bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In situ structural and texture analyses of monoclinic phase for polycrystalline Ni-rich Ti49.86Ni50.14 alloy from neutron diffraction data
Authors: Sitepu Husin
Published: February 2008

Phase transformation temperatures of a polycrystalline Ni-rich Ti49.86Ni50.14 shape memory alloy were investigated using a differential scanning calorimeter. In situ structural and texture analyses of the monoclinic Ti49.86Ni50.14 were investigated using neutron powder diffractometer technique. Differential scanning calorimeter results showed that this Ni-rich alloy has a one-step cubic to monoclinic martensitic phase transformation on cooling and a one-step monoclinic to cubic transformation on heating. In situ high-resolution neutron powder diffraction data of the monoclinic phase from low temperatures to room temperature on heating are consistent with the differential scanning calorimeter’s heating results. In addition, the refined monoclinic crystal structure parameters for all neutron diffraction data sets agree satisfactorily with single-crystal X-ray diffraction results. The multiple-data-set capabilities of the GSAS Rietveld refinement program, with a generalized spherical-harmonics description was used successfully to extract the texture description directly from a simultaneous refinement using 52 time-of-flight monoclinic neutron diffraction patterns, taken from a polycrystalline sample held in 13 orientations inside the diffractometer.
Comparison methods of variance and line profile analysis for the evaluation of microstructures of materials
Authors: Soleimanian V. , Aghdaee S. R.
Published: February 2008

A comparison of different methods of X-ray diffraction analysis for the determination of crystallite size and microstrain; namely, line profile analysis, Rietveld refinement, and three approaches based on the variance method, is presented. The analyses have been applied to data collected on a ceria sample prepared by the IUCr Commission on Powder Diffraction. In the variance method, split Pearson VII, the Voigt function, and its approximation pseudo-Voigt function were fitted to X-ray diffraction line profiles. Based on the fitting results, the variances of line profiles were calculated and then the crystallite size and root mean square strain were obtained from variance coefficients. A SS plot of Langford as well as a Fourier analysis and Rietveld refinement have been carried out. The average crystallite size and microstrain were determined. The values of area-weighted domain size determined from the variance method are in agreement with those obtained from line profile analysis within a single (largest) standard uncertainty, and the volume-weighted domain sizes derived from the SS plot, Fourier size distribution, and Rietveld refinement agree within a single standard uncertainty. The results of rms strain calculated from variance and Pearson VII shape function and those from Rietveld refinements fall within a single esd. However, the variance method in conjunction with pseudo-Voigt and Voigt functions produce rms strains substantially larger than those determined from line profile analysis and Rietveld refinements.
Effect of Melatonin on Testicular Damage in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes Rats
Authors: Guneli E. , Tugyan K. , Ozturk H. , Gumustekin M. , Cilaker S. , Uysal N.
Published: February 2008

Background: It is well known that diabetes mellitus is associated with impairment of testicular function. In the present study, we aimed to demonstrate the effect of melatonin on testicular damage in male rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: (1) control group, (2) melatonin-treated nondiabetic group, (3) diabetic group and (4) melatonin-treated diabetic group. Diabetes was induced by STZ injection. Melatonin was administered intraperitoneally at the dose of 10 mg/kg for 5 days. Testicular damage was examined by using hematoxylin and eosin staining and periodic acid-Schiff staining, and apoptosis was determined by terminal-deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Potential disorders associated with seminiferous tubular sperm formation were evaluated using the Johnsen score. Results: Diabetic rats showed a reduction in seminiferous tubule diameter, increased thickening of the basement membrane in seminiferous tubules and degenerated germ cells. TUNEL-positive cells were significantly more numerous in diabetic rats than in control rats. Melatonin significantly attenuated the diabetes-induced morphological changes and germ cell apoptosis in the diabetic rat testis. The number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes was significantly decreased in group 4 when compared to group 3. Conclusions: These results suggest that intraperitoneal administration of melatonin for 5 days is a potentially beneficial agent to reduce testicular damage in adult diabetic rats, probably by decreasing oxidative stress.
Anxiety Symptoms in Spouses of Stroke Patients
Authors: Wilz Gabriele , Kalytta Tanja
Published: February 2008

Background: The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate prevalence rates of anxiety symptoms in stroke patients’ spouses and associated factors. Methods: Data were collected from 114 couples upon the patients’ admission for rehabilitation as well as 1 year later and analysed with linear regression analyses. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was used to assess anxiety symptoms. Results: The results showed a high prevalence of anxiety symptoms at both time points of 28.9 and 27.6%. An association was found between spouses’ anxiety symptoms at both time points and their gender as well as spouses’ anxiety symptoms (at time 2) and patients’ perceived disability. Conclusions: Post-stroke rehabilitation process should include a focus on treating anxiety symptoms in patients’ spouses in order to prevent the development of stress-related disorders in this group.
Cigarette Smoking and Risk of Disabling Dementia in a Japanese Rural Community: A Nested Case-Control Study
Authors: Ikeda Ai , Yamagishi Kazumasa , Tanigawa Takeshi , Cui Renzhe , Yao Masayuki , Noda Hiroyuki , Umesawa Mitsumasa , Chei Choylye , Yokota Kimiko , Shiina Yumi , Harada Mitiko , Murata Keiko , Asada Takashi , Shimamoto Takashi , Iso Hiroyasu
Published: February 2008

