bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measurement of β-Glucan in Mushrooms and Mycelial Products
Authors: McCleary Barry V , Draga Anna
Published: March 2016

A robust and reliable method has been developed for the measurement of β-glucan in mushroom and mycelial products. Total glucan (plus free glucose and glucose from sucrose) was measured using controlled acid hydrolysis with H2SO4 and the glucose released specifically was measured using glucose oxidase/peroxidase reagent. α-Glucan (starch/glycogen) plus free glucose and glucose from sucrose were specifically measured after hydrolysis of starch/glycogen to glucose with glucoamylase and sucrose to glucose plus fructose with invertase and the glucose specifically measured with GOPOD reagent. β-Glucan was determined by the difference. Several acid and enzyme-based methods for the hydrolysis of the β-glucan were compared, and the best option was the method using H2SO4. For most samples, similar β-glucan values were obtained with both the optimized HCl and H2SO4 procedures. However, in the case of certain samples, specifically Ganoderma lucidum and Poria cocus, the H2SO4 procedure resulted in significantly higher values. Hydrolysis with 2 N trifluoroacetic acid at 120°C was found to be much less effective than either of the other two acids evaluated. Assays based totally on enzymatic hydrolysis, in general, yielded much lower values than those obtained with the H2SO4 procedure.
OS IMPACTOS DA MACROMUDANÇA DA SAÚDE SUPLEMENTAR: UM ESTUDO DE CASO DA CAMED
Authors: Viana Filho Osvaldo , Silva Jader Cristino de Souza , Paixão Roberto Brazileiro
Published: March 2016

Este artigo buscou identificar como as macromudanças no setor da saúde suplementar no Brasil impactaram na dinâmica organizacional da Caixa de Assistência dos Funcionários do Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (Camed), ou seja, articular o fenômeno da regulação da saúde suplementar e o construto de mudança organizacional. A abordagem da pesquisa foi qualiquantitativa, com a utilização da técnica do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo (DSC). Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com gestores da organização, totalizando quatorze respondentes. Os achados desta pesquisa buscam trazer avanços de natureza teórica e metodológica para os construtos ligados à mudança organizacional e à saúde suplementar. Conclui-se que, na dimensão intencionalidade, a mudança na Camed foi de natureza reativa e voluntária; na dimensão objeto, as mudanças foram: estratégicas, estruturais, tecnológicas e de pessoal; na dimensão implementação, a Camed mudou de forma reeducativa/participativa.
TRANSFERÊNCIA DE CONHECIMENTO EM REDES DE EMPRESAS: UM ESTUDO EM UMA PLANTA MODULAR DA INDÚSTRIA AUTOMOTIVA
Authors: Sacomano Neto Mário , Corrêa Dalila Alves , Truzzi Osvaldo Mário Serra
Published: March 2016

Compreender a transferência do conhecimento técnico e gerencial entre montadoras e fornecedores de autopeças, sob a ótica das redes de empresas, constitui-se objetivo do presente estudo. A transferência de conhecimento ocorre mediante processos de socialização, educação e aprendizado e sua ênfase reside no potencial de alavancagem competitiva das organizações.  A literatura sobre transferência de conhecimento mostra que as redes de empresas são um “lócus” de difusão de conhecimento e isto não é muito explorado pela literatura. Neste sentido, o estudo tem como objetivo compreender e analisar a transferência do conhecimento técnico e gerencial entre montadoras e fornecedores de autopeças. Elegeram-se como categorias de análise os tipos transferência de conhecimentos e aprendizado na rede apresentado por Dixon (2000), como: em série, próxima, distante, estratégica e de especialistas e a classificação de tipos de aprendizado proposta por Lemos (1999).  Para tanto foram realizadas sete entrevistas presenciais junto aos executivos da montadora e de dois fornecedores de autopeças, estabelecidos internamente na planta. Nos resultados da pesquisa, são explicitadas as formas de transferência de conhecimento e o desenvolvimento mútuo entre montadora e fornecedores em aceitar os métodos de trabalho, procedimentos padrões, rotinas e contatos interpessoais. Estes resultados revelam uma forma de governança da rede suportada pela interação e capital relacional, os quais ampliam as possibilidades dos processos de aprendizagem e da difusão do conhecimento técnico e gerencial entre os atores envolvidos.  

 
Geração de Modelo Digital de Elevação utilizando dados do SRTM como subsídio ao planejamento e gestão territorial do município de Lucena(PB)/Generation of Digital Elevation Model using SRTM data as grant to territorial planning and management (...)
Authors: Dias Erika Rodrigues
Published: March 2016

Uma das grandes preocupações da atualidade encontra-se no uso racional das terras, conciliando aspectos sociais, econômicos e ambientais tornando necessário o planejamento territorial através de um conhecimento detalhado da superfície territorial. Dessa forma, é de fundamental importância a representação do terreno. Assim, este trabalho teve por objetivo gerar um modelo digital de elevação – MDE, utilizando imagens de radar SRTM com a finalidade de servir como subsídio à gestão e planejamento territorial. Os materiais utilizados nesse trabalho foram imagens de radar da missão Shuttle Radar Topography Mission – SRTM, imagens obtidas do Google Earth e softwares específicos. Como resultados foram gerados diversos produtos cartográficos que possibilitaram o reconhecimento territorial do município como os mapas de hipsometria e clinografia da área em estudo e a representação tridimensional do relevo visando servir como subsídio à gestão territorial e planejamento do meio físico.

