bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AN OVERVIEW ON SMOOTHED PARTICLE HYDRODYNAMICS
Authors: LIU M. B. , LIU G. R. , ZONG Z.
Published: April 2008

This paper presents an overview on smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), which is a meshfree, particle method of Lagrangian nature. In theory, the interpolation and approximations of the SPH method and the corresponding numerical errors are analyzed. The inherent particle inconsistency has been discussed in detail. It has been demonstrated that the particle inconsistency originates from the discrete particle approximation process and is the fundamental cause for poor approximation accuracy. Some particle consistency restoring approaches have been reviewed. In application, SPH modeling of general fluid dynamics and hyperdynamics with material strength have been reviewed with emphases on (1) microfluidics and microdrop dynamics, (2) coast hydrodynamics and offshore engineering, (3) environmental and geophysical flows, (4) high-explosive detonation and explosions, (5) underwater explosions, and (6) hydrodynamics with material strength including hypervelocity impact and penetration.
VIBRATION CHARACTERISTICS SIMULATION OF WRINKLED CIRCULAR ANNULUS-SHAPED GOSSAMER SPACE STRUCTURE
Authors: WANG CHANGGUO , DU XINGWEN , HE XIAODONG , SONG GUOZHI
Published: April 2008

Ultra-lightweight Gossamer space structures have received the wide attention due to their small packaging volume and low launching cost. Since wrinkles are a common deformation state and the main failure mode of such structures and vibration behaviors are the major factor of the structural design and control, a better understanding of the wrinkling characteristics and the vibration behaviors of the wrinkled membrane structure is thus very essential and desirable. In this paper, a modal analysis method incorporating the wrinkling analysis is presented to simulate the vibration characteristics of a wrinkled membrane structure. The effects of the wrinkles on the structural vibration behaviors are also summarized in detail in the end.
AN EXTENSION OF OLEINIK's INEQUALITY FOR GENERAL 1D SCALAR CONSERVATION LAWS
Authors: GLASS OLIVIER
Published: April 2008

We establish an Oleinik-type inequality concerning BV entropy solutions of general scalar conservation laws in one dimension: [Formula: see text] This inequality reads, for x ≤ y and t > 0: [Formula: see text] This contains Oleinik's inequality for convex fluxes; in particular, almost convex and almost concave fluxes yield solutions that almost satisfy Oleinik's estimate. We also show that this inequality is not satisfied in general when one replaces the factor [Formula: see text] with ‖(f″)-‖∞or with ‖(f″)+‖∞.
THE RAMACHANDRAN MAP OF MORE THAN 6,500 PERFECT POLYPEPTIDE CHAINS
Authors: SZABADKA ZOLTÁN , ÖRDÖG RAFAEL , GROLMUSZ VINCE
Published: April 2008

The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is the most important depository of protein structural information, containing more than 45,000 deposited entries today. Because of its inhomogeneous structure, its fully automated processing is almost impossible. In a previous work, we cleaned and re-structured the entries in the Protein Data Bank, and from the result we have built the RS-PDB database. Using the RS-PDB database, we draw a Ramachandran-plot from 6,593 "perfect" polypeptide chains found in the PDB, containing 1,192,689 residues. This is a more than tenfold increase in the size of data analyzed before this work. The density of the data points makes it possible to draw a logarithmic heat map enhanced Ramachandran map, showing the fine inner structure of the right-handed α-helix region.
SYNERGY OF DNA-BENDING NUCLEOID PROTEINS AND MACROMOLECULAR CROWDING IN CONDENSING DNA
Authors: BESSA RAMOS ESIO , WINTRAECKEN KATHELIJNE , GEERLING ANS , DE VRIES RENKO
Published: April 2008

Many prokaryotic nucleoid proteins bend DNA and form extended helical protein-DNA fibers rather than condensed structures. On the other hand, it is known that such proteins (such as bacterial HU) strongly promote DNA condensation by macromolecular crowding. Using theoretical arguments, we show that this synergy is a simple consequence of the larger diameter and lower net charge density of the protein-DNA filaments as compared to naked DNA, and hence, should be quite general. To illustrate this generality, we use light-scattering to show that the 7kDa basic archaeal nucleoid protein Sso7d from Sulfolobus solfataricus (known to sharply bend DNA) likewise does not significantly condense DNA by itself. However, the resulting protein-DNA fibers are again highly susceptible to crowding-induced condensation. Clearly, if DNA-bending nucleoid proteins fail to condense DNA in dilute solution, this does not mean that they do not contribute to DNA condensation in the context of the crowded living cell.
Dexamethasone-induced expression of the glucocorticoid response gene lipocalin 2 in chondrocytes
Authors: Owen H. C. , Roberts S. J. , Ahmed S. F. , Farquharson C.
Published: April 2008

