conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) was increased (P < 0.001) with flaxseed it was not influenced by forage type (P = 0.06). Overall, feeding flaxseed increased plasma ALA, EPA, ARA and CLA independently of forage type. Feeding flaxseed with silage, however, resulted in more 18:0, while feeding flaxseed with hay resulted in greater accumulations of plasma 18:1‐trans isomers mainly in the form of VAA.
The possible selves of young fathers in prison
Authors: Meek Rosie
Published: February 2011

Drawing on the social psychological concept of possible selves, this study explores the future self concept of young fathers in prison. In considering life after release from prison, qualitative data relating to hoped‐for, feared and expected possible selves was generated by 34 young fathers aged between 18 and 21 years. The most common categories of hoped‐for and expected selves related to employment and parenting, whereas feared selves related predominantly to offending or a return to prison. The prevalence of possible selves relating to parenting suggests that parenthood is a key component of the representations of present and future identity of young fathers in prison. Findings are discussed in relation to the positive aspect of parenthood for young men in prison, parenting identities in the transition from custody to community, future research directions and the development of interventions targeting young fathers in prison.
Physical activity buffers the effects of family conflict on depressed mood: A study on adolescent girls and boys
Authors: Sigfusdottir Inga Dora , Asgeirsdottir Bryndis Bjork , Sigurdsson Jon Fridrik , Gudjonsson Gisli H.
Published: February 2011

This paper investigates the relationship between physical activity and depressed mood, under conditions of family conflict. We analyze data from a representative sample of 7232 Icelandic adolescents. Analysis of variance was carried out to test for main and interaction effects. The study shows that while family conflict increases the likelihood of depressed mood, among adolescents, physical activity decreases the likelihood of depressed mood. Furthermore, physical activity plays a more important role among those adolescents living in aversive circumstances, than other adolescents, as family conflict and physical activity interact in the effect on depressed mood for adolescents living in such circumstances. The findings highlight the role of physical activity in decreasing mental distress among adolescents, especially those living in aversive circumstances at home.
Higher differentiability of minimizers of convex variational integrals
Authors: Carozza Menita , Kristensen Jan , Passarelli di Napoli Antonia
Published: February 2011

In this paper we consider integral functionals of the form

\mathfrak{F}(v,\Omega ) = \int \limits_{\Omega }F\left(Dv(x)\right)\:\mathrm{d}x

with convex integrand satisfying

(p,q)

growth conditions. We prove local higher differentiability results for bounded minimizers of the functional

\mathfrak{F}

under dimension-free conditions on the gap between the growth and the coercivity exponents.

As a novel feature, the main results are achieved through uniform higher differentiability estimates for solutions to a class of auxiliary problems, constructed adding singular higher order perturbations to the integrand.
The Role of Early Re-Resection in pTaG3 Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder
Authors: Vasdev Nikhil , McKie Christopher , Dominguez-Escrig Jose L. , El-Sherif Amira , Johnson Mark I. , Durkan Garrett C. , Rix David A. , Thorpe Andrew C.
Published: February 2011

Aim:

The clinical outcome and optimal treatment methodology for pTaG3 transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder remains controversial. We retrospectively evaluate the clinical behaviour and final outcome of 64 patients diagnosed with primary pTaG3 TCC bladder and evaluate the role of early re-resection following initial diagnosis.

Patients and methods:

Between January 2000 and December 2008, 64 patients were diagnosed with primary pTaG3 TCC of the urinary bladder at our institution. Following a careful retrospective review of their medical records, clinical parameters including patient age, gender, tumour morphology, operating surgeon's experience and adjuvant therapies were entered into a database. The outcome of re-resection, recurrence rate, progression and overall survival were recorded. All patients had their upper tracts screened with an ultrasound and intravenous urogram (IVU).

Results:

The mean age at time of diagnosis was 78 years (range 59–98). Seventy seven percent (49) of patients underwent an early re-resection (group 1). Residual tumour was identified in 49% (24) patients and the incidence of tumour upstaging was 10% (7). At re-resection 3% (2) of patients were found to have muscle-invasive disease. Twenty three percent (15) of patients did not have an early re-resection (group 2). There was a significant reduction in the incidence of recurrent TCC in group 1 in comparison to group 2 (5% vs. 62%) [ p < 0.05]. At a mean follow up of 48.9 months (range 12–124), 48 patients (75%) were alive; 25% (16) of patients had died of causes unrelated to bladder cancer. Disease-specific survival in both groups was 100%.

