bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fertilisation in the horse and paracrine signalling in the oviduct
Authors: Goudet Ghylène
Published: September 2011

The mammalian oviduct plays a crucial role in the preparation of gametes for fertilisation (transport and final maturation) and fertilisation itself. An increasing number of studies offers a comprehensive overview of the functions of the oviduct and its secretions, but this topic has had limited investigation in the horse. Limited data are available on the final oocyte maturation in the equine oviduct. However, in vitro and in vivo systems have been established to analyse the influence of equine oviduct epithelial cells (OEC) during maturation on the potential of oocytes for fertilisation and development. Most studies focus on the role of the oviduct in equine sperm function, such as spermatozoa transport, attachment to oviduct epithelium, viability, motility and capacitation. Moreover, some possible candidate molecules for sperm–oviducal interactions have been identified in the horse. Finally, the low efficiency of conventional in vitro fertilisation and the in vivo fertilisation of equine oocytes transferred into the oviduct of an inseminated mare predicted an influence of oviduct in equine fertilisation. Actually, in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated a role of the oviduct in equine fertilisation. Moreover, recent studies showed a beneficial effect of homologous and heterologous OEC on equine in vitro fertilisation, and some candidate molecules have been studied.
Identification of the bacterial protein FtsX as a unique target of chemokine-mediated antimicrobial activity against
Bacillus anthracis
Authors: Crawford Matthew A. , Lowe David E. , Fisher Debra J. , Stibitz Scott , Plaut Roger D. , Beaber John W. , Zemansky Jason , Mehrad Borna , Glomski Ian J. , Strieter Robert M. , Hughes Molly A.
Published: September 2011

Chemokines are a family of chemotactic cytokines that function in host defense by orchestrating cellular movement during infection. In addition to this function, many chemokines have also been found to mediate the direct killing of a range of pathogenic microorganisms through an as-yet-undefined mechanism. As an understanding of the molecular mechanism and microbial targets of chemokine-mediated antimicrobial activity is likely to lead to the identification of unique, broad-spectrum therapeutic targets for effectively treating infection, we sought to investigate the mechanism by which the chemokine CXCL10 mediates bactericidal activity against the Gram-positive bacterium
Bacillus anthracis
, the causative agent of anthrax. Here, we report that disruption of the gene
ftsX
, which encodes the transmembrane domain of a putative ATP-binding cassette transporter, affords resistance to CXCL10-mediated antimicrobial effects against vegetative
B. anthracis
bacilli. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in the absence of FtsX, CXCL10 is unable to localize to its presumed site of action at the bacterial cell membrane, suggesting that chemokines interact with specific, identifiable bacterial components to mediate direct microbial killing. These findings provide unique insight into the mechanism of CXCL10-mediated bactericidal activity and establish, to our knowledge, the first description of a bacterial component critically involved in the ability of host chemokines to target and kill a bacterial pathogen. These observations also support the notion of chemokine-mediated antimicrobial activity as an important foundation for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies for treating infections caused by pathogenic, potentially multidrug-resistant microorganisms.
Ultrasensitive detection of protein translocated through toxin pores in droplet-interface bilayers
Authors: Fischer Audrey , Holden Matthew A. , Pentelute Brad L. , Collier R. John
Published: September 2011

Many bacterial toxins form proteinaceous pores that facilitate the translocation of soluble effector proteins across cellular membranes. With anthrax toxin this process may be monitored in real time by electrophysiology, where fluctuations in ionic current through these pores inserted in model membranes are used to infer the translocation of individual protein molecules. However, detecting the minute quantities of translocated proteins has been a challenge. Here, we describe use of the droplet-interface bilayer system to follow the movement of proteins across a model membrane separating two submicroliter aqueous droplets. We report the capture and subsequent direct detection of as few as 100 protein molecules that have translocated through anthrax toxin pores. The droplet-interface bilayer system offers new avenues of approach to the study of protein translocation.
Results of the Regional Earthquake Likelihood Models (RELM) test of earthquake forecasts in California
Authors: Lee Ya-Ting , Turcotte Donald L. , Holliday James R. , Sachs Michael K. , Rundle John B. , Chen Chien-Chih , Tiampo Kristy F.
Published: September 2011

The Regional Earthquake Likelihood Models (RELM) test of earthquake forecasts in California was the first competitive evaluation of forecasts of future earthquake occurrence. Participants submitted expected probabilities of occurrence of
M
≥4.95 earthquakes in 0.1° × 0.1° cells for the period 1 January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2010. Probabilities were submitted for 7,682 cells in California and adjacent regions. During this period, 31
M
≥4.95 earthquakes occurred in the test region. These earthquakes occurred in 22 test cells. This seismic activity was dominated by earthquakes associated with the
M
 = 7.2, April 4, 2010, El Mayor–Cucapah earthquake in northern Mexico. This earthquake occurred in the test region, and 16 of the other 30 earthquakes in the test region could be associated with it. Nine complete forecasts were submitted by six participants. In this paper, we present the forecasts in a way that allows the reader to evaluate which forecast is the most “successful” in terms of the locations of future earthquakes. We conclude that the RELM test was a success and suggest ways in which the results can be used to improve future forecasts.
The genetic evaluation of crossbred pig populations for heterosis research by microsatellite markers
Authors: Jing-Hu Zhang , Yuan-Zhu Xiong , Chang-Yan Deng , Si-Wen Jiang , Ming-Gang Lei , Bo Zuo , De-Qun Xu , Jia-Lian Li , Feng-E Li , Rong Zheng
Published: September 2011

