bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Monk in the Middle: The Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery and the Making of Catholic Identity
Authors: Cossen William S.
Published: August 2014

This article examines the controversy surrounding the publication in 1836 of Maria Monk's Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery , a sensational exposé of life in a Montreal convent supposedly written by a former nun. Previous scholarship on the Monk episode has focused principally on anti-Catholic nativism and on the Awful Disclosures ' place in the larger genre of antebellum convent tales. This study will provide a new interpretation of the controversy surrounding Monk's book by demonstrating its usefulness for historians seeking to understand how Catholics apprehended their position in the American community. Catholics frequently used the Awful Disclosures to stake a claim as authentic Americans and often inverted anti-Catholic rhetoric to suit their political and social needs. Through their response to the Monk episode, Catholic leaders effectively redeployed anti-Catholic rhetoric to undermine the claims of Monk and her supporters, ultimately forging a distinctive form of Catholic anti-Protestantism and serving with their sectarian foes as partners, perhaps unwittingly, in a common antebellum project of defining and reasserting patriarchy.
Bubble tree of branched conformal immersions and applications to the Willmore functional
Authors: Chen Jingyi , Li Yuxiang
Published: August 2014

We develop a bubble tree construction and prove compactness results for $W^{2,2}$ branched conformal
immersions of closed Riemann surfaces, with varying conformal structures whose limit may degenerate,
in ${\Bbb R}^n$ with uniformly bounded areas and Willmore energies. The compactness property is applied to
construct Willmore type surfaces in compact Riemannian manifolds. This includes (a) existence of a
Willmore $2$-sphere in ${\Bbb S}^n$ with at least 2 nonremovable singular points (b) existence of
minimizers of the Willmore functional with prescribed area in a compact manifold $N$ provided (i) the
area is small when genus is $0$ and (ii) the area is close to that of the area minimizing surface of
Schoen-Yau and Sacks-Uhlenbeck in the homotopy class of an incompressible map from a surface of positive
genus to $N$ and $\pi_2(N)$ is trivial (c) existence of smooth minimizers of the Willmore functional if
a Douglas type condition is satisfied.
Prym covers, theta functions and Kobayashi curves in Hilbert modular surfaces
Authors: Möller Martin
Published: August 2014

Algebraic curves in Hilbert modular surfaces that are totally geodesic for the Kobayashi metric have
very interesting geometric and arithmetic properties, e.g., they are rigid. There are very few methods
known to construct such algebraic geodesics that we call Kobayashi curves. We give an explicit way of
constructing Kobayashi curves using determinants of derivatives of theta functions. This construction
also allows to calculate the Euler characteristics of the Teich\-m\"uller curves constructed by McMullen
using Prym covers.
An upper bound on Reidemeister moves
Authors: Coward Alexander , Lackenby Marc
Published: August 2014

We provide an explicit upper bound on the number of Reidemeister moves required to pass between two
diagrams of the same link. This leads to a conceptually simple solution to the equivalence problem
for links.
Geometric approach to the local Jacquet-Langlands correspondence
Authors: Mieda Yoichi
Published: August 2014

In this paper, we give a purely geometric approach to the local Jacquet-Langlands correspondence
for ${\rm GL}(n)$ over a $p$-adic field, under the assumption that the invariant of the division algebra
is $1/n$. We use the $\ell$-adic \'etale cohomology of the Drinfeld tower to construct the correspondence
at the level of the Grothendieck groups with rational coefficients. Moreover, assuming that $n$ is prime,
we prove that this correspondence preserves irreducible representations. This gives a purely local proof
of the local Jacquet-Langlands correspondence in this case. We need neither a global automorphic technique
nor detailed classification of supercuspidal representations of ${\rm GL}(n)$.
Existence of entire solutions to the Monge-Ampère equation
Authors: Jian Huaiyu , Wang Xu-Jia
Published: August 2014

We prove the existence of infinitely many entire convex solutions to the Monge-Amp\`ere equation
${\rm det} D^2 u=f$ in ${\Bbb R}^n$, assuming that the inhomogeneous term $f\ge 0$ and is of polynomial growth
at infinity. When $f$ satisfies the doubling condition, we show that solution is of polynomial growth.
As an application, we resolve the existence of translating solutions to a class of Gauss curvature flow.
Stability results for the volume of random simplices
Authors: Ambrus Gergely , Böröczky Károly J.
Published: August 2014

It is known that for a convex body $K$ in ${\Bbb R}^d$ of volume one, the expected volume of random simplices
in $K$ is minimized if $K$ is an ellipsoid, and for $d=2$, maximized if $K$ is a triangle. Here we provide
corresponding stability estimates.
Perceptions of Safety by On-Campus Location, Rurality, and Type of Security/Police Force: The Case of the Community College
Authors: Patton Robert C. , Gregory Dennis E.
Published: August 2014

