bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construction and significance analysis of the MicroRNA expression profile of Hemerocallis fulva at low temperature
Authors: An Fengxia , Liang Yan , Li Jingfu , Chen Xiuling , Han Hui , Li Fuheng
Published: April 2014

MicroRNA (miRNA) identification was performed in Hemerocallis fulva by high-throughput sequencing in combination with bioinformatics prediction. A total of 14,843,184 and 16,072,575 RNA sequences were explored under normal and low temperature conditions, respectively. There was a significant difference in RNAs species and quantity between the two samples. Of all the miRNAs, 26 were significantly upregulated and 30 were significantly downregulated, while nine were either significantly upregulated or downregulated under low-temperature stress. Twenty-one highly expressed miRNA families were screened in at least six species. The number of miRNA families was very similar between monocotyledons and dicotyledons, and only a few were more frequently found in monocotyledons.
Purification and characterization of cocoonase from the silkwormBombyx mori
Authors: Fukumori Hisayoshi , Teshiba Satoshi , Shigeoka Yuichi , Yamamoto Kohji , Banno Yutaka , Aso Yoichi
Published: April 2014

Cocoonase (CCN) which facilitates the degradation of a cocoon is recognized as a trypsin-like serine protease. In this study, CCN from the silkworm Bombyx mori was purified and comprehensively characterized. Its activity was maximal at about pH 9.8. It was stable above pH 3.4 at 4 °C and below 50 °C at pH 7.5. CuSO4, FeSO4, and ZnSO4 showed inhibitory effects on CCN, but other salts improved activity. Typical trypsin inhibitors inhibited CCN, but the relative inhibitory activities were much lower than those against bovine trypsin. An extract of cocoon shells inhibited trypsin, but it was only slightly inhibitory against CCN. There were significant differences in catalytic efficiencies and substrate specificities as between CCN and bovine trypsin.
Quantitative analysis of CD3ε in a cloned canine lymphoma cell line by selected reaction monitoring assay
Authors: Kamiie Junichi , Shimoyama Naoto , Aihara Naoyuki , Hisasue Masaharu , Naya Yuko , Ogihara Kikumi , Shirota Kinji
Published: April 2014

We established a mass spectrometry-based quantitative method of assaying CD3ε, a component of the T-cell receptor complex. It revealed a CD3ε level of 1 mol per cell in a newly derived canine T-cell lymphoma cell line. Our results suggest that this method has sufficient sensitivity to quantify CD3ε levels in canine lymphoma cells reliably.
O2-dependent large electron flow functioned as an electron sink, replacing the steady-state electron flux in photosynthesis in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, but not in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942
Authors: Hayashi Ryosuke , Shimakawa Ginga , Shaku Keiichiro , Shimizu Satoko , Akimoto Seiji , Yamamoto Hiroshi , Amako Katsumi , Sugimoto Toshio , Tamoi Masahiro , Makino Amane , Miyake Chikahiro
Published: April 2014

To determine whether alternative electron flow (AEF) can replace the photosynthetic electron flow in cyanobacteria, we used an open O2-electrode system to monitor O2-exchange over a long period. In air-grown Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (S. 6803(WT)), the quantum yield of PSII, Y(II), held even after photosynthesis was suppressed by CO2 shortage. The S. 6803 mutant, deficient in flavodiiron (FLV) proteins 1 and 3, showed the same phenotype as S. 6803(WT). In contrast, Y(II) decreased in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 (S. 7942). These results suggest that AEF functioned as the Y(II) in S. 6803 and replaced the photosynthetic electron flux. In contrast, the activity of AEF in S. 7942 was lower. The affinity of AEF for O2 in S. 6803 did not correspond to those of FLVs in bacteria or terminal oxidases in respiration. AEF might be driven by photorespiration.
Unsaturated long-chain fatty acids inhibit the binding of oxidized low-density lipoproteins to a model CD36
Authors: Takai Marie , Kozai Yuki , Tsuzuki Satoshi , Matsuno Yukari , Fujioka Maiko , Kamei Kozue , Inagaki Hitomi , Eguchi Ai , Matsumura Shigenobu , Inoue Kazuo , Fushiki Tohru
Published: April 2014

Transmembrane protein CD36 binds multiple ligands, including oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDLs) and long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Our aim was to determine whether LCFAs compete with oxLDLs for binding to CD36. We addressed this issue by examining the inhibitory effect of LCFAs against the binding of Alexa-fluor-labeled oxLDLs (AFL-oxLDL) to a synthetic peptide representing the oxLDL-binding site on CD36 (3S-CD36150–168). All of the unsaturated LCFAs tested, inhibited the binding of AFL-oxLDL to 3S-CD36150–168, albeit to varying degrees. For instance, the concentrations required for 50% inhibition of binding for oleic, linoleic, and α-linolenic acids were 0.25, 0.97, and 1.2 mM, respectively. None of the saturated LCFAs tested (e.g. stearic acid) exhibited inhibitory effects. These results suggest that at least unsaturated LCFAs can compete with oxLDLs for binding to CD36. The study also provides information on the structural requirements of LCFAs for inhibition of oxLDLs–CD36 binding.
Biochemistry of lipolytic enzymes secreted byPenicillium solitumandCladosporium cladosporioides
Authors: Chinaglia Selene , Chiarelli Laurent R , Maggi Maristella , Rodolfi Marinella , Valentini Giovanna , Picco Anna Maria
Published: April 2014

