bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cost-effectiveness of a cervical screening program with human papillomavirus vaccine
Authors: Sopina Elizaveta , Ashton Toni
Published: September 2011

Objectives: Recent introduction of a quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for girls in New Zealand is expected to decrease the incidence of HPV infection as well as resultant cytological abnormalities and cervical cancer. This may affect the cost-effectiveness of the national cervical screening program by reducing the incidence of lesions detected. This study investigates the cost-effectiveness of the current cervical screening policy with and without the HPV vaccine and compares these results with the cost-effectiveness of a range of other screening strategies.

Methods: A Markov state-transition model was built based on the natural history of HPV and cervical carcinogenesis. The model followed a hypothetical cohort of girls from 12 years to 85 years of age or death, through screening and treatment pathways. The model compared a “no vaccine and current screening” strategy with a selection of screening strategies with different age ranges and frequency intervals.

Results: The most cost-effective cervical screening strategy in the presence of the HPV vaccine would be screening women aged 30–60 every 5 years. Moving to this screening strategy from the base case of no vaccine and the current New Zealand strategy of screening women aged 20–69 every 3 years is predicted to have an incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained of NZ$9,841 (€4,428).

Conclusions: Reducing screening intensity from 3 to 5 years as well as narrowing the screening age range for the vaccinated cohort once they reach mid-twenties is recommended. The importance of achieving a high vaccine uptake in New Zealand remains high.
Coniveau spectral sequences of classifying spaces for exceptional and Spin groups
Authors: KAMEKO M. , TEZUKA M. , YAGITA N.
Published: September 2011

Letkbe an algebraically closed field ofch(k) = 0 andGbe a simple simply connected algebraic groupGoverk. By using results about cohomological invariants, we compute the coniveau spectral sequence for classifying spacesBG.
From Campus Racism to Cyber Racism: Discourse of Race and Chinese Nationalism
Authors: Cheng Yinghong
Published: September 2011

As Sino-African engagement keeps developing, racial relations have emerged to concern people on both sides. The recent Chinese cyber discussions on Africans have shown a blatant racialism against Africans. Comparing this with the campus racism in the 1980s and contextualizing it in China's modern history and, more importantly, China's recent rise as a global power, the article argues that racial discourse has become an important component in Chinese nationalism without public awareness of it.
From Resistance to Advocacy: Political Representation for Disabled People in China
Authors: Chen Xi , Xu Ping
Published: September 2011

Although many state agencies in China are designated with a function of “representing” ordinary people's interests, they are poorly structured for that purpose. It is therefore puzzling why some of them have at times actively and effectively advocated the interests of ordinary people, even when such interests may conflict with state policies. To solve this puzzle, this article examines a recent campaign by the Chinese Disabled Persons Federation to resist a national trend to ban the use of three-wheelers for passenger transport by many local governments. Our analysis recognizes the importance of personal motivations and favourable political structure, but it emphasizes that forceful popular collective action can create both pressure and opportunity for active state advocacy. Such a pattern of mutual-reinforcement between mass organizations and their constituency has sometimes contributed to the dynamics of political change in the reform era.
Government Advisors or Public Advocates? Roles of Think Tanks in China from the Perspective of Regional Variations
Authors: Zhu Xufeng
Published: September 2011

Think tanks in China simultaneously play advisory, academic and advocacy roles in the policy process. In this article, I recommend an analytical framework that evaluates think tanks by studying their specific activities in addition to their nature. Empirical data involving 301 think tanks in 25 provinces were collected through the China Think Tank Survey 2004. The 1998 regional Integrated Knowledge Development Index database was also used for the analysis. Based on these two independent sets of survey data, the article concludes that connections with the government and knowledge capacity in regions where think tanks are located are the two differing forces that drive China's think tanks to operate as either advisors or advocates. Moreover, these two determinants differentially influence the individual roles of the two types of think tanks.
Depoliticized Environments: The End of Nature, Climate Change and the Post-Political Condition
Authors: Swyngedouw Erik
Published: September 2011

Nobel-price winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen introduced in 2000 the concept of the Anthropocene as the name for the successor geological period to the Holocene. The Holocene started about 12,000 years ago and is characterized by the relatively stable and temperate climatic and environmental conditions that were conducive to the development of human societies. Until recently, human development had relatively little impact on the dynamics of geological time. Although disagreement exists over the exact birth date of the Anthropocene, it is indisputable that the impact of human activity on the geo-climatic environment became more pronounced from the industrial revolution onwards, leading to a situation in which humans are now widely considered to have an eco-geologically critical impact on the earth's bio-physical system. The most obvious example is the accumulation of greenhouse gases like CO2and Methane (CH4) in the atmosphere and the changes this induces in climatic dynamics. Others are the growing homogenization of biodiversity as a result of human-induced species migration, mass extinction and bio-diversity loss, the manufacturing of new (sub-)species through genetic modification, or the geodetic consequences resulting from, for example, large dam construction, mining and changing sea-levels.
Food intake of European adolescents in the light of different food-based dietary guidelines: results of the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) Study
Authors: Diethelm Katharina , Jankovic Nicole , Moreno Luis A , Huybrechts Inge , De Henauw Stefaan , De Vriendt Tineke , González-Gross Marcela , Leclercq Catherine , Gottrand Frédéric , Gilbert Chantal C , Dallongeville Jean , Cuenca-Garcia Magdalena , Manios Yannis , Kafatos Anthony , Plada María , Kersting Mathilde
Published: September 2011

