bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Magical Movement (ʾPhrul ʾKhor): Ancient Tibetan Yogic Practices from the Bon Religion and their Migration into Contemporary Medical Settings
Authors: Chaoul M.A.
Published: February 2013

Magical movement is a distinctive Tibetan yogic practice in which
breath and concentration of the mind are integrated as crucial components in
conjunction with particular body movements. Present in all five spiritual
traditions of Tibet—though more prevalent in some than in others–it has been
part of Tibetan spiritual training since at least the tenth century CE. This
report describes some varieties of magical movement, and goes on to examine
their application within conventional biomedical settings. In particular, a
pilot study of the method's utility in stress-reduction among cancer patients is
considered.
Identifying Personality Features Related to Religious Vocation: A Comparison between Seminarians and their Peers Using the NEO Personality Inventory (Revised)
Authors: Galea Paul
Published: February 2013

Do seminarians tend to exhibit a psychological structure that differs from that of their peers? Besides the ideals and motivations behind the religious call, are there personality factors that distinguish seminarians, and perhaps predispose them to choose this religious vocation? Building on previous research with the use of NEO PI-R, and analyzing data obtained from 62 male seminarians and 49 male and 51 female psychology students, this study addresses this question. Significant differences were found on all personality factors except Neuroticism, with the seminarians most notably scoring higher on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and lower on Openness to Experience. Besides confirming the usefulness of the Five Factor Model (FFM) for the study of religion, the results shed light on possible differences between religion and spirituality.
Religiosity, Empathy, and Psychopathology among Young Adult Children of Rabbis
Authors: Silton Nava R. , Fogel Joshua
Published: February 2013

Rabbis’ children experience unique stresses which may make them particularly susceptible to various forms of psychopathology. Fifty-three rabbis’ children completed questionnaires assessing their frequency of religious service attendance, their reactions towards being a rabbi's child, empathy levels, depressive, anxious, and disordered eating symptoms. Linear regression analyses were used for the separate outcome variables of depressive, anxiety, and disordered eating symptoms. More dissatisfaction with life as a rabbi's child was significantly associated with higher levels of depressive, Oral Control, and Bulimia and Food Preoccupation symptoms. Attending services daily was associated with higher levels of anxiety and Oral Control symptoms. Higher empathy levels were associated with higher anxiety, depressive and dieting symptoms. Finally, men demonstrated higher scores for Oral Control and women for Bulimia and Food Preoccupation. Counseling may be useful to aid rabbis’ children who may be challenged with depressive, anxious and disordered eating symptoms.
An Assessment of the Role of Early Parental Loss in the Adoption of Atheism or Irreligion
Authors: Pasquale Frank L.
Published: February 2013

Early parental loss or trauma has been proposed by some as a significant factor in the adoption of atheist, non-theist, or irreligious worldviews. Relevant empirical data, however, have been limited, impressionistic, methodologically questionable, or limited to historically prominent figures. Survey data from the GSS and a study of affirmatively non-theistic and irreligious secular group affiliates in the U.S. do not provide evidence of disproportionately high rates of early parental loss among individuals who describe themselves as “atheist(ic)” or “anti-religious,” reject belief in God, or express strong anger about religion. Loss of a parent or other loved may play a role in turns toward, as well as away from, God and religion for some. There is also evidence of comparatively high rates of parental loss in the lives of historically prominent figures, both religious and non-religious. Present results, however, do not support the hypothesis that early loss is a disproportionately frequent experience in the lives of (“ordinary”) atheistic or irreligious people.
Neoliberal Mythmaking: On “Well-Being” as the New Protestant Work Ethic
Authors: Martin Craig
Published: February 2013

Abstract

To what extent has modernization transformed those institutions and discourses commonly called ‘religions,’ and vice versa? How can we talk about those transformations without employing a naïve theory of secularization or privatization? And what is the connection between capitalism, modern ‘spirituality,’ and discourses on ‘well-being’? Situated within the tradition of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, this paper will propose how we might begin to answer such questions, and will consider a contemporary Sufi text as an example of one site where these questions converge.
Towards a “U-turn” by the Churches: How (Not) to Possibilise the Future
Authors: Hermans Christiaan A. M.
Published: February 2013

Abstract

How can churches (re)connect with people’s spiritual needs? The article starts by positing that churches have two focuses: the first is the moral and spiritual growth of persons, the second is social forms of life in which their moral and spiritual identity finds its goal and meaning. Next we examine how our social life forms are challenged by complexity and change in our society. This late modern situation is analysed with reference to two processes: globalisation (Zürn) and acceleration (Hartmut Rosa). Organisations like churches need to handle this complex, constantly changing new reality by making decisions based on an emerging future (Peter M. Senge, C. Otto Scharmer). This orientation to the future shifts the core questions facing the churches from what and how we are to who we are. Who are we as church leaders? As individual believers? As a community of believers? For answers to these questions we must look to the future, not the past. That is the theological challenge of a “U-turn” by the churches. How can leaders of organisations, more specifically churches, be open to the future that is waiting emerge? They have to exercise their human capacity to make the future possible. We then look at this capacity in the framework of the relationship between God and humans. I cite Nicholas of Cusa’s idea of God as the ground of possibility (the What-can-be) in the human capacity of possibilising (the what-can-be). This conceptual clarification enables me to consider how churches (and their leaders) should (not) set about possibilising1 the future of social life forms.
Die Auslegung der biblischen Verbote der Wahrsagerei, Beschwörung und Hellseherei in der Mishneh Torah Maimunis
Authors: Biernot David
Published: February 2013