Two distinct extracellular lipases were obtained from Penicillium solitum 194A, isolated from domestic compost, and Cladosporium cladosporioides 194B, isolated from dairy wastewater. These alkaline enzymes had molecular masses of 42 and 30 kDa, respectively. The P. solitum 194A lipase differed in mass from previously reported enzyme, indicating that it is a novel lipase, and indicating that penicillia can secrete lipase isoenzymes. The C. cladosporioides lipase was more active on esters of medium-chain acids, whereas the P. solitum lipase was more active on longer chained substrates. The C. cladosporioides enzyme displayed higher thermal stability than the P. solitum lipase, preserving full activity up to 48 °C and showing a T50 (10 min) of 60 °C. Their different catalytic properties and good protein stability should make these enzymes suitable for biotechnological applications. Furthermore, the combined use of these two fungal strains may prove to be valuable in lipid-rich waste management.
A high-throughput screen for inhibitors of the prolyl isomerase, Pin1, identifies a seaweed polyphenol that reduces adipose cell differentiation
Authors: Mori Tadashi , Hidaka Masafumi , Ikuji Hiroko , Yoshizawa Ibuki , Toyohara Haruhiko , Okuda Toru , Uchida Chiyoko , Asano Tomoichiro , Yotsu-Yamashita Mari , Uchida Takafumi
Published: April 2014

The peptidyl prolyl cis/trans isomerase Pin1 enhances the uptake of triglycerides and the differentiation of fibroblasts into adipose cells in response to insulin stimulation. Pin1 downregulation could be a potential approach to prevent and treat obesity-related disorders. In order to identify an inhibitor of Pin1 that exhibited minimal cytotoxicity, we established a high-throughput screen for Pin1 inhibitors and used this method to identify an inhibitor from 1,056 crude fractions of two natural product libraries. The candidate, a phlorotannin called 974-B, was isolated from the seaweed, Ecklonia kurome. 974-B inhibited the differentiation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts and 3T3-L1 cells into adipose cells without inducing cytotoxicity. We discovered the Pin1 inhibitor, 974-B, from the seaweed, E. kurome, and showed that it blocks the differentiation of fibroblasts into adipose cells, suggesting that 974-B could be a lead drug candidate for obesity-related disorders.
(Il)-licit Pronoun-Antecedent Relations in Bangla
Authors: Das Satarupa
Published: April 2014

Pronominal agreement with imposter DPs and secondary sources is subject to cross-linguistic variation, which is illustrated here with a comparative study of the relevant facts from English and Bangla. The chapter shows that Bangla systematically disallows pronominal agreement with a secondary source, and suggests that the verbal agreement system of a language is a crucial factor that constrains pronoun-antecedent relations. To derive the Bangla generalization, it is assumed that the inflection on the finite verb is itself pronominal, and the chapter shows that all cases of illicit pronoun-antecedent relations boil down to a violation of the homogeneity principle.
Imposters and Secondary Sources in Italian
Authors: Servidio Emilio
Published: April 2014

This chapter surveys a range of secondary source phenomena in the sense of Collins and Postal (2012) that are attested in Italian. It shows that while some classes of secondary sources (camouflage expressions, partitives, and subjects of predicative nominals in some idiolects and registers) pattern with their English counterparts in allowing non-third person agreement, in imposters this holds only of two items (il/la sottoscritto/a and il/la qui presente) that share some kind of participial morphology. This restriction is credited to a language specific constraint that interferes with the more liberal agreement system articulated by Collins and Postal (2012).
Person Imposters: The View from Two Romance Languages
Authors: Soare Gabriela
Published: April 2014

This chapter presents an overview of the syntactic behavior of imposter DPs in Romanian and French, the major focus of the investigation being verbal agreement. Plural imposters are shown to permit only third person plural verbal agreement but, if modified by an indexical element, first person agreement becomes possible. Coordinate DPs containing an imposter conjunct and plural imposters allow first person plural agreement if topicalized. In both cases, the underlying mechanism is argued to be clitic doubling. The imposter is doubled by [1PL] pro in Romanian and nous “we” in French. The chapter also identifies other loci (or sources) of phi-feature values of first (or second) person verbal agreement.
Intonation and prosody in Dalabon
Authors: Fletcher Janet
Published: April 2014

The Dalabon intonational inventory consists of one major pitch accent H* and two tonally-marked prosodic constituents, the accentual phrase and intonational phrase. Like other Australian Indigenous languages, focus is realized by syntactically fronting and expanding the pitch range of the focal constituent (the accentual phrase) with no evidence of de-accentuation.
Intonation in Basque
Authors: Elordieta Gorka , Hualde Jose I.
Published: April 2014

