bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Insights into the structural stability of Bax from molecular dynamics simulations at high temperatures
Authors: Rosas‐Trigueros Jorge Luis , Correa‐Basurto José , Guadalupe Benítez‐Cardoza Claudia , Zamorano‐Carrillo Absalom
Published: September 2011

Bax is a member of the Bcl‐2 protein family that participates in mitochondrion‐mediated apoptosis. In the early stages of the apoptotic pathway, this protein migrates from the cytosol to the outer mitochondrial membrane, where it is inserted and usually oligomerizes, making cytochrome c‐compatible pores. Although several cellular and structural studies have been reported, a description of the stability of Bax at the molecular level remains elusive. This article reports molecular dynamics simulations of monomeric Bax at 300, 400, and 500 K, focusing on the most relevant structural changes and relating them to biological experimental results. Bax gradually loses its α‐helices when it is submitted to high temperatures, yet it maintains its globular conformation. The resistance of Bax to adopt an extended conformation could be due to several interactions that were found to be responsible for maintaining the structural stability of this protein. Among these interactions, we found salt bridges, hydrophobic interactions, and hydrogen bonds. Remarkably, salt bridges were the most relevant to prevent the elongation of the structure. In addition, the analysis of our results suggests which conformational movements are implicated in the activation/oligomerization of Bax. This atomistic description might have important implications for understanding the functionality and stability of Bax in vitro as well as within the cellular environment.
In Situ Imaging of Multiphase Bio‐interfaces at the Micro‐/Nanoscale
Authors: Chen Peipei , Jiang Lei , Han Dong
Published: September 2011

The multiphase bio‐interfacial system constituted by biological surfaces and their surrounding environment is usually considered to be an essential clue for exploring the mysterious relationship between surface architecture and function. As a visualizing method to understand these systems, in situ imaging of multiphase interfaces (e.g., air/liquid/solid and oil/water/solid systems) at the micro‐/nanoscale, still remains a huge challenge, as a result of their heterogeneity and complexity. Here, recent progress on real‐space micro‐/nanoscale imaging of multiphase bio‐interfacial systems is reviewed; this includes several techniques and imaging results on bio‐interfaces, such as the lotus leaf, fish scale, living cell's surface, and fresh tissue surface. The results evidently show that interfacial structures have a significant impact on the state of the microscopic multiphase interface, further influencing specific functions. Based on this research, technical innovations, some more complicated multiphase interface systems, and structure–function coupling mechanism are proposed.
Remarks on Neuber's complex variable procedure for plane elastic solutions
Authors: Knops R.J. , Villaggio P.
Published: September 2011

The last edition of the book by Neuber on notch stresses derives solutions to several isotropic plane elastic problems using an elegant modification of the standard complex variable method. The procedure, however, can lead to an apparently overlooked but major error in the calculation of the stress function that severely limits the validity of the final results. Here, the necessary amendments are introduced and illustrated by simple examples that nevertheless reveal the essential features of our criticism.
Residual based sampling in POD model order reduction of drift‐diffusion equations in parametrized electrical networks
Authors: Hinze M. , Kunkel M.
Published: September 2011

We consider integrated circuits with semiconductors modeled by modified nodal analysis and drift‐diffusion equations. The drift‐diffusion equations are discretized in space using mixed finite element method. This discretization yields a high dimensional differential‐algebraic equation. We show how proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) can be used to reduce the dimension of the model. We compare reduced and fine models and give numerical results for a basic network with one diode. Furthermore we discuss an adaptive approach to construct POD models which are valid over certain parameter ranges.
Natural genetic variation in fluctuating asymmetry of wing shape inDrosophila melanogaster
Authors: Tsujino Masahiro , Takahashi Kazuo H.
Published: September 2011

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), defined as random deviation from perfect symmetry, has been used to assay the inability of individuals to buffer their developmental processes from environmental perturbations (i.e., developmental instability). In this study, we aimed to characterize the natural genetic variation in FA of wing shape inDrosophila melanogaster, collected from across the Japanese archipelago. We quantified wing shapes at whole wing and partial wing component levels and evaluated their mean and FA. We also estimated the heritability of the mean and FA of these traits. We found significant natural genetic variation in all the mean wing traits and in FA of one of the partial wing components. Heritability estimates for mean wing shapes were significant in two and four out of five wing traits in males and females, respectively. On the contrary, heritability estimates for FA were low and not significant. This is a novel study of natural genetic variation in FA of wing shape. Our findings suggest that partial wing components behave as distinct units of selection for FA, and local adaptation of the mechanisms to stabilize developmental processes occur in nature.
Lipoprint Adequately Estimates LDL Size Distribution, but not Absolute Size, Versus Polyacrylamide Gradient Gel Electrophoresis
Authors: Varady Krista A. , Lamarche Benoît
Published: September 2011