Objective

Since inadequate food consumption patterns during adolescence are not only linked with the occurrence of obesity in youth but also with the subsequent risk of developing diseases in adulthood, the establishment and maintenance of a healthy diet early in life is of great public health importance. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe and evaluate the food consumption of a well-characterized sample of European adolescents against food-based dietary guidelines for the first time.

Design

The HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) Study is a cross-sectional study, whose main objective was to obtain comparable data on a variety of nutritional and health-related parameters in adolescents aged 12·5–17·5 years.

Setting

Ten cities in Europe.

Subjects

The initial sample consisted of more than 3000 European adolescents. Among these, 1593 adolescents (54 % female) had sufficient and plausible dietary data on energy and food intakes from two 24 h recalls using the HELENA-DIAT software.

Results

Food intake of adolescents in Europe is not optimal compared with the two food-based dietary guidelines, Optimized Mixed Diet and Food Guide Pyramid, examined in this study. Adolescents eat half of the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables and less than two-thirds of the recommended amount of milk (and milk products), but consume much more meat (and meat products), fats and sweets than recommended. However, median total energy intake may be estimated to be nearly in line with the recommendations.

Conclusion

The results urge the need to improve the dietary habits of adolescents in order to maintain health in later life.
Shifts in soil microorganisms in response to warming are consistent across a range of Antarctic environments
Authors: Yergeau Etienne , Bokhorst Stef , Kang Sanghoon , Zhou Jizhong , Greer Charles W , Aerts Rien , Kowalchuk George A
Published: September 2011

Because of severe abiotic limitations, Antarctic soils represent simplified systems, where microorganisms are the principal drivers of nutrient cycling. This relative simplicity makes these ecosystems particularly vulnerable to perturbations, like global warming, and the Antarctic Peninsula is among the most rapidly warming regions on the planet. However, the consequences of the ongoing warming of Antarctica on microorganisms and the processes they mediate are unknown. Here, using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and qPCR, we report highly consistent responses in microbial communities across disparate sub-Antarctic and Antarctic environments in response to 3 years of experimental field warming (+0.5 to 2 °C). Specifically, we found significant increases in the abundance of fungi and bacteria and in the Alphaproteobacteria-to-Acidobacteria ratio, which could result in an increase in soil respiration. Furthermore, shifts toward generalist bacterial communities following warming weakened the linkage between the bacterial taxonomic and functional richness. GeoChip microarray analyses also revealed significant warming effects on functional communities, specifically in the N-cycling microorganisms. Our results demonstrate that soil microorganisms across a range of sub-Antarctic and Antarctic environments can respond consistently and rapidly to increasing temperatures.
Unveiling in situ interactions between marine protists and bacteria through single cell sequencing
Authors: Martinez-Garcia Manuel , Brazel David , Poulton Nicole J , Swan Brandon K , Gomez Monica Lluesma , Masland Dashiell , Sieracki Michael E , Stepanauskas Ramunas
Published: September 2011

Heterotrophic protists are a highly diverse and biogeochemically significant component of marine ecosystems, yet little is known about their species-specific prey preferences and symbiotic interactions in situ. Here we demonstrate how these previously unresolved questions can be addressed by sequencing the eukaryote and bacterial SSU rRNA genes from individual, uncultured protist cells collected from their natural marine environment and sorted by flow cytometry. We detected Pelagibacter ubique in association with a MAST-4 protist, an actinobacterium in association with a chrysophyte and three bacteroidetes in association with diverse protist groups. The presence of identical phylotypes among the putative prey and the free bacterioplankton in the same sample provides evidence for predator–prey interactions. Our results also suggest a discovery of novel symbionts, distantly related to Rickettsiales and the candidate divisions ZB3 and TG2, associated with Cercozoa and Chrysophyta cells. This study demonstrates the power of single cell sequencing to untangle ecological interactions between uncultured protists and prokaryotes.
Effect of Weight Loss on the Rate of Muscle Protein Synthesis During Fasted and Fed Conditions in Obese Older Adults
Authors: Villareal Dennis T. , Smith Gordon I. , Shah Krupa , Mittendorfer Bettina
Published: September 2011

