bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Osteogenic Potential of Mouse Periosteum-Derived Cells Sorted for CD90 In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Kim You-Kyoung , Nakata Hidemi , Yamamoto Maiko , Miyasaka Munemitsu , Kasugai Shohei , Kuroda Shinji
Published: December 2015

The treatment of bone defects still presents complex problems, although various techniques have been developed. The periosteum is considered a good source of osteogenic precursor cells for new bone formation. It can be collected easily in the clinical setting and is less invasive to the donor site. However, the murine skull periosteum has a poor cellular component, and growth is very slow, making it important to identify a culture method for efficient growth. In the present study, we used three-dimensional cell migration with atelocollagen and gelatin media and found that both were effective for promoting the proliferation of periosteum-derived cells. Moreover, atelocollagen medium is expected to provide an added benefit as a scaffold structure in the ambient temperature of the human body. The selection of a proper surface marker for osteogenesis is imperative for bone regeneration. CD90 is a mesenchymal stem cell marker. Periosteum-derived cells sorted with CD90 showed higher proliferative capacity and osteogenic potential than that of unsorted periosteum-derived cells in vivo and in vitro. Thus, periosteum-derived cells sorted with CD90 are expected to be a good source for bone regeneration.

Significance

Periosteum-derived cells showed higher proliferative capacity and osteogenic potential. Periosteum can be collected easily in the clinical setting and is less invasive to the donor site. Thus, periosteum-derived cells can be expected to be a good source for bone regeneration.
A Study of Anomalous Wet and Dry Years in the Winter Precipitation of Pakistan and Potential Crop Yields Vulnerability
Authors: S. Sarfaraz  , Tariq Masood Ali Khan
Published: December 2015

Pakistan experiences distinctively large rainfall variability on spatial as well as temporal scales. On spatial scale the rainfall variability is mainly caused by its peculiar topographic features encompassing from south to north of the country. On the other hand the temporal rainfall variability sometimes exceptionally large, does affect the climate of the country that in turn impacts the climate-dependent sectors like agriculture, hydroelectric power generation and ecology. In this study the 30-year winter season (December-March, DJFM) rainfall data of 35 meteorological sites of Pakistan have been analysed to identify the anomalous wet and dry years, their potential impact on crop yields across Pakistan and vulnerability of climate. The National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), US reanalysis data are used to investigate the association of the surface and upper air atmospheric circulation features responsible for anomalous wetness and dryness. This study may prove of some help for an improved winter rainfall prediction tool and better management of available water resources viz-a-viz optimal crop yields production.
Synthesis and Structural Studies on MgO Nanoparticles Suitable for Tunnel Barrier Applications
Authors: S. Rizwan Ali  , M. Naeem  , S. Imran Ali  , Sajida Azam  , S. Naseem Shah  , Zia-ur-Rehman  , S. Masood Raza
Published: December 2015

Magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles are synthesized by a simple coprecipitation method. XRD studies reveal that nanoparticles are predominantly (100) textured with an average crystallite size of 19 nm.The relative peak intensities for (100) and (110) textured grains i.e., I(100)/I(110) is found to be ~ 2. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures of our samples indicate that our synthesized nanoparticles are spherically shaped. Due to excellent electron tunneling features of (100) textured MgO nanoparticles, our synthesis method is suitable for cost effective and simple synthesis of pure MgO nanoparticles for applications involving electron tunneling.
İstahrî ve Mesâlikü’l-Memâlik’i
Authors: Ağarı Murat
Published: December 2015

Karabük Üniversitesi ÖZET Tarihî Coğrafya olarak adlandırdığımız alanda verilen eserler, içeriklerinin çeşitliliği ve verdiği bilgilerin geniş bir alana hitâbetmesi sebebiyle Ortaçağ tarihi ve tarihçiliği açısından önemli kaynaklardır. Bu alanda telif edilen eserlerde coğrafî bilgiler ağırlıklı olmasına rağmen tarihî bilgiler de bulunmaktadır. Ayrıca kültürel, ekonomik, etnolojik, antropolojik, demografik ve folklorik bilgi türlerine de rastlanmaktadır. Bu eserlerden birisi İstahrî’nin Mesâlikü’l-Memâlik adlı eseridir. Bu çalışmada, çok geniş bir bilgi ağına sahip olan Mesâlik’teki bilgileri değerlendireceğiz. Anahtar Kelimeler: Coğrafya, İstahrî, Mesâlikü’l-Memâlik, Ortaçağ, İslâm Coğrafyacılığı SUMMARY Works written at historical geography area are rich for their information. So, these information are important sources for Middle Ages history works. Historical geography Works especially includes geographic and historical information. Besides they have cultural, ethnologic, antropologic, demographic and folkloric information too. One of these works is Masalik al-Mamalik of Istakhri. We would appreciate information at Masalik. Key Words: Geography, Istakhri, Masalik al-Mamalik, Middle Ages, Islamic Geography
The Deconstruction of the Cartesian Dichotomy of Black and White in William Blake’s The Little Black Boy
Authors: Gunes Ali
Published: December 2015