Recently, a new cost‐effective and less labor‐intensive technique termed the “lipoprint LDL system” was developed to measure LDL particle size. However, the agreement between lipoprint and previously validated techniques, such as polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis (PGGE), has never been tested. Therefore, we measured LDL size by lipoprint and PGGE in 16 obese subjects at 4 different time points. Lipoprint significantly overestimated (P = 0.003) integrated LDL particle size by 1.1 ± 3.0 Å when compared to PGGE. As for distribution, there was good agreement between methods for the estimation of large, medium, and small particles (mean difference between the methods was <3% for each parameter). Correlational analysis also revealed good relationships between methods for the proportion of large (r = 0.81, P < 0.0001), medium (r = 0.67, P < 0.0001), and small (r = 0.73, P < 0.0001) particles. In sum, although there is good agreement between lipoprint and PGGE for the determination of LDL size distribution, absolute LDL size values may differ between the two methods.
Comparison between the gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonist protocol and the gonadotropin‐releasing hormone agonist long protocol for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in the first in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer cycle in an unspecified population of infertile couples
Authors: Mekaru Keiko , Yagi Chiaki , Asato Kozue , Masamoto Hitoshi , Sakumoto Kaoru , Aoki Yoichi
Published: September 2011

Purpose

We aimed to compare the efficacy of a gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol and a GnRH agonist long protocol used in the first in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer (IVF–ET) cycle in an unspecified population of infertile couples.

Methods

Fifty and 34 patients were treated with a GnRH agonist long protocol (agonist group) and GnRH antagonist protocol (antagonist group), respectively, in the first treatment cycle. The primary and secondary outcome measures were cumulative live birth rates after fresh and cryopreserved–thawed ETs and incidence of grades II and III ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), respectively.

Results

No significant differences were observed in clinical pregnancy rates (38.0 vs. 32.4%) and live birth rates (22.0 vs. 23.5%), which included both fresh and cryopreserved–thawed ETs, between the 2 groups. However, the incidence of grade III OHSS was significantly lower with the GnRH antagonist protocol than the GnRH agonist long protocol.

Conclusions

Used in the first IVF–ET cycle in an unspecified population of infertile patients, the GnRH antagonist protocol showed the same clinical outcome as the GnRH agonist long protocol.
Japan in the Seventeenth Century: Labour Relations and Work Ethics
Authors: Mathias Regine
Published: September 2011

In Japan, the transformation of labour relations from medieval forms of serfdom, lifelong service, and corvée labour to short-term contracts and wage labour was already under way by the seventeenth century. In the second half of the seventeenth century short-term employment based on contracts became common. Indentured labour gradually changed into wage labour. Government policies included enabling greater mobility for the workers, while also trying to set limits to migration flow to the cities. Some Confucian scholars welcomed this new form of labour relations; others condemned them. The few sources about the work ethics of waged workers imply mockery about their loose morals and work attitudes, but also complaints about workloads and exploitation.
Semantic change and grammaticalization: The development of modal and postmodal meanings in Mainland Scandinavianmå,måtteandmåste
Authors: Beijering Karin
Published: September 2011

This paper presents a comparative synchronic corpus investigation of Mainland Scandinavianmå,måtteandmåste‘must, may’. These modals developed a wide range of different meanings and uses within the realm of necessity, possibility and beyond, i.e., ability, capacity, need, desirability, permission, wish, obligation, uncertainty, probability and concession. The rise of modal and postmodal meanings is a well-known instance of semantic change that follows predictable grammaticalization paths. Furthermore, the development of modals is a prototypical instance of grammaticalization as they are forms on their way from lexical to grammatical status. Because of this, modals have properties of both main verbs and auxiliaries to various extents. This paper will outline the etymology, grammaticalization paths, semantic distributions and formal properties ofmå,måtteandmåsteand show that these modals represent different stages of grammaticalization in the Mainland Scandinavian languages.
Syllable reduction and articulation rates in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish
Authors: Hilton Nanna Haug , Schüppert Anja , Gooskens Charlotte
Published: September 2011

This investigation compares articulation rates of phonological and phonetic syllables in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish to investigate differences in degrees of syllable deletion (reduction) among these three languages. For the investigation two sets of data are used: one consisting of recorded speech from radio news and another consisting of sentences read aloud. The results of the comparative investigation show that in both data sets Danish exhibits a much larger degree of syllable reduction in speech than Norwegian and Swedish. The finding that certain syllable deletion processes take place in Danish but not in Norwegian and Swedish is viewed as typological. The results indicate that Danish words are shorter than their Norwegian and Swedish counterparts. This could be a contributing factor to problems that arise in inter-Scandinavian communication.
Introduction: The Nordic languages and typology
Authors: Eriksen Pål Kristian , Wide Camilla
Published: September 2011

