bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Cervical screening services uptake among 18–49 year old women seeking services at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisumu, Kenya
Authors: Morema Everlyne N , Atieli Harrysone E , Onyango Rosebella O , Omondi Joyce H , Ouma Collins
Published: August 2014

Background

Kenyan women aged ≥15 years are at risk of developing cervical cancer. Currently, cervical cytology reduces cervical cancer incidence, since it allows for early diagnosis and treatment. Uptake of cervical screening services is a priority research area in Kenya. Central to the success of any screening programme is its ability to identify, reach out and screen the defined target population. Cervical screening coverage in Kenya is currently at 3.2%. In Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Nyanza, the number screened for cervical cancer is low (averagely 3/day). Thus the current study sought to identify factors influencing uptake of cervical screening services at the facility.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study, knowledge, perceptions and cues for action associated with self-reported cervical screening uptake were explored. The targeted population (n = 424), purposively selected were women of child-bearing age (18–49 years) visiting JOOTRH. Data on socio-demographic status (age, level of education, marital status, job status, income level), knowledge of cervical cancer, perceptions on severity and susceptibility to the disease were collected using self-administered structured questionnaires. Statistical significance of differences in proportions were determined by chi-square analyses while logistic regression analyses were used to identify determinants of self-reported uptake of the service.

Results

Self-reported screening uptake was 17.5%. There was a strong positive association between age (P < 0.0001), level of education (P < 0.0001) and income levels (P = 0.005) with the uptake of the service. Knowledge level on the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer was an important determinant for being screened for cervical cancer (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, those who said they didn’t know about the disease (OR, 26.84, 95% CI, 6.07-118.61, P < 0.0001) or were not aware about susceptibility to it (OR, 2.37, 95% CI, 1.10-5.08, P = 0.02) had a higher likelihood of not being screened. On cues for action, those who attended the child welfare clinic were more likely to be screened (OR, 2.31, 95% CI, 1.17-3.93, P = 0.03).

Conclusion

Knowledge, perception of higher susceptibility and attending child welfare clinic are key determinants of self-reported uptake of cervical screening. Increasing knowledge, enhancing health education and providing free services may increase uptake among women population in such settings.
A novel material of cross-linked styrylpyridinium salt intercalated montmorillonite for drug delivery
Authors: Cui Jing , Wang Qingqing , Chen Xiaodong , Wei Qufu
Published: August 2014

A facile synthesis of a styrylpyridinium salt (SbQ)/montmorillonite (MMT) via cationic exchange interactions between styrylpyridinium species (specifically SbQ) and MMT platelets is reported in this work. The SbQ-MMT solutions were irradiated under ultraviolet (UV) light for a specific time to obtain the cross-linked SbQ-MMT materials. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses revealed the structures and morphologies of MMT and modified MMT. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope analyses indicated that the basal spacing increased from 1.24 to 1.53 nm compared with the pristine MMT, which proved that SbQ had interacted with MMT. Thermal gravimetric analysis curves showed that the amount of SbQ in the MMT interlayers was 35.71 meq/100 g. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy also confirmed the intercalation of SbQ species into MMT interlayers, and UV spectroscopy was used to follow up the cross-linking of SbQ-MMT. This novel material has potential applications in drug delivery, and it can also be used as an additive to improve the mechanical properties of polymers.
Labor reallocation and firm growth: benchmarking transition countries against mature market economies
Authors: Mitra Pradeep , Muravyev Alexander , Schaffer Mark E
Published: August 2014

This paper uses firm-level survey data to study labor reallocation and firm growth in the transition countries over 1996–2005, including benchmarking against developed market economies. The data shows rapid growth of the new private sector and of the micro- and small-firm sectors, with the size distribution of firms moving towards the pattern observed in comparable surveys of developed market economies. Throughout, the regional patterns suggest greater convergence in the transition countries that joined the European Union in 2004 than in the other, lower-income transition economies. We also find evidence of Kuznet-Chenery type structural change across sectors.

JEL codes

L11, O12, P31.
Discriminant validity, responsiveness and reliability of the arthritis-specific Work Productivity Survey assessing workplace and household productivity within and outside the home in patients with axial spondyloarthritis, including nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis
Authors: Osterhaus Jane T , Purcaru Oana
Published: August 2014

Introduction

The arthritis-specific Work Productivity Survey (WPS) was developed to evaluate productivity limitations associated with arthritis within and outside the home. There is an unmet need for an instrument assessing similar productivity limitations in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), including nonradiographic axSpA and ankylosing spondylitis. Following its validation in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, we aimed to assess psychometric properties of WPS in adult-onset active axSpA in this analysis.

Methods

Psychometric properties were assessed using data from the RAPID-axSpA trial (NCT01087762) in which researchers investigated certolizumab pegol efficacy and safety in axSpA. WPS was completed at baseline and every 4 weeks until week 24. Validity was evaluated at study baseline via known-groups defined by the first and third quartile cutoffs of patient scores to Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), back pain, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36) and Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Scale (ASQoL). Responsiveness and reliability were assessed by comparing WPS mean changes in ASAS 20% improvement criteria (ASAS20), BASDAI50, ASDAS clinically important improvement/major improvement (CII/MI) and BASFI minimum clinically important difference (MCID) responders versus nonresponders at week 12. All comparisons were conducted on observed cases in the randomized set using a nonparametric bootstrap-t method.