Glucocorticoids (GC) are commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs, but long-term use can result in marked growth retardation in children due to their actions on growth plate chondrocytes. To gain an insight into the mechanisms involved in GC-induced growth retardation, we performed Affymetrix microarray analysis of the murine chondrogenic cell line ATDC5, incubated with 10−6 M dexamethasone (Dex) for 24 h. Downregulated genes included secreted frizzled-related protein and IGF-I, and upregulated genes included serum/GC-regulated kinase, connective-tissue growth factor, and lipocalin 2. Lipocalin 2 expression increased 40-fold after 24-h Dex treatment. Expression increased further after 48-h (75-fold) and 96-h (84-fold) Dex treatment, and this response was Dex concentration dependent. Lipocalin 2 was immunolocalized to both proliferating and hypertrophic growth plate zones, and its expression was increased by Dex in primary chondrocytes at 6 h (3-fold, P < 0.05). The lipocalin 2 response was blocked by the GC-receptor antagonist RU-486 and was increased further by the protein synthesis blocker cycloheximide. Proliferation in lipocalin 2-overexpressing cells was less than in control cells (49%, P < 0.05), and overexpression caused an increase in collagen type X expression (4-fold, P < 0.05). The effects of lipocalin 2 overexpression on chondrocyte proliferation (64%, P < 0.05) and collagen type X expression (8-fold, P < 0.05) were further exacerbated with the addition of 10−6 M Dex. This synergistic effect may be explained by a further increase in lipocalin 2 expression with Dex treatment of transfected cells (45%, P < 0.05). These results suggest that lipocalin 2 may mediate Dex effects on chondrocytes and provides a potential novel mechanism for GC-induced growth retardation.
Spike-Firing Resonance in Hypoglossal Motoneurons
Authors: van Brederode Johannes F. M. , Berger Albert J.
Published: April 2008

During an inspiration the output of hypoglossal (XII) motoneurons (HMs) in vitro is characterized by synchronous oscillatory firing in the 20- to 40-Hz range. To maintain synchronicity it is important that the cells fire with high reliability and precision. It is not known whether the intrinsic properties of HMs are tuned to maintain synchronicity when stimulated with time-varying inputs. We intracellularly recorded from HMs in an in vitro brain stem slice preparation from juvenile mice. Cells were held at or near spike threshold and were stimulated with steady or swept sine-wave current functions (10-s duration; 0- to 40-Hz range). Peristimulus time histograms were constructed from spike times based on threshold crossings. Synaptic transmission was suppressed by including blockers of GABAergic, glycinergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission in the bath solution. Cells responded to sine-wave stimulation with bursts of action potentials at low (<3- to 5-Hz) sine-wave frequency, whereas they phase-locked 1:1 to the stimulus at intermediate frequencies (3–25 Hz). Beyond the 1:1 frequency range cells were able to phase-lock to subharmonics (1:2, 1:3, or 1:4) of the input frequency. The 1:1 phase-locking range increased with increasing stimulus amplitude and membrane depolarization. Reliability and spike-timing precision were highest when the cells phase-locked 1:1 to the stimulus. Our findings suggest that the coding of time-varying inspiratory synaptic inputs by individual HMs is most reliable and precise at frequencies that are generally lower than the frequency of the synchronous inspiratory oscillatory activity recorded from the XII nerve.
Temperamental Activity and Epidermal Growth Factor A61G Polymorphism in Finnish Adults
Authors: Puttonen Sampsa , Keltikangas-Järvinen Liisa , Elovainio Marko , Kivimäki Mika , Rontu Riikka , Lehtimäki Terho
Published: April 2008

Background/Aims: Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has widespread effects on the developing and mature nervous system. This study examined whether genetic differences in the EGF predict differences in the self-reported level of activity temperament in adults. Methods: Two hundred and ninety-two men and women from the population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study were genotyped for the functional EGF gene A61G polymorphisms, and their temperamental activity was assessed 3 times in 1992, 1997 and 2001. Results: The EGF gene predicted temperamental activity (the mean of 3 assessments, p = 0.007), with the G/G genotype being associated with the highest level of activity. Additional analyses in separate years indicated that the association was robust across different measurements of activity (p ≤ 0.05 in 1992 and 1997, p = 0.008 in 2001). Conclusion: These results suggest that polymorphic variation in the EGF A61 gene may be one of the factors underlying the temperament dimension of activity.
Incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in the Urban Area of Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany
Authors: Fasbender P. , Kölmel H.W.
Published: April 2008

European data on the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) reveal a continuous increase in the incidence of MS, which does not as yet seem to have reached a plateau at any point in time. No epidemiological data are available from Thuringia, which belonged to the former German Democratic Republic and which was politically separated from the neighbouring epidemiologically well-known areas of Hesse and Lower Saxony. We determined the incidence of MS in the urban area of Erfurt in Thuringia, by prospective identification of patients, with a diagnosis of definite or probable MS between 1998 and 2002. The crude annual incidence was 8.0:100,000, which is the highest rate ever reported for Germany. Our data, showing a high proportion of females with a late disease onset, suggests an increase in female cases with a benign form of MS resulting in an increase in MS incidence. An impact of changing diagnostic procedures inflating the rate has still to be taken into account. Until now it is partly up to speculation whether the observed increase in incidence may be related to emerging new cases, possibly from the pool of prior subclinical MS cases.
Morphine-Induced Behavioral Sensitization Increased the mRNA Expression of NMDA Receptor Subunits in the Rat Amygdala
Authors: Sepehrizadeh Zargham , Sahebgharani Mousa , Ahmadi Shamseddin , Shapourabadi Mina Bahrololoumi , Bozchlou Saeed Hashemi , Zarrindast Mohammad-Reza
Published: April 2008