Palavras-Chave: Modelo Digital de Elevação, SRTM, Geotecnologias.

Abstract

A major concern of today is in the rational use of land, combining social, economic and environmental aspects making it necessary to territorial planning with a detailed knowledge of land area. Thus, it is fundamental to representation of the terrain. Thus, this study aimed to generate a digital elevation model - MDE using SRTM radar images in order to serve as a resource management and territorial planning. The materials used in this work were the mission radar images Shuttle Radar Topography Mission - SRTM, images obtained from Google Earth and specific software. The results were generated several cartographic products enabled the territorial recognition of the city as hypsometry maps and clinografia of the study area and the three-dimensional relief representation to serve as subsidy for territorial planning and management of the physical environment.

 Keywords:Digital Elevation Model, SRTM, Geotechnology.

 

 
Referenciais teóricos para o entendimento das periferias / Theoretical frameworks for the understanding of the peripheries
Authors: Guimarães Leandro Da Silva
Published: March 2016

O texto e busca entender a construção da desigualdade sócio-espacial no Brasil por meio do processo de espacialização dessa mesma desigualdade, nesse sentido, ele analisa, arranhando as margens do que se convencionou de espaços periféricos que seriam frutos do modelo urbano brasileiro e de como esse mesmo modelo produziu metrópoles gentrificadas e excludentes. Assim, o texto vai à busca do referencial matriz da discussão de espaço urbano, das territorialidades que emergem dessa construção espacial. Discutimos assim, espaço, periferia e agentes produtores do espaço nesse interim.Nesse sentido, a discussão de tais temas se torna consubstanciais para o entendimento das desigualdades sociais e espaciais no Brasil, bem como, do papel do Estado como gestor do ordenamento sócio-espacial do território e principal agente na solução de tais problemáticas. Espera-se que com a materialização de um estudo de maior monta, do qual esse artigo é só um micro trabalho possamos contribuir com subsídios que contribuam para o arranjo e cristalização de políticas públicas, que deem conta das desigualdades sociais e sirvam para alavancar um país com cidades mais justas e igualitárias.

 

Palavras–chave: Urbanização, Periferia, Desigualdade, Território.

 

Abstract

Text and seeks to understand the construction of socio-spatial inequality in Brazil through the spatial process of that inequality in this sense it analyzes, scratching the margins of what is peripheral spaces that would be fruit of the Brazilian urban model and how this same model produced gentrification and exclusive metropolises. Thus, the text goes in search of the standard array of urban space for discussion, the territoriality that emerge from this spatial construction. We discussed thus space, periphery and producers Space agents in the interim. In this sense, the discussion of such issues become inherently linked to understanding the social and spatial inequalities in Brazil, as well as the state's role as manager of the socio-spatial planning and principal agent in the solution of such problems. It is expected that with the realization of a study of greater amounts, from which this article is just a micro work can contribute subsidies that contribute to the arrangement and crystallization of public policies that give account of social inequalities and serve to leverage a country more fair and equitable cities.

Keywords: Urbanization, Periphery, Inequality Territory
Identificação da variação de energia no fluxo de escoamento através da análise granulométrica de perfis de margens fluviais na bacia hidrográfica do rio Pirabeiraba – SC / Identification of energy change in the stream flow by grain (...)
Authors: Torrisi Daniela , Kleina Monica , Taveira Bruna Daniela de Araújo , Oliveira Fabiano Antonio de , Carvalho Juliana Landolfi de , Silva Julio Manoel França da , Bueno Karen Moura
Published: March 2016

O estudo da dinâmica sedimentar de um canal pode auxiliar na compreensão da evolução da paisagem e no entedimento da dinâmica fluvial em uma bacia hidrográfica. A análise granulométrica dos sedimentos permite uma aproximação inicial ao conhecimento da dinâmica sedimentar e da variação da energia do fluxo no canal. O presente trabalho objetiva identificar a variação de energia do fluxo de escoamento do canal fluvial a partir da comparação das análises granulométricas de dois perfis estratigráficos na bacia hidrográfica do rio Pirabeiraba, SC. A metodologia aplicada foi baseada em análises granulométricas e estatísticas desenvolvidas em amostras coletadas em campo. Os principais resultados obtidos demonstraram que os perfis apresentaram-se muito semelhantes, indicando que, apesar de ocorrerem variações de energia dos fluxos, os perfis se mantiveram equivalentes nas duas amostras estudadas. Desta forma, pode-se relatar que os eventos ocorridos foram homogêneos nesta parte da bacia.

Palavras-Chave: Análise granulométrica, Fluxo fluvial, Rio Pirabeiraba.

Abstract

The study of sediment dynamics of a river may help to understand the evolution of the landscape and to comprehend the fluvial dynamics in a watershed. One useful tool is the sediment grain size analysis (granulometry / granulometric analysis). The granulometric analysis allows to understand sediment dynamics as well as energy changes in a river flow. This paper aims to identify the energy change of a river channel by means of the comparison of particle size analysis of two stratigraphic profiles in the Pirabeiraba river watershed, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The applied methodology was based on grain size and statistical analysis from the collected samples. The main results show that both profiles are very similar, despite the variations that occurred in the river flows, what means that the fluvial process were uniform in this part of the watershed.

