bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural characterisation of new immunoadjuvant saponins from leaves and the first study of saponins from the bark of Quillaja brasiliensis by liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation ion trap mass spectrometry
Authors: Wallace Federico , Bennadji Zohra , Ferreira Fernando , Olivaro Cristina
Published: May 2019

Introduction

Quillaja brasiliensis (St. A. ‐Hil. & Tul) Mart (Quillajaceae) is a species native to South America, which is rich in saponins. Saponins are used in different industries, so there is a constant demand for this type of compound. Based on the wide range of applications for the saponins found in this species, notably as immunoadjuvants, we conducted a comprehensive study of this tree and its saponins.

Objective

The purpose of this work is to complete the characterisation of the immunoadjuvant saponin fraction from Q. brasiliensis leaves and further study the saponin fraction obtained from Q. brasiliensis bark.

Methodology

Saponin fractions were studied using mass spectrometry in combination with classical methods of monosaccharide and methylation analysis. We performed direct infusion and liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation ion trap multiple‐stage mass spectrometry (DI‐ESI‐IT‐MSn and LC‐ESI‐IT‐MS2).

Results

Seventy‐five saponins, 21 from leaves and 54 from bark, were tentatively identified according to their molecular mass, fragmentation pattern and chromatographic behaviour. This work represents the first investigation of saponins from the bark of Q. brasiliensis and some of them presented new structural motifs not previously reported in the genus Quillaja.

Conclusion

The efficiency and selectivity of the data dependent LC‐MS2 method allowed the rapid profiling of saponins from Q. brasiliensis. The results of the monosaccharide and methylation analysis performed in saponins from Q. brasiliensis fractions and Q. saponaria Molina (Quillajaceae) fraction gives further support to the structures proposed according to the mass spectral data, validating the strategy used in the present work.
Separation of α‐glucosidase inhibitors from Potentilla kleiniana Wight et Arn using solvent and flow‐rate gradient high‐speed counter‐current chromatography target‐guided by ultrafiltration HPLC‐MS screening
Authors: Liu Minzhuo , Huang Xueqian , Liu Qi , Li Xujie , Chen Miao , Zhu Yuqiu , Chen Xiaoqing
Published: May 2019

Introduction

Potentilla kleiniana Wight et Arn is widely used as a herbal medicine to treat type 2 diabetes. However, detailed information about its active compounds is lacking.

Objective

To develop an efficient method for the rapid screening and separation of α‐glucosidase inhibitors from Potentilla kleiniana Wight et Arn.

Methodology

Potential α‐glucosidase inhibitors from Potentilla kleiniana Wight et Arn were rapidly screened out through ultrafiltration high‐performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS), and then followed by a target‐guided high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) separation using two‐phase solvent systems composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:10:1:10, v/v/v/v and 1:10:5:6, v/v/v/v), and adopting increasing flow‐rate from 1.5 to 3.0 mL/min after 200 min. Their structures were identified by ultraviolet (UV), MS, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H‐NMR) and carbon‐13 (13C)‐NMR, and their α‐glucosidase inhibitory activities were assessed by in vitro assay.

Results

Five α‐glucosidase inhibitors including gallic acid (25.7 mg, 98.2%, 1), brevifolincarboxylic acid (9.86 mg, 95.3%, 2), ethyl evifolincarboxylate (13.26 mg, 97.6%, 3), 3,3′‐di‐O‐methylellagic acid‐4′‐O‐β‐d‐glucopyranoside (16.26 mg, 95.1%, 4), and 3,3′‐di‐O‐methylellagic acid (10.54 mg, 96.8%, 5) were successfully purified from 250 mg n‐butanol extract in a single run. Compounds 1, 2, 4 and 5 exhibited stronger α‐glucosidase inhibitory activities[half maximal inhibition concentration (IC50) values at 173.41 ± 6.35, 323.46 ± 8.08, 44.63 ± 2.50, and 20.73 ± 2.56 μM, respectively] than acarbose (IC50 value at 332.12 ± 5.52 μM, reference compound).

Conclusions

Notably, compounds 2–5 were reported in the Potentilla kleiniana Wight et Arn for the first time. The results indicated that the proposed method could be applied for the rapid screening and preparative separation of α‐glucosidase inhibitors from a complex matrix.
Supergravity Fluxes and Generalised Geometry
Authors: Strickland‐Constable Charles
Published: May 2019

We briefly review the description of the internal sector of supergravity theories in the language of generalised geometry and how this gives rise to a description of supersymmetric backgrounds as integrable geometric structures. We then review recent work, featuring holomorphic Courant algebroids, on the description of heterotic flux vacua. This work studied the finite deformation problem of the Hull–Strominger system, guided by consideration of the superpotential functional on the relevant space of geometries. It rewrote the system in terms of the Maurer–Cartan set of a particular ‐algebra associated to a holomorphic Courant algebroid, with the superpotential itself becoming an analogue of a holomorphic Chern–Simons functional.
An IL‐2 proaerolysin fusion toxin that selectively eliminates regulatory t cells to enhance antitumor immune response
Authors: Rogers Oliver , Yen Hung , Solomon Anna , Drake Charles , Denmeade Samuel
Published: May 2019

Background

Recent success with immune‐checkpoint inhibitors in some tumor types has highlighted the power of the immune system to control and eradicate human cancer cells. However, these therapies have demonstrated a limited activity in prostate cancer, which has a more immunosuppressive microenvironment that can be because of the presence of a variety of inhibitory cell types, such as myeloid‐derived suppressor cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and regulatory T cells (Tregs). One strategy to improve the efficacy of immune‐based therapies for prostate cancer is to selectively eliminate these immunosuppressive cells within the tumor microenvironment.