Results

The results confirmed the psychometric properties of WPS. AxSpA patients with a worse health state had significantly more days of household work lost, household work with reduced productivity, social activities missed and outside help hired, as well as a higher interference rate of arthritis, than patients with a better health state. Similarly, employed patients with a worse health state had significantly more work days lost or with productivity reduced, and a higher interference of arthritis on work productivity. Similar findings were also observed in the nonradiographic (nr) axSpA and AS subpopulations. The WPS was responsive to clinical changes, with responders reporting larger improvements at week 12 in WPS scores versus nonresponders. Effect sizes in responders were generally moderate to large (standardized response mean >0.5).

Conclusions

These analyses demonstrate that WPS is a valid, responsive and reliable instrument for the measurement of productivity within and outside the home in adult-onset axSpA, as well as the in subpopulations of AS and nr-axSpA.
Analysis of segregation distortion and its relationship to hybrid barriers in rice
Authors: Reflinur  , Kim Backki , Jang Sun Mi , Chu Sang-Ho , Bordiya Yogendra , Akter Md Babul , Lee Joohyun , Chin Joong Hyoun , Koh Hee-Jong
Published: August 2014

Background

Segregation distortion (SD) is a frequently observed occurrence in mapping populations generated from crosses involving divergent genotypes. In the present study, ten genetic linkage maps constructed from reciprocal F2 and BC1F1 mapping populations derived from the parents Dasanbyeo (indica) and Ilpumbyeo (japonica) were used to identify the distribution, effect, and magnitude of the genetic factors underlying the mechanisms of SD between the two subspecies.

Results

SD loci detected in the present study were affected by male function, female function, and zygotic selection. The most pronounced SD loci were mapped to chromosome 3 (transmitted through male gametes), chromosome 5 (transmitted through male gametes), and chromosome 6 (transmitted through female gametes). The level of SD in BC1F1 populations which defined by chi-square value independence multiple tests was relatively low in comparison to F2 populations. Dasanbyeo alleles were transmitted at a higher frequency in both F2 and BC1F1 populations, suggesting that indic a alleles are strongly favored in inter-subspecific crosses in rice. SD loci in the present study corresponded to previously reported loci for reproductive barriers. In addition, new SD loci were detected on chromosomes 2 and 12.

Conclusion

The identification of the distribution of SD and the effect of genetic factors causing SD in genetic mapping populations provides an opportunity to survey the whole genome for new SD loci and their relationships to reproductive barriers. This provides a basis for future research on the elucidation of the genetic mechanisms underlying SD in rice, and will be useful in molecular breeding programs.
Crosstalk Between Nuclear MET and SOX9/β-Catenin Correlates with Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Authors: Xie Yingqiu , Lu Wenfu , Liu Shenji , Yang Qing , Carver Brett S. , Li Estelle , Wang Yuzhuo , Fazli Ladan , Gleave Martin , Chen Zhenbang
Published: August 2014

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa) (CRPC) is relapse after various forms of androgen ablation therapy and causes a major mortality in PCa patients, yet the mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we report the nuclear form of mesenchymal epithelial transition factor (nMET) is essential for CRPC. Specifically, nMET is remarkably increased in human CRPC samples compared with naïve samples. Androgen deprivation induces endogenous nMET and promotes cell proliferation and stem-like cell self-renewal in androgen-nonresponsive PCa cells. Mechanistically, nMET activates SRY (sex determining region Y)-box9, β-catenin, and Nanog homeobox and promotes sphere formation in the absence of androgen stimulus. Combined treatment of MET and β-catenin enhances the inhibition of PCa cell growth. Importantly, MET accumulation is detected in nucleus of recurrent prostate tumors of castrated Pten/Trp53 null mice, whereas MET elevation is predominantly found in membrane of naïve tumors. Our findings reveal for the first time an essential role of nMET association with SOX9/β-catenin in CRPC in vitro and in vivo, highlighting that nuclear RTK activate cell reprogramming to drive recurrence, and targeting nMET would be a new avenue to treat recurrent cancers.
Minireview: Hey U(PS): Metabolic and Proteolytic Homeostasis Linked via AMPK and the Ubiquitin Proteasome System
Authors: Ronnebaum Sarah M. , Patterson Cam , Schisler Jonathan C.
Published: August 2014

One of the master regulators of both glucose and lipid cellular metabolism is 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). As a metabolic pivot that dynamically responds to shifts in nutrient availability and stress, AMPK dysregulation is implicated in the underlying molecular pathology of a variety of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, neurological diseases, and aging. Although the regulation of AMPK enzymatic activity by upstream kinases is an active area of research, less is known about regulation of AMPK protein stability and activity by components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), the cellular machinery responsible for both the recognition and degradation of proteins. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that AMPK regulates overall proteasome activity and individual components of the UPS. This review serves to identify the current understanding of the interplay between AMPK and the UPS and to promote further exploration of the relationship between these regulators of energy use and amino acid availability within the cell.
Notch signaling differentially regulatesAtoh7andNeurog2in the distal mouse retina
Authors: Maurer Kate A. , Riesenberg Amy N. , Brown Nadean L.
Published: August 2014