Abstract

The objective of the article is to present the overall picture of Maimonides’s views on magic. As the point of departure, three halakhot prohibiting various types of magical practices have been selected from Maimonides’s code of Law, the Mishne Tora. While the first two refer rather to the popular forms of folk magic and superstition, fortune telling and conjuring, the third prohibition addresses its learned form, astral magic, which in Maimonides’s opinion was the most vicious one. First of all, the article focuses on outlining the extent of diffusion of the above magical practices in the Jewish diaspora during Maimonides’s lifetime, to subsequently explore the epistemological grounds providing the basis for Maimonides's sweeping criticism of magic. Maimonides was convinced that the magical phenomena cannot be subsumed under the rubric of natural causality; they belong to the realm of chance and accident. Belief in the efficacious character of magical activities is actually a result of erroneous cognitive process, according to Maimonides. In principle, Maimonides’s epistemological analysis of the foundations of magical beliefs has much in common with the views voiced by modern positivist anthropology, for example that of Sir James George Frazer.
The Vocatio in the Leiden Disputations (1597–1631): The Influence of the Arminian Controversy on the Concept of the Divine Call to Salvation
Authors: van den Belt Henk
Published: February 2013

This article analyses the development of the concept of the divine call to salvation in Reformed theology as it was taught at Leiden University in the first decades of the seventeenth century. During this crucial period, with the Synod of Dort as a pivotal turn, twelve disputations were defended on the subject.The changes in the order of the disputations and some switches in the terminology are related to the Arminian controversy and the confessional codification of Reformed doctrine at the Synod of Dort.There are differences between the disputations after the synod and the one defended under Arminius, but there are also some more general developments. Apparently, the Arminian controversy shaped the Reformed understanding of the vocatio.
Scholastic Continuities in the Reproduction of Classical Sources in the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae
Authors: Faber Riemer A.
Published: February 2013

This article seeks to contribute to the current re-evaluation of the relationship between the Protestant Reformation and the first period of Reformed orthodoxy by examining the ways in which the authors of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae appropriated the literatures of classical antiquity and employed them in the context of their scholastic discourses. The derivative manner in which the many references to ancient Greek and Latin writings are employed is evidenced by the demonstrable influence of three major intermediaries: medieval lexicons and anthologies, the tradition of biblical exegesis, and the writings of John Calvin. With special attention to the classical texts that are quoted in the fundamental introductory theses of several disputations, as well as in the “polemical” ones refuting non-Reformed teaching, it is argued that the Synopsis is constructed on a complexity of intertexts that extends beyond the traditionally identified patristic and medieval sources. Thus a better understanding is gained into the nature of the (dis)continuities from medieval Scholasticism to the Reformation and early Reformed orthodoxy.
Weak Historicism: On Hierarchies of Intellectual Virtues and Goods
Authors: Paul Herman
Published: February 2013

Abstract

This article seeks to reconcile a historicist sensitivity to how intellectually virtuous behavior is shaped by historical contexts with a non-relativist account of historical scholarship. To that end, it distinguishes between hierarchies of intellectual virtues and hierarchies of intellectual goods. The first hierarchy rejects a one-size-fits-all model of historical virtuousness in favor of a model that allows for significant varieties between the relative weight that historians must assign to intellectual virtues in order to acquire justified historical understanding. It grounds such differences, not on the historians’ interests or preferences, but on their historiographical situations, so that hierarchies of virtues are a function of the demands that historiographical situations (defined as interplays of genre, research question, and state of scholarship) make upon historians. Likewise, the second hierarchy allows for the pursuit of various intellectual goods, but banishes the specter of relativism by treating historical understanding as an intellectual good that is constitutive of historical scholarship and therefore deserves priority over alternative goods. The position that emerges from this is classified as a form of weak historicism.
Virtue Ethics and/or Virtue Epistemology: A Response to Anton Froeyman
Authors: Paul Herman
Published: February 2013