The molecular genetic characteristics were evaluated, and the genetic effects of marker loci on heterosis of three traits (birth weight, BWT; average daily gain, ADG; and feed and meat ratio, FMR) were analysed in the experimental pig populations: Yorkshire (Y, n=34), Landrace (L, n=46) and Meishan (M, n=55); Yorkshire×Landrace (YL, n=32) and its reciprocal (LY, n=36), Yorkshire×Meishan (YM, n=82) and its reciprocal (MY, n=47), by 39 microsatellite markers selected from pig chromosomes SSC4, 6, 7, 8 and 13. The results indicated that observed alleles ranged from 2 to 6, average 4.13, observed heterozygosity varied from 0.39 (Y) to 0.58 (YM+MY) and average polymorphism information content (PIC) varied from 0.33 (Y) to 0.5 (YM). There were two loci (sw2155 and sw1037) at which the alleles were fixed in Y and L, and there were three loci (sw2409, sw2454 and sw1691) at which the alleles were fixed in M. The results from heterozygosity and kinship analysis revealed an intrinsic genetic relationship among the seven populations. Furthermore, the results on genetic effect analysis indicate that several marker loci had a significant effect on heterosis of the three traits in the two different F1 crossbred populations (P⩽0.01), for example s0161, swr1130 and sw1856 for BWT, sw1856 and swr2036 for ADG, and sw1302 and swr2036 for FMR. The significant marker loci implied a deep genetic relationship between molecular marker loci and heterosis.
Genesis of Party in Iran: A Case Study of the Interaction Between the Political System and Political Parties
Authors: Razi G. Hossein
Published: September 2011

Identification and analysis of environmental conditions associated with the emergence and development of political parties in generals and different types of parties in particular, are important to an understanding of the problems and prospects of representative government in emerging nations. This paper presents a study of the genesis and development of political parties, their possible prototypes, and their functional substitutes in Iran.
Persian Folksong Texts from Afghan Badakhshan
Authors: Slobin Mark
Published: September 2011

This study is based on fieldwork undertaken in Badakhshān province of Afghanistan in 1968 for the purpose of collecting musical data. A summary of the basic musical styles and instruments current in the area can be found in the,author's Instrumental Music in Northern Afghanistan.

The focus of the present article is the type of Persian verse set to music by the folk singers of Badakhshān. Principally, this includes a description of the texts of the most common folksong form of the region, the felak, drawn from singers of the Faizābād (central), Darwāz (northern), Shughnān (northeastern), Wākhān (eastern) and Keshrn (western) regions of Badakhshān province.
Early Qajar Administration: An Analysis of its Development and Functions
Authors: Meredith Colin
Published: September 2011

Any discussion of the degree and extent of governmental authority in early Qajar Iran involves an examination of the basic administrative structure as well as the more important restraints imposed by the nature of traditional society on the exercise of such authority. This study will focus, therefore, on the development and functioning of administration at the central and provincial levels, including the methods and machinery employed by the early Qajar state in the collection and distribution of taxable revenues. In addition, the problem faced by the first two Qajar monarchs in obtaining popular concensus with regard to the legitimacy of their rule and acceptance of their edicts will be examined.
The Sale of Offices in Qajar Iran, 1858–1896
Authors: Sheikholeslami A. Reza
Published: September 2011

Political systems which are able to develop share two general characteristics: first, they show an ability to assimilate political demands, and second, they sustain a dynamic integrity. The study of bureaucracy derives its importance from the essential role it plays in this dual process through its functions of recruitment of new elements on one hand, and socializing the new recruits and providing for the functioning of the system on the other.

The sale of offices as a part of this system—maintenance mechanism will be studied here through its functions of recruitment and socialization. I will attempt to study the problem as a subsystem within the larger context of a patrimonial state, and as a natural extension of the concept of an office as a piece of property. Then, I will discuss the reasons for the increase of the sale of offices during the second half of the nineteenth century in Iran, the nature of the sale itself, and finally the effect of it on the Iranian political system.
The Balance of Payment Deficit and The Problem of Inflation in Iran, 1955–1962
Authors: Daftary Farhad
Published: September 2011

It is a commonly held view that development policies lead to domestic inflation together with balance of payments problems. The underlying mechanisms which in many developing countries have made this view come true are rather well-known. Increased investment outlays lead to increased purchasing power and imports; prices rise, and, to the extent that aggregate output and real income actually increase, this in itself will further contribute to the deterioration in the country's balance of payments. The time will soon come when the International Monetary Fund, as a precondition for extending short-term loans to support the country's depleted reserves of foreign exchange, will ask for deflationary measures in order to restore order to the country's finances. Development will slow down, and if the balance of payments has deteriorated significantly, devaluation will be required.
Iran's Role in Cold War Revisionism
Authors: Doenecke Justus D.
Published: September 2011