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of repeated morphine treatment on rat behavioral responses. In the genetic section, the mRNA expression of NMDA receptor subunits (NR1 and NR2A) was measured in certain areas of the male rat brain (striatum, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and amygdala). In the behavioral section, the effect of repeated morphine treatment on animal models such as locomotion, oral stereotypy, and state-dependent memory in a passive avoidance test was evaluated in the presence or absence of MK801 (NMDA receptor antagonist). Our results showed that chronic morphine treatment, followed by a 7-day (but not 24-hour) washout period, potentiated the effect of test doses of morphine, which is referred to as behavioral sensitization. Meanwhile, pretreatment of animals with MK801 (0.1 and 0.25 mg/kg), 30 min before a test dose of morphine (5 mg/kg), failed to attenuate the locomotion and oral stereotypy in the behavioral sensitization state. Interestingly, a higher dose of MK801 (0.25 mg/kg) decreased memory retrieval induced by morphine (2.5 mg/kg) in state-dependent memory. This effect may be due to the intrinsic motor enhancer property of higher doses of MK801, rather than the blockade of NMDA receptors. It can be concluded that MK801 does not affect morphine-induced behavioral sensitization in the expression phase. In the genetic section of the study, results of quantitative real-time RT-PCR clearly indicated that morphine sensitization increased the expression of NMDA receptor subunits mRNA in the amygdala (NR1 by 104% and NR2A by 85%), while the other areas of the brain were unaffected. Maenwhile, no change in the mRNA levels was observed in non-sensitized animals (chronic morphine treatment followed by a 24-hour washout period). In summary, the present study indicates that repeated morphine treatment followed by long-term (7-day washout) induces behavioral sensitization and causes a delayed increase in mRNA levels of NMDA receptor subunits in the rat amygdala. Meanwhile, it has previously been reported that the amygdala is involved in behavioral sensitization. Thus, it can be concluded that the increase in NMDA receptor expression is associated with morphine-induced behavioral sensitization.
Treatment Options in Alzheimer’s Disease: Maximizing Benefit, Managing Expectations
Authors: Farlow Martin R. , Miller Michael L. , Pejovic Vojislav
Published: April 2008

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is becoming an increasingly heavy burden on the society of developed countries, and physicians now face the challenge of providing efficient treatment regimens to an ever-higher number of individuals affected by the disease. Currently approved anti-AD therapies – the cholinesterase inhibitors and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist memantine – offer modest symptomatic relief, which can be enhanced using combination therapy with both classes of drugs. Additionally, alternative therapies such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin E, selegiline, Ginkgo biloba extracts, estrogens, and statins, as well as behavioral and lifestyle changes, have been explored as therapeutic options. Until a therapy is developed that can prevent or reverse the disease, the optimal goal for effective AD management is to develop a treatment regimen that will yield maximum benefits for individual patients across multiple domains, including cognition, daily functioning, and behavior, and to provide realistic expectations for patients and caregivers throughout the course of the disease. This review provides a basic overview of approved AD therapies, discusses some pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment strategies that are currently being investigated, and offers suggestions for optimizing treatment to fit the needs of individual patients.
Reduced Maximal Oxygen Consumption and Overproduction of Proinflammatory Cytokines in Athletes
Authors: Vaisberg Mauro , Tulio de Mello Marco , Cerqueira Leite Seelaender Marília , Vagner Thomatieli dos Santos Ronaldo , Bicudo Pereira Costa Rosa Luis Fernando
Published: April 2008

Objective: It was the aim of this study to evaluate whether chronic pain in athletes is related to performance, measured by the maximum oxygen consumption and production of hormones and cytokines. Methods: Fifty-five athletes with a mean age of 31.9 ± 4.2 years engaged in regular competition and showing no symptoms of acute inflammation, particularly fever, were studied. They were divided into 2 subgroups according to the occurrence of pain. Plasma concentrations of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, prolactin, growth hormone and dopamine were measured by radioimmunoassay, and the production of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-α and prostaglandin E2 by whole-blood culture. Maximal oxygen consumption was determined during an incremental treadmill test. Results: There was no change in the concentration of stress hormones, but the athletes with chronic pain showed a reduction in maximum oxygen consumption (22%) and total consumption at the anaerobic threshold (25%), as well as increased cytokine production. Increases of 2.7-, 8.1-, 1.7- and 3.7-fold were observed for IL-1, IL-2, tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-α, respectively. Conclusions: Our data show that athletes with chronic pain have enhanced production of proinflammatory cytokines and lipid mediators and reduced performance in the ergospirometric test.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Pregnane X Receptor Gene in Han Chinese and a Comparison with Other Ethnic Populations
Authors: Wang Xue-Ding , Deng Xiao-Ying , Chen Jie , Li Jia-Li , Chen Xiao , Zhao Li-Zi , Lu Yan , Chowbay Balram , Su Qi-Biao , Huang Min , Zhou Shu-Feng
Published: April 2008

