bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Activity of a Py–Im Polyamide Targeted to the Estrogen Response Element
Authors: Nickols Nicholas G. , Szablowski Jerzy O. , Hargrove Amanda E. , Li Benjamin C. , Raskatov Jevgenij A. , Dervan Peter B.
Published: February 2013

Pyrrole-imidazole (Py–Im) polyamides are a class of programmable DNA minor groove binders capable of modulating the activity of DNA-binding proteins and affecting changes in gene expression. Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is a ligand-activated hormone receptor that binds as a homodimer to estrogen response elements (ERE) and is a driving oncogene in a majority of breast cancers. We tested a selection of structurally similar Py–Im polyamides with differing DNA sequence specificity for activity against 17β-estadiol (E2)–induced transcription and cytotoxicity in ERα positive, E2-stimulated T47DKBluc cells, which express luciferase under ERα control. The most active polyamide targeted the sequence 5′-WGGWCW-3′ (W = A or T), which is the canonical ERE half site. Whole transcriptome analysis using RNA-Seq revealed that treatment of E2-stimulated breast cancer cells with this polyamide reduced the effects of E2 on the majority of those most strongly affected by E2 but had much less effect on the majority of E2-induced transcripts. In vivo, this polyamide circulated at detectable levels following subcutaneous injection and reduced levels of ER-driven luciferase expression in xenografted tumors in mice after subcutaneous compound administration without significant host toxicity. Mol Cancer Ther; 12(5); 675–84. ©2013 AACR.
Suppression of AKT Phosphorylation Restores Rapamycin-Based Synthetic Lethality in SMAD4-Defective Pancreatic Cancer Cells
Authors: Le Gendre Onica , Sookdeo Ayisha , Duliepre Stephie-Anne , Utter Matthew , Frias Maria , Foster David A.
Published: February 2013

mTOR has been implicated in survival signals for many human cancers. Rapamycin and TGF-β synergistically induce G1 cell-cycle arrest in several cell lines with intact TGF-β signaling pathway, which protects cells from the apoptotic effects of rapamycin during S-phase of the cell cycle. Thus, rapamycin is cytostatic in the presence of serum/TGF-β and cytotoxic in the absence of serum. However, if TGF-β signaling is defective, rapamycin induced apoptosis in both the presence and absence of serum/TGF-β in colon and breast cancer cell lines. Because genetic dysregulation of TGF-β signaling is commonly observed in pancreatic cancers—with defects in the Smad4 gene being most prevalent, we hypothesized that pancreatic cancers would display a synthetic lethality to rapamycin in the presence of serum/TGF-β. We report here that Smad4-deficient pancreatic cancer cells are killed by rapamycin in the absence of serum; however, in the presence of serum, we did not observe the predicted synthetic lethality with rapamycin. Rapamycin also induced elevated phosphorylation of the survival kinase Akt at Ser473. Suppression of rapamycin-induced Akt phosphorylation restored rapamycin sensitivity in Smad4-null, but not Smad4 wild-type pancreatic cancer cells. This study shows that the synthetic lethality to rapamycin in pancreatic cancers with defective TGF-β signaling is masked by rapamycin-induced increases in Akt phosphorylation. The implication is that a combination of approaches that suppress both Akt phosphorylation and mTOR could be effective in targeting pancreatic cancers with defective TGF-β signaling.

Visual Overview: http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/11/5/474/F1.large.jpg.

Mol Cancer Res; 11(5); 474–81. ©2013 AACR.
Predictors of Shunt-Dependent Chronic Hydrocephalus after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage
Authors: Yang Tao-Chieh , Chang Chien Hung , Liu Yu-Tse , Chen Yao-Liang , Tu Po-Hsun , Chen Hsien-Chih
Published: February 2013

Introduction: Chronic hydrocephalus is a common complication that can occur after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical risk factors that could predict the occurrence of shunt-dependent chronic hydrocephalus after aneurysmal SAH. Methods: Eighty-eight consecutive patients who underwent either surgery or transarterial endovascular embolization as a treatment for cerebral aneurysm within 72 h -after experiencing SAH from March 2005 to July 2006 were studied retrospectively to assess the risk factors that might predict shunt-dependent chronic hydrocephalus. Clinical and demographic factors were examined, including age, sex, initial admission mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), blood sugar level at admission, fever frequency, initial external ventricular drainage (EVD), Fisher grade, Hunt and Hess grade, intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) and treatment methods to define predictors of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus. The length of hospital stay and modified Rankin scale recorded 6 months after SAH were also evaluated; these parameters were compared between the shunt-dependent and non-shunt-dependent groups. Results: Of the 88 patients, 22 (25%) underwent shunt placement to treat their chronic hydrocephalus. The average length of hospital stay was 33.9 days for the shunt-treated group and 14 days for the non-shunt-treated group. The non-shunt-treated group scored an average of 1.05 on the modified Rankin scale compared with 2.77 for the shunt-treated group. A univariate analysis revealed that several admission variables were associated with long-term shunt-dependent hydrocephalus: (1) increased age (p = 0.023); (2) initial admission MABP (p = 0.027); (3) a high Fisher grade (p = 0.031); (4) a poor admission Hunt and Hess grade (p = 0.030); (5) the presence of IVH (p = 0.029), and (6) initial EVD (p < 0.0001). The factor most commonly associated with shunt-dependent hydrocephalus over the course of hospital days was fever frequency (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Chronic hydrocephalus after aneurysmal SAH has a multifactorial aetiology. Understanding the risk factors that predict the occurrence of chronic hydrocephalus may help neurosurgeons to expedite permanent cerebrospinal fluid diversion, which could decrease both the cost and length of hospital stay and prevent further complications.
Hemangiomas of the Nasal Tip Treated with Propranolol
Authors: Ben-Amitai Dan , Halachmi Shlomit , Zvulunov Alex , Raveh Eyal , Kalish Eyal , Lapidoth Moshe
Published: February 2013