Conclusion:

pTaG3 TCC of the urinary bladder shows a variable clinical course and early re-resection significantly reduces the risk of recurrence. We strongly recommend treatment with early re-resection and subsequent treatment as per histology at re-resection. All patients with primary pTaG3 TCC of the urinary bladder should be followed up with further close surveillance using a strict follow up as these patients have a potential for disease progression.
Attenuation of experimental pain by vibro‐tactile stimulation in patients with chronic local or widespread musculoskeletal pain
Authors: Staudl Roland , Robinson Michael E. , Goldman Casey T. , Price Donald D.
Published: February 2011

Patients with chronic pain syndromes, like fibromyalgia (FM) complain of widespread pain and tenderness, as well as non‐refreshing sleep, cognitive dysfunction, and negative mood. Several lines of evidence implicate abnormalities of central pain processing as contributors for chronic pain, including dysfunctional descending pain inhibition. One form of endogenous pain inhibition, diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC), has been found to be abnormal in some chronic pain patients and evidence exists for deficient spatial summation of pain, specifically in FM. Similar findings have been reported in patients with localized musculoskeletal pain (LMP) disorders, like neck and back pain. Whereas DNIC reduces pain through activation of nociceptive afferents, vibro‐tactile pain inhibition involves innocuous A‐beta fiber. To assess whether patients with localized or widespread chronic pain disorders have dysfunctional A‐beta related pain inhibition we enrolled 28 normal pain‐free controls (NC), 29 FM patients, and 19 subjects with neck or back pain. All received 10 s sensitivity‐adjusted noxious heat stimuli to the forearms as test stimuli. To assess endogenous analgesic mechanisms of study subjects, vibro‐tactile conditioning stimuli were simultaneously applied with test stimuli either homotopically or heterotopically. Additionally, the effect of distraction on experimental pain was assessed. Homotopic vibro‐tactile stimulation resulted in 40% heat pain reductions in all subject groups. Distraction did not seem to affect experimental pain ratings. Conclusions: Vibro‐tactile stimulation effectively recruited analgesic mechanisms not only in NC but also in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, including FM. Distraction did not seem to contribute to this analgesic effect.
Vaginal danazol for women with rectovaginal endometriosis and pain symptoms persisting after insertion of a levonorgestrel‐releasing intrauterine device
Authors: Ferrero Simone , Tramalloni Daniela , Venturini Pier Luigi , Remorgida Valentino
Published: February 2011

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of treatment with vaginal danazol in improving the pain symptoms caused by rectovaginal endometriosis that persist after insertion of a levonorgestrel‐releasing intrauterine device (LNG‐IUD).

Methods

This pilot observational study included 15 women with rectovaginal endometriosis and pain symptoms persisting after LNG‐IUD insertion. Vaginal danazol (100 mg per day) was self‐administered for 6 months. The intensity of pain symptoms and the volume of rectovaginal endometriotic nodules were evaluated.

Results

Twelve women were satisfied or very satisfied with the treatment. After treatment with vaginal danazol for 3 months, there was a significant decrease in the intensity of pain symptoms compared with their intensity before the administration of danazol. The intensity of pain symptoms decreased further at 6‐month follow‐up. The volume of the rectovaginal nodules decreased after treatment with vaginal danazol for 6 months (1.7 ± 0.8 cm3) compared with the baseline volume (2.3 ± 0.9 cm3; P < 0.001). Adverse effects of the treatment were minimal and well tolerated.

Conclusion

Although a placebo effect cannot be excluded, the results indicate that vaginal danazol decreases the severity of endometriosis‐related pain symptoms after LNG‐IUD insertion.
Georgian readiness for NATO membership after Russian-Georgian armed conflict
Authors: Kříř Zdeněk , Shevchuk Zinaida
Published: February 2011

The history of the cooperation between Georgia and NATO had started long before the Rose Revolution. Nowadays, Georgia belongs to the countries which want to join NATO. This article gauges the Georgian readiness for its accession to NATO. Study on NATO enlargement provides requirements on future members of NATO, even though it avoids such an explicit formulation. This article concludes that Georgia is not yet ready to join NATO because it has serious deficiencies in the area of democracy building, military readiness, and settling territorial disputes with its neighbours. The only area where the situation is satisfactory is the support of the public for the accession.
Expediency always wins over ideology: Putin’s attitudes toward the Russian Communist Party
Authors: Shlapentokh Vladimir
Published: February 2011

Vladimir Putin provides us with an excellent example of a politician whose attitude toward ideology is instrumental to his political longevity. He has shown that in the fight between ideology and political expedience, to maintain authority and control within the country, or to achieve geopolitical ambitions in the international arena, ideology will almost always lose the battle. It is well known that the major threat to political power stems often not from the adversary who holds diametrically opposite views, but from the rivals who share almost the same ideological position. The closer the ideological position is of a rival, the more intense the competition. For just this reason Putin is implacable toward Communists who share many of his views. He tries as much as possible to reduce the political role of the Communist party – the most serious opposition to the regime – by using the same underhanded tactics which are used against the liberals.
Micro-relief development in polygonal patterned ground in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica
Authors: Hallet Bernard , Sletten Ron , Whilden Kevin
Published: February 2011

