bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preparation of Size‐Controlled Silver Nanoparticles and Chitin‐Based Composites and Their Antimicrobial Activities
Authors: Nguyen Vinh Quang , Ishihara Masayuki , Mori Yasutaka , Nakamura Shingo , Kishimoto Satoko , Hattori Hidemi , Fujita Masanori , Kanatani Yasuhiro , Ono Takeshi , Miyahira Yasushi , Matsui Takemi
Published: March 2013

A simple method for the preparation of size‐controlled spherical silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was reported for their generation by autoclaving a mixture of silver‐containing glass powder and glucose. The particle size is regulated by the glucose concentration, with concentrations of 0.25, 1.0, and 4.0 wt% glucose providing small (3.48 ± 1.83 nm in diameter), medium (6.53 ± 1.78 nm), and large (12.9 ± 2.5 nm) particles, respectively. In this study, Ag NP/chitin composites were synthesized by mixing each of these three Ag NP suspensions with a <5% deacetylated (DAc) chitin powder (pH 7.0) at room temperature. The Ag NPs were homogenously dispersed and stably adsorbed onto the chitin. The Ag NP/chitin composites were obtained as yellow or brown powders. Approximately 5, 15, and 20 μg of the small, medium, and large Ag NPs, respectively, were estimated to maximally adsorb onto 1 mg of chitin. The bactericidal and antifungal activities of the Ag NP/chitin composites increased as the amount of Ag NPs in the chitin increased. Furthermore, smaller Ag NPs (per weight) in the chitin composites provided higher bactericidal and anti‐fungal activities.
Commodity Food Prices: Review and Empirics
Authors: Rezitis Anthony N. , Sassi Maria
Published: March 2013

The present paper provides a literature review of studies examining the potential causes and consequences of recent surges in food and agricultural commodity prices. Furthermore, this paper uses the structural trend methodology proposed by Koopman et al. (2009) to analyze movements in the IMF monthly commodity food price index for the period 1992(11)–2012(10) and to provide forecasts for the period 2012(11)–2014(12). The empirical results indicate that commodity food prices present seasonality and cyclicality with the longest periodicity of two years. The empirical findings identify certain structural breaks in commodity food price series as well as outliers. These structural breaks seem to capture the trend component of the price series well, while the outliers take account of temporal effects, that is, short-lived spikes. Finally, the presented forecasts show high and volatile commodity food prices.
Severe Eosinophilic Syndrome: Highly Unlikely Associated with the Use of Probiotic Supplements!
Authors: Ouwehand Arthur C. , Rijkers Ger T.
Published: March 2013

A recent report in this journal suggested a causal relation between probiotic consumption and eosinophilia. In our opinion, the data presented does not suggest such a relationship. The two described eosinophilia cases have not been shown to be caused by infection and certainly not by probiotic infection. The consumed probiotics could not be retrieved in shops, so their identity remains unknown. Furthermore, the alleged consumption took place 2–4 weeks prior to the onset of the symptoms; during such time period, probiotics tend to have disappeared from the intestine. Because most probiotic health benefits are strain specific, also potential risks are strain specific. Thus, generalizing a risk to probiotics as a class is incorrect. We do, however, agree with the authors of the case report that quality control of probiotics should be rigorous. We also do not dispute that there may be certain risk groups (e.g. severely immune-compromised patients), where probiotic use should be carefully monitored. In conclusion, the data presented in the case report do not indicate that specific probiotics strains might cause eosinophilia.
Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics in Molecular Diagnostics: Discovery of Cancer Biomarkers Using Tissue Culture
Authors: Paul Debasish , Kumar Avinash , Gajbhiye Akshada , Santra Manas K. , Srikanth Rapole
Published: March 2013