Background: Infantile hemangioma is the most common tumor of infancy. There are recent reports of the efficacy of propranolol in the treatment of these hemangiomas. Nasal tip hemangiomas pose a particularly sensitive concern aesthetically and functionally. The treatment of nasal tip hemangiomas is controversial. We assessed the effect of propranolol therapy in hemangiomas of the nasal tip. Objectives: To evaluate the response of nasal tip hemangiomas to systemic propranolol. Methods: During 2008-2010 ten infant with nasal tip hemangiomas presented to our tertiary care center. All underwent comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team and were then treated with oral propranolol at 2 mg/kg/day, with continuous clinical follow-up until age 14-16 months, or in older infants until the proliferative phase resolved. Results: Eight patients demonstrated good clinical improvement. Two patients had partial improvement. One patient discontinued treatment due to wheezing. Three patients had mild sleep disturbance which did not warrant discontinuation of treatment. No rebound was noticed after cessation of treatment. Limitations: Children presented by referral at variable ages. It is possible that routine initiation of propranolol in neonates at the first sign of nasal hemangioma may reduce the required treatment duration or dose. Conclusions: Early treatment of hemangiomas of the nasal tip with propranolol prevents lesion proliferation, reduces lesion volume, and prevents nasal and facial deformation. Propranolol appears to be a safe and effective treatment. Its efficacy and safety profiles, relative to other accepted therapies, suggest that it should be considered as the first-line treatment when intervention is required.
Phosphorus Kinetics during Hemodiafiltration: Analysis Using a Pseudo-One-Compartment Model
Authors: Leypoldt John K. , Agar Baris U. , Akonur Alp , Culleton Bruce F.
Published: February 2013

Background/Aims: On-line hemodiafiltration (HDF) has been previously shown to result in modest reductions in predialysis serum phosphorus concentration compared with conventional hemodialysis (HD); however, understanding of phosphorus kinetics during these therapies remains limited. Methods: Previously published phosphorus kinetic data during HDF and HD were analyzed using a pseudo-one-compartment kinetic model. Phosphorus mobilization clearance (KM) and dialyzer phosphorus clearance (Kd) were simultaneously estimated from measured predialysis and postdialysis serum phosphorus concentrations and total removed phosphorus during each treatment. Results: KM varied among patients between 53 and 173 ml/min. Values of KM during HDF (105 ± 34, mean ± standard deviation, ml/min) and HD (112 ± 44 ml/min) were not different (p = 0.5); however, Kd during HDF (175 ± 23 ml/min) was higher (p = 0.01) than during HD (160 ± 14 ml/min). Conclusion: A pseudo-one-compartment kinetic model is useful for the analysis of phosphorus kinetic data during HDF. Lower predialysis serum phosphorus concentrations during HDF are likely due to increased extracorporeal phosphorus clearance.
Levodopa-Resistant Freezing of Gait and Executive Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Ferraye M.U. , Ardouin C. , Lhommée E. , Fraix V. , Krack P. , Chabardès S. , Seigneuret E. , Benabid A-L. , Pollak P. , Debû B.
Published: February 2013

We examined executive functioning in patients with Parkinson's disease exhibiting, or not, levodopa-resistant freezing of gait (L-FOG). 38 advanced-stage patients with L-FOG were identified in a consecutive series of 400 patients. They were matched with 38 patients without L-FOG. All patients underwent prospective evaluations of cognitive and motor functioning before subthalamic nucleus surgery, and 1 year after. A composite frontal score, a measure of executive functioning, was compared between the two groups. We also examined correlations between the frontal score and the score on the FOG item of the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale II. Results show that after surgery, patients with L-FOG, as a group, were more impaired in executive functioning than control patients. However, individual data analysis showed preserved executive functions in 11 patients with L-FOG. In addition, there was no correlation between L-FOG severity and the degree of executive impairment. Therefore, frontal dysfunction may be one mechanism underlying L-FOG in a number of patients with Parkinson's disease. However, since some patients develop L-FOG despite the preservation of executive functions, lesions or dysfunction of other neuronal structures are likely to be involved.
Oxygen Toxicity Is Reduced by Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition in the Developing Rat Brain
Authors: Sifringer Marco , Bendix Ivo , von Haefen Clarissa , Endesfelder Stefanie , Kalb Alexander , Bührer Christoph , Felderhoff-Mueser Ursula , Spies Claudia D.
Published: February 2013