This chapter examines two Basque varieties. In Northern Bizkaian Basque, where there is a lexical contrast between accented and unaccented words, the only pitch-accent is H*+L and there is complex phrasing. Standard Basque lacks lexically contrastive prosody, and intonationally is more similar to Spanish. However, nuclear accent is generally preverbal.
Introducing concepts
Authors: Durkin Philip
Published: April 2014

The part played by loanwords in the vocabulary of modern English is illustrated by an examination of passages from different types of contemporary writing. The periodization of the history of English is introduced and discussed. Initial definitions are provided for key terms and concepts, including types of lexical borrowing, loanwords and semantic borrowing, code switching, and imposition. Different approaches to studying lexical borrowing are examined: identifying individual loanwords and tracing their histories; examining the effect of loanwords on the changing lexicon of English; examining stylistic or pragmatic deployment of loanwords in different text types. The different types of evidence for identifying loanwords are introduced, and the methodology for determining whether a loan has occurred. Finally, questions are investigated about how we define the extent of the vocabulary of English.
Long-term effects of loanwords on the shape of the English Lexicon
Authors: Durkin Philip
Published: April 2014

Some initial questions that we can ask about the degree of integration of a loanword into the English lexicon are outlined, including: Is it naturalized in pronunciation and morphology? Has it formed new compound or derivative formations? Has it developed new meanings? Who is the word used by? In which contexts is it found? Is it the usual word in contemporary English realizing a particular meaning, and if so how has this situation changed over time? What competition has there been with other words realizing the same meaning? What relationships exist with other words in the same semantic field? This chapter takes a pioneering approach to these questions, exploring how data from the OED and other dictionaries, from the Historical Thesaurus of the OED, and from studies of basic vocabulary can help illuminate the processes by which loanwords have become entrenched in the contemporary English lexicon.
Point group symmetry
Authors: Ladd Mark
Published: April 2014

The study of symmetry elements in two and three dimensions is followed by point groups, their derivation and recognition, including an interactive program for point group recognition. Euler’s theorem on the combination of rotations is discussed, and the physical properties of crystals and molecules in relation to their point groups explained. Chemical examples of crystallographic and non-crystallographic point groups illustrated by stereoscopic drawings. The discussion is extended to quasicrystals, and to fivefold symmetry in crystalline material.
Symmetry and X-ray diffraction
Authors: Ladd Mark
Published: April 2014

The generation and properties of X-rays and their diffraction by crystals are discussed. The collection of X-ray data by photographic and diffractometric methods is explained, leading to a discussion of the effects of space group symmetry on the recording of X-ray diffraction spectra. Geometrical structure factors are explained with examples, and the analytical deduction of the conditions limiting X-ray reflection according to space group symmetry described. Examples are given of the deduction of space groups from X-ray diffraction records.
Loyalty and Non-exclusive Competences
Authors: Klamert Marcus
Published: April 2014

This Chapter deals with various questions surrounding the role of loyalty with regard to non-exclusive competences of the Union. It discusses the correlation between the degree of preclusion of Member State rights as the consequence of their exercise with the degree of force and the level of detail of the duties flowing from the principle of loyalty. This is illustrated both with respect to shared competences, so called irregular shared competences such as development policy, and supporting competences such as for health. The different coordinating roles of the Commission with these different types of competences, and the potential for a conflict between national and Union action, even in areas that predominantly involve cooperation, are examined.
Manifestations of Loyalty in Secondary Law
Authors: Klamert Marcus
Published: April 2014

This Chapter presents loyalty as the basis for various duties for the Member States provided in secondary law. It is distinguished between regimes prescribing mere duties of notification, duties of notification coupled with rights of supervision for the Commission, and such regimes set up by secondary law where the supervision of notified measures may lead to standstill duties or even abstention duties for the Member States. By example of the screening mechanism provided in the Services Directive, the difficulty in assessing the nature of such regimes in acts of secondary law is illustrated. It is also shown how ‘managed’ preclusion generated by an act of secondary law can be not much different in effect from exclusive competence.
On the Nature of Loyalty
Authors: Klamert Marcus
Published: April 2014

This Chapter discusses whether loyalty is capable of producing binding legal obligations on its own by example of duties of Member States in relation to infringement procedures, and of mutual duties related to the implementation of Union law. It is shown how perceptions of loyalty have changed over time as regards this question. In this context, it is also discussed whether it is appropriate and useful to distinguish between obligations of result and obligations of conduct. Moreover, whether loyalty is a general principle of Union law and whether this assessment has any legal merit is also probed. For this, the functions of general principles of Union law such as fundamental rights and conferral are examined and compared with loyalty. The Chapter concludes with an interim summary of the various forms of application of loyalty in Union law.
Deconstructing Loyalty
Authors: Klamert Marcus
Published: April 2014