Polygonal patterned ground in polar regions of both Earth and Mars has received considerable attention. In comparison with the size, shape, and arrangement of the polygons, the diverse micro-relief and topography (termed here simply “relief”) of polygonal patterned ground have been understudied. And yet, the relief reflects important conditions and processes occurring directly below the ground surface, and it can be observed readily in the field and through remote sensing. Herein, we describe the relief characteristic of the simplest and relatively young form of patterned ground in the Dry Valleys of Antarctic. We also develop a numerical model to examine the generation of relief due to subsurface material being shouldered aside contraction cracks by incremental sand wedges growth, and to down-slope creep of loose granular material on the surface. We model the longterm subsurface deformation of ice-cemented permafrost as a non-linear viscous material. Our modeling is guided and validated using decades of field measurements of surface displacements of the permafrost and relief. This work has implications for assessing the activity of surfaces on Earth and Mars, and much larger scale potential manifestations of incremental wedging in icy material, namely the distinct paired ridges on Europa.
Climate and material controls on periglacial soil processes: Toward improving periglacial climate indicators
Authors: Matsuoka Norikazu
Published: February 2011

One of the distinguished efforts of A.L. Washburn was to reconstruct mean annual air temperature using periglacial features as climate indicators. This paper reviews existing periglacial indicators and proposes a strategy to improve their thermal resolution based on recent periglacial process studies, with a focus on solifluction and thermal contraction cracking and associated landforms/structures. Landforms resulting from solifluction reflect both the depth subjected to freeze–thaw and the thickness of frost-susceptible soils. The thickness of a solifluction structure can be used to infer the dominant freeze–thaw regime and minimum seasonal frost depth. Ice-wedge pseudomorphs have limited potential as a climate indicator because (1) they mainly reflect extreme winter temperatures, (2) their thermal thresholds depend on the host material, and (3) they need to be distinguished from frost wedges of other origin produced under different thermal and/or material conditions. Monitoring studies of currently active ice wedges suggest that ice-wedge cracking requires a combination of low temperature and large temperature gradients in the frozen active layer. Further field monitoring of periglacial processes and their controlling factors under various climate conditions and in various materials are needed, however, to improve the resolution of periglacial paleoclimate indicators.
Response of a warm temperate peatland to Holocene climate change in northeastern Pennsylvania
Authors: Cai Shanshan , Yu Zicheng
Published: February 2011

Studying boreal-type peatlands near the edge of their southern limit can provide insight into responses of boreal and sub-arctic peatlands to warmer climates. In this study, we investigated peatland history using multi-proxy records of sediment composition, plant macrofossil, pollen, and diatom analysis from a 14C-dated sediment core at Tannersville Bog in northeastern Pennsylvania, USA. Our results indicate that peat accumulation began with lake infilling of a glacial lake at ~ 9 ka as a rich fen dominated by brown mosses. It changed to a poor fen dominated by Cyperaceae (sedges) and Sphagnum (peat mosses) at ~ 1.4 ka and to a Sphagnum-dominated poor fen at ~ 200 cal yr BP (~ AD 1750). Apparent carbon accumulation rates increased from 13.4 to 101.2 g C m− 2 yr− 1 during the last 8000 yr, with a time-averaged mean of 27.3 g C m− 2 yr− 1. This relatively high accumulation rate, compared to many northern peatlands, was likely caused by high primary production associated with a warmer and wetter temperate climate. This study implies that some northern peatlands can continue to serve as carbon sinks under a warmer and wetter climate, providing a negative feedback to climate warming.
Insights on site fidelity and calving intervals of the marine tucuxi dolphin (Sotalia fluviatilis) in south-eastern Brazil
Authors: de Oliveira Santos Marcos César , Acuña Luciana Barão , Rosso Sergio
Published: February 2011

Ecological aspects of the marine tucuxi dolphin, Sotalia fluviatilis (Cetacea: Delphinidae), remain poorly known. Important information can be gathered in long-term studies using photo-identification. Using this methodology, the authors present the first evidence of site fidelity for marine tucuxis in the Cananéia Estuary (25°03′S 48°01′ W), south-eastern Brazil. A total of 86 easily recognizable individuals was catalogued from June 1996 to August 2001, but most of them have been sighted from May 2000. From June 1997 to August 2001, three female tucuxis were sighted on nine (KN #19), 22 (KN #30) and 28 (KN #10) different days in a relatively small area (∼16 km2). Each of them was observed with a calf in 1997–1998 and again with a new offspring in 2000–2001. Thirteen other individuals were reported on eight to 19 different days in the same area between May 2000 and August 2001. Our observations lead to conclusions on the evidence of site fidelity and indicate that calving intervals may range between two and three years for this species in the surveyed area.
The Cultural Heritage Law Committee of the International Law Association: General Session, August 16, 2010
Authors: Nafziger James A. R.
Published: February 2011