Abstract

In response to Anton Froeyman’s paper, “Virtues of Historiography,” this article argues that philosophers of history interested in why historians cherish such virtues as carefulness, impartiality, and intellectual courage would do wise not to classify these virtues unequivocally as either epistemic or moral virtues. Likewise, in trying to grasp the roles that virtues play in the historian’s professional practice, philosophers of history would be best advised to avoid adopting either an epistemological or an ethical perspective. Assuming that the historian’s virtuous behavior has epistemic and moral dimensions (as well as aesthetic, political, and other dimensions), this article advocates a non-reductionist account of historical scholarship, which acknowledges that the virtues cherished by historians usually play a variety of roles, depending on the goals they are supposed to serve. Given that not the least important of these goals are epistemic ones, the articles concludes that virtue ethical approaches, to the extent that they are focused on the acquisition of moral instead of epistemic goods, insufficiently recognize the role of virtue in the pursuit of such epistemic aims as knowledge and understanding.
Thirty-first Annual Erasmus Birthday Lecture: The First French Translations of the Praise of Folly
Authors: Smith Paul J.
Published: February 2013

This essay studies the two sixteenth-century translations of Erasmus’ Praise of Folly: the anonymous De la Declamation des louenges de follie, printed in 1520, and Jean Thenaud’s translation of 1517, which survived in three manuscripts intended for the royal family. It examines their translation practices and use of sources, and it addresses questions of (co-)authorship, such as the possible identification of Georges Haloin as the translator of the Declamation and the role of François Rabelais in his friend Thenaud’s translation. Furthermore, this essay pays particular attention to the illustrations that appear in the printed editions of the 1520 translation, which were copied from the French editions of Sebastian Brant’s Ship of Fools.
Twenty-fifth Annual Margaret Mann Phillips Lecture: Erasmus and the Philosophers
Authors: Monfasani John
Published: February 2013

Despite a lack of formal philosophical training and an antipathy to medieval scholasticism, Erasmus possessed not only a certain familiarity with Thomas Aquinas, but also close knowledge of Plato and Aristotle. Erasmus’ interest in some Platonic motifs is well known. But the most consistent philosophical theme in Erasmus’ writings from his earliest to his latest was that of the Epicurean goal of peace of mind, ataraxia. Erasmus, in fact, combined Christianity with a nuanced Epicurean morality. This Epicureanism, when combined in turn with a commitment to the consensus Ecclesiae as well as with an allergy to dogmatic formulations and an appreciation of the Greek Fathers, ultimately rendered Erasmus alien to Luther and Protestantism though they agreed on much.
Reconsidering Hobbes’s Account of Practical Deliberation
Authors: van Apeldoorn Laurens
Published: February 2013

Thomas Hobbes has been frequently criticised for his account of deliberation that purportedly consists merely of, in his own words, an ‘alternate succession of appetite and fear’ and therefore lacks the judgement and reflection commentators think is essential if he is to provide an adequate treatment of practical rationality. In this paper Hobbes’s account of deliberation is analysed in detail and it is argued that it is not vulnerable to this critique. Hobbes takes so-called ‘mental discourse’ to be partly constitutive of the process of practical deliberation, and this provides the cognitive judgement and reflection that critics have claimed it lacks.
Hobbes on Equality: Context, Rhetoric, Argument
Authors: Curran Eleanor
Published: February 2013

It is often argued that Hobbes’s arguments for natural and political equality are used instrumentally. This paper does not argue against the instrumental arguments but seeks to broaden the discussion; to analyse aspects of Hobbes’s arguments and comments on equality that are often ignored. In the context of the anti-egalitarian arguments of leading contemporary royalist commentators, Hobbes’s arguments and remarks are strikingly egalitarian. The paper argues, first, that there is an ideological disagreement between Hobbes and leading royalists on equality. Second, that Hobbes believes in natural equality as well as using the arguments for equality instrumentally.
Hobbes’s Philosophy in De Cive and Leviathan
Authors: Deigh John
Published: February 2013

This commentary on Bernard Gert’s Hobbes: Prince of Peace offers criticism of Gert’s assumption that the conceptual basis of the moral and political theory that Hobbes expounds in De Cive is the same as the conceptual basis of his moral and political theory in Leviathan.
Egoism, Reason, and the Social Contract
Authors: Martinich A. P.
Published: February 2013

Bernard Gert’s distinctive interpretation of the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes in his recent book may be questioned in at least three areas: (1) Even if Hobbes is not a psychological egoist, he seems to be a desire egoist, which has the consequence, as he understands it, that a person acts at least for his own good in every action. (2) Although there are several senses of reason, it seems that Hobbes uses the idea that reason is calculation of means to ends; while such calculation sets intermediate goals, reason itself does not set ultimate ends. (3) Hobbes’s political theory is best understood as a form of social contract theory because subjects covenant among themselves to authorize the sovereign to protect them; authorization has the consequence that subjects give some of the their rights to the sovereign; but this gifting of rights is not the essence of the origin of the civil state.
Recurring Dilemmas in a Recurring Conflict: Evaluating the UN Mission in Liberia (2003–2006)
Authors: Farrall Jeremy
Published: February 2013