Background: Previous prospective cohort studies have examined the association between smoking and the risk of dementia, but the results were inconsistent. Methods: A prospective, nested, case-control study was conducted to examine the association between cigarette smoking and risk of disabling dementia within the cohort of 6,343 men and women aged 35–85 years. Incident dementia was documented in 208 men and women (95 cases with and 113 cases without a history of stroke). Two control subjects per case were selected by matching for sex, age and year of examination. Results: The multivariable odds ratios (95% CI) for current versus never smokers were 2.3 (1.1–4.7) for total dementia, 2.6 (0.8–8.2) for dementia with a history of stroke and 2.2 (0.8–5.7) for dementia without it, yielding no effect of stroke history on the smoking-dementia association. A dose-response relationship was noted between the years of cigarette smoking and the risk of total dementia, and a significant excess risk was found for smoking duration of ≧45 years. Conclusions: The present prospective study suggests that long-term cigarette smoking may raise the risk of disabling dementia.
Diagnostic Splenectomy in Patients with Fever of Unknown Origin and Splenomegaly
Authors: Han Bing , Yang Zhiying , Yang Ti , Gao Weisheng , Sang Xinting , Zhao Yongqiang , Shen Ti
Published: February 2008

Objective: To review the diagnostic significance, safety and possible risk factors of splenectomy in fever of unknown origin (FUO) with splenomegaly. Methods: The records of 54 patients with FUO and splenomegaly who underwent splenectomy in our hospital in the past 20 years were reviewed retrospectively. Pathologic findings, morbidity, mortality and possible risk factors were analyzed. Results: Histologic findings included 29 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 4 cases of spleen tuberculosis, 3 cases of Hodgkin lymphoma, 1 case of Castleman disease and 2 cases of hemophagocytic syndrome. An etiologic diagnosis was made in 72.2% of the patients undergoing splenectomy. Surgical complications occurred in 25.9% of the patients and 1-month operative mortality was 16.7%. The mortality rate 1 month after surgery was significantly associated with serous cavity effusion (46.2 vs. 7.5%, p = 0.006) and spleen weight >1,500 g (50.0 vs. 9.1%, p = 0.007). There was no significant difference in the mortality rate of the patients with or without jaundice, pancytopenia, elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or elevated LDH (p > 0.5). Multivariate analysis revealed serous cavity effusion (odds ratio 21.0; 95% confidence interval 2.2–212.8; p = 0.01) and spleen weight >1,500 g (odds ratio 18.0; 95% confidence interval 1.9–173.8; p = 0.01) as independent risk factors. Conclusion: Splenectomy is an effective diagnostic modality for FUO presenting with splenomegaly. The presence of serous cavity effusions and spleen weight >1,500 g identifies patients with the greatest operative risk.
Inflammatory Mediators in the Frontal Lobe of Patients with Mixed and Vascular Dementia
Authors: Mulugeta Ezra , Molina-Holgado Francisco , Elliott Mark S. , Hortobagyi Tibor , Perry Robert , Kalaria Rajesh N. , Ballard Clive G. , Francis Paul T.
Published: February 2008

Vascular dementia (VaD) accounts for about 20% of all dementias, and vascular risk is a key factor in more than 40% of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Little is known about inflammatory processes in the brains of these individuals. We have examined inflammatory mediators (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-1α, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor α) and chemokines (macrophage inflammatory protein 1, monocyte chemo-attractant protein (MCP)-1 and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor) in brain homogenates from grey and white matter of the frontal cortex (Brodmann area 9) from patients with VaD (n = 11), those with concurrent VaD and AD (mixed dementia; n = 8) and from age-matched controls (n = 13) using ELISA assays. We found a dramatic reduction of MCP-1 levels in the grey matter in VaD and mixed dementia in comparison to controls (55 and 66%, respectively). IL-6 decreases were also observed in the grey matter of VaD and mixed dementia (72 and 71%, respectively), with a more modest decrease (30%) in the white matter of patients with VaD or mixed dementia. In the first study to examine the status of inflammatory mediators in a brain region severely affected by white-matter lesions, our findings highlight – in contrast to previous reports in AD – that patients at the later stage of VaD or mixed dementia have a significantly attenuated neuro-inflammatory response.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamic Assessment of Imipenem in the Intraperitoneal Fluid of Abdominal Surgery Patients
Authors: Ikawa Kazuro , Morikawa Norifumi , Sakamoto Kenichi , Ikeda Kayo , Ohge Hiroki , Takesue Yoshio , Sueda Taijiro
Published: February 2008

