bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-efficiency integrated polarized backlight system for liquid crystal display
Authors: Yang Xingpeng , Yan Yingbai , Jin Guofan
Published: June 2006

We propose a multiwavelength polarized backlight system (BLS) that is based on the stress-induced birefringence and the multilayer subwavelength grating. The polarized BLS requires no prism sheets and no quarter wave plate. Moreover, because of the high extinction ratio, the rear absorbing polarizer of the liquid crystal display panel is not required anymore. The proposed backlight can fully utilize the light, and the intensity at near normal angles is 2.3 times higher than that of a conventional unpolarized light emitting backlight.
Influence of d-d transition bands on electrical resistivity in Ni doped polycrystalline ZnO
Authors: Singh Shubra , Rama N. , Ramachandra Rao M. S.
Published: June 2006

We report on the transport and optical properties of Ni doped ZnO polycrystalline samples. Ni doping in ZnO could be achieved to a small concentration (2mol%). Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of doped ZnO showed the existence of d-d transition bands at 430, 580, and 655nm which are characteristic of Ni (II) with tetrahedral symmetry. Resistivity was found to be activated. The value of activation energy of undoped ZnO was about 90meV. It was found to decrease to 60meV for Zn0.99Ni0.01O and to 10meV for Zn0.98Ni0.02O. The decrease in resistivity was found to be in accordance with the impurity d-band splitting model.
Band gap discontinuity in Ga0.9In0.1N0.027As0.973−xSbx∕GaAs single quantum wells with ⩽x<0.06 studied by contactless electroreflectance spectroscopy
Authors: Kudrawiec R. , Motyka M. , Gladysiewicz M. , Misiewicz J. , Yuen H. B. , Bank S. R. , Bae H. , Wistey M. A. , Harris James S.
Published: June 2006

Contactless electroreflectance (CER) spectroscopy has been applied to study optical transitions in Ga0.9In0.1N0.027As0.973−xSbx∕GaAs single quantum well (QW) with antimony content varying from 0% to 5.4%. CER features related to optical transitions between the ground and excited states have been clearly observed. Energies of the QW transitions have been matched with those obtained from theoretical calculations. It has been determined that the conduction band offset decreases from ∼55% to ∼45% with the increase in Sb content from 0% to 5.4%. This result demonstrates that the band gap discontinuity for Ga0.9In0.1N0.027As0.973−xSbx∕GaAs system can be simply tuned by a change in antimony content.
Gibberellin-dependent induction of tomato extracellular invertase Lin7 is required for pollen development
Authors: Proels Reinhard K. , González Mari-Cruz , Roitsch Thomas
Published: June 2006

The tomato extracellular invertase family comprises four members with different expression patterns. Among the three invertase isoenzymes expressed in floral tissues, Lin5, Lin6 and Lin7, the expression of Lin7 was previously shown to be restricted to the tapetum and pollen. Histochemical analysis of β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter activity shows Lin7 expression in pollen and pollen tubes of corresponding transgenic plants. The physiological relevance of the identification of gibberellin-responsive cis-acting elements for induction of the Lin7 promoter is supported by the repression of Lin7 expression in pollen grains by the gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol. Functional approaches with transgenic tomato plants establish a link between gibberellin action and invertase function in the tapetum for pollen development: both tissue-specific antisense repression of extracellular Lin7 and ectopic inactivation of the biologically active GAs by expression of a GA2-oxidase under control of the Lin7 promoter result in germination deficient pollen. These complementary findings support the idea that the GA requirement of pollen development, pollen germination and pollen tube growth are linked to energy metabolism via the regulation of an extracellular invertase as a key enzyme for carbohydrate supply via an apoplasmic pathway.
Research Note: The five families of sucrose-phosphate synthase genes in Saccharum spp. are differentially expressed in leaves and stem
Authors: Grof C. P. L. , So C. T. E. , Perroux J. M. , Bonnett G. D. , Forrester R. I.
Published: June 2006

Sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) is a key enzyme in the pathway of sucrose synthesis. Five different gene families encoding SPS have been reported in the Poaceae [Castleden CK, Aoki N, Gillespie VJ, MacRae EA, Quick WP, Buchner P, Foyer CH, Furbank RT, Lunn JE (2004) Evolution and function of the sucrose-phosphate synthase gene families in wheat and other grasses. Plant Physiology 135, 1753–1764]. Expression of the five families in leaf and stem tissues of Saccharum spp. at different stages of development was determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The type B and C families of SPS genes were predominantly expressed in both immature and mature leaves, whereas the two subfamilies making up the type D family were expressed at similar levels in all tissues examined. In the type A family, expression was lowest in leaves and increased from the meristem region down to internode 7 of the stem.
Combined transgenic expression of Δ12-desaturase and Δ12-epoxygenase in high linoleic acid seeds leads to increased accumulation of vernolic acid
Authors: Zhou Xue-Rong , Singh Surinder , Liu Qing , Green Allan
Published: June 2006

