bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Breeding Behaviour of the Pink-Footed Goose: Parental Care and Vigilant Behaviour During the Fledging Period
Authors: Lazarus John , Inglis I.R.
Published: March 2012

In this study we describe the pattern of parental investment in the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) during the fledging period in Iceland, concentrating particularly on the analysis of vigilant behaviour as one important element of parental care. We quantify parental investment, and its cost to the parent, by comparing the behaviour of parents with that of 'pairs' of adults without young (most of which are probably failed breeders). Each partner's strategy of investment is not expected to be purely selfish in this long-term pair-bonding species, and the sex differences in parental care are examined in this light. The time budgets of parents and pairs differed, parents walking more, grazing more and preening less. Parents also spent more time in the extreme head up posture and less in the head low and head on back postures than pairs but time devoted to the head up posture was the same for both. Brood size had no effect on the time budget. Time spent extreme head up declined over the study period in parents but not in pairs. Spacing patterns and behaviour varied independently in non-breeding birds but families sat closer to other geese when the vigilance level of the parents was low (i.e. in the head on back or head low postures) than when it was high (the head up or extreme head up postures). All agonistic encounters between parents and non-breeders were both initiated and won by the parents. Tied encounters occurred between birds of equivalent status in terms of brood size or non-breeding group size. The potential sources of parental care are summarized (Table 6) and, after considering the evidence for each, it is concluded that (apart from brooding) two types of parental investment are made by parents: (1) enhancement of offspring feeding efficiency by reducing competition through agonistic behaviour, and perhaps avoidance; and (2) protection from predators by (a) active defence, (b) seeking proximity with other geese when resting, and (c) visual scanning for predators (mainly by the male) using the extreme head up posture. Parents paid for this investment by devoting less time to preening and sleeping. The male's investment in predator vigilance was made at the cost of a reduced feeding time and to compensate for this he pecked at a faster rate than his mate. These sex differences are explicable in terms of earlier differences during incubation. The adoption of unrelated goslings was observed and the implications of the phenomenon are discussed. For individuals in non-breeding groups the time spent extreme head up declined as group size increased. The functional significance of this finding is discussed and it is concluded that in sitting groups extreme head up is probably used to scan for predators.
Acoustic Competition Between the Song of the Wren (Troglodytes Troglodytes) and the Songs of Other Species
Authors: Jean-Claude Bremond
Published: March 2012

The efficiency of the Wren's song may be impaired by certain background noises. Natural noises, such as those emitted by sympatric birds decrease the receiving Wren's alertness (Table 1). This phenomenon has no compensating process and is probably rather detrimental to communication between Wrens in an acoustically rich natural environment. When the Wren's song is masked with artificially made signals there are no serious ethological consequences (Table 2) as masking is seldom complete, and decrease in the received information is largely compensated by the song's inherent redundancy. The precise requirements for a mask to hinder communication efficiency are described. They are so stringent that the odds are overwhelmingly against their being ever met with in nature.
Filial Imprinting in the Convict Cichlid Fish Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum
Authors: Thomas F. Hay
Published: March 2012

The convict cichlid fish, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum, exhibits extended parental care in both the laboratory and the field. Families of this species were observed in Lake Xiloa', Nicaragua, during part of the breeding season. Young fry (less than 5 days free swimming) could be induced to follow a variety of "dummy" parents when their own parents were restrained at a distance. Older fry fled the dummies in the same manner as they fled predators. Two laboratory experiments were conducted to analyze further the responses of convict cichlid fry to parental dummies. Experiment I demonstrated the following: 1. Fry showed consistent preferences in tests with 5 pairs of mechanically moved dummies. Some of these preferences involve species characteristic cues. 2. Responsiveness to dummies increased over time within a test and over repeated tests. Responsiveness changed non-monotonically with age; those tested at 1 to 3 days free swimming were most responsive, 6 to 8 day old fry were least responsive and 14 to 16 day old fry showed intermediate responsiveness. 3. Preferences were weaker in the older, less responsive fry but were generally in the same direction as in younger fry. Experiment II tested the effects of experience with a particular dummy on the preferences demonstrated in Experiment I. For all ages and for most dummy pairs there was a significant interaction between training condition (preferred vs non-preferred dummy) and preference. Experience with a single dummy also resulted in a general increase in responsiveness to the two dummies in the preference test. The present results are discussed in terms of selection pressures presumed to operate on natural populations of C. nigrofasciatum and also in terms of research on "imprinting" in precocial birds.
Compulsory Regime and Control of Environment in Animal Behaviour Iv. Light Level Preferences of Cactus Mice, Peromyscus Eremicus
Authors: J. Lee Kavanau
Published: March 2012