Methods

We developed and characterized a chimeric protein consisting of the cytokine IL‐2 fused to binding mutant of the highly toxic bacterial toxin proaerolysin (ie IL2‐R336A).

Results

The IL2‐R336A fusion protein selectively kills immunosuppressive Tregs that express the IL‐2 receptor while having little to no effect on cells negative for this target. IL2‐R336A depleted Tregs in both tumor bearing and nontumor bearing mice. Tumor bearing mice vaccinated with a GMCSF‐expressing CT‐26 GVAX vaccine had reduced tumor growth when given IL2‐R336A before vaccination. IL2‐R336A also enhanced immune response to a model hemagglutinin antigen (HA) in HA‐tolerized mice.

Conclusion

These results suggest that this IL2‐R336A toxin may be a useful in improving the therapeutic efficacy of antitumor vaccines by enhancing the immune response against target tumor antigens.
Graphene, SiC and Si Nanostructures Synthesis During Quartz Pyrolysis in Arc‐Discharge Plasma
Authors: Zaikovskii Alexey V. , Kardash Tatiana Yu. , Kolesov Boris A. , Nikolaeva Olga A.
Published: May 2019

Composites based on graphene and nanosized silicon have recently been of interest in various applications. This paper reports a new method of synthesising a graphene‐nano silicon composite material by spraying a mixture of quartz‐graphite using an electric arc. The structure and composition of the materials obtained depends on the synthesis conditions. The quality of the graphene structure depends on the concentration of quartz in the load. Higher SiO2 content leads to the production of more structured graphene. In this case, silicon is present in the materials in the form of carbide nanoparticles deposited on graphene planes. When sputtering pure quartz contained in the cavity of the graphite anode, silicon whiskers form during the synthesis process. The content of the silicon structure depends on the arc current and the sputtering rate of the anode material. The mechanisms that lead to the formation of the graphene structure and silicon whiskers in the condensation process of the products of the electric arc spraying of the anode material are considered.
Complexity analysis of two families of orthogonal functions
Authors: Ghosh Piu , Nath Debraj
Published: May 2019

We study the shape LMC (López‐Ruiz, Mancini and Calvet), Fisher‐Shannon (FS) and Cramér‐Rao (CR) complexities of two families of orthogonal functions associated with the solutions of isospectral deformations of the Pöschl‐Teller and Harmonic oscillator potentials. We have compared the behavior of these complexities for the orthogonal functions with the complexities associated with Pöschl‐Teller and Harmonic oscillator potentials whose solutions are given in terms of the classical orthogonal polynomials. All these complexities are discussed in terms of the quantum number n and isospectrality parameter λ.
Designing Coconut Oil Encapsulated Poly(stearyl methacrylate‐co‐hydroxylethyl metacrylate) Based Microcapsule for Phase Change Materials
Authors: Oktay Burcu , Baştürk Emre , Kahraman Memet Vezir , Apohan Nilhan Kayaman
Published: May 2019

Phase change material (PCM) is an effective energy storage application, which has a relatively low cost. In this study, bio‐based PCMs were prepared by using two techniques: encapsulation and UV‐curing. Encapsulated–PCM was synthesized by suspension polymerization with stearyl methacrylate (SMA) and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). In encapsulation process, the microcapsules were prepared from poly(stearyl methacrylate‐co‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) shell and coconut oil (CO) core. UV‐cured form stable PCM was also prepared by radical addition polymerization of stearyl methacrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate and coconut oil. In UV‐curing process as in the second process, coconut oil was trapped within the polymeric network without covalent bonding. Thermal storage feature of encapsulated‐PCM and UV‐cured form stable PCM was investigated. The melting enthalpy of encapsulated‐PCM is 119 J/g, which is higher than both the melting enthalpy of pure coconut oil (106 J/g) and UV‐cured form stable PCM (47 J/g). Moreover, thermal degradation results of PCMs show that the maximum thermal decomposition temperature of encapsulated‐PCM increased compared with UV‐cured from stable PCM.
A Novel Route for Fabrication of Stable CsPbI3 Perovskite Thin Film by Thermal Evaporation
Authors: Gupta Yashika , Palakkandy Arun , V.Syrotyuk Stepan , Kumar Kuldeep , Arora Smriti
Published: May 2019

Perovskite thin films hold promise as a potential candidate for high efficiency solar cells. In recent years, a wealth of results has been published on CsPbI3 thin films. However, most of the literature reports that CsPbI3 perovskite films are prone to aging where black colored CsPbI3 films with cubic lattice change to yellow colored films with orthorhombic lattice upon exposure to ambient conditions. This poor stability presents itself as a major challenge in utilization of CsPbI3 for device applications. This manuscript presents an alternate route for fabricating stable CsPbI3 thin films using thermal evaporation. Experimentally, our samples were found to be stable, visually and structurally, over a period of six months. Even annealing of the samples did not induce structural changes.
Enantioselective Syntheses of Axially Chiral Phosphonates or Phosphine Oxides via Asymmetric Suzuki Reactions with Chiral Sulfinamide Monophosphine Ligands
Authors: Zhang Yaqi , Li Yongsu , Pan Bendu , Xu Hao , Liang Hao , Jiang Xiaoding , Liu Binyun , Tse Man‐Kin , Qiu Liqin
Published: May 2019