The theme of this special issue is the languages of the Nordic countries and linguistic typology. By ‘the Nordic countries’ we refer to the five countries of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. Genetically, the Nordic languages are divided between the Uralic and the Indo-European language families. The Indo-European languages are represented through the North Germanic branch, and conversely the ‘homeland’ of the North Germanic branch is more or less exclusively located within the borders of the Nordic countries. The Uralic languages are represented through most of the languages of the Sami branch (from Southwest to Northeast: South Sami, Ume Sami, Pite Sami, Lule Sami, North Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami; the remaining two Sami languages, Kildin and Ter Sami, are both spoken on the Kola peninsula in Russia), and the Finnic branch, with the four closely related varieties Finnish, Karelian (Eastern Finland), Kven (Northern Norway) and Meänkieli (Northern Sweden).
Is Humanitarian Intervention Legal? The Rule of Law in an Incoherent World
Authors: Hurd Ian
Published: September 2011

The paper asks whether humanitarian intervention is legal and reviews contemporary legal arguments on both sides. It finds that both views are sustainable by conventional accounts of the sources of international law; humanitarian intervention is at once legal and illegal. The paper then considers the implications of this for the idea of the rule of law in world politics. The power of international law in this case comes from its utility as a resource for justifying state policies, not as a means for distinguishing compliance from non-compliance. Law remains important to world politics, but in a different way than usually understood.
Distribution of serogroups and sequence types in disease-associated and carrier strains ofNeisseria meningitidisisolated in China between 2003 and 2008
Authors: ZHOU H. , GAO Y. , XU L. , LI M. , LI Q. , LI Y. , LIANG X. , LUO H. , KAN B. , XU J. , SHAO Z.
Published: September 2011

Given the unpredictability ofNeisseria meningitidisoutbreaks and the increased prevalence of serogroup C strains following the introduction of serogroup A-based vaccines, we conducted an analysis of serogroups and sequence types (STs) in disease-associated and carrierN. meningitidisisolates that have emerged in China since 2003. We used multilocus sequence-typing techniques to investigate 371N. meningitidisstrains isolated from patients with meningitis and healthy carriers. Two lineages were identified in serogroup A and C isolates, genotyped as the ST5 complex and ST4821 complex, respectively. Both clonal complexes were found throughout China, although ST4821 was more concentrated in the eastern region of the country. The ST5 complex has been persistent in China since the late 1980s and has since spread across the entire country. Isolates belonging to the ST4821 complex have been a dominant lineage since 2003.
Comparing Two Brief Psychological Interventions to Usual Care in Panic Disorder Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Chest Pain
Authors: Lessard Marie-Josée , Marchand André , Pelland Marie-Ève , Belleville Geneviève , Vadeboncoeur Alain , Chauny Jean-Marc , Poitras Julien , Dupuis Gilles , Fleet Richard , Foldes-Busque Guillaume , Lavoie Kim L.
Published: September 2011

Background: Panic disorder (PD) is a common, often unrecognized condition among patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency departments (ED). Nevertheless, psychological treatment is rarely initiated. We are unaware of studies that evaluated the efficacy of brief cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for this population.Aim: Evaluate the efficacy of two brief CBT interventions in PD patients presenting to the ED with chest pain.Method: Fifty-eight PD patients were assigned to either a 1-session CBT-based panic management intervention (PMI) (n= 24), a 7-session CBT intervention (n= 19), or a usual-care control condition (n= 15). A structured diagnostic interview and self-reported questionnaires were administered at pre-test, post-test, 3- and 6-month follow-ups.Results:Statistical analysis showed significant reduction in PD severity following both interventions compared to usual care control condition, but with neither showing superiority compared to the other.Conclusions: CBT-based interventions as brief as a single session initiated within 2 weeks after an ED visit for chest pain appear to be effective for PD. Given the high prevalence of PD in emergency care settings, greater efforts should be made to implement these interventions in the ED and/or primary care setting.
Citizenship in an Unequal World
Authors: Bosniak Linda
Published: September 2011

We inhabit a thoroughly globalized world. People are increasingly and visibly connected by a “World Wide Web,” by a world market, and by universalist discourses of human rights and democracy. At the same time, full citizenship in a political community—and the rights conferred by such citizenship—is an exclusive status that remains, remarkably, tied to accidents of birth and historical circumstance. And what one has a right to—gainful employment, education, health care, political voice, mere presence—is largely a function of whether one has the precious status of citizenship or is, alternatively, regarded as an alien. Ayelet Shachar's The Birthright Lottery: Citizenship and Global Inequality is a compelling account of the moral arbitrariness of this state of affairs. A study in “normative political theory,” it is a work of political science that incorporates legal theory, moral philosophy, political economy, and public policy. The author tackles issues of increasing global political importance—global disparities of wealth; unequal access to clear air, water, and a secure place to live; and the increasingly contentious politics of immigration and immigrant rights.