Although weight loss ameliorates many of the metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity, there has been reluctance to prescribe weight loss in obese, older individuals because of the fear that it will cause debilitating loss of muscle mass and impair physical function. To gain insight into the mechanisms responsible for the weight loss‐induced changes in muscle mass, we measured the rate of muscle protein synthesis (by using stable isotope labeled tracer methodology) during basal, postabsorptive conditions and during mixed meal ingestion in eight obese, older adults: (i) before weight loss therapy, (ii) ∼3 months after starting the weight loss intervention (i.e., during the active weight loss phase), when subjects had lost ∼7% of their initial body weight, and (iii) after they had lost ∼10% of their body weight and maintained this new body weight for ∼6 months (∼12 months after starting the weight loss intervention). The basal muscle protein fractional synthesis rate (FSR) was not affected by weight loss. Mixed meal ingestion stimulated the rate of muscle protein synthesis, and the anabolic response (i.e., increase in the protein synthesis rate above basal values) was greater (P < 0.05) during negative energy balance and active weight loss at 3 months (0.033 ± 0.012%·per hour, mean ± s.e.m.) than during weight maintenance before and at 12 months of weight loss therapy (0.003 ± 0.003 and 0.008 ± 0.012%·per hour, respectively). We conclude that during dietary calorie restriction and weight loss in older adults, the rate of muscle protein synthesis is not impaired. Thus, the loss of muscle mass must be mediated predominately by adverse effects of dietary calorie restriction on muscle proteolysis.
Weight Loss and Sleep‐Disordered Breathing in Childhood Obesity: Effects on Inflammation and Uric Acid
Authors: van Hoorenbeeck Kim , Franckx Hilde , Debode Patrick , Aerts Petra , Wouters Kristien , Ramet Jose , van Gaal Luc F. , Desager Kristine N. , De Backer Wilfried A. , Verhulst Stijn L.
Published: September 2011

Sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) is prevalent in childhood obesity. It may be an independent risk factor for the metabolic syndrome. Possible mechanisms are inflammation and oxidative stress. Adenotonsillectomy in childhood obesity is associated with a high recurrence rate and risk of postoperative weight gain. Therefore, this study assessed the effects of SDB on inflammation and oxidative stress in childhood obesity before and after weight loss. We included 132 obese subjects between 10 and 18 years consecutively. Median age was 15.4 years (10.1–18.0). Mean BMI z‐score was 2.72 ± 0.42. Leukocytes and differentiation, high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP), and uric acid (UA) were determined at baseline and subjects underwent a sleep assessment. SDB was diagnosed in 39%. Linear regression analysis showed an association between UAlog and oxygen desaturation indexlog (ODIlog) (r = 0.20; P = 0.03), between leukocyteslog and respiratory disturbance indexlog (RDIlog) (r = 0.23; P = 0.01), and between lymphocyteslog and RDIlog (r = 0.19; P = 0.04). Follow‐up was organized after 4–6 months of treatment. Median decrease in BMI z‐score was 32%. Laboratory measurements were repeated. Subjects with SDB at baseline underwent a second sleep study. Of these 49 subjects, 12 showed residual SDB. This corresponds with a treatment success rate of 71%. Unlike changes in inflammatory markers, improvements in UA were associated with improvements in RDI and ODI (respectively: r = 0.44; P = 0.007, r = 0.41; P = 0.01). In conclusion, weight loss is effective in treating obese children with SDB. At baseline, a link exists between inflammation and SDB. Oxidative stress is reflected by UA at baseline and the concentration decreases after treatment according to improvements in SDB.
A Weight‐Loss Diet Including Coffee‐Derived Mannooligosaccharides Enhances Adipose Tissue Loss in Overweight Men but Not Women
Authors: St‐Onge Marie‐Pierre , Salinardi Taylor , Herron‐Rubin Kristin , Black Richard M.
Published: September 2011

Mannooligosaccharides (MOS), extracted from coffee, have been shown to promote a decrease in body fat when consumed as part of free‐living, weight‐maintaining diets. Our objective was to determine if MOS consumption (4 g/day), in conjunction with a weight‐loss diet, would lead to greater reductions in adipose tissue compartments than placebo. We conducted a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled weight‐loss study in which 60 overweight men and women consumed study beverages and received weekly group counseling for 12 weeks. Weight and blood pressure were measured weekly, and adipose tissue distribution was assessed at baseline and at end point using magnetic resonance imaging. A total of 54 subjects completed the study. Men consuming the MOS beverage had greater loss of body weight than men consuming the Placebo beverage (−6.0 ± 0.6% vs. −2.3 ± 0.5%, respectively, P < 0.05). Men consuming the MOS beverage also had reductions in total body volume (P < 0.0001), total (P < 0.0001), subcutaneous (P < 0.0001), and visceral (P < 0.05) adipose tissue that were greater than changes observed in those consuming the Placebo beverage. In women, changes in body weight and adipose tissue compartments were not different between groups. Adding coffee‐derived MOS to a weight‐loss diet enhanced both weight and adipose tissue losses in men, suggesting a potential functional use of MOS for weight management and improvement in adipose tissue distribution. More studies are needed to investigate the apparent gender difference in response to MOS consumption.
Marine Environment and Human Health: An Overview
Authors: Icarus Allen J.
Published: September 2011