This study examined Virginia community college students’ perceptions of campus safety. A survey of 11,161 students revealed the crimes students most feared being a victim of while on the community college campus and the areas in which they felt the most and least safe. The research also demonstrated the effect of certain variables had on students’ overall perception of campus safety. The variables studied included student demographics, the presence and type of security personnel, and the rurality of the campus setting. The campuses with the highest and lowest degrees of perceived safety were then further studied via case studies to gather detailed information, which may assist college administrators and policymakers in improving campus safety on community college campuses.
The Adverse Impact of Racial Microaggressions on College Students’ Self-Esteem
Authors: Nadal Kevin L. , Wong Yinglee , Griffin Katie E. , Davidoff Kristin , Sriken Julie
Published: August 2014

Racial microaggressions are subtle (often unintentional or unconscious) forms of racial discrimination that negatively affect victims’ mental health. Utilizing an undergraduate student sample (N = 225), the current study examined the relationship between racial microaggressions and self-esteem. Results indicate that racial microaggressions negatively predict a lower self-esteem, and that microaggressions that occur in educational and workplace environments are particularly harmful to self-esteem. Finally, findings reveal that individuals of various racial and ethnic minority groups experience racial microaggressions differently. Implications for student development and recommendations for further research involving racial microaggressions and college students are discussed.
Living Well is the Best Revenge: Rousseau’s Reveries and the (non) Problem of Forgiveness
Authors: Pagani Karen
Published: August 2014

This paper examines how, in the Reveries of a Solitary Walker , Rousseau presents his anger and the vengeance he claims to have achieved in his later years as a means of demonstrating his moral superiority over his alleged adversaries. It aims to describe the rhetorical mode that Rousseau utilized in this text so as to be able to claim to have been avenged and yet still be lauded as a paragon of virtue and, even, of philosophical calm. The text therefore represents a conceptual departure from the ideas regarding anger and acceptable manifestations thereof that Rousseau had expressed in his earlier works and that have recently been examined in detail by Rousseau scholars, most notably Patrick Coleman.
A Greek Who Gave Up His Freedom in the Eighteenth Century: An Unpublished Document
Authors: Ruşti Doina
Published: August 2014

This is an unpublished document from 1796, regarding a Greek resident in Ţara Românească [Romanian Land] who gave up his freedom and became someone else’s property. This happened following a law introduced in the Romanian Principalities: if a free man married a slave, he became a slave in turn.
A Sultan in the Realm of Passion: Coffee in Eighteenth-Century Delhi
Authors: Hakala Walter N.
Published: August 2014

The Urdu poet Shāh “Ḥātim” (1699–1783) enjoyed a long career, interacting with several generations of Urdu poets in Delhi and observing firsthand the massive upheavals that accompanied the Mughal Empire’s rapid political decline. He is remembered today primarily for his claim, made some twenty years after he composed poems in praise of coffee and tobacco, to have purged his earlier collections of poetry containing unliterary vocabulary and outdated puns. Ḥātim’s choice to retain the poem on coffee, despite what he acknowledged to be its outdated style, provides insights into modes of elite connoisseurship practiced in late Mughal society.
Ruhollah Khomeini’s Political Thought: Elements of Guardianship, Consent, and Representative Government
Authors: Hossainzadeh Nura
Published: August 2014

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini is often described in secondary literature as a political actor who advocated religious absolutism. This paper argues that Khomeini’s theory can best be characterized not simply as a theory of guardianship by the Islamic jurisprudent but instead as a theory of limited guardianship . In the public speeches and statements that he delivered during the drafting of the Islamic Republic’s first constitution in 1979, Khomeini is clear that the necessary conditions of political legitimacy are, firstly, popular consent to government, secondly, public approval of the guardian, and finally, popular representation in a legislative assembly. These public statements are consonant with Khomeini’s description of Islamic government in Najaf in 1970, where he recognizes that the guardian is fallible, that the fallibility of human reason may lead people to establish inadequate political conventions, and that there is a certain injustice in imposing government upon a public that does not consent to it. His 1970 lectures do not contradict his post-revolutionary thought also because Khomeini in 1970 gives no indication that he disapproves of – though he makes no explicit statement that he approves of – representative, parliamentary government.
The Hazaras of Afghanistan and their Shi‘a Orientation: An Analytical Historical Survey
Authors: Baiza Yahia
Published: August 2014

This paper presents an analytical historical survey of the emergence of Shi‘ism among the Hazaras of modern-day Afghanistan. It argues that the Hazaras’ Shi‘a orientation is surrounded with much speculation, many prejudices, and arbitrary interpretations. A critical analysis of these prejudices and interpretations reveals that nineteenth and twentieth century orientalists and scholars from Afghanistan have not systematically and thoroughly studied the Hazaras’ Shi‘a orientation. Instead, they often sought to underpin their hypotheses and theories without examining their validity. Their accounts also reveal that they tend to interpret Shi‘a Islam primarily as that of the Twelver Shi‘as, while neglecting the Shi‘a Isma‘ili tradition. Therefore, the field needs a fresh review of the existing accounts, and a systematic study and interpretation of the available and relevant data.
Singularity, Relationship, and the Oneness of Being: Maurice Blanchot and Ibn ‘Arabi
Authors: Moradi Hossein
Published: August 2014