 

Keywords: Grain size analysis, Fluvial flow, Pirabeiraba river.
De la sécurité à la violence organisée : tropismes et points aveugles de « l’école de Copenhague »
Authors: Olsson Christian
Published: March 2016

Dans cet article, nous portons un regard critique sur la théorie de la sécurisation de « l’école de Copenhague » en partant de l’idée que ses applications empiriques ont jusqu’ici eu tendance à évacuer des études de sécurité la question de la violence réciproque, de la coercition physique et de la guerre. Nous essayons en particulier de voir à quelles conditions un débat fructueux pourrait être noué entre « l’école de Copenhague » d’une part, et une sociologie critique des conflits armés, d’autre part. Il y a en effet dans les travaux inspirés par « l’école de Copenhague » un tropisme pour des objets de recherche qui ne permettent pas de se poser la question – pourtant centrale du point de vue de la sociologie des conflits et de la sociologie historique de l’État – du rôle de la menace proférée et de la coercition, conçues comme énoncés performatifs, dans la construction sociale des problèmes de sécurité.
Le parcours tumultueux des propos injurieux en droit québécois depuis 2009 : l’arrêt Génex Communications inc. c. Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) est-il toujours pertinent ?
Authors: Grégoire Marie Annik
Published: March 2016

Le présent texte confronte la position adoptée par la Cour d’appel en 2009 sur la sanction des propos injurieux dans l’arrêt Génex Communications inc. c. Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) avec les décisions rendues depuis par la Cour suprême du Canada et la Cour d’appel du Québec. Cette analyse permettra de mettre en évidence que la position des tribunaux s’est transformée et que l’injure ne peut plus être sanctionnée de manière autonome, contrairement à la position adoptée dans l’arrêt Génex. Il en résulte que le propos injurieux doit se qualifier à titre d’atteinte à la sauvegarde de la réputation ou de l’égalité, sans quoi il sera jugé que l’atteinte à la sauvegarde de la dignité résultant de celui-ci ne peut être considérée comme un préjudice indemnisable. Cette nouvelle grille d’analyse engendre un amalgame confus dans la distinction de droits garantis par la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne.
Uptake of early infant diagnosis in Thailand’s national program for preventing mother‐to‐child HIV transmission and linkage to care, 2008–2011
Authors: Naiwatanakul Thananda , Voramongkol Nipunporn , Punsuwan Niramon , Lolekha Rangsima , Gass Robert , Thaisri Hansa , Leechanachai Pranee , Wolfe Mitchell , Boonsuk Sarawut , Bhakeecheep Sorakij
Published: March 2016

Introduction

Early infant diagnosis (EID) has been a component of Thailand's prevention of mother‐to‐child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme since 2007. This study assessed the uptake, EID coverage, proportion of HIV‐exposed infants receiving a definitive HIV diagnosis, mother‐to‐child transmission (MTCT) rates and linkage to HIV care and treatment.

Methods

Infant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing data from the National AIDS Program database were analyzed. EID coverage was calculated as the percentage of number of HIV‐exposed infants receiving ≥1 HIV PCR test divided by the number of HIV‐exposed infants estimated from HIV prevalence and live‐birth registry data. Definitive HIV diagnosis was defined as having two concordant PCR results. MTCT rates were calculated based on infants tested with PCR and applied as a best‐case scenario, and a sensitivity analysis was used to adjust these rates in average and worst scenarios. We defined linkage to HIV care as infants with at least one PCR‐positive test who were registered with Thailand's National AIDS Program. Chi‐squared tests for linear trend were used to analyze changes in programme coverage.

Results

For 2008 to 2011, the average EID coverage rate increased from 54 to 76% (p<0.001), with 65% coverage (13,761/21,099) overall. The number of hospitals submitting EID samples increased from 458 to 645, and the percentage of community hospitals submitting samples increased from 75 to 78% (p=0.044). A definitive HIV diagnosis was made for 10,854 (79%) infants during this period. The adjusted MTCT rates had significantly decreasing trends in all scenarios. Overall, an estimated 53% (429/804) of HIV‐infected infants were identified through the EID programme, and 80% (341/429) of infants testing positive were linked to care. The overall rate of antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation within one year of age was 37% (157/429), with an increasing trend from 28 to 52% (p<0.001).