The marine environment currently provides many beneficial goods and services to mankind but also poses a risk to the health of coastal populations. For example, toxic algal bloom events, microbial pathogens and pollutants all act to negatively impact human health mediated by the marine environment. At the same time, regular contact with the natural environment results in many health benefits, including increased fitness and reduced levels of stress. The marine environment is under pressure from land-derived contaminants and climate change, of which the socio-economic consequences and the implications for human health and wellbeing are not well understood. The scientific challenge is to understand and predict the consequences of environmental changes and exploitation of natural resources upon our coastal ecosystems and upon society, including human health. Addressing this challenge requires the integration of a wide range of disciplines, from physical oceanography and marine biology, to molecular biology and epidemiology.
Harmful Algal Blooms
Authors: Davidson Keith , Tett Paul , Gowen Richard
Published: September 2011

Phytoplankton are free-floating plants found in marine and freshwaters that through their photosynthetic growth form the base of the aquatic food chain. A small subset of the phytoplankton may be harmful to human health or to human use of the ecosystem. The species that cause harm are now widely referred to as ‘Harmful Algae’ with the term ‘Harmful Algal Bloom’ (HAB) commonly being used to describe their occurrence and effects. In terms of human health, the most important consequence is the production, by some species, of biotoxins. Typically, biotoxin-producing phytoplankton species exist at relatively low densities (c. few hundred or thousand of cells per litre) with the toxins becoming concentrated in the flesh of organisms (particularly bivalve molluscs) that filter feed on phytoplankton. In most cases, there are no adverse effects to these primary consumers, but this concentrating mechanism creates a risk to health if the shellfish are consumed by humans. In this review, we provide an overview of the mechanisms through which marine phytoplankton may cause harm to humans in terms of heath, and the negative effects on the use of ecosystem services. Subsequently, we consider HAB issues in the area we are most familiar with: UK coastal waters. Finally, the methodologies used to safeguard human health from HAB-generated syndromes are discussed.
Using cell banks as a tool in conservation programmes of native domestic breeds: the production of the first cloned Anatolian Grey cattle
Authors: Arat Sezen , Caputcu Arzu T. , Akkoc Tolga , Pabuccuoglu Serhat , Sagirkaya Hakan , Cirit Umut , Nak Yavuz , Koban Evren , Bagis Haydar , Demir Kamber , Nak Deniz , Senunver Adem , Kilicaslan Ragip , Tuna Bilginer , Cetinkaya Gaye , Denizci Melis , Aslan Ozgur
Published: September 2011

The aim of this study was to clone native Anatolian Grey cattle by using different donor cell types, such as fibroblast, cartilage and granulosa cells cryopreserved in a gene bank and oocytes aspirated from ovaries of Holstein cows as the recipient cytoplasm source. One male calf from fibroblast, three female calves from granulosa cells and one female calf from cartilage cells were born healthy and at normal birthweights. No calves were lost after birth. The results demonstrated that the cloned calves had the same microsatellite alleles at 11 loci as their nuclear donors. However, the mtDNAs of the five Anatolian Grey cloned calves had different haplotypes from their donor cells and mtDNA heteroplasmy could not be detected in any of the clones. The birth of healthy clones suggests that the haplotype difference between the cell and oocyte donor did not affect the pre- or post-implantation development of the bovine nuclear transfer derived embryos in our study. The results showed that well established nuclear transfer protocols could be useful in conserving endangered species. In conclusion, somatic cell banking can be suggested as a tool in conservation programmes of animal genetic resources.
Dose-dependent effects of gonadotropin on oocyte developmental competence and apoptosis
Authors: Liu Shan , Feng Huai L. , Marchesi Dennis , Chen Zi-Jiang , Hershlag Avner
Published: September 2011

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of gonadotropins (Gn) on oocyte maturation, developmental competence and apoptosis in an animal model. Bovine cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured for 24 h in media supplemented with varying concentrations of Bravelle (B), B + Menopur (B + M) or B + Repronex (B + R) (Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Parsiappany, NJ, USA). Then, nuclear maturation, embryo development, and apoptosis in cumulus cells and oocytes were evaluated. Low to moderate Gn concentrations (75–7500 mIU mL–1) effectively improved nuclear maturation and in vitro development. Higher concentrations of Gn (75 000 mIU mL–1) did not have any added beneficial effects and nuclear maturation and blastocyst rates in the presence of these concentrations were comparable to control (P > 0.05). Most COCs showed slight apoptosis when exposed to 75, 750 and 7500 mIU mL–1 Gn; however, when the concentration was increased to 75 000 mIU mL–1, the proportion of moderately apoptotic COCs increased. In conclusion, extremely high concentrations of Gn have detrimental effects on oocyte nuclear maturation and embryo development and increase apoptosis in cumulus cells, suggesting the importance of judicious use of Gn in assisted reproductive technologies (ART).
Defining the cellular precursors to human breast cancer
Authors: Keller Patricia J. , Arendt Lisa M. , Skibinski Adam , Logvinenko Tanya , Klebba Ina , Dong Shumin , Smith Avi E. , Prat Aleix , Perou Charles M. , Gilmore Hannah , Schnitt Stuart , Naber Stephen P. , Garlick Jonathan A. , Kuperwasser Charlotte
Published: September 2011