Twenty-two members of the International Law Association's Committee on Cultural Heritage Law attended a working session in The Hague. The committee first reviewed the status of its past projects, focusing this time on the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, which resulted from the Committee's Buenos Aires Draft Convention on that subject. Now that the treaty is in force, the committee considered the actual and potential status of accession by maritime powers.
Heading Home: French Law Enables Return of Maori Heads to New Zealand
Authors: Paterson Robert K.
Published: February 2011

New Zealand claims for the return of preserved tattooed Maori heads held by foreign institutions have revisited complex legal, ethical, and cultural questions surrounding human remains in museum and other institutional collections worldwide. Recent legislation in France that facilitates the return of Maori heads in French museums represents a further stage in this ongoing story.
Heritage 2010: 2nd International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development
Authors: Lira Sérgio
Published: February 2011

Heritage 2010 was a state-of-the-art event regarding the relationship between forms of heritage and the conceptual framework for sustainable development. The four dimensions of sustainable development—environment, economics, society, and culture—were brought together in order to define a particular approach on how to deal with and go beyond the traditional aspects of heritage preservation and safeguarding. As heritage is no longer just a memory or a cultural reference, or even a place or an object, some deeper conceptualization is needed in order to place heritage in its present context. The concept of heritage is moving toward broader and wider scenarios, where it often becomes the driving force for commerce, business, leisure, and educational politics. Heritage is currently seen, or referred to, only through its cultural definition. However, sustainable development brings heritage concepts to another dimension, as it establishes profound relationships with economics, environment, and social aspects. Consequently, heritage preservation and safeguarding is facing new and complex problems. Degradation of heritage sites is not any more just a result of materials ageing or environmental actions. Factors such as global and local pollution, climate change, poverty, religion, tourism, commerce, ideologies, and war are now on the cutting edge for the emerging of new approaches, concerns, and visions on heritage. Thus, the “Heritage 2010: Heritage and Sustainable Development” conference was conceived to embrace a global view on how heritage is being contextualized with the four dimensions of sustainable development. Furthermore, heritage, governance, and education were brought into discussion as the key factors for enlightenment of future global strategies for heritage preservation and safeguarding.
Myanmar–China Relations: Interlocking Interests but Independent Output
Authors: GANESAN N.
Published: February 2011

The bilateral relationship between China and Myanmar is important and intricate despite being asymmetrical in China's favour. Whereas most observers regard the relationship as being heavily weighted in China's favour, Myanmar does have a fair amount of latitude within the relationship that is informed by historical, economic, and strategic considerations. The nationalism and xenophobia present in the attitudes of elite from the Myanmar military junta is both recognized and understood by China that is keen to have a stable peripheral environment. There are also important security issues such as the ethnic armies that currently have a ceasefire arrangement with the junta along the border areas that need to be resolved in a coordinated fashion to prevent negative spillage into China. In light of such special idiosyncratic and terrain considerations, Myanmar wields relative independence within this asymmetrical relationship.
Preparation of poly(2-oxy-6-naphthoyl) and copolymers using reaction-induced phase separation during direct polymerization in the presence of boronic anhydride
Authors: Kihara Masahiro , Yamazaki Shinichi , Kimura Kunio
Published: February 2011

Poly(2-oxy-6-naphthoyl) was prepared using reaction-induced phase separation during direct polymerization of 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid in the presence of boronic anhydrides. Various unique morphologies such as spheres, spheres with needles, cone-like crystals were obtained as precipitates. Copolymers with 4-hydroxybenzoic acid were also studied.
A Review of Mandibular Angle Fractures
Authors: Perez Ramiro , Oeltjen John C. , Thaller Seth R.
Published: February 2011

After studying this article, the reader will be able to: (1) review the incidence and etiology of mandibular angle fractures; (2) gain an understanding of patient evaluation and general management principles; and (3) discuss indications and available techniques for management of mandibular angle fractures. Angle fractures represent the highest percentage of mandibular fractures. Two of the most common causes of mandibular angle fractures are motor vehicle accidents and assaults or altercations. With any patient who has sustained facial trauma, a thorough history and comprehensive physical examination centering on the head and neck region as well as proper radiological assessment are essential. These elements are fundamental in establishing a diagnosis and developing an appropriate treatment plan for any mandibular fracture.
Antiangiogenic agents significantly improve survival in tumor-bearing mice by increasing tolerance to chemotherapy-induced toxicity
Authors: Zhang Danfang , Hedlund Eva-Maria E. , Lim Sharon , Chen Fang , Zhang Yin , Sun Baocun , Cao Yihai
Published: February 2011

