bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Political Analogies during Crises: Reflections on Nyyssönen
Authors: Baglione Lisa
Published: June 2006

What is the salience of historical events and why are certain ones central to the narratives of politicians of opposing views? Students of nation-state building frequently contend that key moments of glory or disaster are central for telling the story of the nation and thereby uniting the people. The Hungarian experience in interpreting the revolutionary events of 1956 and 1989, therefore, is not unique; rather it highlights an important phenomenon of politics in authoritarian as well as democratic systems. As elites compete for power, particularly during times of crisis, they often offer particular interpretations of key historical events. How well they can convince and mold public perceptions of both the contemporary situation and its historical analogy affect the power that leaders can wield. In contemporary American politics, a duel between two analogies (9/11-mushroom cloud versus Iraq-Vietnam) is currently raging, and whichever memory wins will have important short-run political consequences in the United States.
A Developmental Theory of Personality Producing Two Time Orientations
Authors: Pos Robert
Published: June 2006

This paper describes a theory of genetically determined personality development, including the development of two mutually exclusive time orientations: alphas preferentially relate to their present, often being inattentive to their past and future; betas preferentially relate to their future and past, and tend to be inattentive to their present. These time orientations or perspectives derive from two types of autobiographic memory materializing around age 6, which cause two types of personality. For example, the theory views alphas as extroverted and betas as introverted although there are significant differences between Jung's view of these traits and the theory's definitions. Beginning at birth, the amalgam of inborn motivational contexts induces a context-specific partitioning of reality. This is left intact when an alpha child's autobiographic memory, which is free of trans-contextual sequencing of memories, becomes active and the child's identity becomes therefore multi-focal (situational), as represented by Jung's personality model. By contrast, a beta child spontaneously produces a trans-contextual sequence of memories. The youngster's partitioned reality fuses, leading to a singular, monofocal identity, as represented by Freud's personality model. Self-reflection in adolescence makes both implicit identities self-conscious. The underlying genes possibly belong to the X-chromosome, the alpha gene being dominant and the beta gene recessive.
Gendered Citizenship: Discourses on Domesticity in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century
Authors: Elsadda Hoda
Published: June 2006

The first years of the 21st century in Egypt saw a marked movement by women activists and groups in Egypt to lobby for appointing women judges. The debate around the issue included arguments about women's "natural" roles, about their lesser abilities, and about the necessity of maintaining their place in the home to safeguard Arab cultural identity. In general, these debates posited domesticity as a marker of Arab identity and cultural specificity. I argue that domesticity is a modernist ideology that was transfigured into a representation of an essential Arab cultural identity which needed to be guarded and preserved. I also emphasize that discourses on domesticity were not the only existing discourses propagated in the nineteenth century. Zeinab Fawwaz's journey through history in search for women's participation in the public sphere can be interpreted as a clear challenge to the modernist binary opposition between a backward past and a modern, enlightened present. At the same time, it constituted a subversive narrative to the dominant narrative on domesticity. Similarly, Aisha Taymur's project did not dismiss tradition but sought to engage with it on its own premises in an attempt to argue for women's right.
Islamic Legal Reform: Sharī'a Court of Appeals and Maintenance for Muslim Wives in Israel
Authors: Abou-Ramadan Moussa
Published: June 2006

The focus of this paper is the reform concerning maintenance. The sharī'a court for appeals in Israel created a substantial reform in sharī'a laws for maintenance. The underline of this reform is increasing the husband's obligation as to his wife. This obligation already exists in classical law and in the Ottoman family law from 1917, but the court emphasized and penetrated it so that the intermingling of Hanafī law, Ottoman family law and the court's ruling only widened the obligation of the husband. Thus, for example, the emphasis is articulated by applying obligation only on the husband, whereas the wife is not urged to go out for work. Moreover, the commitment for maintenance starts the day the contract is signed and not after the common life of the husband and the wife begins; there is no requirement for appointing experts in order to estimate the amount of maintenance; there is a widening of the responsibility for the dwelling; the fortification of the case law for acceptance of a nushūz (disobedience) claim; and control over the amounts decided by the sharī'a courts. In fact, this is a transition from one patriarchal position to another: from a patriarchal position based on a sharp dividing line of gender roles according to which the husband pays and the wife is paid, to another patriarchal position where the husband pays and the wife is paid larger amounts of money.
The Politics of Self-Representation in the Letters of Violant de Bar (1365–1431)
Authors: Bratsch-Prince Dawn
Published: June 2006

The treatment that Violant de Bar, duchess of Girona and queen of Aragon (1380–96), has received at the hands of medieval historians has been both negative and dismissive. She has been portrayed as a virile female and intrusive foreigner and blamed for the ruinous political and fiscal excesses allowed during the reign of her husband, Joan I (1387–96). By utilizing the vast collection of royal correspondence preserved in the Archives of the Crown of Aragon, this essay aims to show that, in contrast to the traditional representation of Violant, she creates for herself several distinct and shifting self-representations in her letters. In constructing herself as daughter, mother, wife, or widow she consciously manipulates how she wishes others to see her. It is, therefore, in the study of these letters that we confront a more authentic representation of Violant de Bar.
Women in the Crestià of Francesc Eiximenis Revisited
Authors: Piqué-Angordans Jordi , Viera David
Published: June 2006