The volitional illuminance preferences of 9 closely related, captive-born cactus mice were determined by allowing them a choice between 10 illuminance levels ranging from darkness to 1.1 lux. The levels could be altered bidirectionally to brighter or dimmer values, one step at a time in predetermined sequence, by instrumental means. The mice were confined in exercise-wheel enclosures and tested and retested at ages of 4 to 35 months. For all 9 animals, the time spent running in the wheel had marked, minor, incipient, or presumptive peaks at level 5 (0.0014 lux) or level 6 (0.0025 lux) ; these peaks probably reveal the optimum illuminance range for the animals' vision. But the major peak in the active time of most individuals was in darkness (or extremely dim light). There was generally a marked tendency for the animals to spend a greater percentage of inactive time than active time in darkness. Five animals retested after a lapse of at least 5 months showed changes in illuminance preferences, there being a tendency for the minor preference for dim light either to increase with age or to appear first long after maturity. In addition, one 5-month-old mouse showed a remarkable series of changes in illuminance preferences over a period of several weeks. The illuminance regimes to which small nocturnal mammals are exposed are analysed in terms of a paradigm involving two sets of factors-illuminance preferences and factors unrelated to these preferences. It is proposed that, although both sets of factors determine illuminance exposures in the wild, only factors in the illuminance preference category determine illuminance exposures (selectivity) in captivity. The major preference of cactus mice for darkness and the lahility of their preferences are analysed in terms of this paradigm.
The Relationship Between Species Specific Song Programs and Individual Learning in Songbirds
Authors: Güttinger Hans R. , Wolffgramm Jochen , Thimm Franz
Published: March 2012

The species specific song programs, by which the variation of song patterns is limited to predictable features, was analysed in the canaries, greenfinches, and hybrids between the two species. i) Canaries and greenfinches, which could not hear each other, sang different song elements. If we compare single characteristics (such as duration, highest frequency) rather than overall characteristics the elements of different individuals for the same species are very similar. 2) The tour, a rhythmical repetition of identical vocal patterns, is the most typical feature of all songs analysed. These tours have, in all birds, a similar rhytlunical timing. There is a strong correlation between the duration of elements and the interval which follows. 3) Species specific song differences are found in the higher song structure. There is no phrase in the greenfinch. 4) There is no phrase in the songs of hybrids, a feature shared with greenfinches but not canaries. The lengths of tours and the timbre of elements are intermediate with a narrow degree of intra-individual variability. The size of the repertoire is within the range of the parental species. 5) The narrow degree of variability in songs of canaries with different repertoires and the finding that hybrids sing song structures which they are incapable of hearing are hints that the song patterns are genetically programmed and can only be modified by learning within a species specific range.
Microgeographic Variation in Songs of Splendid Sunbirds Nectarinia Coccinigaster : Population Phenetics, Habitats, and Song Dialects
Authors: R.B. Payne
Published: March 2012

Songs of Splendid Sunbirds at Cape Coast University, Ghana, were recorded and the audiospectrograms analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques. Neighboring birds usually had similar but nonidentical songs. Groups and subgroups of neighbors occurred at distances up to 7 km. Several birds had songs intermediate in structure between those of the main groups, and a few had songs unlike their neighbors. Song differences measured by phenetic distances are significantly correlated with microgeographic distances between the birds, at distances up to 1-2 km. The variation in song is described in terms of dialects and in terms of behavioral variation with microgeographic distance. The dialect areas were less than 1 km2 and involved from 5 (probably an underestimate) to 14 individual males. The local microgeographic scale of song variation agrees with that reported for other populations in Ghana, but variation in space is not as grouped into discrete dialects as described by GRIMES (1974). Birds with similar songs did not consistently occur in similar habitats, except when the birds were neighbors in a common patch of habitat. No song differences were associated with the presence of different coexisting species of sunbirds. Birds at distances of 10 to 400 km were little more divergent in song than birds within the 4 km2 area of the main study site. No geographic trends in song were found along more than 100 km of the coastal plain of Ghana, and no consistent differences were found between coastal and inland populations. Similarities among the songs of neighboring birds, differences between neighborhoods, and the uniform size of the song "dialects" are tentatively explained in terms of social adaptation rather than habitat adaptation.
Female Pied Flycatchers Respond Differently to Songs of Mates, Neighbours and Strangers
Authors: Lampe Helene , Slagsvold Tore
Published: March 2012

In a field experiment we show that female pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca, can learn male song quickly. Of the 16 females that responded to playback of mate's song and stranger's song, 13 responded only, or approached sooner and stayed longer in response to the song of their own mate. Of these females 11 females responded solely to their own mate's song. The number of days the females had been mated had no effect on their response (range 1 to 7 days, median 3). The result may be explained as females recognizing their mates' song or that they responded to familiar songs. In a second set of experiments, we therefore tested females with a neighbour's song and a stranger's song, broadcasting the neighbour's song either from the direction where he usually sang or from the opposite direction. Only 8 of 19 females responded to playback; when the song was broadcasted from the direction where the male usually sang, none of the females responded, while 8 of 12 females responded by approaching and staying near the speaker during the trials when the song was broadcasted from the opposite direction. Thus, female pied flycatchers show individual recognition of male neighbours as has been shown in males of some other species. We therefore infer that the strong response to mates' song may also indicate individual recognition. It could be advantageous for females to respond to both mates and to neighbours but for different reasons, i.e. mate defence and territory defence, respectively.
Geographic Variation in Song of Gambel's White-Crowned Sparrow
Authors: Nelson Douglas
Published: March 2012