Chemotherapy-induced broad toxicities are the leading cause of the drug-induced mortality in cancer patients. Antiangiogenic drugs (ADs) in combination with chemotherapy are widely used as front-line therapy for the treatment of various human cancers. However, the beneficial mechanisms underlying combination therapy are poorly understood. Here we show that, in several murine tumor models, administration of sunitinib markedly reduced chemotherapy-induced bone marrow toxicity. Intriguingly, in a sequential treatment regimen, delivery of ADs followed by chemotherapy demonstrated superior survival benefits compared with simultaneous administration of two drugs. In murine tumor models, we show that VEGF increased chemotoxicity by synergistically suppressing bone marrow hematopoiesis with cytostatic drugs. These findings shed light on molecular mechanisms by which ADs in combination with chemotherapy produce survival benefits in cancer patients and provide conceptual information guiding future designs of clinical trials, current practice, and optimization of ADs for the treatment of cancer.
Assessing language impairment in aphasia
Authors: Westbury Chris
Published: February 2011

Language is complicated and so, therefore, is language assessment. One complication is that there are many reasons to undertake language assessments, each of which may have different methods and goals. In this article I focus on the specific difficulties faced in aphasia assessment, the assessment of acquired language deficits. As might be expected, the history of aphasia assessment closely mirrors the history of our understanding of the neurological underpinnings of language. Early assessment was based on classical disconnection theories, dating from the 19th century, that conceptualized language as consisting of independent connected modality-specific language centers that could be disconnected by brain damage. Although these models were recognized early on as being too simplistic, aphasia assessment instruments followed the models until quite recently due to the lack of any fully specified alternative language model. It was only in the 1990s, after aphasiology had come increasingly under the influence of experimental psycholinguistics, that attempts were made to create aphasia assessment instruments that did not explicitly follow disconnection models. The most successful of these is the Psycholinguistic Assessment of Language Processing in Aphasia (PALPA; Kay, Coltheart, & Lesser, 1992). These psycholinguistically influenced instruments conceptualize language as a complex multi-dimensional system consisting of many partially independent sub-systems that may be compromised to a greater or lesser degree. Aphasia assessment instruments become longer and more detailed as a reflection of our growing understanding of the complexity of the language system. As they do, the problem of collating and integrating assessment information becomes more intractable. The future of aphasia assessment will require increasing automation to deal with the large amounts of information that must now be synthesized to fully characterize an individual deficit. I discuss recent attempts to computerize aphasia assessment and what benefits they can offer over traditional pencil-and-paper instruments.
Behavioral profiles
Authors: Gries Stefan Th.
Published: February 2011

This paper introduces a fairly recent corpus-based approach to lexical semantics, the Behavioral Profile (BP) approach. After a short review of traditional corpus-based work on lexical semantics and its shortcomings, I explain the logic and methodology of the BP approach and exemplify its application to different lexical relations (polysemy, synonymy, antonymy) in English and Russian with an eye to illustrating how the BP approach allows for the incorporation of different statistical techniques. Finally, I briefly discuss how first experimental approaches that validate the BP method and outline its theoretical commitments and motivations.
Demythologizing the word frequency effect
Authors: Baayen R. H.
Published: February 2011

This study starts from the hypothesis, first advanced by McDonald and Shillcock (2001), that the word frequency effect for a large part reflects local syntactic co-occurrence. It is shown that indeed the word frequency effect in the sense of pure repeated exposure accounts for only a small proportion of the variance in lexical decision, and that local syntactic and morphological co-occurrence probabilities are what makes word frequency a powerful predictor for lexical decision latencies. A comparison of two computational models, the cascaded dual route model (Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001) and the Naive Discriminative Reader (Baayen, Milin, Filipovic Durdjevic, Hendrix, & Marelli, 2010), indicates that only the latter model properly captures the quantitative weight of the latent dimensions of lexical variation as predictors of response times. Computational models that account for frequency of occurrence by some mechanism equivalent to a counter in the head therefore run the risk of overestimating the role of frequency as repetition, of overestimating the importance of words’ form properties, and of underestimating the importance of contextual learning during past experience in proficient reading.
Sar-qoflī in the Customs and Laws of Modern Iran: The Emergence of Haqq-e Kasb o Pīshe o Tejārat and the Evolution of the Shop-lease Contract System
Authors: Iwasaki Yoko
Published: February 2011

