bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of vitamin K status with adiponectin and body composition in healthy subjects: uncarboxylated osteocalcin is not associated with fat mass and body weight
Authors: Knapen Marjo H. J. , Schurgers Leon J. , Shearer Martin J. , Newman Paul , Theuwissen Elke , Vermeer Cees
Published: December 2011

Osteocalcin (OC) is a vitamin K-dependent protein found in bone and in circulation. High serum γ-carboxylated OC reflects a high, and high uncarboxylated OC (ucOC) reflects a low vitamin K status. A revolutionary hypothesis is that ucOC acts as a hormone improving glucose handling and reducing fat mass. The objective was to test the logical extrapolation of the ucOC hormone hypothesis to humans that elevated ucOC is associated with higher body weight, BMI and fat mass. In a cross-sectional analysis, the associations of vitamin K status with circulating adiponectin and body composition were investigated in 244 postmenopausal women (study I). The effects of vitamin K treatment on adiponectin, body weight and BMI were investigated in archived samples from forty-two young men and women who received varying doses of menaquinone-7 during 12 weeks (study II) and from a cohort of 164 postmenopausal women who participated in a 3-year placebo-controlled trial on 45 mg menaquinone-4 (MK-4) (study III). No association was found between vitamin K status and circulating adiponectin before or after vitamin K supplementation. A higher carboxylation of OC was significantly correlated with lower body weight, BMI and fat mass of the trunk. Women taking MK-4 maintained their baseline body weight and BMI, whereas women taking placebo showed significant increases in both indices. These findings demonstrate that a high vitamin K status of bone has no effect on circulating adiponectin in healthy people and long-term vitamin K supplementation does not increase weight in healthy postmenopausal women.
Wandering Clerics and Mixed Rituals in the Early Christian North,c.1000–c.1150
Authors: GARIPZANOV ILDAR H.
Published: December 2011

This article questions the traditional perception of early Christianisation in Scandinavia and Northern Rus' as processes separated by established confessional and institutional boundaries. Surviving narrative sources mention a number of clerical peregrinators crossing confessional borders in northern Europe in the post-conversion period, and some contemporaneous baptismal rites from Scandinavia and northern Rus' testify to their ability to influence the basic Christian rituals in both regions. These phenomena suggest that differences between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches were in no way preventing contacts across the early Christian north in the eleventh and the first half of the twelfth century.
The precipitous decline of the ortolan buntingEmberiza hortulana: time to build on scientific evidence to inform conservation management
Authors: Menz Myles H. M. , Arlettaz Raphaël
Published: December 2011

In recent decades there has been a marked decline in most ortolan buntingEmberiza hortulanapopulations in temperate Europe, with many regional populations now extinct or on the brink of extinction. In contrast, Mediterranean and, as far as we know, eastern European popula-tions seem to have remained relatively stable. The causes of decline remain unclear but include: habitat loss and degradation, and related reduction in prey availability; climate change on the breeding grounds; altered population dynamics; illegal captures during migration; and environmental change in wintering areas. We review the current knowledge of the biology of the ortolan bunting and discuss the proposed causes of decline in relation to the different population trends in temperate and Mediterranean Europe. We suggest new avenues of research to identify the factors limiting ortolan bunting populations. The main evidence-based conservation measure that is likely to enhance habitat quality is the creation of patches of bare ground to produce sparsely vegetated foraging grounds in invertebrate-rich grassy habitats close to breeding areas.
Lower birth weight indicates higher risk of autistic traits in discordant twin pairs
Authors: Losh M. , Esserman D. , Anckarsäter H. , Sullivan P. F. , Lichtenstein P.
Published: December 2011

Background

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of complex etiology. Although strong evidence supports the causal role of genetic factors, environmental risk factors have also been implicated. This study used a co-twin–control design to investigate low birth weight as a risk factor for ASD.

Method

We studied a population-based sample of 3715 same-sex twin pairs participating in the Child and Adolescent Twin Study of Sweden (CATSS). ASD was assessed using a structured parent interview for screening of ASD and related developmental disorders, based on DSM-IV criteria. Birth weight was obtained from medical birth records maintained by the Swedish Medical Birth Registry.

Results

Twins lower in birth weight in ASD-discordant twin pairs (n=34) were more than three times more likely to meet criteria for ASD than heavier twins [odds ratio (OR) 3.25]. Analyses of birth weight as a continuous risk factor showed a 13% reduction in risk of ASD for every 100 g increase in birth weight (n=78). Analysis of the effect of birth weight on ASD symptoms in the entire population (most of whom did not have ASD) showed a modest association. That is, for every 100 g increase in birth weight, a 2% decrease in severity of ASD indexed by scores on the Autism – Tics, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and other Comorbidities (A-TAC) inventory would be expected in the sample as a whole.