White-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) song varies geographically, often forming local 'dialects' in sedentary and short-distance migratory subspecies. In playback experiments males and females can distinguish this variation. Gambel's white-crowned sparrow (Z. L. gambelii) is a long-distance migrant that breeds across subarctic Canada and Alaska. Previous studies identified a wide degree of song variation within local populations of this subspecies. I compared songs recorded in Alaska and Churchill, Manitoba, and found significant differences in acoustic structure. As in other subspecies, the most prominent differences occurred in the terminal trill portion of the song. In a playback experiment to territorial males at Churchill, males gave equivalent strong responses to both Alaska and local gambelii song, significantly weaker responses to mountain white-crowned sparrow (Z. L. oriantha) song, and the weakest responses to heterospecific song. I describe a model of song recognition in which 'dialect recognition' is a component of species recognition. I conclude that as a consequence of differences in the timing of song learning, the subspecies of white-crowned sparrow may differ in the acoustic features that they attend to in song recognition. The diversity of song types at a local level within gambelii populations may interfere with recognizing song differences between populations.
Neocortex Size, Social Skills and Mating Success in Primates
Authors: Pawłowski Bogusław , Lowen  , Dunbar
Published: March 2012

The social brain hypothesis predicts that species with relatively larger neocortices should exhibit more complex social strategies than those with smaller neocortices. We test this prediction using data on the correlation between male rank and mating success for polygamous primates. This correlation is negatively related to neocortex size, as would be predicted if males of species with large neocortices are more effective at exploiting social opportunities to undermine the dominant male's power-based monopolisation of peri-ovulatory females than are those with smaller neocortices. This effect is shown to be independent of the influence of male cohort size.
Competition for Breeding Sites Between Monogamous Pairs of Convict Cichlids (Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum): Asymmetries in Size and Prior Residence
Authors: Itzkowitz  , Vollmer  , Rios-Cardenas
Published: March 2012

When pairs of convict cichlids (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum) were forced to compete for breeding sites, intruding pairs were not able to displace residents when the intruding pair was the same size as the resident pair. This prior resident asymmetry was over-ridden when each individual of the intruding pair was larger than its same-sex counterpart in the resident pair. When only one member of the resident pair (of either sex) was the same size as its same-sexed counterpart while its mate was smaller than its counterpart in the intruding pair, the residents were able to retain control of the breeding site. Thus, only one member of the resident pair needed to be similar in size to its same-sex counterpart for the residents to retain control. Single residents, of either sex, were either displaced by the intruding pair, or formed a pair with an intruder and then remained on the site.
Reconciliation in Domestic Goats
Authors: Schino Gabriele
Published: March 2012

The aim of this study was to test whether domestic goats (Capra hircus) reconciled after experimentally induced conflicts. After conflicts, goats showed a higher frequency of affiliative contacts (muzzle-muzzle and muzzle-body contacts, allogrooming) and of lying in proximity than in control observations. Besides, renewed aggression was more frequent after conflicts, and both the victim and the aggressor showed a higher frequency of displacement activities (scratching and selfgrooming), possibly indicating an anxious emotional state. Post-conflict friendly reunions reduced the frequency of displacement activities in the victim, but not in the aggressor. These results provide evidence of post-conflict reconciliation in domestic goats and suggest that one of the functions of reconciliation is to reduce the victim's arousal or anxiety.
OFFSPRING-PARENT COMMUNICATION IN A SUBSOCIAL TREEHOPPER (HEMIPTERA: MEMBRACIDAE: UMBONIA CRASSICORNIS)
Authors: Cocroft Reginald
Published: March 2012

Parental care of post-hatching offspring is widespread in insects, but the role of communication in parent-offspring interactions remains largely unknown. I have found that, in the subsocial treehopper