The transgenic production of unusual fatty acids in oil seed crops offers an alternative, renewable resource for industry. However, transgenic expression of genes catalysing the synthesis of unusual fatty acids has generally resulted in these fatty acids accumulating at levels significantly below the levels in the wild species from which the genes were sourced. This study reports expression of additional copies of any of three Δ12-desaturase genes (FAD2) from Crepis palaestina Bornm., cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) or Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. with C. palaestina Δ12-epoxygenase gene (Cpal2), in an Arabidopsis mutant having a significantly higher level of linoleic acid substrate. This resulted in the highest levels of vernolic acid accumulation, 21% of total fatty acids, reported so far in any transgenic plant expressing the Δ12-epoxygenase. Similarly, the co-expression of C. palaestina Cpal2 and a transgenic copy of FAD2 in cotton seed that contains large amounts of linoleic acid substrate also resulted in greater accumulation of vernolic acid in seed than did expression of C. palaestina Cpal2 alone.
Duboisia myoporoides: The Medical Career of a Native Australian Plant
Authors: Foley Paul
Published: May 2006

Alkaloids derived from solanaceous plants were the subject of intense investigations by European chemists, pharmacologists and clinicians in the second half of the nineteenth century. Some surprise was expressed when it was discovered in the 1870s that an Australian bush, Duboisia myoporoides, contained an atropine-like alkaloid, 'duboisine'. A complicated and colourful history followed. Duboisine was adopted in Australia, Europe and the United States as an alternative to atropine as an ophthalmologic agent; shortly afterwards, it was also esteemed as a potent sedative in the management of psychiatric patients, and as an alternative to other solanaceous alkaloids in the treatment of parkinsonism. The Second World War led to renewed interest in Duboisia species as sources of scopolamine, required for surgical anaesthesia and to manage sea-sickness, a major problem in the naval part of the war. As a consequence of the efforts of the CSIR and of Wilfrid Russell Grimwade (1879-1955), this led to the establishment of plantations in Queensland that today still supply the bulk of the world's raw scopolamine. Following the War, however, government support for commercial alkaloid extraction waned, and it was the interest of the German firm Boehringer Ingelheim and its investment in the industry that rescued the Duboisia industry in the mid-1950s, and that continues to maintain it at a relatively low but stable level today.

'It is to be regretted that scientific men in this colony have paid so little attention to the subject of Medicinal Botany. Surrounded, as we are, by shrubs and plants possessing medicinal properties, there is a wide field for investigation; and, no doubt, it will be found in time to come, that we have been sending to distant countries for expensive medicines, whilst remedies equally efficacious might be provided close at hand in all their native freshness.'
William Woolls, A Contribution to the Flora of Australia (1867), p. 94.
Richard Freeman Mark 1934 - 2003
Authors: Waite P. M. E. , Rogers L. J.
Published: May 2006

Richard Freeman Mark was born in New Zealand and studied Medicine at Otago University, followed by doctoral studies at the Universit� d'Aix-Marseille in France. He undertook postdoctoral studies at the Californian Institute of Technology before accepting a Senior Lectureship at Monash University, Melbourne. His research interests focused on neuroscience, with cutting-edge studies on memory, nerve regeneration, neurodevelopment and plasticity. Richard was appointed to the Foundation Chair of Behavioural Biology at the Australian National University in 1975 and remained there for over twenty-five years. He championed an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to neurobiology in both teaching and research. He was a gifted supervisor and teacher and and initiated the first honours Neuroscience course in Australia. He was elected to the Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science in 1974, served as President of the Australian Neuroscience Society from 1998-1999 and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003.
Fuel load, humus consumption and humus moisture dynamics in Central European Scots pine stands
Authors: Hille Marco , den Ouden Jan
Published: June 2006

Samples of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) humus were burned under different moisture and fuel load scenarios to model humus consumption. For moisture levels below 120% on a dry mass basis, a parabolic increase of humus remaining with increasing moisture content was observed while, for higher moisture levels up to 300%, humus was reduced by a constant 10–15% on a dry mass basis. Both fuel load and humus moisture had a highly significant influence on humus consumption. Humus gross calorific value of Scots pine (19 509 KJ kg–1) is lower than that of other pine species. We found a desorption time-lag for humus moisture of 85 h in this study. Field data show a steady accumulation of humus in Central European Scots pine stands (up to 45 t ha–1 in 120-year-old stands). Amounts of litter remain constant over the different stand ages (~15 t ha–1). This study provides important information to predict humus consumption in Scots pine stands. The results can be used to build a fire severity and post-fire succession model for Scots pine stands in Central Europe.
An index for tracking sheltered forest floor moisture within the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System
Authors: Wotton B. M. , Stocks B. J. , Martell D. L.
Published: June 2006