This paper reads al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah by Ibn ‘Arabi through L’Entretien infini ( The Infinite Conversation ) by Maurice Blanchot to criticize the dominant idea of oneness and unity of being in metaphysics. To go beyond this, Blanchot proposes in the human experience a new set of relations in which the human comes into existence by being in relation with the One which is no longer a unified essence but rather is the Other unknown and is always in the process of becoming. Here, the human becomes an other facing the Other having an absolute singular relation every single moment causing the strangeness and the interruption in their being. By reading Ibn ‘Arabi’s idea of the Onness/Manyness while thinking of Blanchot’s new kind of relationship, it is argued that God and the human are neither the One nor the many. They are perpetually distancing themselves from each other in close proximity without standing in a one/many relationship.
Framing Witches, Measure for Measure, and the Appointment of Shim‘on ben Shataḥ
Authors: Stein Dina
Published: August 2014

The story of Shimon ben Shatah's battle against the witches of Ashkelon in the Palestinian Talmud (yHagigah 2:2 [77d]; ySanhedrin 6:4 [23c]) is part of a larger narrative for which it provides a culminating end. This article argues that the entire narrative, which also offers unique descriptions of rewards and punishments in the world to come, constitutes a coherent mythological foundation story of (amoraic) rabbinic authority. The unity of the narrative is formed through thematic connections between its seemingly disparate units and by a clear underlying principle that governs the unfolding plot, i.e. measure for measure. The generic markers of the tale situate it as a liminal narrative, between a tale that recounts biblical events and a biographical tale of a sage, and consequently it positions its protagonist as a liminal figure that signifies both a connection to, and rapture from a biblical past. The historical consciousness staged in this elaborate legend of origin is tied up not only with rabbinic polemics against paganism – with which the witches have been identified in earlier scholarship - but also against Christianity. Given that the tale appears in conjunction with a typical foundation story told in Judeo-Christian circles, with which it also shares themes and motifs, and pointing at the exceptional description of Miriam's fate in Hell as adhering to the underlying measure for measure principle, the article argues for dual pagan and Christian context (although possibly not distinguished from each other in rabbinic eyes) to which the story responds.
“This Ship Is Zion!”: Travel, Tourism, and Cultural Zionism in Theodor Herzl’s Altneuland
Authors: Shumsky Dimitry
Published: August 2014

One of the central elements of Herzlian spatial-political thought that has been filtered out of the deterministic historiographical discourse on Herzl-the-visionary-of-the-nation-state is that of travel and tourism, as well as the cultural significance and political context of the representations of travel and tourism in his utopian-political novel Altneuland. The present article argues, however, that it is precisely through accounting for the notions of travel and tourism at work in Theodor Herzl's Altneuland that one can appreciate Herzl’s perception of homecoming in its full complexity. The development of this argument is divided into the following three areas: (1) a survey of the expressions of the theme of travel and tourism in Altneuland which have been largely overlooked by virtually all the historians, political scientists and literary scholars dealing with Herzl’s novel; (2) a rethinking of the cultural and political aspects of Herzlian Zionism given the appropriate assessment of the role played by the motif(s) of travel and tourism in his vision of the future Palestine, as well as placing those aspects within the wider historical context of the contemporary development of political territorially-oriented national movements in the Habsburg Central Europe where Herzlian nationalism had emerged; (3) framing discussion on the journey element in the Herzlian Zionism in terms of relevant theoretical discourse on travel, tourism and homecoming, with purpose of drawing through the case of Herzl's employment of travel motifs some broad theoretical reflections on travel, Zionism and homecoming in the time (and space) of fin-de-siècle multiethnic empires.
A Korean Military Revolution?: Parallel Military Innovations in East Asia and Europe
Authors: Andrade Tonio , Kang Hyeok Hweon , Cooper Kirsten
Published: August 2014

This article argues that advances in drilling techniques and the use of muskets—essential ingredients of the famous Military Revolution paradigm—were central to Korean military reforms following the Imjin War of 1592–1598. Drawing on recent work in East Asian military history that argues that guns also wrought deep changes in non-European ways of war, we use the Korean military of the Chosŏn dynasty, a fascinating nexus of Chinese, Japanese, and Dutch influences, as a case study to compare East Asian tactics with European ones. Using military manuals from the seventeenth century, we show that European drilling regimes—centered around musketry units—had striking analogues in Korea (as they also did in China and Japan). The very fact of these similarities in such far-removed societies should point us toward caution in making pronouncements about a “Western way of war,” making clear that there is a need for a truly global military history.
Firearms and Military Adaptation: The Ottomans and the European Military Revolution, 1450–1800
Authors: Ágoston Gábor
Published: August 2014

The mass adoption of firearms as a tool of warfare dramatically changed the nature of military conflict from the mid fifteenth century onward, prompting historians of early modern Europe to describe the changes as a “gunpowder revolution” or “Military Revolution”—a thesis that provoked a spirited scholarly debate in the 1990s. Although the original concept, as set forth by Michael Roberts in 1955, did not single out firearms technology, in the influential elaboration of the thesis by Geoffrey Parker (1988), firearms and artillery fortifications ( trace italienne , which were developed in response to artillery firepower) became the main building blocks of the thesis. According to the thesis, the new fortresses required much larger armies to successfully besiege them, leading to a dramatic increase in the size of European armies. To build and main-tain artillery fortifications, large artillery trains, and ever-larger armies in turn required a more centralized government. Thus, the introduction of firearms led to the rise of centralized states in Europe—and, on a global scale, to the “rise of the West.”
Engaging Foundational Narratives in Morrison’s Paradise and Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon
Authors: Schell David
Published: August 2014