The pregnane X receptor (PXR/NR1I2) gene is a master regulator for a number of cytochrome P450s (CYPs) and drug transporters. This study aimed to detect the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the PXR gene in Han Chinese (n = 186) and to compare the frequencies of polymorphisms of the PXR gene with those in Caucasian and African Americans reported in the literature. The SNPs of the PXR gene were analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing analysis. The mutant frequencies of A11156C and T11193C in Han Chinese were 55% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.49–0.61) and 59% (95% CI: 0.52–0.64), respectively, higher than those of Caucasian Americans (16 and 16%, respectively) and African Americans (33 and 30%, respectively). However, the reported SNPs in exons 2 and 4 (PXR*2,*3,*4,*6,*9,*10,and *11) were not detected in Han Chinese. These results indicate that there are marked differences in the mutant frequencies of A11156C and T11193C of PXR between Han Chinese and other ethnic groups. The mutant frequency in the coding region (exons 2 and 4) of PXR was very low in Han Chinese. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of common SNPs of PXR in Han Chinese and other ethnic populations on the phenotypic activity of cytochrome P450s and drug transporters transactivated by PXR.
A Saucer Model of Southeast Asian Identity
Authors: Reid Anthony
Published: April 2008

This essay argues for an indigenous origin of the Southeast Asian idea. Two inherently Southeast Asian factors determined that the region would be seen as one: (i) a positive view from what we now call Malaysia/Singapore, that it sits in the centre of a meaningful region called by a diversity of names. This self-conscious centrality is based, however, on communications, not on civilization or empire like the cores of many other historic regions. The Malacca Straits area has always been a meeting place of ports and portages, not a centre of agriculturally-based population, large armies, architectural or literary monuments; (ii) a negative decision by the peripheries of this region that they did not want to be appendages of their larger and more threatening neighbours, so that Southeast Asia became a kind of default option.
Cultural Politics and the Reading of Job
Authors: Newsom Carol A.
Published: April 2008

Throughout the book of Job there is a rivalry between different ways of talking. As important as it is to pay attention to what everybody is talking about, there are also important issues to be uncovered in attending to how these ways of using language differ and what is at stake in setting them over against one another. Since every way of talking implies a moral and social world, the book of Job presents readers with alternative models of character and community. The rival discourses within the book can be compared with contemporary discourses of neo-traditionalism, critical modernism, and post-modernism. Although arguments can be made for a neo-traditionalist and a post-modernist reading of the book as a whole, neither argument decisively triumphs over the other. The book may be likened to a Gestalt drawing that can be seen in two irreconcilable ways.
The Evil Eye and the Sermon On the Mount
Authors: Elliott John H.
Published: April 2008

Belief in the malignant force of the Evil Eye and strategies to ward off its destructive power pervaded the cultures of the ancient Near East and Circum-Mediterranean basin. This belief was shared by the biblical communities who in their writings refer frequently to the Evil Eye, its associated dispositions, and means of protection from its injurious effects. This paper situates one such biblical Evil Eye text within its cultural context. Following a summary of salient features of Evil Eye belief and practices and a review of biblical Evil Eye texts, the focus is on one reference to this belief in the teaching of Jesus: Matt: 6:22-23 in the Sermon on the Mount. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how reference to the Evil Eye was culturally and conceptually appropriate in this segment of teaching, how the Evil Eye here and generally was associated with the vice of envy, and how this Evil Eye allusion functions in both its literary and cultural contexts. A related aim is to use this topic to demonstrate the utility and procedure of social scientific criticism as a necessary supplementation of conventional historical-critical exegesis.
Great Trek and Long Walk: Readings of a Biblical Symbol
Authors: Green Barbara
Published: April 2008

Diverse South African readings of "the exodus" offer convenient access to the complex processes of "meaning-making" which are currently under scrutiny in many disciplines. This essay investigates several diverse appropriations of the biblical text in order to read the classic journey story-particularly the moment of encountering the Canaanites-and to sort some of the methodological issues. First, a pair of opposite versions: white South African (Boer) and black South African (represented by Archbishop Desmond Tutu); second, a triad of critical approaches, but with different emphases (historical-critical, text-centered, reader-focused); and third, my own construal of Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, as yet another appropriation of liberation texts. In each case, the valuable questions to ask are how the interpreter has proceded and what has been the result, both for the understanding of texts and for the methodological discussion. The allegorical approach (Boer and Tutu) seems totally inadequate. The scholarly critical readings, with their behind-, within-, and before-the-text emphases are illuminating. But Mandela's construal, or at least my version of it, offers additional and fresh insight into the dynamics of liberation.
The Different Versions of Esther
Authors: Lacocque ANDRÉ
Published: April 2008