Background: Imipenem is used to treat intra-abdominal infections, however, this treatment would benefit from a better understanding of imipenem penetration into the abdominal cavity. Methods: Imipenem 500 mg was infused to 10 laparotomy patients. The total drug concentrations in plasma and intraperitoneal fluid were analyzed noncompartmentally and 3-compartmentally (population pharmacokinetic analysis), and used for a Monte Carlo simulation with minimum inhibitory concentration data. Results: The AUC0–∞ ratio of the intraperitoneal fluid to the plasma was 0.82 ± 0.06 (mean ± SD, n = 6). The pharmacodynamic exposures in the intraperitoneal fluid were higher than in the plasma. The probabilities of achieving a bacteriostatic/bactericidal target (20/40% of the time above minimum inhibitory concentration for 24 h) in the intraperitoneal fluid using a regimen of 500 mg every 8 h against the Bacteroidesfragilis group, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species were 97.3/89.1, 98.8/97.2 and 100/98.2%, respectively. However, a regimen of 1,000 mg every 8 h was needed to achieve 96.7/89.3% against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusion: These results may help us to understand the intraperitoneal penetration of imipenem and to determine the dosing regimen for intra-abdominal infections.
Mathematical Modeling of Genesis and Treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Horn Matthias , Loeffler Markus , Roeder Ingo
Published: February 2008

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal hematopoietic disorder induced by translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22, resulting in an overproduction of myeloid blood cells. CML-specific characteristics include a latency time of several years, a period of coexistence of malignant and normal cells and an eventual dominance of the malignant clone. Different drug therapies are available, most notably imatinib, which inhibits the oncogenic BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase. Although the chromosomal aberration causing CML is well known, the resulting dynamic effects on the system behavior are not sufficiently understood yet. Here, we apply an already established mathematical model of hematopoietic stem cell organization. Based on parameter estimates for normal hematopoiesis, we systematically explore the changes in these parameters necessary to reproduce CML-specific characteristics regarding emergence and course of disease as well as a variety of qualitative and quantitative clinical data on CML treatment. Our results indicate that 1 or more of the following mechanisms are compatible with the induction of a dominant clone in the proposed model: a retarded differentiation process, a reduced turnover time or a defective cell-microenvironment interaction of the neoplastic cells. However, in order to explain the massive overproduction of malignant cells, an unregulated and abnormal activation of leukemia stem cells into cycle has to be assumed additionally. Based on our simulation results we conclude that CML dynamics can most appropriately be explained by a modulation of the cell-microenvironment interactions of leukemia stem cells, including both the process of stem cell silencing and activation into cycle.
Linkage of Pluripotent Stem Cell- Associated Transcripts to Regulatory Gene Networks
Authors: Tarasov Kirill V. , Testa Gianluca , Tarasova Yelena S. , Kania Gabriela , Riordon Daniel R. , Volkova Maria , Anisimov Sergey V. , Wobus Anna M. , Boheler Kenneth R.
Published: February 2008

Knowledge of the transcriptional circuitry responsible for pluripotentiality and self-renewal in embryonic stem cells is tantamount to understanding early mammalian development and a prerequisite to determining their therapeutic potential. Various techniques have employed genomics to identify transcripts that were abundant in stem cells, in an attempt to define the molecular basis of ‘stemness’. In this study, we have extended traditional genomic analyses to identify cis-elements that might be implicated in the control of embryonic stem cell-restricted gene promoters. The strategy relied on the generation of a problem-specific list from serial analysis of gene expression profiles and subsequent promoter analyses to identify frameworks of multiple cis-elements conserved in space and orientation among genes from the problem-specific list. Subsequent experimental data suggest that 2 novel transcription factors, B-Myb and Maz, predicted from these models, are implicated either in the maintenance of the undifferentiated stem cell state or in early steps of differentiation.
Gulag, the Musical: Performing Trauma in North Korea through Yoduk Story
Authors: Kim Suk-Young
Published: February 2008

Yoduk Story is the first known North Korean dissident musical, staging a fictional account of the authors' traumatic memories and experiences in a gulag. Despite the creators' indictment of North Korea as a human rights violator and Yoduk Story's efforts to subvert everything that the North Korean state represents, the musical borrows from North Korean propaganda techniques, including propagandist revolutionary operas.
Habeas Corpus: Behold the Body
Authors: Pellegrini Ann
Published: February 2008

This issue's Critical Acts focuses on “war and other bad shit” in terms of censorship, immigration, and art as a form of political protest and recovery. In “Habeas Corpus,” Ann Pellegrini uses Sally Field's censored Emmy-acceptance speech to exemplify the Bush administration's privatization of mourning as a means “to bind us to acts of fatal violence against an objectified and dehumanized ‘enemy.’” In her account of Luigi Nono's The Forest Is Young and Full of Life, Judy Lochhead examines the possibility of music as activism, noting how history is recycled from the Vietnam War to today. William Bowling and Rachel Carrico describe how art heals in Lakeviews, part of a post-Katrina project. Guillermo Gómez-Peña rages against “border hysteria,” when the “War on Terror” becomes a “war on difference.”
Lakeviews: A Bus Tour As a Vehicle for Regrowth in New Orleans
Authors: Bowling William , Carrico Rachel
Published: February 2008