A class of chiral sulfinamide monophosphine ligands Ming‐Phos were firstly employed in the asymmetric Suzuki coupling reactions. Using the in‐situ formed catalyst from PdCl2 and (R, SS)‐M07, 22 axially chiral phosphonates or phosphine oxides were successfully synthesized in 29−99% yields with up to 98% ee. This method provides a simple and efficient protocol for the synthesis of axially chiral biaryl monophosphine oxides.
Genetic Algorithm‐Based Variable Selection in Prediction of Hot Metal Desulfurization Kinetics
Authors: Vuolio Tero , Visuri Ville‐Valtteri , Sorsa Aki , Paananen Timo , Fabritius Timo
Published: May 2019

Sulfur is considered as one of the main impurities in hot metal and hot metal desulfurization is often carried out using injection of fine‐grade desulfurization reagent. The selection of variables used for predicting the course of hot metal desulphurization requires expert knowledge. However, it is difficult to model the complex interactions in the process and to evaluate a high number of possible variable subsets with manual variable selection techniques. As the amount of data gathered from the process increases, manual variable selection becomes too time‐consuming and might lead to a suboptimal prediction model. The objective of this work is to execute an automatic variable selection procedure for prediction of hot metal desulfurization based on an industrial scale data set. The variable selection problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem, in which the objective function is formulated based on repeated leave‐multiple‐out cross‐validation. The implemented solution strategy is a binary‐coded genetic algorithm (GA). By making use of the developed model, the effect of the main production variables on the rate and efficiency of primary hot metal desulfurization is quantified. The variables related to properties of the reagent and the injection parameters were found to be of great importance.
Foreclosing Fluidity at the Intersection of Gender and Sexual Normativities
Authors: Sumerau J. E. , Mathers Lain A. B. , Moon Dawne
Published: May 2019

Binary gender and sexuality are socially constructed, but they structure thought at such a deep level that even those critical of sexism and homophobia can unwittingly reproduce them, with consequences felt most profoundly by those whose gender/sexual identity defy binary logic. This article outlines a generic pattern in the reproduction of inequality we call foreclosing fluidity,the symbolic or material removal of fluid possibilities from sexual and gender experience and categorization. Based on 115 responses from people who are both sexually and gender fluid and a reading of existing sociologies of gender and sexualities from a fluid standpoint, we demonstrate how lesbian/gay/straight, cisgender, and transgender women and men—regardless of intentions—may foreclose fluidity by mobilizing cisnormative, transnormative, heteronormative, and/or homonormative beliefs and practices. Examining patterns of foreclosing fluidity may provide insight into (1) the further incorporation of fluid people and standpoints into symbolic interactionism, and (2) the reproduction and persistence of sexual and gender inequalities.
Latitudinal Growth Variation in Young Tautogs: A Field, Laboratory, and Growing Degree‐Day Assessment of Potential Intrinsic Differences in Growth Responses to Temperature
Authors: Martin Daniel L. , Targett Timothy E.
Published: May 2019

A difference in size at age of young Tautogs Tautoga onitis has been reported from two sites in the Mid‐Atlantic Bight, USA, whereby southern fish (Virginia [VA]) reach a twofold greater size than northern fish (Rhode Island [RI]) by age 1 but grow at similar size‐dependent annual rates thereafter. We investigated the basis for this difference by using a coordinated field, laboratory, and growing degree‐day (GDD) approach. Age‐0 Tautogs were sampled from three locations (Chesapeake Bay, VA; Delaware Bay, Delaware [DE]; and Narragansett Bay, RI) and showed a clinal relationship of decreasing fish size and growth rate with increasing latitude. Otolith‐based estimates of larval stage duration and growth rate showed no significant clinal relationship. Young Tautogs from these locations were reared in common‐garden experiments (at 5, 15, and 25°C) to determine whether there were intrinsic postsettlement growth differences related to temperature. None of the location‐specific groups of age‐0 Tautogs exhibited growth that was consistently faster than that of Tautogs from the other locations over all temperatures examined. These data and the results of a GDD assessment between VA and RI indicate that latitudinal differences in temperature regime and growing season length are the major factors determining latitudinal growth differences in age‐0 fish. However, age‐1 RI fish of equivalent size grew significantly faster than age‐0 RI and DE fish and similar to age‐0 VA fish at 15°C and grew 40% faster than all age‐0 fish at 25°C, suggesting countergradient growth variation in age‐1 and older northern Tautogs. Size‐selective overwinter mortality of age‐0 northern fish—whereby smaller individuals are most susceptible to low temperature—is proposed as the likely underlying mechanism leading to faster growth of older northern fish at temperature. Such a mechanism would at least partially compensate for the lower temperature and shorter growing season at higher latitudes.
Long‐term English learners: Current research, policy, and practice
Authors: Clark‐Gareca Beth , Short Deborah , Lukes Marguerite , Sharp‐Ross Mary
Published: May 2019