Conclusions

EID coverage increased and MTCT rates decreased during 2008 to 2011; however, about half of HIV‐infected infants still did not receive EID. Most HIV‐infected infants were linked to care but less than half initiated ART within one year of age. Active follow‐up of HIV‐exposed infants to increase early detection of HIV infection and early initiation of ART should be more widely implemented.
Color control of electrochemiluminescence based on duty ratio of applied waveform voltage
Authors: Nishimura Ryoichi , Nihei Eisuke
Published: March 2016

In this research, we succeeded in controlling the light-emitting color obtained from the light-emitting surface of an organic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) device with a duty ratio of the applied voltage. The color change was based on the absorption of light by the light-emitting layer. Because we were able to control the light-emitting relative quantities in each electrode by changing the duty ratio. Long light-emitting lifetime will be expected in the future, because the light-emitting material used was poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT), a conductive polymer. We fabricated the ECL device with a light-emitting layer thickness of 25.0 µm. In this device, the ECL color was changed from orange to red by changing the duty ratio from 50 to 10%. More ECL colors are expected to be realized by selecting the light-emitting material with appropriate absorption and ECL spectra.
Bathymetry data reveal glaciers vulnerable to ice‐ocean interaction in Uummannaq and Vaigat glacial fjords, west Greenland
Authors: Rignot E. , Fenty I. , Xu Y. , Cai C. , Velicogna I. , Cofaigh C. Ó , Dowdeswell J. A. , Weinrebe W. , Catania G. , Duncan D.
Published: March 2016

Marine‐terminating glaciers play a critical role in controlling Greenland's ice sheet mass balance. Their frontal margins interact vigorously with the ocean, but our understanding of this interaction is limited, in part, by a lack of bathymetry data. Here we present a multibeam echo sounding survey of 14 glacial fjords in the Uummannaq and Vaigat fjords, west Greenland, which extends from the continental shelf to the glacier fronts. The data reveal valleys with shallow sills, overdeepenings (>1300 m) from glacial erosion, and seafloor depths 100–1000 m deeper than in existing charts. Where fjords are deep enough, we detect the pervasive presence of warm, salty Atlantic Water (AW) (>2.5°C) with high melt potential, but we also find numerous glaciers grounded on shallow (<200 m) sills, standing in cold (<1°C) waters in otherwise deep fjords, i.e., with reduced melt potential. Bathymetric observations extending to the glacier fronts are critical to understand the glacier evolution.
Direct and Highly Selective Conversion of Synthesis Gas into Lower Olefins: Design of a Bifunctional Catalyst Combining Methanol Synthesis and Carbon–Carbon Coupling
Authors: Cheng Kang , Gu Bang , Liu Xiaoliang , Kang Jincan , Zhang Qinghong , Wang Ye
Published: March 2016

The direct synthesis of lower (C2 to C4) olefins, key building‐block chemicals, from syngas (H2 /CO), which can be derived from various nonpetroleum carbon resources, is highly attractive, but the selectivity for lower olefins is low because of the limitation of the Anderson–Schulz–Flory distribution. We report that the coupling of methanol‐synthesis and methanol‐to‐olefins reactions with a bifunctional catalyst can realize the direct conversion of syngas to lower olefins with exceptionally high selectivity. We demonstrate that the choice of two active components and the integration manner of the components are crucial to lower olefin selectivity. The combination of a Zr–Zn binary oxide, which alone shows higher selectivity for methanol and dimethyl ether even at 673 K, and SAPO‐34 with decreased acidity offers around 70 % selectivity for C2–C4 olefins at about 10 % CO conversion. The micro‐ to nanoscale proximity of the components favors the lower olefin selectivity.
Photoinduced Copper‐Catalyzed C−H Arylation at Room Temperature
Authors: Yang Fanzhi , Koeller Julian , Ackermann Lutz
Published: March 2016

Room‐temperature azole C−H arylations were accomplished with inexpensive copper(I) compounds by means of photoinduced catalysis. The expedient copper catalysis set the stage for site‐selective C−H arylations of non‐aromatic oxazolines under mild reaction conditions, and provides step‐economical access to the alkaloid natural products balsoxin and texamine.
Introducing Chirality into Nonionic Dendritic Amphiphiles and Studying Their Supramolecular Assembly
Authors: Kumar Sumit , Ludwig Kai , Schade Boris , von Berlepsch Hans , Papp Ilona , Tyagi Rahul , Gulia Monika , Haag Rainer , Böttcher Christoph
Published: March 2016

Chiral head groups have been introduced into water‐soluble hydroxyl‐terminated nonionic amphiphiles and the impact of the head group stereochemistry on the supramolecular ultrastructures has been studied. Enantiomeric isomers were compared with the achiral meso form and the racemic mixture by means of cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Structurally, all amphiphiles are composed of the first‐generation hydrophilic polyglycerol head group coupled to a single hydrophobic hexadecyl chain through an amide linkage and diaromatic spacer. The enantiomers aggregate to form twisted ribbons with uniform handedness, whereas the meso stereoisomer and racemic mixture produce elongated assemblies, namely, tubules and platelets, but without a chiral ultrastructure. Simulations on the molecular packing geometries of the stereoisomers indicate different preferential assembly routes that explain the individual supramolecular aggregation behavior.
The effect of age on peripheral stem cell mobilization in healthy donors, single center experience
Authors: Ozen Mehmet , Gunduz Mehmet , Topcuoglu Pervin , Toprak Selami K. , Dalva Klara , Gurman Gunhan , Ilhan Osman
Published: March 2016