This paper discusses English Romantic Poet William Blake’s anti-racial views in his poem The Little Black Boy. In so doing, it focuses upon how Blake attempts to deconstruct the Cartesian dichotomy of Western world view, a dichotomy which has usually been based on the theory that the universe has been ruled from its origins by two conflicting powers, one good and one evil, both existing as equally ultimate first causes. In this binary and hierarchal relationship, there are two essential terms in which one term is absolutely regarded as primary or fundamental in its essence, whereas the other term is considered secondary or something that lacks originality and presence. Once this equation is applied to the relationship between black and white people, it will easily be seen in the Western world that white people are always primary or fundamental to black-skinned people, and thus the perception behind this binary and hierarchal relationship seems the root of all the racial problems between black and white. This paper argues that Blake strives to deconstruct radically in The Little Black Boy the basis of this binary and hierarchal relationship which has been carried out for centuries in the Western world to segregate and then control the lives of black people. Finally, the paper maintains that Blake also shows a strong aspiration for creating an egalitarian society free of discrimination and injustices at a time when anti-slavery campaigns hit the top on both sides of Atlantic.
Jenerik
Authors: YILMAZ Sinan
Published: December 2015

Jenerik
87Sr/86Sr as a quantitative geochemical proxy for 14C reservoir age in dynamic, brackish waters: Assessing applicability and quantifying uncertainties
Authors: Lougheed Bryan C. , van der Lubbe H. J. L. , Davies Gareth R.
Published: December 2015

Accurate geochronologies are crucial for reconstructing the sensitivity of brackish and estuarine environments to dynamic external impacts of the past. Radiocarbon (14C) dating is commonly used for palaeoclimate studies, but its application in brackish environments is severely limited by an inability to quantify spatiotemporal variations in 14C reservoir age, or R(t), due to dynamic interplay between river runoff and marine water. Additionally, old carbon effects and species‐specific behavioral processes also influence 14C ages. Using the world's largest brackish water body (the estuarine Baltic Sea) as a test bed, combined with a comprehensive approach that objectively excludes both old carbon (using GIS) and species‐specific 14C effects, we demonstrate the use of 87Sr/86Sr ratios for quantifying R(t) in ubiquitous mollusc shell material, leading to almost an order of magnitude increase in Baltic Sea 14C geochronological precision over the current state of the art. We propose that similar proxy methods can be developed for other brackish water bodies worldwide.
In vivo fluorescence correlation spectroscopy analyses of FMBP‐1, a silkworm transcription factor
Authors: Tsutsumi Motosuke , Muto Hideki , Myoba Shohei , Kimoto Mai , Kitamura Akira , Kamiya Masakatsu , Kikukawa Takashi , Takiya Shigeharu , Demura Makoto , Kawano Keiichi , Kinjo Masataka , Aizawa Tomoyasu
Published: December 2015

Fibroin modulator‐binding protein 1 (FMBP‐1) is a silkworm transcription factor that has a unique DNA‐binding domain called the one score and three amino acid peptide repeat (STPR). Here we used fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to analyze the diffusion properties of an enhanced green fluorescent protein‐tagged FMBP‐1 protein (EGFP‐FMBP‐1) expressed in posterior silk gland (PSG) cells of Bombyx mori at the same developmental stage as natural FMBP‐1 expression. EGFP‐FMBP‐1 clearly localized to cell nuclei. From the FCS analyses, we identified an immobile DNA‐bound component and three discernible diffusion components. We also used FCS to observe the movements of wild‐type and mutant EGFP‐FMBP‐1 proteins in HeLa cells, a simpler experimental system. Based on previous in vitro observation, we also introduced a single amino acid substitution in order to suppress stable FMBP‐1‐DNA binding; specifically, we replaced the ninth Arg in the third repeat within the STPR domain with Ala. This mutation completely disrupted the slowest diffusion component as well as the immobile component. The diffusion properties of other FMBP‐1 mutants (e.g. mutants with N‐terminal or C‐terminal truncations) were also analyzed. Based on our observations, we suggest that the four identifiable movements might correspond to four distinct FMBP‐1 states: (a) diffusion of free protein, (b) and (c) two types of transient interactions between FMBP‐1 and chromosomal DNA, and (d) stable binding of FMBP‐1 to chromosomal DNA.
Prediction of Human Pharmacokineticsfor Protein‐Based Biologic Therapeutics
Authors: Han Chao , Mayer Christina Lourdes
Published: December 2015