The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway is a neural mechanism that suppresses the innate inflammatory response and controls inflammation employing acetylcholine as the key endogenous mediator. In this study, we investigated the effects of the cholinergic agonists, physostigmine and donepezil, on neurodegeneration, inflammation and oxidative stress during oxygen toxicity in the developing rat brain. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of neurodegeneration, expression of proinflammatory cytokines, glutathione and lipid peroxidation after hyperoxia and treatment with the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, physostigmine and donepezil in the brain of neonatal rats. Six-day-old Wistar rats were exposed to 80% oxygen for 12-24 h and received 100 μg/kg physostigmine or 200 μg/kg donepezil intraperitoneally. Sex-matched littermates kept in room air and injected with normal saline, physostigmine or donepezil served as controls. Treatment with both inhibitors significantly reduced hyperoxia-triggered activity of AChE, neural cell death and the upregulation of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α in the immature rat brain on the mRNA and protein level. In parallel, hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress was reduced by concomitant physostigmine and donepezil administration, as shown by an increased reduced/oxidized glutathione ratio and attenuated malondialdehyde levels, as a sign of lipid peroxidation. Our results suggest that a single treatment with AChE inhibitors at the beginning of hyperoxia attenuated the detrimental effects of oxygen toxicity in the developing brain and may pave the way for AChE inhibitors, which are currently used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, as potential candidates for adjunctive neuroprotective therapies to the immature brain.
Extracavitary Manifestation of Primary Effusion Lymphoma as a Right Atrial Mass
Authors: Marak Creticus P. , Ponea Ana M. , Shim Chang , Shaheen Shagufta , Guddati Achuta K.
Published: February 2013

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a subset of large B cell lymphomas and has been mostly associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Rare cases have been reported in organ transplant recipients and chronic hepatitis C patients. It typically presents as an effusion in the pleural and pericardial spaces but rarely disseminates. However, involvement of the gastrointestinal tract, lymph nodes and bone marrow has been reported. Diagnosis is based on characteristic clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemical features. We present a case with a right atrial mass which tested positive for human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8), CD20, CD30 and lambda light chains and negative for CD138, kappa light chain, PAX5, Epstein-Barr virus, latent membrane protein 1, CD2, CD3, CD8 and CD56. Bilateral pleural effusions and pericardial effusions were noted which tested positive for HHV-8, CD30 and CD45. The patient responded well to the R-EPOCH regimen with complete resolution of the effusions and a significant decrease in the size of the right atrial mass. This case report illustrates the atypical manifestation of PEL as a right atrial mass.
Glomerular Repair Retardation via Blocking of Angiotensin II Type 1a Receptor Pathway in a Mouse Glomerulonephritis Model
Authors: Hayashi Waka , Obata Yoko , Nishino Tomoya , Abe Shinichi , Io Kumiko , Furusu Akira , Abe Katsushige , Miyazaki Masanobu , Sugaya Takeshi , Koji Takehiko , Kohno Shigeru
Published: February 2013

Background/Aims: To examine the role of the angiotensin II (ATII) type 1a receptor (AT1-R) pathway in renal tissue damage and repair, we investigated reversible glomerular injury in a mouse model of habu snake venom (HSV)-induced glomerulonephritis using AT1-R-deficient (AT1a-/-) mice and AT1-R antagonist-treated mice. Methods: Experimental glomerulonephritis was induced by single administration of HSV to AT1a+/+ mice (HSV group) and AT1a-/- mice (KO-HSV group) and AT1-R antagonist-treated BL6 mice (HSV-ARB group). Morphological change and expression levels of type IV collagen, CD31, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were analyzed. Results: The HSV group showed increased mesangial matrix expansion on day 7, which returned to preinjection levels by day 56, while mes-angial matrix expansion and increased type IV collagen expression were seen throughout days 7 to 56 in the KO-HSV group. The KO-HSV group showed fewer CD31-positive capillary loops and a marked decrease in the number of VEGF-positive cells in the glomeruli than the HSV group. VEGF administration to the KO-HSV group facilitated glomerular capillary repair and reconstruction. The HSV-ARB group showed the same delay in glomerular repair as that seen in the KO-HSV group. Conclusion: Our results indicate that blocking of the ATII-AT1R pathway delays glomerular repair via angiogenesis inhibition, followed by reduced induction of VEGF.
Never in Neutral: A Systems Biology and Evolutionary Perspective on how Aneuploidy Contributes to Human Diseases
Authors: Pavelka N. , Rancati G.
Published: February 2013