This article applies Diehl & Druckman’s peace operation evaluation framework to the activities of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) during the Liberian transitional peace process (2003-2006). It finds that in general UNMIL performed strongly during the transitional period, particularly in relation to the core mission goals of violence abatement, conflict containment, conflict settlement and organizational effectiveness. UNMIL’s achievements were less clear and less pronounced in relation to the more complex areas of non-traditional and peacebuilding mission goals. The article also provides critical reflections on the framework for evaluating peace operations, arguing that it is difficult to escape the politics that influence the activities of peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
Johann Heinrich Callenberg’s Arabic Publications of De Veritate to the Conversion of Jews and Moslems
Authors: Rymatzki Christoph
Published: February 2013

In the missionary activities that Halle theologians developed in the first half of the 18th century Grotius’ De veritate plays an interesting role that deserves exploration. To that purpose, the history and nature of the publication of missionary tracts in Halle will be surveyed, the role therein of Johann Heinrich Callenberg and his Institutum Judaicum at Muhammedicum described and the distribution and reception of the texts among the Muslims and Jews that were the target of the Halle missions all over the world summarized and analysed. It is suggested that Grotius’ De veritate, which was an atypical piece of apology in the Halle pietist setting, stands out among the other literature for its efficacy in the missionary process, due to its non-dogmatic character.
Minimal Religion, Deism and Socinianism: On Grotius’s Motives for Writing De Veritate
Authors: Nellen Henk
Published: February 2013

This article goes into the intentions and motives behind De veritate (1627), famous apologetic work by the Dutch humanist and jurisconsult Hugo Grotius (1583-1645). De veritate will be compared with two other seminal works written by Grotius, De iure belli ac pacis (1625) and the Annotationes in Novum Testamentum (1641-1650). The focus will be on one particular aspect that comes to the fore in all three works: the way Grotius reduced the Christian faith to a minimal religion by singling out the essential tenets this faith had in common with other religions. The core of Grotius’s argumentation consists in the idea that believers and, in particular, civil authorities have to distinguish between a few essential religious tenets that could be made rationally acceptable, and a set of supernatural dogmas, derived from divine revelation, that did not pass a certain, albeit very high degree of probability. As far as the second category was concerned, civil tolerance was called for. As becomes clear from contemporary correspondences, Grotius did not develop these rather controversial ideas in an intellectual vacuum. During his exile in Paris, he fostered contacts with members of the circle that formed around the French monk Marin Mersenne (1588-1648). This circle functioned as a kind of hothouse for the development of a minimal Christian creed. Members of this group saw promotion of a minimal creed as a solution to current religious controversies and the ensuing political turmoil and (civil) war, which were abhorred for their detrimental effects on the advancement of learning in the first place. On the other hand, it is also apparent that overt adherence to such an ideal was considered to be dangerous, because it would at least evoke the embarrassing and even repressive attention of the authorities in Church and government. An additional problem was that by defending such a religious stance, members of Mersenne’s circle laid themselves open to accusations of endorsing ‘rational beliefs’ like Socinianism, generally considered to be the worst heresy among all Christian denominations.
Sambia succinica, a crown group tenthredinid from Eocene Baltic amber (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae)
Authors: Vilhelmsen Lars , Engel Michael S.
Published: February 2013

Sambia succinica gen. et sp.n. from Eocene Baltic amber is described and illustrated. It is apparently the first amber fossil that can be definitively assigned to Tenthredininae. It displays two diagnostic forewing characters for this subfamily: having a bend distally in vein R and the junctions of veins M and Rs + M with vein R being some distance from each other. The variance and possible transitions between the anal vein configurations among the genera in Tenthredininae is briefly discussed.
Molecular phylogeny of the pond treaders (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Mesoveliidae), discussion of the fossil record and a checklist of species assigned to the family
Authors: Damgaard Jakob , Ferraz Figueiredo Moreira Felipe , Hayashi Masakazu , Weir Tom A. , Zettel Herbert
Published: February 2013