Purpose: Peripheral stem cell transplantation is used as a life‐saving therapeutic option in hematological malignancies. As previously established, most hematological malignancies are seen in the elderly population. Therefore, possible HLA‐identical sibling donors of elderly patients are generally of an advanced age. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of old age on stem cell mobilization and quality in older adult healthy sibling donors. Materials and Methods: Between 2006 and 2014, we evaluated 38 healthy donors aged ≥55 years. The granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (G‐CSF) analogs were used at a dose of 5 µg/kg/day and administered subcutaneously twice a day for five days. CD34+ cells were estimated in the peripheral blood before collection of the apheresis product. The National Marrow Donor Program selects healthy unrelated donors if they are younger than 60 years. Therefore, we compared the product quality in donors over the age of 60 to that in donors aged 60 years or less. Results: We collected sufficient products from all the donors with one to three apheresis procedures. No serious complication was detected in all donors. Reaching the target CD34+ cell count in one day were detected in 83% of younger and 79% of older donors (P = NS). Collected CD34+ cells x10e6/recipient body weight (kg) was same and 5.1 in the groups (P = NS). There were no correlation between the donor age and these parameters. Conclusion: Healthy donor apheresis in older adults can be performed effectively and possible donors should be evaluated regardless of their age. J. Clin. Apheresis 32:16–20, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Copper(II) pseudohalide complexes with isomeric N2O donor Schiff base ligands: Synthesis, characterization and molecular dynamics simulations of interactions with DNA
Authors: Jana Subrata , Santra Ramesh Chandra , Frontera Antonio , Drew Michael G. B. , Ortega‐Castro Joaquín , Fernández David , Das Saurabh , Chattopadhyay Shouvik
Published: March 2016

Two new square planar copper(II) complexes, [Cu(L1)(NCO)] (1) and [Cu(L2)(N3)] (2), where HL1 = 1‐(‐1‐(2‐(diethylamino)ethylimino)ethyl)naphthalen‐2‐ol and HL2 = 2‐(‐(2‐(diethylamino)ethylimino)methyl)naphthalen‐1‐ol, have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV–VIS and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies. Interaction of the complexes with calf thymus DNA (c t DNA) was studied by UV–VIS spectroscopy that revealed complex 2 had a slightly greater affinity for DNA. The mode of binding for both complexes was by the process of intercalation as confirmed by monitoring the fluorescence during a reverse titration on calf thymus DNA earlier saturated with ethidium bromide (a well‐established DNA intercalator). The overall binding constant (K*) were 5.36 x 104 and 17.91 x 104 for complexes 1 and 2 respectively. The binding mode for complex 1, using a generic dodecamer fragment of the DNA used was modeled using molecular dynamics (MD), with results that were consistent with experimental observations.
Microencapsulated Fish Oil Powder Formulation with Improved Resistance to Oil Leakage During Powder Compression
Authors: Sanguansri L. , Udabage P. , Bhail S. , Ying D. Y. , Cheng L. J. , Shen Z. , Augustin M. A.
Published: March 2016

The effects of the addition of pectin to a primary fish oil emulsion stabilized by a heated milk protein–carbohydrate mixture, and heat treatment of emulsion at low pH (with or without the addition of pectin) on the properties of final emulsions (pH 7) and powders (~42 % w/w/fat) prepared from these emulsions were examined. Either the addition of pectin (without the additional heat treatment at pH 3), or additional heat treatment step at pH 3 (with or without pectin) reduced the surface oil and free oil of spray dried powders, and also reduced oil leakage on powder compression. However, the extra heat treatment step at low pH to the emulsion (without pectin) resulted in a greater susceptibility to oxidation of EPA and DHA in the powder. A judicious choice of ingredients for formulating and processing emulsions prior to spray drying enables the application of food‐grade microencapsulated fish oil powders in directly compressible tablet applications.
Iodine status and thyroid function among Spanish schoolchildren aged 6–7 years: the Tirokid study
Authors: Vila L. , Donnay S. , Arena J. , Arrizabalaga J. J. , Pineda J. , Garcia-Fuentes E. , García-Rey C. , Marín J. L. , Serra-Prat M. , Velasco I. , López-Guzmán A. , Luengo L. M. , Villar A. , Muñoz Z. , Bandrés O. , Guerrero E. , Muñoz J. A. , Moll G. , Vich F. , Menéndez E. , Riestra M. , Torres Y. , Beato-Víbora P. , Aguirre M. , Santiago P. , Aranda J. , Gutiérrez-Repiso C.
Published: March 2016

I deficiency is still a worldwide public health problem, with children being especially vulnerable. No nationwide study had been conducted to assess the I status of Spanish children, and thus an observational, multicentre and cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain to assess the I status and thyroid function in schoolchildren aged 6–7 years. The median urinary I (UI) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in whole blood were used to assess the I status and thyroid function, respectively. A FFQ was used to determine the consumption of I-rich foods. A total of 1981 schoolchildren (52 % male) were included. The median UI was 173 μg/l, and 17·9 % of children showed UI<100 μg/l. The median UI was higher in males (180·8 v. 153·6 μg/l; P<0·001). Iodised salt (IS) intake at home was 69·8 %. IS consumption and intakes of ≥2 glasses of milk or 1 cup of yogurt/d were associated with significantly higher median UI. Median TSH was 0·90 mU/l and was higher in females (0·98 v. 0·83; P<0·001). In total, 0·5 % of children had known hypothyroidism (derived from the questionnaire) and 7·6 % had TSH levels above reference values. Median TSH was higher in schoolchildren with family history of hypothyroidism. I intake was adequate in Spanish schoolchildren. However, no correlation was found between TSH and median UI in any geographical area. The prevalence of TSH above reference values was high and its association with thyroid autoimmunity should be determined. Further assessment of thyroid autoimmunity in Spanish schoolchildren is desirable.
Ford Foundation Support for Middle Eastern and African Studies in The U.S.
Authors: Smock David R.
Published: March 2016