Scientists and researchers have put forth great effort over many decades into understanding the determinants of pharmacokinetics (PK) and trying to define a relationship between preclinical species and humans in order to perform reasonably accurate predictions. The similarities in drug ADME across mammalian species have been evaluated by numerous studies. Some fundamental approaches for prediction of human PK, namely interspecies scaling and physiologically‐based PK (PBPK) modeling, have been proposed. Conventional interspecies allometric scaling is a classic, relatively simple mathematical approach that requires attaining relevant data from multiple animal species; selection of relevant preclinical species is critical. PBPK modeling fully incorporates anatomical, physiological, and biological factors relevant to ADME. PBPK models involve high computational complexity and require an extensive amount of high quality experimental data. The chapter also discusses these two commonly used approaches for prediction of human PK along with the accompanying concepts and rationale.
Target‐Driven Pharmacokinetics of Biotherapeutics
Authors: Huisinga Wilhelm , Fuhrmann Saskia , Fronton Ludivine , Krippendorff Ben‐Fillippo
Published: December 2015

Target‐driven pharmacokinetic (PK) is a peculiar characteristic of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Target‐mediated drug disposition (TMDD) includes the processes of binding of the mAb to its antigen and elimination of the mAb‐antigen complex. This chapter reviews different modeling approaches that can be used to analyze, simulate, and infer target‐driven PK of mAbs: the classical (whole‐body) TMDD modeling approach, including its various approximations (such as the Michaelis‐Menten approximation), the cell‐level TMDD modeling approach, and the simplified physiologically‐based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling approach. It discusses the classical whole‐body TMDD model and the characteristic features of TMDD profiles, and reviews various reduced TMDD models and their underlying assumptions. Cell‐level TMDD and simplified PBPK models are also reviewed as two approaches that allow to integrate prior information on the targeted system and the species physiology into the modeling process.
Knowledge ofADMEof Therapeutic Proteins in Adults Facilitates Pediatric Development
Authors: Adedokun Omoniyi J. , Xu Zhenhua
Published: December 2015

Antibody‐based therapeutic proteins are a class of biologics that are used to treat a number of different diseases that affect both adults and children. This chapter presents an overview of how the knowledge of the disposition (i.e., absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination, (ADME)) of therapeutic proteins in adults can help facilitate the development of these agents in children. Similarities and differences between pediatric and adult patients with respect to the pharmacokinetics (PK) and immunogenicity of these agents are examined. The use of PK modeling and simulation to assist in the determination of the appropriate pediatric dose regimen is also discussed. The application of these concepts in the development of therapeutic proteins for pediatric indications using knowledge from adult data is illustrated with examples. Bayesian methods can be used to incorporate prior information into sample‐size calculations for the new trial.
ADMEProcesses in Vaccines andPK/PDApproaches for Vaccination Optimization
Authors: Gómez‐Mantilla José David , Trocóniz Iñaki F. , Garrido María J.
Published: December 2015

In order to present the current knowledge on vaccine absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) and vaccine modeling, this chapter briefly summarizes how vaccines are developed, what type of vaccines are available, and how much it is known about their mechanisms of action. It also summarizes the current knowledge on the impact of administration routes, dosing schedules, and formulation on vaccine ADME processes, focusing on the vaccine properties that can be altered without modifying the antigens (Ag). The chapter then describes the influence of biopharmaceutics properties on vaccine pharmacokinetic (PK) processes such as absorption and distribution. Mathematical models may be used to optimize vaccination in cancer treatment. There is an urgent need to perform studies based on PK, pharmacodynamics, and systems biology principles, to get the longitudinal information required, that once analyzed under the model‐based framework, can be linked to the biopharmaceutical characteristics of the vaccine formulation.
Drug Development Strategies for Therapeutic Biologics: Industry Perspectives
Authors: Yuraszeck Theresa , Gibbs Megan
Published: December 2015

There are a variety of considerations unique to biologics development owing to the inherent differences in their properties and characteristics. These differences dictate different approaches to both preclinical and clinical development, and many of the studies conducted for small molecules are not necessary for biologics. This chapter discusses the properties that differentiate biologics from small molecules, and the impact they have on the preclinical and clinical development strategy for biologics. Species selection is an important factor for preclinical phamacokinetics, phamacodynamics, and toxicokinetic studies and can impact the fidelity with which the clinical efficacy and safety outcomes are predicted by the preclinical data. The clinical development of biologics typically takes more than 7 years, with an additional year required for regulatory review and approval. Comparability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that there are no clinically meaningful differences between the biosimilar and the innovator product.
Z
imbabwe
Authors: Chan Stephen
Published: December 2015

Race, ethnicity, and land are tied together in a curious form of latter‐day nationalism in Zimbabwe. Historically, in Zimbabwe all these categories were, however, separable. One of the controversial triumphs of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe is the seeming victory of an ideology where all are melded into a new form of “patriotic history” and national self‐regard. This “patriotic history” is the construction of an ideology of self‐vindication for piratical seizures of land, but it also expresses racial and ethnic triumphs in the name of nationalism and in the name of those who “own” this nationalism.
O
rientalism
Authors: Chua Peter
Published: December 2015