This essay examines how Toni Morrison’s Paradise and Thomas Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon construct foundational narratives as critiques of national imaginings. Setting up the idea of the nation as imagined communities coming together through shared narratives, Morrison and Pynchon probe the possibility of future national imaginings through narratives which continually breakdown in establishing the past. In the seeming paradox of narrating pasts that destroy and delimit the future, their novels display the disjuncture between the need to narrate the nation and the collective narratives that often emerge to define national boundaries. Their texts point toward the limits of national imaginings and spaces that unsuccessfully map onto the populations they purport to represent. In the context of the transnational turn in American studies, foundational narratives signal national narratives as self-destructive operations of power that can compel a populace to construct space–less histories and obscure social relations. Simultaneously, foundational narratives can also signal spaces beyond national boundaries, understandings of the nation as transnational and reliant on fictional modes in order to reestablish historical and social links.
Thomas Hardy’s The Well-Beloved : A “Ghost” Story
Authors: Kim Donguk
Published: August 2014

The Well–Beloved attends to the complexities and an xieties of creative consciousness. While Hardy, characteristically, remains non-committal throughout, a speculation surfaces about the status of the artist, the relationship of the artist and the world, and the tendency of art to falsify. The artist hero Jocelyn Pierston is an explorer feeling his way in an effort to reveal some unknown beauty. It is his desire to find the ideal of woman (“the Well–Beloved”) and translate her beauty into a sculptural form that impels him to wander. So among Hardy’s preoccupations in the novel is a need to register the notion of wandering as a metaphorical referent for the hero’s journey in search of ideal beauty, which is in fact beyond the limits of his own power. This essay invites the reader to consider the nature of Pierston’s wandering, thereby aiming to underline that The Well–Beloved reflects Hardy’s aesthetic and mores beyond his own fin de siècle, which could be described as distinctively postmodern.
Neostoicism and the Economics of Revenge in Cyril Tourneur’s The Atheist’s Tragedy
Authors: Kendrick Matthew
Published: August 2014

This essay seeks to historicize Renaissance Neostoicism in relation to the period’s emergent capitalism. As historians have demonstrated, the emergence of capitalism in England yielded significant social and cultural changes, affecting all aspects of life from state power, to civil society, to individual subjectivity. Building in particular on Hugh Grady’s study of the socially destabilizing effects of “early modern reification,” this essay explores how Cyril Tourneur’s The Atheist’s Tragedy employs the discourse on Stoic constancy as a method for resisting the destructive effects of this new economic logic. With particular reference to Justus Lipsius’s anxious writings on the spiritual destitution produced by excessive consumerism and bodily desire, the article contends that in The Atheist’s Tragedy emerging capitalism is negotiated and ultimately resisted through recourse to a monistic Stoic model of the inextricable relationship between body and soul, flesh and spirit.
Queer Fragments: Ruination and Sexuality in E. M. Forster
Authors: Corne Jonah
Published: August 2014

Critics have tended to treat the crucial leitmotif of ruins in E. M. Forster in terms of an unremitting nostalgia or melancholia. This paper argues that Forster’s relationship to spatial damage, destruction, and loss is much more complicated and capacious—anguished and mournful, but also mingled with certain provisional compensations, even pleasures. What troubles matters, the essay contends, is a subtle but recurrent association throughout Forster’s writing between ruins and queer sexuality: a coupling that emerges in Howards End (1910), Maurice (1913–1914), the “letter” to Mohammed el-Adl (1922–1929), and the short story, “The Obelisk” (1939). In these works, we find a topography of queerly coded ruination that sheds light on otherwise overlooked dimensions of Forster’s treatment of architecture, sexuality, time, secrecy and publicity, and culture.
The “Musical Question” and the Educated Elite of Greek Orthodox Society in Late Nineteenth-Century Constantinople
Authors: Erol Merih
Published: August 2014

In the course of the nineteenth century, music became a significant site of social and cultural identification for the educated Greek Orthodox elite in Constantinople. Through a debate on music, the meaning, limits, and historical roots of the nation and Greekness were defined and contested. This article explores the musical discourse produced by Constantinopolitan Greek Orthodox literate groups within the context of a range of broader issues such as class formation, social and national identity, the “ecumenist” politics of the Orthodox Patriarchate, and the ongoing processes of Westernization and modernization, which affected not only the Greek Orthodox but the wider Ottoman society. This was a period of rapid change in the empire especially in the spheres of the economy, administration, and law, as a result of which the administration and organization of the Rum millet were established on new principles. Based on newspapers, journals, the statutes of the voluntary musical associations, articles and treatises of musicological interest, and the printed collections of secular songs, this article demonstrates the variety and complexity of the positions and discourses of cultural identity which existed in the Greek Orthodox community of Constantinople in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Re-imagining Homeland in the Aftermath of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949): Children’s Magazines
Authors: Vasiloudi Vasiliki
Published: August 2014