The Duff Moisture Code (DMC) component of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System is used by fire management agencies across Canada as an indicator of the susceptibility of the forest floor to lightning fire ignition. However, this model was developed for the moisture content of the forest floor away from the sheltering influences of overstory trees, an area where lightning strikes usually ignite the forest floor. Through destructive sampling of the forest floor in a mature jack pine stand in northern Ontario over several summers, the moisture content of the forest floor in sheltered areas close to the boles of dominant overstory trees was found to be significantly lower than in other less heavily sheltered areas of the stand. Observations from a network of in-stand rain gauges revealed that rainfall penetration through the canopy (throughfall) was correlated with both open rainfall amount and the duration of a storm. Observed throughfall amounts were used to develop a throughfall relationship for extremely sheltered locations (within ~0.5 m of the boles) in a mature jack pine stand. This throughfall model was used, along with differences in forest floor drying rate, to develop a new duff moisture index for strongly sheltered areas of the forest floor. Calculated values of this new moisture model, which has the same daily weather observation requirements as the FWI System’s DMC model, were found to match observed moisture contents quite well.
Mutant nuclear lamin A leads to progressive alterations of epigenetic control in premature aging
Authors: Shumaker Dale K. , Dechat Thomas , Kohlmaier Alexander , Adam Stephen A. , Bozovsky Matthew R. , Erdos Michael R. , Eriksson Maria , Goldman Anne E. , Khuon Satya , Collins Francis S. , Jenuwein Thomas , Goldman Robert D.
Published: June 2006

The premature aging disease Hutchinson–Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is caused by a mutant lamin A (LAΔ50). Nuclei in cells expressing LAΔ50 are abnormally shaped and display a loss of heterochromatin. To determine the mechanisms responsible for the loss of heterochromatin, epigenetic marks regulating either facultative or constitutive heterochromatin were examined. In cells from a female HGPS patient, histone H3 trimethylated on lysine 27 (H3K27me3), a mark for facultative heterochromatin, is lost on the inactive X chromosome (Xi). The methyltransferase responsible for this mark, EZH2, is also down-regulated. These alterations are detectable before the changes in nuclear shape that are considered to be the pathological hallmarks of HGPS cells. The results also show a down-regulation of the pericentric constitutive heterochromatin mark, histone H3 trimethylated on lysine 9, and an altered association of this mark with heterochromatin protein 1α (Hp1α) and the CREST antigen. This loss of constitutive heterochromatin is accompanied by an up-regulation of pericentric satellite III repeat transcripts. In contrast to these decreases in histone H3 methylation states, there is an increase in the trimethylation of histone H4K20, an epigenetic mark for constitutive heterochromatin. Expression of LAΔ50 in normal cells induces changes in histone methylation patterns similar to those seen in HGPS cells. The epigenetic changes described most likely represent molecular mechanisms responsible for the rapid progression of premature aging in HGPS patients.
Direct protein interaction underlies gene-for-gene specificity and coevolution of the flax resistance genes and flax rust avirulence genes
Authors: Dodds Peter N. , Lawrence Gregory J. , Catanzariti Ann-Maree , Teh Trazel , Wang Ching-I. A. , Ayliffe Michael A. , Kobe Bostjan , Ellis Jeffrey G.
Published: May 2006

Plant resistance proteins (R proteins) recognize corresponding pathogen avirulence (Avr) proteins either indirectly through detection of changes in their host protein targets or through direct R–Avr protein interaction. Although indirect recognition imposes selection against Avr effector function, pathogen effector molecules recognized through direct interaction may overcome resistance through sequence diversification rather than loss of function. Here we show that the flax rust fungus
AvrL567
genes, whose products are recognized by the L5, L6, and L7 R proteins of flax, are highly diverse, with 12 sequence variants identified from six rust strains. Seven
AvrL567
variants derived from
Avr
alleles induce necrotic responses when expressed in flax plants containing corresponding resistance genes (
R
genes), whereas five variants from
avr
alleles do not. Differences in recognition specificity between
AvrL567
variants and evidence for diversifying selection acting on these genes suggest they have been involved in a gene-specific arms race with the corresponding flax
R
genes. Yeast two-hybrid assays indicate that recognition is based on direct R–Avr protein interaction and recapitulate the interaction specificity observed
in planta
. Biochemical analysis of
Escherichia coli
-produced AvrL567 proteins shows that variants that escape recognition nevertheless maintain a conserved structure and stability, suggesting that the amino acid sequence differences directly affect the R–Avr protein interaction. We suggest that direct recognition associated with high genetic diversity at corresponding
R
and
Avr
gene loci represents an alternative outcome of plant–pathogen coevolution to indirect recognition associated with simple balanced polymorphisms for functional and nonfunctional
R
and
Avr
genes.
Myogenic factors that regulate expression of muscle-specific microRNAs
Authors: Rao Prakash K. , Kumar Roshan M. , Farkhondeh Mina , Baskerville Scott , Lodish Harvey F.
Published: May 2006