Human breast cancers are broadly classified based on their gene-expression profiles into luminal- and basal-type tumors. These two major tumor subtypes express markers corresponding to the major differentiation states of epithelial cells in the breast: luminal (EpCAM
+
) and basal/myoepithelial (CD10
+
). However, there are also rare types of breast cancers, such as metaplastic carcinomas, where tumor cells exhibit features of alternate cell types that no longer resemble breast epithelium. Until now, it has been difficult to identify the cell type(s) in the human breast that gives rise to these various forms of breast cancer. Here we report that transformation of EpCAM
+
epithelial cells results in the formation of common forms of human breast cancer, including estrogen receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative tumors with luminal and basal-like characteristics, respectively, whereas transformation of CD10
+
cells results in the development of rare metaplastic tumors reminiscent of the claudin-low subtype. We also demonstrate the existence of CD10
+
breast cells with metaplastic traits that can give rise to skin and epidermal tissues. Furthermore, we show that the development of metaplastic breast cancer is attributable, in part, to the transformation of these metaplastic breast epithelial cells. These findings identify normal cellular precursors to human breast cancers and reveal the existence of a population of cells with epidermal progenitor activity within adult human breast tissues.
Alternative Male Reproductive Phenotypes Affect Offspring Growth Rates in Chinook Salmon
Authors: Berejikian Barry A. , Van Doornik Donald M. , Atkins Jeffrey J.
Published: September 2011

Male age at maturity in Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha is a heritable trait in which the physiological “decision” to mature depends on an individual's exceeding a body size or condition threshold at critical developmental periods. In Chinook salmon, high juvenile growth rates promote the so called “jack” male life history. Jack males mature 1 year earlier than the youngest females in a population and are substantially smaller than older (hereafter, “adult”) males from the same population. We tested the hypothesis that the offspring of jack Chinook salmon males grow faster than the offspring of adult males, consistent with the heritability for age at maturity already demonstrated for this species. We controlled for maternal effects by artificially spawning individual jack and adult males with the same female, incubating the eggs, and testing offspring growth and survival in a common, quasinatural stream environment. Paternal life history had a significant effect on final length and weight over all stream channel sections combined. The mean difference in body size between the offspring of jack and adult males ranged from essentially none to 31% among the eight stream channel sections. The size differences we detected could significantly affect which fish mature and thereby suggest that paternal effects on juvenile growth rate constitute a plausible proximate mechanism in maintaining life history diversity in Chinook salmon. Maternal body size was positively correlated with offspring growth rate and egg size was negatively correlated with growth rate, suggesting that fairly complex mechanisms regulate the growth rate through early ontogeny. The effect of sire life history on offspring growth is consistent with estimates of high heritability for age at maturity in Chinook salmon and a genetic effect of alternative mating tactics on offspring performance.
Trophic Ecology of Summer Flounder in Lower Chesapeake Bay Inferred from Stomach Content and Stable Isotope Analyses
Authors: Buchheister Andre , Latour Robert J.
Published: September 2011

Trophic studies of summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus have relied on traditional stomach content analyses to infer contributions of prey to species productivity. We applied both stable isotope and stomach content analyses to identify prey groups that are responsible for summer flounder productivity in lower Chesapeake Bay and to explore ontogenetic patterns in prey utilization. Summer flounder (total length = 138–682 mm; age = 0–11 years) were collected for stomach and tissue samples (liver, blood, and muscle) during spring–summer (May–July) and fall (November) of 2006 and 2007. Commonly consumed crustacean and fish prey species were also collected: mysid shrimp Neomysis americana, sevenspine bay shrimp Crangon septemspinosa, mantis shrimp Squilla empusa, bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli, spotted hake Urophycis regia, and juvenile sciaenids. Analysis of the nitrogen stable isotope ratio (δ15N; ratio of 15N to 14N relative to a standard) revealed that crustaceans comprised the majority (72–100% on average) of the summer flounder diet except in spring 2006, when fish consumption was more dominant. Analysis of corresponding stomach contents indicated a lower contribution of crustacean prey. Based on isotopes, summer flounder tended to occupy the same trophic level as the prey fishes. The δ15N in all tissues exhibited a positive trend with body length, indicating that larger summer flounder fed at approximately one trophic level above smaller individuals; the positive trend also corresponded with increasing proportions of fish in summer flounder stomachs. Our stable isotope analysis indicates that growth and production of summer flounder in lower Chesapeake Bay are highly dependent on assimilation of mysid shrimp, sevenspine bay shrimp, and mantis shrimp—more so than previously expected based on stomach content research.
History of Anthropology In Iran
Authors: Shahshahani Soheila
Published: September 2011

This article is actually an outline of history of anthropology in Iran. In part, it traces the development of the field and the problems that some of its practitioners have been endeavoring to overcome. In part, it recounts some of the experiences of the author and the frustrations she and others encountered in trying to broaden the scope of the permissible range of study of anthropology.