The phylogenetic relationships among selected species and genera of Mesoveliidae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerromorpha) were investigated in a parsimony analysis of 2858 bp of DNA sequence data from the genes encoding COI + II, 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA. The resulting phylogeny showed that Mesoveloidea williamsiHungerford, 1929, from the subfamily Madeoveliinae, was sister group to Mniovelia Andersen & J.T. Polhemus, 1980, from the Mesoveliinae, thus making the latter subfamily paraphyletic. The genus MesoveliaMulsant & Rey, 1852 also showed to be paraphyletic, since an undescribed Laotian relative of M. indicaHorváth, 1915 and M. ujhelyiiLundblad, 1933 resulted as sister group to PhrynoveliaHorváth, 1915; and M. amoenaUhler, 1894 was sister species to Speovelia maritimaEsaki, 1929. Whereas these relationships were poorly or moderately supported, the remaining species of Mesovelia formed two distinct and well-supported clades, one comprising M. horvathiLundblad, 1933, M. hackeriHarris & Drake, 1941, and two undescribed species from Nigeria and New Caledonia, and another comprising M. vittigeraHorváth, 1895, M. stysi J.T. Polhemus & D.A. Polhemus, 2000, M. ebbenielseniAndersen & Weir, 2004, M. furcata Mulsant & Rey, 1952, and M. mulsantiWhite, 1879. A large genetic difference was found between populations of M. vittigera from Europe and Africa on one side and populations from Australia and New Caledonia on the other. DNA sequence data from a Japanese “M. vittigera” obtained from GenBank placed the specimen as strongly supported sister group to a Danish specimen of M. furcata. Comparisons of the 28S rRNA sequence data between the two specimens revealed a single C/T transition, while comparison with a Chinese female of M. furcata revealed one A/G and one C/T transition, thus suggesting mislabelling of the Japanese specimen, or an unrecognized presence of M. furcata in Japan. Considerable genetic differentiation was found between specimens of M. horvathi from Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea, and Laos, and between sympatric specimens of M. mulsanti from Honduras, thus supporting earlier ideas of species-complexes in these two clades. Samples of Austrovelia caledonicaMalipatil & Monteith, 1983 from New Caledonia and Mniovelia kuscheli Andersen & J.T. Polhemus, 1980 from New Zealand’s North Island also revealed considerable intraspecific divergences indicating genetic isolation among geographically separated populations on these ancient islands.
Social Governance Innovations in Xinyang: The “Take-as-family Method”: An Interview with Party Secretary Wang Tie (王铁)
Authors: Zhimin Zeng
Published: February 2013

Editor’s Note

Xinyang (信阳), which lies in an old revolutionary area of Henan Province, is a city with a large population and abundant agriculture. Issues such as unemployment among former military service members, village land use, relocations due to urban expansion, and unemployment, resulting from various interrelated historical and practical factors, have caused great numerous social disputes and tensions and have gravely impacted the stability and development of local society. The accumulation of these tensions have led to highly active petitioning of the government, both by letter and in person (and often by groups in person), a practice that has become “the” issue in Xinyang and an important task for local government. Under the strong leadership of Wang Tie (王铁), Xinyang’s “number one”, and through many years of mass work and letter petition work, a concept has emerged in Xinyang, along with a set of institutions and some working methods. These have come to be called the “Take-as-family Method”: “to treat the petitioners as family members; to take the letters from people as letters from your family; to view the troubles of the people as troubles of your own family; to take the issues of the people as your family’s business”. In this way, the reputation of Xinyang’s government has been remolded and the style of public servants as well as institutions and systems have all been greatly improved. The practices have received “political recognition” from high levels and top-down “experience promulgation”. One might say that the “Take-as-family Method” embodies the new measures of Xinyang’s social management innovations; furthermore, they have significant import as a reference during this time of acute social tensions in Chinese society. Upon this basis, in early September, 2011, a group led by the Director of the NGO Research Institute of the Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management, Professor Wang Ming (王名) traveled to Henan’s Xinyang to perform a survey of the “Take-as-family Method.” This writer thus had the fine opportunity to conduct an in-depth interview with Xinyang’s “number one”, Secretary Wang Tie. We not only discussed the “Take-as-family Method” he has personally initiated; we also entered his deeper thoughts, with all their unique concepts, consternations, and ideals.
Analysis of Chinese Grassroots AIDS Prevention NGOs’ Organizational Compliance and Development Strategies —Working from the Example of the Shanghai YAPSC
Authors: Junhong Han , Snape Holly Amelia
Published: February 2013

Abstract

In present-day China, very few grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs – local social organizations that are active in the field of AIDS prevention work – have completed registration with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Before the appearance of the Shanghai Youth AIDS Prevention Service Center (hereafter, the Shanghai YAPSC), there had been no successful examples of AIDS prevention NGOs dealing primarily with the social group of men who have sex with men (MSM) registering with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. This essay examines the procedure by which the organization came into compliance with the law and its development strategy. We believe that China’s grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs will soon see new, historical opportunities for development. Taking the Shanghai Municipal Government as representative of local governments’ support for grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs, we see that governments’ attitudes towards transformative, constructive cooperation with social organizations have already made important strides forward. The Shanghai YAPSC has used compliance to encourage professionalized, standardized development, providing a model for the development of Chinese grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs.
The Iron Guard and the ‘Modern State’. Iron Guard Leaders Vasile Marin and Ion I. Moţa, and the ‘New European Order’
Authors: Platon Mircea
Published: February 2013

Historians and literary scholars still working in a Cold War paradigm cast Romanian Fascism as a form of reactionary resistance to liberal modernity, and not as a competing modernizing discourse and drive. Nevertheless, in a 1933 programmatic article, the Legionnaire leader, ideologue, and ‘martyr’ Vasile Marin wrote that political concepts such as ‘the Right,’ ‘the Left,’ and ‘extremism’ lost their relevance in Romania, as well as in Europe. They had been replaced by a ‘totalitarian view of the national life,’ which was common to Fascism, National-Socialism, and the Legion. This new ‘concept’ would allow Romania to ‘overcome, by absorbing them, the democratic and socialist experiences and would create the modern state,’ – a ‘totalitarian’ state. The present article aims to consolidate the conceptual gains of ‘new consensus’ historiography, which views the Iron Guard as part of a global revolutionary movement that was spurred by the practice of a political religion promising a ‘national rebirth’ or a ‘complete cultural’ and anthropological ‘renewal.’ Far from militating for national autarchy and populist-agrarian conservatism, the two Legionnaire leaders discussed in my article sought to align Romania with the modernizing, industrializing drive of Western European Fascism.
Conversion to Islam in Ireland: A Post-Catholic Subjectivity?
Authors: Shanneik Yafa
Published: February 2013