This Chapter discusses the loyalty-based case law of the Court from a methodological perspective. It starts by exploring the key methods of interpretation employed by the Court, such as effet utile in particular. Then, arguments made in defence of alleged judicial activism of the Court, such as ‘majoritarian activism’, the incomplete nature of EU law, and the concept of tolerance of error (Fehlerkalkül) are discussed. This is followed by an examination of objective criteria for assessing legal developments by the Court, such as gap-filling and principle-based reasoning. Moreover, this Chapter discusses the relation between loyalty and the principles of effectiveness and effet utile, illustrated by the case law on direct effect, exclusive competence, and state liability. Finally, the autopoiesis in the Court’s reasoning is probed by the examples of state liability and the Pupino case.
Amplification and the Limits of Loyalty
Authors: Klamert Marcus
Published: April 2014

In this Chapter, what is referred to as the amplification of Union law by virtue of loyalty is discussed. Loyalty is thus examined as the basis for extending the application of competition law and the fundamental freedoms to matters originally not covered by the Treaty. The role of loyalty in resolving incompatibilities between Union law and Member State treaties is explored. Moreover, this Chapter discusses whether loyalty can transform non-binding Union law. The question of the existence of a general principle of Most Favoured Nation in EU law is explored, as are the Hurd case and Matteucci case. Finally, the Chapter uses the concept of amplification for inquiring whether loyalty creates legally binding obligations for the Member States in conjunction with mere Treaty objectives, or could bar them from acting outside the Treaty regime on enhanced cooperation under certain circumstances.
Jus Post Bellum
Authors: Gallen James
Published: April 2014

This chapter considers the potential for jus post bellum to operate as an interpretive framework for international law as applied to societies in transition. It examines the relationship between transitional justice, peacebuilding, security sector reform, and economic development in international law. Despite substantive diversity, these fields purport to contribute to restoring civic trust and the rule of law as components of the re-constitution of a sovereign political community. This chapter contends that, when using law for these purposes, the explicit use of integrity among public officials and international organizations offers a new principle and process to consciously strive to avoid fragmentation between these areas relevant to jus post bellum. An interpretive approach to jus post bellum that operates from integrity manifests itself through organizing principles of accountability, stewardship, and proportionality and provides a method of interpreting the practices of substantively diverse fields across the structural commitments in each field.
The Concept of Jus Post Bellum in International Law
Authors: Brabandere Eric De
Published: April 2014

This chapter examines the usefulness and accuracy of jus post bellum as a legal concept. It argues that the concept presents a challenge to the objectivity of the post-conflict phase by linking the rights and obligations of foreign actors to the legality of the use of force, or by bringing together already existing obligations. It questions to what extent there is a legal void to which the concept would respond. It further discusses dilemmas that the concept may pose in relation to the ad hoc and neutral character of post-conflict reconstruction, including existing rules on responsibility for post-conflict reconstruction.
Navigating the Unilateral/Multilateral Divide
Authors: Fox Gregory H.
Published: April 2014

This chapter warns of the dilemma facing the nascent jus post bellum should it seek to regulate all actors in a post-conflict environment: the unilateral/multilateral divide. This manifests itself in three ways post-conflict. First, applicable law regulates states but not international organizations. Second, the UN Security Council has authority to substitute its policy preferences for existing state-centric law on post-conflict states. Third, the Council has multilateralized almost every post-conflict state in recent history. This chapter explores the possibility of a variegated jus post bellum that imposes on international organizations only those obligations they can fulfill, while continuing to subject states to the full spectrum of post-conflict norms. Second, it reviews the actors and law applicable to four prominent efforts at post-conflict reconstruction: East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. It analyzes how a uniform jus post bellum would fare in these cases if international law continued to adhere to unilateral/multilateral distinction.
Targeting the State in Jus Post Bellum
Authors: Jacobs Dov
Published: April 2014

This chapter will discuss the relevance of sovereignty, both as a legal norm and a concept, in the context of jus post bellum situations. The chapter first illustrates this relevance through a number of examples that bring sovereignty into play in contemporary international law that might apply in post-conflict situations (self-determination, statehood, accountability mechanisms), before suggesting a conceptual framework to think about these transformations of sovereignty in a holistic way, through a re-adaptation of Georges Scelle’s Role-Splitting theory. What this chapter suggests is that, while the evolutions of sovereignty need to be acknowledged, post-conflict policies need to aim at religitimizing the state, rather than target it as an obstacle.
Three The Powers of the President
Authors: Louis Fisher
Published: April 2014

This chapter on presidential powers first analyzes three concepts that go beyond powers expressly stated: “implied,” “inherent,” and “prerogative.” It then considers specific presidential powers, such as the power to remove executive officials and to issue pardons. Presidential powers wax and wane depending on who occupies the Oval Office; initiatives urged by advisers and supporters, national, and international pressures; popular support (and lack thereof); and actions taken by the legislative and judicial branches to encourage or curb executive power.
Imagining the Past
Authors: Manassa Colleen
Published: April 2014