The ministry of public instructions has made its basic principleless

It propagates in all ways ignorance and ingratitude

On the one hand it does not appreciate the knowledge of those who know

On the other it builds the museum of ethnology.
Blackmailing Amazons and Dutch pigs: A Consideration of Epic and Folktale Motifs in Persian Historiography
Authors: Perry John R.
Published: September 2011

Iran's rich repertoire of narrative literature of oral origin, ranging from single-scene situation comedy through fairytale to the lengthy heroic epic, can certainly be appreciated for its intrinsic literary merits and entertainment value. Both compilers and patrons, however, of what are in effect folktale collections, have from ancient times adopted a utilitarian attitude to their material, a classic instance being the political science course that King Dabshalim (or Devasarma) took from Professor Bidpai in the form of animal fables. In one form or another, the practical autocrat and his obliging philosopher have continued to vet Persian literature through the centuries, insisting that myth and folktale be used as parables to leaven works ostensibly of devotional or moral instruction (as of Rumi or Sa'di) or of historical narrative.
The Struggle for Political Sovereignty
Authors: Rywkin Michael
Published: September 2011

There are basically three choices as far as the future of the Union is concerned. The first is empire by force because the current federation is a federation only by label, and so, basically, a continuation of the same. The second is confederation, Yeltsin-style, based on inter-republican treaties. Confederation could have several variants. One is the Solzhenitsyn variant; the other is that everybody will get out of the Union; and the last is the nine-minus-six-scenario. The third and last alternative Soviet future is disintegration, with outside forces attracting the pieces: Muslims attracting the Muslim republics; Eastern Europe attracting the western Republics; and Scandinavia attracting the Baltic republics.
The East European Roots of Romani Nationalism
Authors: Hancock Ian
Published: September 2011

The Oxford English Dictionary defines nation as “a distinct race or people, characterized by common descent, language or history, usually organized as a separate political state and occupying a definite territory.” Nationalism in turn may be defined as a sense of identity as a people, and the efforts resulting to foster this and to obtain recognition as a distinct population, bound by common historical, cultural, linguistic, political, religious or other ties in the eyes of the larger society.

While in the broadest sense the term “nation” may apply to a non-politically autonomous ethnic group consisting of only a few hundred individuals (cf. the West African or Native American use of the word as an equivalent to “tribe”), it is most often used synonymously with the notion of an actual country, the existence of an independent geographical homeland being an integral part of its interpretation. However, as the dictionary definition indicates, this is usually, and therefore by implication not invariably, a defining criterion. There have been nations of people lacking a homeland (or a homeland allowing them access or control) throughout history. The pre-1948 Jewish population, for example, or the Palestinians in the present day. Bloody wars have been fought because of the existence of nations of people lacking their own autonomous territory.

It is into this latter category that the Romani nation fits and, though the efforts to secure a geographical homeland were central to the nationalist movement, especially during the 1930s and 1940s, the price paid for not having one has been heavy.
The Roma (Gypsies) in Hungary through the Kadar Era
Authors: Crowe David
Published: September 2011

There have been Roma or Gypsies in Hungary for over 650 years. Historical records indicate that they entered Hungary between 1416 and 1417 from Transylvania during the reign of King Sigismund (1387–1437), though linguistic evidence indicates that they had begun to settle there earlier. In 1423, Sigismund granted the Gypsy leader, Ladislas, and his followers, certain rights of transit, and they began to flock to Hungary. Most settled in the outskirts of villages or towns, and became prominent in some parts of the country as blacksmiths.

From the outset, the Gypsies were subjected to varying degrees of discrimination. In the 18th century, Empress Maria Theresa (1740–1780), after Pope Clement XIII granted her the right to become Apostolic ruler of Hungary, adopted policies designed to force the Roma to assimilate into Hungarian society. She outlawed use of the word Cigány and decreed that Gypsies in the future be called “new citizen,” “new peasant,” or “new Hungarian.” In 1780, the government placed 8,388 Roma children in schools where they became wards of the state, and another 9,463 in foster homes. Within a few years, all of them had run away from these institutions or the families. The Gypsies responded with some outbreaks of violence in certain areas, though in most instances they simply left Hungary for other parts of Europe.
Judaism and Jewishness in the USSR: Ethnicity and Religion
Authors: Gitelman Zvi
Published: September 2011

American Jews often treat their religion and ethnicity as coterminous. In the Soviet Union religion and ethnicity are formally more distinct, through in most people's minds the two are closely related. American society generally considers Jews both an ethnic and religious group. There is a strong correlation between religion and ethnicity among other groups—for example between Irish and Polish ethnicity, on the one hand, and Catholicism, on the other. But since Catholicism is a universal religion—to say “Irish” or “Polish” is usually is to say “Catholic”—the converse is not true, since to say “Catholic” may also imply French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian or many other ethnicities.
The Republic of Slovenia—Geographical Constants of the New Central-European State
Authors: Gams Ivan
Published: September 2011