Abstract

This article discusses the conversion experiences as recalled by Irish women who converted to Islam during the so-called ‘Celtic-Tiger’ period—the years of Ireland’s dramatic economic boom and major socio-cultural transformations between 1995 and 2007. In this period, the increasing religious diversity of Irish society and the decline of the social authority of the Catholic Church facilitated the exploration of alternative religious and spiritual affiliations. Irish women converts to Islam are an example of the emergence of a post-Catholic subjectivity in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger years. The women’s agency is illustrated through the choice of Islam as a religion and a cultural space different to Catholicism in order to gain status, power and control within the various religious and ethnic communities. This article is the first major study on conversion to Islam in Ireland during this period.
Taxonomic revision of Leucascus Dendy, 1892 (Porifera: Calcarea) with revalidation of Ascoleucetta Dendy & Frederick, 1924 and description of three new species
Authors: CAVALCANTI FERNANDA F. , RAPP HANS TORE , KLAUTAU MICHELLE
Published: February 2013

Sponges of the genus Leucascus are frequently recognised as possessing anastomosed tubes with choanocytes, and cortical and atrial membranes with pinacocytes. In the last years, five species of other genera were transferred to Leucascus, and several other species were suggested but not formally included in this genus. In the present work, all these species accepted or suggested as Leucascus were revised. According to our results, Leucascus is now composed of nine species: L. clavatus, L. leptoraphis comb. nov., L. lobatus, L. neocaledonicus, L. protogenes comb. nov., L. roseus, L. simplex (type species), L. albus sp. nov., and L. flavus sp. nov. The presence of spines in the apical actine of the tetractines had never been observed in Leucascus, but it was found in all species with tetractines in their skeletons. Some species were transferred from Leucascus to the genus Ascoleucetta, which is revalidated here based on important differences in the cortex. Modifications are also proposed in the definition of both genera. Based on our results, the family Leucascidae is now composed of Ascaltis, Leucascus and Ascoleucetta.
Oxychilus (Drouetia) viridescens (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Oxychilidae), a new species from Santa Maria, Açores, and a review of the subgenus
Authors: MARTINS ANTÓNIO M. DE FRIAS , BRITO CARLOS P. , BACKELJAU THIERRY
Published: February 2013

Oxychilus (Drouetia) viridescens n.sp. is described from Santa Maria Island, Açores. It is conchologically similar to the sympatric Oxychilus (Drouetia) brincki Riedel, 1964, from which it is distinguished by the greenish coloration, the flatter spire and the slightly smaller number of whorls. Anatomically, the new species differs from all consubgenerics by the genital morphology: the penis is very thin, the distal half is wrapped in a very thick penial sheath; the epiphallus has two distinct portions, the proximal one attached to the edge of the penial sheath, the distal one attached to a constriction near mid-length of the penis; the atrial end of the vagina has a spongy, glandular appearance. A detailed morphological and anatomical comparison of the new species with the non-umbilicated Oxychilusspecies of Santa Maria is presented. The species of Drouetia are reviewed and an identification key is provided.
Two new species of Ovitamon Ng & Takeda, 1992 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Potamidae) from the Philippines
Authors: MANUEL-SANTOS MARIVENE R. , NG PETER K. L.
Published: February 2013

Two new species of potamid freshwater crabs of the genus Ovitamon Ng & Takeda, 1992, are described from the islands of Mindoro and Panay, Philippines. The two new species can easily be distinguished from congeners by the morphologies of their carapaces and male first gonopods. Six species of Ovitamon are now known from the islands of central and western Philippines.
The Impact of Gradient Wind Imbalance on Potential Intensity of Tropical Cyclones in an Unbalanced Slab Boundary Layer Model
Authors: Frisius Thomas , Schönemann Daria , Vigh Jonathan
Published: February 2013