Given that English learners (ELs) comprise one of the fastest growing populations in PK–12 environments, long‐term English learners (LTELs) form one subgroup that provokes particular concern. This article explores current understandings of the LTEL designation and discusses diagnostic processes and assessment tools for determining English language proficiency. Complexities of referring ELs/LTELs for special education are then probed with regard to drawing the careful line between language proficiency processes and special education needs. Finally, the authors present possible interventions for LTELs, including the Internationals Network as a large‐scale intervention model, followed by smaller scale interventions made on behalf of LTELs in existing schools. The article concludes with strategies and suggestions toward better outcomes for LTELs in school.
Drug screening in Drosophila; why, when, and when not?
Authors: Su Tin Tin
Published: May 2019

The best global seller among oncology drugs in 2018 is lenalidomide, an analog of thalidomide. It took 53 years and a circuitous route from the discovery of thalidomide to approval of an analog for use in treatment of cancer. We understand now a lot more about the genetic and molecular basis of diseases than we did in 1953 when thalidomide was discovered. We have also no shortage of chemical libraries with hundreds of thousands of compounds, both synthetic and natural. What we need are better ways to search among these rich resources for compounds with the potential to do what we want them to do. This review summarizes examples from the literature that make Drosophila melanogaster a good model to screen for drugs, and discusses knowledge gaps and technical challenges that make Drosophila models not as widely used as they could or should be.

This article is categorized under:

Technologies > Analysis of Cell, Tissue, and Animal Phenotypes
Behavioral patterns of two fiddler crab species Uca rapax and Uca tangeri in a seminatural mangrove system
Authors: van Himbeeck Robbert A. F. , Huizinga Willeke , Roessink Ivo , Peeters Edwin T. H. M.
Published: May 2019

Zoos increasingly transform their exhibitions from traditional one‐species enclosures to more natural exhibits, that is, environments that capture part of an ecosystem including a selection of animals and plants that occur there. Thus, enhancing the experience of its human visitors while also allowing its residents to possibly show more natural behavior. In 2017 Royal Burger's Zoo (Arnhem, The Netherlands) created and opened a mangrove‐like environment containing fiddler crabs. Fiddler crabs display a broad range of behaviors, and this research examines which wild‐type behavior and behavioral patterns can be observed on a seminatural mudflat. The behavior shown by Uca rapax and
Uca tangeri on the mudflat was counted each hour between 07:00 and 17:00. An asymmetric tidal regime was present in the enclosure including two high water periods. Various known fiddler crab behaviors, including waving and combat, were observed but no copulation. A clear pattern in exposed crabs on the mudflat was found, with low numbers visible in the early morning and the highest numbers present in the early afternoon, while number of visitors did not have a significant effect on this pattern. Interestingly, the highest abundances were not observed around the ebbing tide (07:00–09:00), as observed in the wild, but somewhat later, possibly due to the asymmetric tidal scheme or the interaction of tidal and daily rhythms. This study shows that in captivity, fiddler crabs indeed show a range of natural behaviors which is linked to the tidal and possibly daily rhythm as well.
Seasonal variations in serum concentrations of testosterone, testicular volume and neck circumference of fallow deer (Dama dama) kept ex situ in a tropical region
Authors: Pizzutto Cristiane S. , Corrêa Sandra H. R. , Teixeira Rodrigo H. F. , Rosenfield Derek A. , Jorge Neto Pedro Nacib , Berbare Patrícia , Rodriguez Erika G. , Oliveira Claudio A.
Published: May 2019

The fallow deer (Dama dama) is a species of Cervidae commonly kept in captivity, either in commercial farms or in zoos. The reproductive seasonality of this species is well known in the northern hemisphere, where photoperiod is a decisive factor in androgenic activity and, consequently, in the development of secondary sexual characteristics among male adults. The maintenance of this species in tropical regions has been successful, but there are no studies that demonstrate the maintenance of reproductive seasonality under these climatic conditions, which was the objective of the present study. To do so, the present investigation involved 27 fallow deer (D. dama) specimens, of which 14 were adults and 13 prepubescent (<8 months) individuals, all assessed during and outside (December–February) the reproductive season (June–August). The serum concentrations of testosterone, testicular volume, and neck circumference were analyzed among all animals during both seasons. The reproductive season was marked by expressive hormonal concentrations, increasing neck circumference and testicular volume, differing significantly between adults and prepubescent individuals outside the season. Positive correlations were observed among all analyzed variables: mean testicular volume and neck circumference (r = 0.92, p < 0.0001), testicular volume and testosterone concentrations (r = 0.79, p < 0.0001) and between neck circumference and testosterone concentrations (r = 0.67, p < 0.0001). Given the results found, the conclusion is that even under tropical climate conditions the reproductive seasonality of the fallow deer is well defined and may be related to photoperiod.
The Psychology of Climate Change Adaptation
Authors: van Valkengoed Anne , Steg Linda
Published: May 2019