So it seems fitting to invite a range of political science scholars who work on these topics to comment on the book. The basic editorial charge of this symposium is thus straightforward: How do you assess Shachar's arguments and the attention she focuses on the phenomenon of “birthright lottery”? How does this argument bear upon the topics and approaches that characterize your own scholarship? And how do these topics and approaches shed light on the book and its arguments? While the focus of the symposium is this provocative book, the discussion of it should also be regarded as an opportunity to address the question of whether or not the bases of citizenship need to be fundamentally reconceived, and in what ways political science can and should contribute to such a rethinking.—Jeffrey C. Isaac, Editor
Class Politics, American-Style
Authors: Waddell Brian
Published: September 2011

Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson's Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer—And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class is both a work of political science and a contribution to broad public discussion of distributive politics. Its topic could not be more relevant to a US polity wracked by bitter partisan disagreements about taxes, social spending, financial regulation, social insecurity, and inequality. The political power of “the rich” is a theme of widespread public attention. The headline on the cover of the January–February 2011 issue of The American Interest—“Inequality and Democracy: Are Plutocrats Drowning Our Republic?”—is indicative. Francis Fukuyama's lead essay, entitled “Left Out,” clarifies that by “plutocracy,” the journal means “not just rule by the rich, but rule by and for the rich. We mean, in other words, a state of affairs in which the rich influence government in such a way as to protect and expand their own wealth and influence, often at the expense of others.” Fukuyama makes clear that he believes that this state of affairs obtains in the United States today.

Readers of Perspectives on Politics will know that the topic has garnered increasing attention from political scientists in general and in our journal in particular. In March 2009, we featured a symposium on Larry Bartels's Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. And in December 2009, our lead article, by Jeffrey A. Winters and Benjamin I. Page, starkly posed the question “Oligarchy in the United States?” and answered it with an equally stark “yes.” Winner-Take-All Politics thus engages a broader scholarly discussion within US political science, at the same time that it both draws upon and echoes many “classic themes” of US political science from the work of Charles Beard and E. E. Schattschneider to Ted Lowi and Charles Lindblom.

In this symposium, we have brought together a group of important scholars and commentators who offer a range of perspectives on the book and on the broader themes it engages. While most of our discussants are specialists on “American politics,” we have also sought out scholars beyond this subfield. Our charge to the discussants is to evaluate the book's central claims and evidence, with a focus on three related questions: 1) How compelling is its analysis of the “how” and “why” of recent US public policy and its “turn” in favor of “the rich” and against “the middle class”? 2) How compelling is its critique of the subfield of “American politics” for its focus on the voter–politician linkage and on “politics as spectacle” at the expense of an analysis of “politics as organized combat”? 3) And do you agree with its argument that recent changes in US politics necessitate a different, more comparative, and more political economy–centered approach to the study of US politics?—Jeffrey C. Isaac, Editor
The Danish Cartoon Controversy and the Challenges of Multicultural Politics
Authors: Norton Anne
Published: September 2011

Jytte Klausen's The Cartoons That Shook the World offers an interesting political science account of the Danish cartoon controversy and of a broader set of tensions between multiculturalism, civility, and freedom of expression. The book is also a fascinating case study of how political science can itself become the object of dispute, due to Yale University Press' decision to publish the book without any reproductions of the controversial cartoons.

We have thus asked a range of political scientists to comment on the Danish cartoon imbroglio, the book's analysis of it, and the controversy over the book itself.—Jeffrey C. Isaac, Editor
God's Saving Purpose and Prayer for All the Departed
Authors: Gould James B.
Published: September 2011

Throughout much of church history Christians have prayed for the dead. Historical, liturgical and pastoral contexts suggest that, while Anglicans may pray for the continual growth of the faithful departed, we have seldom prayed for advancement from purgatory or deliverance from hell. In this paper I defend all three, noting where my argument departs from and intersects with historic Anglican positions. I offer an outline of theology from the perspective of death, arguing that prayer for all the departed is one aspect of a tightly knit web of doctrines including theology proper, creation, salvation and consummation. Petitions for all the dead are not inconsequential. Instead, the final destiny of human persons raise the most basic of theological questions, matters which go to the center of God's purpose in creating spiritual beings and redeeming sinful humankind.
Democratic disengagement: toward Rousseauian global reform
Authors: Nili Shmuel
Published: September 2011

What are the moral costs of democratic trade with dictatorships, and what action these costs demand of our elected governments? This article develops as a Rousseauian answer the idea that democracies ought to boycott corrupt dictatorships and establish themselves collectively as an autarkic bloc, in order to reform not others but themselves. I articulate the basis for this democratic disengagement, first through a reconstruction of Rousseau's social contract, as seeking to replace corrupt dependence with egalitarian interdependence between citizens. I then examine the potential for egalitarian interdependence between democracies that treat their citizens equally as collectively sovereign, contrasted with corrupting cooperation between democracies and dictatorships, which distorts democracies’ values, specifically by making them complicit in despots’ theft of their peoples’ resources. Ending this corruption requires disengagement, elaborated here first against liberal objections and then against skeptic criticism.
Different dispersal abilities allow reef fish to coexist
Authors: Bode Michael , Bode Lance , Armsworth Paul R.
Published: September 2011