Accurate diagnosis and proper monitoring of cancer patients remain a key obstacle for successful cancer treatment and prevention. Therein comes the need for biomarker discovery, which is crucial to the current oncological and other clinical practices having the potential to impact the diagnosis and prognosis. In fact, most of the biomarkers have been discovered utilizing the proteomics-based approaches. Although high-throughput mass spectrometry-based proteomic approaches like SILAC, 2D-DIGE, and iTRAQ are filling up the pitfalls of the conventional techniques, still serum proteomics importunately poses hurdle in overcoming a wide range of protein concentrations, and also the availability of patient tissue samples is a limitation for the biomarker discovery. Thus, researchers have looked for alternatives, and profiling of candidate biomarkers through tissue culture of tumor cell lines comes up as a promising option. It is a rich source of tumor cell-derived proteins, thereby, representing a wide array of potential biomarkers. Interestingly, most of the clinical biomarkers in use today (CA 125, CA 15.3, CA 19.9, and PSA) were discovered through tissue culture-based system and tissue extracts. This paper tries to emphasize the tissue culture-based discovery of candidate biomarkers through various mass spectrometry-based proteomic approaches.
Adopting Best Practices from Team Science in a Healthcare Improvement Research Network: The Impact on Dissemination and Implementation
Authors: Puga Frank , Stevens Kathleen R. , Patel Darpan I.
Published: March 2013

Healthcare is a complex adaptive system, and efforts to improve through the implementation of best practice are well served by various interacting disciplines within the system. As a transdisciplinary model is new to clinicians, an infrastructure that creates academic-practice partnerships and builds capacity for scientific collaboration is necessary to test, spread, and implement improvement strategies. This paper describes the adoption of best practices from the science of team science in a healthcare improvement research network and the impact on conducting a large-scale network study. Key components of the research network infrastructure were mapped to a team science framework and evaluated in terms of their effectiveness and impact on a national study of nursing operations. Results from this study revealed an effective integration of the team science principles which facilitated the rapid collection of a large dataset. Implications of this study support a collaborative model for improvement research and stress a need for future research and funding to further evaluate the impact on dissemination and implementation.
Predictors of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Response: The Pivotal Role of Electrocardiogram
Authors: Al Hebaishi Yahya S. , Al Shehri Halia Z. , Al Moghairi Abdulrahman M.
Published: March 2013

Heart failure affects millions of patients all over the world, and its treatment is a major clinical challenge. Cardiac dyssynchrony is common among patients with advanced heart failure. Resynchronization therapy is a major advancement in heart failure management, but unfortunately not all patients respond to this therapy. Hence, many diagnostic tests have been used to predict the response and prognosis after cardiac resynchronization therapy. In this paper we summarize the usefulness of different diagnostic modalities with special emphasis on the role of surface electrocardiogram as a major predictor of response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.
New Echocardiographic Findings Correlate with Intramyocardial Inflammation in Endomyocardial Biopsies of Patients with Acute Myocarditis and Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Escher Felicitas , Kasner Mario , Kühl Uwe , Heymer Johannes , Wilkenshoff Ursula , Tschöpe Carsten , Schultheiss Heinz-Peter
Published: March 2013

Background. The diagnosis of acute myocarditis (AMC) and inflammatory cardiomyopathy (DCMi) can be difficult. Speckle tracking echocardiography with accurate assessments of regional contractility could have an outstanding importance for the diagnosis.Methods and Results.N=25patients with clinically diagnosed AMC who underwent endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) were studied prospectively. Speckle tracking imaging was examined at the beginning and during a mean follow-up period of 6.2 months. In the acute phase patients had markedly decreased left ventricular (LV) systolic function (mean LV ejection fraction (LVEF)40.4±10.3%). At follow-up inn=8patients, inflammation persists, correlating with a significantly reduced fractional shortening (FS,21.5±6.0%) in contrast to those without inflammation in EMB (FS32.1±7.1%,P<0.05). All AMC patients showed a reduction in global systolic longitudinal strain (LS,−8.36±−3.47%) and strain rate (LSR,0.53±0.29 1/s). At follow-up, LS and LRS were significantly lower in patients with inflammation, in contrast to patients without inflammation (−9.4±1.4versus−16.8±2.0%,P<0.0001;0.78±0.4versus1.3±0.3 1/s). LSR and LS correlate significantly with lymphocytic infiltrates (for CD3r=0.7,P<0.0001, and LFA-1r=0.8,P<0.0001).Conclusion. Speckle tracking echocardiography is a useful adjunctive assisting tool for evaluation over the course of intramyocardial inflammation in patients with AMC and DCMi.
Efficacy and Safety of Echinacoside in a Rat Osteopenia Model
Authors: Yang Xiaolin , Li Fei , Yang Yanan , Shen Jinyang , Zou Run , Zhu Panpan , Zhang Chunfeng , Yang Zhonglin , Li Ping
Published: March 2013