Conclusions

The data were consistent with the hypothesis that low birth weight confers risk to ASD. Thus, although genetic effects are of major importance, a non-genetic influence associated with birth weight may contribute to the development of ASD.
6.—John Graham Dalyell and some Predecessors in Scottish Marine Biology
Authors: Yonge C. M.
Published: December 2011

The beginnings of marine biology in Scotland, to a greater extent than in England, are intimately connected with interests in antiquarian remains. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which saw the birth of modern science, there is greater interest in the earlier activities of man than there is in nature. However, the first significant figure in Scotland, that of Sir Robert Sibbald, somewhat transcends this definition. Born in Edinburgh, he was trained in medicine at Leyden and in Paris and began practice in his native city in 1662, just after the restoration of Charles II, who was later to nominate him as King's Physician, Geographer-Royal and Natural Historian, revealing Sibbald as a veritable Admirable Crichton of his time. He was concerned with the foundation in this city of the Royal Botanic Garden, which has recently celebrated its tricentenary, and also with the establishment of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh, an activity which led to his knighthood.
Fishery Support Ships
Authors: Dinsdale Tom , Scott Robert Weden
Published: December 2011

Synopsis

The authors have served in both Fishery Support Ships Orsino and Miranda, operated by the Board of Trade following the trawler losses in 1968.

They describe the history of the British Mission Ships first operated 90 years ago, as well as the origins of the Dutch and Portuguese services.

A detailed description is given of the events leading up to, and some experiences of, the present British service.

Finally, an account is presented of the services provided by some other maritime powers.
The Transport of Organic Carbon to Organisms living in the Deep Oceans.
Authors: Fournier Robert O.
Published: December 2011

Synopsis

Numerous theories exist to explain the mechanism of transport of organic carbon from its site of photosynthetic fixation to the point of its utilisation in the deep ocean. With one exception none has been adequately quantified. A new mechanism is proposed which suggests that the so-called olivegreen cells may contribute up to 35 per cent, of the carbon requirements of the benthic fauna. These conclusions are based on observations of their vertical distribution, the apparent labile nature of these cells and evidence of their presence in the guts of benthic and pelagic fauna.
The Role of the Royal Dublin Society (established in 1731) in Fisheries Research and Development
Authors: Went Arthur E. J.
Published: December 2011

Outside Ireland the Royal Dublin Society is perhaps best known for its annual International Horse Show, but it has in its long history contributed to many other aspects of Irish life. The Dublin Society, as it was called up to 1821 when it assumed the title Royal on King George IV becoming its patron, was founded in 1731 for the purpose of ‘improving husbandry, manufactures and other useful arts and sciences’. Since that time the Society has done much to foster an understanding of the relationship of science to industry and one of the Society's important committees is known as the Committee for Science and its Industrial Applications. The Society's original library became the nucleus of the National Library for Ireland, its Botanical Gardens the National Botanical Gardens and, indeed, as one speaker said at a Dublin meeting recently, ‘there were very few scientific or cultural organisations in Ireland which did not owe their origin to the activities of the Society’.
Development of Soviet Sea-bed Research in relation to Fishery Problems
Authors: Gershanovich D. E.
Published: December 2011

The dependence of commercial marine species upon the type of bottom topography is well known. This factor has always been taken into consideration in fishing, and adequate knowledge of it has often contributed to the success of fishing operations. Experience shows that fisheries development requires more complete information on bottom topography and sediments, not only for navigational needs (met mainly by the hydrographic service) but also for finding areas rich in fish and other commercial organisms, which are suitable for conducting fishing operations. Without knowledge of the sea-bed topography it is impossible to give a full oceanographic description of a water body, or to understand the characteristic features of the distribution of commercial species and the organisms on which they feed, or to estimate commercial resources correctly and to exploit them systematically.
Fluctuation and natural control of animal population, as exemplified in the garden chaferPhyllopertha horticola(L.)
Authors: Milne A.
Published: December 2011

Synopsis

The garden chafer.Phyllopertha horticola(L.), renews its population every June. Its numbers fluctuate irregularly from year to year. During 1947 75 in the English Lake District, it had two ‘outbreaks’ (with peaks in 1952 and 1975) separated by a long period of low population (1956–70). In nine of the years 1948 75, October population increased significantly over that of the preceding year: in eleven, it did not change significantly; and in ihe remaining eight, it decreased significantly. These fluctuations in numbers were due to fluctuations in the effective environmental factors (weather, enemies and intraspecific competition) influencing sun ival, fecundity and migration. Weather was more effective than enemies in this respect and intraspecific competition became important only when weather and enemies together failed to keep numbers from rising dangerously high for the chafer. Weather was, of course, density-independent in action. Among enemies, interspecific competitors were density-independent while pathogens, parasites and predators were all imperfectly density-dependent. The only perfectly density-dependent factor was intraspecific competition. These findings bear out Milne's theory (1957aet seq.) that for part of the time, natural control of population increase of any species X is due to the combined action of density-independent and imperfectly density-dependent environmental factors but, whenever this combined action fails (as inevitably it sometimes must), increase to the point of collective suicide is prevented by the one and only perfectly density-dependent factor, namely, intraspecific competition of X; on the other hand, decrease of numbers of X to zero is prevented ultimately by density-independent factors alone.
Sediments of the Tay Estuary. I. Bottom Sediments of the Upper and Upper Middle Reaches
Authors: Buller A. T. , McManus J.
Published: December 2011