Notch signaling regulates basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factors as an evolutionarily conserved module, but the tissue-specific mechanisms are incompletely elucidated. In the mouse retina, bHLH genes Atoh7 and Neurog2 have distinct functions, with Atoh7 regulating retinal competence and Neurog2 required for progression of neurogenesis. These transcription factors are extensively co-expressed, suggesting similar regulation. We directly compared Atoh7 and Neurog2 regulation at the earliest stages of retinal neurogenesis in a broad spectrum of Notch pathway mutants. Notch1 and Rbpj normally block Atoh7 and Neurog2 expression. However, the combined activities of Notch1, Notch3 and Rbpj regulate Neurog2 patterning in the distal retina. Downstream of the Notch complex, we found the Hes1 repressor mediates Atoh7 suppression, but Hes1, Hes3 and Hes5 do not regulate Neurog2 expression. We also tested Notch-mediated regulation of Jag1 and Pax6 in the distal retina, to establish the appropriate context for Neurog2 patterning. We found that Notch1;Notch3 and Rbpj block co-expression of Jag1 and Neurog2, while specifically stimulating Pax6 within an adjacent domain. Our data suggest that Notch signaling controls the overall tempo of retinogenesis, by integrating cell fate specification, the wave of neurogenesis and the developmental status of cells ahead of this wave.
Promiscuous methionyl-tRNA synthetase mediates adaptive mistranslation against oxidative stresses
Authors: Lee Jin Young , Kim Dae Gyu , Kim Byung-Gyu , Yang Won Suk , Hong Jeena , Kang Taehee , Oh Young Sun , Kim Kyung Rok , Han Byung Woo , Hwang ByungJoon , Kang BeomSik , Kang Mi-Sun , Kim Myung-Hee , Kwon Nam Hoon , Kim Sunghoon
Published: August 2014

Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases (ARSs) acylate tRNAs with amino acids. Charging tRNAs with the right amino acids is the first step in translation; therefore, the accurate and error-free functioning of ARSs is an essential prerequisite for translational fidelity. A recent study found that methionine (Met) can be incorporated into non-Met residues of proteins through methionylation to non-cognate tRNAs under oxidative stress. However, it was not understood how this mis-methionylation is achieved. Here, we report that methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MRS) is phosphorylated at Ser209 and Ser825 by extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) upon reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress, and that this phosphorylated MRS showed increased affinity to non-cognate tRNAs with lower affinity to tRNAMet, leading to an increase in Met residues in cellular proteins. The expression of a mutant MRS containing the substitutions S209D and S825D, mimicking dual phosphorylation, reduced ROS levels and cell death. This controlled inaccuracy of MRS seems to serve as a defense mechanism against ROS-mediated damage at the cost of translational fidelity.
Man-Bites-Dog Business Cycles
Authors: Nimark Kristoffer P.
Published: August 2014

The newsworthiness of an event is partly determined by how unusual it is and this paper investigates the business cycle implications of this fact. Signals that are more likely to be observed after unusual events may increase both uncertainty and disagreement among agents. In a simple business cycle model, such signals can explain why we observe (i) occasional large changes in macroeconomic aggregate variables without a correspondingly large change in underlying fundamentals, (ii) persistent periods of high macroeconomic volatility and, (iii) a positive correlation between absolute changes in macrovariables and the cross-sectional dispersion of survey expectations. (JEL D81, D82, D84, E23, E31, E32)
Industry Compensation under Relocation Risk: A Firm-Level Analysis of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
Authors: Martin Ralf , Muûls Mirabelle , de Preux Laure B. , Wagner Ulrich J.
Published: August 2014

When regulated firms are offered compensation to prevent them from relocating, efficiency requires that payments be distributed across firms so as to equalize marginal relocation probabilities, weighted by the damage caused by relocation. We formalize this fundamental economic logic and apply it to analyzing compensation rules proposed under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, where emission permits are allocated free of charge to carbon-intensive and trade-exposed industries. We show that this practice results in substantial overcompensation for given carbon leakage risk. Efficient permit allocation reduces the aggregate risk of job loss by more than half without increasing aggregate compensation. (JEL H23, Q52, Q53, Q54, Q58)
Explaining Job Polarization: Routine-Biased Technological Change and Offshoring
Authors: Goos Maarten , Manning Alan , Salomons Anna
Published: August 2014

This paper documents the pervasiveness of job polarization in 16 Western European countries over the period 1993–2010. It then develops and estimates a framework to explain job polarization using routine-biased technological change and offshoring. This model can explain much of both total job polarization and the split into within-industry and between-industry components. (JEL J21, J23, J24, M55, O33)
Case Report: A case of antiphospholipid-antibody-associated reactive angioendotheliomatosis and panniculitis
Authors: Privette Emily D. , Stewart Campbell L. , Schulz Steffan W. , Werth Victoria P.
Published: August 2014

Introduction:Reactive angioendotheliomatosis (RAE) is a benign vascular disorder with a varied clinical presentation that has been associated with a wide range of systemic illnesses. It is characterized histologically by intravascular and extravascular hyperplasia of endothelial cells and pericytes, and this entity only affects the skin. We present the rare case of a woman with both RAE and panniculitis associated with anticardiolipin antibodies in the setting of antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS).