A confluence of three sorts of factors has made the past eightteen months a particularly appropriate period for the Ford Foundation to reconsider the magnitude and character of its support for research and training in the United States on the Middle East and Africa. The first of these is that dramatic developments during the past two years involving the Middle East and Africa have heightened public awareness of the critical impact events in these regions will have on the world. The second factor is that the Foundation’s program of general support to meet the core operating costs of African studies centers and Middle East studies centers has drawn to a close. Third, faced with the prospect of drastically reduced budgetary resources, the Foundation staff has had to confront the question of which of its activities should survive or be reshaped in the face of competing claims on scarcer resources. Transcending these three factors and less directly tied to the exigencies of the time is the conviction on the part of the Foundation that there is creative and important work to be done in this sphere and that the Foundation’s staff needs to think hard about past activities and future possibilities so that valuable opportunities do not pass us by.
The Study of Women in the Middle East: Some Thoughts
Authors: Van Dusen Roxann A.
Published: March 2016

From time to time in recent years, the complaint has been voiced that “women’s studies” have gone far enough: panels on women at professional meetings arede rigeur. though the subject matter is becoming somewhat tedious; articles and books on women are proliferating, though they seem to be increasingly repetitive; and furthermore, it is argued, there is nothing intrinsically interesting or problematic about womenper se. As for investigators whose interest focus on women in the Middle East, they have been called opportunistic, capitalizing on the feminist movement in the United States, and have been accused of imposing feminist concerns and sensibilities on Middle Eastern societies.
Research Facilities in Iraq
Authors: Rassam Amal
Published: March 2016

Having succeeded in obtaining the visa (which may take anywhere up to three months) and once arrived in Baghdad, the foreign scholar is pleasantly struck by the cordiality and general hospitality of the Iraqis, who seem to be eager to help the visitor and exchange ideas and information with him.

There seems to be no established procedure to obtain research permits in Iraq. The best approach is for the scholar to write a formal letter stating his credentials and research subject and to submit it to the Ministry of Information. They, in turn, will approve it and issue a letter of introduction to concerned personnel and institutions. In the case of research outside the urban centers, appropriate agencies are notified as well as the security police. In my case, I was referred to the Ministry of Agriculture which issued me a letter that allowed me to work in the villages.
A Guide to Orientalist Research in Soviet Central Asia
Authors: McChesney R. D.
Published: March 2016

In 1976–1977, the writer spent nine months in Tashkent, Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, collecting material for a study of Central Asia in the seventeenth century. Obviously then, what follows is biased in the direction of historical research. It also, of necessity, reflects the author’s own experience and omits mention of resources to which he did not in some measure have access.
The Study of Political Unrest and Violence: The Middle East
Authors: Kazemi Farhad
Published: March 2016

The late Hannah Arendt once observed that “violence itself is incapable of speech, and not merely that speech is helpless when confronted with violence. Because of this speech-lessness political theory has little to say about the phenomenon of violence and must leave its discussion to the technicians;” (Arendt, 1963, p.9). This may have been true at the time of Arendt’s writing. The situation, however, dramatically changed when the violence of the sixties began in earnest. The academic market was soon lost in a maze of articles, books, and analyses of political violence from the perspective of not only political theory but practically every discipline in the social sciences and humanities. These new works supplemented the traditional and earlier studies of violence by the Marxist school and others. Thus by the turn of the decade, the student of political violence was faced with the difficult task of trying to evaluate and sift his way through an ever-expanding plethora of concepts, theories, definitions, explanations, and models of political violence which abounded in the field.
Islamic Numismatics
Authors: Bates Michael L.
Published: March 2016

The Mongol conquest of the IRANIAN EAST put an end to the classical Islamic coinage introduced by ʿAbd al-Malik. At first, considerable local diversity existed under the early Mongols and Ilkhanids, but Ghazan and Rashid al-Din imposed a uniform monetary system on the many Ilkhanid mints, setting the pattern for eastern coinage for several hundred years. For this long period, it is easiest to treat separately Western Iran, Eastern Iran, the Steppes, and Anatolia, despite the many interrelationships of their coinages.
Research Facilities in the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahuriyyah
Authors: Anderson Lisa S.
Published: March 2016

The tradition of social science and history research in Libya is young, but enormous and very encouraging strides in developing research facilities have been made in the last ten years. Interesting and valuable research is now being conducted in Libya by Libyans and it is possible for a foreigner to engage in productive and useful studies.
Bibliography of the Theatrical Movement of Western Asia and North Africa
Authors: Chelkowski Peter J.
Published: March 2016

This bibliographical survey covers the enormous area of North Africa, Western Asia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Populated mainly by Arabs, Iranians, and Turkic peoples, the region also includes numerous ethnic and religious minorities. Despite the diversity of these peoples, Islam is the common unifying element of culture and society. In addition, the region includes the three distinctive ethnic islands of Georgia, Armenia, and Israel.
Theatrical Movement in the Hebrew Theater
Authors: Rokem Freddie
Published: March 2016

This article continues “The Bibliography of the Theatrical Movement of Western Asia and North Africa,”Peter V. Chelkowski, editor, started in the MESA Bulletin XVI. 1 (July 1982), pp. 9–23.