This book examines four tales within the corpus of ancient Egyptian literature. During the Ramesside Period, the ancient Egyptians composed stories set two or even three centuries earlier. Known by their modern titles, The Quarrel of Apepi and Seqenenre, The Capture of Joppa, Thutmose III in Asia, and The Libyan Battle Story, each tale uses historically-attested figures within a plausible, yet fictional, narrative. Plot elements range from a witty exchange of letters to the first attested stratagem in world military history. Imagining the Past draws upon ancient Egyptian sources as well as modern literary theory to define a genre of historical fiction within New Kingdom literature; this book also presents the first application of Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the chronotope to ancient Egyptian literature. New translations and extensive commentary on the literary, social, and political context of the tales appear within each chapter and a concluding analysis summarizes the audience and function of historical fiction as well as theology and historiography within the tales.
The Libyan Battle Story
Authors: Manassa Colleen
Published: April 2014

Composed only a generation after the Battle of Perire, in year 5 of the reign of Merneptah, The Libyan Battle Story is attested in a single papyrus, Louvre N 3136. Two columns of text describe an army appearing before the king and then preceding to battle. The king is not named, but the mention of the toponym Perire makes it certain that the events within the story took place during the reign of Merneptah. The addition of Sea People and Libyan components only attested from the reign of Ramesses III (the probable time of the text’s composition) suggests that the author intended to make the earlier battle more relevant to the Libyan invasions of Ramesses III’s reign. The preservation of so many hieroglyphic historical texts from the reign of Merneptah and Ramesses III enables a thorough analysis of the historiography of the tale.
Spinoza’s Relevance to Contemporary Metaphysics
Authors: Newlands Samuel
Published: April 2014

This chapter explores some of Spinoza’s metaphysical views in light of recent discussions in contemporary analytic metaphysics. It focuses on monism, metaphysical dependence, and modality, arguing in each case that Spinoza has interesting, distinctive, and relevant contributions to make to contemporary debates. The chapter highlights the ways Spinoza’s views overlap and diverge from contemporary analogs, shedding light on both contemporary views and Spinoza’s own. It also discusses Spinoza’s commitments to systematicity and explanatory naturalism in metaphysics, and it shows how some of his conclusions flow from these commitments. The chapter begins with a brief overview on how long-dead philosophers can be relevant for contemporary philosophy.
Improvisation, Democracy, and Feedback
Authors: Belgrad Daniel
Published: April 2014

In the 1960s and 1970s, improvisational artists explored the use of feedback, both as a creative method and a model of the self in relation to its social and physical environment. As an alternative to centralized authority structures, feedback loops could be used to organize decentralized events or activities. The result would be a self-informing system, or autopoiesis. This idea informed the new field of cybernetics and the social philosophy of Paul Goodman and Gregory Bateson. Max Neuhaus’s realization of John Cage’s composition,Fontana Mix—Feed, made use of this structure, as did his later broadcast works,Public SupplyandRadio Net, and the dance form of “contact improvisation” developed by Steve Paxton. In these works, attention to the dynamics of interaction (“deutero-learning”) fostered an improvisational style based on a heightened environmental awareness rather than an exteriorization of the internal psyche, thus pioneering the postmodern, networked self.
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Improvisation
Authors: Berkowitz Aaron L.
Published: April 2014

Cognitive neuroscience research has begun to elucidate the neural substrates and cognitive processes that are involved in musical improvisation. In turn, the study of improvisation from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience has provided new insights about the brain and cognition. This chapter reviews brain imaging research studies of improvisation and explores the relevance of this work to musicians, musicologists, music educators, and cognitive neuroscientists with respect to the practice and pedagogy of improvisation, comparisons between music and language cognition, mirror neuron systems, and neural plasticity.
Diets, Nutrition, and Poverty
Authors: Gaiha Raghav , Jha Raghbendra , Kulkarni Vani S. , Kaicker Nidhi
Published: April 2014

This chapter addresses a persistent tension in current debates over food security, with illustrative data from India. The case allows us to disaggregate concepts in food policy that are often lumped together, so as to better understand what is at stake in rapidly changing economies more generally. Despite rising incomes, there has been sustained decline in per capita nutrient intake in India in recent years. The assertion by Deaton and Dreze (2009) that poverty and undernutrition are unrelated is critically examined. A demand-based model in which food prices and expenditure played significant roles proved robust, while allowing for lower calorie “requirements” due to less strenuous activity patterns, life-style changes, and improvements in the epidemiological environment. This analysis provides reasons for not delinking nutrition and poverty; it confirms the existence of poverty-nutrition traps in which undernutrition perpetuates poverty. A new measure of child undernutrition that allows for multiple anthropometric failures (e.g., wasting, underweight, and stunting) points to much higher levels of undernutrition than conventional ones. Dietary changes over time, and their nutritional implications, have welfare implications at both ends of the income and social-status pyramids. Since poverty is multidimensional, money-metric indicators such as minimum income or expenditure are not reliable, because these cannot adequately capture all the dimensions. The emergent shift of the disease burden toward predominately food-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) poses an additional challenge. Finally, the complexity of normative issues in food policy is explored. Current approaches to food security have veered toward a “right-to-food” approach. There are, however, considerable problems with creating appropriate mechanisms for effectuating that right; these are explored briefly. Cash transfers touted to avoid administrative costs and corruption involved in rural employment guarantee and targeted food-distribution programs are likely to be much less effective if the objective is to enable large segments of the rural population to break out of nutrition-poverty traps. The chapter ends by exploring an alternative model, based on the same normative principle: a “right to policies,” or a “right to a right.”
Grace/Gift in Paul
Authors: Barclay John M. G.
Published: April 2014