In this article I contrast my reading of Esther as presented in The Feminine Unconventional with that proposed by David J.A. Clines in his book, The Esther Scroll: The Story of the Story. I particularly criticize his judgment on the literary genre, composition, and value of the so-called "A-Text," a Greek version of the Esther story extant in four late manuscripts, in which Clines sees an original core of the genuine story he calls the pre-Masoretic tale. The constant implication in his book is that this pre-Masoretic version is far superior in artistry and philosophical content to the later reworkings of the tale as we find them in the MT and in the LXX with its extensive Additions. To retrieve the alleged pristine meaning of the tale, Clines is led to emend all elements of the story that do not fit the conventional pattern of "the success story of the wise courtier." My reading and assessment of the A-Text are vastly different from Clines's. I explain why and present several samples of my divergent understanding. The A-Text is a most interesting piece, but, I believe, Clines has missed the real generic nature of the document and, in consequence, has drawn from it far-reaching but wrong conclusions.
On Cometary Theory and Typology From Nechepso-Petosiris Through Apuleius To Servius
Authors: Keyser Paul T.
Published: April 2008

In summary we have as follows, leaving aside here the complex and important cometary theories of the pre-socratics, Aristotle, and the Stoics. First, ca. 145-35 B.C.E. Nechepso-Petosiris wrote a book of astrology including a passage on cometary prognosis based on heavenly region of appearance. He (they?) assumed that comets were fiery (the standard theory of the era) without further ado. His view of comets seems to be that they appear in, move toward, or pause in, any quadrant of the sky. Their descriptions are irrelevant to their nature, serving only to identify them. Within the next century five further books were written. Epigenes refined the standard theory with details about whirl-winds and the like (Sen. QN 7.4-10), referred to the Chaldaians (sc. Nechepso-Petosiris?), was also an astrologer (cp. Pliny 7.160, 193), and has the simplest view of the planets (when they seem close together they are: Sen. QN 7.4.2)82). Although fundamentally Epigenes' theory is simple, it seems to have involved a detailed reworking of Aristotle's theory (Sen. QN 7.4.2-4, cp. Pliny 2.82 anonymous)83), perhaps making use of Hipparchos or of Hipparchos' Babylonian sources (note Pliny 7.193: Epigenes apud Babylonios ... obseruationes siderum coctilibus laterculis inscriptas docet). First, the three outer planets by their conjunctions generate thunder and lightning (fulgurationes being watery, fulmina containing the dry exhalation). Then the events called trabes and faces are formed from
A Pilgrimage to the Heart
Authors: Kearney Richard
Published: April 2008

The wager of this Introduction is that imagination serves as a special agent of inter-religious hospitality. It suggests that a spiritual imaginary operating at the level of metaphor, narrative, symbol and epiphany can traverse the closed borders of dogma and ideology and open genuine conversations between wisdom traditions. The editor charts a 'pilgrimage of the heart' from an international meeting in Bangalore in June 2008 through a series of visits to inter-religious ashrams in western India to a final encounter in the Buddhist-Hindu caves of Ajanta and Ellora. Following in the footsteps of such pioneers of Christian-Hindu dialogue as Abhishiktananda, Francis Acharya and Sara Grant, the itinerary mapped in this Introduction seeks to illustrate key features of the five wisdom traditions discussed in this volume. The paradox of immanent transcendence lies at the heart of this journey.
Empathy and Inter-religious Imagination
Authors: Cornille Catherine
Published: April 2008

Even though empathy plays a central role in inter-religious imagination, the notion of empathy has become all but anathema in the study of religions, associated as it is with Romantic hermeneutics and with the early phenomenology of religion. This article revisits some of the early phenomenological approaches to the problem of empathy in order to explore their continuing import for the question of the possibility of entering imaginatively into the religious worldview and experience of another tradition and understanding it from within. Even though the religious experience of the other always remains beyond the purview of someone not belonging to that tradition, the notion of empathy continues to emphasize the epistemic priority of that experience in the process of inter-religious dialogue, thus stretching the imagination to resonate with new and possibly enriching forms of religious life.
A Monk's Journey in Search of God
Authors: Sleeman Simon
Published: April 2008

The author of this essay was raised on a largely rational and scientific diet of educational, religious, and personal formation; it hence took some time for him to recognize that most of the important realities of life required a different attitude and deportment. These he learned from providential introductions to psychotherapy, poetry, and alternative philosophies. A recent visit to India confirmed this adjustment and direction.
Arunachala
Authors: Boulay Shirley du
Published: April 2008

"Arunachala" is a slightly edited version of chapter six of The Cave of the Heart, a Biography of Swami Abhishiktananda, published by Orbis Books in 2005. It tells of Abhishiktananda's heart being opened to the Vedic tradition by his encounter with Ramana Maharshi and how he subsequently realized that, just as Ramana had been drawn by the Mountain of Arunachala itself, so was he. In a curious sense he was, indeed, in love with a mountain. Abhishiktananda is an excellent subject for the discussion of the "inter-religious imagination" for three reasons: First, because he was a pioneer of extraordinary courage in exploring the boundaries of Hinduism and Christianity. Secondly, because despite having a good theological mind, he was more heart than head, and his determination to explore everything in the light of experience rather than theory give his conclusions an exceptional immediacy and value. Thirdly, because few people have ever experienced "double-belonging" so acutely: he was torn apart by the tension he felt between the two, a tension he only resolved towards the end of his life. The author refers to him initially as Henri in this essay, as he did not adopt the name of Abhishiktananda until 1950.
Narratives of a Dialogue Pilgrim
Authors: Nambiaparambil Albert
Published: April 2008