This issue's Critical Acts focuses on “war and other bad shit” in terms of censorship, immigration, and art as a form of political protest and recovery. In “Habeas Corpus,” Ann Pellegrini uses Sally Field's censored Emmy-acceptance speech to exemplify the Bush administration's privatization of mourning as a means “to bind us to acts of fatal violence against an objectified and dehumanized ‘enemy.’” In her account of Luigi Nono's The Forest Is Young and Full of Life, Judy Lochhead examines the possibility of music as activism, noting how history is recycled from the Vietnam War to today. William Bowling and Rachel Carrico describe how art heals in Lakeviews, part of a post-Katrina project. Guillermo Gómez-Peña rages against “border hysteria,” when the “War on Terror” becomes a “war on difference.”
From Mastermind to Body Artist: Political Performances of Slobodan Milošević
Authors: Jakovljevic Branislav
Published: February 2008

From his rise to power in the mid-'80s to his trial 20 years later, Milošević was the focus of powerful social theatricalities. As a public performance, Milošević's trial is inseparable from the mass meetings he organized in Serbia between 1987 and 1989; the political drama of the breakdown of Yugoslavia's federal government; the intense struggles against the opposition fought in the streets; the wars taking place in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo; and finally his own funeral.
Witnessing Proceedings: The Hague War Crimes Tribunal, Narrative Indeterminacy, and the Public Audience
Authors: White Graham
Published: February 2008

The prosecution of Slobodan Milošević at the ICTY in The Hague foregrounded the role of the live courtroom encounter in the forging of narratives of history, truth, and justice. In the case of Milošević and other defendants, the attempt to uncover events that might unambiguously indicate involvement in a criminal enterprise was, and is, picking through a “postmodern” minefield of indeterminacy and doubt.
Acts of Violence: Theatre of Resistance and Relief in the Colombian War Zone
Authors: King Barnaby
Published: February 2008

In May 2002, 119 people were killed in a church in the remote Colombian province of Chocó. The Afro-Colombian communities of Chocó, caught in the middle of a savage armed conflict, are the subject of Felipe Vergara's new play, Kilele. Kilele toured the river communities on the Atrato River that inspired the play. What is the role and responsibility of the artist who is trying to offer relief and support resistance within a volatile zone of conflict?
Event-related Potential Correlates of Negation in a Sentence–Picture Verification Paradigm
Authors: Lüdtke Jana , Friedrich Claudia K. , De Filippis Mónica , Kaup Barbara
Published: February 2008

In a sentence–picture verification paradigm, participants were presented in a rapid-serial-visual-presentation paradigm with affirmative or negative sentences (e.g., “In the front of the tower there is a/no ghost”) followed by a matching or mismatching picture. Response latencies and event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured during reading and verification. An enhanced negative shift in the ERPs for the subject noun (i.e., “ghost”) in negative, compared to affirmative sentences, was found during reading. We relate this ERP deflection to enhanced processing demands required by the negative particle no. Although this effect suggests a direct impact of negation on language processing, results for picture processing reveal that negation is not immediately integrated into sentence meaning. When the delay of picture presentation was short (250 msec), verification latencies and ERPs evoked by the picture showed a priming effect independent of whether the sentence contained a negation. Unprimed pictures (foreground object not mentioned in the sentence) led to longer latencies and higher N400 amplitudes than primed pictures (foreground object mentioned in the sentence). Main effects of negation showed up only in a late positive-going ERP effect. In contrast, when the delay was long (1500 msec), we observed main effects of truth value and negation in addition to the priming effect already in the N400 time window, that is, negation is fully integrated into sentence meaning only at a later point in the comprehension process. When negation has not yet been integrated, verification decisions appear to be modulated by additional time-consuming reanalysis processes.
When a Thought Equals a Look: Refreshing Enhances Perceptual Memory
Authors: Yi Do-Joon , Turk-Browne Nicholas B. , Chun Marvin M. , Johnson Marcia K.
Published: February 2008

Cognition constantly involves retrieving and maintaining information that is not perceptually available in the current environment. Studies on visual imagery and working memory suggest that such high-level cognition might, in part, be mediated by the revival of perceptual representations in the inferior temporal cortex. Here, we provide new support for this hypothesis, showing that reflectively accessed information can have similar consequences for subsequent perception as actual perceptual input. Participants were presented with pairs of frames in which a scene could appear, and were required to make a category judgment on the second frame. In the critical condition, a scene was presented in the first frame, but the second frame was blank. Thus, it was necessary to refresh the scene from the first frame in order to make the category judgment. Scenes were then repeated in subsequent trials to measure the effect of refreshing on functional magnetic resonance imaging repetition attenuation—a neural index of memory—in a scene-selective region of the visual cortex. Surprisingly, the refreshed scenes produced equal attenuation as scenes that had been presented twice during encoding, and more attenuation than scenes that had been presented once during encoding, but that were not refreshed. Thus, the top-down revival of a percept had a similar effect on memory as actually seeing the stimulus again. These findings indicate that high-level cognition can activate stimulus-specific representations in the ventral visual cortex, and that such top-down activation, like that from sensory stimulation, produces memorial changes that affect perceptual processing during a later encounter with the stimulus.
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Improves Language Learning
Authors: Flöel Agnes , Rösser Nina , Michka Olesya , Knecht Stefan , Breitenstein Caterina
Published: February 2008