The children’s/youth magazines published in the wake of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949) pose questions with regard to the notion of homeland as part of identity and subjectivity. The paper analyzes material from two such magazines: Αετόπουλα ( Eaglets ), published outside Greece (1949–1953) after the expatriation of communists at the end of the Civil War and intended for “the little emigrant Greeks,” and Παιδόπολη ( Childtown ) (later to be renamed Το Σπίτι του Παιδιού, The Child’s Home ) (1950–1969), published in Greece but addressing the residents of Childtowns, special institutions set up by the Queen of Greece, so as to preserve the “Right” Greekness. The analysis points out that in Eaglets , the cultivation of a new collective consciousness, internalization of communist tenets, and admiration of the Soviet Union and communist leaders were formative features of the notion of homeland. By contrast, in Childtown , homeland was constructed as an agricultural nation-state, where future citizens would ideally work towards reconstruction and pay tribute to religion, family, and the king. Yet together the two magazines enacted a change in the conception of the place of rural children, who were formerly working hands within the context of the family and became social capital in the service of an overarching institution of the party and the state.
Being Greek and an Economist while Greece is Burning! An intimate account of a peculiar tragedy
Authors: Varoufakis Yanis
Published: August 2014

The crisis that erupted in Wall Street in the fall of 2008 has had some bizarre side effects. One of them was to push small, inconsequential Greece onto the front pages of the world’s leading newspapers and make it a permanent feature in the nightmares of peoples and policy-makers worldwide. Another was the paradox of amplifying Greek voices during the country’s economic implosion while, at once, denying them analytical authority over their predicament. The paper is a personal account of this paradox as experienced by a Greek economist who also lives through another, more personal, paradox: despite his portrayal by the media as an “expert,” he has been advocating that economists, independently of their intelligence or personal ethics, belong to a sinister priesthood purveying thinly disguised (and heavily mathematized) superstition as scientific economics.
Flexicurity, Informality, and Immigration: The Insufficiency of the Southern EU Framework, as Illustrated through the Case of Preveza, Greece
Authors: Gialis Stelios , Herod Andrew , Myridis Myron
Published: August 2014

The concept of “flexicurity” (encouraging flexible work arrangements while also ensuring various social protections for workers) has been much lauded in recent years within the European Union. This paper examines how practices of flexicurity are working for immigrant workers living in Preveza, a prefecture located within the Greek region of Epirus on the border with Albania. In doing so, it highlights possible interconnections between immigrants, whether documented or not, and atypical and informal employment in peripheral urban and rural localities. The paper draws upon data collected during 2008 as part of research conducted for Preveza’s local government as well as a follow-up study on flexicurity and immigrants conducted in 2011. Other data sources, such as the list of migrants holding official residence and work permits and the national census, are also used. All of these sources offer valuable insights into the precarious employment status of immigrants in contemporary Greece, highlighting the extensive presence of flexible employment with few security provisions and informal employment. Finally, the paper concludes with some remarks on policy relating to the European Union’s flexicurity agenda and migration in Southern Europe.
Metaphorical Transgression and Transfiguration of Loss through Language in Alexandros Papadiamantis’s “Under the Royal Oak Tree”
Authors: Evzonas Nicolas
Published: August 2014

The present contribution offers a close reading of Alexandros Papadiamantis’s first-person short story «Ὑπὸ τὴν βασιλικὴν δρῦν» (“Under the Royal Oak Tree”), published in March 1901. Behind its euphoric atmosphere and carefree façade, which relates a child’s attraction to a majestic tree, this less-than-realistic tale conceals a poignant struggle between sexual desire and parental and religious prohibition. The tree’s transformation into a ravishing young woman during the main character’s sleep—the focal point of the story—along with the free associations of the dreamer reveal a blend of oedipal fantasies and recurring Papadiamantian themes. Furthermore, the extremely rich and overdetermined vocabulary of the text transforms the oak tree into a pluralistic symbol.
De novo design and in-silico studies of novel bis-arylpiperazine derivatives as non-nucleoside inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase
Authors: Yadav Ashok , Chander Subhash , Lathiya Hiren , Sharma Hardik , Goyal Kriti , Sankaranarayanan Murugesan
Published: August 2014

In the present study, we have designed some novel bisarylpiperazine derivatives as Non-Nucleoside Inhibitors of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase. Docking studies of the designed analogues were performed by molecular modeling software AutoDock 4.2 using HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase (PDB ID: 1RT2) as receptor. Lipinskis Rule of Five (Ro5) parameters and toxicity parameters were predicted through online servers like Molinspiration and Osiris property explorer. Docking parameters such as binding free energy and predicted inhibitory constant (Ki) values of the designed analogues were compared with standard drugs Efavirenz and co-crystallized ligand TNK-651. Among the designed analogues,Â 1,Â 4,Â 8,Â 9,Â 12,Â 15,Â 27,Â 30,Â 37,Â 38,Â 39Â andÂ 43Â showed significant and comparable binding free energy and predicted inhibitory constant values as that of standard drugs. These results indicate that, the designed analogues adopt a similar orientation and share the same binding mode as that of some of the classical Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs) within the active site of Non-Nucleoside Inhibitory Binding Pocket (NNIBP) of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase.
Development and validation of analytical methods for the simultaneous estimation of Losartan potassium and Metolazone in bulk and in pharmaceutical dosage form by RP-HPLC and HPTLC
Authors: Karunakaran Anandakumar , Muthuvijayan Jayamariappan , Chinthala Ramu , Vetsa Subash
Published: August 2014