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of echinacoside (ECH) using an osteopenia rat model. Forty-eight 6-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into one sham-operated group (SHAM) and five OVX (ovariectomized) subgroups: SHAM with vehicle 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose sodium (0.5% CMC-Na) and OVX with vehicle (OVX), OVX with 17β-estradiol (E2), and OVX with ECH of graded doses (ECH-L, ECH-M, and ECH-H). The effects of ECH and E2 on serum biochemical parameters, bone mineral density (BMD), bone biomechanical properties, bone microarchitecture, and immunohistochemistry were examined, and safety assessments were also evaluated. The results showed that ECH treatments improved total femur BMD, bone microarchitecture, and biomechanical properties and decreased serum marker levels in comparison to OVX group. Moreover, ECH administration significantly increased osteoprotegerin (OPG) level, and decreased receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) level in serum, as well as in proximal femur. Importantly, ECH treatment ameliorated the lipid parameters without the overall incidences of adverse events of uterus and mammary gland compared to OVX and SHAM groups. This study demonstrated that administration of ECH for 12 weeks can effectively and safely prevent OVX-induced osteoporosis in rats via increasing the OPG/RANKL ratio.
Improvement of Hydrodynamics-Based Gene Transfer of Nonviral DNA Targeted to Murine Hepatocytes
Authors: Nakamura Shingo , Maehara Tadaaki , Watanabe Satoshi , Ishihara Masayuki , Sato Masahiro
Published: March 2013

The liver is an important organ for supporting the life of an individual. Gene transfer toward this organ has been attempted in many laboratories to date; however, there have been few reports on improved liver-targeted gene delivery by using a nonviral vector. In this study, we examined the effect of various types of gene delivery carriers on enhancing the uptake and gene expression of exogenous DNA in murine hepatocytes when a hydrodynamics-based gene delivery (HGD) is performed via tail-vein injection. Mice were singly injected with a large amount of phosphate-buffered saline containing reporter plasmid DNA and/or with a gene delivery carrier. One day after the gene delivery, the animals' livers were dissected and subjected to biochemical, histochemical, and molecular biological analyses. The strongest signal from the reporter plasmid DNA was observed when the DNA was mixed with a polyethylenimine- (PEI-) based reagent. Coinjection with pCRTEIL (aloxP-floxed reporter construct) and pTR/NCre (a liver-specific Cre expression vector) resulted in the liver-specific recombination of pCRTEIL. The combination of PEI with HGD would thus be a valuable tool for liver-specific manipulation to examine the function of a gene of interest in the liver and for creating liver disease models.
Asthma and Wheezing Are Associated with Depression and Anxiety in Adults: An Analysis from 54 Countries
Authors: Wong Kai On , Hunter Rowe Brian , Douwes Jeroen , Senthilselvan Ambikaipakan
Published: March 2013

Background.Asthma and depression are important public-health concerns worldwide. While some epidemiologic studies have shown asthma and wheezing to be associated with depression and anxiety, the patterns are unclear at the multinational level due to the lack of cross-study comparability. Our study examined the associations of self-reported asthma diagnosis and current wheezing with self-reported depression diagnosis and 30-day anxiety using an international survey.Methods.Using the 2002 World Health Survey, a standardized international survey conducted by the WHO, we estimated the associations between diagnosed asthma and current wheezing with diagnosed depression and 30-day anxiety via multiple logistic regressions for 54 countries worldwide.Results.Diagnosed depression and 30-day anxiety were associated with diagnosed asthma in 65% and 40% of the countries, respectively. Diagnosed depression and 30-day anxiety were associated with current wheezing in 83% and 82% of the countries, respectively.Conclusions.The association between asthma and depression was generally seen at the global level. These results indicated the importance of addressing the asthma-depression comorbidity as public-health and clinical management priorities, in order to improve the overall health of the countries.
Revisiting Statistical Aspects of Nuclear Material Accounting
Authors: Burr T. , Hamada M. S.
Published: March 2013