Orientalism is a sustained intellectual project organized by historians, policy experts, Christian theologians, and humanist and social science scholars that studies and appraises the “Orient” and its “eastern” arts, sciences, histories, faiths, cultures, peoples, and nations. Cultural theorist Edward Said and newer scholarship from cultural, feminist, and anti‐imperialist scholars criticize its objectionable racialization, exoticism, and cultural abstraction. These critics object to Orientalists' claims of objective knowledge such as topics related to Islam and Middle Eastern affairs. They charge that Orientalism assists in imperialist restructuring and domination of the “Orient” through its denials, distortions, and suppression of people's experiences and its claims of western and Christian superiority in knowledge, commerce, gender relations, and ways of life.
Psychology of Nationalism
Authors: Hale Henry E.
Published: December 2015

Nationalism has attracted scholarly attention in part because of the strong emotive power it displays; yet research on nationalism has tended not to engage with findings from psychology in much depth. The field is thus divided into three main theories. A rational choice approach finds that psychological phenomena like attachment and emotion tend to be by‐products more than core drivers of nationalism. A second theory argues that human groups have a natural tendency to be in conflict and that nations display this tendency more intensely because they draw on connections with some of the deepest human bonds, especially kinship. A third theory denies that there is a strong tendency for groups to be in conflict, interpreting ethnic and national categories as deriving primarily from the human brain's need to simplify a hopelessly complex and unknowable social world in order to navigate it effectively—a simplification that can involve conflictual impulses but does not necessarily do so.
Amish
Authors: Moff Hudec Amy
Published: December 2015

Going against the Catholic Church and newly formed Protestant branches, sixteenth‐century European Anabaptists argued that baptism should only be conferred on those who were willing to be obedient to God. The unorthodox practice of baptizing adults led to their persecution, a strict ethic of separatism, and their eventual exodus to North America. The Amish, followers of Jakob Amman and descendants of early Anabaptists, have successfully engineered social institutions and practices counter to larger trends since the industrial revolution. Their ability to resist modernity, however, is being tested as the Amish economy shifts away from agriculture. Off‐farm occupations give more exposure to outside influences. While researchers once assumed that the North American Amish would fail to thrive, few today question Amish survival. Rather, conjectures are made about the adaptability of the Amish as they inevitably face greater challenges in the future.
Lynching
Authors: Louise Wood Amy
Published: December 2015

Lynching refers to an act of vigilantism, in which a group of persons punish an alleged crime outside the legal system, with community sanction. It has been practiced across the globe and has long historical roots, but it most commonly refers to acts of racial terrorism in the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Lynch mobs targeted racial and ethnic minorities as a means to establish and maintain white authority in moments of social and political upheaval. In the Jim Crow period, thousands of African American men were tortured, hanged, or burned under the guise of preserving social order and controlling black crime.
S
owell,
T
homas (1930–)
Authors: Banton Michael
Published: December 2015

Coming from the history of economic thought, Thomas Sowell has written trenchantly on the economics and politics of race. His many writings include sharp criticisms of the attempts of governments to regulate employment markets with the aim of reducing racial inequalities.
Macedonians
Authors: Friedman Victor A.
Published: December 2015

As an ethnonym, Macedonian refers to speakers of Modern Macedonian, a Slavic language most closely related to Bulgarian and Bosnian/ Croatian/ Serbian/ Montenegrin. The Ancient Macedonians, whose name was made famous by Alexander the Great, spoke a different Indo‐European language, one which died out in the fourth centurybce. Owing to the paucity of evidence, the exact affiliation of Ancient Macedonian is uncertain.
Racism Without Racists
Authors: Mayorga‐Gallo Sarah
Published: December 2015

Racism without racists is a concept popularized by sociologist Eduardo Bonilla‐Silva to describe contemporary racial matters in the United States. Bonilla‐Silva uses the concept of racism without racists to explain how racial inequality persists despite claims by some whites that racism no longer exists. By focusing on the four frames of the contemporary racial ideology of color‐blind racism, Bonilla‐Silva unveils how most white Americans (and some Americans of color) understand racial matters and are, subsequently, complicit in the perpetuation of racial inequality and structural racism. By highlighting nonracial factors as the causes of racial inequality, the color‐blind ideology allows whites to ignore and obscure the structural and institutional causes of contemporary racial stratification. Thus, structural racism is perpetuated and only persons (not institutions or social systems) are called “racist” when they fail to follow the dictates of color blindness.
W
ales
Authors: Williams Christopher
Published: December 2015

This entry considers what has defined Wales and the Welsh people over the course of human history, focusing on political relationships within Wales and between Wales and England (or the British state), the fortunes of the Welsh language, and the emergence of distinctive forms of Welsh cultural expression. Ethnic markers of national identity have largely been replaced in recent decades by civic symbols of a more inclusive Welshness.
Transracial Adoption
Authors: Butler‐Sweet Colleen
Published: December 2015