Whereas germline-inherited whole-chromosome aneuploidy has long been known to cause miscarriages and developmental abnormalities, somatically acquired aneuploidies have been observed in cancer cells and more recently also in cells of the normal liver and brain. Furthermore, aneuploidy is being increasingly reported in clinical isolates of pathogenic microbes such as fungi and parasites. Whereas many efforts have been devoted to the dissection of the molecular mechanisms that lead to aneuploidy, we have only recently started to investigate how aneuploidy alters the phenotypic makeup of a cell. Here we review recent evidence supporting the idea that aneuploidy is a large-effect mutation that introduces large changes in the cellular phenome. From a systems biology perspective, this can be explained by the extensive changes that aneuploidy brings about in both the transcriptome and the proteome of a cell. We further provide an evolutionary perspective on how aneuploidy-induced phenotypic variation may contribute to the exacerbation of human pathologies such as cancer and infectious diseases, by conferring selectable traits such as increased virulence and drug resistance.
The Optimal Range of International Normalized Ratio for Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation During Therapeutic Anticoagulation With Warfarin
Authors: Kim Jin-Seok , Jongnarangsin Krit , Latchamsetty Rakesh , Chugh Aman , Ghanbari Hamid , Crawford Thomas , Yokokawa Miki , Good Eric , Bogun Frank , Pelosi Frank , Morady Fred , Oral Hakan
Published: February 2013

Background—

Uninterrupted anticoagulation with warfarin during radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) of atrial fibrillation is associated with a lower risk of periprocedural complications than when warfarin is temporarily discontinued. However, the optimal international normalized ratio (INR) levels during RFA have not been defined.

Methods and Results—

In this retrospective analysis, RFA was performed in 1133 consecutive patients (mean age, 61±10 years) with paroxysmal (550) or persistent atrial fibrillation (583). Patients were grouped based on the INR on the day of RFA. There was a quadratic relationship between the INR and bleeding and vascular complications (
P
<0.001). Complications were less prevalent when INR was ≥2.0 and ≤3.0 (5% [31/572]) than when INR was <2.0 (10% [49/485];
P
=0.004) and >3.0 (12% [9/76];
P
=0.03). The prevalence of pericardial tamponade (1%) was similar at all INRs. From the quadratic model, the optimal range of INR was calculated as 2.1 to 2.5. INRs<2.0 and >3.0 were associated with a >2-fold increase in complications, with a further steep rise beyond an INR>3.5. Concomitant clopidogrel use was associated with a significant increase in complications at all INRs (odds ratio=3.1; ±95% confidence interval, 1.4–7.4). Unfractionated heparin requirements to maintain a therapeutic activated clotting time during RFA was reduced by 50% in patients with an INR>2.0.

Conclusions—

The optimal INR range during uninterrupted periprocedural anticoagulation using warfarin is narrow. Therefore, INR levels should be carefully monitored in preparation for RFA of atrial fibrillation.
Super-resolution Scanning Patch Clamp Reveals Clustering of Functional Ion Channels in Adult Ventricular Myocyte
Authors: Bhargava Anamika , Lin Xianming , Novak Pavel , Mehta Kinneri , Korchev Yuri , Delmar Mario , Gorelik Julia
Published: February 2013

Rationale:

Compartmentation of ion channels on the cardiomyocyte surface is important for electric propagation and electromechanical coupling. The specialized T-tubule and costameric structures facilitate spatial coupling of various ion channels and receptors. Existing methods such as immunofluorescence and patch clamp techniques are limited in their ability to localize functional ion channels. As such, a correlation between channel protein location and channel function remains incomplete.

Objective:

To validate a method that permits routine imaging of the topography of a live cardiomyocyte and study clustering of functional ion channels from a specific microdomain.

Methods and Results:

We used scanning ion conductance microscopy and conventional cell-attached patch clamp with a software modification that allows controlled increase of pipette tip diameter. The sharp nanopipette used for topography scan was modified into a larger patch pipette that could be positioned with nanoscale precision to a specific site of interest (crest, groove, or T-tubules of cardiomyocytes) and sealed to the membrane for cell-attached recording of ion channels. Using this method, we significantly increased the probability of detecting activity of L-type calcium channels in the T-tubules of ventricular cardiomyocytes. We also demonstrated that active sodium channels do not distribute homogenously on the sarcolemma instead, they segregate into clusters of various densities, most crowded in the crest region, that are surrounded by areas virtually free of functional sodium channels.

Conclusions:

Our new method substantially increases the throughput of recording location-specific functional ion channels on the cardiomyocyte sarcolemma, thereby allowing characterization of ion channels in relation to the microdomain where they reside.
Relationships Between Selected Gene Polymorphisms and Blood Pressure Sensitivity to Weight Loss in Elderly Persons With Hypertension
Authors: Kostis William J. , Cabrera Javier , Hooper W. Craig , Whelton Paul K. , Espeland Mark A. , Cosgrove Nora M. , Cheng Jerry Q. , Deng Yingzi , De Staerck Christine , Pyle Meredith , Maruthur Nisa , Reyes Ingrid , Anderson Cheryl A.M. , Liu Jie , Kostis John B.
Published: February 2013