Nuclear material accounting (NMA) is the only safeguards system whose benefits are routinely quantified. Process monitoring (PM) is another safeguards system that is increasingly used, and one challenge is how to quantify its benefit. This paper considers PM in the role of enabling frequent NMA, which is referred to as near-real-time accounting (NRTA). We quantify NRTA benefits using period-driven and data-driven testing. Period-driven testing makes a decision to alarm or not at fixed periods. Data-driven testing decides as the data arrives whether to alarm or continue testing. The difference between period-driven and datad-riven viewpoints is illustrated by using one-year and two-year periods. For both one-year and two-year periods, period-driven NMA using once-per-year cumulative material unaccounted for (CUMUF) testing is compared to more frequent Shewhart and joint sequential cusum testing using either MUF or standardized, independently transformed MUF (SITMUF) data. We show that the data-driven viewpoint is appropriate for NRTA and that it can be used to compare safeguards effectiveness. In addition to providing period-driven and data-driven viewpoints, new features include assessing the impact of uncertainty in the estimated covariance matrix of the MUF sequence and the impact of both random and systematic measurement errors.
Hay Fever and Asthma as Markers of Atopic Immune Response and Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Three Large Cohort Studies
Authors: Jacobs Eric J. , Gapstur Susan M. , Newton Christina C. , Turner Michelle C. , Campbell Peter T.
Published: March 2013

Background: In a previous analysis of 12 cancers in the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) cohort including follow-up from 1982–2000, having both hay fever and asthma was associated with lower colorectal cancer mortality. The combination of these allergic conditions may be a marker for allergy-related immune responses that could inhibit colorectal carcinogenesis.

Methods: We examined the association of having both hay fever and asthma with colorectal cancer mortality among 1,023,191 participants in CPS-I, followed from 1959–1972, and 1,102,092 participants in CPS-II, now followed from 1982–2008. We also examined associations with colorectal cancer incidence among 174,917 participants in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort, a subgroup of CPS-II followed from 1992–2007. During the follow-up, there were 5,644 colorectal cancer deaths in CPS-I, 13,558 colorectal cancer deaths in CPS-II, and 3,365 incident colorectal cancer cases in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate multivariable-adjusted relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results: RRs for colorectal cancer mortality associated with having both asthma and hay fever, compared with neither condition, were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.74–1.09) in CPS-I, 0.79 (95% CI, 0.69–0.91) in CPS-II, and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74–0.92) when results from both cohorts were combined in a meta-analysis. The corresponding RR for colorectal cancer incidence in the CPS-II Nutrition Cohort was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.71–1.14).

Conclusion: These results support an association between having both hay fever and asthma and modestly lower colorectal cancer mortality.

Impact: Research examining other potential markers of allergy-related immune response in relation to colorectal cancer is warranted. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(4); 661–9. ©2013 AACR.
Different Genetic Algorithms and the Evolution of Specialization: A Study with Groups of Simulated Neural Robots
Authors: Ferrauto Tomassino , Parisi Domenico , Di Stefano Gabriele , Baldassarre Gianluca
Published: March 2013

Organisms that live in groups, from microbial symbionts to social insects and schooling fish, exhibit a number of highly efficient cooperative behaviors, often based on role taking and specialization. These behaviors are relevant not only for the biologist but also for the engineer interested in decentralized collective robotics. We address these phenomena by carrying out experiments with groups of two simulated robots controlled by neural networks whose connection weights are evolved by using genetic algorithms. These algorithms and controllers are well suited to autonomously find solutions for decentralized collective robotic tasks based on principles of self-organization. The article first presents a taxonomy of role-taking and specialization mechanisms related to evolved neural network controllers. Then it introduces two cooperation tasks, which can be accomplished by either role taking or specialization, and uses these tasks to compare four different genetic algorithms to evaluate their capacity to evolve a suitable behavioral strategy, which depends on the task demands. Interestingly, only one of the four algorithms, which appears to have more biological plausibility, is capable of evolving role taking or specialization when they are needed. The results are relevant for both collective robotics and biology, as they can provide useful hints on the different processes that can lead to the emergence of specialization in robots and organisms.
Quantifying the Evolutionary Self-Structuring of Embodied Cognitive Networks
Authors: Bonsignorio Fabio
Published: March 2013