Umbonia crassicornis

, aggregated nymphal offspring produce substrate-borne, vibrational signals in synchronized bursts that elicit the mother's antipredator behavior. In this study I describe the signals used by nymphs and explore their role in mother-offspring interactions and within-brood communication. Nymphs were stimulated to signal in the laboratory in response to light contact, simulating the approach of a predator. Signals of nymphs at the site of disturbance triggered a rapid wave of signaling by many individuals within the aggregation. This coordinated signaling was associated with the mother's defensive behavior. Signaling was limited to the vibrational channel: when transmission of vibrations was blocked between signaling nymphs and the mother, the mothers' response was abolished. Nymphs signaled not only in response to contact, but also in response to playback of signals from their siblings. Nymphs in otherwise undisturbed aggregations signaled only in response to signals coordinated into synchronized, group displays, and not to signals in random temporal patterns. However, nymphal signaling thresholds were lowered after a recent experience of simulated predation. After a period in which nymphs were stimulated to signal (by light contact simulating a predator's approach), playback of one individual signal could trigger a coordinated burst within the aggregation. It remains unknown if coordination among siblings to produce synchronized, group signals is completely cooperative, or if siblings compete for the mother's proximity. But it is clear that a complex system of communication among siblings, and between siblings and their parent, is an important feature of maternal care in these subsocial insects.
MATING BEHAVIOUR AND MALE MATE CHOICE IN TRIBOLIUM CASTANEUM (COLEOPTERA, TENEBRIONIDAE)
Authors: Arnaud Ludovic , Haubruge Eric
Published: March 2012

Mate choice by males has received less attention than female choice, despite the recognition that males can incur non-trivial reproductive costs through mating. In this study we investigate male mate choice in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. We determine whether male beetles have evolved sensitivity that enables them to discriminate between females and we then examine how males discriminate between females that present different reproductive potentials. Recently-emerged adult females are immature, and we investigate when egg-laying maturity develops, and whether male mating attempts with immature females provide reproductive pay-offs. We show that males are the sex most likely to initiate mating attempts (more than 85% of male-female contacts are male-initiated). Therefore, we test male mating initiations when presented with choices between: (i) immature and mature virgin females; (ii) mature virgin females and previously mated mature females; and (iii) mature females previously mated either with different male or with the test males. Last male sperm precedence exists in T. castaneum and females are polyandrous. Matings with immature females are therefore likely to generate lower fertilization successes than matings with mature females. Furthermore, males are likely to achieve higher total fertilization success when they mate if they precede a rival male's sperm than if they precede their own sperm. Accordingly, we find that: (i) males copulate more frequently with mature, than with immature females; (ii) males do differentiate between virgin and mated females; and (iii) males prefer females that have been inseminated by a different male to those previously inseminated by the test males themselves. The results demonstrate that male T. castaneum recognise female status, display mate choice, and prefer to inseminate females which provide greater reproductive potential.
RIGHT OR LEFT, HAND OR MOUTH: GENERA-SPECIFIC PREFERENCES IN MARMOSETS AND TAMARINS
Authors: Singer Silke , Schwibbe Michael
Published: March 2012

Hand use was compared in 45 individuals of three genera of the Callitrichinae (Callithrix, Saguinus, Leontopithecus) which differ concerning their postural and manipulative behaviour. The Postural Origins theory of MacNeilage et al. (1987) predicts left-hand preference for visually guided reaching, especially when performed from a vertical clinging posture (as mainly seen in Callithrix) and right-hand preference for manipulative acts (as shown by Leontopithecus). Five tasks were carried out, differing in sensory modality (visual/tactile), postural requirements (vertical/quadrupedal) and task demands (accessibility to food-items). Data on successful left and right-hand reaching and mouth pick-ups were collected using all occurrences sampling. Statistical analysis comprised calculation of binominal z-score, application of unbalanced repeated measures models with structured covariance matrices and analysis of covariance. All individuals displayed hand preferences not influenced by task design. The genera differed in the hand preferred: Leontopithecus showed a greater proportion of right-hand preferences, whereas Callithrix tended to prefer the left hand. Saguinus was intermediate between these two genera. The results point out that genus-specific foraging strategies determine population-level hand preferences rather than task-specific demands. The differences in foraging strategy and hand preference among the three genera correspond to the Postural Origins theory (MacNeilage et al., 1987). When feeding on freely accessible, non-mobile food items, most individuals showed a clear preference in picking-up with the mouth or with one hand. Callithrix took objects predominantly with the mouth, Leontopithecus preferred the hand and Saguinus favoured neither mouth nor hand. Mouth-hand preferences can also be linked to genera differences on hand function in foraging behaviour.
VARIATION IN PACIFIC SALMON REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIES, SEX AND LEVELS OF COMPETITION
Authors: Quinn Thomas
Published: March 2012