This piece is a collection of narrative reflections by a dialogue pilgrim who spent over forty years committed to a project of interfaith dialogue in India. Raising the question of whether religions divide or unite, I have discovered the need to highlight the boundaries of language-games typically used by dialogue partners from different religious traditions, through an experiential approach that understands dialogue as an experience of "openness eliciting openness." Participants in interfaith encounters are called upon to take note of the leaps often unwittingly made from "faith language" to "knowledge language," or to the self-sufficient possessive language that tends to prevail in interfaith exchanges. It is important to respect the discrepancies in world-time vision, as well as the different pictures of self-understanding that emerge from different religious traditions. Also examined here is the role of intra-religious dialogue and the recurring stereotypes that often come into play when believers meet. In this ongoing pilgrimage of love—this pilgrimage in tension, with the horizon set on experiential expressions of surrender before the Ineffable Mystery—dialogue becomes a celebration of communion.
Spiritual Improvisations: Ramakrishna, Aurobindo, and the Freedom of Tradition
Authors: Cohen Martin
Published: April 2008

Stage 1: My path leads to the true goal, yours does not, therefore I'll kill you if you do not adopt my religion.Stage 2: Your path unwittingly serves mine by leading part way to the goal, so I will refrain from killing you.Stage 3: All paths lead to the same goal, therefore I do not need to subordinate you for professing another way. We can be friends. This phase envisages a heaven composed of sages from different traditions directly sensing they all share the same realization as they behold one another in a state of ineffable communion.Stage 4: All paths ultimately lead to the same goal, but along the way there are significant human differences, and on this less than ultimate level, there can be reciprocal learning.Stage 5: Even at the deepest levels, reciprocal learning can happen. Differences as well as similarities can be discerned in individuals and traditions at the most underlying and super-vening reaches of attainment. This stage posits a fallible and unfolding utopia in which heaven and earth forever inform each other, and everyone keeps learning from everyone. "Spiritual Improvisations" begins to portray the countenance of the fifth stage. To achieve this, modes of apprehension, intuition, communion, ecstasy, and heart-realization that are often said to be ultimate must be reconceived.
Imaging Islam: Intellect and Imagination in Islamic Philosophy, Poetry, and Painting
Authors: Morris James
Published: April 2008

This essay introduces the pioneering approaches of four classical Muslim thinkers (Ghazali, Biruni, Farabi, and Ibn 'Arabi) to the understanding of Islam and of religion more broadly, together with the subsequent artistic mirroring of their perspectives in two later masterpieces of Islamic mystical poetry (a ghazal of Hafiz) and painting (an illustration of the same poem by the early Safavid artist Sultan Muhammad). The discussion begins with the ways each philosopher's distinctive emphases on the relative roles of intellect, inspiration, and imagination highlight different but complementary dimensions (social, political, ritual, intellectual, and spiritual) of religious life and experience. The concluding section then illustrates how, just as in Plato's Symposium, each of those archetypal philosophical outlooks are powerfully dramatized and memorably integrated in the most influential poetic and artistic traditions of the Islamic humanities.
India: A Laboratory of Inter-religious Experiment
Authors: Siraj Maqbool Ahmed
Published: April 2008

This piece provides an account of the fertile exchanges that took place among Arab-Muslim and Hindu populations, as well as Jews, Parsis, and Christians, since the early decades of the first millennium CE and during the medieval period of Muslim rule in India. Tracing the remarkable story of inter-religious experiments in this vital area of the globe, and the intense socio-political, intellectual, and cultural intercourse between Hindus and Muslims that pervaded all sectors of existence, the author makes a strong case against zealous historical interpretations that portray Islam and Hinduism as warring factions and ideologies. Of particular interest in this rich cross-fertilization process is the creative leadership of figures like Mughal Emperor Akbar, Sultan Nasir Shah, Shikism's Guru Nanak, and poets such as Kabir Das.
The Paradox of Proximity to the Infinite: An Exploration of sidrat al-muntaha, "the Lote Tree beyond Which None May Pass"
Authors: Merriman Hannah Bigelow
Published: April 2008

This paper explores the imagery and function of sidrat al-muntaha, the "lote tree of the boundary" encountered by the Prophet Mohammed at the peak of his mystical ascent or mi'raj. Based on descriptions in Qur'an, hadith, and Sufi commentary, the lote tree's symbolic meaning is interpreted as a state of intimacy with God. Epitomizing the themes of boundary-crossing, nearness, and luminous theophany, Mohammed's experience at the lote tree of the boundary recapitulates the Sufi process of fana' fillah—annihilation in God.
Following
Authors: Stelzer Steffen
Published: April 2008

Recent studies of Islamic mysticism have unearthed and developed the central role of "imagination" in Sufism and mystical philosophy. This has been done in conscious contrast to the perceived "degradation of the image" in Western thought. Imagination is said to be both a cosmological and a noetic realm in the midst of a hierarchy of universes that mark, at the same time, different stations on the initiatory path of human beings on their way to God. Into these well laid-out plans of worlds and images, my paper introduces a component that is found very rarely in these studies and occurs, rather, in Islamic hagiographic texts about the lives of Saints or the "Friends of God" (awliya'). This component is the motive of "following," or obedience to the Prophet (sequela prophetae). In one particular account of a meeting of two "Friends of God," reference is made to the incapacity of imagination to contain—i.e. to imagine—one of them. The remedy for this incapacity is, strangely enough, expressed by a word (imtathala) which itself contains the element of imagination and means "obedience." The sequela prophetae appears, thus, not as an addition to imagination, something like its guide, but as a way of imagining that is unthought.
Promises of Advent: North and South
Authors: Rizo-Patron Eileen
Published: April 2008