We outline a possible theoretical framework for the quantitative modeling of networked embodied cognitive systems. We note that: (1) information self-structuring through sensory-motor coordination does not deterministically occur in ℝn vector space, a generic multivariable space, but in SE(3), the group structure of the possible motions of a body in space; (2) it happens in a stochastic open-ended environment. These observations may simplify, at the price of a certain abstraction, the modeling and the design of self-organization processes based on the maximization of some informational measures, such as mutual information. Furthermore, by providing closed form or computationally lighter algorithms, it may significantly reduce the computational burden of their implementation. We propose a modeling framework that aims to give new tools for the design of networks of new artificial self-organizing, embodied, and intelligent agents and for the reverse engineering of natural networks. At this point, it represents largely a theoretical conjecture, and must still to be experimentally verified whether this model will be useful in practice.
Listening as the Land Talks Back: Ecology, Embodiment and Information in the Science Fictions of echo::system
Authors: Coleman Grisha
Published: March 2013

A series of five large-scale multimedia environments constructed for both live performance and interactive installation, echo::system is a response to our current global environmental crisis. Each echo::system “actionstation” creates an alternative environment to promote both aesthetic and physical reflection on how and where we live. This article pairs a theoretical introduction to the foundations and high-level concepts of echo::system with a concrete description of actionstation.2—the desert. The goal is to examine intersections of art, environmental sciences and technology; information and place; performance; and public engagement through the practical realization of the work.
A Personal Art/Science Connection: From the Explicatory to the Evocative
Authors: Summers Dennis
Published: March 2013

The author provides a personal description of how he became an artist and the role of science within his work of the past 25 years. He describes several artworks and their relationship to the science that informs them, addresses how he uses different media toward different ends and traces changes in his representation of certain physical concepts over time, drawing attention to how and why it happened. The emphasis is on his aesthetic development rather than on the conceptual framework for the artwork, which has been covered in previous articles.
Women in Performance, Resistance and Exile during the Yugoslav War 1991–2000
Authors: Milanovic Vesna
Published: March 2013

The author introduces a number of Serbian women artists who performed in Belgrade during the turbulent times of Slobodan Milosevic's authoritarian regime. Raising their voices in protest, these women risked their lives in opposing Milosevic's rule. The author also writes about memories of NATO's bombing of Serbia and Belgrade in 1999 and of her own exile, which became a context for her scholarly writing and performance.
You Saw the Whole of the Moon: The Role of Imagination in the Perceptual Construction of the Moon
Authors: Boyle Colleen
Published: March 2013

The author offers a short history of how our perceptual relationship with the Moon has changed over time. Examples of lunar imaging by Early Renaissance painter Jan Van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, 19th-century photographer James Nasmyth and NASA's Ranger and Lunar Orbiter missions of the 1960s reveal ways in which our perception of the Moon has changed. Images of the Moon produced by technology remain far from “complete”—they are akin to fragments, sketches or models, providing information upon which the imagination can build. How we imagine the Moon, the author argues, is symbiotically linked with our representations of it; we only perceive the truly complete, whole Moon in the non-localized zone of our imaginations.
Network Science and Literary History
Authors: Long Hoyt , So Richard
Published: March 2013

This paper introduces a method for applying network analysis to the sociological study of literary history. Focusing on “little magazines” and poetry journals in the U.S., Japan, and China, the authors utilize bibliographic records to construct weighted, bipartite graphs of poets and journals linked by publication. Through visual and quantitative analysis of the resulting networks, the authors aim to augment traditional hermeneutics with empirical measures that isolate aspects of the social structures from which literary modernism emerged.
Life history and production of pelagic mysids and decapods in the Oyashio region, Japan
Authors: Chikugo Kana , Yamaguchi Atsushi , Matsuno Kohei , Saito Rui , Imai Ichiro
Published: March 2013