Case description:A female in her forties presented for a second opinion of lumps in her skin. The first lump was noted on her right thigh four years prior to presentation, and biopsy demonstrated longstanding septal and lobular panniculitis. Studies that followed this finding revealed a diagnosis of APLS, and the patient had been placed on 400 mg per day of hydroxychloroquine and a daily low-dose of aspirin. She presented with a new subcutaneous plaque on the left lower back, and biopsy of this lesion was suggestive of RAE. She had no history of significant thrombotic events and had never been treated with an anticoagulant. Work-up was negative for other connective tissue diseases that are known for producing subcutaneous nodular lesions.

Discussion:RAE is very rare, with less than 50 cases reported in total; five of these in association with APLS. In the context of APLS, RAE is likely a result of the procoagulant state induced by the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies. This case of both RAE and panniculitis associated with anticardiolipin antibodies in the setting of APLS describes rare manifestations of APLS as isolated incidents in a relatively healthy patient.
Collaborative working keeps people out of hospital
Authors: Marriott Beverley
Published: August 2014

Beverley Marriott explains how as a community matron she became involved in an initiative to keep patients out of hospital
Research roundup: August 2014
Authors: Greener Mark
Published: August 2014

In brief

■ Chronic hypertension and long-term use of beta-blockers may increase the risk of psoriasis ■ Obese patients, as well as those who are underweight, are more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than those with a healthy body mass index ■ Nurses are more likely to adhere to discharge summary guidance than doctors ■ Antidepressants could be an alternative treatment to hormone-replacement therapy for hot flushes ■ Low-dose aspirin may significantly reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer
Interpreting clinical studies: The devil is in the detail
Authors: Greener Mark
Published: August 2014

In theory, clinical trials allow nurse prescribers to choose the most efficacious, cost-effective and well-tolerated treatment for that patient at that time in the disease's natural history. Clinical trials also form the foundation of drug companies' profitability and promotional campaigns. However, trials performed by drug companies may not supply the information that nurse prescribers need to know in clinical practice. Nurses need to be aware of the causes of this discordance when evaluating medicines and managing patients. This article considers the pitfalls that can trap nurses as they evaluate the evidence including: potential biases; drawing misleading conclusions from observational studies; mistaking non-inferiority for superiority; and confusing the disease with its surrogate marker.
Managing and Quantifying Grace? Reverend Robert G. Howes, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and the Origins of "Pastoral Planning"
Authors: Osborne Catherine R.
Published: August 2014

By the mid-1960s, American dioceses were beginning to be overwhelmed by the complexity of the administrative problems facing them as inner cities and suburbs alike transformed under demographic, economic, and political pressures. This essay argues that the development of pastoral planning in the early 1970s emerged from valiant if doomed 1960s attempts to reduce these problems to quantifiable – and therefore manageable – proportions. The term "planning" came to represent the possibility of naming, and therefore potentially solving, the problem. Robert G. Howes, a priest-planner, was one of the key figures in promoting this idea. His work at Catholic University, as an author and speaker, and in the Archdiocese of Baltimore provides a window into the appeal as well as the limitations of "planning" for stressed diocesan administrators.
The geometry on smooth toroidal compactifications of Siegel varieties
Authors: Yau Shing-Tung , Zhang Yi
Published: August 2014

We study smooth toroidal compactifications of Siegel varieties thoroughly from the viewpoints of Hodge
theory and K\"ahler-Einstein metric. We observe that any cusp of a Siegel space can be identified as a
set of certain weight one polarized mixed Hodge structures. We then study the infinity boundary divisors
of toroidal compactifications, and obtain a global volume form formula of an arbitrary smooth Siegel variety
$\scr{A}_{g,\Gamma} (g>1)$ with a smooth toroidal compactification $\overline{\scr{A}}_{g,\Gamma}$ such that
$D_\infty:=\overline{\scr{A}}_{g,\Gamma}\setminus\scr{A}_{g,\Gamma}$ is normal crossing. We use this volume
form formula to show that the unique group-invariant K\"ahler-Einstein metric on $\scr{A}_{g,\Gamma}$ endows
some restraint combinatorial conditions for all smooth toroidal compactifications of $\scr{A}_{g,\Gamma}$.
Again using the volume form formula, we study the asymptotic behavior of logarithmical canonical line
bundle on any smooth toroidal compactification of $\scr{A}_{g,\Gamma}$ carefully and we obtain that the
logarithmical canonical bundle degenerate sharply even though it is big and numerically effective.
Orbits of curves under the Johnson kernel
Authors: Church Thomas
Published: August 2014