The assumption of gradient wind balance is customarily made so as to derive the theoretical upper-bound intensity of a mature tropical cyclone. Emanuel's theory of hurricane potential intensity (E-PI) makes use of this assumption, whereas more recent studies by Bryan and Rotunno demonstrate that the effect of unbalanced flow can result in maximum winds that are well in excess of E-PI (superintensity). The existence of supergradient winds has been verified in a slab boundary layer model developed by Smith. Here, the authors apply the slab boundary layer model within the framework of classical E-PI theory to investigate the sensitivity of supergradient winds to the radius of maximum gradient wind (RMGW) and four nondimensional model parameters. The authors find that the Rossby number, the drag coefficient, and the modified Rankine decay parameter all have a considerable influence on the strength of the unbalanced flow. In contrast, the ratio of surface exchange coefficients has little noticeable effect on superintensity. The inclusion of horizontal momentum diffusion leads to a weaker superintensity, but the qualitative features of the model remain similar. To further elucidate these findings, the authors use the boundary layer model to examine the modified E-PI theory proposed by Emanuel and Rotunno. They assume a constant Richardson number for the outflow. The boundary layer model driven by the modified E-PI solution depends on just three model parameters rather than the four parameters used in the classical E-PI framework. Despite this apparent advantage, the results obtained in the framework of the modified E-PI are less realistic than those computed with the classical E-PI approach.
On the Epochal Strengthening in the Relationship between Rainfall of East Africa and IOD
Authors: Manatsa Desmond , Behera Swadhin K.
Published: February 2013

Variability of the equatorial East Africa “short rains” (EASR) has intensified significantly since the turn of the twentieth century. This increase toward more extreme rainfall events has not been gradual but is strongly characterized by epochs. The rain gauge–based Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) monthly precipitation dataset for the period 1901–2009 is used to demonstrate that the epochal changes were dictated by shifts in the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) mode. These shifts occurred during 1961 and 1997. In the pre-1961 period, there was virtually no significant linear link between the IOD and the EASR. But a relatively strong coupling between the two occurred abruptly in 1961 and was generally maintained at that level until 1997, when another sudden shift to even a greater level occurred. The first principal component (PC1) extracted from the EASR spatial domain initially merely explained about 50% of the rainfall variability before 1961, and then catapulted to about 73% for the period from 1961 to 1997, before eventually shifting to exceed 82% after 1997. The PC1 for each successive epoch also displayed loadings with notably improved spatial coherence. This systematic pattern of increase was accompanied by both a sharp increase in the frequency of rainfall extremes and spatial coherence of the rainfall events over the region. Therefore, it is most likely that the 1961 and 1997 IOD shifts are responsible for the epochal modulation of the EASR in both the spatial and temporal domain.
Pulmonary Tuberculosis Outbreak in a Pediatric Population
Authors: Yousef Nida , Hasan Rashed A. , Abuhammour Walid
Published: February 2013

Community-based outbreaks of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are uncommon in the United States but represent a dramatic type of epidemic that can lead to considerable investigations. Most of our knowledge regarding spread of tuberculosis (TB) has accumulated from the study of outbreaks. We describe the most recent outbreak of TB in Genesee County, Michigan. In February 2007, isoniazid-sensitive infectious pulmonary TB was identified in a 45-year-old African American grandmother who frequently provided care for her grandchildren and other children. The source case was reported to the Genesee County Health Department, which started an investigation to identify family and social contacts. We reviewed past medical records of contacts and prioritized them for evaluation based on the period of exposure to the index case. Health department staff screened contacts using clinical evaluation, tuberculin skin test, and chest radiography when indicated. Results were reviewed, and data were analyzed using descriptive inferential and epidemiological statistics.
A new social physic: The sociology of Gabriel Tarde and its legacy
Authors: Tonkonoff Sergio
Published: February 2013

This article aims to present a reconstruction of Gabriel Tarde’s micro-sociology in order to highlight its current relevance. The author of the article attempts to show that its distinction lies in taking the immense diversity of small social interactions as a starting point for the analysis of both face-to-face situations and large-scale institutions and social processes. Here the social field is described as made up of multiple propagations of desires and beliefs that spread from one individual to other, taking countless directions, interfering with each other, forming networks, and escaping them in search of new connections. The author attempts to show, also, that this point of view doesn’t deny the existence of social systems but understands them as open ensembles of immanent and partial relationships of collective beliefs and desires. This is why Tarde may be considered the founder of a molecular or micro-physical sociology.
Bereaved relatives’ perspectives of the patient’s oral intake towards the end of life: A qualitative study
Authors: Raijmakers Natasja JH , Clark Jean B , van Zuylen Lia , Allan Simon G , van der Heide Agnes
Published: February 2013

Background:

Patients approaching death often have a decreasing oral intake, which can be distressing for relatives. Little is known about the relatives’ experiences with and perceptions of oral intake at the end of life.

Aim:

This study aims to contribute to a more thorough understanding of relatives’ concerns regarding decreased oral intake of the patient at the end of life.

Design:

Qualitative interview study: semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Setting/participants:

Twenty-three bereaved relatives of patients who had been referred to a New Zealand palliative care service were interviewed.

Results:

All relatives experienced significant changes in patients’ oral intake at the end of life. Oral intake towards the end of life was considered important and is perceived as meaningful by relatives in different ways, such as nutritional value, enjoyment, social time, daily routine and a way of caring. Relatives responded differently to decreasing oral intake; some accepted it as inherent to the dying process, others continued efforts to support the patient’s oral intake. Some relatives perceived decreasing oral intake as the patient’s choice, and some viewed maintaining oral intake as part of the battle against the disease. Relatives recalled limited communication with health-care professionals concerning oral intake at the end of life.