Salt sensitivity, the heterogeneity in the response of blood pressure (BP) to alterations in sodium intake, has been studied extensively, whereas weight sensitivity, the heterogeneity in BP response to weight change, has received scant attention. We examined the relationship of 21 gene polymorphisms previously found to be associated with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or obesity, with weight sensitivity in the Trial of Nonpharmacologic Interventions in the Elderly, where participants with hypertension were randomized to receive intensive dietary intervention of sodium reduction, weight loss, both, or attention control, whereas pharmacological therapy was kept constant. After correcting for multiplicity, we identified significant associations of 3 polymorphisms with weight sensitivity of systolic BP (rs4646994, rs2820037, and rs1800629) and 3 polymorphisms for diastolic BP (rs4646994, rs2820037, and rs5744292). A recursive partitioning algorithm selected the combination of rs4646994, rs1800629, rs1982073, and rs1800896 as the set associated with the highest weight sensitivity. Polymorphisms related to hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus are associated with weight sensitivity of BP.
The Anatheistic Wager: faith after Faith
Authors: Treanor Brian
Published: February 2013

The hermeneutic wager described in Richard Kearney’s Anatheism seems to share a number of characteristics with both agnosticism and other postmodern religious wagers. All these approaches maintain a certain epistemological humility with respect to what we can and cannot know about God. Nevertheless, the anatheistic wager includes an existential aspect that risks commitment even in the uncertainty of epistemological uncertainty. The fivefold motion of imagination, humility, commitment, discernment, and hospitality circumscribes a wager that is neither the blind leap of fideism nor safe assurance of certainty.
Grammar of the Uncanny
Authors: Yates Christopher
Published: February 2013

Inspired by the contemporary intersection between hermeneutics, phenomenology, and psychoanalysis on the one hand, and poetics on the other, this article is a study in the peculiar manifestation of strangeness that obtains within the self. It is a descriptive and autobiographical account of a disclosure that, though common, is irreducible to traditional categories of mimesis and ontology: the experience of displacement in self-consciousness and embodiment. Drawing upon insights by Sigmund Freud and Martin Heidegger, and in dialogue with the poetics of Jules Renard, the essay seeks to appreciate a certain grammar of ipseity that is formative of subjectivity and constitutive of the poetic vocation. Emphasis is placed on the productive quality of the “between” (Zwischen) as it obtains both geographically and internally, and the concentration potentially resulting from the “between” as one grapples to configure in language the experience of playing “host” to one’s own self.
Reexamining the Allegorical Hermeneutic in A. B. Yehoshua’s A Late Divorce
Authors: Devir Nathan Paul
Published: February 2013

Abstract

This article demonstrates the ways in which the allegorical hermeneutic of A. B. Yehoshua’s novelA Late Divorce(1982) is inextricably linked to the intertextual reservoir of Judaic culture, particularly by way of its dependence upon the stories, themes, motifs, and characters from the Judaic textual tradition. Additionally, it shows how Yehoshua’s novel subverts those narrative patterns along the lines of emphatically Israeli concerns, simultaneously providing a totemically charged connection with the Judaic textual tradition and evidence of a radical departure from it. Drawing on the theoretical perspectives of archetypal psychology, this study also provides a reexamination of the much-discussed persona of Naomi, the text’s central female character, with respect to her role as the “mediatrix of the unknown” and her use of predominantly culturally inherited points of reference to link the thematic portions of the novel.
Bonded Labour in Southeast Asia: Introduction
Authors: Derks Annuska
Published: February 2013

The introduction of this special issue takes up the questions: Why ‘bonded labour’? What do we mean by it? And, why focus on ‘bonded labour’ now? Answers to these questions require an effort of definition, as well as contextualisation, of a phenomenon that, though long expected to disappear with societal and economic developments, has persisted or re-emerged in the wake of current processes of transnational migration and globalisation. The introduction briefly discusses longstanding theoretical debates on bondage in past and present Asia, as well as new insights derived from a Swiss research project focusing on ‘Contemporary Forms of Bonded Labour in Southeast Asia.’
The Politics of Bonded Labour among Rattan-Collectors in South-Western Sumatra, Late 1980s
Authors: Znoj Heinzpeter
Published: February 2013

At the end of the 1980s, the commercial search for rattan in the newly-established Kerinci-Seblat National Park in south-western Sumatra relied on debt bondage as a means of labour control. In a village at the fringes of the park, land and water were ample and free resources but labour power was scarce. Since their land was of no monetary value, the local rice farmers had to pawn their own labour power to secure loans from traders. The focus in the article is on how this debt-bondage was negotiated and discursively constructed on an everyday basis between the indebted rattan collectors and their creditors. In these micro-politics of debt-bondage, the collectors relied on subsistence ethics to openly default on what they called ‘war debts’ to limit the degree of their exploitation. The article shows that this case of debt bondage in forest product collection was an inherently contested and unstable institution that was embedded in notions of mutual obligations within patron-client ties.
East Timor: A Dependent State Expert in Mass Communication
Authors: Berlie Jean A.
Published: February 2013