Male and female Pacific salmon compete for different resources; females for suitable spawning sites and males for access to ripe females. Aggression should thus be primarily intra-sexual rather than inter-sexual. When different species are sympatric, males should primarily attack conspecifics whereas females should attack all females, regardless of species because they all compete for the same resource-space. The level of aggression should be a function of density, being relatively low at low densities and peaking at either intermediate or high densities. These predictions were supported in most respects by data collected on the behaviour of adult sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka), chum (O. keta) and pink (O. gorbuscha) salmon in a large, relatively homogeneous spawning channel. Males almost exclusively attacked other males, especially conspecifics. Females were more likely to attack female heterospecifics than males but still tended to attack conspecifics most often, and also directed many attacks at males. Male aggression and digging, apparently a form of intra-sexual display, were related to density of male conspecifics in the local area, and the intensity of competition from satellite males courting the female.
THE RISK OF CANNIBALISM AND MALE MATING BEHAVIOR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN PRAYING MANTID, IRIS ORATORIA
Authors: Maxwell Michael
Published: March 2012

This study examined male behavior in response to the risk of cannibalism in the Mediterranean praying mantid, Iris oratoria (Mantodea: Mantidae). The risk of cannibalism was manipulated by placing males in one of two positions at the start of a mating trial: Frontal, where the males faced the females' fronts (high risk of cannibalism), or Rear, where the males were behind the females, facing their posteriors (lower risk). Three male behaviors were examined in terms of risk-reduction: whether the male attempted to mount the female, the direction of his first mount attempt, and the time taken for him to attempt to mount. Initial position did not have a significant effect on whether males attempted to mount the females. Males showed a preference for non-frontal mount attempts, and males placed Frontally were less likely to mount from their initial direction than were males placed in the Rear. Males placed in the Rear attempted to mount sooner than males placed Frontally, especially if the males could approach and mount while remaining behind the females. While the males approached the females, movements by both sexes resulted in changes in how the males faced the females,
Science Envy in Theories of Religion
Authors: Hughes Aaron W.
Published: March 2012

Recent theorizing about religion has largely shifted from the cultural to the biological domain. This, however, comes with a cost. To explore this in greater detail, the present essay is divided into three parts: first, I seek to reclaim and redefine what usually passes for the “phenomenology” of religion in the writings traditionally associated with likes of Gerardus van der Leeuw, often by way of Mircea Eliade. I seek to take an initial, tentative step in this reclamation by returning to an admittedly idiosyncratic reading of one version of Heidegger’s philosophy that emerges from the pages of his Sein und Zeit. Second, to show how this new theorizing, rather than contribute to the dubious and quasi-theological discourses associated with the philosophy of religion, enables us to focus with renewed energy upon the constant process of self- and group making. In the third section, I try to nudge (with the aim of perhaps dislodging) what could well become the new regnant discourse of current theorizing about religion.
Doing it the Other Way Round: Religion as a Basic Case of ‘Normative Cognition’
Authors: Jensen Jeppe Sinding
Published: March 2012

Religious traditions abundantly demonstrate how norms, rules, constraints and models are installed and transmitted in multiple media: myth, dogma, ritual, institutions, etc. These abound in cosmologies, classification systems, morality, and purity and they influence individual and collective human practice. The term ‘normative cognition’ is introduced here as a covering term for such enculturated and socio-culturally governed cognition. The ‘normative cognition’ approach deals with ‘cognitive governance’ effects of higher-order cognitive products on those of lower levels. Higher-order cognitive products range from religious purity rules, over highway codes to normative scripts, schemata and frames for all kinds of behavior. In short: socio-cultural products allow individual biological brains to interact and act on the world and thereby facilitate the existence of human society. I suggest that research on normative cognition not only casts new light on religion but that it contributes to a general understanding of the complex relations between cognition and culture.
Empirical method in the study of esotericism1
Authors: Hanegraaff Wouter J.
Published: March 2012

The debate initiated by Segal's "defense of reductionism" has produced a polarization between the theoretical positions of reductionism and religionism, suggesting that no alternative exists. This is unfortunate, for empirical research is neither reductionist nor religionist. The article discusses this neglected empirical option. Empirical research must be based on methodological agnosticism with regard to religious and philosophical "first principles", and must fully recognize the historicity of religious phenomena. This empirical perspective is applied to the newly emerging academic field of esotericism. Antoine Faivre's definition of esotericism as a historically recognizable "form of thought" leads to a discussion of the empirical status of the history of (religious) ideas, especially in the tradition of Arthur O. Lovejoy. This is followed by a discussion of the implications of empirical method for the diachronic and the synchronic study of esotericism. It is argued that the latter pursuit entails a fundamental questioning of conventional distinctions, particularly between "gnosticism" and "mysticism".
Abuse of the Legal Personality of International Organizations and the Responsibility of Member States
Authors: d'Aspremont Jean
Published: March 2012