This paper has two main goals. First, we give a complete, explicit, and computable solution to the problem
of when two simple closed curves on a surface are equivalent under the Johnson kernel. Second, we show that
the Johnson filtration and the Johnson homomorphism can be defined intrinsically on subsurfaces and prove
that both are functorial under inclusions of subsurfaces. The key point is that the latter reduces the
former to a finite computation, which can be carried out by hand. In particular this solves the conjugacy
problem in the Johnson kernel for separating twists. Using a theorem of Putman, we compute the first Betti
number of the Torelli group of a subsurface.
Sex in Translation: Antoine Léonard Thomas’s Essai sur les femmes and the Enlightenment Debate on Women
Authors: Lee Natasha
Published: August 2014

Antoine Thomas Léonard’s Essay on the Character of Women vexed philosophers in both camps of the “Querelle des Femmes” [Quarrel on Women]. In sparking such bipartisan controversy, the Essay articulated contradictory views on women, a complexity made all the more evident by its multiple translations’ repeated attempts to smooth them out. Most of all, in their attempts to make the Essay alternatively more naturalizing or more historicizing, this genealogy of translations crystallizes an ideological shift from Thomas’s still ambivalent juxtaposition of discourses on sex and gender to the polarized views of identity that triumphed by the end of the century.
The Study of Persian Shi‘ism in the Malay-Indonesian world: A Review of Literature from the Nineteenth Century onwards
Authors: Daneshgar Majid
Published: August 2014

The purpose of this essay is to display the significance of studies relating to the influence of Persian Shi‘ism in Southeast Asia in general, and the Malay Archipelago in particular. With this purpose in mind, a comprehensive bibliography of works published in the ninteenth, twentieth, and early twenty-first centuries (1888–2014) is presented. An attempt is also made to present the influence of Persian Shi‘a figures and elements on the historical and modern Malay Archipelago.
“To Judge and to Be Judged”: Jewish Communal Autonomy in Metz and the Struggle for Sovereignty in Eighteenth-Century France
Authors: Katz Jordan
Published: August 2014

Once regarded as the defining feature of early modern Jewish life in Europe, communal autonomy has been viewed through the prism of a state within a state, or a nation within a nation. Within this conception, Jews retained the right to be judged by their own laws, and the states which they inhabited demarcated clear boundaries between secular and religious jurisdiction. Yet even before Jewish emancipation, the boundaries between secular and Jewish jurisdictions were not impermeable. Jews were well aware of the power wielded by secular authorities and of the potential benefits of stepping outside the Jewish community to present their cases in front of non-Jewish courts. The present study follows this uneven path, examining the internal strife of the Jewish community of Metz, as well as the triangular relationship that developed between the community, the local parlement, and the French monarch, Louis XV, during the mid-eighteenth century. It uses the experience of the French translation of Jewish law as a lens through which to understand the evolution of Jewish communal autonomy in Metz and the increasingly tense relationship between local and royal authority as the eighteenth century progressed. This episode, perhaps the penultimate chapter in a much longer history, directly challenged notions of sovereignty and forced the concept of legal coexistence to become a reality.
Abraham Maimonides on His Leadership, Reforms, and Spiritual Imperfection
Authors: Friedman Mordechai A.
Published: August 2014

The paper begins with a discussion of S. D. Goitein’s assessment of Abraham Maimonides’ place in history (“a perfect man with a tragic fate”). His revolutionary program for revitalizing Judaism in the spirit of Sufism failed to be realized not only because he was overshadowed by his father but because of the time and energy he spent on leadership, presumably undertaken to preserve his father’s heritage. Contrariwise, we present and discuss (1) Abraham Maimonides’ response to criticism that he had neglected the responsibilities of community leader in favor of promoting his religious program and his testimony on (2) the successes of his leadership—especially abolishing deviant Palestinian prayer-rites in Fustat, Egypt, and introducing new (“re-creating forgotten”) modes of worship—and (3) his personal shortcomings in piety. The key to this perspective is found in three passages in his writings, two of which were recently discussed in this journal by Elisha Russ-Fishbane in a different context. These passages had not been available to Goitein because of the state of research at the time. In the process of discussing their relevance to our investigation, certain elusive expressions in the Judeo-Arabic texts are explained and the history of research clarified. After taking note of an additional aberrant practice—an “abominable” wedding custom—abolished by the Nagid, the paper concludes with a summary of the distinction between the historian’s assessment of Abraham Maimonides’ leadership and failed mission and his self-proclaimed perception of these matters.
Textuality between Death and Memory: The Prehistory and Formation of the Parabiblical Testament
Authors: Reed Annette Yoshiko
Published: August 2014

This essay revisits testamentary texts and traditions from the Second Temple period in relation to themes of death, memory, and writing. Rather than debating the classification or morphology of the parabiblical testament, it focuses upon its determinative feature—the framing of texts as the first-person teachings of ancient biblical heroes near death. It traces some precedents for this literary choice, and speculates about the cultural worlds in which such a choice made sense. To do so, it surveys the representation and modeling of the written word as a technology of memory, first within Aramaic works with testamentary features from the Hellenistic period (esp., Aramaic Levi, Testament of Qahat, Visions of Amram) and then within some of full-fledged testaments preserved in Greek from the early Roman period (esp., Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs, Testament of Job). In both sets of works, the narrative setting of near-death teaching is used to address challenges of continuity and succession. Representations of textual practices, however, differ; in some, writing and reading are presented as necessary complement to remembered speech and ethical emulation, while in others, books function as safeguard or stand-in. In each, moreover, the intersections of death, memory, and writing are articulated in distinctive ways, often resonating with broader cultural concerns—ranging from Hellenistic ideals of “authorship” to the early Roman interest in wills.
Warfare on the Deccan Plateau, 1450–1600: A Military Revolution in Early Modern India?
Authors: Eaton Richard M. , Wagoner Philip B.
Published: August 2014