In 2010, despite the payment of important royalties from oil and gas resources, East Timor continues to be heavily dependent on the United Nations, including Australia, Portugal and other donor countries. Despite its expertise in mass communication, East Timor needs new type of governance to reduce both the impoverishment of the people and youth unemployment. Among other possible options, the implementation of new laws on education and vocational schools are suggestions to develop the country, as well as having new leaders replace the UN staff, together with a new military and police force after drastic reforms. This may reduce youth disillusionment. CNRT, the National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor, the party of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, and Fretilin currently dominate the political life of the country. Unity and motivation of the majority who cultivate the land may restore the confidence, courage and creativity of the Timorese.
From One-Stop Graft to Costly Corruption Webs: Democratisation and Shifting Patterns of Corruption in Korea
Authors: Schopf James C.
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Democratisation has brought a new, riskier pattern of corruption to Korea. More groups and institutions have secured a role in a more inclusive democratic policy making process. As a result, corruption schemes now require the consent of a wide and diverse set of veto players, often including the political opposition, producing expansive democratic ‘corruption webs’. The key democratic element of competition for votes rewards opposition members in the web for blowing the whistle. Increased likelihood of exposure and punishment deter many from corruption, which has subsequently declined in Korea under democracy, as measured by perception polls, experience surveys and objective measures of elite rent exchange. The Roh Moo-hyeon NACF scandals demonstrate that democratic corruption webs also mitigate damage from scandals — forcing participants to limit rent exchange to minimise exposure to clean veto players. Democratic oversight ensures that even bribe-taking officials implement policy according to publicly-declared objectives. Finally, competition for votes encourages timely exposure of democratic corruption rackets.
Democratic Decentralisation and Pro-poor Policy Reform in Indonesia: The Politics of Health Insurance for the Poor in Jembrana and Tabanan
Authors: Rosser Andrew , Wilson Ian
Published: February 2013

Abstract

This paper explores the conditions under which democratic decentralisation has contributed to pro-poor policy reform in Indonesia by examining the politics of health insurance for the poor in two Indonesian districts, Jembrana and Tabanan, both located in Bali. Governments in these districts have responded quite differently to the issue of health insurance for the poor since they gained primary responsibility for health policy as a result of Indonesia’s implementation of decentralisation in 2001. We argue that this variation has reflected differences in the nature of district heads’ political strategies — particularly the extent to which they have sought to develop a popular base among the poor — and that these in turn have reflected differences in their personal networks, alliances and constituencies. Comparative research suggests that pro-poor outcomes have only occurred in developing countries following democratic decentralisation when social-democratic political parties have secured power at the local level. In the Indonesian case, we suggest, political parties are not well defined in ideological and programmatic terms and tend to act as electoral vehicles for hire and mechanisms for the distribution of patronage, while local-level politics is increasingly dominated by the executive arm of government. Hence the pathway to pro-poor policy reform has been different — namely, via the emergence of local executives who pursue their interests and those of allies and backers via populist strategies with or without the support of parties.
Seven new species of Trichodorus (Diphtherophorina, Trichodoridae) from Spain, an apparent centre of speciation
Authors: Decraemer Wilfrida , Palomares-Rius Juan E. , Cantalapiedra-Navarrete Carolina , Landa Blanca B. , Duarte Isabel , Almeida Teresa , Vovlas Nicola , Castillo Pablo
Published: February 2013

During a survey for Trichodoridae in cultivated and natural environments, mainly from southern Spain, 7 new Trichodorus species were found. Four of them, T. andalusicus n. sp., T. asturanus n. sp., T. silvestris n. sp. and T. parasilvestris n. sp., belong to the T. lusitanicus morpho-species group characterised in the male by the slightly ventrally curved spicules with a mid-blade constriction with bristles, and in the female by well developed, rounded triangular to quadrangular, vaginal sclerotised pieces. They were mainly differentiated based upon differences in body length, onchiostyle length, spicule shape and number of ventromedian cervical papillae in the male, and size and shape of the vaginal sclerotised pieces in the female. The presence of the T. lusitanicus morpho-species group with 8 species, apparently endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, could point to a recent speciation event. Additionally, 3 new species, T. onubensis n. sp., T. iliplaensis n. sp. and T. paragiennensis n. sp., more closely resembling the morpho-species group of T. sparsus, to which the Spanish species T. giennensis also belongs, were identified. They were differentiated based on body length, length of onchiostyle and position of the secretory-excretory pore and, in the male, by length and shape of the spicules and number of ventromedian cervical papillae and in the female by the vaginal sclerotised pieces. Molecular support to differentiate the new species using the D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rDNA is also provided. In addition, a new population of T. variabilis from Greece was studied as well as T. lusitanicus type specimens, and a population of T. giennensis and T. lusitanicus were also sequenced.
Media Coverage and Solidarity after Tragedies: The Reporting of School Shootings in Two Nations
Authors: Hawdon James , Hawdon James , Oksanen Atte , Hawdon James , Oksanen Atte , Räsänen Pekka
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Although considerable research analyzes the media coverage of school shootings, there is a lack of cross-national comparative studies. Yet, a cross-national comparison of the media coverage of school shootings can provide insight into how this coverage can affect communities. Our research focuses on the reporting of the school shootings at Virginia Tech in the U.S. and Jokela and Kauhajoki in Finland. Using 491 articles from the New York Times and Helsingin Sanomat published within a month of each shooting we investigate how reports vary between the nations and among the tragedies. We investigate if one style of framing a tragedy, the use of a “tragic frame,” may contribute to differences in the communities’ response to the events.
Multiple Secularities: Toward a Cultural Sociology of Secular Modernities
Authors: Wohlrab-Sahr Monika , Wohlrab-Sahr Monika , Burchardt Marian
Published: February 2013