Two new, simple, accurate, and precise Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatograhic method and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been established for simultaneous analysis of Losartan Potassium and Metolazone in tablet formulations. The mobile consisting of Acetonitrile: 0.1% Trifluoroacetic acid, (40:60% v/v) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/ min was used for RP-HPLC with a UV detector at 236 nm. For the HPTLC method, chloroform: Methanol, 10:1% v/v, as mobile phase, UV detection was performed densitometrically at 230 nm. The methods were validated in accordance with the requirements of ICH guidelines and USFDA guidelines. The methods were successfully used for determination of the drugs in tablets. Tablet excipients did not interfere with the chromatography.
Comparative study of isolated Guggulsterones as marker compounds from Guggulu, Commiphora mukul with Ayurvedic Gugglu containing formulations by HPTLC, an in-house quality control method
Authors: Duraipandi Selvakumar , Selvakumar Vijaya
Published: August 2014

The guggulu containing polyherbal formulations in Ayurveda have been used for treating various inflammatory conditions. A simple HPTLC method has been developed to qualitatively analyze the formulations that claimed to have contained guggulu using the Guggulsterones isolated from the guggulu raw material as a marker. The isolation of Guggulsterones from the resinous gum obtained from the plant was used as a marker to determine the Guggulsterone content in the formulations. The study showed that all the preparations taken for analysis that claimed to contain Guggulsterones was originally having the contents but in variable amounts depending on the amount of resin taken for the preparation. Due to the fact that Guggulsterones are very expensive marker compounds if procured separately as Guggulsterone E and Z forms, this method can be used for routine qualitative analysis of presence of Guggulsterones as an in-house quality control method.
Synthesis Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activity of 1-[(arylalkylidene)amino]-3-(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)thiourea
Authors: Kulandaivelu Umasankar , Chawada Bhawatha , Boyapati Shireesha , Reddy Alavala Rajasekhar
Published: August 2014

Arylalkylidene derivatives of aminotriazoles (3a-3j) were synthesized and tested for their antimicrobial and anticancer activity. Four non-pathogenic bacteria [E. coliÂ (NCIM 2068),Â K. pneumoniaeÂ (NCIM 2957),Â S. aureusÂ (NCIM 2079),Â B. subtilisÂ (NCIM 2921)] two fungi [C. albicans,Â A. niger] and two cancer cell lines [HBL-100 and HT-29] were employed in the study. All the compounds were found to have better antibacterial activity againstÂ B. subtilisÂ than Ciprofloxacin (standard) and compoundÂ 3iÂ was equivalent to Ciprofloxacin in inhibitingÂ S. aureas. Similarly all the compounds inhibited the growth ofÂ A. nigerÂ better than Fluconazole and compoundÂ 3cÂ was equivalent to Fluconazole (standard) in inhibitingÂ C. albicans. In case of anticancer activity none of the molecule exhibited activity better than the standard used (Methotrexate), though they have inhibitory concentration at submicromolar level.
Thrombectomy in Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Topaz On , Topaz Allyne , Polkampally Pritam R ,   Professor of Medicine and Pathology, and Director, Interventional Cardiology, Division of Cardiology, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, MCV/Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1201 Broad Rock Blvd, Richmond, VA 23249, US. E: On.Topaz@med.va.gov,   Division of Cardiology, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, MCV/Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia,   Division of Cardiology, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, MCV/Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia
Published: August 2014

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred management strategy for ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. However, a significant number of revascularisations result insuboptimal restoration of epicardial antegrade flow and inadequate myocardial tissue perfusion. This is mainly attributed to the underlying thrombus burden within the infarct-related vessel. Interventions for thrombotic lesions are clearly associated with an increased risk of acute and long-term complications. Thrombus remains a predictor of ischaemic complications, immediate and late stent thrombosis, increased in-hospital complications, death at six months and recurrent MI. Two types of thrombus removal device are available for utilisation in the setting of acute MI (AMI): aspiration-based catheters and mechanical thrombectomy. Administration of either systemic or selective adjunct pharmacotherapy can be useful in conjunction with application of all thrombus removal devices. Recent studies have demonstrated that thrombus aspiration is applicable and safe in a large majority of patients with STEMI, resulting in better reperfusion and clinical outcomes than standard PCI. However, it is unclear whether these findings are a direct result of a reduction in thrombus burden, facilitation of direct stenting or a combination of the two. The heavier the underlying thrombus burden, the higher the yield of mechanical thrombectomy over aspiration catheter. The role of thrombectomy as a useful adjunct therapy aimed specifically at direct contact and clearance of AMI-related thrombus continues to evolve.
Negative and positive predictive relationships between coping strategies and the three burnout dimensions among Hungarian medical students
Authors: Ádám Szilvia , Nistor Anikó , Nistor Katalin , Hazag Anikó
Published: August 2014