Since their discovery as key regulators of early animal development, microRNAs now are recognized as widespread regulators of gene expression. Despite their abundance, little is known regarding the regulation of microRNA biogenesis. We show that three highly conserved muscle-specific microRNAs, miR-1, miR-133 and miR-206, are robustly induced during the myoblast-myotube transition, both in primary human myoblasts and in the mouse mesenchymal C
2
C
12
stem cell line. These microRNAs were not induced during osteogenic conversion of C
2
C
12
cells. Moreover, both loci encoding miR-1, miR-1-1, and miR-1-2, and two of the three encoding miR-133, miR-133a-1 and miR-133a-2, are strongly induced during myogenesis. Some of the induced microRNAs are in intergenic regions, whereas two are transcribed in the opposite direction to the nonmuscle-specific gene in which they are embedded. By using CHIP analysis, we demonstrate that the myogenic factors Myogenin and MyoD bind to regions upstream of these microRNAs and, therefore, are likely to regulate their expression. Because miR-1 and miR-206 are predicted to repress similar mRNA targets, our work suggests that induction of these microRNAs is important in regulating the expression of muscle-specific proteins.
The allometry of ornaments and weapons
Authors: Kodric-Brown Astrid , Sibly Richard M. , Brown James H.
Published: May 2006

Exaggerated male traits that have evolved under sexual selection include ornaments to attract mates and weapons to deter rivals. Data from studies of many such traits in diverse kinds of organisms show that they almost universally exhibit positive allometries. Both ornaments and weapons increase disproportionately with overall body size, resulting in scaling exponents within species that are consistently >1.0 and usually in the range 1.5–2.5. We show how scaling exponents reflect the relative fitness advantages of ornaments vs. somatic growth by using a simple mathematical model of resource allocation during ontogeny. Because the scaling exponents are similar for the different taxonomic groups, it follows that the fitness advantages of investing in ornaments also are similar. The model also shows how selection for ornaments influences body size at first reproduction and explains why interspecific allometries have consistently lower exponents than intraspecific ones.
tRNA
His
guanylyltransferase catalyzes a 3′-5′ polymerization reaction that is distinct from G
−1
addition
Authors: Jackman Jane E. , Phizicky Eric M.
Published: May 2006

Yeast tRNA
His
guanylyltransferase, Thg1, is an essential protein that adds a single guanine to the 5′ end (G
−1
) of tRNA
His
. This G
−1
residue is required for aminoacylation of tRNA
His
by histidyl-tRNA synthetase, both
in vitro
and
in vivo.
The guanine nucleotide addition reaction catalyzed by Thg1 extends the polynucleotide chain in the reverse (3′-5′) direction of other known polymerases, albeit by one nucleotide. Here, we show that alteration of the 3′ end of the Thg1 substrate tRNA
His
unleashes an unexpected reverse polymerase activity of wild-type Thg1, resulting in the 3′-5′ addition of multiple nucleotides to the tRNA, with efficiency comparable to the G
−1
addition reaction. The addition of G
−1
forms a mismatched G·A base pair at the 5′ end of tRNA
His
, and, with monophosphorylated tRNA substrates, it is absolutely specific for tRNA
His
. By contrast, reverse polymerization forms multiple G·C or C·G base pairs, and, with preactivated tRNA species, it can initiate at positions other than −1 and is not specific for tRNA
His
. Thus, wild-type Thg1 catalyzes a templated polymerization reaction acting in the reverse direction of that of canonical DNA and RNA polymerases. Surprisingly, Thg1 can also readily use dNTPs for nucleotide addition. These results suggest that 3′-5′ polymerization represents either an uncharacterized role for Thg1 in RNA or DNA repair or metabolism, or it may be a remnant of an earlier catalytic strategy used in nature.
Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis: useful diagnostic tool for differentiating between dyschondrosteosis, turner syndrome, and hypochondroplasia
Authors: Laurencikas E. , Sävendahl L. , Jorulf H.
Published: June 2006

Purpose: To assess the value of the metacarpophalangeal pattern profile (MCPP) analysis as a diagnostic tool for differentiating between patients with dyschondrosteosis, Turner syndrome, and hypochondroplasia.

Material and Methods: Radiographic and clinical data from 135 patients between 1 and 51 years of age were collected and analyzed. The study included 25 patients with hypochondroplasia (HCP), 39 with dyschondrosteosis (LWD), and 71 with Turner syndrome (TS). Hand pattern profiles were calculated and compared with those of 110 normal individuals. Pearson correlation coefficient ( r) and multivariate discriminant analysis were used for pattern profile analysis. Pattern variability index, a measure of dysmorphogenesis, was calculated for LWD, TS, HCP, and normal controls.

Results: Our results demonstrate that patients with LWD, TS, or HCP have distinct pattern profiles that are significantly different from each other and from those of normal controls. Discriminant analysis yielded correct classification of normal versus abnormal individuals in 84% of cases. Classification of the patients into LWD, TS, and HCP groups was successful in 75%. The correct classification rate was higher (85%) when differentiating two pathological groups at a time. Pattern variability index was not helpful for differential diagnosis of LWD, TS, and HCP.