Pelagic Mysidacea and Decapoda have important roles in marine ecosystems. However, information on their life histories is extremely limited. This study aimed to evaluate the life cycles of pelagic Mysidacea and Decapoda in the Oyashio region, Japan. Production of the four dominant species was estimated by combining body mass (DM) data and abundance data. Mysidacea belonging to 5 species from 5 genera occurred in the study area. Their abundance and biomass ranged between 11.7-50.1 ind. m−2 and 1.2-7.9 g wet mass (WM) m−2, respectively. Six species from 6 genera belonged to Decapoda, and their abundance and biomass ranged between 9.0-17.3 ind. m−2 and 3.0-17.3 g WM m−2, respectively. Based on body length histograms, there were two to four cohorts for the three dominant mysids and one dominant decapod on each sampling date. Life histories of the two numerically dominant mysids (Eucopia australis and Boreomysis californica) followed similar patterns: recruitment of young in May, strong growth from April to June, and a longevity of three years. Life cycles of the two minor species (the mysid Meterythrops microphthalma and the decapod Hymenodora frontalis) were not clear because of their low abundance. The timing of recruitment of the young and the strong juvenile growth for the two dominant mysids corresponds with the season when their prey is abundant. The annual production of the dominant mysid species was 14.0 mg DM m−2 (B. californica) and 191.8 mg DM m−2 (E. australis). Annual production/biomass () ratios ranged between 0.242 (H. frontalis) and 0.643 (M. microphthalma). Compared with other regions, the Oyashio region showed high production and low ratios. The high production in the Oyashio region may be related to the high biomass of these species. Because of the low temperature conditions (3°C), pelagic mysids and decapods in the Oyashio region may have slower growth, longer generation times and lower ratios than in other oceans.
Moving Beyond Rights-Based Management: A Transparent Approach to Distributing the Conservation Burden and Benefit in Tuna Fisheries
Authors: Hanich Quentin , Ota Yoshitaka
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Determining the distribution of the conservation burden and benefit is a critical challenge to the conservation and management of trans-boundary fish stocks. Given current levels of overfishing and overcapacity in many trans-boundary fisheries, some or all participating States must necessarily reach a compromise with regard to their interests and carry some share of the conservation burden. This article proposes a new approach to distributing the conservation burden and benefit in trans-boundary fisheries, and explores this approach in the world’s largest tuna fishery: the tropical tuna fisheries of the western and central Pacific. Such an approach would enable Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) to transparently ensure that conservation burden and benefit distributions are consistent with international obligations. The article recommends that RFMOs consider developing decision-making frameworks that would enable existing scientific processes to determine the necessary extent of conservation measures, while a new conservation burden methodology would then determine the implementation of the measure and its impact on each member.
Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr: An Investigation of al-Qushayrī’s Major Qur’an Commentary
Authors: Nguyen Martin
Published: March 2013

Abstract

The mystic and scholar of Nishapur, Abū l-Qāsim al-Qushayrī, is widely acclaimed for his important treatise on the Sufi Path, al-Risāla, and his Sufi commentary of the Qur’an, Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt. However, a commentary composed during his early career has been largely overlooked despite its wide attestation in the biographical literature. Called al-Tafsīr al-kabīr or “the Major Commentary,” this work may only survive in manuscript form. At the center of the present study are two manuscripts from Leiden and Istanbul that appear to partially preserve Qushayrī’s earliest work of Qur’anic exegesis. By examining the various authorities cited in the text and cross-referencing relevant works, this study works to date the commentary of each text, to identify their respective commentarial influences and authorities, and to draw possible conclusions concerning how the manuscripts relate to one another and ultimately to Qushayrī, the alleged author.
On the Subtleties of Method and Style in the Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt of al-Qushayrī
Authors: Sands Kristin Zahra
Published: March 2013