In the shop-lease contract with sar-qoflī, which is a widely practiced form of lease contract in today's Iran, a lessor of a shop sells to a hirer a right called sar-qoflī which amounts to almost as much as the entire value of the shop's ownership, while obtaining a monthly rent of only small value. This peculiar form of contract was brought into existence based on a new right called “haqq-e kasb o pīshe o tejārat,” that emerged as a result of the blending of traditional customary practice relating to real estate leasing with Anglo-American value concepts. The adoption of this right, causing as it did the lessor's responsibility for compensation for the value of the usufructuary right, drastically changed the relationship between lessors and hirers in Iran.
Jāmī's Salāmān va Absāl: Political Statements and Mystical Advice Addressed to the Āq Qoyūnlū Court of Sultān Ya‘qūb (d. 896/1490)
Authors: Lingwood Chad G.
Published: February 2011

This article explores Salāmān va Absāl, one of seven poems which comprise Jāmī's collection of long masnavīs, known collectively as the Haft aurang. The work, which gained some renown outside Iran due to the English version of Edward FitzGerald, has nevertheless received little attention in modern scholarship. The few investigations of Salāmān va Absāl, moreover, have dwelled on its narrative, which tells the story of the carnal attraction of a prince for his wet-nurse, and never situated the work in its historical context or examined its political content. In addition, the allegorical symbolism of the tale, especially its depiction of key stages of the Sufi path, such as the act of repentance, has not been discussed in terms of representing a work of mystical advice. With these concerns in mind, the present article discusses the possibility that the political elements in Salāmān va Absāl complement the advice it gives on becoming a Sufi. Seen from this perspective, it would appear that Salāmān va Absāl correlates the notion of the just ruler to the Sufi concept of the “Perfect Man” to the extent that Jāmī presents the Sufi-king as the ideal medieval Islamic ruler. By implication, the work advises its royal patron, Sultān Ya‘qūb, to repent and embark upon the Sufi path, doing so, Jāmī intimates, would lead Ya‘qūb to realize his rank as God's “true” vicegerent.
The Delicate Art of Aggression: Uzun Hasan'sFathnamato Qaytbay of 1469
Authors: Melvin-Koushki Matthew
Published: February 2011

Medieval Persian imperial correspondence(tarassul)remains relatively untapped as a source of historiographical information, due in no small part to its stylized and ornate character. This ornateness, far from being merely an obstructive husk to the useful pith of data within, constitutes a rich source of information in its own right; indeed, the formal aspects of a given letter may significantly alter the ostensible sense of the text. This study examines as a representative case afathnamasent by Uzun Hasan to Qaytbay on the occasion of the former's victory over Sultan-Abu Sa‘id in 1469, here contextualized, translated and subjected to formal analysis with reference to contemporaryinsha’manuals. For all its submissive rhetoric, the letter's aggressive intent is shown to be activated by its formal structure, which strategically deploys Uzun Hasanid messianic symbolism to challenge the ascendancy of the Mamluk state.
An Iranian Perspective of J. B. Fraser's Trip to Khorasan in the 1820s
Authors: Farmanfarmaian Fatema Soudavar
Published: February 2011

This paper is based on an earlier one about James Baillie Fraser's trip to Khorasan in the 1820s, the first European to travel there in the Qajar era. But instead of focusing on Fraser's experience, the information given by him is used to view the circumstances in Khorasan from an Iranian perspective, which, in turn, is derived from a study of the three main categories of people met by Fraser. Through them and their careers, the paper analyzes the problems, both inherited and new, that the early Qajars faced from the outset. Each of the three categories is dealt with separately under the headings of Prince-Governors, Princes in Exile or in Obeisance and, finally, High Priests. Together these complete the overall picture in Greater Khorasan and, by extension, throughout Iran at that particular time. What emerges from a study of their careers are the seeds of some of the major trends that were to mark nineteenth-century Iran. Khorasan, with its size and position, was particularly well placed to afford a view of a society still dependent on tribal vagaries and the dominant role of the religious hierarchy. Above all, the geo-strategic location of the province affords a privileged view across to the outlying parts of Greater Khorasan which, although still viewed from inside as a part of Greater Iran, were, due to inherent instabilities, liable to manipulation by British and Russian imperialism. The most effective tool of the latter was a propensity to promote new national entities on the ruins of an empire struggling to sustain itself without means and with a dated mindset of which most people were sorely unaware. By projecting the circumstances of time and place onto the future, one can perceive a certain degree of inevitability in the upcoming history of Qajar Iran.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF EDUCATION ACROSS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND COHORTS
Authors: van Doorn Majka , Pop Ioana , Wolbers Maarten H. J.
Published: February 2011

This article investigates the intergenerational transmission of education in 28 European countries. The main aim is to answer the following questions: (1) To what degree are parents' education and the educational attainment of their children related in different countries and cohorts, and (2) how can we explain the country-cohort variation in these effects by looking at contextual characteristics? In order to explain this variation, we focus on the degree of industrialisation, female labour force participation, the structure of the educational system and the political ideology of a country. Regarding industrialisation, we do not only take its size into account, but also the pace of the development. Multilevel estimates on 76,821 individuals nested in 250 country-cohort combinations from three waves of the European Social Survey (2002–2006) show that we cannot fully support the prediction of decreasing intergenerational transmission of education solely under the influence of industrialisation. While being an important factor that positively influences the general level of schooling for a certain cohort in a particular country, its decreasing effect of the parents' education on their children's schooling is complemented by the other interacting contextual factors, such as female labour force participation and the quality of the school system.
WHAT MATTERS IN THE TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN GERMANY
Authors: Protsch Paula , Dieckhoff Martina
Published: February 2011