It has long been accepted, almost as a Cold War truism, that the first direct confrontation between Soviet Russia and the United States took place over Iran in February, 1946. According to the traditional picture of Cold War origins, Russia's refusal to evacuate her forces--together with her simultaneous efforts to establish a puppet regime in Azerbaijan and Kurdistan--tipped the West off as to her global intentions. America and Great Britain promptly registered protests within and outside the United Nations, and, in the first effort at containment, prevented direct Soviet penetration of the entire Middle East. After Iran, the West was forewarned. As a leading textbook notes, in pointing to Russia's reluctance to withdraw, “Soviet power was prepared to move into any position that the Western states were not willing to defend.”

Most memoirs of American policy-makers stress that the United States had responded, and responded of necessity, to Russian incentive.
Towards A Social and Economic History of Eighteenth-Century Iran
Authors: Ricks Thomas M.
Published: September 2011

Research in Iranian social and economic history is still relatively unknown. This situation is puzzling in view of the social and economic research in Arab and Turkish history, particularly from 1955 onwards. in the past ten years, social and economic research in these two areas of Middle East history have produced some excellent results. But similar research in Iranian history has not developed. This state of affairs is disappointing when we recall the words of Vladimir Minorsky in his "Foreword" to the Tadhkirat al-mulūk in 1943:

The study of the Islamic period of the history of Iran--which alone covers thirteen centuries--is still in its infancy, not so much for want of useful outlines of single periods as because of the limited methods of research which were so long employed.
Urban Patterns in Pre-Safavid Isfahan
Authors: Golombek Lisa
Published: September 2011

The splendour of Safavid Isfahan is no doubt proverbial. The landmarks that come to mind--the great Maydān-i Shāh with its stage perpetually set, the elegant Chahār Bāgh avenue, the graceful bridges slung across the Zayandah Rud--would make it appear as though the topography of Isfahan today, except for the old Jāmiᶜ, is a Safavid one. It is hard to believe, however, that the ages have not left a deeper mark, that the patterns of life generated in the pre-Safavid past did not affect profoundly the course of subsequent development.

Consider for example the curious orientation of Shāh ᶜAbbās’ imperial centerpiece, the Maydān-i Shāh. The two imperial mosques built to the south and east of the Maydān, the Masjid-i Shāh and the Luṭfallah Mosque, awkwardly twist on their axes in order to face the proper direction for prayer, the qiblah.
The Development of Traditions of Book Illustration in Pre-Safavid Iran
Authors: Swietochowski Marie
Published: September 2011

In the Safavid period the concepts of miniature painting, already fully established in the Timurid period, still prevailed with certain modifications and changes in emphasis. Timurid painting in its turn had expanded and refined an art which had developed in the course of the fourteenth century into the “kind of painting,” as Dūst Muḥammad wrote in the mid-sixteenth century, “which is current at the present time.” Although Persian miniature painting achieved its first stage of maturity under the Jalā'irid sultans in the second half of the fourteenth century, the development was uneven. During the Jalā'irid and subsequent Timurid periods illustrations were produced which were markedly different from each other not only in concept and purpose but also in their stage of artistic development and degree of sophistication.

The study of the various factors that influenced the development of the art of the book in Iran is a vast subject.
Religion in Safavid Persia
Authors: Nasr Hossein
Published: September 2011

The Safavid period marks a definite turning point in the history of Persia and the beginning of a new phase in the history of Islam in that country. Yet, despite its distinct character and the break it seems to display with respect to the centuries preceeding it, there is definitely a long religions and intellectual history which prepared the ground for the sudden establishment of a Shiᶜite order in Persia and the transformation of the country into a predominantly Shiᶜite area. There are several centuries of growth of Shiᶜite theology and jurisprudence, the development of Sufi orders with Shiᶜite tendencies and the establishment of Shiᶜite political power--albeit of a transient character--all preceeding the Safavid period.

As far as Shiᶜite thought is concerned, the advent of the Mongols and the destruction of the major centers of Sunni political power in Western Asia enabled Shiᶜism to flower in Persia more than ever before, culminating in the establishment of Shiᶜism as state religion for a brief period under Sulṭān Muḥammad Khudābandah.
Isfahan, the old; Isfahan, the New
Authors: Shirazi Bagher
Published: September 2011

The fact that has put Isfahan among the lasting cities and guaranteed its survival has undoubtedly been the permanent co-existence of the old and the new. The confrontation of old and new has brought about that necessary dynamism which has caused its growth, expansion and enrichment. Isfahan's favorable location in the central Iranian plateau and its plentitude of water and fertile land drew particular attention to it in times of political and cultural movements that have more often been constructive than destructive.