The territory of this new European state is crossed by strategically important passes, the lowest in the entire Alps, leading from the Danubian basin to the Mediterranean (Italy). Thus, the Slovenes had been under cultural, civilizational and political domination of centers from these two parts of Europe until 1918. Because the mountainous land forms, dissected also by valleys and basins, were prone to processes of diffusion rather than fusion, the Slovenes became a national and political subject of their own as late as the nineteenth century. From 1918 to 1990 they were joined to Yugoslavia, a South-East European state, and learnt, to their cost, all the differences between the cultures of West and Central Europe on the one hand, and South-East and Eastern Europe and the Near East on the other. Hence the plebiscite decision by the nation for an independent state.
Slovenia in Post-Modern Europe
Authors: Rupel Dimitrij
Published: September 2011

My discussion of the position of the Slovenes in “Post-modern” Europe is based on certain premises. First, I perceive the present and the future situation of Europe as one in which so-called post-modern phenomena and values are being realized; secondly, I perceive the current developments in Slovenia as processes of cooperation with and participation in European processes; and thirdly, I view the state independence of Slovenia achieved this year as a prerequisite of the above-mention cooperation and participation. However, these premises require explanation and verification. In providing the explanation and the proof, I would like to point to the problems of a small state existing in the modern world, and outline the challenges that await us, Slovenes.
Social Change and Shift of Values: Democratization Processes in Slovenia 1980–1990
Authors: Toš Niko
Published: September 2011

This chapter is concerned with the swift and unexpected political and social breaks that occurred at the end of the eighties in Eastern and Central Europe and which we have been experiencing as necessary, inevitable, foreseen but delayed. A simultaneous, particularly media-created analysis, has characterized them as a “peaceful revolution,” but at least two questions arise.
Slovenes and Yugoslavia 1918–1991
Authors: Pirjevec Jože
Published: September 2011

On December 1, 1918, as Regent Alexander proclaimed the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the latter entered the new state under pressure from manifold motives. Besides the desire for Slavonic solidarity, there was also a more prosaic need that made them take that step. Following the disintegration of the Habsburg monarchy, in which they had lived for centuries, they emerged in the international political arena completely alone and inexperienced “as political children.” They had no borders confirmed by history, and no army apart from a handful of volunteers. For a neighbor, they had victorious Italy with the London Treaty in its pocket, in which the Great Powers promised it a large portion of Slovene territory for its participation in the war. The only power which it was possible to rely upon at that moment was Serbia, which, in turn, dictated its own conditions for the unification. The future state was to become a monarchy under a Karadjordjevich dynasty and was to be centrally structured, irrespective of the ethnic and historical distinctions among various “tribes” making up the new state. The fact that the three constituent entities of the Kingdom were lowered to the level of tribes is clearly indicative: it proclaimed the belief in the existence of a single South-Slavic nation which, although cleft into three branches by events in the past, was to reach its initial unity again, in line with the principle: one state, one nation.
The Slovenes in the Habsburg Empire or Monarchy
Authors: Vodopivec Peter
Published: September 2011

“Let everybody live in his country, at his home, as he would like to live: the Germans in their German way, the Italians in the Italian and the Hungarians in the Hungarian,” maintained, in March 1848, the Slovene priest from Klagenfurt (Carinthia) Matija Majar, “And we the Slavs also demand, firmly and with all our strength, that they let us live at home in our own way: the Slovenes in the Slovene one…”
Nationale Minderheiten in Polen und die Wende
Authors: Golczewski Frank
Published: September 2011

Nachkriegspolen kannte bis zum Ende der Herrschaft der Parteinomenklatura keine Probleme mit nationalen Minderheiten—so schien es zumindest nach außen. Seit den 1950er Jahren gab es keine Nationalitätenstatistik mehr, und man versuchte den Eindruck zu erwecken, als ob das Zusammenleben im polnischen Staat wenigstens in diesem Bereich völlig problemlos sei. Dies ist zunächst verwunderlich, denn auf der anderen Seite war die polnische Regierung stets bereit zuzugeben, daß der Staat in wirtschaftlicher, aber auch in außenpolitischer Hinsicht in nicht geringen Schwierigkeiten steckte. Nur auf dem Gebiet der nationalen Minderheiten war man zurückhaltend.
Soviet Domestic Foreign Policy: Universal Ideology and National Tradition
Authors: Szporluk Roman
Published: September 2011

At the turn of the century a major social, economic and political transformation was taking place in Russia, which at the time was a vast trans-continental empire extending from Warsaw in the west to Vladivostok in the east. Many rival currents of thought and various political movements presented their solutions for Russia's political, social and ethnic conflicts. In 1917, adherents of one Marxist current, the Bolsheviks, seized power in Russia and after a prolonged and extremely bloody Civil War consolidated their regime in the early 1920s. Among the nations of the world Russia alone adopted as its guide for the solution of its problems and conflicts Marxist ideology, invented about seventy years earlier in Germany, an ideology that its founders thought offered a solution for all of the important problems of humanity at large. For, indeed, Marxism was a comprehensive system of thought, which claimed to explain the entire history of humanity and to offer a vision, a scientific blueprint, for humanity's future. In that blueprint the phenomena of conflict, power, and politics were to make room for totally new principles of social organization: solidarity, cooperation, and a rational management of resources and people, i.e., planning.
Introduction: Estonia on the Border of Two Civilizations
Authors: Ruutsoo Rein
Published: September 2011