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a reliable technique to improve motor learning. We here wanted to test its potential to enhance associative verbal learning, a skill crucial for both acquiring new languages in healthy individuals and for language reacquisition after stroke-induced aphasia. We applied tDCS (20 min, 1 mA) over the posterior part of the left peri-sylvian area of 19 young right-handed individuals while subjects acquired a miniature lexicon of 30 novel object names. Every subject participated in one session of anodal tDCS, one session of cathodal tDCS, and one sham session in a randomized and double-blinded design with three parallel versions of the miniature lexicon. Outcome measures were learning speed and learning success at the end of each session, and the transfer to the subjects' native language after the respective stimulation. With anodal stimulation, subjects showed faster and better associative learning as compared to sham stimulation. Mood ratings, reaction times, and response styles were comparable between stimulation conditions. Our results demonstrate that anodal tDCS is a promising technique to enhance language learning in healthy adults and may also have the potential to improve language reacquisition after stroke.
Involuntary Attentional Capture is Determined by Task Set: Evidence from Event-related Brain Potentials
Authors: Eimer Martin , Kiss Monika
Published: February 2008

To find out whether attentional capture by irrelevant but salient visual objects is an exogenous bottom–up phenomenon, or can be modulated by current task set, two experiments were conducted where the N2pc component was measured as an electrophysiological marker of attentional selection in response to spatially uninformative color singleton cues that preceded target arrays. When observers had to report the orientation of a uniquely colored target bar among distractor bars (color task), behavioral spatial cueing effects were accompanied by an early cue-induced N2pc, indicative of rapid attentional capture by color singleton cues. In contrast, when they reported the orientation of target bars presented without distractors (onset task), no behavioral cueing effects were found and no early N2pc was triggered to physically identical cue arrays. Experiment 2 ruled out an alternative interpretation of these N2pc differences in terms of distractor inhibition. These results do not support previous claims that attentional capture is initially unaffected by top–down intention, and demonstrate the central role of task set in involuntary attentional orienting.
Time-course of Posterior Parietal and Occipital Cortex Contribution to Sound Localization
Authors: Collignon Olivier , Davare Marco , De Volder Anne G. , Poirier Colline , Olivier Etienne , Veraart Claude
Published: February 2008

It has been suggested that both the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and the extrastriate occipital cortex (OC) participate in the spatial processing of sounds. However, the precise time-course of their contribution remains unknown, which is of particular interest, considering that it could give new insights into the mechanisms underlying auditory space perception. To address this issue, we have used event-related transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce virtual lesions of either the right PPC or right OC at different delays in subjects performing a sound lateralization task. Our results confirmed that these two areas participate in the spatial processing of sounds. More precisely, we found that TMS applied over the right OC 50 msec after the stimulus onset significantly impaired the localization of sounds presented either to the right or to the left side. Moreover, right PPC virtual lesions induced 100 and 150 msec after sound presentation led to a rightward bias for stimuli delivered on the center and on the left side, reproducing transiently the deficits commonly observed in hemineglect patients. The finding that the right OC is involved in sound processing before the right PPC suggests that the OC exerts a feedforward influence on the PPC during auditory spatial processing.
Introduction
Authors: Shahar Ido , Agmon Iris
Published: February 2008

In this essay, we aim at placing the articles included in this theme issue in the wider context of the field by examining two general questions: First, why has the shari'a court and its associated socio-legal arena received little scholarly attention until the 1990s? Second, why has this situation changed in the last decade? Until recently, most scholars working in Islamic legal history, social history and legal anthropology were hardly interested in the courts and their legal practices. We argue that this omission was caused by the academic traditions that shaped these three sub-disciplines and that established a division of labor between and among them. In addition, we argue that the recent spike in interest in shari'a courts in all three sub-disciplines is a result of internal criticism within each field and of broad methodological and epistemological changes in the humanities and social sciences.
Cultural Beliefs Regarding Persian Gardens with the Emphasis on Water and Trees
Authors: Ansari Mojtaba , Taghvaee Ali Akbar , Nejad Hadi Mahmoudi
Published: February 2008