Paul’s understanding of divine ‘grace’ stands at the centre of recent debates concerning Paul’s relationship to Second Temple Judaism and his adaptation of the benefactor ideologies of the Graeco-Roman world. After outlining the diversity of ways in which Jewish texts configure the benevolence of God, two distinctively Pauline features are highlighted: that the gift of God is enacted in the Christ-event, and that this gift is given without regard to the ethnic, moral, or social worth of its recipients. This incongruity matches Paul’s own experience and his practice of the Gentile mission; it also shapes his understanding of Israel’s history, past and future, while undergirding a social ethic for communities formed in the mutuality of gift-exchange. It is noted how the history of interpretation has tended to extend this Pauline theme, by ‘perfecting’ the theme of grace in a variety of additional ways.
Participation in Christ
Authors: Eastman Susan
Published: April 2014

For Paul, human participation in Christ is inaugurated and sustained by God’s apocalyptic incursion into the realm of sin and death through the incarnation and death of Christ in solidarity with sinful humanity. Human personhood is constructed in union with larger powers—on the one hand, sin, and on the other hand, the grace of God in Christ. Through Christ’s interchange with humanity under the power of sin, to the point of death on a cross, humanity is set free from sin’s power and joined with Christ.
Early Number Competencies and Mathematical Learning
Authors: Jordan Nancy C. , Fuchs Lynn , Dyson Nancy
Published: April 2014

Early number competencies predict later mathematical learning. Weaknesses in number, number relations, and number operations can be reliably identified before school entry in first grade. Income status, associated early home and preschool opportunities, and general cognitive capacity all influence children’s level of numerical knowledge. Interventions based on a developmental progression and targeted to specific areas of number, such as the ability to count and sequence numbers, compare numerical quantities, and add and subtract small quantities, have shown positive, meaningful, and lasting effects on children’s achievement. Guided practice is effective when configured to support efficient counting strategies, frequent correct responding, and meta-cognitive behaviour and when contextualized with a strong focus on number knowledge tutoring.
Islam
Authors: Barlas Asma
Published: April 2014

This chapter analyses the Qur’an’s position on theology, sexuality, and gender, with the intent of challenging readings of Islam as a patriarchy. It illustrates that missing from Islam’s scripture is the imaginary of God as father/male and endorsements of father-rule (the traditional form of patriarchy), as well as any concept of sexual differentiation that privileges males (more modern forms of patriarchy). Indeed, many Qur’anic teachings can be read on behalf of the principle of sexual equality since they establish the ontological equality of women and men and emphasize the need for mutual care and guardianship between them. Both by re-reading some of the ‘anti-women’ verses and by applying a hermeneutical method to interpret the Qur’an—which is implicit in the text itself—the chapter also demonstrates that different interpretive strategies can change our understanding of textual meaning.
Marriage and Sexual Relations in the New Testament World
Authors: Loader William
Published: April 2014

After a brief overview of the social context and role of marriage and sexuality in Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, the chapter traces the impact of the Genesis creation narratives, positively and negatively, on how marriage and sexuality were seen both in the present and in depictions of hope for the future. Discussion of pre-marital sex, incest, intermarriage, polygyny, divorce, adultery, and passions follows. It then turns to Jesus’ reported response to divorce, arguing that the prohibition sayings should be read as assuming that sexual intercourse both effects permanent union and severs previous unions, thus making divorce after adultery mandatory, the common understanding and legal requirement in both Jewish and Greco-Roman society of the time. It concludes by noting both the positive appreciation of sex and marriage, grounded in belief that they are God’s creation, and the many dire warnings against sexual wrongdoing, including adulterous attitudes and uncontrolled passions.
Families
Authors: Thatcher Adrian
Published: April 2014

The first part of the chapter, ‘Sources’, consists of an overview of various theological accounts of families, drawn from Roman Catholic official teaching, from the Protestant Family, Religion, and Culture project, and from a range of other sources. The second part, ‘Themes’, analyses and compares the sources, allowing standard and contested issues to surface. The issues include the analogy between divine and human persons: the designation of families as domestic churches; whether theology stigmatizes ‘non-traditional’ families; the place of equal-regard love in families and the place of kin within the Kingdom of God; the claim that the family of church is prior to the family unit; the idea of kin altruism; and different approaches to the problem of family form. Finally the Trinitarian framework for thinking about families, and the method and key ideas of the Family, Religion and Culture are endorsed as a basis for future theological thinking about families.
Sexual Pleasure
Authors: Kamitsuka Margaret D.
Published: April 2014