Synopsis

A lack of modern river-borne sediment and a steady supply of marine materials have led to the hypothesis that the upper Tay estuary is undergoing an erosive phase counterbalanced by a headward moving sheet of largely marine-derived sand presently occupying the upper-middle estuary. This primal division (based on sediment budget criteria) is also reflected in the bathymetry, distribution of sediment types, and sedimentary structures. The situation of two contrasting ‘phase zones’ juxtaposed within a relatively small area is ideal for an empirical and indirect analysis of the response of a wide variety of sediment types to the gross physical processes acting on them. The analysis takes the form of standard grain-size characterisations using conventional sedimentary statistics, supplemented by adaptations of C-M and QDa-Md diagrams transformed for display on distribution maps.
Sediments of the Tay Estuary. II. Formation of Ephemeral Zones of High Suspended Sediment Concentrations.
Authors: Buller A. T.
Published: December 2011

Synopsis

During periods of sustained moderate river discharge and quiescent marine conditions little external suspended sediment enters the estuarine circulation of the Tay. That material which is in suspension is largely derived from the estuary margins where tidal currents superimposed by wind-induced waves are competent to resuspend fine material from the surface of the ‘mud’ flats and erode bedded silts from the incised banks of minor channels and runnels draining them. The quantities of this sediment entering the system are largely determined by tidal state and amplitude, as well as wind velocity.

On spring tides the flats are entirely covered at high water, and dry out completely at low water. The volume of water and its areal coverage at high tide ensures that, during the ebb, water charged with high concentrations of suspended sediment is directed from the fiats into the surface and middepth waters of the main channel. This process acting along the 20 km length of the channel flanking the ‘mud’ flats, combined with the low tide ‘ponding effect’ caused by the tide flooding from the sea while the upper estuarine water is still ebbing, results in the cumulative formation of a zone of high suspended sediment concentrations (turbidity maximum). As the flood tide becomes fully established the zone is diluted and dispersed. During neap tides the same processes operate, but because a smaller area of the flats is covered at high water and uncovered at low water, and because neap tidal current speeds are lower than those for spring tides, two proportionally weaker zones are recognised.

Following periods of sustained moderate river discharge, quiet sea conditions and calm weather, suspended sediment concentrations in the Tay are negligible irrespective of tidal state or amplitude.
Sediments of the Tay Estuary. III. Sedimentological and Faunal Relationships on the Southern Shore at the Entrance to the Tay.
Authors: Green Christopher D.
Published: December 2011

Synopsis

The southern entrance shores to the Tay estuary form an area of extensive inter-tidal sedimentation. Tidal currents of varying strengths characterise the area and the situation is modified by both wind and wave. The net result is a series of seven sub-environments of sedimentation. The textural characteristics of the sediment and the distribution of major and minor sedimentary structures in each subenvironment is closely linked to stability and changing physical processes. The distribution of organisms, live and dead, provides a good indication of these patterns of sediment and stability.
Endocrine Aspects of Salmonid Culture
Authors: Simpson T. H.
Published: December 2011

SYNOPSIS

Administration, by dietary supplement, of ethylestrenol to rainbow trout and to salmon parr results in significant increases in growth rate; further treatment of smolts retained in fresh water reduces the growth rate. Treated parr develop into 1 + smolts in significantly lower proportion than controls, but have a higher condition factor.

Stress induces in rainbow trout long-lasting reductions in plasma thyroxine levels and increases in serum cortisol concentrations. The origin and significance of these changes is discussed.

The administration of 17β-oestradiol at 20 mg/kg of food for the first 30 days of feeding causes sex-reversal of male salmonids. Treatment with 17α-methyltestosterone at 3 mg/kg food for 90 days following first-feeding causes sex-reversal of female salmonids.
The Spirit of the Canon Law and its Application in England
Authors: Kemp Eric
Published: December 2011

Bishop Eric Kemp was a canonist when such practice had yet to become fashionable once more. He was instrumental in the formation of the Ecclesiastical Law Society and served as its President from the creation of the Society until his death on the eve of Advent Sunday in 2009. He was a member of thisJournal's Editorial Advisory Board from 1987 until 2002. The first issue of thisJournalran to 34 pages. The only substantive article, taking up more than half of its content, was by Eric Kemp. In celebration of the Silver Jubilee of theJournaland in recognition of its first President's contribution to its establishment and subsequent flourishing, this article is reproduced, lightly updated and annotated by the current Editor, who was pleased and proud to serve as Bishop Kemp's last chancellor in the Diocese of Chichester.1
The impacts of La Niña-induced drought on Indian Vulture Gyps indicus populations in Western Rajasthan
Authors: HALL JONATHAN C. , CHHANGANI ANIL K. , WAITE TOM A. , HAMILTON IAN M.
Published: December 2011