As far as we know, with the onset of Islam there occurred a new phenomenon that can be characterized by urban settlement and Isfahan began its dynamic development. This was also the time when local authorities, attempting to become autonomous, tried to create cities outside the borders of Mesopotamia raking with Baghdad. In the region of Isfahan, the first Islamic nucleus was established in fehe southern neighborhood of Yahūdiyyah and in a village called Khushīnān. As settlements began to grow around this new nucleus, the first real center of a town called “Isfahan” was formed at the juncture of the new and the old settlements.
Private Life and Public Face: Cultural Continuities in the Domestic Architecture of Isfahan
Authors: Gulick John
Published: September 2011

Modern Middle Eastern cities, from Afghanistan to Morocco, have, in addition to an almost limitless variety of detail, some general characteristics in common. These common features include among many other things, the narrow, twisting, often dead-end alleys on which the houses in the older quarters are typically located. These houses are inward-oriented to a degree that contrasts markedly and in many ways with “western” urban dwellings. These alleys and houses are an integral part of a complex whole that also includes mosques, shrines, madrasahs, bathhouses and bazaars.

Other general characteristics of modern Middle Eastern cities are the new wide streets for automotive traffic that form networks around the old quarters and often are cut through them as well. Visually, these new streets and the new buildings that accompany them often contrast so sharply with the old that many people are tempted to assume the existence of radically different cultural patterns among their respective inhabitants, radical differences that are isomorphic with the differences in street patterns and architecture.
City and River in Iran: Urbanization and Irrigation of the Iranian Plateau
Authors: Spooner Brian
Published: September 2011

If viewed in full historical perspective, Isfahan may reasonably claim to have been the most important city on the Iranian plateau. It is also the most studied. However, although its unique historical monuments may possibly have (compared with the historiography of other great cities) received scholarly attention commensurate with the city's historical role, relatively little attention has been paid to its social and ecological history. Why did Shāh ᶜAbbās choose Isfahan for his capital? What are the geographical factors that distinguish the city of Isfahan from the rest of the plateau? What were their implications for the social and political history of the city? More specifically, what was the role of the river, the Zayandah Rud, in the growth of the city? Is it profitable to seek a cause and effect relationship between the organization of irrigation for the agricultural base of the region's economy and the political and economic development of the city?
Predicting Urban Growth in Iran: A Dynamic Model
Authors: Laudor Charles R. , Tabriztchi Sirousse
Published: September 2011

In developing as in advanced economies, the pace of urbanization has continued to accelerate with the result that many less developed countries are experiencing problems in their urbanized areas which are quite similar to the advanced economies. In Iran, increased oil revenues which have aided in overall economic expansion have created differential growth rates in industries with different impacts on urban, as against rural growth, bringing along specific urban problems which require special consideration.

In Tehran, as in the major growth centers of other developing countries, population was growing at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in the period 1966-1969. Since 1969, the natural rate of growth has somewhat decreased but still remains at the high plateau of 6.1 percent per annum. As a consequence of this rapid rise in the population, the number of inhabitants of Tehran reached a level of 3.9 million in 1972, according to Iranian Plan and Budget Organization estimates.
Forced Migration in Iran During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
Authors: Perry John R.
Published: September 2011

“Forced migration” is defined for the purposes of this study as the transportation of a considerable number of a population group (whether nomadic or sedentary), normally in family units and accompanied by livestock and chattels, to be permanently resettled in a region remote from their home; and undertaken as an act of policy by the ruler or his agents. It does not refer to attempts to sedentarize nomads on lands adjacent to their pastures, or to simple dispossession of lands without alternative provision.

Examples of forced migration have been noted in Iran and its imperial appendages from the earliest to the most recent times, chiefly as punishment of stubborn opponents or refractory subjects by a vigorous, centralizing monarch.
City Councillors and the Dilemma of Representation: The Case of Isfahan
Authors: Schulz Ann
Published: September 2011

A decade ago, amidst general enthusiasm for nation-building activities, Samuel Huntington raised the question of whether political institutions might not decay as well as grow. Although he provided but a few guidelines to symptoms of institutional decay, he did introduce a healthy measure of skepticism into the literature on political development. This skepticism is particularly warranted in the case of representative institutions.

Throughout much of the Middle East, the life of both political parties and legislatures at the national level have tended to be more formal than real. Institutionbuilding has been attempted at the local level, too, although local politics has received far less attention from students of comparative politics. This essay discusses the roles of political representatives at the local level and the impact of the political milieu upon the way in which these roles are shaped and interpreted by their occupants.
The Azerbaijani ˓Āshiq and His Performance of a Dāstān
Authors: Albright Charlotte F.
Published: September 2011

In cities, towns, and villages throughout Iranian Azerbaijan ˓āshiqs (professional poet-musicians) entertain audiences in coffee houses and at weddings. ˓Āshiqs compose and perform songs in a variety of poetic forms. The longest of these forms is the oral narrative poem called the dāstān in the Azeri dialect of Turkish. In his presentation of these tales, the ˓āshiq observes a standard protocol, yet within this established format, he has room to improvise, to stretch some segments of his entertainment or to cut other parts short. It is this flexibility within the framework of an established presentation format that keeps these oral narrative poems from growing stale in the mind of the performer and in the perception of the audience.