According to conventional understandings of the Military Revolution, the introduction of firearms in early modern European warfare yielded wide-ranging consequences that were by no means confined to the realm of military affairs. This essay examines the earliest known introduction of firearms technology in India, with a view to evaluating how its consequences there compared or contrasted with those claimed to have occurred in early modern Europe. We further ask: Why did cannon appear in the dry, upland plateau of peninsular India, Known as the Deccan, before anywhere else in India? Within the Deccan, how can we explain the different responses to the advent of gunpowder technologies? What effects did new military technologies have on the Deccan’s architectural landscape, and on its society at large?
Crafting Hermaphroditism: Gale Wilhelm’s Lesbian Modernism in We Too Are Drifting
Authors: Dimock Chase
Published: August 2014

This article argues for a renewed interest in forgotten modernist lesbian author Gale Wilhelm through an examination of her 1935 novel We Too Are Drifting . Aimed at a wide readership, Wilhelm’s novel differs from the work of high-modernist lesbians like Gertrude Stein and Djuna Barnes with its middlebrow sensibilities. Furthermore, it presents the hermaphrodite as a new metaphor for conceptualizing lesbian identity in contrast to the dominant model of the invert espoused by Radclyffe Hall’s famous The Well of Loneliness . Without engaging in explicit politics, entering into clinical considerations of sexual psychology, or including gratuitously titillating scenes that the public had come to expect with the subject of lesbianism, Wilhelm’s revolutionary gesture needs to be gauged differently: it assumes the lesbian’s right to define her own existence as the a priori condition for writing about lesbian love by focusing on how lesbian artists use visual media to express their identities and desires.
Trauma and Identity Politics in Ai’s Dread
Authors: Goodspeed-Chadwick Julie
Published: August 2014

This essay considers the political implications of Ai’s poetry collection Dread (2003) in both the classroom and in light of literary history, specifically in regard to the trope of the tragic mulatto/a. The theoretical framework is a synthesis of ethnic studies and feminist criticism, a framework that enables us to locate Ai’s tactics within academic debates about race, identity, and representation. Perhaps the meager amount of scholarship on Ai’s work can be attributed to the lack of interpretations that open up her poetry and make it more critically accessible. This article contributes new scholarship and interpretations of Ai’s poetry in connection with trauma and identity politics in order to fuel critical conversations about Ai. Additionally, it offers teaching strategies in connection with Ai’s poems and contextualizes her work within literary ethnic studies, women’s studies, and trauma studies.
Still Waiting for Barbarians after 9/11?: Cavafy’s Reluctant Irony and the Language of the Future
Authors: Boletsi Maria
Published: August 2014

C. P. Cavafy’s poem “Waiting for the Barbarians” (1904) has been adapted and restaged in art, music, and literature throughout the twentieth century. Since the early 1990s, and especially since the events on 11 September 2001, however, it seems to be haunting the Western imaginary. Its various allegorical uses in the press and cultural theory demonstrate the poem’s prominent figuration in debates about post-Cold War and post-9/11 realities. Cavafy’s poem is mobilized in critiques of the American Empire. It helps express the fear of others or of the unknown after the purported rupture of 9/11. But it also captures the desire for overturning saturated systems and forming new narratives and communities in the context of the financial crisis and recent protest movements. Besides functioning as an allegorical formula for capturing contemporary (global) realities, the poem also assumes a mediating function in current debates: it seeks alternative expressive modes, beyond metaphysical truths and essentialist oppositions, as well as beyond cultural relativism. This function takes effect through the poem’s evocation of two genealogies of “barbarism”: a negative and an affirmative one. The poem neither rejects nor fully affirms either of these genealogies. It thereby generates a kind of irony that can be termed “reluctant” in its questioning of and simultaneous attraction to metaphysics and presence. Through its reluctant irony, the poem seeks a viable practice of living in liminal times—a practice much needed in (our) times of crisis.
Writing the Cretan Woman: Gender and Society in Two Ethographies of Fin-de-Siècle Crete
Authors: Anagnostopoulos Aris
Published: August 2014

The realist induction to document the life of Greek villages associated with ethographia reflected the construction of the category of “woman” in late-nineteenth century public discourses as crucial for the continuity of the nation and simultaneously excluded from its political community. An analysis of two ethographies reveals social perceptions of gender roles in the context of the final stages of the “Cretan Question.” Ioannis Damvergis’s “The Martyr” rehearses a nationalist conception of precarious womanhood, which affected a symbolic inversion of female reproductive capacities. Ioannis Kondylakis’s Patouchas offers a more varied account of the social change that accompanied the rise of urban professional classes to power and the close interconnection of gender, kinship, and politics by introducing the figure of the dangerous “new” woman. Both stories were in fact deeply gendered renditions of the antagonism in an all-male political community, in view of the profound social and cultural changes associated with modernity.
Aging and Demographic Weakness in the European Union: The Spanish Model
Authors: Serrano Martínez José María , Marín Ramón García
Published: August 2014