The coexistence of multiple species on a smaller number of limiting resources is an enduring ecological paradox. The mechanisms that maintain such biodiversity are of great interest to ecology and of central importance to conservation. We describe and prove a unique and robust mechanism for coexistence: Species that differ only in their dispersal abilities can coexist, if habitat patches are distributed at irregular distances. This mechanism is straightforward and ecologically intuitive, but can nevertheless create complex coexistence patterns that are robust to substantial environmental stochasticity. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is noted for its diversity of reef fish species and its complex arrangement of reef habitat. We demonstrate that this mechanism can allow fish species with different pelagic larval durations to stably coexist in the GBR. Further, coexisting species on the GBR often dominate different subregions, defined primarily by cross-shelf position. Interspecific differences in dispersal ability generate similar coexistence patterns when dispersal is influenced by larval behavior and variable oceanographic conditions. Many marine and terrestrial ecosystems are characterized by patchy habitat distributions and contain coexisting species that have different dispersal abilities. This coexistence mechanism is therefore likely to have ecological relevance beyond reef fish.
Pubertal delay in male nonhuman primates (Macaca mulatta) treated with methylphenidate
Authors: Mattison Donald R. , Plant Tony M. , Lin Hui-Min , Chen Hung-Chia , Chen James J. , Twaddle Nathan C. , Doerge Daniel , Slikker William , Patton Ralph E. , Hotchkiss Charlotte E. , Callicott Ralph J. , Schrader Steven M. , Turner Terry W. , Kesner James S. , Vitiello Benedetto , Petibone Dayton M. , Morris Suzanne M.
Published: September 2011

Juvenile male rhesus monkeys treated with methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH) to evaluate genetic and behavioral toxicity were observed after 14 mo of treatment to have delayed pubertal progression with impaired testicular descent and reduced testicular volume. Further evaluation of animals dosed orally twice a day with (i) 0.5 mL/kg of vehicle (n= 10), (ii) 0.15 mg/kg of MPH increased to 2.5 mg/kg (low dose,n= 10), or (iii) 1.5 mg/kg of MPH increased to 12.5 mg/kg (high dose,n= 10) for a total of 40 mo revealed that testicular volume was significantly reduced (P< 0.05) at months 15 to 19 and month 27. Testicular descent was significantly delayed (P< 0.05) in the high-dose group. Significantly lower serum testosterone levels were detected in both the low- (P= 0.0017) and high-dose (P= 0.0011) animals through month 33 of treatment. Although serum inhibin B levels were increased overall in low-dose animals (P= 0.0328), differences between groups disappeared by the end of the study. Our findings indicate that MPH administration, beginning before puberty, and which produced clinically relevant blood levels of the drug, impaired pubertal testicular development until ∼5 y of age. It was not possible to resolve whether MPH delayed the initiation of the onset of puberty or reduced the early tempo of the developmental process. Regardless, deficits in testicular volume and hormone secretion disappeared over the 40-mo observation period, suggesting that the impact of MPH on puberty is not permanent.
Forkhead factor FoxO1 is essential for placental morphogenesis in the developing embryo
Authors: Ferdous Anwarul , Morris Jesse , Abedin Mohammad Joynal , Collins Shandon , Richardson James A. , Hill Joseph A.
Published: September 2011

Forkhead box O1 (FoxO1), a member of the Forkhead box-containing O family of transcription factors, is a key regulator of numerous genes that govern a wide array of cellular functions, including differentiation, homeostasis, and survival. However, the role of FoxO1 in development remains elusive. Here, we describe an essential and previously undefined role for FoxO1 in placental development. We demonstrate that
FoxO1
-null embryos up to embryonic day 9.0 (E9.0) are indistinguishable, including their morphology, cardiovascular structure, and vascular gene expression, from wild-type (WT) littermates. However,
FoxO1
-nulls manifested a profoundly swollen/hydropic allantois, which failed to fuse with the chorion, a phenotype that leads to subsequent cardiovascular malformation, progressive apoptotic cell death, and embryonic lethality at E10.5. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of genes involved in placental development revealed significant attenuation of
VCAM1
expression in
FoxO1
-null embryos. Using immunohistochemical, transcriptional, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we further discovered that FoxO1 is an essential upstream regulator of the
VCAM1
gene. Collectively, our findings provide critical molecular insight into a unique
FoxO1
–
VCAM1
axis that governs placental morphogenesis, a process that is essential for subsequent normal cardiovascular development and fetal life.
Patriotism as Oppositional Discourse: A Qasida by Mehdi Akhavan-Saless
Authors: Akhavan-Saless Mehdi
Published: September 2011

The Qasida that follows provides an easy and obvious example of how topical literature can assume a specific political relevance within a specific social context. Written and first published in 1983, the poem was immediately seized upon as containing the poet's opposition to the ruling revolutionary state. This node between patriotism and political dissent was made possible only in the context of certain pronouncements by the leaders of Iran's revolution interpreted largely as their disregard for the country of Iran in an overzealous pursuit of the Islamic component in Iranian identity. Ever since his response to a question put to him on the plane that brought him back to Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini was widely believed to feel no great affection for the country he was about to rule. Asked what he was feeling as he was returning to his homeland after fourteen years of exile, the Ayatollah had dismissed the question by saying, “Nothing!”
Folklore and Anthropology
Authors: Marzolph Ulrich
Published: September 2011