The German multi-tiered school system functions as an institutional mechanism which prevents students from certain social class backgrounds from fulfilling their individual learning potential. Their cognitive abilities are not transformed into corresponding school performances and credentials. Against this backdrop, we ask whether the transition from school to vocational training may enable young people with intermediate and those with lower secondary school degrees to demonstrate their cognitive abilities irrespective of school certificates. We further aim to scrutinise the role of personality traits (Big Five) during the transition process. The analyses based on the German Socio-Economic Panel show – in line with previous research – that type of school degree is crucial in the transition process: Those with intermediate school degrees have faster transitions than those with lower degrees. Moreover, our findings suggest that the relative impact of credentials, cognitive abilities, and personality on labour market success cannot be answered universally. Instead, the relevant mechanisms appear to vary substantially by type of school degree.
Plasma total fatty acid responses to exercise following caffeine ingestion
Authors: Olcina Guillermo , Maynar Marcos , Muñoz Diego , Timon Rafael , Caballero Maria Jesus , Maynar Juan
Published: February 2011

Aerobic exercise is associated with changes in the blood profile of fatty acids. Caffeine is known to be a potential lipolytic agent. Hence, caffeine ingestion in addition to exercise might have an influence on fatty acids, with positive effects on health and performance. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to assess the effect of caffeine (5 mg · kg body mass−1) ingested before aerobic exercise on the total plasma fatty acid profile. In a crossover, double‐blind, randomized study involving 20 untrained males ( 43.57±6.48 ml · kg−1 · min−1), blood lactate concentration, plasma caffeine values, and plasma fatty acid profile were examined using chromatographic techniques before and after 30 min of steady‐state cycle exercise at 75% under placebo and caffeine conditions. Ventilatory responses and substrate oxidation rates were determined during exercise and recovery. Ventilatory responses, lactate concentrations, and fat and carbohydrate oxidation rates were not affected by caffeine ingestion. Carbohydrate was the main substrate oxidized during steady‐state trials under both conditions, although exercise increased blood saturated fatty acids (placebo: 28.30±5.90% vs. 31.09±4.59, P<0.05; caffeine: 28.88±4.12% vs. 29.60±4.56%). Unsaturated blood concentrations of oleic fatty acid trans (C18:1t) increased due to caffeine (placebo: 2.22±2.81% vs. 2.61±3.86%; caffeine 1.53±0.19% vs. 1.70±0.49%, P<0.05). In conclusion, the ingestion of caffeine prior to moderate‐to‐high aerobic exercise may not have a clear metabolic advantage under the conditions of the present study in untrained individuals, although it might influence some individual unsaturated fatty acids (C18:1t) despite low fat oxidation rates.
Variation in peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α gene in elite combat athletes
Authors: Cieszczyk Pawel , Sawczuk Marek , Maciejewska Agnieszka , Ficek Krzysztof , Eider Jerzy
Published: February 2011

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPARα) is a main regulator of energy metabolism, as it regulates the expression of genes encoding several key muscle enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation. Importantly for power sports, it may affect pathways of glucose metabolism, which can be critical in power‐based sports. The aim of this study was to analyse the distribution of the PPARα gene polymorphisms in mixed power/endurance athletes. The study was carried out on elite combat athletes and sedentary individuals, in an attempt to determine possible relationships between genotype and physical performance. We tested 60 male elite Polish combat athletes. Control samples came from 181 unrelated sedentary volunteers. The G/C polymorphic site in PPARα intron 7 was scanned using the polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) protocol with TaqI enzyme. Differences in the distribution frequency of this polymorphism were assessed by chi‐square analysis. The results revealed that frequencies of the PPARα GG genotype (73.33% vs. 54.70%; P=0.04) and G allele (82.50% vs. 70.17%; P=0.01) were significantly higher in the elite combat athletes compared with sedentary controls. The results confirm the significance of the PPARα gene as a useful genetic marker in combat athletes. However, these results should be supported with more experimental data on PPARα polymorphisms with larger groups of elite athletes.
Influence of sport type and interdependence on the developmental experiences of youth male athletes
Authors: Bruner Mark W. , Hall Jonathan , Côté Jean
Published: February 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between sport type, interdependence (task and outcome), and the developmental experiences of select male basketball players (n=129) and middle‐distance runners (n=83) aged 14–17 years. Athletes completed the Youth Experiences Survey 2.0 (Hansen & Larson, 2005) and a modified measure assessing task and outcome interdependence (Van der Vegt, Emans, & Van de Vliert, 1998 Vliert, 2001). Hierarchical multiple regression determined that basketball players reported higher rates of teamwork and social skills, adult networks and social capital, and negative experiences. Furthermore, outcome interdependence was a predictor of identity exploration, initiative, emotional regulation, positive relationships, teamwork and social skills, and adult networks and social capital experiences independent of sport type. Although different sports may provide different learning environments, the developmental experiences youth garner may be more strongly influenced by how the people involved interact (outcome interdependence) than by the type of sport.
Reduced home advantage for basketball teams from capital cities in Europe
Authors: Gómez Miguel A. , Pollard Richard
Published: February 2011