It is classically contended that when an international organization endowed with international legal personality commits an international wrongful act, the organization is to be held exclusively responsible even though the act would have constituted a violation of its member states' obligations if committed by them. This Article intends to depart from such a rigid interpretation of the responsibility of international organization and makes the argument that when member states abuse the international legal personality of an international organization through the exercise of an excessive control over the decision-making process of the organization, they must be held, together with the organization, responsible for violations of international law by the organization provided that such a wrongful act would also constitute a breach of the member states' international obligations if committed by them. It is posited here that, in this situation, member states can no longer hide behind the screen of the international legal personality of the organization. Failing to take the extent of control exercised by member states over the decision-making process of an international organization into account boils down to ignoring that autonomy is one of the constitutive elements of the legal personality of an international organization, which can bolster the contemporary move away from international institutionalism.
Mutuality and Mission: A No "Other" Way
Authors: Nothwehr Dawn
Published: March 2012

In mission, it is not only that one practices love and justice, but also how one practices these virtues that makes the difference in the thriving of humankind. True love and justice require impassioned radical empowerment exemplified by the Incarnation; first, a full identification with poverty and abjectness, and then the relinquishment of power by the powerful and a taking up of power by the poor and the marginalized. This exchange of power needs to be based on mutuality. The present article defines and briefly elaborates on mutuality in its four forms. It then shows what mutuality illuminates and delimits and then indicates the relationship of mutuality to the traditional norms of love and justice. Finally, it indicates how consideration of mutuality can make a difference in mission.
Ministry and Contextualized Mission
Authors: Thanuzraj Lazar Stanislaus
Published: March 2012

In this article, Indian missiologist Lazar Stanislaus reflects briefly on the nature of ministry, whether lay or ordained. He then proposes a number of new ministries which are emerging out of the contemporary Indian context, among which are ministries to street children, drug addicts, prostitutes and their children, and the ministry of empowering women. In a third section the author suggests that commitment to Jesus, learning from the people, promoting individual initiative, working for the leadership of marginalized peoples and a knowledge of other religions are ways by which new contextualized ministries can emerge in the church. Finally, five challenges to such ministries are proposed. Only when these challenges are met will ministry in the Indian Church – or any church – be truly rooted in the local context, and so truly reflect the ministry of Jesus himself.
Language and the Missionary Enterprise
Authors: Titus Noel
Published: March 2012

St. Paul's speech on the Areopagus, narrated by Luke in Acts 17, is a classical locus of good communication. While remaining faithful to the gospel message, Paul met the Athenians "where they were;" he "spoke their language." While such efforts at effective communication must certainly be seen as normative for missionaries, the sad fact is that missionaries have often approached other cultures with a tabula rasa mentality, disparaging local cultures and forcing the local people to learn the language of the missionaries (who were often of the same nationality as the colonizers). Canon Noel Titus traces the history of such cultural and linguistic insensitivity in the Caribbean through the indigenous people's first encounter with Europeans in Columbus, to missionary efforts in our own day. If the church is going to be faithful to its mission, it needs to attend to the culture and language of the Caribbean people.
Unity and Diversity
Authors: Nissen Johannes
Published: March 2012

Understanding our interconnected world as the "oikoumene" or one household of God, Johannes Nissen in this article sketches out nine "models" of partnership that appear in the Bible. These are (1) covenant; (2) koinonia; (3) the church as the Body of Christ; (4) the eucharist; (5) the Roman notion of societas; (6) the Pauline collection; (7) the material and spiritual fellowship of the Jerusalem community; (8) "conciliar fellowship"; and (9) Jesus' criticism of the "logic of equivalency" and his replacement of it with a "logic of grace." Nissen concludes his article with several reflections on how biblical models of partnership might be interpreted within our contemporary context.
God and Mammon
Authors: Sanneh Lamin
Published: March 2012

The modem market economy, maintains Lamin Sanneh in his Forum Paper, has shifted the emphasis in economy from the idea of the sustainable "household" (economy in its etymological meaning) to the accumulation and exchange of goods and services for profit. Market efficiency has taken primacy over human solidarity and personal dignity, and is thus in conflict with the fundamental Christian world view. Theology needs to level a critique at such economic strategies, particularly because the proponents of such strategies often appeal to biblical and gospel principles for justification. But, as scripture makes clear, there can be no "Gospel of Wealth" at the expense of the poor and marginalized of this earth.
Foundations for Mission and the Study of World Christianity
Authors: Kings Graharm
Published: March 2012

In this Forum Paper, Henry Martyn Lecturer Graham Kings reflects on three aspects of the legacy of nineteenth century Indian missionary Henry Martyn. The first aspect is that of Martyn as linguist and translator, the second is that of Martyn as a model and inspirer of missionaries, and the third aspect is the legacy of scholarship that Martyn's memory has inspired. Kings focuses particularly on the promise of the newly-relocated Henry Martyn Library at Westminster College, Cambridge.
Streptococcus mutans Out-competes Streptococcus gordonii in vivo
Authors: Tanzer J. M. , Thompson A. , Sharma K. , Vickerman M.M. , Haase E.M. , Scannapieco F.A.
Published: March 2012

Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus mutans avidly colonize teeth. S. gordonii glucosyltransferase (GtfG) and amylase-binding proteins (AbpA/AbpB), and S. mutans glucosyltransferase (GtfB), affect their respective oral colonization abilities. We investigated their interrelationships and caries association in a rat model of human caries, examining the sequence of colonization and non- vs. high-sucrose diets, the latter being associated with aggressive decay in humans and rats. Virulence-characterized wild-types of both species and well-defined mutants of S. gordonii with interrupted abpA and gtfG genes were studied. While both S. gordonii and S. mutans were abundant colonizers of rat’s teeth in the presence of either diet, if inoculated singly, S. mutans always out-competed S. gordonii on the teeth, independent of diet, strain of S. mutans, simultaneous or sequential inoculation, or presence/absence of mutations of S. gordonii’s abpA and gtfG genes known to negatively or positively affect its colonization and to interact in vitro with S. mutans GtfB. S. mutans out-competed S. gordonii in in vivo plaque biofilm. Caries induction reflected S. mutans or S. gordonii colonization abundance: the former highly cariogenic, the latter not. S. gordonii does not appear to be a good candidate for replacement therapy. These results are consistent with human data.
Effect of spandex filament draw ratio on elastic core spun yarn properties in friction spinning
Authors: Merati Ali Akbar , Najar S Shaikhzadeh , Etrati Seyed Mohammad , Goodarzi Mohammad
Published: March 2012

The aim of the present study is to produce elastic core/cotton spun yarns in a friction spinning (Dref-II) system and then to investigate the effect of spandex filament draw ratio on the physical and mechanical properties of produced yarns. First, a positive feed device was designed and developed to adjust the spandex draw ratio and then mounted on the friction spinning machine. To maintain a constant yarn count at various draw ratios, the proportion of cotton sheath fibers should be increased. The yarns with larger proportions of cotton fibers showed lower twist. The elastic core spun yarns have lower hairiness in comparison with 100% cotton yarns in the present experiments. The theoretical and experimental results indicate that the tenacity of elastic core spun yarn increases as the spandex draw ratio increases. While the elongation of the elastic core spun yarns is the same as 100% cotton yarn at low spandex draw ratios of less than 3.75, when the spandex draw ratios exceed 3.75, the elongation of the elastic core spun yarn increases sharply.
The Utility of Immunohistochemistry for the Identification of Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cells in Normal Tissues and Interpretation of Proliferative and Inflammatory Lesions of Mice and Rats
Authors: Rehg Jerold E. , Bush Dorothy , Ward Jerrold M.
Published: March 2012

Expression of antigens in cells and tissues can be readily studied immunohistochemically with the use of antibodies. A panel of antibodies to cell-specific markers can be used to diagnose lesions, including tumors, in the hematopoietic and lymphoid systems. This review discusses the use of readily available antibodies and procedures to identify antigens expressed in normal tissues and in proliferative and inflammatory lesions in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) murine specimens.
New Information from Large Tissue Volumes to the Smallest Structures of the Cell: What New Methods and Electron Microscopy Can Do for Your Research
Authors: Gursky Richard
Published: March 2012

This article presents an overview of microscopy and its ability to assist in understanding what happens in cells and tissues. From the 1960s to 1980s, electron microscopy was the best way to understand cell processes, but the advent in the mid-1980s of light microscopy and the ability to do fluorescence imaging displaced electron microscopy in this area. However, the 21st century has seen several improvements in electron microscopy that, along with the need for more detailed ultrastructural information, make it again very attractive in the study of cells, tissues, and organs, and electron microscopy has resumed its place as the preeminent method in understanding cell processes.
Consciousness Reinstated Using the Certainty Principle – A Better Mental Health Strategy
Authors: Johnson Bob
Published: March 2012

The statistical probability that six consecutive carbon double-bonds will all be ‘cis’ is less than chance (p<0.02). The chances of all-cis-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) recurring in quantity over geological time is infinitesimal. Since such intriguing considerations are scrupulously eliminated from orthodox conceptualisations, a refurbished Occam's razor - the Certainty Principle - is offered as a responsible pragmatic guide. Six indelible flaws in our ways of knowing precedes a psychiatry that is immediately understandable, self-evident and effective, here supported by objective evidence from prison data. The only realistic antidote to our lethal global psychiatric epidemic is reinstating consciousness and its wellbeing.
Food Nanotechnology: Water is the Key to Lowering the Energy Density of Processed Foods
Authors: Robson A A.
Published: March 2012