Introduction: Effective management and prevention of widespread burnout among medical students in Hungary require thorough understanding of its relations to coping strategies, which lacks sufficient data. Aim: To explore the prevalence of burnout and its relations to coping strategies among medical students. Method: Cross-sectional study with 292 participants. Burnout was assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey. Coping strategies were evaluated by the Folkman–Lazarus Ways of Coping Questionnaire and questions about health-maintenance behaviours. Associations between burnout and coping strategies were explored with linear regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of high-level burnout was 25–56%. Both problem-focused coping and support-seeking were protective factors of exhaustion and cynicism, however, they predicted reduced personal accomplishment. Emotion-focused coping predicted exhaustion and cynicism and correlated negatively with reduced personal accomplishment. Health-maintenance behaviours were protective factors for exhaustion and predicted reduced personal accomplishment. Conclusions: Deployment of coping strategies that target the most prevalent burnout dimension may improve effective management of burnout.
The pharmacology of humour – a primer to quantum humourdynamics
Authors: Györfi András
Published: August 2014

A good word put in for someone during a medical consultation can alleviate the stress generated by the contact with the clinic. The superlative of “good word” in these situations could be a humourous phrase of the physician during the consultation, which can realize a cognitive shift in the patient’s perception of her/his situation. This change of perspective will diminish the anxiety generated by the disease, can rebuild optimism and establish a good doctor–patient relationship, based on hope and collaboration. This paper analyzes the elements of humour and the neurological mechanisms involved in the emergence of mirth. The dosage of this genuine alternative medication is discussed based on a primer to quantum humourdynamics, observing the similarity between the behaviour of quantum mechanic’s elementary particles with the quanta of humour called hilarion. Finally, laughter’s psychological and physiological benefits are discussed, obtained through changes in circulation, respiration, muscular tonus and endorphin release. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(32), 1255–1258.
Sex Differences in Inflammatory and Apoptotic Signaling Molecules In Normal and Diseased Human Gingiva
Authors: Johnson Roger B. , Wikle John C.
Published: August 2014

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine whether sex dimorphism exists in the expression of inflammatory and apoptotic mediators in gingiva obtained from normal and diseased sites of periodontal disease.

Methods: Gingival papillae were obtained from individuals (56 males and 62 females) who required extraction of adjacent teeth. Gingival samples were grouped by adjacent sulcus depth: 1 to 3 mm (normal), 3 mm with bleeding on probing (slight disease), 3 to 6 mm (moderate disease), and >6 mm (severe disease). The tissue concentrations of cysteine‐requiring aspartate‐directed protease 3 (caspase‐3), interleukin‐2, tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis‐inducing ligand, Fas ligand, p38α mitogen‐activated protein kinase, extracellular signal‐related kinase 1/2, and survivin were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. These mediator concentrations, age of donor, sex of donor, and gingival sulcular depth were the outcome variables. Data were compared by factorial analysis of variance, post hoc Tukey, and Pearson correlation test. P <0.05 was used to indicate significant differences among the outcome variables.

Results: The mean gingival sulcular depth was significantly greater in male than in female groups (P <0.05). The majority of the tested mediators were significantly correlated with both sex and sulcular depth and with caspase‐3 (P <0.05). The concentration of caspase‐3 in female gingiva at all diseased sites was significantly greater than in gingiva derived from male sites (P <0.05).

Conclusions: These data suggest sex dimorphism in the presence of gingival apoptosis at sites of periodontal disease, with females having the highest incidence of apoptosis. Because apoptosis clears inflammatory cells and promotes healing, this phenomenon could provide a mechanism for sex dimorphism for the incidence of periodontal disease.
In Vitro Study on Regeneration of Periodontal Tissue Microvasculature Using Human Dedifferentiated Fat Cells
Authors: Shimizu Yutaka , Sato Soh
Published: August 2014

Background: Human dedifferentiated fat cells (HDFATs) may be a new cell type suitable for regenerative therapies. The aim of this study is to assess the potential of HDFATs for vascular regeneration of periodontal tissue. To do this, HDFATs and human gingival endothelial cells (HGECs) were cocultivated, and vascular regeneration was examined in vitro.

Methods: HDFATs were isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue, and HGECs were isolated from gingival cells using anti‐cluster of differentiation 31 antibody‐coated magnetic beads. HDFATs were cocultured with HGECs in microvascular endothelial cell growth medium‐2 (EGM‐2MV) for 7 days. Expression of endothelial cell (EC) markers, the formation of capillary‐like tubes, and the expression of pericyte markers were determined.

Results: HDFATs, cultured in EGM‐2MV or cocultured with HGECs, expressed EC markers. HDFATs in both conditions initiated tube formation within 5 hours of seeding and formed extensive capillary‐like structures within 12 hours. These structures disintegrated within 24 hours when cells were cultured in EGM‐2MV alone, whereas cocultured HDFATs maintained tubes for >24 hours. Cocultured HDFATs significantly increased expression of pericyte markers, a cell type associated with microvasculature.