Estonia enjoys a very delicate geographic position. It is located not just in the neighborhood of Russia, which is modernizing or Westernizing with fluctuating success, but it is situated strategically on the border of two civilizations reminiscent of Samuel P. Huntington's thought-provoking article in the journal Foreign Affairs. However, Estonia has not become a borderland in the classical meaning of the term since the country belongs historically and integrally to the sphere of the so-called Lutheran-German civilization. For centuries this has blocked attempts from the East to incorporate the northern Baltics (which include Finland) into the Orthodox-Slavic Eastern civilization. In the context of conflicting civilizations, each such invasion has been not so much an ethnic matter but rather one of clashing civilizations and of a choice between two competing civilizations. In the last couple of years, Europe has once again witnessed the failure of one more Eastern assault that was launched with the signing in 1939 of the Hitler-Stalin agreement, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
Transition to Democracy
Authors: Järve Priit
Published: September 2011

History shows that in the development of a society, as in any other development, there are critical periods when deep and sudden changes take place, and crucial decisions need to be made. What makes these periods critical is that certain conditions must exist or be created at the right time. Otherwise chances for change may be lost and the results will be fundamentally different from what they could have been.
The Estonian Family in Transition
Authors: Narusk Anu
Published: September 2011

All of the sociological surveys of Estonians carried out after the Second World War have highlighted family life and children as the main values for Estonians. Family and children were also the values that survived the transition from the Soviet to the post-Soviet system, becoming even higher ranked in Estonians’ value priorities. Other rising values during the transitional period were health, close friends, self-education, and a pollution-free environment. Among those aspects suffering considerable decline were participation in social as well as in cultural activities (visiting cultural institutions, reading books,etc.),professional work, and taking care of one's own physical well-being. The rural lifestyle together with Lutheran religious values, which emphasize the family and a “good mother,” have been the main cultural orientations handed down through generations of Estonian families. Even the Soviet period with its forced industrialization, collectivization and political terror did not break this value-system but, quite the opposite, often meant that the family became a place that provided “refuge, and temporary escape” from these pressures, thereby preserving important elements of an earlier cultural orientation. Through its ideologically restricted social studies and deformed official statistics, which left people without reliable information about reality, the Soviet system managed to preserve the relatively strong impact of cultural traditions on people's behavior.
Estonian Entrepreneurs’ Party on the Main Trends of the Republic of Estonia
Authors: Made Tiit
Published: September 2011

The vision of the Estonian Entrepreneurs’ Party (Eesti Ettevdtjate Erakond—EEE) of the main principles of developing Estonian society is first and foremost connected with the wish of the Estonian people to build a free and independent, democratic and individual-centered welfare state with an open economy and modern industrial structure. These principles are included in the EEE program and published according to the decision of the EEE board.
The Effect of the Availability of a Dynamic Model on the Acquisition of a Complex Cyclical Action
Authors: Whiting H. T. A. , Bijlard M. J. , den Brinker B. P. L. M.
Published: September 2011

This study examines the effect of the availability of a dynamic model on the acquisition of a complex cyclical action: slalom-type ski movements on a ski-simulator. A two-condition design was used, with N = 20 subjects per condition. In the experimental condition subjects had, during training trials, the benefit of the availability of a dynamic (video) model of an expert performer, while subjects in the control condition were left entirely to “discovery learning”. The dependent variables were the amplitude, frequency and fluency of the movement of the ski-simulator platform on which subjects were required to stand in operating the simulator. Movement characteristics of the platform were recorded by means of a microcomputer (Apple II+) coupled to a Selcom 403 camera (SELSPOT system). Subjects having the benefit of a dynamic model during training were shown, at the end of the five-day training period, to produce more fluent movements (of the platform) and to show greater consistency of fluency and of tempo than subjects left entirely to discovery learning. The results are discussed in the context of theories of perception and of motor learning.
Weber Fractions for Weight and Mass as a Function of Stimulus Intensity
Authors: Ross Helen E. , Brodie Eric E.
Published: September 2011

Laboratory simulations of weightlessness have shown that the Weber fraction for mass is higher than that for weight in the range 1000–7000 g. Experiments in the weightless conditions of orbital and parabolic flight have found the same at the 50 g level. To obtain measures at intermediate intensities, the Weber fractions for weight and mass were measured for 15 subjects at 50, 200 and 400 g. The stimuli were canisters suspended on strings. The subjects lifted them for the weight condition and swung them firmly sideways for the mass condition. The Weber fraction was higher for mass than for weight at all intensities, and increased at 50 g for both conditions. In a second mass condition, in which the subjects shook the cylinders within a loosely clenched hand, the Weber fraction remained almost constant at all intensities and was significantly smaller than for the firm swing method at 50 g. The differences in performance between conditions may be related to the continuity or intermittency of pressure information. Other explanations are discussed.