Why do some people adapt to the risks of climate change, while others do not? This Element provides an in-depth overview of the psychology of climate change adaptation. It begins with an overview of adaptation behaviour and highlights the importance of successful adaptation by individuals and households. Key psychological theories are introduced that can explain adaptation behaviour and the role of a wide variety of motivational variables in adaptation behaviour is discussed, such as risk perception, experiences with climate-related hazards, and perceived responsibility. Next, the authors examine three examples of how this psychological knowledge has been used to develop and test interventions to promote adaptation behaviour in real-world settings. After which, the relationship between climate adaptation behaviour and climate mitigation behaviour are considered and the potential for integrating these bodies of literature is put forward. It concludes with an agenda for future psychological research on climate change adaptation behaviour.
Infantile-Onset Multisystem Neurologic, Endocrine, and Pancreatic Disease: Case and Review
Authors: Le Christine , Prasad Asuri N. , Rupar C. Anthony , Debicki Derek , Andrade Andrea , Prasad Chitra
Published: May 2019

We report three brothers born to consanguineous parents of Syrian descent, with a homozygous novel c.324G>A (p.W108*) mutation in PTRH2 that encodes peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase 2, causing infantile-onset multisystem neurologic, endocrine, and pancreatic disease (IMNEPD). We describe the core clinical features of postnatal microcephaly, motor and language delay with regression, ataxia, and hearing loss. Additional features include epileptic seizures, pancreatic insufficiency, and peripheral neuropathy. Clinical phenotyping enabled a targeted approach to the investigation and identification of a novel homozygous nonsense mutation in PTRH2, c.324G>A (p.W108*). We compare our patients with those recently described and review the current literature for IMNEPD.
Renal Failure Patients in Disasters
Authors: Lempert Kenneth D. , Kopp Jeffrey B.
Published: May 2019

Disasters occur regularly, and frequently large numbers of patients treated with maintenance dialysis or with the recent onset of acute kidney injury are put at risk owing to the lack of access to dialysis care precipitating also a kidney failure disaster. The absence of necessary dialysis treatments can result in excessive emergency department visits, hospitalizations, morbidity, or an early death. Those with kidney failure are often evaluated in disaster medical locations or hospitals without nephrologists in attendance. Here we offer guidance for medical personnel evaluating such patients so that dialysis-dependent individuals can be properly assessed and managed with the need for urgent dialysis recognized. A disaster dialysis triage system is proposed. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness.2019;13:782–790)
Secrets for Sale? Innovation and the Nature of Knowledge in an Early Industrial District: The Potteries, 1750–1851
Authors: LANE JOE
Published: May 2019

This article investigates innovation and knowledge circulation in the North Staffordshire Potteries during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It evaluates new empirical evidence of formal and informal patterns of knowledge creation and dissemination in order to highlight tensions between forms of open knowledge sharing and the private appropriation of returns to innovative activity. By presenting new patent data, it shows that formal protection was not a widespread strategy in the industry. It uses patent specifications to determine what types of knowledge were, and could be, patented in the district, and by whom. A range of sources are used to demonstrate evidence of innovation and knowledge appropriation outside of the patent system. The article identifies distinct types of knowledge in the industry and shows how differences in these led to a range of strategies employed by potters, with the role of secrecy highlighted as a particularly prevalent and effective strategy.
Oscar Schachter (1915-2003)
Authors: Damrosch Lori Fisler
Published: May 2019

Among “jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law” and “most highly qualified publicists of the various nations,” no one in the second half of the twentieth century did more than Oscar Schachter to influence both the theory and the practice of international law, especially the law of the United Nations Charter. When the centennial of the American Society of International Law arrives in two years, we will have occasion to reflect on his contributions to this Journal and many other endeavors of the Society, across a long and vigorous life.
Constitutions in a Nonconstitutional World: Arab Basic Laws and the Prospects for Accountable Government. By Nathan J. Brown. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. 244p. $65.50 cloth, $22.95 paper.
Authors: AbuKhalil As'ad
Published: May 2019

This work is by a serious scholar who had previously written a fine book on peasant politics in Egypt. Interest in constitutionalism in the Arab world may be dismissed as naive given the notorious reputation of the region for autocracy and dictatorships. Yet Nathan Brown insists on taking constitutional developments in the region seriously, and he meticulously covers most constitutional developments over the span of the last century. But the book could have been easily condensed into a scholarly article. In the first part of the book, for example, which stretches into page 94, he provides the reader with a blow-by-blow account of constitutional developments in select Middle East countries. It contains very few insights, and the author breaks no new grounds; the developments were previously covered in many other works (for example, Elie Kedourie, Politics in the Middle East, 1992).
Empowering Women: Land and Property Rights in Latin America. By Carmen Diana Deere and Magdalena Leon. Pittsburgh: The University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001. 544p. $55.00 cloth, $24.95 paper. Still Fighting: The Nicaraguan Women's Movement, 1977–2000. By Katherine Isbester. Pittsburgh: The University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001. 272p. $45.00 cloth, $19.95 paper.
Authors: Anderson Leslie
Published: May 2019

The titles of these books point both to their common concern and to the difference between them. Still Fighting underscores the extent to which Latin American women (in this case, Nicaraguans) are still struggling, from a disadvantaged position, to achieve recognition of their own personal value and identity, as well as a better social, political, and economic position. Empowering Women underscores, instead, the extent to which women's struggle is about achieving power in the form of legal title to land. The former stresses gender identity while the latter emphasizes personal empowerment. The first accentuates setbacks experienced and the work still to be done; the latter highlights accomplishments while acknowledging that much work remains. Carmen Diana Deere and Magdalena Leon locate their work within gender studies in Chapter 1, stating their orientation toward redistribution rather than recognition (p. 9). Although Katherine Isbester does not refer to gender studies, her work is about the struggle for identity and the role it plays in strengthening a social movement.
Against Kripke on Unrestricted Exportation
Authors: TAYEBI SAJED
Published: May 2019