This paper will briefly describe the ˓āshiq, his training and performance. Then, one segment of a dāstān will be analyzed to show what its components are, and how they can be manipulated by the performer.
Al‐e Ahmad's Fictional Legacy
Authors: Hillmann Michael C.
Published: September 2011

In a twenty-four-year writing career that began in 1945 with the publication of the story “Pilgrimage” in Sukhan magazine and ended in 1969 with a heart attack at age 46, Jalal Al-e Ahmad established himself as a major voice in modern Persian fiction. His first and best known collection of short stories, The Exchange of Visits, appeared in 1946, followed in short order by Our Suffering (1947), Sihtār (1948), and The Unwanted Woman (1952), which was reprinted in 1964 with two additional stories. A fifth collection of stories entitled The New Generation remains unpublished, although a sampling of stories from that collection entitled Five Stories was published posthumously. The first of five longer pieces of fiction, Tale of the Beehives, was published in 1955. Three years later The School Principal appeared. Then, in 1961, came The Letter ‘N’ and the Pen, followed in 1968 by The Cursing of the Land, of which several chapters had previously been published separately. A final novel, A Stone on a Grave, remains unpublished.
Social Hierarchy in Provincial Iran: The Case of Qajar Maragheh
Authors: Good Mary‐Jo DelVecchio
Published: September 2011

Social hierarchy in Iran, as in other modernizing nations, has undergone major changes in the twentieth century. Nevertheless, contemporary patterns of social hierarchy are rooted in the traditions of inequality that prevailed during the Qajar era. In provincial Iran, these traditions of hierarchy and inequality were structured in part by the form of political authority. In the nineteenth century, many provincial regions were ruled by local notables who maintained varying degrees of independence from the royal court. Along with leading landowning families, merchants, and clergy, they formed the elite of provincial society. The culture of social hierarchy was also shaped by traditional Islamic and Persian views of society and by the meaning attributed to the distribution of wealth, power, and prestige in Iran.
The American Analysis of Iranian Politics
Authors: Bill James A.
Published: September 2011

The rich subtlety of the Iranian political process has long defied scholarly attempts to comprehend and explain. Native Iranian writings have been stunted both by a traditional tendency to stress chronology over analysis as well as by sociopolitical deterrents that have deflected the academic searchlight away from the political system. European scholarship has seldom focused directly upon the Iranian polity but has instead preoccupied itself with history very broadly conceived. This historical discussion has closely followed the Persian sources both in method and substance. This thrust has been joined with the European concern with formal-legal structures and cultural determinants. The result has often been descriptive history in which the political component has been ultimately viewed as a by-product of cultural traits, religious heritage, or the idiosyncracies of particular political actors.
U.S. Military Missions To Iran, 1943–1978: The Political Economy of Military Assistance
Authors: Ricks Thomas M.
Published: September 2011

“Aid to Iran is not recommended primarily because Iran needs economic aid, but because it offers the most effective means of forcing the Iranians in spite of themselves to put their house in order.” Mr. McGhee to the Secretary of State, UM D-97, April 21, 1950 in Foreign Relations of the United States: 1950, Volume V (Washington, D.C., 1978), p. 516.

“The largest, most pervasive source of technical assistance, on manpower problems was the United States foreign aid program, both civilian and military. There was hardly an agency or program of the Iranian Government concerned with training or education that did not have its Point IV experts or U.S. contract group.” George Baldwin, Planning and Development in Iran (New York, 1967), p. 145.

“Taken on balance, all U.S. foreign assistance is ultimately military or paramilitary in nature, even its ostensibly economic aid: it is designed primarily to enable foreign countries to support a military superstructure capable of saving the United States the cost of having to provide military service with its own armed forces.” Michael Hudson, “The Political Economy of Foreign Aid,” in The Myth of Aid, by Denis Goulet and Michael Hudson (New York, 1971), p. 80.
Comments on “Tribalism as a Socioeconomic Formation”
Authors: Reid James J.
Published: September 2011

The argument proposed by Professor Leonard M. Helfgott in a recent article in Iranian Studies (Vol. X, Nos.1-2, 1977) cannot be accepted as an accurate evaluation of the social and economic structure of tribalism in Iran. The picture presented in his article portrays the situation almost solely in terms of theoretical considerations, with relatively little attempt to substantiate the theories with fact. As a result, a monolithic view of tribal society is put forth. The most objectionable theoretical approach proffered in his article is expressed in the following statement: “Tribal societies contain neither a concrete superstructural entity such as the state nor a separate economic sphere….But that is not to say that these functions do not exist or are not necessary for the production of pre-state societies. Rather superstructural functions appear as embedded within the kinship system.” Traditionally, tribes throughout Iranian history existed above and beyond the reach of the various kinship entities that they governed or controlled; indeed, they provided formal superstructures by which they exploited the various sources of wealth, and maintained order.
Georgians in Tsarist Russia and in the USSR∗
Authors: Zinam Oleg
Published: September 2011