The population in the European Union has remained stagnant for many years. The continued decline in birth rate and increasing life expectancy are leading to an aging population. In Spain, this aging process has been accelerated. The Spanish case requires a complex multidisciplinary analysis to achieve a proper understanding of this population phenomenon that has serious consequences for Spain. This paper analyzes the causes of the aging population and its future consequences. Multiple data sources, mostly from the National Institute of Statistics and Ministry of Labour and Social Security, are used to support the analyses. For several years, many immigrants have arrived in Spain, resulting in a significant increase in population and a decrease in the rates of aging. A positive and intense migratory balance has stopped, and shows signs of change. Numerous elements indicate that the Spanish economy does not suffer a transient crisis situation; there is a depletion of the production model, hindering a quick exit from the situation of economic and financial crisis. In this context, it is not easy to get a new and favorable migratory balance. A significant Spanish demographic weakness is confirmed; the population structure has not changed despite the recent intense immigration process. The threat of the demographic regression is announced in a near temporal horizon.
Antitubercular drugs: advances in nitrogen containing heterocyclic compounds and some other derivatives
Authors: Asif Mohammad
Published: August 2014

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an infectious disease. Control of TB is complicated by difficulties in the long-course chemotherapy treatment, the inability to eliminate latent microbes, and the increasing emergence of Multidrug Resistant (MDR) strains of M. tuberculosis. New anti-TB drugs are urgently needed, including developments of short-term treatments to minimize the emergence of drug resistance and new drugs to treat multidrug resistant tuberculosis and to eliminate the latent microbes. Many new structural anti-TB agents exhibited promising activities against susceptible and resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. The diarylquinoline with superior anti-tuberculotic activity and encouraging results of nitroimidazopyrans and oxazolidinones have generated considerable excitement.
Effect of viscosity of hydrophilic coating polymer on lag time of atenolol pulsatile press coated tablets
Authors: Keraliya Rajesh A , Patel Madhabhai M
Published: August 2014

A method for the development of press coated tablet of atenolol for pulsatile delivery was investigated for chronotherapy of hypertension. Effect of viscosity of Hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) on pulsatile release of atenlol was studied by press coating atenolol core tablet using different viscosity grade HPC and varying coat weight. L-HPC, M-HPC and H-HPC viscosity garde with 75, 100 and 150 mg coat weight were press coated over atenolol core tablets to delay release of atenolol. The batches, HP1-HP9, exhibited an increase in lag time in response to increase in viscosity and coat weight. Two of the batches HP5 and HP7 have shown a burst release of atenolol after 6.5 and 6.0 h lag time respectively, which is suitable for pulsatile drug delivery of atenolol for chronotherapy of hypertension.
Method Development and Validation of Hydrochlorothiazide and Quinapril in bulk and tablet dosage form by RP-HPLC
Authors: Kanchukommula Harini , Subramaniam Ananda Thangadurai , Munusamy Jambulingam , Danapal Kamalakannan , Sengodan Saravanakumar
Published: August 2014

A RPHPLC chromatographic method was developed and validated for the determination of Quinapril and Hydrochlorothiazide in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulations. Quinapril and Hydrochlorothiazide can be separated on Zorbax Eclipse XDB, C18 column (150 x 4.6 mm, 5 mm) at 30 C using Acetonitrile: Phosphate buffer, pH 4.5 was adjusted with o-phosphoric acid in the ratio of 35:65 v/v as a mobile phase at flow rate of 0.9 mL min-1Â and detected at 210 nm. The retention time of Quinapril and Hydrochlorthiazide was found to be 2.099 min and 5.537 min respectively. The validation of the proposed method was carried out for specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD, LOQ and robustness. Calibration was linear over a range of 50-300 g mL-1Â and 31.25187.5 g mL-1Â with correlation coefficient of 0.999 for Quinapril and Hydrochlorthiazide, respectively. The robustness of the method was evaluated by deliberately altering the chromatographic conditions. The method developed can be applicable for quality control analysis.
X-ray crystal structure of N-benzyl-2-(4,6-diaminopyrimidin-2-ylthio)-acetamide
Authors: Timiri Ajay Kumar , S Subasri , Vijayan Vishwanathan , Devadasan Velmurugan , Sinha Barij Nayan , Kesherwani Manish , Jayaprakash Venkatesan
Published: August 2014