The term transracial adoption refers to the joining of racially different parents and children together in adoptive families. While the term can refer to any adoptive family where the race of parents and children differ, it is used most frequently in reference to the adoption of nonwhite children by white families. Because transracial adoption places an emphasis on racial differentiation, it can include both domestic adoptions and transnational adoptions where the race of the child differs from that of the parents. The racial differences between parents and children in adoptive families have been the source of social and political debate for the better part of the twentieth century and early twenty‐first century with a particular emphasis on the racial identity construction of transracial adoptees.
Perennialism
Authors: Grosby Steven
Published: December 2015

The perennialist approach to the study of nationalism consists of two types: continuous and recurrent. Continuous perennialism recognizes that some nations have long continuous histories that trace their origins back to the Middle Ages or, occasionally, antiquity. Recurrent perennialism views nations as appearing in every period of history and throughout the world.
Nations Before Nationalism
Authors: Grosby Steven
Published: December 2015

At stake in the determination of whether or not nations existed before nationalism involves not only the historical periodization of nations but also understanding the category “nation.” While premodern nations reveal numerous heterogeneous, cultural cross‐currents, so, too, do modern nations; thus, the former contribute to understanding properly the category “nation,” thereby undermining the “modernist” paradigm of the study of nations.
W
agner,
R
ichard (1813–83)
Authors: Potter Pamela M.
Published: December 2015

Richard Wagner was a groundbreaking composer of German opera as well as a controversial cultural commentator. His essay “Judaism in Music” (1850) criticized the purported influence of Jews in German arts and letters following their emancipation and later served as an inspiration for race theorists and antisemitic activists. Questions of Wagner's role in inspiring the Holocaust through his prose as well as his musical works continue to fuel vigorous debates.
Black Urban Regime
Authors: Arena John
Published: December 2015

In 2013 black urban regimes, defined as black‐led city governments in the United States with a majority black electoral base, governed twenty‐four cities with populations over a hundred thousand. In such regimes the electoral base is composed of low‐ and moderate‐income black voters, while most of the benefits of its development model accrue to the regime's corporate governing partners. The central focus of studies informed by black urban regime theory is analyzing how this contradictory relationship is managed.
Transcendence of Nationalism
Authors: Özkirimli Umut
Published: December 2015

The future of nations and nationalism appears to many to be more uncertain than ever in view of the growing interdependence of the planet. The question of whether globalization heralds the end of nationalism cannot be answered properly without distinguishing between
nation
and
state
. In the case of the state, the question is whether states can preserve their sovereignty intact in an age when politics is conducted at a supranational and subnational level. In the case of the nation, the question is whether there are forms of community that offer alternative foci of belonging. Even though the nation continues to be an important source of political and cultural identity, it can be argued that globalization has increased people's reflexiveness with regard to their identity and facilitated the emergence of new forms of belonging that are deterritorial, plural, and hybrid.
Skin Color
Authors: Goodman Alan
Published: December 2015

When a large group of students lines up from lightest to darkest skin color, there are no clear breaks from darker to lighter skin colors. Additionally, those with the darkest skin are just as likely to come from southern India and Southeast Asia as anywhere else. This exercise highlights two basic facts about human skin color variation: skin color is a poor predictor of race or the continent from which one comes, and skin color is continuous. Evolution, not race, explains skin color variation. Indeed, skin color is an adaptation to the amount of solar radiation, which is greatest toward the equator and less as one goes toward the poles. Dark skin color protects against the destruction of folate and light skin color allows for greater vitamin D synthesis.
Bilingualism
Authors: Bartolomé Lilia I.
Published: December 2015

This entry defines bilingualism, the ability to use two languages, from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. In addition, it highlights distinctions between individual and societal bilingualism and describes various language contact situations that result in the use of two or more languages. The discussion around individual‐level bilingualism highlights factors that influence learners' second language acquisition as well as key learning processes that often result in differing language proficiency levels. The examination of societal‐level bilingualism focuses on the interaction between language use and social organization. Characteristics of stable, unstable, and “diglossic” societal bilingualism are discussed. Finally, a language group's sociopolitical status and the concepts of “additive” and “subtractive” bilingualism as well as language shift and language loss are deliberated.
Values, Ethos, and Diversity
Authors: Roccas Sonia , Oppenheim Shani
Published: December 2015

Values are a central concept in the social sciences and recently have been intensively studied across disciplines. Theoreticians usually distinguish between two lines of research: personal values and values of social collectives. Personal values represent desirable goals that serve as internalized guides for individuals. Schwartz identified ten types of values that can be organized according to their conflicts and compatibilities. The importance attributed to difference values has consequences for behaviors, attitudes, and emotions, such as tolerance, career choice, and religiosity. Cultural values are broad goals that members of a social collective are encouraged to pursue. An important role of cultural values is their influence on the ethos of social groups. The ethos unifies the social collective, provides it with meaning and differentiates it from other groups. Several large‐scale studies have sought to identify the content and structure of cultural values and to map national cultures according to their values. The most prominent were projects led by Hofstede, Schwartz, Inglehart, and House. There is some conceptual and empirical overlap between the dimensions identified in these models though the ranking of specific nations can differ considerably from model to model.
Globalization and Nationalism
Authors: Vasilopoulou Sofia , Halikiopoulou Daphne
Published: December 2015