The purpose of this essay is to set in motion a hermeneutics of divine posse through the exploration of religious, poetic, and artistic works on the promise of advent, spanning the North-South axis of our globe—from the European Renaissance to a present-day transcultural Andean Renaissance. It takes its point of departure from Richard Kearney's essay "Enabling God," with its proposed play of hermeneutic circles from sacred to secular contexts in our readings of "annunciation" and "advent." I see this methodological shift as a necessary step towards making further imaginative leaps between wisdom traditions in our search to understand the experiences and aspirations symbolized in religious and artistic expressions across cultures.
The Heart of the Matter: Animal Bodies, Ethics, and Species Boundaries
Authors: Birke Lynda , Michael Mike
Published: April 2008

This article addresses some of the ways in which the development of xenotransplantation, the use of nonhuman animals as organ donors, are presented in media accounts. Although xenotransplantation raises many ethical and philosophical questions, media coverage typically minimizes these. At issue are widespread public concerns about the transgression of species boundaries, particularly those between humans and other animals. We consider how these are constructed in media narratives, and how those narratives, in turn, rely on particular scientific discourses that posit species boundary crossing as unproblematic.
Victorian Natural History and the Discourses of Nature in Charles Kingsley's Glaucus
Authors: O'Gorman Francis
Published: April 2008

This essay argues that Victorian natural history, as a form of knowledge more accessible in the culture than the increasingly professionalised languages of empirical science, deserves more prominence in accounts of the formation and transmission of ideas about nature's value and human beings' relationship with it in Victorian England. The essay examines the constitutive discourses of a particular and popular example of such writing: Charles Kingsley's Glaucus (1854-55). It analyses the claims made by the text for the morally improving nature of natural history and the discourse of chivalry appropriated to express that claim. It discusses aspects of the text's construction of the natural world in theological, political and aesthetic terms, and looks particularly at its deployment of imperial discourses in configuring the naturalist's relationship with nature. The essay sites Glaucus's attitude to the morality of specimen collecting within the wider context of moral debate in Victorian natural history and concludes with some reflections on natural history's place in relation to the values of professionalised empirical science in the culture.
The Ethical Architecture of the 'Open Road'
Authors: Smith Mick
Published: April 2008

The motorcar is a mobile embodiment, expression and encapsulation of modernity's economic, environmental and ethical relations. The moral ambiguities of the automobile, as a vehicle of both individual freedom and environmental destruction, distil the equivocal costs and benefits of modernity itself. Any environmental critique of 'car culture' must recognise the automobile's role in expressing and constituting our individualistic and instrumental ethical Sittlichkeit - the ethical architecture that dominates the public and private lives of the modem citizen.
Monument and Memory: Landscape Imagery and the Articulation of Territory
Authors: Sörlin Sverker
Published: April 2008

The argument of this article is that perceived landscapes are the results of processes of articulation of territory. Landscape features, be they mountains or rivers, nature reserves, man made monuments, or technological artefacts (roads, bridges, lighthouses etc.), have been reproduced socially and culturally through a number of text genres, art forms, media, and through scientific description, particularly the field sciences and the historical and museum sciences. The results of these processes are perceived, 'inner', landscapes which are deeply embedded in the image and self understanding of nations and regions. Articulation of territory is in itself an important part of the historical emergence and growth of nationalism and regionalism.
Towards an Ecology of Australia: Land of the Spirit
Authors: Brady Veronica
Published: April 2008

Ecology has to do with the realisation of the relationships between human beings and the larger fabric of life. But the strangeness of the Australian environment as seen by the first European settlers, together with the exploitative ideology of colonisation, have posed particular problems for the development of ecological awareness. This paper argues, however, that writers, painters and musicians have kept the possibility of developing ecological awareness open from the beginnings of settlement. It also maintains that increasing sensitivity to the significance of Aboriginal culture, the oldest living culture on earth, will be perhaps the most crucial factor in this transformation.
Conflicting Movements in the Early Church as Reflected in Philippians
Authors: Jewett Robert
Published: April 2008

Assuming the dispatch of one letter from Ephesus to Philippi around 54-55 A.D., the article seeks to determine the character of the groups Paul discusses. The critics of Paul's imprisonment in Ph. i 15 ff. are linked to those "who look after their own interests" in ii 21 and identified as divine-man missionaries who felt his humiliating imprisonment jeopardized the mission. The references to the Philippian congregation are seen to reveal a piety marked by Hellenistic enthusiasm. The opponents in iii 17 ff. are identified as libertinists expelled during Paul's initial mission in Philippi who deny the saving efficacy of the cross and boast in immoral behavior. The opponents in iii 2 ff. are Judaizing missionaries who potentially threaten the congregation by offering circumcision as a means to gain perfection. The enthusiastic piety of the Philippian congregation thus lent itself to an appeal from both the libertinists and the Judaizers, and Paul's argument is seen as an attempt to establish a cross-oriented concept of humility and an apocalyptically-grounded sense of history to counter their propaganda and at the same time to correct the Philippians' viewpoint.
Biochemical studies on the relationships of the Gastric-brooding Frogs, genus Rheobatrachus
Authors: Hutchinson Mark N. , Maxson Linda R.
Published: April 2008