This chapter presents important representative historical Roman Catholic and Protestant views about sexual pleasure from the New Testament period to the present day. The author describes two dominant themes in contemporary feminist, womanist, and queer theologies: sexual pleasure as sacred and God-given (Carter Heyward, Mary Hunt, Jane Grovijahn); and sexual pleasure as having justice-making potential vis-à-vis patriarchy and heteronormativity (Patricia Beattie Jung, Karen Baker-Fletcher, Kelly Brown Douglas, Marvin Ellison, Marcella Althaus-Reid). These theological views on sexual pleasure will be assessed in light of Michel Foucault’s and Judith Butler’s postmodern views on sexuality. The chapter surveys some topics for future theological reflection about sexual pleasure in relation to the following: postcolonialism, disability, ageing, sado-masochism, and transgender and intersex identities. The author offers a modest proposal in theological eschatology, arguing that reflecting on sex in heaven from a feminist psychoanalytic perspective (Julie Kristeva) can open up productive ways of thinking theologically about sexual pleasure.
Sex and Marriage in the Protestant Tradition, 1500–1900
Authors: Witte John
Published: April 2014

The chapter analyses the mainline Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican models of sex, marriage, and family and their gradual liberalization by Enlightenment liberalism. The theological differences between these models can be traced to their grounding in Lutheran two kingdoms doctrines, Calvinist covenantal theology, Anglican commonwealth theory, and Enlightenment contractarian logic. Lutherans consigned primary marital jurisdiction to the territorial prince or urban council. Calvinists assigned interlocking marital roles to local consistories and city councils. Anglicans left marital jurisdiction to church courts, subject to state oversight and legislation. The early Enlightenment philosophers, many of them Protestants, pressed for a sharper separation of church and state in the governance of marriage, and for stronger protections of the rights and equality of women and children within and beyond the marital household. But they maintained traditional Protestant prohibitions on extramarital sex and no-fault divorce in an effort to protect especially women and children from exploitation.
Bisexual People
Authors: Robinson Margaret
Published: April 2014

Although bisexuals make up over half of sexual minority people, theology has not adequately addressed the experiences of bisexual people, nor the bisexual theory and theology that we have produced. The diversity and social locations within which concepts of bisexual theory, such as compulsory monosexism, emerge are described, drawing on data from psychology and the social sciences. Through a systematic review of Christian discourse on bisexuality, this chapter demonstrates how bisexuality has been constructed as immature, promiscuous, and as morally and politically inadequate. Key themes are identified in the bisexual theologies of scholars such as Marcella Althaus-Reid, Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé, and Debra Kolodny, and their significance for broader faith communities and justice movements is clarified. Finally, directions for further bisexual theological work are identified.
The Early Qadariyya
Authors: Judd Steven C.
Published: April 2014

This article discusses the briefly significant Qadariyya movement during the Umayyad period, with an emphasis on how the movement and its adherents were treated in later sources. The article examines the doctrine of human free will advocated by the Qadariyya, exploring the impetus behind their theological viewpoints and the doctrinal complications that accompanied human free will. It also addresses the debate about the origins of both the doctrine and the movement, and the significance of accusations of Christian roots. The article discusses the views ascribed to prominent Qadari leaders, including Maʿbad al-Juhanī and Ghaylān al-Dimashqī, as well as the systematic persecution of the Qadariyya, led by al-Awzāʿī. It also examines the politicization of the Qadariyya and their entanglement with Yazīd (III) b. al-Walīd’s rebellion during the thirdfitna. Finally, the article addresses the eclipse of the Qadariyya by the Muʿtazilites.
al-Maʾmūn (r. 198/813–218/833) and the
Authors: Hurvitz Nimrod
Published: April 2014

Modern studies of themiḥnahave focused on al-Ma’mun’s claim to spiritual authority. Basing itself on Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s interrogations and al-Ma’mun’smiḥnaletters, this study focuses on a different aspect, the clash between themuḥaddithūnand themutakallimūn. Decades before themiḥnaerupted these trends debated several religious issues, primarily, whether theological speculations could attain the authoritative status of tenets of faith. Due to this controversy themuḥaddithūndenied themutakallimūnthe status of reliable scholars ofhadithand law. Themiḥnawas a reaction to themuḥaddithūn’s hounding of themutakallimūn. It was initiated by al-Ma’mun, who decided to interrogate all jurists and scholars ofhadithabout the createdness of the Qur’ān. The purpose of this policy was to degrade themuḥaddithūnand to raise themutakallimūnto the position of intellectual and religious leadership.
Theology and Logic
Authors: El-Rouayheb Khaled
Published: April 2014

In the ninth and tenth centuries, Arabic ‘logicians’ (manṭiqiyyūn) and Islamic ‘theologians’ (mutakallimūn) constituted distinct and rival groups. The former advocated the use of Aristotelian and Stoic formal modes of inference, whereas the later had a very different and broadly analogical model of argumentation and disputation. In the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a number of prominent Islamic theologians such as al-Ghazali (d. 1111) and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1210) began to adopt Greek-derived formal logic and to concede that the older analogical forms of argumentation were inappropriate to the discipline of theology. Despite an opposition to this process by such figures as Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328), this blending of logic and Islamic theology became predominant by the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Henceforth, opposition to logic tended to be confined to Islamic religious circles that were also fiercely opposed to the discipline of theology (kalam).
Abū Hāshim al-Jubbāʾī’s (d. 321/933) Theory of ‘States’ () and its Adaption by Ashʿarite Theologians
Authors: Thiele Jan
Published: April 2014