This paper defends the doctrine of Unrestricted Exportation (UE) against Saul Kripke’s attack on it. According to UE, the exportation step from the de dicto belief report, S believes that α is F, together with the premise that α exists, to the de re report, S believes of α that it is F, is valid. By presenting an alleged counterexample, Kripke tries to show that UE has much more implausible consequences than its advocates would accept. By going through the details of Kripke’s scenario, I argue that UE does not commit us to the consequences Kripke associates with it.
‘For how Long can your Pīharwāle Intervene?’: Accessing natal kin support in rural North India
Authors: CHAUDHRY SHRUTI
Published: May 2019

Based on ethnographic fieldwork in rural Uttar Pradesh, this article contributes to debates on married women's relations with their natal kin. It compares women in ‘regional’ marriages (which conform to caste and community norms with a relatively small marriage distance) with women in ‘cross-regional’ marriages (those that cross caste, linguistic, and state boundaries, and entail long-distance migration). A focus on cross-regional marriage demonstrates how geographic distance cuts women off from vital structures of support. At the same time, even for regional brides, natal kin support is complicated and relative proximity does not guarantee support. Factors such as caste, class, poverty, the gender of children, notions of honour and shame, and stage in the life-course work together in complex ways to determine the duration and kind of support available. By focusing on marital violence, marital breakdown, and widowhood, the article demonstrates both the presence and the limits of natal kin support. The opportunities to draw on natal kin support vary for women, but its significance must not be understated as it alone provides women with the possibility of leaving their marriages, even if only temporarily. The article focuses on one form of women's agency, one that is constrained and highly dependent on relationships with others (mainly male kin). In such a context of economic and social dependency, natal kin support is an important—and perhaps the only—resource available in situations of marital crisis, and its absence leaves women in a particularly vulnerable position.
Participation ofTrypanosoma cruzigp63 molecules on the interaction withRhodnius prolixus
Authors: Rebello Karina M. , Uehara Livia A. , Ennes-Vidal Vítor , Garcia-Gomes Aline S. , Britto Constança , Azambuja Patrícia , Menna-Barreto Rubem F. S. , Santos André L. S. , Branquinha Marta H. , d'Avila-Levy Claudia M.
Published: May 2019

Trypanosoma cruziis the causative agent of Chagas disease, a vector-borne disease. The parasite molecules involved in vector interaction have been little investigated. Metallopeptidases and gp63 molecules have been implicated in parasite adhesion of several trypanosomatids to the insect midgut. Although gp63 homologues are highly expanded in theT. cruzigenome, and are implicated in parasite–mammalian host interaction, its role in the insect vector has never been explored. Here, we showed that divalent metal chelators or anti-Tcgp63-I antibodies impairedT. cruziadhesion toRhodnius prolixusmidgut. Parasites isolated after insect colonization presented a drastic enhancement in the expression of Tcgp63-I. These data highlight, for the first time, that Tcgp63-I and Zn-dependent enzymes contribute to the interaction ofT. cruziwith the insect vector.
Tilestones into Whetstones in Seven Steps: the Brownstones, Pennant Sandstone and Stonesfield Slate at Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), North Hampshire
Authors: Allen J.R.L.
Published: May 2019

Roughly two-thirds of an assemblage of 156 whetstones from three collections representing two late Roman sites at Silchester can be assigned geologically to the Brownstones (Devonian), Pennant sandstone (Carboniferous) or Stonesfield Slate (Jurassic), imported from the west and north into the town as roof-tiles. The latter were put to further, secondary use as whetstones, some small and portable but others large and laid flat and kept stationary. The whetstones are polished through use, typically on both faces, and a high proportion carry grooves. On some the grooves are short and fine and could represent the sharpening of such items as pins, needles, meat skewers, styli and engraving tools. These grooves are typically found on whetstones from Insula IX, where artisanal and, at best, ‘light-industrial’ activities are recorded. At the forum-basilica, by contrast, the whetstones are more substantial and typically show large grooves of two kinds that point to the shaping and finishing in considerable numbers of iron objects such as knives, cleavers, swords and even possibly ladles. The industrial activity at this site had a distinctly ‘heavier’ quality. The biography of these whetstones — objects seemingly simple and unpretentious — was complex, wherever they were found.
A Comprehensive Approach to Percutaneous Injury Prevention During Phlebotomy: Results of a Multicenter Study, 1993-1995
Authors: Alvarado-Ramy Francisco , Beltrami Elise M. , Short Louise J. , Srivastava Pamela U. , Henry Keith , Mendelson Meryl , Gerberding Julie L. , Delclos George L. , Campbell Scott , Solomon Robin , Fahrner Rita , Culver David H. , Bell David , Cardo Denise M. , Chamberland Mary E.
Published: May 2019

Objective:

To examine a comprehensive approach for preventing percutaneous injuries associated with phlebotomy procedures.