Conclusions:

This study revealed the complexity of meaning relatives’ experiences with dying patients’ decreasing oral intake. Their perceptions and concerns were related to their awareness of the imminent death. These findings can guide staff involved in care delivery to better support relatives.
Vaspin Serum Concentration in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Carotid Plaque
Authors: Li Z , Ma C , Li L , Pan X , Chen L
Published: February 2013

Objective:

To examine whether there is an association between the serum concentration of vaspin and the presence of carotid plaque in early stage type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods:

Patients ( n = 61) with T2DM within 3 years of diagnosis were divided into those with and those without carotid plaque. Fasting serum vaspin levels, measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay, and blood pressure were compared between these two groups and also with an age-matched, apparently healthy control group ( n = 26).

Results:

Fasting serum vaspin concentrations were significantly higher in patients with T2DM without carotid plaque than in controls, but significantly lower in T2DM patients with carotid plaque than inthose without. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant positive association between the presence of carotid plaque and systolic blood pressure and a significant inverse association between the presence of carotid plaque and fasting serum vaspin concentration.

Conclusion:

A significant inverse association was found, in patients with T2DM within 3 years of diagnosis, between serum vaspin concentration and the presence of carotid plaque.
Beneficial Effects of the Herbal Medicine Di Huang Yin Zi in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study
Authors: Li YL , Li LT , Yu M , Wang YZ , Ge HY , Song CQ
Published: February 2013

Objective:

This study investigated the safety and therapeutic efficacy of Di Huang Yin Zi (DHYZ), a traditional Chinese decoction used to treat neurological disorders, in spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods:

In this doubleblind, placebo-controlled study, patients with traumatic SCI and American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment grades B - D were randomized to receive DHYZ ( n = 30) or placebo ( n = 30) for 12 weeks. Both groups also received rehabilitation therapy during the study period. Motor and sensory function and activities of daily living (ADL) were assessed before treatment and at 4-week intervals.

Results:

Significantly more patients in the DHYZ group showed an improved ASIA impairment grade during the treatment period (32.1%) compared with the placebo group (10.3%), and scores for sensory and motor function and ADL at the end of the treatment period were significantly higher in the DHYZ group than in the placebo group. No serious side-effects were reported.

Conclusions:

DHYZ was found to improve neurological function in patients with SCI and may be an effective adjuvant therapy to enhance functional recovery.
Diaper Dermatitis: A Survey of Risk Factors for Children Aged 1 - 24 Months in China
Authors: Li CH , Zhu ZH , Dai YH
Published: February 2013

Objectives:

To measure the prevalence of diaper dermatitis and identify risk factors relating to diaper dermatitis in Chinese children aged 1 - 24 months.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional study that used structured questionnaires during face-toface interviews with parents to determine the risk factors associated with diaper dermatitis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between diaper dermatitis and 15 potential risk factors.

Results:

A total of 43.8% (454/1036) of infants in the study had experienced diaper dermatitis in the 6 weeks prior to enrolment. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the risk of diaper dermatitis was significantly decreased by solid foods (eggs), home location (urban) and frequency of diaper changing (≥ 6 changes/day), whereas the risk was increased by diarrhoea.

Conclusions:

Diarrhoea was a major risk factor for diaper dermatitis. Confirmation of the risk factors could lead to better understanding of the aetiology of diaper dermatitis and to new prevention strategies in Chinese infants.
The Effects of Epidural Anaesthesia and Analgesia on Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxicity and Cytokine Response in Patients with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Undergoing Radical Resection
Authors: Dong H , Zhang Y , Xi H
Published: February 2013

Objective:

Epidural anaesthesia appears to promote antitumourigenic activity in patients with malignant disease who are undergoing surgery. This study investigated immune function in women with epithelial ovarian cancer undergoing radical resection with either general anaesthesia alone or in combination with epidural anaesthesia.

Methods:

Patients ( n = 61) were randomized to receive either combined general/epidural anaesthesia (study group) or general anaesthesia alone (control group). Natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) and serum concentrations of four cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1β, -8 and -10 and interferon [IFN]-γ) were measured before anaesthesia ( Tpre) and 4h after skinincision ( T4 h) in both groups.

Results:

In both groups, concentrations of protumourigenic cytokines (IL-1β and IL-8) were significantly higher at T4 h than at Tpre, while concentrations of antitumourigenic cytokines (IL-10 and IFN-γ) and NKCC were significantly lower at T4 h. The study group had significantly higher NKCC, IL-10 and IFN-γ levels and lower IL-1β and IL-8 levels at TT h compared with the control group.

Conclusion:

Combined general/epidural anaesthesia appeared to promote antitumourigenic NKCC and cytokine responses.