Abstract

For more than two decades sociological debates over religion and secularization have been characterized by a confrontation between (often American) critics and (mostly European) defenders of secularization theories. At the same time, there was a remarkable rise in public debates about the role of secularism in political regimes and in national as well as civilizational frameworks. Against this backdrop this paper presents the conceptual framework of “multiple secularities” with a view to refocusing sociological research on religion and secularity. We will demonstrate that it can stimulate new ways of theorizing the relationship of religion and secularity in a variety of modern environments. Arguing for a reformulation of this relationship within the framework of cultural sociology, we conceptualize “secularity” in terms of the cultural meanings underlying the differentiation between religion and non-religious spheres. Building on Max Weber we distinguish four basic ideal-types of secularity that are related to specific reference problems and associated with specific guiding ideas. Finally, we illustrate the use of the concept with regard to selected case-studies.
Judicial Practice at the Court of First Instance Tunis: The Case of Divorce for Harm on the Grounds of Domestic Violence
Authors: Voorhoeve Maaike
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Tunisian personal status law is internationally known for its “progressive” character. Nevertheless, it is argued in Tunisian doctrine that judicial practice is characterised by “conservatism,” and that judges applyshariaand “custom” instead of or at least together with legislation. This article examines the practices at the Court of First Instance Tunis in divorce cases where the wife accuses her husband of domestic violence. It is demonstrated that strict evidence requirements applied by judges prevent most women from obtaining divorce for harm (darar), a type of divorce that has large financial advantages for the wife. However, the material does not indicate that judges simply applyshariaor “custom”: judges argue that strict evidence requirements are necessary in the light of their experience with numerous false accusations. Moreover, judges do take accusations of domestic violence into consideration in other types of divorce.
Interfaith Community Organizing Emerging Theological and Organizational Challenges
Authors: Fulton Brad , Wood Richard L.
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Interfaith work in the United States takes diverse forms: from grass-roots collaboration on projects such as feeding the homeless, to locally-sponsored interfaith dialogues, collaborations sponsored by national denominational bodies and shared work on federal ‘faith-based initiatives’. This article profiles the characteristics and dynamics of a particular type of interfaith work, done under the rubric of ‘broad-based’, ‘faith-based’ or ‘congregation-based’ community organizing. For reasons detailed below, we term this form of interfaith and religious-secular collaboration ‘institution-based community organizing’. By drawing on results from a national survey of all local institution-based community organizations active in the United States in 2011, this article documents the significance of the field, its broadly interfaith profile, how it incorporates religious practices into organizing, and the opportunities and challenges that religious diversity presents to its practitioners and to North American society.1
Securitization of Islam in Europe
Authors: Cesari Jocelyne
Published: February 2013

This article analyzes the political consequences of the “War on Terror” on the status of Islam in European public spaces, especially restriction of religious activities and practices. These restrictions are interpreted as the outcomes of a securitzation process, constructing Islam as an existential threat that requires extraordinary and emergency procedures outside the bounds of regular political procedure.
The Transformation of the Torah in Second Temple Judaism
Authors: Collins John J.
Published: February 2013

Abstract

While the Torah enjoys central importance in the sectarian scrolls, it is not nearly so central in the Aramaic texts found at Qumran. These texts show familiarity with the stories of Genesis and Exodus, but they treat them as sources for stories and wisdom instruction rather than for prescriptive law. The same is true of Ben Sira. Ancestral laws were very important in the Hellenistic world, but their importance was largely symbolic. Even Ezra seems to have focused primarily on a few issues of symbolic importance. Only after the Maccabean revolt do we begin to get sustained halakic discussion in such books as the Temple Scroll and Jubilees. The increased prominence of halakic disputes went hand in hand with the rise of sectarianism.
Qumran as Scroll Storehouse in Times of Crisis? A Comparative Perspective on Judaean Desert Manuscript Collections
Authors: Popović Mladen
Published: February 2013

Abstract

This article takes a material and comparative approach to the Qumran collection. Distinctive features set the Qumran manuscripts apart from other Judaean Desert collections, suggesting a scholarly, school-like collection of predominantly literary texts. The few literary texts from other Judaean Desert sites reflect the valuable copies owned by wealthy individuals or families and are illustrative of the spread of these texts within various strata of ancient Jewish society. The historical context of most manuscript depositions in the Judaean Desert is characterized by violence and conflict, and such a context probably also typified the deposition of the Qumran manuscripts. In contrast to at least some of the other Judaean Desert sites where refugees hid with their manuscripts, the deposition evidence at Qumran may suggest an anticipation of such violence. The movement behind the Dead Sea Scrolls can be characterized as a textual community, reflecting a milieu of Jewish intellectuals who were engaged on various levels with their ancestral traditions. The collection of texts attracted people and shaped their thinking, while at the same time people shaped the collection, producing and gathering more texts. In this sense, the site of Qumran and its surrounding caves functioned like a storehouse for scrolls.
Landscapes of Iraqi Poetry: Reconfiguring the Image of Iraq in the Arabic (and American) Lyric Canon
Authors: Naaman Mara
Published: February 2013