Nineteenth and early twentieth-century criticism oftentimes tended to lump literary works on the topic of women from the middle ages and early modern times as either essentially misogynist or feminist. Moral-didactic works that often fluctuated between antifeminist and profeminist opinion were often categorized as misogynist, akin to works such as Boccaccio's Corbaccio. This is the case of Francesc Eiximenis' Catalan literature, written for the most part in València. The authors of this study analyzed Eiximenis' views on women, for the most part taken from biblical, patristic, scholastic, and canonical sources, and found within his writings various contradictions. In this study, Eiximenis emerges as one who readily cited antifeminist literature, but who also defended women, whom he views as weaker than men, but equally if not more capable of being devout, performing good works, and most importantly, worthy of salvation.
Women in Crusader Valencia: A Five-Year Core Sample, 1265–1270
Authors: Burns Robert
Published: June 2006

This study surveys the presence of women in the crown registers of the medieval Realms of Arago-Catalonia for the period 1265-1270. Approximately five hundred charters pertaining to the crusader kingdom of Valencia cover both the apogee of the reign of Jaume the Conqueror and the scandal created when he aborted his Holy Land crusade, purportedly because of a woman. While women's history may not seem an apt subject in this period of conquest and crusade, in fact these charters offer a suggestive sample of women, especially as landowners, not only in the Christian cities and courts but also in the parallel Jewish and Muslim communities. Women played active roles in this frontier society, as the crown sought to encourage Christian settlement in conquered lands. The charters shed light on the life of Jaume's formally inducted concubine and other women in the royal entourage. At the other end of the spectrum, information emerges about prostitutes and women prisoners. Several documents pertain to the economic lives of nuns, while others concern the rights of widows: notably, one whose son has "become a Saracen." Women played roles as settlers along the frontier between Christian and Muslim realms, with Christian women assuming obligations to reside on lands for a period of years, while Muslim women's lands are confiscated. Among businesswomen, several own baths. One Jewish woman is exempted from certain sumptuary laws. Other documents reveal that Jewish women, like men, paid taxes. Several women receive royal pensions. Women dog handlers appear; one, with her dog, receives the same pay as a fighting man.
'Human Rights', 'Religion' and the 'Secular': Variant Configurations of Religion(s), State(s) and Society(ies)
Authors: Weller Paul
Published: June 2006

Discussions about the relationship between 'religion' and 'human rights' often focus on the problems that arise from 'religion'. Within a European historical perspective this is understandable since one of the most important aspects of the historical development of the 'human rights' tradition in the Europe has been the struggle for the right not to believe.However, the concept of the 'secular' is also not unproblematic. Thus this article explores the contested relationship between 'human rights' and 'religion' by bringing into focus also the relatively hidden factor of the 'secular'. This is done by exploring the forms of secularity exemplified in the traditions and approaches that are found in the USA, France, Turkey, the Netherlands and India. Finally, reference is made to traditional Islamic models for integrating cultural and religious plurality, before concluding with some discussion of the thought of Marc Luyckx in relation to the future of Europe.
Juvenile Offenders With Mental Health Needs: Reducing Recidivism Using Wraparound
Authors: Pullmann Michael D. , Kerbs Jodi , Koroloff Nancy , Veach-White Ernie , Gaylor Rita , Sieler Dede
Published: June 2006

The rate of youth with mental health needs is disproportionately high in juvenile justice. Wraparound planning involves families and providers in coordinating juvenile justice, mental health, and other services and supports. This study compares data from two groups of juvenile offenders with mental health problems: 106 youth in a juvenile justice wraparound program called Connections and a historical comparison group of 98 youth in traditional mental health services. Cox regression survival analyses revealed that youth in Connections were significantly less likely to recidivate at all, less likely to recidivate with a felony offense, and served less detention time.
Wardens' Views on the Wisdom of Supermax Prisons
Authors: Mears Daniel P. , Castro Jennifer L.
Published: June 2006

Super-maximum security prisons have proliferated nationally, reflecting a belief among policy makers and corrections officials that such high-cost housing is effective. Yet little is known about the precise goals of “supermax” prisons, whether these goals are achieved, what unintended effects supermaxes may have, and, more generally, whether they represent a wise investment. State correctional data systems do not readily allow for assessment of these issues. The authors of this study therefore administered surveys to state prison wardens—a population uniquely situated to provide insight about supermaxes—to address existing gaps in knowledge and to inform research and policy debates. The authors discuss the study's findings and implications.
The Stability and Resiliency of Self-Control in a Sample of Incarcerated Offenders
Authors: Mitchell Ojmarrh , Mackenzie Doris Layton
Published: June 2006