Among the numerous relations between the rulers of the Imperial Russia and the USSR on the one hand, and Georgia on the other, the question of national self-determination deserves a position of a paramount importance. An adequate treatment of this perplexing topic requires a broader theoretical framework dealing with nationalism in general and its historical significance in particular.
It is a Shame not to Know the Language
Authors: Jennison Earl W.
Published: September 2011

The heart and soul of a society is often much more fully revealed in its imaginative literature than in such self-conscious statements as political manifestos or constitutions. It is this soul-baring quality of imaginative literature which explains, even if it does not justify, the primacy in Soviet literary criticism of political and ideological concerns over such factors as psychological honesty and aesthetic efficacy. The neglect of the transpolitical, transideological subtleties of literary art makes Soviet literary criticism seem very mechanical and heavy-handed to most non-Marxists. Of course this kind of critical analysis is not inappropriate to some of the hack work generated under the rubric of “socialist realism.” However, Western critics are often equally ideological in their own way, even towards Soviet literature of intrinsic artistic merit. Indeed, this essay itself runs the risk of abusing art by subjecting a charming little Soviet story, “Instructress Asta,” to political analysis.
Nationalism in World Politics and History
Authors: Ezergailis Andrew
Published: September 2011

The word nationalism, as it is generally used in the United States by scholars and journalists, is a pejorative term. If by using the term the writer himself does not mean to evoke unfavorable associations, then by necessity he fails because the educated public in America understands the word to be derogatory. The question therefore is seriously to be considered whether the word continues to be serviceable for impartial analyses of world politics and modern history. Many journalists and unfortunately, also many historians and political scientists use the word as nothing other than an elegant expletive to disparage statesmen and countries–foreign and their own. One may suspect that diplomats and men of affairs have already learned to consider the word useless for day-to-day decisions. Unless scholars begin to use the word with more precision and discrimination, they will be forced to follow the example of practical men of affairs.
Polytopic membrane protein folding at L17 in the ribosome tunnel initiates cyclical changes at the translocon
Authors: Lin Pen-Jen , Jongsma Candice G. , Pool Martin R. , Johnson Arthur E.
Published: September 2011

Multi-spanning membrane protein loops are directed alternately into the cytosol or ER lumen during cotranslational integration. Nascent chain exposure is switched after a newly synthesized transmembrane segment (TMS) enters the ribosomal tunnel. FRET measurements revealed that each TMS is initially extended, but folds into a compact conformation after moving 6–7 residues from the peptidyltransferase center, irrespective of loop size. The ribosome-induced folding of each TMS coincided with its photocrosslinking to ribosomal protein L17 and an inversion of compartmental exposure. This correlation indicates that successive TMSs fold and bind at a specific ribosomal tunnel site that includes L17, thereby triggering structural rearrangements of multiple components in and on both sides of the ER membrane, most likely via TMS-dependent L17 and/or rRNA conformational changes transmitted to the surface. Thus, cyclical changes at the membrane during integration are initiated by TMS folding, even though nascent chain conformation and location vary dynamically in the ribosome tunnel. Nascent chains therefore control their own trafficking.
A behavior-based circuit model of how outcome expectations organize learned behavior in larval Drosophila
Authors: Schleyer Michael , Saumweber Timo , Nahrendorf Wiebke , Fischer Benjamin , von Alpen Désirée , Pauls Dennis , Thum Andreas , Gerber Bertram
Published: September 2011

Drosophila larvae combine a numerically simple brain, a correspondingly moderate behavioral complexity, and the availability of a rich toolbox for transgenic manipulation. This makes them attractive as a study case when trying to achieve a circuit-level understanding of behavior organization. From a series of behavioral experiments, we suggest a circuitry of chemosensory processing, odor–tastant memory trace formation, and the “decision” process to behaviorally express these memory traces—or not. The model incorporates statements about the neuronal organization of innate vs. conditioned chemosensory behavior, and the types of interaction between olfactory and gustatory pathways during the establishment as well as the behavioral expression of odor–tastant memory traces. It in particular suggests that innate olfactory behavior is responsive in nature, whereas conditioned olfactory behavior is captured better when seen as an action in pursuit of its outcome. It incorporates the available neuroanatomical and behavioral data and thus should be useful as scaffold for the ongoing investigations of the chemo-behavioral system in larval Drosophila.
Transforming growth factor‐β‐stimulated clone‐22 is a negative‐feedback regulator of Ras / Raf signaling: Implications for tumorigenesis
Authors: Nakamura Masaki , Kitaura Jiro , Enomoto Yutaka , Lu Yang , Nishimura Koutarou , Isobe Masamichi , Ozaki Katsutoshi , Komeno Yukiko , Nakahara Fumio , Oki Toshihiko , Kume Haruki , Homma Yukio , Kitamura Toshio
Published: September 2011

Transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β)‐stimulated clone‐22 (TSC‐22), also called TSC22D1‐2, is a putative tumor suppressor. We previously identified TSC‐22 downstream of an active mutant of fms‐like tyrosine kinase‐3 (Flt3). Here, we show that TSC‐22 works as a tumor suppressor through inhibiting Ras/Raf signaling. Notably, TSC‐22 was upregulated by Ras/Raf activation, whereas its upregulation was inhibited by concurrent STAT5 activation. Although TSC‐22 was normally retained in the cytoplasm by its nuclear export signal (NES), Ras/Raf activation caused nuclear translocation of TSC‐22, but not TSC22D1‐1. Unlike glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper (GILZ/TSC22D3‐2) previously characterized as a negative regulator of Ras/Raf signaling, TSC‐22 failed to interact physically with Ras/Raf. Importantly, transduction with TSC‐22, but not TSC22D1‐1, suppressed the growth, transformation and tumorigenesis of NIH3T3 cells expressing oncogenic H‐Ras: this suppression was enhanced by transduction with a TSC‐22 mutant lacking NES that had accumulated in the nucleus. Collectively, upregulation and nuclear translocation of TSC‐22 played an important role in the feedback suppression of Ras/Raf signaling. Consistently, TSC22D1‐deficient mice were susceptible to tumorigenesis in a mouse model of chemically‐induced liver tumors bearing active mutations of Ras/Raf. Thus, TSC‐22 negatively regulated Ras/Raf signaling through a mechanism different from GILZ, implicating TSC‐22 as a novel suppressor of oncogenic Ras/Raf‐induced tumors. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 26–33)
T‐cell receptor gene therapy targeting melanoma‐associated antigen‐A4 inhibits human tumor growth in non‐obese diabetic/SCID/γcnull mice
Authors: Shirakura Yoshitaka , Mizuno Yukari , Wang Linan , Imai Naoko , Amaike Chisaki , Sato Eiichi , Ito Mamoru , Nukaya Ikuei , Mineno Junichi , Takesako Kazutoh , Ikeda Hiroaki , Shiku Hiroshi
Published: September 2011

Adoptive cell therapy with lymphocytes that have been genetically engineered to express tumor‐reactive T‐cell receptors (TCR) is a promising approach for cancer immunotherapy. We have been exploring the development of TCR gene therapy targeting cancer/testis antigens, including melanoma‐associated antigen (MAGE) family antigens, that are ideal targets for adoptive T‐cell therapy. The efficacy of TCR gene therapy targeting MAGE family antigens, however, has not yet been evaluated in vivo. Here, we demonstrate the in vivo antitumor activity in immunodeficient non‐obese diabetic/SCID/γcnull (NOG) mice of human lymphocytes genetically engineered to express TCR specific for the MAGE‐A4 antigen. Polyclonal T cells derived from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were transduced with the αβ TCR genes specific for MAGE‐A4, then adoptively transferred into NOG mice inoculated with MAGE‐A4 expressing human tumor cell lines. The transferred T cells maintained their effector function in vivo, infiltrated into tumors, and inhibited tumor growth in an antigen‐specific manner. The combination of adoptive cell therapy with antigen peptide vaccination enhanced antitumor activity, with improved multifunctionality of the transferred cells. These data suggest that TCR gene therapy with MAGE‐A4‐specific TCR is a promising strategy to treat patients with MAGE‐A4‐expressing tumors; in addition, the acquisition of multifunctionality in vivo is an important factor to predict the quality of the T‐cell response during adoptive therapy with human lymphocytes. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 17–25)
Early hospital care of severe traumatic brain injury
Authors: Protheroe R. T. , Gwinnutt C. L.
Published: September 2011

Head injury is one of the major causes of trauma‐related morbidity and mortality in all age groups in the United Kingdom, and anaesthetists encounter this problem in many areas of their work. Despite a better understanding of the pathophysiological processes following traumatic brain injury and a wealth of research, there is currently no specific treatment. Outcome remains dependant on basic clinical care: management of the patient’s airway with particular attention to preventing hypoxia; avoidance of the extremes of lung ventilation; and the maintenance of adequate cerebral perfusion, in an attempt to avoid exacerbating any secondary injury. Hypertonic fluids show promise in the management of patients with raised intracranial pressure. Computed tomography scanning has had a major impact on the early identification of lesions amenable to surgery, and recent guidelines have rationalised its use in those with less severe injuries. Within critical care, the importance of controlling blood glucose is becoming clearer, along with the potential beneficial effects of hyperoxia. The major improvement in outcome reflects the use of protocols to guide resuscitation, investigation and treatment and the role of specialist neurosciences centres in caring for these patients. Finally, certain groups are now recognised as being at greater risk, in particular the elderly, anticoagulated patient.