Previous research on the catastrophic decline of the Gyps species complex has identified diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administered to livestock, as the primary cause. Large-scale climatic phenomena, such as ENSO-induced drought, however have not been examined. Based on time series analysis of annual count data, 1996–2005, we provide evidence that ENSO synchronised population dynamics throughout western Rajasthan. Here, we ask whether El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can also explain the population dynamics of the Critically Endangered Indian Vulture Gyps indicus. We attribute this impact largely to two La Niña events, including the major event spanning 1999. We also examine between-village variation in resident vulture populations. Our results suggest that in several villages, Indian Vulture populations may have been partially buffered from the negative effects of drought when compared to other villages in the study. Finally, we discuss potential causes of buffering in these villages.
An Ethiopic Inscription in Westminster Abbey
Authors: Ullendorff Edward
Published: December 2011

Early in the spring of 1990, Professor Josef van Ess of Tübingen University came to visit me at my home at Oxford. In the course of conversation he asked me about an Ethiopic memorial tablet he had seen in Westminster Abbey. To my chagrin I had to own that the existence of such an inscription was quite unknown to me. In the hope of removing (or at least of mitigating) this stain of inexcusable ignorance, I hastened to the Abbey the following week – only to find it closed to visitors on account of a broadcast recording performance. I then wrote to the Assistant Librarian of Westminster Abbey (Mrs Enid Nixon) who proved to be immensely helpful and knowledgeable and was kind enough to answer my queries and to provide me with precious information. I have since been able to inspect the monumentin situ.
The Origin of the Term pien-wen: An Alternative Hypothesis
Authors: Barrett T.H.
Published: December 2011

No one has done more over recent years to promote the study of the genre of Chinese literature known aspien-wenin the English-speaking world than Victor Mair of the University of Pennsylvania. Since the discovery of this type of T'ang popular tale among the Tun-huang manuscripts which were recovered at the start of this century, a considerable body of scholarship has been produced to explain its origins and affiliations. The results of all this academic effort are now surveyed in three volumes by Mair: one a selection of translations, one a survey of comparable phenomena outside China, and one (dealt with here) addressed to the main problems raised by the Chinese materials.
Trends in the Shī'ī Response to Constitutionalist Ideology in Iran
Authors: Martin Vanessa
Published: December 2011

Since the Shī'ī response to constitutionalist notions of government is potentially a very large subject, for the purposes of this discussion Shī'ī will be taken to mean the members of the orthodox 'ulamā, those most committed to thesharī'aand learned in its precepts. Whilst even within this group there is a wide diversity of opinion, it is hoped that, by looking at works written over a longer period, the discussion will show that the response by a particular ‘ālimto constitutionalism is to some extent influenced by the political conditions prevailing at the time of writing. These form a factor together with the restrictions imposed by thesharī'ain shaping the views of particular writers. The ideology under consideration is constitutionalism, but it will be observed that for a large part the subject matter treated consists of ideas such as representation, consultation, legislation, freedom and equality, which are allied to the constitutionalist theory of government, rather than the complete theory itself.
“Nabob, Historian and Orientalist.” Robert Orme: The Life and Career of an East India Company Servant (1728–1801)
Authors: Delgoda Sinharaja Tammita
Published: December 2011

Robert Orme is probably now chiefly remembered as the author of the History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan. First published in 1763 and 1778, the History was widely admired in its time. Since then, however, Orme has been steadily displaced by later historians from James Mill onwards. The result is that today he is hardly read at all. The purpose of this article is to rescue Robert Orme from the anonymity to which he has been relegated.
Deux Chrétiens au Yémen Tāhiride
Authors: Aubin Jean
Published: December 2011

Bien que l'emploi des bouches à feu soit attesté dans les pays de l'lnde antérieurement, la diffusion de l'artillerie, et de ce que l'on appelle du terme générique conventionnel d'arquebuse, a été, au début du XVIe siècle, le fait de transfuges recherchés pour leur habileté à fondre des canons et à manier l'arme à feu portative. Les plus fameux sont les deux Italiens qui, en 1503, passérent au service du Samorin de Calicut. On trouve ensuite parmi eux des “Turcs” ou “Roumes” – dont la plupart semblent, arrivés au Gujarat en 1507, avoir essaimé après le désastre de Diu de 1509, au service d'autres princes, jusqu'au Bengale et au Pégou – et des “Portugais”, ou réputé tels, dont la trace, une fois passés dans le monde d'en face, se perd le plus souvent. Si les activités de quelques-uns de ces aventuriers, revenant en terre chrétienne, étaient trop notoires pour qu'ils donnent le change, d'autres entouraient de fumée leur curriculum incontrôlable et rachetaient par une version édifiante un moment douteux de leur passé.
Some Ethnographic Aspects of the Ancient Copper-Bronze Tradition in India
Authors: Lahiri Nayanjot
Published: December 2011