Conclusion: Patients with LWD, TS, or HCP have distinct MCPPs and can be successfully differentiated from each other using advanced MCPP analysis. Discriminant analysis is to be preferred over Pearson correlation coefficient because it is a more sensitive and specific technique. MCPP analysis is a helpful tool for differentiating between syndromes with similar clinical and radiological abnormalities.
Coping with unemployment: Does educational attainment make any difference?
Authors: Christensen Ulla , Schmidt Lone , Kriegbaum Margit , Hougaard Charlotte Ørsted , Holstein Bjørn E.
Published: June 2006

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between educational attainment and coping strategies with unemployment in a random sample of 37- to 56-year-old Danish men and women in long-term unemployment. Methods: Data were based on a survey among 575 men and 1,064 women who had been unemployed at least 70% of the time during a three-year period (October 1996 to October 1999). The outcome measures were two scales for coping with unemployment, one for problem-solving coping, and one for avoidant coping. Educational attainment was measured by years of vocational training. Results: A significant association was found between low educational attainment and low use of problem-solving coping among both men, OR=1.81 (95% CI 1.19—2.75), and women, OR=1.57 (1.13— 2.18). Adjustment for cohabitation status, self rated health, economic strain, and unemployment status did not change this association substantially. High use of avoidant coping was associated with low educational attainment among men, OR=1.57 (0.98—2.51). For women, medium educational attainment was significantly associated with low use of avoidant coping, OR=0.60 (0.42—0.85). This result was not affected by adjustment for the covariates. Conclusions: Coping strategies are considered a potential modifier of the impact of unemployment on health and well-being. In this study, differences in coping strategies with unemployment were associated with educational attainment.
Smoking in pregnancy in relation to gender and adult mortality risk in offspring: The Helsingborg Birth Cohort Study
Authors: Nilsson Peter M. , Hofvendahl Stefan , Hofvendahl Erik , Brandt Lena , Ekbom Anders
Published: June 2006

Background: Smoking in pregnancy is a well-documented risk factor for fetal growth impairment and poor perinatal outcomes. Less is known about the long-term effects of maternal smoking on offspring mortality. Methods: A follow-up study in national registers on total mortality and cancer based on a birth cohort from Helsingborg, Sweden, including data on 2,010 sons and 1,982 daughters born to mothers for whom the smoking habits during pregnancy (50% smokers) have been recorded. Results: A total of 92 offspring deaths were recorded (54 men, 38 women) during follow-up. Of these deaths, 43 deaths were related to trauma, 6 to circulatory disease, and 2 to endocrine disorders. In men, an elevated mortality risk was associated with increasing maternal smoking habits (p for trend 0.011), but in women with low birth weight (p for trend 0.006). A total of 47 incident offspring cancers were registered (18 in men and 29 in women). No significant relation was noted for maternal smoking habits and cancer in the offspring. Conclusions: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased mortality risk in early adult life for male offspring but not for female offspring. This could represent the possible consequence of an increased susceptibility in male fetuses.
o n e The Vis Viva Debate Kant's Starting Point
Authors: Schönfeld Martin
Published: June 2006

This chapter explores the context of Kant’s first and original puzzle: what actually is force? It is an account of the debate over kinetic energy (Leibniz’s “living force” or vis viva) and the historical transition of philosophy of nature to physics. Section 1 summarizes the explorations of energy and force from Galileo to Newton. Section 2 examines the fate and frustrations of the debate over the nature and measurement of dynamic phenomena, a quarrel first between Leibniz and the Cartesians, and next among Leibnizians, Cartesians, and Newtonians. Section 3 describes the historical outcome of the debate-the dual confirmation of the quantities at issue (Descartes’s momentum, and Leibniz’s energy) by d’Alembert and Euler, and their joint integration in Newtonian mechanics.
t e n The Reductio and Collapse of the Precritical Project
Authors: Schöneld Martin
Published: June 2006

This chapter explores Kant’s crisis in the early 1760s and its result, Dreams of a Spirit-Seer (1766). Section 1 discusses Kant’s development after the Prize Essay: the essay on Beautiful and Sublime (1764), the Negative Quantities paper (1764), and the Lecture Announcement (1765). Section 2 examines the context and inspiration of Kant’s treatise — the attack on Swedenborg’s mysticism. Section 3 explores the fallout of Kant’s Swedenborg-attack for the pre-critical project — the acknowledged impossibility of a synthesis of natural science and metaphysics, and the consequent need for a methodological bifurcation between the sensible and the intelligible.
Spirit Revelation and the Unification Church
Authors: Beverley James A.
Published: June 2006

Revelation from God and other spirit beings is a central element in the doctrine and life of the Unification Church. This essay examines the changing patterns of revelation in the history of this new religion, paying particular attention to recent and significant developments in the unfolding of revelation to its founder Reverend Sun Myung Moon. These changes have made the nature and style of Unification doctrine and experience more concrete, explicit, and also more problematic.
Reconstructing Reality
Authors: Moore Rebecca
Published: June 2006

This essay examines the conspiracy theories that have emerged to explain the mass murder-suicides of People’s Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana, in November 1978. These theories fall into three main categories: those produced by professional conspiracists who tend to see conspiracies everywhere; a subgroup of the professionals, which comprises Internet conspiracy sites; and theories developed by nonprofessionals that concentrate primarily on Jonestown. These theories show that in the absence of a credible narrative, that is, a believable reconstruction of what happened in Jonestown and why, alternative explanations arise. The conspiracy theories attempt to make sense of what appears ultimately senseless: that parents willingly killed their children and their elders, and that they willingly chose a rather painful death. Instead of accepting this possibility, the conspiracy theories provide alternatives that blame conspirators for the deaths.
Aum Shinrikyo and the Aum Incident
Authors: Repp Martin
Published: June 2006