The central tenet of Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory is that antisocial behavior is caused by stable between-individual differences in self-control. They also argue that after early childhood, interventions aimed at reducing antisocial behavior will be unsuccessful, as one's level of self-control is resilient to such efforts. This research tested the stability and resiliency hypotheses using a two-wave panel design in a sample of incarcerated offenders. The results indicated that self-control was not stable during a short period of time but that self-control was resilient to participation in a treatmentoriented boot-camp program.
Supervision Strategies and Approaches for Female Parolees: Examining the Link Between Unmet Needs and Parolee Outcome
Authors: Schram Pamela J. , Koons-Witt Barbara A. , Williams Frank P. , McShane Marilyn D.
Published: June 2006

A number of parolees are returning to the community with programming needs that may not have been addressed during their incarceration; these unmet needs may subsequently affect their successful reintegration into the community. Although there is an increasing female parole population, there has been a paucity of research concerning female parolees. The current study examines the types of needs identified at intake from a sample of 546 female parolees. The results revealed the following. First, if a parolee was employed, had stable living arrangements, and was assessed as needing and receiving some type of drug and/or alcohol program intervention, she was less likely to fail on parole. Second, many of these women were underassessed for having needs for drug and alcohol treatment as well as employment, housing, and other assistance. This underassessment may be because of an increasing emphasis on parole supervision (i.e., custody) rather than treatment in parole agencies.
Recent Incarceration History Among a Sheltered Homeless Population
Authors: Metraux Stephen , Culhane Dennis P.
Published: June 2006

This study examined incarceration histories and shelter use patterns of 7,022 persons staying in public shelters in New York City. Through matching administrative shelter records with data on releases from New York State prisons and New York City jails, 23.1% of a point-prevalent shelter populationwas identified as having had an incarceration within the previous 2-year period. Persons entering shelter following a jail episode (17.0%) exhibited different shelter stay patterns than did those having exited a prison episode (7.7%), leading to the conclusion that different dynamics predominate and that different interventionsare called for in preventinghomelessness amongpersons released from jail and from prison.
The Words Have Changed but the Ideology Remains the Same: Misogynistic Lyrics in Rap Music
Authors: Adams Terri M. , Fuller Douglas B.
Published: June 2006

Rap music emerged as an aesthetic cultural expression of the urban youth in the late 1970s. It has been denoted as the poetry of the youth who are often disregarded as a result of their race and class status. Since it first came on the music scene, rap has gone through a number of phases, and it has been used as a medium to express a variety of ideas, feelings, and emotions. Hope, love, fear, anger, frustration, pride, violence, and misogyny have all been expressed through the medium of rap. This article examines the use of misogynistic ideology in gangsta rap and traces the connection between its prevalence in rap and the larger cultural picture of how African American women have been characterized historically.
Debunking the Myth That All is Well in the Home of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
Authors: Birzer Michael L. , Ellis Richard B.
Published: June 2006

This article examines perceived discrimination in Topeka, Kansas, which is home to the landmark Supreme Court Decision Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. Using data from a 21-item survey questionnaire and nine focus groups, this article describes perceptions of discrimination among citizens. The findings suggest that a significant portion of participants have experienced some form of discrimination. Quantitative and qualitative data reveal that significant levels of perceived discrimination have been experienced across all population groups. The authors draw from the normative theory of discrimination in the interpretation of the data. This article concludes by suggesting policy recommendations that may be a start for effective remedies that aim to minimize perceived discrimination in this community.
Drowning in Inequalities
Authors: Hastings Donald W. , Zahran Sammy , Cable Sherry
Published: June 2006

The authors argue that age, sex, and racial differentials in swimming participation are conditioned by the availability of swimming infrastructure and the principle of social exclusivity that limits access of lower status groupings, even where pools and programs are available. In turn, the authors argue that participation in swimming and where that activity occurs (pool versus open water) affect life chances (accidental drowning rates) across status groups. Multiple data sources were used to operationalize measures of swimming participation, social exclusivity, conditions associated with the development of swimming infrastructure, risk for a place to drown, and age, sex, and racial accidental drowning and submersion rates. Given that some progress has been made toward lessening social exclusivity with lower status groups now participating in many sports, and the under-reporting of deaths from accidental drowning and submersion, the authors believe that the confirmation of their hypotheses is conservative.
Strategies for Public Service Turnaround
Authors: Boyne George A.
Published: June 2006

National policy makers and local service managers are striving to identify strategies to improve the performance of failing public organizations. However, little academic research on public service turnaround is available to inform their efforts. By contrast, substantial work has been conducted on the reversal of decline in the private sector. A model of the turnaround process is developed from this literature, and evidence on the effectiveness of different turn-around strategies is reviewed. The private sector evidence suggests that recovery from failure is associated with strategies of retrenchment, repositioning, and reorganization. The potential feasibility and impact of these strategies in the public sector is evaluated, and major research questions on public service turnaround are identified.
What Can Rorty Teach an Old Pragmatist Doing Public Administration or Planning?
Authors: Hoch Charles
Published: June 2006