Conclusion: HDFATs possess the ability to express EC markers, and coculture with HGECs promotes differentiation into pericytes involved in the maturation and stabilization of the microvasculature.
Effects of waste water irrigation on the growth and nutrient status of kalmi (Ipomoea aquatica Forssk.)
Authors: Uddin Md Jamal , Al Mamun Shamim , Nessa Ashrafun , Parveen Zakia , Huq SM Imamul
Published: August 2014

A pot experiment was carried out to observe the effect of waste water irrigation on the growth and nutrient status of Kalmi (Ipomoea aquatica) in the nethouse of the Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka. The soil samples were collected from Tejgaon, Rampura, Sitalakhya and from the north?side of Rampura area, the latter is located at a distance from the polluted area and has been used as the control soil. The pots containing the first three soil samples were irrigated with wastewater collected from the adjacent industrial area and control pots were irrigated with tap water. The plants on Tejgaon soil produced the maximum biomass while the plants on Sitalakhya produced the least amount of biomass. The accumulation of toxic metal concentration was found to be the highest in Kalmi grown on Tejgaon followed by Rampura and Sitalakhya. The metal concentration in Kalmi (dry weight basis) ranged between 31 and 408 mg/kg for Zn, 27 to 45 mg/kg for Cu, 0.2 to 5.0 mg/kg for Pb and 0 to 2 mg/kg for Cd, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals in the Kalmi were higher than the recommended standards in all the treatments except control.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/dujbs.v23i1.19820Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 23(1): 1?8, 2014
Indoor fungi on damp walls of buildings and their management
Authors: Shafa Shabnam , Shamsi S , Bashar MA
Published: August 2014

A total of eight species of fungi and one sterile fungus were isolated from the indoor damp walls. The fungi were Aspergillus flavus Link, A. fumigatus Fresenius, A. niger van Teighem, A. niger (culture type 1), A. terreus Thom, A. terreus (culture type 1), A. ustus, Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp. Ulocladium sp. and a fungus with sterile mycelia. The frequency percentage of association of A. fluvus, A. fumigatus and A. niger was higher than any other fungi. This is the first report of association of fungi in indoor damp walls from the Department of Botany, University of Dhaka and a private house of Dhaka city. Effects of six fungicides were evaluated against the isolated fungi. Bavistin and tall were found most effective against the radial growth of the damp wall fungi. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/dujbs.v23i1.19821 Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 23(1): 9-16, 2014
Diversity of mosquitoes and their seasonal fluctuation in two wards of Dhaka city
Authors: Khan Humayun Reza , Islam Md Muzahidul , Akter Tangin , Karim Md Rezaul , Farid Md Sheik
Published: August 2014

The diversity and seasonal fluctuation of mosquitoes were studied in the two Wards (No. 53 and 54) of Dhaka City from March, 2011 to February, 2012. Eleven habitats under six spots, viz. Ramna Park, Hatir Jheel, Siddeshwary field, Moghbazar pond, Wireless lane and Indoor habitats were surveyed. Altogether 13 species of mosquitoes were identified belonging to four genera and these were Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. gelidus, Cx. vishnui, Cx. fuscocephala, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. hutchinsoni, Cx. fatigans, Mansonia annulifera, Mn. uniformis, Mn. indiana, Aedes aegypti, Ae. Albopictus and Armigeres subalbatus. Seven species, e.g. Cx. gelidus, Cx. vishnui, Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Mn. uniformis, Mn. annulifera and Mn. indiana were dominant in the months from June to October; three species, e.g. Cx. fuscocephala, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti from November to February; and nine species, e.g. Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Ar. subalbatus, Cx. fuscocephala, Cx. gelidus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. vishnui and Mn. annulifera from March to May. Cx. quinquefasciatus was present in all habitats except the fresh water lake. In semi?polluted Jheel, all the mosquito species, except Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus and Mn. indiana were observed. In coconut shell, larvae belonging to Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. fuscocephala, Ae. aegypti and Ar. subalbatus were observed. In tree holes, Ae. albopictus occupied the highest number. In tubs, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. vishnui, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were found. In polluted drains, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. vishnui and Cx. gelidus were common, but Cx. quinquefasciatus was the dominant one. In indoor habitat, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti were more abundant. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/dujbs.v23i1.19822 Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 23(1): 17-26, 2014
Impact of psycho-education on care givers mental health and perceived stress of children with autism
Authors: Ara Jesan , Chowdhury Kamal Uddin Ahmed
Published: August 2014

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of psycho-education on care givers mental health and level of stress. The study attempts to increase knowledge about autism in addition to reduce stress and disturbances of mental health condition among care givers of children with autism. Pre-post design was used to assess the perceived stress and mental health condition of the participants. The control group did not receive the psycho?education session and the experimental group received the psycho-education session. During the pretest all measures were administered and in post-test session all measures were re-administered to the experimental group and the control group. During postintervention phase, a significant improvement in care givers' perceived stress and mental health condition (except severe depression) was noted in the experimental group. But condition of the care givers of the control group who did not receive psycho-education remained the same for the same variables. Results suggested that psycho-educational intervention is effective in increasing knowledge regarding the condition and in meeting the needs of the care givers of children with autism spectrum disorders.