This entry explores the complex relationship between nationalism and globalization. Various perspectives are examined to show whether the two processes are contradictory or complementary, under what conditions nationalism may thrive with increasing globalization, and whether nationalism preceded or followed globalization.
Unions and Race
Authors: Chirino Fernando , Stepan‐Norris Judith
Published: December 2015

Unions become involved in the construction of race, ethnicity, and nationalism by means of the organizational practices they develop and their interactions with employers. Although employers have been the major actors in fomenting racial antagonism and in structuring labor market dynamics that disadvantage workers of color and women, unions act to either reproduce or challenge these social relations. Early craft unions tended to reproduce such structures while industrial unions tended to challenge them. Yet the long‐term, drastic decline of union density means that unions have had fewer opportunities to challenge these racial and gendered structures. Unless unions recalibrate to adapt to modern economic developments and organize workers of all races, civil statuses, and genders, employers will continue to have the only meaningful voice in shaping racial, national, and gender relations at work.
Discourse Studies
Authors: Jiwani Yasmin
Published: December 2015

Discourse analysis is now widely used in a variety of theoretical and disciplinary traditions. This entry provides a cursory overview of the field of discourse studies, paying particular attention to how language, as expressed in talk and text, is linked to national identity. The binary relationship of “us” and “them” is central to the formation of the nation. Racialized groups within the nation are often targets of racist discourses, which position them as threats to the nation. These discourses gain momentum and are legitimized through elite discourses communicated through the mass media. The self–other dynamic that is key to national identity is transposed to a domestic discourse that positions others (subordinated racialized minorities) either as not fitting into the nation or as deserving only conditional acceptance.
I
sraeli–
P
alestinian Conflict
Authors: Smooha Sammy
Published: December 2015

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the dispute between the Palestinian and Jewish peoples about the ownership and control of the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It is protracted, intractable, and deadly. As a multilayered and deep conflict, it is also territorial, national, religious, regional, international, costly, zero‐sum, and unwinnable. Its intractability stems from its quasi‐colonial nature. Partition of the land into two states to two peoples is the only logical solution to this unique conflict. Both sides have already reached this realization but deeply distrust each other and disagree over details of the implementation. Stateless, occupied, and refugee stricken, the Palestinians bear a much higher cost of the impasse than the Israelis.
Nigeria
Authors: Lumumba‐Kasongo Tukumbi
Published: December 2015

Nigeria gained its independence from Great Britain on October 1, 1960. It is a federal republic with a national government and a bicameral national assembly. A major actor in world politics, Nigeria has since 2013 become the largest economy in Africa, is the eighth largest oil‐exporter country in the world, and has the seventh highest population. It is a complex society that does not fit the stereotypes as perceived by others. Nigeria is consolidating its democratic electoral processes. It has produced some of the most advanced African civilizations. Its dynamics of postcolonial politics also produced one of the most devastating secessionist wars in Africa. However, Nigeria has also constantly been cited as one of the most corrupt African countries—a “crippled giant.” It faces serious challenges related to the spread and consolidation of religious fundamentalism and the persistence of the unequal distribution of the oil revenues.
Sovereignty
Authors: Samuel Barkin J.
Published: December 2015

Sovereignty is the condition of having supreme power or authority. While the concept has been used with respect to a variety of topics, from the theological to the philosophical, it is used most often with respect to nation‐states in the modern international states system. It describes both the right of a state to govern within its territory along with its authority over its population, and the recognition of this right and authority by other sovereigns. The use of the term has evolved over time. Before the nineteenth century the ruler was sovereign; now it is the state or the citizenry. The sovereign rights of the state have changed over time as well; sovereignty is limited by norms of nonaggression and human rights. Some groups within states, particulary indigenous peoples, claim or have been granted a measure of sovereignty.
S
erbs and
C
roats
Authors: Sekulić Duško
Published: December 2015

Serbs and Croats were part of the Slavic migrations into the territory of the Roman empire at the beginning of the sixth century. They established early medieval polities that went through separate political and cultural developments. The Ottoman conquest in the fifteenth century caused large demographic shifts and movements of Vlach and Serbian populations into the traditional Croat territories. Catholicism and Orthodoxy became the main division line that influenced the Serb–Croat divisions in the nineteenth‐century national integration processes. The first Yugoslav state was created after the disintegration of the Austro‐Hungarian empire and was dominated by Serbian political elites. German and Italian occupation during World War II triggered ethnic conflicts, genocidal policies of the puppet regimes, and a new struggle for liberation. The communist Yugoslavia created after World War II disintegrated with the fall of communism. After the wars of “succession,” new independent Croatian and Serbian states emerged, ethnically more homogeneous than was ever the case in the past.
C
onnor,
W
alker (1926–)
Authors: Conversi Daniele
Published: December 2015