Hugh Miller’s argument that philosopher Richard Rorty offers a pragmatic upgrade for public administration does not work. However, the critics, in defending old pragmatism against new, miss some useful insights. Rorty basically helps us to grasp the hubris of claiming epistemic trump and to beware the quest for certainty in the service of the powerful. For instance, how would pragmatic ideas compare with more conventional theoretical expectations rationalizing the recent combination of federal intelligence agencies into a new Homeland Security Agency? Rorty describes and celebrates the critical irony of self-perfection as a resource best nurtured in private while insisting that public expectations be shaped by practical alternatives sensitive to compromise and consensus. We theorists should not be distracted by philosophical debate but focus instead on inventing and comparing practical organizational alternatives that meet public needs without sacrificing individual freedom.
Toward a General Analytic Framework
Authors: Jewell Christopher J. , Glaser Bonnie E.
Published: June 2006

The way frontline workers in human service organizations implement policy is greatly influenced by how their jobs are structured within particular organizational settings. Although scholars of street-level bureaucracy have provided important insights into this relationship in specific situations, they rarely move beyond case study findings toward a more general research approach. Through cross-case analysis of fieldwork from California welfare and welfare-to-work programs, the authors inductively developed a framework for investigating how organizational setting mediates between policy goals and frontline behavior. The authors illustrate the use of this framework for welfare programs and street-level studies more generally using illustrations from their prewelfare reform study as well as from more recent postreform/Temporary Aid to Needy Families studies.
The Relationship Between Workaholism and Marital Disaffection: Husbands' Perspective
Authors: Robinson Bryan E. , Flowers Claudia , Ng Kok-Mun
Published: June 2006

Previous research suggests that wives of workaholics experience greater marital estrangement and less positive feelings than do wives of nonworkaholics. This study examined husbands' perception of marital disaffection and the relationship to their wives' workaholic tendencies. A random sample of 272 male members of the American Counseling Association were mailed a survey that examined their spouses' workaholic behavior, marital disaffection, locus of control, and positive and negative affects. The results suggest that workaholism is positively related to martial disaffection ( p < .01). The most important workaholism domains for predicting martial disaffection were overcontrolling behavior ( r = .36) and impaired communication ( r = .38). The results underscore the need for greater clinical awareness of marital problems associated with workaholic tendency.
Self-Defined Empowerment for Gay and Lesbian Parents: A Qualitative Examination
Authors: Lassiter Pamela S. , Dew Brian J. , Newton Kathryn , Hays Danica G. , Yarbrough Billy
Published: June 2006

In increasing numbers, lesbians and gay men are choosing to overcome societal barriers and fulfill their desire to become parents. The majority of empirical investigations with gay parents has focused on the adjustment of their children raised in non heterosexual homes. Less attention has been focused on the needs of the gay or lesbian parent. In this study, results from qualitative research investigating the empowerment needs of lesbian and gay parents are presented. Descriptors of empowerment are divided into external and internal factors.
Culturally Based Couple Therapy and Intercultural Relationships: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Sullivan Christopher , Cottone R. Rocco
Published: June 2006

This article provides a review of the literature on intercultural couples counseling since the publication of Falicov's “Cross-Cultural Marriages” and a critique of a racially based definition of intercultural. It examines conceptualization of intercultural couples, relevant issues arising in counseling, and therapeutic strategies. Little empirical research has been done with intercultural couples to assist with conceptualization problems and useful interventions.
“Family Constellations”: An Innovative Systemic Phenomenological Group Process From Germany
Authors: Cohen Dan Booth
Published: June 2006

The “Family Constellation” process is a trans-generational, phenomenological, therapeutic intervention with roots in family systems therapy, existential-phenomenology, and the ancestor reverence of the South African Zulus. Although the Family Constellation process is sanctioned by family therapy associations in Europe and is being integrated by thousand of licensed practitioners worldwide, the work is virtually unknown in the United States. This article serves as a broad introduction to the Family Constellation method and includes a biographical sketch of its originator—Bert Hellinger (born 1925).
Why We Don't “Get” Each Other: A Response to Susan Johnson
Authors: Simon George M.
Published: June 2006

In her response to my article on the integrative nature of emotionally focused therapy (EFT), Johnson (2006) implies that I do not “get” EFT. Similarly, I do not believe that she “got” the substance of my article's argumentation. In this response to her response, I frame our mutual inability to “get” each other as reflecting the fact that our thinking is founded on differing epistemological assumptions. Johnson makes the modernist assumption that theoretical models are maps of objectively existing territories; I make the post-modernist assumption that models are prescriptive stories about what it means to be human. Johnson's assumptions lead her to seek enhanced therapeutic effectiveness via the integration of theoretical models; my assumptions lead me to seek enhanced effectiveness via a scheme that allows therapists to choose a theoretical model whose underlying worldview closely matches their own, and then to assimilate elements from other models into this chosen theoretical base.
Functional Family Therapy: An Interview With Dr. James Alexander
Authors: Onedera Jill D.
Published: June 2006

This article presents the functional family therapy of James Alexander, focusing on his work with high risk, youth who are high risk, delinquent, and who abuse substances. The interview addresses evidencebased interventions, individualizing treatment, and prevention of violence. Training efforts and recent developments in functional family therapy are discussed.
Latino Families: The Relevance of the Connection Among Acculturation, Family Dynamics, and Health for Family Counseling Research and Practice
Authors: Miranda Alexis O. , Bilot Jennifer M. , Peluso Paul R. , Berman Kathleen , Van Meek Luz G.
Published: June 2006