Abstract

This article explores the construction of Iraq as lyric object in the poetry of Badr Shākir al-Sayyāb, Maḥmūd Darwīsh, Saʿdī Yūsuf, and Sinān Anṭūn. I argue that there is a clear sense of ambivalence for these poets over how to represent Iraq; the country emerges in their verse as both an unmarred idyll and as a landscape of wretchedness and despair. In putting these Arabic works in dialogue with the anti-war poems of the American writer Brian Turner, I suggest the ways in which comparative analysis between these two canons can help us move beyond nostalgic representations of Iraq and the U.S. as civilizational others, and push us toward more constructive forms of cross-cultural exchange.
Spawning behaviour and mating success in hybrids of silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna L.) and rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus L.) in an experimental environment
Authors: Nzau Matondo Billy , Ovidio Michaël , Philippart Jean Claude , Poncin Pascal
Published: February 2013

The egg-release, mating, courting and aggressive acts for the spawning behaviour as well as the survival rates after spawning at stages of eyed embryos, viable hatchlings, and larvae to dry food consumption for the mating success were studied in cultured silver bream Blicca bjoerkna × rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus hybrids at their first sexual maturity. Experiments were conducted in experimental environments simulating natural reproductive conditions of the parental species. Spawning behaviour was analysed over 1 day from 8.00 to 18.00 hours using a remote-controlled video. Mating success was assessed from eggs and hatched embryos collected on the spawning ground. The results showed that these hybrids exhibited all the reproductive behaviours of the parental species with significantly more courtship than mating. Each egg-release act was accompanied by mating behaviour, involving all the experimental males. A surprising aggressive behaviour was observed in one male which attacked all other experimental fish. Successful mating resulted in the presence of fertilized eggs, the production of hatched embryos in experiments, and the survival of larvae at the dry food consumption stage. However, the low viable hatchling rate observed could indicate a very low chance of survival for these hybrids in rivers in which the occurrence of post-F1 individuals may be more possible by backcrossing.
The Relevance of Religion and Religiosity in the Biographies of Single Women Estranged from the Church and Young Girls and Women Associating with the Church: Methodological Considerations on Empirical Biographical Research
Authors: Reese-Schnitker Annegret , Kaupp Angela
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Empirical biographical research gives insights into the diversity of life designs and the individual’s faith patterns. In this article two studies are introduced in order to show the following: Firstly different investigations of women’s religiosity depending on their age and connection to church. Secondly the depiction of methodological slightly different ways of biographical research aiming at the investigation of religiosity. The results indicate a variety of connections between biographical and faith patterns. In contradiction to the assumption that narratives are most relevant in autobiographies, it was brought out, that descriptions and argumentative passages can give valuable information on the individual’s positioning in behalf of religion.
The European Union and Law of the Sea Convention at the Age of 30
Authors: Long Ronán
Published: February 2013

Abstract

Several factors that have contributed to the success of the Law of the Sea Convention as a blueprint for the regulation of oceanic activities in the European Union (EU) are outlined, including the comprehensive nature of the Convention, the role of the Working Party on the Law of the Sea (COMAR) in coordinating EU policy, as well as the EU approach to dispute settlement and to global oceanic affairs.
The Ten Hours Movement and the Rights of Childhood
Authors: Creighton Colin
Published: February 2013

It is generally accepted that sustained public discussion of children’s rights is of relatively recent origin. In this article I endeavour to demonstrate that a powerful discourse of children’s rights emerged in Britain in the 1830s in connection with the campaign of the Ten Hours Movement to limit the hours of labour of children in the textile industries. The Movement asserted that factory children, no less than those more privileged, had rights to life, health, physical protection, education, play, a caring family life and a happy childhood, and argued that these rights were grounded in both the law of nature and the laws of God. Opposing the doctrines of utilitarianism and political economy, the Movement maintained that the absolute nature of these rights meant that they overrode pragmatic considerations and that social arrangements which precluded their realisation should be changed to accommodate children’s needs.
A Byzantine interpretation of D. 12,1,32 and similar Digest fragments
Authors: de Jong Hylkje
Published: February 2013

In the middle of the 6th century A.D. the antecessor Stephanus taught the codification of Emperor Justinian, explaining the Latin text of the Digest in Greek. In particular, he discussed the condictiones from D. 12,1. Stephanus introduced a specific name for the condictio from D. 12,1,32, namely ó κονδικτικιος απο καλον και δικαιον (condictio ex bono et aequo). This name refers to the facts of the casus. Only the plaintiff as former owner can apply ó κονδικτικιος απο καλον και δικαιον against a possessor in good faith who has acquired ownership. It always concerns an enrichment of a third person with whom the plaintiff has not any juridical relation. It appears that in other Digest fragments this specific condictio is also recognized on the basis of substantive grounds. Stephanus used the condictio ex bono et aequo from D. 12,6,66 as technical juridical term and gave it a forensic meaning.