Walker Connor has played a crucial role in the identification of the main problems affecting the study of ethnopolitics and nationalism while clarifying the key concepts used in the field. He also identified how nationalism is related to political legitimacy and persuasively argued that narrowly conceived economic factors are not central to the explanation of the causes of ethnic conflict.
Collective Action
Authors: McAdam Doug
Published: December 2015

The term “collective action” is hopelessly broad. At face value, it could plausibly refer toallforms of human social action involving two or more people. Consideration of such a broadly inclusive category is well beyond the scope of this entry. But there is a far narrower subset of human action to which the term has been applied. In this entry, “collective action” refers toemergent and minimally coordinated action by two or more people that is motivated by a desire to change some aspect of social life or to resist changes proposed by others. “Emergent” signifies innovative lines of action that depart from taken‐for‐granted normative routines. “Coordinated” means that the various parties to the emerging conflict are attuned to one another and act in awareness of this fact. Finally, the emphasis on change and/or resistance to change is designed to capture the adversarial or potentially conflictual nature of “collective action.”
Hybridity
Authors: Nederveen Pieterse Jan
Published: December 2015

Cut‐'n'‐mix experiences in consumption, lifestyles, and identities are common, for example in food and menus. “Hybridity” refers to the mixing of phenomena that are held to be different, separate.
Fascism
Authors: Berezin Mabel
Published: December 2015

Fascism as a historical entity began in 1922 when Mussolini came to power in Italy. As a political ideology, fascism defines many of the movements that were present in post‐World War I Europe from the British Union of Fascists to the Romanian Iron Guard. Fascism could have remained simply a characteristic of a group of historically specific political formations, but the term rather quickly developed a life of its own. Today, it serves as what Jeffrey Alexander has described as a bridging metaphor—that is, a term that one uses independently of historical or definitional context when confronted with acts of arbitrary violence or authoritarianism in political and, in some instances, social life.
Race Relations, Critical Rationalist Perspective on
Authors: Banton Michael
Published: December 2015

Critical rationalism is a distinctive perspective on the study of racial and ethnic relations. Many mainstream social scientists draw upon this perspective without necessarily appreciating what makes it distinctive.
Ethnic Democracy
Authors: Peled Yoav
Published: December 2015

Ethnic democracy is an analytic model meant to describe a form of state that combines majoritarian electoral procedures and respect for the rule of law and individual citizenship rights with the institutionalized dominance of a
majority
ethnic group over a society. Ethnic democracy consists of two incompatible constitutional principles: liberal democracy, which mandates equal protection of all citizens, and ethnonationalism, which privileges the core ethnic group. Critics of the model have pointed out that the tension between these two contradictory principles causes inherent instability in this form of state. This tension could be overcome, however, and ethnic democracy could be stabilized, if a third constitutional principle, mediating between liberal democracy and ethnic nationalism, were to exist in the political culture.
Childhood attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and the development of adolescent alcohol problems: A prospective, population‐based study of Swedish twins
Authors: Quinn Patrick D. , Pettersson Erik , Lundström Sebastian , Anckarsäter Henrik , Långström Niklas , Gumpert Clara Hellner , Larsson Henrik , Lichtenstein Paul , D'Onofrio Brian M.
Published: December 2015

Children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of problematic alcohol and other substance use in adolescence. This study used data from an ongoing, prospective, population‐based twin study of Swedish children and adolescents to evaluate the extent to which the association between ADHD symptoms and alcohol problems reflects a unique source of genetic or environmental risk related to ADHD versus a broader predisposition to youth externalizing behavior. We used all available data from same‐sex monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins on ADHD symptoms in childhood (age 9/12; N = 15,549) and alcohol problems in late adolescence (age 18; N = 2,564). Consistent with prior longitudinal studies, the phenotypic association between hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms and alcohol problems was small in magnitude, whereas the association for inattentive symptoms was even weaker. Additive genetic influences explained 99.8% of the association between hyperactive/impulsive symptoms and alcohol problems. Furthermore, we found that the genetic risk specifically associated with hyperactive/impulsive symptoms was attenuated when estimated in the context of externalizing behavior liability during childhood, of which ADHD symptoms were specific expressions. In sensitivity analyses exploring hyperactivity in mid‐adolescence, we found a similar pattern of genetic associations. These results are consistent with previous findings of genetically driven overlap in the etiology of ADHD and problematic alcohol use. At least some of this co‐occurrence may result from a general predisposition to externalizing behaviors in youth. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Microwave‐assisted polymerization: Superabsorbent polymer with improved properties
Authors: Azad Michael M. , Sandros Marinella G.
Published: December 2015