The alloying and distribution pattern of early Indian copper and copper-based artefacts and the occurrence of ingots in some archaeological contexts have been variously discussed in Indian archaeological literature. First, the presence of pure copper artefacts in early Indian archaeological contexts is considered to be symptomatic of the scarcity of alloying agents. For instance, D. P. Agrawal has argued that the presence of 70% of pure copper objects among the analysed Harappan artefacts in this metal is reflective of a problem in the procurement of tin; since this metallic ore was not easily available, evidence of copper alloying is scarce. Secondly, the variations in element composition of alloyed artefacts have generally been regarded as evidence of incomplete knowledge of mixing – E. J. H. Mackay's argument that “mixing of the two metals was performed in a most perfunctory manner ” to explain the variations in the average proportions of tin to copper in Mohenjodaro specimens is evocative of this general approach. Thirdly, not many sites which have yielded copper objects have yielded any positive evidence of manufacture – in some cases this may be due to the limited nature of the excavated data, but on the whole one would argue that the sites which can be described as centres of copper metallurgy are comparatively few and far between in the Indian context. Fourthly, the occurrence of copper ingots at different sites has been generally taken to be indicative of trade in this metal.
A Tibetan Inscription by lHa Bla-ma Ye-shes-'od from dKor (sPu) Rediscovered
Authors: Thakur Laxman S.
Published: December 2011

dKor and sPu are twin villages, separated by a rivulet, situated on the right bank of the river Sutlej in Kinnaur. A stēle inscription in question was first noticed from dKor by A. H. Francke in 1909, and subsequently by Giuseppe Tucci, in 1933 (Fig. i). Unfortunately neither Francke nor Tucci translated it in extenso. Francke, however, has published its main contents and Tucci relied on Francke's translation. Fragmentary it may be, but it contains invaluable information about the activities of Ye-shes-'od, a well-known monk-king of Western Tibet (formerly of the Gu-ge kingdom). To our knowledge, this seems to be the only Tibetan inscription which can definitely be dated to Ye-shes-'od's times. Fortunately, it mentions a specific date, i.e. the dragon's year (‘brug gi lo). In the year A.D. 1042 his grand-nephew Byang-chub-'od indirectly recalls Ye-shes-'od's deeds in the very first line of an inscription at rTa-pho. Thus it runs: spre'u'i lo la sngon mes byang chub sons dpas/gtsug lag khang ‘di bzhengs … [before, in the monkey year this temple (vihāra) was constructed by the grandfather the bodhisattva]. It is quite clear that the grandfather referred to in the line is none other than Ye-shes-'od. Another inscription also at rTa-pho, belonging to a somewhat later period, again records his name along with Byang-chub-'od and Zhi-ba-'od.
Definitions of Poverty and the Rise of the Muslim Urban Poor
Authors: Bonner Michael
Published: December 2011

Poverty in medieval Islam is an enormous topic. It is worth considering from a historian's point of view, especially in the light of what has been accomplished by historians of Rome, Byzantium, and the medieval and modern West who have dealt with poverty and the poor. But as always, the sources for Islamic history, especially for the formative early centuries, present difficulties. Here I wish to make a preliminary attempt at dealing with part of this problem. I shall begin by considering an event which represents a turning point in the history of the Muslim poor, or more accurately, in the way poverty and the poor have been represented in modern historical scholarship on medieval Islam. Then I shall suggest a way in which this event may be set in context, and a possible strategy for handling some of the relevant sources. This strategy involves the identification of different, competing ways in which the poor were defined in the first centuries of Islam.
The Quantity of Livestock Owned by the Mongols in the 13th Century
Authors: Bold Bat-Ochir
Published: December 2011

In the course of the last fifty years there have been on average twenty-four million animals registered annually in Mongolia. In 1996 29, 275,700 animals were counted. This is a quantity never before experienced in the country's history. In the coming years another rise in the number of animals is expected. Some specialists conjecture a continual increase. Others are attempting to prove that this cannot be realized on account of limitations of space and that, already, throughout the country, pasture land is being threatened by overuse due to the sheer quantity of livestock. The question of how much livestock the resources of the entire natural pasture can support is still not completely answered.
Christian Wives of Mongol Khans: Tartar Queens and Missionary Expectations in Asia
Authors: Ryan James D.
Published: December 2011

In the late thirteenth century the openness and religious toleration of the Mongol Empire created unique conditions which encouraged European missionaries to venture into Asia. The Franciscans and Dominicans who answered the call to evangelize in territories under Tartar dominion enjoyed such success by the early fourteenth century that the papacy created archbishoprics and suffragan sees in Central Asia and China, and entertained dreams of new Christian communities aligned with the Roman Church. This paper focuses on a special set of circumstances which briefly encouraged those expectations. Western missionaries to the Mongols found influential Christian women, the mothers and consorts of rulers, at the courts of several khans. Because these Mongol queens played powerful political roles, their prayers and example might encourage the conversion of their people and those subject to them. Faithful wives of pagan rulers, in times long gone, had played a dynamic part in the conversion of husbands or sons, and of their realms, thus contributing to the spread of Christianity in Europe. Once again, at the close of the thirteenth century, hopes were voiced that pious women might perform a similar task in Asia.
Hungarian Explorers in Dunhuang
Authors: Russell-Smith Lilla
Published: December 2011