Acculturation is a central experience for Latinos in the United States. In this article, the authors define acculturation and address its evolution from a unidimensional to a multidimensional construct. Also, the authors present central dynamics of the Latino culture and to Latino families before they address the manner in which acculturation relates to selected health indices. Last, the authors present the family as a mediator between acculturation and health for Latinos.
Parental Alienation Syndrome: Diagnostic and Triadic Perspectives
Authors: Weigel Daniel J. , Donovan Kimberly A.
Published: June 2006

This article provides a review of recent research concerning parental alienation syndrome (PAS). This article is written to familiarize the couple and family counselor with this subtle-but-extreme form of child abuse. An overview of proposed diagnostic criteria for PAS is provided in this review. Differential diagnostic issues are also examined to familiarize the reader with other closely related syndromes and disorders. Common personality characteristics and tactics of the alienation-inducing parent are presented. Short- and long-term experiences of the targeted parent and child subjected to this unfortunate experience are also explored. Last, multicultural and gender issues are discussed, and implications for couple and family counselors are provided.
Formation of emeralds at pegmatite-ultramafic contacts based on fluid inclusions in Kianjavato emerald, Mananjary deposits, Madagascar
Authors: Vapnik Ye. , Moroz I. , Roth M. , Eliezri I.
Published: June 2006

Kianjavato emerald (Mananjary deposits, East coast of Madagascar) was formed during metasomatic processes at the contact between pegmatites and hornblendites. The metasomatic exchange was related to a Pan-African tectonometamorphic event.

Fluid inclusions in the Kianjavato emerald and quartz were studied by means of microthermometry and Raman probe analysis. Three main types of inclusions were revealed: CO2-rich, CH4-rich and aqueous-rich, with a salinity of ∼2 wt.% NaCl equiv. The inclusions occurred along the same primary and pseudosecondary trails and were considered to be formed simultaneously. Based on fluid-inclusion data, the conditions of emerald growth were 250°C <T <450°C andP =1.5 kbar.

The fluid inclusion data for Kianjavato emerald were compared to the data for another Madagascar emerald, Ianapera. The latter is of similar age, but its genesis was determined by a shearing event. Our fluid inclusion data suggested that shearing was also important as a mechanism of introducing CO2-rich fluid for the genesis of the Kianjavato emerald.
Emeralds from the Delbegetey deposit (Kazakhstan): mineralogical characteristics and fluid-inclusion study
Authors: Gavrilenko E.V. , Calvo Pérez B. , Castroviejo Bolibar R. , García del Amo D.
Published: June 2006

The aim of this study is to provide the first detailed mineralogical and fluid-inclusion description of emeralds from the Delbegetey deposit (Kazakhstan). The characteristic features of Delbegetey emeralds are established: they have dissolution figures on crystal faces, bluish colour and distinct colour zoning; the refractive indices are ω = 1.566–1.570, ε = 1.558–1.562, and the specific gravity is 2.65±0.005, relatively low for natural emeralds; they have very small concentrations of the impurities (Fe, Mg, Na and others) typical of other emeralds, and contain Cr and V; there is a significant preponderance of vapour in fluid inclusions of all types and there is liquid-to-vapour homogenization of primary fluid inclusions (at 395–420°C). The lattice oxygen isotope composition data obtained (δ18O SMOW value of 11.3%o) situate the deposit within the range characteristic of other granite-related emerald deposits. Emerald crystallization took place in low-density (0.40–0.55 g/cm3) aqueous fluid, with the following chemical composition (mol.%): 75.6-97.4 H2O, 0.0-18.4 CO2, 0.0-0.9 CH4, and 4.06-9.65 wt.% NaCl equiv. salinity. According to the calculated isochores, the pressure of formation of the Delbegetey emeralds can be estimated at 570–1240 bar.
Extensive dolomitic volcanism through the Limagne Basin, central France: a new form of carbonatite activity
Authors: Bailey K. , Kearns S. , Mergoil J. , Mergoil Daniel J. , Paterson B.
Published: June 2006

Recognition of widespread carbonate volcanism in central Spain has led to another case in France, of similar age (23–0 Ma) but with entirely new features. More than 100 new carbonate volcanoes are indicated already, adding a wholly unexpected dimension to this form of activity. Eruptions form layers, mostly of glassy nephelinite fragments in a dolomitic matrix, but some layers are largely dolomite. Major new findings are phenocrysts of dolomite, magnesite and calcite in silicate glass, and spectacular dolomite-nephelinite melt immiscibility, neither recorded previously. Most volcanic carbonatites are Ca rich, and dolomite is rare. The Limagne dolomites share links with those in Spain and Zambia, with chromite a hallmark in all three. Limagne is exceptional in being the first case where dolomite has erupted with co-genetic silicate melt. Mantle debris and magnesite indicate a source within ∼ 100–150 km. Chromite in the dolomite globules, and in the enclosing silicate glass, is similar to that in high-temperature kimberlites, indicating immiscibility in the deep mantle. Recognition of two large, previously undetected provinces of carbonate volcanism in Europe, where there has been active research for >200 y, must lead to the inference that similar cases may await discovery on other continents.
Integrated biclustering of heterogeneous genome-wide datasets for the inference of global regulatory networks
Authors: Reiss David J , Baliga Nitin S , Bonneau Richard
Published: June 2006