In different cultures people may have different perceptions of and attitudes to some natural phenomena such as wind, water, fire, trees, sun, moon and examples of these sorts. Respect and reverence for water and trees have been institutionalized in many ancient civilizations due to their various socio-cultural traditions, values and beliefs. In Iranian societies respect for water has been a well known cultural value before and after Islam. The important role of water in the various aspects of human life has been emphasized in the holy books particularly in Avesta and Holy Quran. In these books, water has been introduced as the essence of life; without which life is not possible. According to the description of Paradise or Heaven in the Holy Quran, Muslim architects; with special attention on this description, have built gardens in this mortal world with the intention of the goal that the Persian Gardens in the appearance of eternal and futurity will be a metaphor of the Heaven or Paradise Gardens. This article is trying to study about the attitude of Iranian towards myth of water and trees. There will be also a glance on a number of other civilizations such as China, India and Egypt in this regard. Then the important role and status of water and trees in the environmental enhancement and designing of Persian Gardens will be discussed. And so, considerations about water and trees policies and management addressing the broader array of human perceptions, meanings and values related to cultural aspects of water and trees are needed in Asian countries, especially in Iran.
The State, Labour and the Politics of Social Dialogue in Zimbabwe 1996-2007: Issues Resolved or Matters Arising?
Authors: Magure Booker
Published: February 2008

Drawing on primary and secondary data, this paper explores the dynamics of the politics involved in the social dialogue process in Zimbabwe; more specifically the utility of the process as a tool to resolve socio-economic problems. The paper further seeks to demonstrate the relationship between failure to reform on the political policy front and economic problems thereby explaining why social dialogue in Zimbabwe fails to yield the intended results. It is the contention of this paper that as long as governance issues are not addressed by the ruling party, the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) will forever remain a "talk shop" and the Zimbabwean economy will not improve. In light of the "politicking" that characterises the social dialogue process in Zimbabwe, the paper came up with possible recommendations for the strengthening and improving of institutions of social dialogue based on the lessons learned from Zimbabwe.
Historicizing and Contextualizing the Discourse on African International Law and A Concise Overview of the Pacific Settlement of the Cameroon-Nigeria Bakassi Peninsula Dispute
Authors: Udogu E. Ike
Published: February 2008

For the past 50 years or so, the media and intellectual discourses on African politics have general portrayed the continent as being in perpetual turmoil. The causes of such conflicts have been related, but not limited, to the outcome of the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 in which some of the European powers carved up the region in a zigzag fashion with little or no concern for the ethnic complexions of the societies. The result of this policy in post-colonial and independent Africa has been disastrous for much of the continent with numerous civil wars and cross border clashes between African states. The use of arms struggle to resolve border conflicts is now seen as counter productive to the vision of African unity and transformation in the millennium as first articulated by the Organization of African Unity and now championed by the African Union – the successor to the OAU. This study brings into the limelight the extent to which African states are increasingly relying on international law, the AU and the Good Offices of the UN and its various agencies to resolve international boundary conflicts. It also historicized the development of international law in Africa and discussed as a case study the impressive pacific settlement of the explosive border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria to illustrate its importance as a model for Africa.
Augustine's Confessions and the Autobiographies of Peter Canisius, SJ
Authors: Pabel Hilmar
Published: February 2008

Peter Canisius, one of the most dynamic Jesuits of the second half of the sixteenth century, explicitly identified Augustine's Confessions as his exemplar when composing his Testament, an autobiographical work, at the end of his life. This article explores the ways in which the Confessions might have influenced Canisius's self-representation first by establishing the Jesuit's familiarity with the text and then by considering his modes of appropriating it. The Testament and an earlier autobiographical text are the principal sources for analysis. A self-accusatory tone and especially a confessionalized construction of Canisius's life that emphasizes his resolute adherence to Catholicism constitute the most prominent features of his reception of the Confessions.
“Rather French than Subject to the Prince of Orange.” The Conflicting Loyalties of the Utrecht Catholics during the French Occupation (1672-73)
Authors: Forclaz Bertrand
Published: February 2008

The French occupation of Utrecht (1672-73) provides us with an interesting case through which to study different regimes of religious coexistence and their effects on interconfessional relationships. I argue in this article, on the basis of diaries, letters, pamphlets, consistorial records and edicts of the city council, that the French occupier, in granting the Catholics freedom of worship, contributed to a hardening of interconfessional relationships, by provoking conflicts about rituals and the use of churches. The occupation brought a new pattern of coexistence: whereas in the United Provinces, the Reformed Church enjoyed a monopoly over religious expression in the public sphere and other faiths were tolerated by connivance, during the occupation both the Catholic and the Reformed faiths had official recognition and were practiced publicly. Another reason to study the occupation is that it allows us to learn more about the political affiliation of Catholics: did they support the French? Did they consider that Louis XIV would restore them to political and religious supremacy, as prophecies seem to suggest? The answers to these questions vary. Whereas the Catholic clerics generally supported the French king, lay people seem to have been disappointed, as the French did not treat them differently from the Reformed inhabitants: for example, everyone had to pay the same taxes. All in all the occupation reveals the crystallization of confessional identities and the difficulty of coexistence when different faiths had the same rights.
Fine Pattern of Natural Modes in Sea Surface Temperature Variability: 1985–2003
Authors: Chen Ge , Li Haitao
Published: February 2008