This chapter discusses the notion of ‘states’ (aḥwāl) in Muʿtazilite and Ashʿarite theology. The concept was borrowed from linguistics by the Muʿtazilite theologian Abū Hāshim al-Jubbāʾī (d. 321/933). It helped him to explain the nature of God’s attributes without asserting the existence of co-eternal beings in God. The conception of attributes as ‘states’ became a central doctrine among Abū Hāshim’s followers, the so-called Bahshamiyya school. The theory ofaḥwālwas first rejected by Ashʿarite theologians. With Abū Bakr al-Bāqillānī (d. 403/1013), however, an important representative of the school eventually came to use the term within the framework of his theory of attributes. Later, Abu l-Maʿālī al-Juwaynī (d. 478/1085–6) also followed al-Bāqillānī in adopting the notion ofḥāl.
Theology Engages With Avicennan Philosophy
Authors: Griffel Frank
Published: April 2014

This chapter discusses two books of refutation written by two Muslim theologians, the Ashʿarite al-Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) and the Muʿtazilite Ibn al-Malāḥimī (d. 536/1141). Both books aim at refuting teachings of the Muslimfalāsifa, here understood as the Aristotelian tradition in Islam, represented by al-Farābī (d. 339/950–1) and Ibn Sīnā (d. 428/1037). While Ibn al-Malāḥimī in hisTuḥfat al-mutakallimīnaims at a straightforward rejection of most of the teachings of this group and includes arguments in favour of Muʿtazilite positions, al-Ghazālī’s strategy is more complex. In hisTahāfut al-falāsifahe aims to invalidate thefalāsifa’s claim of having demonstrated their teachings in metaphysics. Showing that these teachings are not supported by valid demonstrations allows al-Ghazālī to refute them wherever he thinks they violate revelation and adopt them, on basis of the authority of revelation, wherever he thinks they are true.
The Family
Authors: Strach Patricia
Published: April 2014

Though family is often seen as private and outside the sphere of politics, some scholars have demonstrated the important role family plays in American politics over time. Integrating family into the repertoire of American political development (APD) will offer new insights into how citizens are made, how states develop capacity, and how change happens over time.
Rhetoric and Feminism in the Nineteenth-Century United States
Authors: Ray Angela G.
Published: April 2014

Scholarly investigations of nineteenth-century U.S. feminist rhetoric in communication studies are intimately intertwined with the goals and rhetorical practices of mid-twentieth-century U.S. feminism. Beginning with an anecdote about the recovery of the U.S. “woman’s rights” movement by radical feminists of the 1960s, this chapter highlights the ways the generation of history is always embedded in the historical moment in which history is produced and circulated. It then examines the disciplinary contexts for the production of early studies of U.S. women’s public advocacy, focusing special attention on the development and use of “feminine style,” a key rhetorical concept articulated by communication scholar Karlyn Kohrs Campbell. Drawing lessons for future scholarship from this disciplinary history, the chapter concludes by forecasting new directions in the study of nineteenth-century U.S. rhetoric and feminism, ranging from ongoing projects of recovery to reconceptualization of gender and identity.
Genetic Perspectives on the Neurochemistry of Human Aggression and Violence
Authors: Buckholtz Joshua W. , Meyer-Lindenberg Andreas
Published: April 2014

Violence is a devastating social phenomenon that is costly both to affected individuals and to society at large. Pathological aggression, especially reactive/impulsive aggression, is a cardinal symptom common to several psychiatric disorders—including antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and psychopathy—that are associated with risk for violence. Thus, understanding the factors that predispose people to impulsive violence represents a crucial goal for psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry. Although we are far from a full understanding of the etiopathophysiology of violence, impulsive aggression is heritable, suggesting that genetic mechanisms may be important for determining individual variation in susceptibility. This chapter synthesizes available preclinical and human data to propose a compelling neurogenetic mechanism for violence, specifically arguing that a genetically determined excess in serotonin signaling during a critical developmental period leads to dysregulation within a key corticolimbic circuit for emotional arousal and regulation, inhibitory control, and social cognition.
Social Regulation of Gene Expression in the African Cichlid Fish
Authors: Maruska Karen P. , Fernald Russell D.
Published: April 2014

How does an animal’s social environment shape its behavior and physiology, and what underlying molecular and genetic mechanisms lead to phenotypic changes? To address this question, the authors used a model system that exhibits socially regulated plastic phenotypes, behavioral complexity, molecular level access, and genomic resources. The African cichlid fishAstatotilapia burtoni, in which male status and reproductive physiology are under social control, has become an important model for studying the mechanisms that regulate complex social behaviors. This chapter reviews what is known about how information from the social environment produces changes in behavior, physiology, and gene expression profiles in the brain and reproductive axis ofA. burtoni. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for translating perception of social cues into molecular change in a model vertebrate is important for identifying selective pressures and evolutionary mechanisms that shape the brain and ultimately result in diverse and complex social behaviors.