Folklore at the Turn of the Twentieth Century in a Very Broad sense is understood to encompass the expressive culture of any notable group of people. As implied by the original meaning of the word “lore” when the term “folklore” was coined in 1846, tradition is a vital ingredient of folklore. Yet not all folklore relies on centuries of tradition: Customs may become obsolete, live on submerged for centuries before being revived, or come into being all anew: Duration rather than historical roots makes folklore. The folk, on the other hand, is not necessarily constituted by the uneducated masses, as a conservative point of view would have it: Folklore is not germane to specific social strata but rather to substantial numbers of individuals sharing similar ideas or activities. In this sense folklore encompasses a wide range of cultural expression, ranging from popular beliefs and customs to myths, legends, and other genres of oral literature/verbal art. The obvious overlap of certain aspects in folklore studies and anthropology is inter alia signaled by contemporary Persian terminology, most commonly rendering folklore as farhang-e mardom and anthropology as mardom-shenāsi.
Early Islamic History of Iran: From the Arab Conquest to the Mongol Invasion
Authors: Paul Jürgen
Published: September 2011

An Encyclopedia by Tradition Arranges its Material in Alphabetical order. Therefore, the subject matter is broken down into small pieces, which in the case of larger subjects is a problem. Some fields clearly are at an advantage over others, depending on how easily a keyword can be found and fitted to a given set of questions. Some types of keywords seem to lead to a greater fragmentation of the fields treated under them, whereas other types lend themselves more readily to the presentation of larger subjects. The Encyclopaedia Iranica is no exception, and therefore the following review is arranged by types of entries.
Sufism
Authors: Elias Jamal J.
Published: September 2011

Sufism is One of the Most Dynamic and Interesting Dimensions of Islamic religious and cultural expression. It is an umbrella term for a variety of philosophical, social, and literary phenomena occurring within the Islamic world. In its narrowest sense, the term “Sufism” refers to a number of schools of Islamic mystical philosophy and theology, to the phenomenon of religious orders and guilds (tarīqāt) that have exerted considerable influence over the development of Islamic politics and society, and to the varied expressions of popular piety and devotion to shrines found throughout the Islamic world. In a wider sense, Sufism is often seen as the spiritual muse behind much of pre-modern verse in the Islamic world, the idiom of much of popular Islamic piety, the primary social arena open to women's religious participation, and a major force in the conversion of people to Islam in Africa and Asia. The Sufi orders served as educational institutions that fostered not only the religious sciences but also music and decorative arts. Their leaders sometimes functioned as a challenge to the power of the juridic and theological establishment.
Arenimonas metalli sp. nov., isolated from an iron mine
Authors: Chen Fang , Shi Zunji , Wang Gejiao
Published: September 2011

A Gram-staining-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium (CF5-1T) was isolated from Hongshan Iron Mine, Daye City, Hubei province, China. The major cellular fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C16 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω7c alcohol and iso-C17 : 1ω9c. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. The major respiratory quinone was Q-8. The genomic DNA G+C content was 70.5 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain CF5-1T was most closely related to

Arenimonas malthae

(95.3 % gene sequence similarity),

Arenimonas oryziterrae

(94.7 %),

Arenimonas donghaensis

(94.6 %) and

Arenimonas composti

(94.5 %). A taxonomic study using a polyphasic approach showed that strain CF5-1T represents a novel species of the genus

Arenimonas

, for which the name Arenimonas metalli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CF5-1T ( = CGMCC 1.10787T = KCTC 23460T = CCTCC AB 2010449T).
Adaptive responses and disruptive effects: how major wildfire influences kinship‐based social interactions in a forest marsupial
Authors: BANKS SAM C. , BLYTON MICHAELA D. J. , BLAIR DAVID , McBURNEY LACHLAN , LINDENMAYER DAVID B.
Published: September 2011

Environmental disturbance is predicted to play a key role in the evolution of animal social behaviour. This is because disturbance affects key factors underlying social systems, such as demography, resource availability and genetic structure. However, because natural disturbances are unpredictable there is little information on their effects on social behaviour in wild populations. Here, we investigated how a major wildfire affected cooperation (sharing of hollow trees) by a hollow‐dependent marsupial. We based two alternative social predictions on the impacts of fire on population density, genetic structure and resources. We predicted an adaptive social response from previous work showing that kin selection in den‐sharing develops as competition for den resources increases. Thus, kin selection should occur in burnt areas because the fire caused loss of the majority of hollow‐bearing trees, but no detectable mortality. Alternatively, fire may have a disruptive social effect, whereby postfire home range‐shifts ‘neutralize’ fine‐scale genetic structure, thereby removing opportunities for kin selection between neighbours. Both predictions occurred: the disruptive social effect in burnt habitat and the adaptive social response in adjacent unburnt habitat. The latter followed a massive demographic influx to unburnt ‘refuge’ habitat that increased competition for dens, leading to a density‐related kin selection response. Our results show remarkable short‐term plasticity of animal social behaviour and demonstrate how the social effects of disturbance extend into undisturbed habitat owing to landscape‐scale demographic shifts. We predicted long‐term changes in kinship‐based cooperative behaviour resulting from the genetic and resource impacts of forecast changes to fire regimes in these forests.
Hyperspectral image analysis of different carbonate lithologies (limestone, karst and hydrothermal dolomites): the Pozalagua Quarry case study (Cantabria, North‐west Spain)
Authors: KURZ TOBIAS H. , DEWIT JULIE , BUCKLEY SIMON J. , THURMOND JOHN B. , HUNT DAVID W. , SWENNEN RUDY
Published: September 2011