Microwave‐assisted polymerization was used as a promising technique to synthesize superabsorbent polymers. A small amount of thermal initiator was used to initiate the reaction, and the polymer's properties were evaluated at acid levels of 31–50% and degrees of neutralization of 68–75 mol %. The polymers were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, and properties such as the capacity and absorbency under a load were measured in a 0.9% sodium chloride solution. In addition, the extractable and residual acrylic acid contents were measured to determine the reaction's efficiency. In conclusion, the synthesis of the superabsorbent polymer via microwave heating reduced the time and cost of production and improved the physical properties of the polymer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43325.
Controlled release of protein from magnetite–chitosan nanoparticles exposed to an alternating magnetic field
Authors: Honarmand Dariush , Ghoreishi Seyyed M. , Habibi Neda , Nicknejad Ehsan Tayerani
Published: December 2015

In this research, the controlled release of proteins from magnetite (Fe3O4)–chitosan (CS) nanoparticles exposed to an alternating magnetic field is reported. Fe3O4–CS nanoparticles were synthesized with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) molecules as a crosslinking reagent. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as a model protein, and its controlled release studied through the variation of the frequency of an alternating magnetic field. The results show the successful coating of CS and BSA on the Fe3O4 nanoparticles with an average diameter of 50 nm. Intermolecular interactions of TPP with CS and BSA were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The application of low‐frequency alternating magnetic fields to such magnetic CS nanoparticles enhanced the protein release properties, in which the external magnetic fields could switch on the unloading of these nanoparticles. We concluded that enhanced BSA release from nanoparticles exposed to an alternating magnetic field is a promising method for achieving both the targeted delivery and controlled release of proteins. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43335.
Cone Penetration Testing: A Sound Method for Urban Archaeological Prospection
Authors: Koster Kay
Published: December 2015

Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) is a geotechnical in situ site investigation method and is widely applied in urbanized areas of the Netherlands. Approximately 20,000 CPTs are conducted in the Netherlands each year. The frequency of such testing, and the presence of archaeological deposits within the subsurface, results in a relatively high probability that archaeological deposits could be encountered during sounding. A significant amount of the results of these CPTs are freely available and are easily accessible in a national database. This combination of frequency and accessibility suggests that CPT could potentially be a very attractive tool for archaeological prospection. However, in practice, the integration of CPT in archaeology is poor. This is largely the result of the lack of a general overview of characteristics concerning the recognition of archaeological deposits in CPT data.

This study explores the potential of CPTs for archaeological prospection in urbanized areas by characterizing archaeological deposits in CPT log data, with a special focus on the historical city centre of Amsterdam. In total, seven CPTs conducted at two archaeological sites in Amsterdam were analysed. A characterization based on the examined CPTs was subsequently used to identify archaeological deposits in 407 CPTs conducted in Amsterdam, deriving from the national database. This resulted in a map depicting the spatial distribution and thickness of archaeological deposits in the city centre of Amsterdam, solely based on CPTs. The map was validated using data from previously published archaeological reports. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improvement by methylphenidate and atomoxetine of social interaction deficits and recognition memory impairment in a mouse model of valproic acid‐induced autism
Authors: Hara Yuta , Ago Yukio , Taruta Atsuki , Katashiba Keisuke , Hasebe Shigeru , Takano Erika , Onaka Yusuke , Hashimoto Hitoshi , Matsuda Toshio , Takuma Kazuhiro
Published: December 2015

Rodents exposed prenatally to valproic acid (VPA) show autism‐related behavioral abnormalities. We recently found that prenatal VPA exposure causes a reduction of dopaminergic activity in the prefrontal cortex of male, but not female, mice. This suggests that reduced prefrontal dopaminergic activity is associated with behavioral abnormalities in VPA‐treated mice. In the present study, we examined whether the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs methylphenidate and atomoxetine (which increase dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex, but not striatum, in mice) could alleviate the behavioral abnormalities and changes in dendritic spine morphology induced by prenatal VPA exposure. We found that methylphenidate and atomoxetine increased prefrontal dopamine and noradrenaline release in VPA‐treated mice. Acute treatment with methylphenidate or atomoxetine did not alleviate the social interaction deficits or recognition memory impairment in VPA‐treated mice, while chronic treatment for 2 weeks did. Methylphenidate or atomoxetine for 2 weeks also improved the prenatal VPA‐induced decrease in dendritic spine density in the prefrontal cortex. The effects of these drugs on behaviors and dendritic spine morphology were antagonized by concomitant treatment with the dopamine‐D1 receptor antagonist SCH39166 or the dopamine‐D2 receptor antagonist raclopride, but not by the α2‐adrenoceptor antagonist idazoxan. These findings suggest that chronic treatment with methylphenidate or atomoxetine improves abnormal behaviors and diminishes the reduction in spine density in VPA‐treated mice via a prefrontal dopaminergic system‐dependent mechanism. Autism Res 2016, 9: 926–939. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.