A natural mode refers, in this study, to a periodic oscillation of sea surface temperature (SST) that is geophysically significant on a global, regional, or local scale. Using a newly developed harmonic extraction scheme by Chen, which has the advantage of being space–time decoupled and fully data adaptive, a variety of natural modes have been recovered from global monthly SST data for the period of 1985–2003. Among them, the eight most significant modes are identified as primary modes, whose spatial patterns are presented, along with their phase distributions. At seasonal time scales, a 4-month primary mode is uncovered in addition to the well-documented annual and semiannual cycles. At interannual time scales, the dominant El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability is found to be composed of at least five primary modes, with well-defined central periods around 18, 25, 32, 43, and 63 months. At time scales beyond ENSO, a decadal SST signal with an average period of 10.3 yr is observed. A unique contribution of this study is the derivation and presentation of fine patterns of natural SST modes and signals in joint dimensions of time, space, period, and phase, leading to several findings and conclusions that are of potential importance: 1) The degree of separability and regularity of the sub-ENSO modes is surprising, and thus reveals new details on the nature of this event. 2) The midlatitude counterparts of the equatorial interannual and decadal SST modes/signals are found in the two hemispheres with a frequency shift toward longer periods. The “shadows” of the Pacific Ocean’s ENSO modes are also observed with some detail in the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. All of these provide direct evidence that teleconnections exist between the equatorial and extratropical oceans, as well as among the tropical Pacific, tropical Atlantic, and tropical Indian Oceans, possibly as a result of the “atmospheric bridge.” 3) A sharply opposite anisotropy is observed in the spatiotemporal pattern between the interannual modes and decadal signals, implying that they are potentially of a categorical difference in origin. 4) Locality or regionality is a fundamental feature for most of the SST modes. Treating the interannual or decadal variability as a single ENSO or Pacific decadal oscillation mode appears to be an oversimplification, and may lead to inappropriate interpretations. The results herein represent an improved knowledge of the natural variability in sea surface temperature, which will hopefully help to enhance the understanding of natural fluctuations of the global/regional climate system in the context of ocean–atmosphere interaction.
The Zonal Dimension of the Indian Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation
Authors: Drijfhout Sybren S. , Garabato Alberto C. Naveira
Published: February 2008

The three-dimensional structure of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) in the deep Indian Ocean is investigated with an eddy-permitting ocean model. The amplitude of the modeled deep Indian Ocean MOC is 5.6 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1), a broadly realistic but somewhat weak overturning. Although the model parameterization of diapycnal mixing is inaccurate, the model’s short spinup allows the effective diapycnal velocity (the sum of model drift and the explicitly modeled diapycnal velocity) to resemble the true, real-ocean diapycnal velocity. For this reason, the model is able to recover the broad zonal asymmetry in the turbulent buoyancy flux that is suggested by observations. The model features a substantial deep, depth-reversing zonal circulation of nearly 50% of the MOC. The existence of this circulation, brought about by the zonally asymmetric distribution of diapycnal mixing, implies a much slower ventilation of the deep Indian Ocean (by a factor of 5–6) than would be in place without zonal interbasin exchanges. It is concluded that the zonal asymmetry in the distribution of diapycnal mixing must have a major impact on the deep Indian Ocean’s capacity to store and transform climatically significant physical and biogeochemical tracers.
Numerical Simulation of the Red Sea Outflow Using HYCOM and Comparison with REDSOX Observations
Authors: Chang Yeon S. , Özgökmen Tamay M. , Peters Hartmut , Xu Xiaobiao
Published: February 2008

The outflow of warm, salty, and dense water from the Red Sea into the western Gulf of Aden is numerically simulated using the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). The pathways of the modeled overflow, temperature, salinity, velocity profiles from stations and across sections, and transport estimates are compared to those observed during the 2001 Red Sea Outflow Experiment. As in nature, the simulated outflow is funneled into two narrow channels along the seafloor. The results from the three-dimensional simulations show a favorable agreement with the observed temperature and salinity profiles along the channels. The volume transport of the modeled overflow increases with the increasing distance from the southern exit of the Bab el Mandeb Strait due to entrainment of ambient fluid, such that the modeled transport shows a reasonable agreement with that estimated from the observations. The initial propagation speed of the outflow is found to be smaller than the estimated interfacial wave speed. The slow propagation is shown to result from the roughness of the bottom topography characterized by a number of depressions that take time to be filled with outflow water. Sensitivities of the results to the horizontal grid spacing, different entrainment parameterizations, and forcing at the source location are investigated. Because of the narrow widths of the approximately 5 km of the outflow channels, a horizontal grid spacing of 1 km or less is required for model simulations to achieve a reasonable agreement with the observations. Comparison of two entrainment parameterizations, namely, TPX and K-profile parameterization (KPP), show that similar results are obtained at 1-km resolution. Overall, the simulation of the Red Sea outflow appears to be more strongly affected by the details of bottom topography and grid spacing needed to adequately resolve them than by parameterizations of diapycnal mixing.
A New Analytical Model for Heinrich Events and Climate Instability
Authors: Sandal Cathrine , Nof Doron
Published: February 2008