Background

The learning of global genetic regulatory networks from expression data is a severely under-constrained problem that is aided by reducing the dimensionality of the search space by means of clustering genes into putatively co-regulated groups, as opposed to those that are simply co-expressed. Be cause genes may be co-regulated only across a subset of all observed experimental conditions, biclustering (clustering of genes and conditions) is more appropriate than standard clustering. Co-regulated genes are also often functionally (physically, spatially, genetically, and/or evolutionarily) associated, and such a priori known or pre-computed associations can provide support for appropriately grouping genes. One important association is the presence of one or more common cis-regulatory motifs. In organisms where these motifs are not known, their de novo detection, integrated into the clustering algorithm, can help to guide the process towards more biologically parsimonious solutions.

Results

We have developed an algorithm, cMonkey, that detects putative co-regulated gene groupings by integrating the biclustering of gene expression data and various functional associations with the de novo detection of sequence motifs.

Conclusion

We have applied this procedure to the archaeon Halobacterium NRC-1, as part of our efforts to decipher its regulatory network. In addition, we used cMonkey on public data for three organisms in the other two domains of life: Helicobacter pylori, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Escherichia coli. The biclusters detected by cMonkey both recapitulated known biology and enabled novel predictions (some for Halobacterium were subsequently confirmed in the laboratory). For example, it identified the bacteriorhodopsin regulon, assigned additional genes to this regulon with apparently unrelated function, and detected its known promoter motif. We have performed a thorough comparison of cMonkey results against other clustering methods, and find that cMonkey biclusters are more parsimonious with all available evidence for co-regulation.
Association study of the trinucleotide repeat polymorphism within SMARCA2 and schizophrenia
Authors: Sengupta Sarojini , Xiong Lan , Fathalli Ferid , Benkelfat Chawki , Tabbane Karim , Danics Zoltan , Labelle Alain , Lal Samarthji , Krebs Marie-Odile , Rouleau Guy , Joober Ridha
Published: June 2006

Background

Brahma (BRM) is a key component of the multisubunit SWI/SNF complex, a complex which uses the energy of ATP hydrolysis to remodel chromatin. BRM contains an N-terminal polyglutamine domain, encoded by a polymorphic trinucleotide (CAA/CAG) repeat, the only known polymorphism in the coding region of the gene (SMARCA2). We have examined the association of this polymorphism with schizophrenia in a family-based and case/control study. SMARCA2 was chosen as a candidate gene because of its specific role in developmental pathways, its high expression level in the brain and some evidence of its association with schizophrenia spectrum disorder from genome-wide linkage analysis.

Results

Family-based analysis with 281 complete and incomplete triads showed that there is no significant preferential transmission of any of the alleles to the affected offspring. Also, in the case/control analysis, similar allele and genotype distributions were observed between affected cases (n = 289) and unaffected controls (n = 273) in each of three Caucasian populations studied: French Canadian, Tunisian and other Caucasians of European origin.

Conclusion

Results from our family-based and case-control association study suggest that there is no association between the trinucleotide repeat polymorphism within SMARCA2 and schizophrenia.
Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) polymorphisms associated with carcass traits of meat in Korean cattle
Authors: Cheong Hyun Sub , Yoon Du-Hak , Kim Lyoung Hyo , Park Byung Lae , Choi Yoo Hyun , Chung Eui Ryong , Cho Yong Min , Park Eng Woo , Cheong Il-Cheong , Oh Sung-Jong , Yi Sung-Gon , Park Taesung , Shin Hyoung Doo
Published: June 2006

Background

Cold carcass weight (CW) and longissimus muscle area (EMA) are the major quantitative traits in beef cattle. In this study, we found several polymorphisms of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) gene and examined the association of polymorphisms with carcass traits (CW and EMA) in Korean native cattle (Hanwoo).

Results

By direct DNA sequencing in 24 unrelated Korean cattle, we identified 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms within the 9 kb full gene region, including the 1.5 kb promoter region. Among them, six polymorphic sites were selected for genotyping in our beef cattle (n = 428) and five marker haplotypes (frequency > 0.1) were identified. Statistical analysis revealed that -4241A>T showed significant associations with CW and EMA.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that polymorphisms in GHRH might be one of the important genetic factors that influence carcass yield in beef cattle. Sequence variation/haplotype information identified in this study would provide valuable information for the production of a commercial line of beef cattle.
Inverse association of antioxidant and phytoestrogen nutrient intake with adult glioma in the San Francisco Bay Area: a case-control study
Authors: Tedeschi-Blok Nicole , Lee Marion , Sison Jennette D , Miike Rei , Wrensch Margaret
Published: June 2006

Background

Increasing evidence from epidemiologic studies suggest that oxidative stress may play a role in adult glioma. In addition to dietary antioxidants, antioxidant and weak estrogenic properties of dietary phytoestrogens may attenuate oxidative stress. Our hypothesis is that long-term consumption of dietary antioxidants and phytoestrogens such as genistein, daidzein, biochanin A, formononetin, matairesinol, secoisolariciresinol and coumestrol, may reduce the risk of adult glioma.