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Effect of grazing on carbon stocks and assimilate partitioning in a Tibetan montane pasture revealed by 13CO2 pulse labeling
Authors: Hafner Silke , Unteregelsbacher Sebastian , Seeber Elke , Lena Becker , Xu Xingliang , Li Xiaogang , Guggenberger Georg , Miehe Georg , Kuzyakov Yakov
Published: September 2011

Since the late 1950s, governmental rangeland policies have changed the grazing management on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Increasing grazing pressure and, since the 1980s, the privatization and fencing of pastures near villages has led to land degradation, whereas remote pastures have recovered from stronger overgrazing. To clarify the effect of moderate grazing on the carbon (C) cycle of the TP, we investigated differences in below‐ground C stocks and C allocation using in situ 13CO2 pulse labeling of (i) a montane Kobresia winter pasture of yaks, with moderate grazing regime and (ii) a 7‐year‐old grazing exclosure plot, both in 3440 m asl. Twenty‐seven days after the labeling, 13C incorporated into shoots did not differ between the grazed (43% of recovered 13C) and ungrazed (38%) plots. In the grazed plots, however, less C was lost by shoot respiration (17% vs. 42%), and more was translocated below‐ground (40% vs. 20%). Within the below‐ground pools, <2% of 13C was incorporated into living root tissue of both land use types. In the grazed plots about twice the amount of 13C remained in soil (18%) and was mineralized to CO2 (20%) as compared to the ungrazed plots (soil 10%; CO2 9%). Despite the higher contribution of root‐derived C to CO2 efflux, total CO2 efflux did not differ between the two land use types. C stocks in the soil layers 0–5 and 5–15 cm under grazed grassland were significantly larger than in the ungrazed grassland. However, C stocks below 15 cm were not affected after 7 years without grazing. We conclude that the larger below‐ground C allocation of plants, the larger amount of recently assimilated C remaining in the soil, and less soil organic matter‐derived CO2 efflux create a positive effect of moderate grazing on soil C input and C sequestration.
A clinical study of a laser fluorescence device for the detection of approximal caries in primary molars
Authors: CHEN JIANGHAO , QIN MAN , MA WENLI , GE LIHONG
Published: September 2011

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2012; 22: 132–138

Objective.  To evaluate the efficacy of laser fluorescence (LF) device in detecting approximal caries in primary molars.

Methods.  Two hundred and sixteen primary molars from 96 children were inspected visually to identify possible caries with contact approximal surfaces. Target molars and their contralateral molars were examined using bitewing radiographs (BR) and LF. Depending on the examination findings, invasive treatments were performed on molars to identify the presence of cavitation.

Results.  Of 256 surfaces evaluated from 216 primary molars, 128 were intact, 39 had white spots, and 89 had cavities. At the white‐spot threshold, sensitivity and specificity, respectively, were 2.56% and 94.87% for visual inspection (VI); 64.10% and 97.43% for BR; and 56.41% and 94.87% for LF. At the cavity threshold, sensitivity and specificity, respectively, were 70.79% and 95.51% for VI; 97.75% and 93.26% for BR; and 92.14% and 97.75% for LF. Significant differences between intact surfaces and white spots, and white spots and cavities were shown through LF readings.

Conclusions.  Both LF and BR can detect cavitations on approximal surfaces of primary molars. LF could be an alternative to radiographs in detecting approximal caries in primary molars.
Sexual antagonism for testosterone maintains multiple mating behaviour
Authors: Mokkonen Mikael , Koskela Esa , Mappes Tapio , Mills Suzanne C.
Published: September 2011

1. The persistence of multiple mating remains one of the fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. In theory, multiple mating is predicted to improve female fitness cumulatively through direct and/or genetic benefits. However, intra‐locus sexual conflicts may potentially constrain or even eliminate these benefits owing to the gender load imposed by sexually antagonistic selection.

2. Here, we tested whether sexually antagonistic selection can maintain the variance in multiple mating behaviour of bank voles (Myodes glareolus) by manipulating the hormone testosterone through artificial selection in the laboratory. Among mammals, testosterone is a sexually dimorphic fitness‐related trait under selection and is known to affect mating behaviour. We conducted mating trials in which females derived from family‐based selection of testosterone were sequentially paired with four males of different testosterone profiles.

3. We show that artificial selection for high testosterone increased the mating rate of males, but clearly decreased the number of partners that females mated with (and vice versa). Because multiple mating was beneficial for the reproductive success of both sexes, as evidenced by the positive Bateman gradients, the divergent evolutionary interests of testosterone between the sexes can maintain this polygynandrous mating system.

4. Our results highlight how mating rate is concordantly selected in both sexes; however, it is largely influenced by testosterone, which is under sexually antagonistic selection.

5. This study is the first one to emphasise the direct and indirect effects of the endocrine system not only on reproductive physiology and behaviour but also for the evolution of genetic mating strategies in mammals.
Criticizing the data: some concerns about empirical approaches to ethics
Authors: Loughlin Michael
Published: September 2011

There are strong arguments in favour of the need for more ‘empirically informed philosophy’. Using papers in the current issue of JECP as case studies, I raise fundamental and unresolved methodological questions about the proper relationship between philosophy and empirical research, in particular concerning the relationship between ‘data’ in empirical research and the ‘responses’ people give in to questions in the process of philosophical dialogue. There are tensions between the role of data in empirical research and the critical stance required for philosophy that need to be addressed, if empirically informed philosophy is to make a serious and substantial contribution to our thinking about the matters of great import it addresses.