This essay presents a systematic overview of Aum Shinrikyo, its historical development, and the significant body of scholarship that has been carried out on the movement. The analyses of Aum Shinrikyo, now called Aleph, must come to grips with explaining the 1995 poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway system; this and other criminal acts became known as the Aum incident. The discussion is built around the question: How did a group that began life as a peaceful yoga group transform into an apocalyptic doomsday religion, capable of acts of terrorism? It is argued that the Aum incident is too complex to be grasped sufficiently by monocausal explanations, and it is the complex interaction of various factors that made it happen as it did.
The Falun Gong
Authors: Ownby David
Published: June 2006

This essay examines the historical background and recent developments in the aggressive repression of Falun Gong by Chinese authorities. Falun Gong is essentially a form of qigong, the general name for a set of physical and mental disciplines based loosely on traditional Chinese medical and spiritual discourses, and organized around a charismatic master who teaches his followers specific techniques as well as general moral precepts, with the goal of realizing a physical and moral transformation of practitioners. However, Falun Gong differs from qigong in certain important respects, notably its devotion to the charismatic master and his scriptures, its apocalyptic outlook, and its spiritual aims. Straying from the scientistic and apolitical path outlined by the state, Falun Gong placed itself outside the boundaries of socialist China and thus could not be tolerated.
From Atlantis to America
Authors: Harley Gail M.
Published: June 2006

This essay examines the practice of channeling — exemplified by the Ramtha School of Enlightenment — as a unique opportunity for asserting feminine spirituality. School founder J. Z. Knight channels Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old warrior and a survivor of a cataclysmic destruction on Lemuria who fled to Atlantis for safety. Knight is placed in the context of women who utilize charismatic leadership to build bridges to the divine. The eclecticism of the Ramtha school is considered, with its use of gnosticism and quantum physics, and its focus on personal transformation; the school is placed within the modern New Age subculture that itself attempts a gender-equal construction. Finally, the controversy of gender is used to analyze society’s validation of women who channel the divine and advocate an immanent God.
Heart and Soul
Authors: Tumminia Diana G.
Published: June 2006

This essay explores the cultural ethos and uses of meaning in the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), a relatively new religion that displays a syncretistic postmodern assortment of religious traditions and spiritual innovation: Christianity, Sant Mat practices, and typical esoteric pursuits found in New Age groups. The controversial side of MSIA lies in its awkward relations with the wider society; as such, the analysis provides an insider’s portrait and outsider’s assessment of what is unproductively labeled a “cult”.
The Raëlian Movement
Authors: Palmer Susan
Published: June 2006

The Raëlian movement appears to be the largest and fastest-growing UFO religion of the decade, claiming to have up to 60,000 members. It is also controversial, like many other successful, evangelistic, and apocalyptic new religions. But closer examination suggests that the source of the notoriety appears to be in their policies regarding the media. Since the early 1990s, the Raëlians have launched a series of publicity campaigns designed to shock, titillate, and capture the media’s imagination. It is argued that by presenting controlled “outrages” with a clear social orientation in publicity campaigns — such as “Operation Condom” in front of Catholic schools and the Baby Eve cloning announcement — they direct the image of the movement in the public space and deflect the more serious charges usually aimed at new religious movements.
Modern Satanism
Authors: Petersen Jesper Aagaard
Published: June 2006

This essay begins with a short historical and sociological outline of the Satanic subculture (or movement), followed by a discussion of the connecting themes, beliefs, and practices in an attempt to systematize them. Some common typologies are addressed to establish a general analytical frame of reference, and the various groups and spokespersons are presented to outline the source material available. Discussions cover Anton Szandor LaVey and the Church of Satan, Michael Aquino and the Temple of Set, Satanic Reds, the 600 Club, and the Satanic Media Watch. It is argued that modern religious Satanism is a combination of positive religious and philosophical aspirations centered on individual, negative, and critical anti-authoritarian conviction. All Satanists have a problem with Western secular Christianity and fundamentalists, but the reactions take different shapes according to time, place, and circumstance.
Saraha'sTreasury of Couplets
Authors: Jackson Roger R.
Published: June 2006

A translation of verses by Saraha is presented.
Wittgenstein and Pyrrhonism
Authors: Sluga Hans
Published: June 2006

This essay traces the roots of Wittgenstein’s Pyrrhonism to Mauthner, and argues that Wittgenstein’s later views moved even closer to those of Mauthner, although Wittgenstein never became as thoroughgoing a Pyrrhonian as Mauthner had been. It is argued that Mauthner’s neo-Pyrrhonian view of language was “responsible for the linguistic turn in Wittgenstein’s thinking and thereby indirectly also for the whole linguistic turn in 20th-century analytic philosophy”.
Two False Dichotomies
Authors: Sosa Ernest
Published: June 2006