Methods

Using unconditional logistic regression models, we compared quartiles of consumption for several specific antioxidants and phytoestrogens among 802 adult glioma cases and 846 controls from two study series from the San Francisco Bay Area Adult Glioma Study, 1991 – 2000, controlling for vitamin supplement usage, age, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity and total daily calories. For cases, dietary information was either self-reported or reported by a proxy. For controls, dietary information was self-reported. Gender- and series- specific quartiles of average daily nutrient intake, estimated from food-frequency questionnaires, were computed from controls.

Results

Significant p-values (trend test) were evaluated using significance levels of either 0.05 or 0.003 (the Bonferroni corrected significance level equivalent to 0.05 adjusting for 16 comparisons). For all cases compared to controls, statistically significant inverse associations were observed for antioxidant index (p < 0.003), carotenoids (alpha- and beta-carotene combined, p < 0.05), daidzein (p = 0.003), matairesinol (p < 0.05), secoisolariciresinol (p < 0.003), and coumestrol (p < 0.003). For self-reported cases compared to controls, statistically significant inverse associations were observed for antioxidant index (p < 0.05) and daidzein (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Our results support inverse associations of glioma with higher dietary antioxidant index and with higher intake of certain phytoestrogens, especially daidzein.
Problems and needs for improving primary care of osteoarthritis patients: the views of patients, general practitioners and practice nurses
Authors: Rosemann Thomas , Wensing Michel , Joest Katharina , Backenstrass Matthias , Mahler Cornelia , Szecsenyi Joachim
Published: June 2006

Background

Osteoarthritis (OA) is highly prevalent and has substantial impact on quality of life as well as on healthcare costs. The general practitioner (GP) often is the first care provider for patients with this chronic disease. The aim of this study was to identify health care needs of patients with OA and to reveal possible obstacles for improvements in primary care management of OA patients.

Methods

We performed semi-structured interviews with a stratified sample of 20 patients, 20 GPs and 20 practice nurses.

Results

Diagnosing OA posed no major problem, but during the course of OA, GPs found it difficult to distinguish between complaints resulting from the affection of the joints and complaints related to a concomitant depression. Patients felt to be well informed about the degenerative nature of the disease and possible side effects of medications, but they lacked information on individual consequences of the disease. Therefore, the most important concerns of many patients were pain and fear of disability which they felt to be addressed by GPs only marginally. Regarding pain treatment, physicians and patients had an ambivalent attitude towards NSAIDs and opiates. Therefore, pain treatment was not performed according to prevailing guidelines. GPs felt frustrated about the impact of counselling regarding life style changes but on the other hand admitted to have no systematic approach to it. Patients stated to be aware of the impact of life style on OA but lacked detailed information e.g. on how to exercise. Several suggestions were made concerning improvement.

Conclusion

GPs should focus more on disability and pain and on giving information about treatment since these topics are inadequately addressed. Advanced approaches are needed to increase GPs impact on patients' life style. Being aware of the problem of labelling patients as chronically ill, a more proactive, patient-centred care is needed.
Chemical Processes in Solution Studied by an Integral Equation Theory of Molecular Liquids
Authors: Hirata Fumio
Published: June 2006

A variety of chemical processes in solution is explored theoretically by means of the extended RISM equation, an integral equation theory of molecular liquids. The chemical processes include the classical problem of ion hydration, solvent induced electronic structure change and chemical reactivity in solution, protein folding, and dynamics of solvent as well as solvated ions. A special emphasis is laid on the ability of the theory to account for chemical specificities of molecules, which is crucial for any chemical processes in solution.
Versatile Reactions Undergone by Carbenes and Nitrenes in Noble Gas Matrices at Cryogenic Temperatures
Authors: Tomioka Hideo
Published: June 2006

A series of phenyldiazomethanes and phenyl azides bearing proximate substituents matrix-isolated in Ar at cryogenic temperatures have been photolyzed. Products are characterized mainly by IR spectroscopy in combination with ab initio theoretical calculations. In most cases, several intermediates are produced as a result of interaction between the divalent centers and the proximate functional group; they are photo-interconvertible under these conditions.

Phenylcarbenes and phenylnitrenes having hydrogen donors such as CH3, OH, and NH2 groups at the ortho position have been shown to abstract hydrogen to form o-quinonoid compounds. Both the carbene and nitrene undergo oxygen transfer from the nitro group at the ortho position to form the corresponding nitroso compounds. While phenylcarbene interacts with o-CO2Me group to generate the corresponding carbonyl ylide, phenylnitrene undergoes 1,4-MeO shift in its excited states to produce 5-carbonyl-6-methoxyimino-1,3-cyclohexadiene. Interesting differences in the reactivity between carbenes and nitrenes are noted; these are discussed in terms of the electronic configuration, singlet-triplet energy gap and tunneling.