It is crucial that emergent technologies create foods that help prevent the causal mechanisms of the diet induced disease epidemic. Food nanotechnology could create modern convenience foods that mimic and improve on the nutritional value of the most nutritious cooked wild foods for humans. Structuring a solid processed food similar to a celery stalk using self-assembled, water-filled, edible nanocells or nanotubes would substantially lower its energy density (<1.6 kcal g-1). Food technologists could harness the natural turgor force to produce a firm chocolate bar, biscuit or breakfast cereal with a good bite, without altering the appearance or taste of the product. Water carries flavour with few calories, and taste sensation per mouthful could be improved by processing food on the nanoscale to increase the surface area that is in contact with taste and smell receptors. The bioavailable nutrient content (including cofactors) of processed foods could be increased by existing bioactive nanoencapsulation. This would allow people to continue to consume modern convenience food on a mass scale, while simultaneously and significantly increasing nutrient intake and reducing energy intake per day. Thus, helping to reduce mental ill health, obesity and other postprandial insults
Aprosencephaly with Otocephaly in a Lamb (Ovis aries)
Authors: Brachthäuser L. , Klumpp S. , Hecht W. , Kuchelmeister K. , Reinacher M. , Ebbert W. , Herden C.
Published: March 2012

Aprosencephaly is a rare condition in veterinary and human medicine characterized by the complete absence of telencephalon and diencephalon. Some cases are accompanied by a facial dysmorphism designated as otocephaly. A stillborn lamb had splanchnocranial anomalies that were classified by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and pathologic examination as aprosencephaly and otocephaly. The brain included parts of the cerebellum and brainstem but no telencephalon, diencephalon, or mesencephalon. The cerebellum had a structurally normal cortex with expression of neuronal nuclear antigen in the inner and doublecortin in the outer granular cell layers, as well as an irregularly situated nucleus dentatus. Aprosencephaly with otocephaly has been described in mice with heterozygous mutations in the Otx2 gene; however, no causative polymorphisms were detected in the Otx2 gene region of this lamb.
Analysing China’s economic interdependence and political relations with its neighbours
Authors: Masterson James R.
Published: March 2012

This study examines the effects that economic interdependence has on political relations between China and its neighbours. Three economic liberal hypotheses are tested using data from the International Cooperation and Regional Conflicts dataset to measure dyadic political interaction along with economic data from the IMF and China Statistical Yearbooks and control variable data from Polity IV, COW CINC, among other sources. Though a significant amount of literature addresses the effects trade has on conflict at the systemic level, few studies address it at the dyadic level and even fewer test the pacification of trade on non-Western states. Examining economic, political, institutional, geographical, and political relations data from 1987 to 2001, this research tests the economic liberal hypothesis which posits that interdependence is associated with cooperative political relations between states. The findings show that trade interdependence is generally associated with political cooperation. However, the realist contention that relative power increases are associated with political conflict is also supported and analysed further.
Route planner for unmanned aerial system insertion in civil non-segregated airspace
Authors: Persiani Carlo A , Bagassi Sara
Published: March 2012

One of the most interesting challenges of the next few years will be airspace system automation. This process will involve different aspects such as air traffic management, aircraft and airport operations and guidance and navigation systems. The use of unmanned aerial systems for civil missions will be one of the most important steps in this automation process. In this article, an air traffic management oriented conflict detection & resolution algorithm that models air traffic management operative technique as avoidance manoeuvres in order to self-separate the unmanned aerial vehicle from piloted air traffic is presented. As a first step, a geometric analysis identifies all possible unmanned aerial vehicle routes among the mission targets and related potential conflicts with piloted air traffic. For each potential conflict, air traffic management operative techniques are used to model different options of conflict resolution: vertical and horizontal avoidance, speed regulation, holding patterns and rerouting. The performances of a reference unmanned aerial vehicle are used to estimate the cost of each possible sub-route and, in case of conflict, the cost of each possible avoidance manoeuvre. In this way, the unmanned aerial vehicle mission is modelled as a combinatorial optimization problem that concerns the sequencing of both targets and conflict resolution options. As output, a conflict free route that minimizes the air traffic impact over the mission is provided. Simulation results over real air traffic data show how this approach could be useful for future common management of piloted and non-piloted air traffic.
Does Power Magnify the Expression of Dispositions?
Authors: Guinote Ana , Weick Mario , Cai Alice
Published: March 2012

Conventional wisdom holds that power holders act more in line with their dispositions than do people who lack power. Drawing on principles of construct accessibility, we propose that this is the case only when no alternative constructs are activated. In three experiments, we assessed participants’ chronic dispositions and subsequently manipulated participants’ degree of power. Participants then either were or were not primed with alternative (i.e., inaccessible or counterdispositional) constructs. When no alternatives were activated, the responses of power holders—perceptions of other people (Experiment 1), preferences for charitable donations (Experiment 2), and strategies in an economic game (Experiment 3)—were more in line with their chronically accessible constructs than were the responses of low-power participants. However, when alternatives had been activated, power holders’ responses were no longer more congruent with their dispositions than were the responses of low-power participants. We propose a single mechanism according to which power increases reliance on accessible constructs—that is, constructs that easily come to mind—regardless of whether these constructs are chronically or temporarily accessible.