Ground‐based hyperspectral imaging combined with terrestrial lidar scanning is a novel technique for outcrop analysis, which has been applied to Early and Late Albian carbonates of the Pozalagua Quarry (Cantabrian Mountains, Spain). An image processing workflow has been developed for differentiating limestone from dolomite, providing additional sedimentary and diagenetic information, and the possibility to quantitatively delineate diagenetic phases in an accurate way. Spectral absorption signatures can be linked to specific sedimentary or diagenetic products, such as recent and palaeokarst, hydrothermal karst, (solution enlarged) fractures and different dolomite types. Some of the spectral signatures are related to iron, manganese, organic matter, clay and/or water content. Ground‐truthing accessible parts of the quarry showed that the classification based on hyperspectral image interpretation was very accurate. This technique opens the possibility for quantitative data evaluation on sedimentary and diagenetic features in inaccessible outcrops. This study demonstrates the potential of ground‐based imaging spectroscopy to provide information about the chemical–mineralogical distribution in outcrops, which could otherwise not be established using conventional field methods.
Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological change on the northern Tethyan carbonate platform during the Late Barremian to earliest Aptian
Authors: STEIN MELODY , ARNAUD‐VANNEAU ANNIE , ADATTE THIERRY , FLEITMANN DOMINIK , SPANGENBERG JORGE E. , FÖLLMI KARL B.
Published: September 2011

A major shift from Urgonian oligotrophic carbonate accumulation to orbitolinid‐rich mixed siliciclastic–carbonate deposition is observed near the Barremian–Aptian boundary in many sections both within and outside the shallow‐marine Tethyan Realm. This important facies change in the Swiss Helvetic Alps is documented here and interpreted in the context of general palaeoenvironmental change. To achieve this, a detailed micropalaeontological, sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical study has been carried out on six sections across the upper part of the lower Schrattenkalk Member (Late Barremian), the Rawil Member (formerly ‘Lower Orbitolina Beds’, earliest Aptian) and the lowermost part of the upper Schrattenkalk Member (Early Aptian). The sediments of the Rawil Member exhibit inner‐platform facies with rudists, miliolids, orbitolinids and dasycladals to outer‐platform facies characterized by small benthic foraminifera, orbitolinids, crinoids and bryozoans. Stratigraphic trends in microfacies environments and the composition of microfossil assemblages, indicate that the Rawil Member includes a transgressive systems tract and the base of a highstand systems tract which are composed of an increasing number of parasequences in distal directions (five to nine in the sections studied here). The sea‐level rise discerned in the Rawil Member is coeval with increased detrital input and phosphorus burial, with maximum values up to 80 times and 21 times the background values in the subjacent part of the lower Schrattenkalk Member, respectively. Furthermore, the Rawil Member records the appearance of kaolinite, indicating a change towards tropical and more humid climate conditions. This change may have led to an increase in continental weathering rates and an associated increase in detrital and nutrient fluxes towards the ocean. The phase of climate change observed near the Barremian–Aptian boundary may have been triggered by a phase of intensified volcanic activity linked with the onset of the Ontong Java large igneous province and the Rawil Member may be the expression of a precursor episode to Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a in the shallow‐marine environment.
Compliance with biopsy recommendations of a prostate cancer risk calculator
Authors: van Vugt Heidi A. , Roobol Monique J. , Busstra Martijn , Kil Paul , Oomens Eric H. , de Jong Igle J. , Bangma Chris H. , Steyerberg Ewout W. , Korfage Ida
Published: September 2011

Study Type – Diagnostic (cohort)

Level of Evidence 2b

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add?

So far, few publications have shown that a prediction model influences the behaviour of both physicians and patients. To our knowledge, it was unknown whether urologists and patients are compliant with the recommendations of a prostate cancer risk calculator and their reasons for non‐compliance.

Recommendations of the European Randomized study of Screening for Prostate Cancer risk calculator (ERSPC RC) about the need of a prostate biopsy were followed in most patients. In most cases of non‐compliance with ‘no biopsy’ recommendations, a PSA level ≥3 ng/mL was decisive to opt for biopsy. Before implementation of the ERSPC RC in urological practices at a large scale, it is important to obtain insight into the use of guidelines that might counteract the adoption of the use of the RC as a result of opposing recommendations.