Design and Setting:

From 1993 through 1995, personnel at 10 university-affiliated hospitals enhanced surveillance and assessed underreporting of percutaneous injuries; selected, implemented, and evaluated the efficacy of phlebotomy devices with safety features (ie, engineered sharps injury prevention devices [ESIPDs]); and assessed healthcare worker satisfaction with ESIPDs. Investigators also evaluated the preventability of a subset of percutaneous injuries and conducted an audit of sharps disposal containers to quantify activation rates for devices with safety features.

Results:

The three selected phlebotomy devices with safety features reduced percutaneous injury rates compared with conventional devices. Activation rates varied according to ease of use, healthcare worker preference for ESIPDs, perceived “patient adverse events,” and device-specific training.

Conclusions:

Device-specific features and healthcare worker training and involvement in the selection of ESIPDs affect the activation rates for ESIPDs and therefore their efficacy. The implementation of ESIPDs is a useful measure in a comprehensive program to reduce percutaneous injuries associated with phlebotomy procedures.
A Memorial Tribute: Peter Barnes: the Playwright who Laughed at Death
Authors: Rickman Alan
Published: May 2019

The death on 1 July 2004 of the playwright Peter Barnes robbed the British theatre of one of its most individual and richly imaginative yet shamefully neglected writers. Although his best known work for the theatre – which included The Ruling Classes, The Bewitched, Laughter, Red Noses, and Dreaming – won widespread admiration, and his later radio and television work brought him before a wider public, he remained a theatrical outsider, his plays transcending the conventions of critical labels and movements – the singe discernible influence that of Ben Jonson, whose eccentric genius he championed throughout his life. Here we include three personal tributes: the oration delivered at Barnes's funeral by the stage and screen actor Alan Rickman; recollections from the avant-garde director Charles Marowitz of his association with Barnes's early career at the Traverse and his own Open Space Theatre in the 'sixties; and the impressions of a personal friend, the lecturer and writer Elaine Turner. An analytical assessent of Peter Barnes's work will appear in a later issue.
Eating Words: a Performative Banquet
Authors: Chamberlain Franc
Published: May 2019

Personal memories – and lapses of memory – two months after a unique event arranged by Richard Gough and the Centre for Performance Research for the SCUDD Annual Conference at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, on 3 April 2004.
A Memorial Tribute: Peter Barnes: the Playwright who Laughed at Death
Authors: Marowitz Charles
Published: May 2019

The death on 1 July 2004 of the playwright Peter Barnes robbed the British theatre of one of its most individual and richly imaginative yet shamefully neglected writers. Although his best known work for the theatre – which included The Ruling Classes, The Bewitched, Laughter, Red Noses, and Dreaming – won widespread admiration, and his later radio and television work brought him before a wider public, he remained a theatrical outsider, his plays transcending the conventions of critical labels and movements – the singe discernible influence that of Ben Jonson, whose eccentric genius he championed throughout his life. Here we include three personal tributes: the oration delivered at Barnes's funeral by the stage and screen actor Alan Rickman; recollections from the avant-garde director Charles Marowitz of his association with Barnes's early career at the Traverse and his own Open Space Theatre in the 'sixties; and the impressions of a personal friend, the lecturer and writer Elaine Turner. An analytical assessent of Peter Barnes's work will appear in a later issue.
Exogenous application of methyl jasmonate to Ficus hahliana attracts predators of insects along an altitudinal gradient in Papua New Guinea
Authors: Mrazova Anna , Sam Katerina
Published: May 2019

In many plants, the defence systems against herbivores are induced, and may be involved in recruiting the natural enemies of herbivores. We used methyl jasmonate, a well-known inducer of plant defence responses, to manipulate the chemistry of Ficus hahliana along a tropical altitudinal gradient in order to test its ability to attract the enemies of herbivores. We examined whether chemical signals from MeJA-treated trees (simulating leaf damage by herbivores) attracted insect enemies in the complex settings of a tropical forest; and how this ability changes with altitude, where the communities of predators differ naturally. We conducted the research at four study sites (200, 700, 1700 and 2700 m asl) of Mt Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea. Using dummy plasticine caterpillars to assess predation on herbivorous insect, we showed that, on average, inducing plant defences with jasmonic acid in this tropical forest increases predation twofold (i.e. caterpillars exposed on MeJA-sprayed trees were attacked twice as often as caterpillars exposed on control trees). The predation rate on control trees decreased with increasing altitude from 20.2% d−1 at 200 m asl to 4.7% d−1 at 2700 m asl. Predation on MeJA-treated trees peaked at 700 m (52.3% d−1) and decreased to 20.8% d−1 at 2700 m asl. Arthropod predators (i.e. ants and wasps) caused relatively more attacks in the lowlands (200–700 m asl), while birds became the dominant predators above 1700 m asl. The predation pressure from birds and arthropods corresponded with their relative abundances, but not with their species richness. Our study found a connection between chemically induced defence in plants and their attractivity to predators of herbivorous insect in the tropics.
Managing stress with experience feedback in crisis situation
Authors: Teffali Sammy , Matta Nada , Chatelet Eric
Published: May 2019