N-benzyl-2-(4,6-diaminopyrimidin-2-ylthio)-acetamide, was synthesized by the reaction of 4,6-diamino-pyrimidine-2-thiol with 2-chloro-N-benzyl acetamide in the presence of potassium hydroxide under reflux conditions and crystallized. X-ray diffraction intensity data were collected at room temperature (293k) on a Bruker axs SMART APEXII single crystal X-ray diffractometer equipped with graphite monochromatic MoÂ K?Â (?=0.71073 radiation and CCD detector. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic P21/n space group with four molecules in the unit cell (a=8.5657(5) b=9.3203(5) c=18.2134(10) ?=90, ?=91.540(4) , ?=90 and Z=4). The three dimensional molecular structure of this compound was determined by X-ray crystallography using SHELXS97 and later refined by SHELXL97 to a final R-value 4.3%. In the crystal, the molecular structure is stabilized by intramolecular NH...S, CH...N and CH...O hydrogen bonds and the packing is stabilized by intermolecular NH...N and NHO hydrogen bonds.
Single shot interferometry using a two-interferogram phase shifting algorithm
Authors: Serrano-García David-Ignacio , Martinez-García Amalia , Toto-Arellano Noel-Iván , Otani Yukitoshi
Published: August 2014

An interferometer capable of retrieving the phase information in a single shot was implemented, the system was made by taking into account the double interferogram output obtained in a Mach Zehnder interferometer and then retrieving the phase information using a two-step algorithm already encountered in the literature. By controlling the polarization properties of the system, a new polarization phase shifting technique was implemented based upon the rotation of two quarter wave retarders placed in each of the arms of the interferometer. We present the analytical model taking into account the necessary conditions presented by the demodulation method. The configuration presented does not require micro-polarizer arrays or diffraction gratings presenting the advantage of avoiding the use of conventional polarizing filters to control the phase shift. Experimental results are presented.
Miniaturization of an interferometric distance sensor employing diffractive optics
Authors: Koukourakis Nektarios , Kuschmierz Robert , Bohling Michael , Jahns Jürgen , Fischer Andreas , Czarske Jürgen W.
Published: August 2014

In order to improve safety, lifetime and energy efficiency of turbo machines, the behavior of the turbine blades has to be monitored during operation. This is a great challenge for metrology, since small, robust and non-contact position measurement techniques are required that offer both micrometer accuracy and microsecond temporal resolution. The Laser-Doppler-Distance (LDD) -Sensor proved to be an adequate technique to perform such measurements. However, the usage in turbo machines requires a miniaturized and temperature-stable sensor-head. In this paper we introduce a miniaturized design of the LDD-sensor that is based on common-path detection. First results indicated that the numerical aperture of the common-path detection is small in comparison to former implementations that used separate paths for illumination and detection. We find that decreasing the numerical aperture strongly increases the systematic measurement uncertainty. For this purpose a novel diffractive optical element containing a diffracting-lens was designed and used to increase the numerical aperture of the common-path detection without affecting the sensor size. Experiments prove that the new element reduces the relative systematic measurement uncertainty by a factor of ten. The mean systematic position measurement uncertainty amounts to Δz
mean≈16 μm. The resulting sensor has dimensions of 25×25×60 mm3, offers temperature-stability and achieves micrometer resolution.
Techniques of multi-degree-of-freedom measurement on the linear motion errors of precision machines
Authors: Fan Kuang-Chao , Wang Hung-Yu , Yang Hao-Wei , Chen Li-Min
Published: August 2014

Any axis of precision machines possesses six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) motion errors, also called the geometric errors, due to manufacturing tolerances and assembly errors, namely three linear and three angular errors. Conventional optical instruments allow measurement of only one or two errors at a time. In order to achieve fast measurement, many multi-degree-of-freedom measurement (MDFM) systems have been developed over the past 20 years, from three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) to 6-DOF. This article summarizes reports of optical measurement techniques of MDFM systems for precision linear, planar and XYZ stages. Comments are also given for the applicability to practical uses.
Kallikreins are involved in an miRNA network that contributes to prostate cancer progression
Authors: Samaan Sara , Lichner Zsuzsanna , Ding Qiang , Saleh Carol , Samuel Joseph , Streutker Catherine , Yousef George M.
Published: August 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNA nucleotides that negatively regulate their target genes. They are differentially expressed in prostate cancer. Kallikreins are genes that encode serine proteases and are dysregulated in cancer. We elucidated a miRNA-kallikrein network that can be involved in prostate cancer progression. Target prediction identified 23 miRNAs that are dysregulated between high and low risk biochemical failure and are predicted to target five kallikreins linked to prostate cancer; KLK2, KLK3, KLK4, KLK14 and KLK15. We also identified 14 miRNAs that are differentially expressed between Gleason grades and are predicted to target these kallikreins. This demonstrates that kallikreins are downstream effectors through which miRNAs influence tumor progression. We show, through in-silico and experimental analysis, that miR-378/422a and its gene targets PIK3CG, GRB2, AKT3, KLK4 and KLK14 form an integrated circuit in prostate cancer. Our analysis shows that a minisatellite sequence in the kallikrein locus consists of a number of microsatellite repeats that represent predicted miRNA response elements. A number of kallikrein and non-kallikrein prostate cancer-related genes share these microsatellite repeats. We validated some of these interactions in prostate cancer cell lines. Finally, we provide preliminary evidence on the presence of a miRNA-mediated cross-talk between kallikreins, including a kallikrein pseudogene.