Much has been written about the extraordinary artistic, religious and historic importance of the Thousand Buddha Cave Temples at Dunhuang, in Gansu province, western China. One hundred and twenty years ago, on 2 May, 1879, a Hungarian expedition reached Dunhuang. It is a little known fact that its members were to be the first western travellers to visit the cave temples there. Still less known is the influence of this expedition on Sir Aurel Stein, the Hungarian-born British archaeologist. This article examines a hitherto unstudied aspect of why Stein was in the position to become the first to arrive in Dunhuang after the important discovery was made. It is argued that the little known Hungarian expedition was a determining factor in prompting Stein to undertake the hazardous journey to Dunhuang. Furthermore the travel notes of these earlier Hungarian travellers throw light at the very unstable situation at the Dunhuang caves thirty years before Stein's visit. This information is likely to have influenced Stein's decision to take much of the material away for safe keeping as at the time of his visit the situation continued to deteriorate.
Tribes and States in the Middle East
Authors: Crone Patricia
Published: December 2011

To undergraduates of Western origin, one of the most alien aspects of Islamic history is the role played in it by tribes: why did they never disappear ? To seasoned Islamicists, on the other hand, it is the virtual disappearance of tribes from Europe after the age of invasions that is puzzling: why are there no Ḥāshid and Bakīl in Switzerland ? Who could imagine the Yemeni highlands or the Caucasus as places renowned for banks and cuckoo clocks ? Though tribes were prominent in many parts of Asia, they did not play the same role in Chinese and Indian civilisation either as they did in the Muslim Middle East; nor is it obvious that they played the same role in the Middle East before the rise of Islam as they did thereafter. It is hardly surprising, then, that Islamicists talk so much about tribes that non-Islamicists often suffer from the misconception that there is nothing but tribes in the Islamic world.
Isis and Pattinī: The Transmission of a Religious Idea from Roman Egypt to India
Authors: Fynes R. C. C.
Published: December 2011

Attempts to show that similarities between the religious cults of different places are due to a transmission of ideas often have little basis in fact: the similarities may be more apparent than real, and may be more convincingly explained by other factors. Nevertheless, there is strong, albeit not conclusive, evidence for the following suggestion of an example of cultural transmission from the Graeco-Roman world to India.
Meetings with Magi: Iranian Themes among the Greeks, from Xanthus of Lydia to Plato's Academy
Authors: Kingsley Peter
Published: December 2011

There are not many people who can be said to have done something first. To Xanthus of Lydia belongs the distinction of being the first person on record to write in Greek about Zoroaster and aspects of Iranian religion. Not a Greek but writing in Greek, and living in the country that still joins Asia and Europe, he was to play an exemplary role in presenting details of an eastern religion directly to a western audience.
Temür and the problem of a conqueror's legacy
Authors: Manz Beatrice Forbes
Published: December 2011

Temür has been many things to many people. He was nomad and city-builder, Turk and promoter of Persian culture, restorer of the Mongol order and warrior for the spread of Islam. One thing he was to all: a conqueror of unequalled scope, able to subdue both the vast areas of nomad power to the north and the centres of agrarian Islamic culture to the south. The history of his successors was one of increasing political fragmentation and economic stress. Yet they too won fame, as patrons over a period of brilliant cultural achievement in Persian and Turkic. Temür's career raises a number of questions. Why did he find it necessary to pile conquest upon conquest, each more ambitious than the last? Having conceived dreams of dominion, where did he get the power and money to fulfill them? When he died, what legacy did Temür leave to his successors and to the world which they tried to control? Finally, what was this world of Turk and Persian, and where did Temür and the Timurids belong within it?
Honour, Shame, and Bodily Mutilation. Cutting off the Nose among Tribal Societies in Pakistan
Authors: Frembgen Jürgen Wasim
Published: December 2011

Bodily mutilations, such as nose-cutting, are recorded worldwide from different cultural settings. Hence the custom is not solely an example of “Oriental violence and cruelty” (at times quoted in Orientalist sources from the colonial period). I want to emphasise that I am not arguing from the vantage point of a colonial discourse with its criticism of “degenerate and barbaric” social customs. Instead, this paper deals with the human body as a symbol of society. It is particularly focused on the symbolic significance of nose-cutting and on understanding this violent impulse as a social practice. The underlying notion is that cultural categories, such as “honour” and “shame”, are encoded in body morphology and affect behaviour.
Language impairments in the development of sign: Do they reside in a specific modality or are they modality-independent deficits?
Authors: WOLL BENCIE , MORGAN GARY
Published: December 2011

Various theories of developmental language impairments have sought to explain these impairments in modality-specific ways – for example, that the language deficits in SLI or Down syndrome arise from impairments in auditory processing. Studies of signers with language impairments, especially those who are bilingual in a spoken language as well as a sign language, provide a unique opportunity to contrast abilities across language in two modalities (cross-modal bilingualism). The aim of the article is to examine what developmental sign language impairments can tell us about the relationship between language impairments and modality. A series of individual and small group studies are presented here illustrating language impairments in sign language users and cross-modal bilinguals, comprising Landau-Kleffner syndrome, Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, Autism and SLI. We conclude by suggesting how studies of sign language impairments can assist researchers to explore how different language impairments originate from different parts of the cognitive, linguistic and perceptual systems.
Introduction: Bilingual children with SLI – the nature of the problem
Authors: ARMON-LOTEM SHARON
Published: December 2011