Two species of gastric-brooding frogs, Rheobatrachus silus and R. vitellinus, currently constitute the subfamily Rheobatrachinae of the Australian leptodactyloid family Myobatrachidae. The relationships of Rheobatrachus to other myobatrachids have remained obscure due to the specializations for aquatic life and unique gastric-brooding behavior of Rheobatrachus and to the rare and endangered status of R. silus, until recently the only known species. An antiserum to the serum albumin of R. vitellinus was used in micro-complement fixation analyses comparing R. vitellinus to R. silus, and to representatives of most of the myobatrachid genera as well as to select representatives of the South American and South African leptodactyloid fauna. The two species of Rheobatrachus are each others closest relative and no other lineage is distinctly associated with these two species. Albumin comparisons involving other leptodactyloids show that Rheobatrachus is part of the Australian fauna, but as all of the major lineages appear to have arisen in the late Cretaceous, no single sister lineage to Rheobatrachus can be unambiguously identified.
Sex identification in juveniles of Lacerta vivipara
Authors: Lecomte Jane , Clobert Jean , Massot Manuel
Published: April 2008

Sex of juveniles was identified by counting ventral scales in the lizard Lacerta vivipara. Sex can be determined accurately in more than 95 % of cases in the studied populations. Some aspects of the sexual size dimorphism are discussed.
Reproductive ecology, body fat reserves and foraging mode in females of two contrasted snake species: Vipera aspis (terrestrial, viviparous) and Elaphe longissima (semi-arboreal, oviparous)
Authors: Naulleau Guy , Bonnet Xavier
Published: April 2008

The reproductive ecology of two snakes, female Vipera aspis (terrestrial) and Elaphe longissima (semi-arboreal), was compared. Mean clutch sizes were close in the two species; 6.17 ± 2.50 (n = 69) in the asp viper, and 6.59 ± 1.38 (n = 29) in the Aesculapian snake. When controlled for body size, body condition (hence amounts of body reserves), measured at the beginning of vitellogenesis, correlated positively with litter size in the asp viper but with clutch size in the Aesculapian snake. As in most species, maternal body length positively influenced clutch or litter size. Thus, the trade-off between maternal reserves and growth may favour reserves in the asp viper, and growth in the Aesculapian snake. The asp viper is a bi- or triennial breeder (33% of reproductive-females each year), the Ausculapian snake is an annual breeder (77% of reproductive females each year). These differences may be related to their contrasting foraging ecology. The asp viper is a terrestrial ambush predator with a specialized diet (98% Microtus) based on un-predictable prey availability. This species moves slowly (9.07 ± 8.40 m/day during the active season), and has a small home range (3,024 m2); an increasing body mass (large body reserves) should not affect its activity abilities. The Aesculapian snake is a semi-arboreal predator, which feeds on a large range of prey including birds and eggs, and which is often active (118, 11 ± 134,55 m/day during the active season). This species has a large home range (11,400 m2); an increasing body mass (large body reserves) should be a handicap during arboreal displacements. Vitellogenesis depends on body reserves in the asp viper, while it depends on foraging success in the Aesculapian snake.
Molecular markers and species delimitation: examples from the European batrachofauna
Authors: Veith Michael
Published: April 2008

Molecular techniques have revolutionised zoological systematics since the beginning of the seventies. Within the last twenty years numerous new amphibian species have been described in Europe almost solely on the basis of molecular data. This paper focuses on the use of molecular character state and genetic distance data for the delimitation of species. Case studies of European anurans (Discoglossus, water frogs of the genus Rana) are discussed in the framework of concurring species concepts to illustrate problems of assigning species status to divergent populations on the basis of molecular data.
The Motivational Organisation Controlling the Mobbing Calls of the Blackbird (Turdus Merula)
Authors: Andrew R.J.
Published: April 2008

I. The factors causing A to rise tend to increase for at least 60 sec. after the appearance of the owl (although there is some effect on calling in a second or less), and the values of T tend to increase for at least 15-30 sec. 2. The changes following the disappearance of the owl are similar to those occurnng in waning (disappearance of bouts given when perched, and calls before take-off ; lengthening of intervals between calls) but occur much more quickly (e.g. within 5 sec.). It is unnecessary therefore to postulate a progressive change in the system directly controlling calling in order to explain waning (although this cannot be excluded) ; the change could be solely in the perceptual organisation responsible for recognition of the owl. 3. Differences between calling in flight towards and away from the owl depend solely on differences in distance from the owl at take-off. There is no evidence that flights away from the owl are caused by an increase in the frightening effect of the owl; at least, calling shows no effect due to such an increase. Flight, like calling, is probably directly controlled by a system which is affected by a number of factors besides the sight of the owl.