OBJECTIVES

To assess both urologist and patient compliance with a ‘no biopsy’ or ‘biopsy’ recommendation of the European Randomized study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) Risk Calculator (RC), as well as their reasons for non‐compliance.

To assess determinants of patient compliance.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The ERSPC RC calculates the probability on a positive sextant prostate biopsy (Pposb) using serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level, outcomes of digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasonography, and ultrasonographically assessed prostate volume. A biopsy was recommended if Pposb≥20%.

Between 2008 and 2011, eight urologists from five Dutch hospitals included 443 patients (aged 55–75 years) after a PSA test with no previous biopsy.

Urologists calculated the Pposb using the RC in the presence of patients and completed a questionnaire about compliance.

Patients completed a questionnaire about prostate cancer knowledge, attitude towards prostate biopsy, self‐rated health (12‐Item Short Form Health Survey), anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory‐6, Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer) and decision‐making measures (Decisional Conflict Scale).

RESULTS

Both urologists and patients complied with the RC recommendation in 368 of 443 (83%) cases.

If a biopsy was recommended, almost all patients (96%; 257/269) complied, although 63 of the 174 (36%) patients were biopsied against the recommendation of the RC.

Compliers with a ‘no biopsy’ recommendation had a lower mean Pposb than non‐compliers (9% vs 14%; P < 0.001).

Urologists opted for biopsies against the recommendations of the RC because of an elevated PSA level (≥3 ng/mL) (78%; 49/63) and patients because they wanted certainty (60%; 38/63).

CONCLUSIONS

Recommendations of the ERSPC RC on prostate biopsy were followed in most patients.

The RC hence may be a promising tool for supporting clinical decision‐making.
Myeloid malignancies with acquired trisomy 21 as the sole cytogenetic change are clinically highly variable and display a heterogeneous pattern of copy number alterations and mutations*
Authors: Larsson Nina , Lilljebjörn Henrik , Lassen Carin , Johansson Bertil , Fioretos Thoas
Published: September 2011

Objectives:  Acquired trisomy 21 is one of the most common numerical abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), and MDS/MPN; however, little is known about its pathogenic impact, accompanying submicroscopic changes, and its relation to other clinical features. Furthermore, previous studies addressing this issue have mainly focused on cases in which +21 was part of a complex karyotype.

Methods:  We ascertained the incidence of +21, both as a sole change (T21s) and irrespective of additional changes (T21all), in relation to disease type, morphologic subgroup, gender, and age in all published AML, MDS, MPN, and MDS/MPN cases. Furthermore, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array analysis was performed on 11 myeloid malignancies with T21s, followed by mutation analysis of the FGFR1, FLT3, GATA1, JAK2, KIT, NPM1, NRAS, RUNX1, and TET2 genes.

Results:  The frequencies of T21s and/or T21all varied significantly among the AML, MDS, MPN, and MDS/MPN cases, among the AML and MPN subtypes, and in relation to the age of the AML, MDS, and MPN patients. In the 11 cases analyzed by SNP array, a total of nine genomic imbalances, comprising seven deletions and two duplications, were identified in six cases; none of the alterations were recurrent. Partial uniparental disomies (UPDs) were found in five cases; two recurrent UPDs were identified, namely UPD4q and UPD7q. Mutations in NPM1, RUNX1, and TET2 were detected in five cases, three of which harbored a pathogenic RUNX1 mutation. The TET2 mutation was found in one of the cases with UPD4q.

Conclusions:  The results show that trisomy 21‐positive myeloid malignancies are clinically highly variable and that they display a heterogeneous pattern of copy number alterations and mutations.
A non‐invasive oral rinse assay predicts bone marrow engraftment and 6 months prognosis following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Authors: Forster Carol , Aboodi Guy , Lipton Jeff , Glogauer Michael
Published: September 2011

J Oral Pathol Med (2012) 41: 165–170

Background:  We have previously shown in a pediatric Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) population that a non‐invasive oral rinse can be used to monitor engraftment, neutrophil tissue delivery and susceptibility to infection post‐HSCT.

Methods:  Using the same oral rinse protocol, we studied neutrophil tissue delivery kinetics and its relationship to clinical parameters and outcomes following HSCT in 29 adult patients. Oral neutrophil counts were compared to circulating neutrophil levels, oral mucositis scores and patient health status at 6 months post‐HSCT.

Results:  Neutrophils were detected on average 8.4 ± 3.4 SD days earlier in the oral tissues than in the blood circulation, enabling us to confirm successful engraftment more than one week earlier than when using blood neutrophil counts alone. As well, in this population the time‐span between oral engraftment (OE) and blood engraftment (BE) was a consistent predictor of treatment outcome at 6 months following HSCT where a BE–OE of <6 days resulted in 100% of patients having a negative outcome.

Conclusion:  We conclude that monitoring the timing of neutrophil delivery to the oral tissues with a non‐invasive oral rinse has the potential to allow the physician to identify those patients who are at a high risk of HSCT failure within just a few weeks of the initiation of treatment.