The authors focus on Heinrich events and the question of whether the arrest and restart of convection can explain the associated sudden changes in oceanic and atmospheric temperature. For this purpose, a new (mixed) dynamical-box model is developed in which the ocean and atmosphere communicate via both Ekman layers and convection. The conservation of heat, salt, volume flux, and a “convection condition” yields a system of algebraic equations that are solved analytically. As expected, it is found that as the freshwater flux increases, the convective ocean temperature decreases. The heat flux from the ocean to the atmosphere, the transport of the oceanic meridional overturning cell (MOC), and the corresponding atmospheric flow generated by the heat flux from the ocean all decrease. However, the outgoing air temperature increases with increasing freshwater flux. This counterintuitive increase is because a decreased latent and sensible heat flux (to a humid atmosphere) means a reduced temperature difference between the warmer ocean and the cooler atmosphere, implying a cooler ocean and warmer atmosphere. For each wind speed, there is a critical freshwater flux beyond which the convection collapses and the temperatures of both the ocean and the air plunge because equatorial water is no longer flowing northward to replace the frigid northern waters. The above points to a potentially new instability process that was probably active during glaciation periods—when ice and snow are abundant, even the smallest amount of freshwater flux will cause local warming which, in turn, will cause increased melting, resulting in an ever-increased freshwater flux until the critical flux is reached and the MOC collapses. The model suggests that switching convection on and off changed the glacial ocean temperature by 4°C and the glacial air temperature by 12.5°C, both consistent with the Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP II) ice core record and the Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement des Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE) alkenone record.
Mechanisms of Interannual Variations of the Meridional Overturning Circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Cabanes Cécile , Lee Tong , Fu Lee-Lueng
Published: February 2008

The authors investigate the nature of the interannual variability of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) of the North Atlantic Ocean using an Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) assimilation product for the period of 1993–2003. The time series of the first empirical orthogonal function of the MOC is found to be correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, while the associated circulation anomalies correspond to cells extending over the full ocean depth. Model sensitivity experiments suggest that the wind is responsible for most of this interannual variability, at least south of 40°N. A dynamical decomposition of the meridional streamfunction allows a further look into the mechanisms. In particular, the contributions associated with 1) the Ekman flow and its depth-independent compensation, 2) the vertical shear flow, and 3) the barotropic gyre flowing over zonally varying topography are examined. Ekman processes are found to dominate the shorter time scales (1.5–3 yr), while for longer time scales (3–10 yr) the MOC variations associated with vertical shear flow are of greater importance. The latter is primarily caused by heaving of the pycnocline in the western subtropics associated with the stronger wind forcing. Finally, how these changes in the MOC affect the meridional heat transport (MHT) is examined. It is found that overall, Ekman processes explain a larger part of interannual variability (3–10 yr) for MHT (57%) than for the MOC (33%).
Direct Breaking of the Internal Tide near Topography: Kaena Ridge, Hawaii
Authors: Klymak Jody M. , Pinkel Robert , Rainville Luc
Published: February 2008

Barotropic to baroclinic conversion and attendant phenomena were recently examined at the Kaena Ridge as an aspect of the Hawaii Ocean Mixing Experiment. Two distinct mixing processes appear to be at work in the waters above the 1100-m-deep ridge crest. At middepths, above 400 m, mixing events resemble their open-ocean counterparts. There is no apparent modulation of mixing rates with the fortnightly cycle, and they are well modeled by standard open-ocean parameterizations. Nearer to the topography, there is quasi-deterministic breaking associated with each baroclinic crest passage. Large-amplitude, small-scale internal waves are triggered by tidal forcing, consistent with lee-wave formation at the ridge break. These waves have vertical wavelengths on the order of 400 m. During spring tides, the waves are nonlinear and exhibit convective instabilities on their leading edge. Dissipation rates exceed those predicted by the open-ocean parameterizations by up to a factor of 100, with the disparity increasing as the seafloor is approached. These observations are based on a set of repeated CTD and microconductivity profiles obtained from the research platform (R/P) Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP), which was trimoored over the southern edge of the ridge crest. Ocean velocity and shear were resolved to a 4-m vertical scale by a suspended Doppler sonar. Dissipation was estimated both by measuring overturn displacements and from microconductivity wavenumber spectra. The methods agreed in water deeper than 200 m, where sensor resolution limitations do not limit the turbulence estimates. At intense mixing sites new phenomena await discovery, and existing parameterizations cannot be expected to apply.
Seafloor Pressure Measurements of Nonlinear Internal Waves
Authors: Moum J. N. , Nash J. D.
Published: February 2008

Highly resolved pressure measurements on the seafloor over New Jersey’s continental shelf reveal the pressure signature of nonlinear internal waves of depression as negative pressure perturbations. The sign of the perturbation is determined by the dominance of the internal hydrostatic pressure (p0Wh) due to isopycnal displacement over the contributions of external hydrostatic pressure (ρ0gηH; ηH is surface displacement) and nonhydrostatic pressure (p0nh), each of opposite sign to p0Wh. This measurement represents experimental confirmation of the wave-induced pressure signal inferred in a previous study by Moum and Smyth.