1,3-Bis(diazo) ketones incorporated in five- and seven-membered rings are prepared and photolyzed under matrix conditions. While the seven-membered ring bis(diazo)ketone affords phenanthryne by way of 9,10-cyclopropa-phenanthren-3′-one, the five-membered analogue generates 1,2-cyclopropabenzocyclobutadien-3′-one, which does not undergo photodecarbonylation to form benzocyclobutenyne.

Finally, a series of bis(divalent) species conjugatively connected through aromatic rings are generated and characterized. In both p- and o-phenylene systems, there is a significant interaction between the benzene nucleus and the divalent substituents. The species are best regarded as p- and o-quinonoidal biradical structures, respectively, having a singlet ground state with a low-lying excited triplet state.
The Chemistry of η3-Vinylcarbene Complexes
Authors: Mitsudo Take-aki
Published: June 2006

The chemistry of η3-vinylcarbene transition-metal complexes is reviewed. The η3-vinylcarbene complexes are prepared by 1) the alkylation of (η3-acryloyl)tricarbonylferrate, 2) the treatment of cyclopropenes with [Fe2(CO)9], 3) the insertion of acetylenes into a carbene–metal double bond, 4) the reaction of acetylene with [ReCl3(Me5C5)]2, 5) the reaction of carbyne complexes with allyl bromides, and 6) the thermal decarbonylation of (η1-vinylcarbene)pentacarbonylchromium. The structures of the complexes, which were determined by X-ray analyses, are represented by the hybrid of the resonance structures (A) and (B). The contribution of the two structures was very sensitive to the respective MLn fragments. The vinylcarbene complex, [Fe(η3-vinylcarbene)(CO)3] (1), is a parent complex of a series of various complexes. The carbene carbons of the reported Fischer-type η3-vinylcarbene complexes are electrophilic. Carbonylation of the η3-vinylcarbene complexes gives η4-vinylketene complexes. Treatment of the η3-vinylcarbene(carbonyl)irons with an excess of tertiary phosphines or bidentate amines gives ferracyclopentenones. Reaction of 1 with isocyanides gives the first example of the η4-vinylketenimine complex. Treatment of 1 with diazomethane gives (η4-1,3-butadiene)tricarbonyliron. The complex 1 with a methoxycarbonyl group on the 3-position reacts with carbon monoxide to give a η4-pyrone complex, which thermally rearranges to its isomer. The rearrangement was deduced to proceed via a η4-methoxyfuran complex. The complex 1 reacts with hydride to give a η3-allyl complex. Reaction of (η3-2-trifluoromethylvinylcarbene)tricarbonyliron with K[BH(s-Bu)3] or phenyllithium gives (η4-difluorotrimethylenemethane)tricarbonyliron, leaving a fluoride ion. η3-Vinylcarbene complexes react with acetylenes to give η4-cyclopentadiene metal complexes. The reaction proceeds via a metallacyclohexadiene. The complex 1 reacts with an unsaturated metal complex M2Ln to give a binuclear vinylcarbene complex or (η3 : η1-allyl)(Fe–M2). Reaction of 1 with Ru(CO)3(COD) provides a method for selective preparation of (η3 : η1-allyl)(Fe–Ru), which reacts with acetylenes to give [Fe(η4-ruthenacyclohexadiene)(CO)3]. Formation of a η3-vinylcarbene complex by the reaction of a carbene complex with acetylene, and subsequent carbonylation of this complex, is the essential pathway of the Dötz reaction.
Micelle Formation by Anionic and Cationic Surfactants in 18-Crown-6 Ether + β-Cyclodextrin + Water Systems
Authors: Bakshi Mandeep Singh , Kohli Pooja , Kaur Gurinder
Published: June 2006

The conductances of sodium decyl sulfate (SDeS), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), and trimethyltetradecylammonium bromide (TTAB) have been determined in 18-crown-6 ether + water (CR + W), β-cyclodextrin + W (CYC + W), and in CR + CYC + W mixtures with fixed 0.0151 mol dm−3 of CR and varying the amount of CYC with the overall change in the mole–fraction range of CYC from 0.0 to 0.5 in a CR + CYC + W mixture at 30 °C. From the conductivity data, the critical micellar concentration (cmc), degree of counter ion dissociation (β), free energy of transfer of the surfactant hydrocarbon chain from medium to the micelle (), and free energy of transfer of surface contributions () of SDS, SDeS, DTAB, and TTAB have been computed. It has been found that the micelles of anionic surfactants are stabilized in a CR + W mixture in comparison to that in pure water, whereas micelles of cationic surfactants remain more or less unaffected. Micelles of all of the above surfactants are denatured as the amount of CYC is increased in the CR + CYC + W mixture. The effect of denaturisation is stronger on the micelles of SDS and TTAB in comparison to that of SDeS and DTAB, respectively.