The demographic changes in the Western world in the last two decades have led to rapid growth in the number of children being raised bilingually, and in many locations they represent a majority of the school population. With this increase in the number of bilingual children, researchers as well as educators and practitioners, face a diagnostic dilemma which arises from similarities in the linguistic manifestations of child second language (L2) acquisition and of Specific Language Impairment (SLI). This dilemma has motivated a new field of research, the study of bilingual children with Specific Language Impairment (BISLI), which aims at disentangling the effects of bilingualism from those of SLI, making use of both models of bilingualism and models of language impairment. The majority of the studies are currently focused on morphosyntax as a key direction of research. The present issue, which originated in papers presented at a scientific workshop funded by the Israel Science Foundation and The Hebrew University's Center for Advanced Study, held in February 2009, aims at broadening this area of research to other linguistic domains.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF MHD STAGNATION POINT FLOW TOWARDS A HEATED AXISYMMETRIC SURFACE
Authors: ASHRAF MUHAMMAD , ANWAR KAMAL M.
Published: December 2011

The problem of stagnation point flow with heat transfer of an electrically conducting fluid impinging normally on a permeable axisymmetric surface in the presence of a uniform transverse magnetic field is analysed. The governing nonlinear differential equations and their associated boundary conditions are reduced to dimensionless form using suitable similarity transformations. Comparison with previously published work shows good agreement. Effects of the injection–suction parameter, magnetic parameter and Prandtl number on the flow and thermal fields are presented. The investigations show that the wall shear stress and heat transfer rate from the surface increase with increased applied magnetic field. An increase in the velocity and thermal boundary layer thicknesses is observed with an increase in the wall injection, while the velocity and thermal boundary layers become thinner when increasing the wall suction and applied magnetic field.
A Tale of Three Cities: Urban-Rural Asymmetries in Language Shift?
Authors: Lucht Felecia , Frey Benjamin , Salmons Joseph
Published: December 2011

In the 19th and 20th centuries, eastern Wisconsin went from being heavily German speaking to almost entirely English speaking. The largest city, Milwaukee, is claimed to have experienced language shift more rapidly than the state's rural German communities. We examine this apparent asymmetry, comparing evidence for language shift in urban Milwaukee, the city of Watertown, and the small town of Lebanon, drawing on census data, reports on language of church services, and information on the German language press. Our findings show little asymmetry in rate of shift across the three communities, but evidence is consistent with a correlation between shift and Warren'sGreat Change.*
AGN and Host Galaxies in the COSMOS Survey
Authors: Impey Christopher D. , Trump Jonathan R. , Gabor Jared M. ,   the COSMOS team
Published: December 2011

The Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) is a unique tool for studying low level AGN activity and the co-evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes. COSMOS involves the largest contiguous region of the sky ever imaged by HST; it includes very complete multiwavelength coverage, and the largest joint samples of galaxy and AGN redshifts in any deep survey. The result is a search for AGN with low black hole mass, low accretion rates, and levels of obscuration that can remove them from optical surveys. A complete census of intermediate mass black holes at redshifts of 1 to 3 is required to tell the story of the co-evolution of galaxies and their embedded, and episodically active, black holes.
The Westerbork HALOGAS Survey: Status and Early Results
Authors: Heald George , Allan John , Zschaechner Laura , Kamphuis Peter , Rand Rich , Józsa Gyula , Gentile Gianfranco
Published: December 2011

We present early results from the ongoing Hydrogen Accretion in LOcal GAlaxieS (HALOGAS) Survey, which is being performed with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). The HALOGAS Survey aims to detect and characterize the cold gas accretion process in nearby spirals, through sensitive observations of neutral hydrogen (Hi) 21-cm line emission. In this contribution, we present an overview of ongoing analyses of several HALOGAS targets.
What Radio Astronomy Can Tell us about Galaxy Formation
Authors: Partridge Bruce
Published: December 2011

Radio astronomy, broadly interpreted, has made important contributions to the study of galaxy formation and evolution. Maps of the cosmic microwave background provide information on the seeds of large-scale structure, in addition to refined values of the cosmological parameters. Examples of contributions from more conventional radio astronomy include:–The use of radio observations to track star formation rates since they are not affected by dust obscuration as optical/UV observations are, and the use of molecular line observations to make purely “radio” redshift determinations.
Comparisons of CO and HI Dynamics in THINGS Galaxies
Authors: Frank Bradley S. , de Blok W. J. G. ,   the HERACLES Team
Published: December 2011

We present recent results comparing the CO and HI dynamics of nearby galaxies that have been observed as part of the THINGS (HI) and the HERACLES (CO) surveys. We focus on 3 galaxies out of the 11 that have been analysed so far, and present velocity-fields and rotation curves of the CO, which we compare with that of the HI.
Reconstruction of Star Formation and AGNs Activities in Galaxies Classified with the Balmer Break, 1.6 μm Bump and PAH Features up to z ≃2
Authors: Hanami Hitoshi , Ishigaki Tsuyoshi ,   AKARI Extragalactic Team
Published: December 2011