This essay lays out the rationale for two principles — ascent and closure — and shows how they imply further principles of exclusion and of the criterion. These principles lead to the “Pyrrhonian Problematic”, which foundationalism and coherentism attempt to solve, and also to the clash of intuitions between internalists and externalists. It is argued that the kind of knowledge that externalists and foundationalists claim differs from the kind of knowledge that internalists and coherentists claim, and which Pyrrhonists doubt. This distinction between kinds of knowledge is traced back to Descartes’s distinction between cognitio and scientia. If this is correct, externalism and internalism might both be correct, and Pyrrhonism might turn out to be compatible with externalism.
The Skeptics Are Coming! The Skeptics Are Coming!
Authors: Fogelin Robert J.
Published: June 2006

This essay explains a Pyrrhonian skepticism in contrast with Cartesian skepticism, and then argues that what externalists and contextualists oppose is only Cartesian skepticism. It contends that externalists and contextualists actually back themselves into a Pyrrhonist position because externalists give up the search for reasons for belief, and contextualists (exemplified by Keith DeRose) admit that believers have no reasons for their beliefs within epistemological contexts, which is whenever skepticism is at issue.
Contemporary Pyrrhonism
Authors: Stroud Barry
Published: June 2006

Fogelin claims that when he and others reflect on how we disregard uneliminated but eliminable defeaters while making knowledge claims in everyday life, our level of scrutiny rises, and we are inclined to give up those claims to know. This essay responds that a Pyrrhonist should resist this inclination and retain everyday knowledge claims. The possibilities which Fogelin classifies as uneliminated but eliminable defeators are actually eliminated by everyday evidence that we possess. As a result, Pyrrhonism is said to depend on other defeaters that are uneliminable, and which do not raise the level of scrutiny or undermine everyday knowledge claims as readily as Fogelin suggests.
Classy Pyrrhonism
Authors: Sinnott‐Armstrong Walter
Published: June 2006

This essay invokes a technical framework of contrast classes within which Pyrrhonians can accept (or deny) knowledge claims that are relativized to specific contrast classes, but avoid all unrelativized knowledge claims and all presuppositions about which contrast classes are really relevant. Pyrrhonians can then assert part of the content of everyday knowledge claims without privileging the everyday perspective or any other perspective. This framework provides a precise way to understand the central claims of neo-Pyrrhonism while avoiding most, if not all, of the problems and objections raised by its critics.
Commercial Applications of Skepticism
Authors: Sorensen Roy
Published: June 2006

This essay argues that Pyrrhonian skeptics, including Fogelin, are conditional skeptics, and hence not really skeptics at all. Conditional skeptics refute themselves, for when they assert conditionals, they make assertions. Since these conditionals are philosophical in content, Pyrrhonians do not avoid all philosophical assertions as they claim to do.
The Triumph of the State, 1941–1979
Authors: Gheissari Ali , Nasr Vali
Published: June 2006

This chapter focuses on the state formation between 1941 and 1979. It examines key events and actors that determined the balance of power between state and society, development and opposition to it, and the eventual concentration of power in the Pahlavi state between 1954 and 1979. The evolution of various ideologies and their effects on Iranian politics is also discussed.
Mission and Culture
Authors: Morey Melanie M. , Piderit John J.
Published: June 2006

Culture has a significant impact on how organizations understand and live out their institutional mission. This chapter explores how the components of organizational culture in general, and Catholic institutional culture in particular, interact over time in ways that impact two minimum characteristics of any viable culture: distinguishability and inheritability. Distinguishability is shown to require activities or approaches that are central to the life of the university and to Catholic teaching and practice. Cultural change, cultural consistency, and the various ways in which cultures and subcultures interact are discussed. Effective Catholic colleges and universities manage cultural change to enhance, rather than erode Catholic cultural vibrancy.
Models of Catholic Universities
Authors: Morey Melanie M. , Piderit John J.
Published: June 2006

This chapter examines four different models that Catholic colleges and universities adopt with respect to sharing the Catholic heritage. It also examines how the economics of higher education steers Catholic institutions toward one approach rather than another. The four models are: immersion, persuasion, diaspora, and cohort. The models describe the Catholic higher education market, with particular reference to Catholic identity. They also provide a framework for analyzing the comments made by senior administrators and for understanding some of the major challenges these administrators face with respect to Catholic identity. The first part of the chapter examines basic assumptions about goals, and then gradually makes the models more explicit by identifying important activities in various sectors such as the academic program, residential living, student activities and religious activities. A nonsectarian model is developed for comparison purposes.
Faculty and Students Engaging the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Authors: Morey Melanie M. , Piderit John J.
Published: June 2006