Today’s Hebrew theater is almost as multifaceted and varied as the number of individuals and institutions which comprise it. It is quite a complicated matter to trace its origin, since the cultural roots of modern Israeli society are a multiplicity of ethnic cultures from all over the world. And it is only natural that this ethnic and cultural diversity should be expressed in the theater in general, and in all of its linguistic, pictorial, and gestural components in particular.
The Study of Arabic Philosophy Today
Authors: Butterworth Charles E.
Published: March 2016

In recent years, scholarship concerning Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī (450/1058–505/1111) has been directed more to the exploration of his thought than to editing or translating his vast corpus. This is not to say that there have been no editions or translations. Sulaymān Dunyā continues to publish versions of various treatises in which he replaces a critical apparatus with the explanation that he has already consulted the relevant manuscripts and selected the readings he deems sound or in which his critical apparatus consists of notes indicating that a particular word is differently rendered in some of the “sources” (uṣūl). However, other equally non-academic mass-market printings of al-Ghazali’s works apart, only a few critically edited texts have been published in the last two decades. Three years after the appearance of his al-Ghazālī bibliography, a volume that appeared as part of the millenary celebration of Abū Ḥāmid’s birth, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī published a critical edition of Faḍā’iḥ al-Bāṭinīyah. In the same year, Abū al-ʿAlā ʿAfīfī’s edition of Mishkāt al-Anwār appeared, and a year later A. L. Tibawi published his edition and translation of the small “Jerusalem Treatise” (al-Risālah al-Qudsīyah). In 1971, Fadlou A. Shehadi’s edition of The Supreme Purpose (al-Maqṣad al-Asnā) was published.
Do-It-Yourself Arabic Word Processing
Authors: Parkinson Dilworth B.
Published: March 2016

This article is a personal account of how I, a professor of Arabic with no computer background, managed to get Arabic word-processing capabilities out of the computing facilities already intact in my college, with relatively little capital outlay. Although many of the details would be different at other institutions, it is clear that the same basic strategies could be followed to get word-processing capabilities anywhere the basic computing facilities already exist.

Before I begin my story, I should explain that there are Arabic word processors “out there” of varying qualities. CPT, Wang, Apple, Merganthaler, Xerox, and others have products either out or almost out which range in cost from a few thousand to almost a hundred thousand dollars. Except for the Xerox product, the Arabic on the screen is rather ugly, but when connected to a letter quality Arabic printer the hard copy of most is acceptable.
Making Light of Everything: Early Photography of the Middle East and Current Photomania
Authors: Chevedden Paul E.
Published: March 2016

Praising the photographs of Francis Frith, the grocery wholesaler-turned-photographer who undertook three photographic expeditions to the Middle East between 1856 and 1860, anAthenaeumcritic wrote: “Mr. Frith, who makes light of everything, brings us the Sun’s opinion of Egypt, which is better than Champollion’s, Wilkinson’s, Eōthen’s, or Titmarsh’s.” Viewed as re-creations of nature itself, unmeditated reproductions of the real world fashioned by the direct agency of the sun, photographs were extolled as truthful and unbiased representations of reality. This conviction, which ignored the input of the human operator, imbued early photography with a passionate enthusiasm and mission: to reproduce the world in its own image, to make light of everything. Photography emerged not as an art form, still less as the result of certain developments in painting as proposed recently by Peter Galassi, but as an accurate and highly efficient means of transmitting visual information.
American University of Beirut Begins its 102nd Year
Authors: Crawford Robert W.
Published: March 2016

On October 9, 1967, the American University of Beirut began its 102nd academic year with a larger student enrollment than at the same time the previous year. As a result of the June 1967 war in the Near East, the 1966/1967 academic year was brought to a close approximately one week in advance of schedule and it was assumed that it might be impossible to hold the normal summer session. In July, however, it was decided to hold registration for the summer program in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and an encouraging number of students enrolled, in addition to those continuing their normal summer programs in the Faculties of Medical Sciences, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, and the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. By the last part of July, more than 1100 students were pursuing their studies.
Factors Affecting Application for Overseas Research: A Survey of MESA Members
Authors: Bacharach Jere L.
Published: March 2016

Why are there relatively few American academicians applying for overseas grants? This was the underlying question at a meeting in April, 1988, where members of the CIES (Council for the International Exchange of Scholars of the Fulbright Commission), the U.S. Information Agency, and the Board of Foreign Scholars, the body which oversees all American government-sponsored activities, met. As background material, CIES presented data accumulated from surveying a sample of individuals who had requested information for Fulbright programs but had not applied. (Twenty-six of the sample were interested in the Middle East programs.) Information of a non-quantitative nature was drawn from the reports of recent Fulbrighters and was also included.
Preservation of Middle Eastern Library Materials
Authors: Albin Michael W.
Published: March 2016

Much has been happening in Middle Eastern microfilming and fiching for preservation. This report will highlight some of the recent developments. I have divided this discussion by source of micropublishing and micropreservation, and will conclude with some considerations for the future.
Presidential Address 1988: The Superpowers and Middle East Crises
Authors: Quandt William B.
Published: March 2016

Is The Cold War finally coming to an end, as some would have us believe? And if so, what does this mean for the Middle East? These are questions that will be with us for some time. They do not lend themselves to clear answers, but they nonetheless demand our attention.