We have studied the star-forming and AGN activity of massive galaxies in the redshift range z = 0.4−2, which are detected in a deep survey field using the AKARI and Subaru telescopes toward the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP). The multi-wavelength survey allows us to select Mid-InfraRed (MIR) bright populations as Luminous InfraRed Galaxies (LIRGs) with L(IR) ≃ 1010–11 L⊙, which can be also sub-classified into Balmer Break Galaxies (BBGs) and Infra-Red (IR) Bump Galaxies (IRBGs). AKARI/IRC multiband photometry can distinguish their star-forming/AGN activity for LIRGs with/without the Polycyclic-Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emission bands at 6.2, 7.7 and 11.3 μm, and estimate the Star Formation Rate (SFR) from their total emitting InfraRed (IR) luminosities for star-formings and the emissions from dusty torus for AGNs. The results are summarised as below: 1) The rest-frame 7.7 μm luminosity is still a good tracer of the total IR (tIR) luminosity, as the PAH emission dominates for star-forming galaxies even up to z ≃ 2, 2) Rest-frame 5μm Luminosities may trace emissions from dusty torus of AGN in the LIRGs, 3) SFR of Starburst-AGN LIRGs (s/a-LIRGs) tends to quench at z < 0.8 more rapidly than that of Starburst dominated LIRGs (sb-LIRGs), 4) Intrinsic Stellar populations in the s/a-LIRGs show redder colours than those in the sb-LIRGs. These results suggest that Super Massive Black Holes (SMBH) could already have grown to ≃ 3 × 108M⊙ in the agn-LIRGs, with ≃ 1011L⊙ at z > 1.2, and the growth of SMBH tends to follow the star-forming activities around z = 1–2.
The Virtual Observatory Data, Standards and Tools a technical - user point of view
Authors: Surace Christian ,   the CeSAM team
Published: December 2011

In 2002 the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) has been created in order to gather efforts on data standardization and dissemination. Since then, the virtual Observatory allowed to spread validated data all over the world and to use data from everywhere from earth. From the standards definitions to development of tools, developers have set up a technical infrastructure used by astronomers to easily search for data and make science with all available products, more tools and more confidence on the quality of data. The goal of this review is to present the state of the art of the VO data, standards and tools. This review focuses on basic astronomer's questions : what kind of data are accessible, how to deal with these data and how to use them.
AVOCADO: A Virtual Observatory Census to Address Dwarfs Origins
Authors: Sánchez-Janssen Rubén ,   the AVOCADO collaboration.
Published: December 2011

Dwarf galaxies are by far the most abundant of all galaxy types, yet their properties are still poorly understood–especially due to the observational challenge that their intrinsic faintness represents. AVOCADO aims at establishing firm conclusions on their formation and evolution by constructing a homogeneous, multiwavelength dataset for a statistically significant sample of several thousand nearby dwarfs (−18 <Mi< −14). Using public data and Virtual Observatory tools, we have built GALEX+SDSS+2MASS spectral energy distributions that are fitted by a library of single stellar population models. Star formation rates, stellar masses, ages and metallicities are further complemented with structural parameters that can be used to classify them morphologically. This unique dataset, coupled with a detailed characterization of each dwarf's environment, allows for a fully comprehensive investigation of their origins and to track the (potential) evolutionary paths between the different dwarf types.
Investigating the Merger Origin of Early-type Galaxies using Ultra-deep Optical Images
Authors: Duc P.-A. , Cuillandre J.-C. , Alatalo K. , Blitz L. , Bois M. , Bournaud F. , Bureau M. , Cappellari M. , Côté P. , Davies R. L. , Davis T. A. , de Zeeuw P. T. , Emsellem E. , Ferrarese L. , Ferriere E. , Gwyn S. , Khochfar S. , Krajnovic D. , Kuntschner H. , Lablanche P.-Y. , MacArthur L. , McDermid R. M. , Michel-Dansac L. , Morganti R. , Naab T. , Oosterloo T. , Sarzi M. , Scott N. , Serra P. , Weijmans A. , Young L. M.
Published: December 2011

The mass assembly of galaxies leaves various imprints on their surroundings, such as shells, streams and tidal tails. The frequency and properties of these fine structures depend on the mechanism driving the mass assembly: e.g. a monolithic collapse, rapid cold-gas accretion followed by violent disk instabilities, minor mergers or major dry/wet mergers. Therefore, by studying the outskirts of galaxies, one can learn about their main formation mechanism. I present here our on-going work to characterize the outskirts of Early-Type Galaxies (ETGs), which are powerful probes at low redshift of the hierarchical mass assembly of galaxies. This work relies on ultra–deep optical images obtained at CFHT with the wide-field of view MegaCam camera of field and cluster ETGs obtained as part of the ATLAS3D and NGVS projects. State of the art numerical simulations are used to interpret the data. The images reveal a wealth of unknown faint structures at levels as faint as 29 mag arcsec−2 in the g-band. Initial results for two galaxies are presented here.