A crisis is a complex situation, which actors have some difficulties to manage it. They are under stress to deal with problems that they cannot predict consequences. The human conditions (familial and life) and, the influence of the environment (politic, economic, media) pushes the actors to lose control of the crisis situation. The question we face in this paper is: “is it possible to predict the impact of the stress in this type of situation?” Our main hypothesis to answer is to represent experience feedback using knowledge management. To model the crisis management as systemic system emphasizing regulation loops, and the collaboration activity by showing the dimension of the communication, coordination, and cooperation. This modeling is illustrated in a terrorist attack situation in Algeria. To predict stress consequences, fuzzy set principle is adopted, based on experience feedback and situations modeling, as a generator of alternative states given a stress event.
Integrated optimization of mixed-model assembly sequence planning and line balancing using Multi-objective Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Ab Rashid Mohd Fadzil Faisae , Tiwari Ashutosh , Hutabarat Windo
Published: May 2019

Recently, interest in integrated assembly sequence planning (ASP) and assembly line balancing (ALB) began to pick up because of its numerous benefits, such as the larger search space that leads to better solution quality, reduced error rate in planning, and expedited product time-to-market. However, existing research is limited to the simple assembly problem that only runs one homogenous product. This paper therefore models and optimizes the integrated mixed-model ASP and ALB using Multi-objective Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (MODPSO) concurrently. This is a new variant of the integrated assembly problem. The integrated mixed-model ASP and ALB is modeled using task-based joint precedence graph. In order to test the performance of MODPSO to optimize the integrated mixed-model ASP and ALB, an experiment using a set of 51 test problems with different difficulty levels was conducted. Besides that, MODPSO coefficient tuning was also conducted to identify the best setting so as to optimize the problem. The results from this experiment indicated that the MODPSO algorithm presents a significant improvement in term of solution quality toward Pareto optimal and demonstrates the ability to explore the extreme solutions in the mixed-model assembly optimization search space. The originality of this research is on the new variant of integrated ASP and ALB problem. This paper is the first published research to model and optimize the integrated ASP and ALB research for mixed-model assembly problem.
ONE ASPECT OF THE AVICENNIAN TURN IN SUNNĪ THEOLOGY
Authors: WISNOVSKY ROBERT
Published: May 2019

Most scholars of Islamic intellectual history now agree on the distortedness of the traditional Western portrayal of al-Ġazālī (d. 1111) as the defender of Muslim orthodoxy whose Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahāfut al-falāsifa) was such a powerful critique that it caused the annihilation of philosophical activity in Islamic civilization. Some in fact are coming to the conclusion that al-Ġazālī's importance in the history of Islamic philosophy and theology derives as much from his assiduous incorporation of basic metaphysical ideas into central doctrines of Sunnī kalām, as from his far more celebrated bashing of the falāsifa. What is less well known is that al-Ġazālī's role in the ‘‘philosophizing” of Sunnī theology was not a lonely struggle by a single genius, but part of a broader trend that seems to have begun during Avicenna’s lifetime and that picked up speed in the first and second generations after Avicenna's death in 1037, with the work of al-Ġazālī's teacher, the Aš‘arite al-Gˇuwaynī (d. 1085), as well as of the Māturīdite al-Bazdawī (d. 1099), work that was carried forward by dozens of subsequent members of those two major Sunnī theological schools. It is clear, in fact, that the dividing line between the Sunnī theologians commonly referred to in the later Islamic tradition as mutaqaddimūn (‘‘early” or ‘‘ancient”), and those referred to as muta’aḫhḫirūn (‘‘late” or ‘‘modern”), lies not with al-Ġazālī but with Avicenna himself, and that the turn in Sunnī kalām was therefore Avicennian, not Ġazālian.
The Natural Inspiration for Natufian Art: Cases from Wadi Hammeh 27, Jordan
Authors: Edwards Phillip C. , Major Janine , McNamara Kenneth J. , Robertson Rosie
Published: May 2019

The likelihood that Palaeolithic artisans sometimes used natural objects as models for their image-making has long been suggested, yet well-contextualized and stratified examples have remained rare. This study examines a series of natural and fabricated items from the Natufian settlement of Wadi Hammeh 27 in Jordan (12,000–12,500 cal.bc) to propose that the site occupants collected a variety of found objects such as fossils, unusually shaped stones and animal bones, which they utilized as templates in the production of geometric art pieces. Natural and fabricated objects were woven into complex schemes of relation by Natufian artisans. Existing patterns were copied and applied to a variety of representational images. Found objects were sometimes subtly modified, whereas at other times they were transformed into finished artefacts. The scute pattern on the tortoise carapace, in particular, appears to have formed the basis of important ritual beliefs across the Natufian culture area. At Wadi Hammeh 27, it was evoked in various media and at various scales to form interrelating tableaux of representation.
The Australian Association of Special Education 2004 National Conference: Des English Memorial Lecture Behaviour – Whose Choice?
Authors: Jacob Alison
Published: May 2019

Thank you for inviting me to deliver the Des English Memorial Lecture for the second time – it's becoming a bit of a habit!

Having taken the opportunity to read several of the Des English lectures that have been published over the years, it appears that the tradition of this lecture is often to provide some commentary on changes that have occurred during the career of the person delivering the address, in relation to the field of special education. There is more than a little reminiscing and nostalgia in Des English lectures and a great many references to ‘journeys’ by various Des English presenters suggesting a sense of progress or at least progression over time.