This chapter discusses the first of the major themes to emerge from research data: how senior administrators understand the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the role it plays in the academic life of their institutions across all disciplines. It looks at various issues such as Catholic cultural illiteracy, hiring for mission, and the role of theology and philosophy in the curriculum. Desired characteristics of faculty, be they Catholic or non-Catholic, at Catholic institutions are identified. The heart of a university is academic content and, to be genuinely Catholic, Catholic institutions have to emphasize their academic content in an appropriate way. Philosophy may have been the central content welcomed by students at Catholic institutions in the first half of the 20th century. An important issue is what the modern “Catholic content” ought to be. The major threats to Catholic cultural inheritability and distinguishability in the academic sector are examined. The implications of present practice within all four collegiate models for the vitality of Catholic culture in the academic sector are also explored. Finally, the chapter suggests strategic approaches to enhance distinguishability without posing a market threat to inheritability.
Student Culture
Authors: Morey Melanie M. , Piderit John J.
Published: June 2006

This chapter explores the theme raised by senior administrators that student culture is both an indicator of and contributor to each Catholic institution’s distinctive Catholic culture and identity. It assesses the claim by administrators that Catholic colleges and universities provide a uniquely inclusive and value-laden education that permeates all aspects of the collegiate experience and transforms the lives of students. The chapter looks at policies and behavioral standards and enforcement mechanisms in a number of areas including alcohol use, sexual intimacy among students, invitations to outside speakers, and the awarding of honorary degrees. It also explores the role of Catholic moral teaching in student culture at Catholic institutions, and offers strategies to enhance the distinguishability and inheritability of religious culture in all four models of Catholic institutions.
Cultural Collapse and Religious Congregations of Women
Authors: Morey Melanie M. , Piderit John J.
Published: June 2006

This chapter presents a cautionary tale about cultural change that highlights the inherent difficulties in the process. It analyzes one of the biggest success stories in Catholic culture, namely, the achievements of Catholic institutions through the influence of nuns. It briefly recounts the history of religious congregations of women in the United States, giving special emphasis to their process of religious cultural formation designed to produce knowledgeable and committed women who were visible witnesses of the Catholic tradition in the institutions in which they served. In discussing what has happened in religious congregations of women since the Second Vatican Council, the chapter illuminates some of the strategic choices that can ultimately erode, rather than enhance, an organization’s culture. This simultaneously exhilarating and depressing story yields three cautionary principles, and ushers in a discussion about how Catholic colleges and universities should assess their current situation and move forward strategically.
Leadership and Governance
Authors: Morey Melanie M. , Piderit John J.
Published: June 2006

This chapter discusses the role of leadership in cultural change and provides practical approaches to assessing and enhancing Catholic institutional culture. Two composite types of visionary leaders (connective and directive), as well as two degrees of cultural change (adjustment and correction), are adopted to illuminate important strategic leadership choices and analyze their implications for religious cultural enhancement. The chapter explores the connection between leadership style and cultural context, clarifies the role of boards of trustees in choosing presidents and assessing their performance, and identifies the adoption of effective measurement tools for religious performance as a necessary policy change for Catholic colleges and universities.
Policy Packages
Authors: Morey Melanie M. , Piderit John J.
Published: June 2006

This chapter presents policy packages that draw together various recommendations included in the previous theme chapters. These packages include a variety of practical approaches, as well as situation specific plans. For each type of university, two scenarios are considered: one in which minimum standards for Catholic identity are achieved; and a second scenario in which these standards are far from being met. Catholic universities can adopt and adapt these plans in developing their own coordinated strategies to strengthen their institutional Catholic culture. The recommendations and approaches outlined in this chapter address the components of culture, the leadership style of the president and, where appropriate, are articulated according to each of the four models of being a Catholic university. The chapter concludes with the estimated cost of training an adequate number of faculty in the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Did Dogen Go to China?
Authors: Heine Steven
Published: June 2006

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse writings of Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of Sōtō (C. Ts’ao-tung) Zen Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China. The context of Dōgen’s travels to and reflections on China are reconstructed by means of a critical look at traditional sources both by and about Dōgen. While many studies emphasize the unique features of Dōgen’s Japanese influences versus traditional Chinese models, this book calls attention to the fusion of Chinese and Japanese elements in Dōgen’s religious vision. It reveals many new materials and insights into Dōgen’s main writings, including the multiple editions of the Shōbōgenzō, and how and when this seminal text was created by Dōgen and edited and interpreted by his disciples. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive approach to the master’s life works and an understanding of the overall career trajectory of one of the most important figures in the history of Buddhism and Asian religious thought.
Gone Fishin'
Authors: Heine Steven
Published: June 2006

The chapter explores the fact that although Dōgen’s most well known version of the Shōbōgenzō has 95 fascicles, he composed several more versions that revealed additional information about the Master. As abbot of Eiheiji, Dōgen focused his attention on delivering the jōdō sermons in the Eihei kōroku, a crucial text which, until very recently, has been so overshadowed by the 75-Shōbōgenzō that it was virtually neglected in Western scholarship. Two other collections that are crucial for understanding the unfolding of Dōgen’s career in relation to Chinese Ch’an are the Shōbōgenzō zuimonki and the Eihei shingi. The chapter concludes with a discussion of Dōgen’s life through the Decline and Renewal theories.