The aim of the present study was to investigate the home advantage effect in professional basketball leagues in Europe, especially the differences in home advantage between capital city teams and other teams in each country. All the teams (n=159) of seven national professional basketball leagues were studied (Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Spain, and Turkey) and classified as capital city teams or other teams. The data (n=7432 games) were gathered for six seasons (2003–2004 to 2008–2009). The results confirmed the existence of a home advantage effect in all seven basketball leagues. There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between the leagues, with home advantage highest in Romania (65.10%) and Greece (65.02%), and lowest in Turkey (58.12%) and Lithuania (56.13%). The results also show that capital city teams experienced lower home advantage compared with other teams in all seven countries. After controlling for team ability, this was statistically significant for Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Turkey (all P<0.05), but not for Lithuania, Russia or Spain (all P>0.10). These results are consistent with previous studies in football, which suggested that teams playing in capital cities in Europe had lower home advantage than those playing elsewhere. Possible reasons for this finding include a diminished sense of being part of a cohesive local community when playing in a capital city, a lower sense of territorial protection and, for the away team, a lessened feeling of unfamiliarity.
Generation Disrupts Memory for Intrinsic Context but not Extrinsic Context
Authors: Mulligan Neil W.
Published: February 2011

Although generation typically enhances item memory, the effect is subject to a number of theoretically important limitations. One potential limitation concerns context memory but there has been debate about whether generation actually enhances or disrupts memory for contextual details. Five experiments assessed the effect of generation on context memory for perceptual attributes of the study stimulus (intrinsic context). The results indicate that despite enhancing item memory, generation disrupts memory for intrinsic context. This result generalized over different intrinsic details (print colour and font), different generation manipulations, and several methodological factors identified in earlier research as potential moderators of this negative generation effect. Despite the negative generation effect on intrinsic context, contextual details external to the target item (extrinsic context) are not disrupted. In a sixth experiment, a visually based generation task (letter transposition) enhanced context memory for the extrinsic detail of location. Coupled with earlier research, the results indicate that generation disrupts context memory for intrinsic details but either does not harm or enhances memory for extrinsic context.
The Arab Renaissance Project: the debates and critique
Authors: Hafez Ziad
Published: February 2011

The Arab Renaissance Project (ARP) is a landmark document in the history of contemporary Arab nationalism. It represents the major concerns of Arab nationalists and their proposed narrative. It covers the major issues discussed by intellectuals, scholars, and political activists in the Arab world. ARP is likely to continue generating debates about the particulars of the proposed program.
Mauritanian–Israeli relations: from normalization to freeze to suspension
Authors: al-Kurwy Mahmood , Abbas Faysal Shalal
Published: February 2011

This article explores the background to normalization of Mauritanian-Israeli relations in depth and detail and demonstrates why the case of Mauritania was unique both for Mauritanians, who sought to replace their erstwhile French allies, as well as for the Israelis - who viewed it as one of the first and most important pillars of their Africa policy and who invested significantly throughout all sectors of the economy. Normalization of Mauritanian-Israeli relations initially began secretly during the regime of President MuꜤ āwiyah Aḥmad Ould al-ṬāyaꜤ and aside from the high-level political and diplomatic contacts, transpired in many different spheres from business, to medicine, to agriculture, telecommunications and lithium extraction and prospecting. The opening of respective embassies in both countries and high-profile visits brought about tensions in Mauritania among the general populace which was never comfortable with diplomatic or trade relations with Israel and which eventually factored in precipitating a coup. Mauritania eventually froze diplomatic relations and finally cut them off after Israeli aggression against Gaza during ‘Operation Cast Lead’ took public sentiment to the titration point. While Mauritania went on to develop relations with Iran, many of the commercial and industrial ties to Israeli corporations still persist if nothing more than for the reason that Israeli penetration of Mauritanian markets and various sectors was (and to a considerable degree still remains) significant. The future situation will likely be determined as a result of the dynamic and interplay of forces discussed in this paper.