For students of the contemporary Middle East, these questions pose special analytical problems—how can one best assess the relationship between the area that we study and the broader currents of international politics? Middle East specialists are rightly skeptical of efforts to analyze their region of study from a “globalist” perspective. Most of us have little patience with theorizing that fails to take into account that which is distinctive in the cultures, politics, and societies of the Middle East. We have even less use for crude empiricism which tries to reduce the complexities of the Middle East to quantifiable events or entries in simplistic classification schemes.
Arabic on the Macintosh: Overview and Review
Authors: Reinhart A. Kevin
Published: March 2016

The Golden age of printing for Islamicists surely was the 19th century, when skilled European and occasionally Middle Eastern and Indian typesetters, could compose in as many fonts as an author could write. One reads Goldziher’s Die Zāhiriten with envy, not only for the meticulous transliterated Arabic and generous footnotes at the bottom of the page, but for the extensive Arabic quotations inserted into the text and notes. Since few of the Arabic texts he cited had been published, Goldziher provided his readers with his evidence in the original. Those were the days; and a new golden age for Islamicists may be upon us. With computers, not only footnotes on the page but transliteration and multiscript publishing are suddenly feasible and even simple.

The items discussed below take advantage of the flexibility of the Macintosh system to let even casual computer users produce Arabic. These programs make it possible for anyone easily to produce text in Islamic script (Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, Urdu, etc.) in camera-ready form.
Introduction to Sufi Music and Ritual in Turkey
Authors: Markoff Irene
Published: March 2016

It is difficult to appreciate and understand Sufism fully without an informed exposure to the expressive cultural forms that help define and enhance it. It is this dimension of Islamic mysticism that transports the seeker on the path of spiritual attainment into higher states of consciousness that promise spiritual intoxication (Wajd) and a unique and intimate union, even annihilation (fanā), in the supreme being. This emotional expression of faith is intensified and externalized in elaborate forms of meditation and esoteric techniques that are part of ritual ceremonies.

Through ritual, many Sufi orders and Sufi-related sects throughout the world of Islam have been able to articulate doctrines and beliefs through artistic traditions such as sung poetry, instrumental music and dance-like movements (samā’ or spiritual concerts) and have utilized meditation patterns that combine corporeal techniques and controlled breathing (dhikr, Turkish, zikr) to induce or conduct trance and ecstatic states.
Imagined Cyber Communities, Iranians and the Internet
Authors: Nazeri Haleh
Published: March 2016

The post information age will remove the limitations of geography.

—Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital

The internet has been a continually changing forum for communicating that has been taken up by diaspora communities to maintain connections with their countrymates all over the world. In that capacity, the technology has been an easy and innovative avenue for cultural expression. Iranians, for instance, have established on-line magazines, newsgroups, media and business directories, human rights organizations, student groups, academic organizations and book publishers for a transnational community. Who goes to these sites and why?
Listening to Umm Kulthūm
Authors: Danielson Virginia
Published: March 2016

A well-known journalist in Cairo, Rajā’ al-Naqqāsh, wrote that, as a child, he thought “listening to Umm Kulthūm” meant “listening to singing.” When the adults around him listened to singing, they listened to Umm Kulthūm, thus “singing,” in his youthful experience, equated to “Umm Kulthūm.” While this attitude would be rare in Egypt now as listeners have moved other music into the domains of their daily life, Umm Kulthūm remains a formidable presence as she has been for nearly a century.
Western Orientalism and Liberal Islam: Mutual Distrust?
Authors: Laroui Abdallah
Published: March 2016

I Begin this talk by telling you a story, that of a Spaniard who was living in the Moroccan city of Tangiers. One day he came to see the president of the local Council of Ulemas and said to him: “I feel attracted to your religion. I would have embraced it already but for one thing which disturbs me.”

“What is it?” asked the ‘Alim.

“I am a musician by profession,” answered the Spaniard, “and Islam forbids music.”

“Who told you that?” retorted the ‘Alim angrily. The would-be convert didn’t reply, which he would have done nowadays, as I hear it in the news; he simply pulled out of his pocket a sheet of paper and gave it to the man of religion who read it and understood everything. It was an ad for a book recently published by a local professor. The ‘Alim began to explain patiently that the book was five centuries old and that it was about a theological controversy known as the Sama’ Dispute over the way the Koran should be read in public. What was forbidden, at least in the eyes of some clerics, was to sing the words of the Holy message because the listener would be more interested in the music than in the meaning. But it was soon clear for the ‘Alim that he was speaking for nothing. His visitor had read in the article exactly what he was hoping to find, an Islam more rigorous, stern, severe than his own religion. Otherwise his conversion would be pointless. The kind of Islam the ‘Alim was offering him, simple, moderate, conciliatory, Jesuitical in a word, wasn’t the real thing.