Abstract

The Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt of Abū l-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072) is a comprehensive, line-by-line mystical commentary on the Qur’an. In this article, an analysis of the comments on the first four sūras demonstrates how Qushayrī crafted a distinctively cohesive way of responding to the Qur’anic text that avoids any sharp or simplistic division of the exoteric and the mystical. This is partly accomplished by not addressing verses in an overly selective way, and partly by mirroring the shifting modes of discourse and content of the Qur’an itself. Qushayrī adeptly incorporates into his commentary the intellectual discourses of his time in exegesis, theology and mysticism, and then expands his rhetorical repertoire with the more emotive and aesthetic dimensions of poetry, rhymed prose and metaphor. Qushayrī’s methodology allows him to use tangible human experience to explain what might otherwise seem like otherworldly or abstract ideas, and to provide concrete advice for mystical aspirants. The esoteric and exoteric are seamlessly interwoven in his commentary through the ethos of adab, understood as a hermeneutic, a sensibility, and a life strategy for those seeking nearness with the divine.
Introduction: Al-Qushayrī and His Legacy
Authors: Nguyen Martin , Ingalls Matthew
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Abū l-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072) is a pivotal figure in the development of the Sufi tradition. The articles that comprise the present issue of the Journal of Sufi Studies propose to shed new light on understudied areas in Qushayrī’s thought, corpus, and posthumous reception.
Influences of Qushayrī’s Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt on Sufi Qur’anic Commentaries, Particularly Rūzbihān al-Baqlī’s ʿArāʾis al-bayān and the Kubrawi al-Taʾwīlāt al-najmiyya
Authors: Godlas Alan
Published: March 2013

Abstract

Although the significance of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Qushayrī’s Qur’anic commentary, Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt, might appear limited, in fact its impact was widespread geographically and historically and was both obvious and hidden. This study demonstrates that eight tafsīrs, written from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries and possessing a significant Sufi component, were all influenced by Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt and ranged from Morocco to Central Asia and India and included the Ottoman world, the Arab Middle East, and Iran. Using the previously recognized influence of Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt on Maybudī’s Kashf al-asrār as a point of comparison for examining the degree, manner, and acknowledgment of influence, this study focuses on illuminating the impact of Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt on the Qur’anic commentary of Rūzbihān al-Baqlī, ʿArāʾis al-bayān, and that of the Kubrawi school, al-Taʾwīlāt al-najmiyya. One significant difference is that quotations from Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt were appended to and not integrated with Baqlī’s writing, whereas they were integrated into al-Taʾwīlāt. Most importantly, Qushayrī’s authorship is acknowledged in ʿArāʾis al-bayān but not in al-Taʾwīlāt. This discovery of the hidden influence of the Laṭāʾif al-ishārāt on al-Taʾwīlāt al-najmiyya helps to clarify the latter’s problematic authorship, strengthening Paul Ballanfat’s argument that Najm-i Rāzī revised the text originally written by Najm al-Dīn Kubrā.
Anatomical evaluation of wood surfaces produced by oblique cutting and face milling
Authors: de Moura Luiz Fernando , Cool Julie , Hernández Roger E.
Published: March 2013

The condition of superficial tissues plays an important role in the behavior of adhesive/wood interfaces. Tissues at the wood surface should be the least distorted possible during surfacing in order to avoid the formation of mechanical weak boundary layers. These layers cause significant loss of adhesion of coating films and gluelines during utilization of wood. In this study, sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.), and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) were surfaced by oblique cutting and face milling, while paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) was face milled. Cell damage was considerably higher in face milling than in oblique cutting. This damage was manifested in the form of lateral distortion, bending, and rupture of tissues. In general, superficial cell damage presented similar patterns for all species studied, but its severity was quite variable as a function of species and cutting conditions. The present study describes damage patterns and discusses the possible implication of cell damage in wood finishing and gluing.
Correlation of intrusive growth of cambial initials to rearrangement of rays in the vascular cambium
Authors: Wilczek Anna , Jura-Morawiec Joanna , Kojs Paweł , Iqbal Muhammad , Włoch Wiesław
Published: March 2013

It is well documented that apical elongation of fusiform cambial initials through extension of their longitudinal edges, and their intrusion between tangential walls of the neighbouring initials and their closest derivatives cause rearrangement of fusiform cells, without increasing the cambial circumference. However, the concurrent rearrangement of rays is not fully understood. This study deals with Pinus sylvestris L., Tilia cordata Mill. and Hippophaë rhamnoides L., possessing a nonstoreyed, storeyed and double-storeyed type of cambium, respectively, and shows that the mechanism for rearrangement of ray initials is similar to the one proposed for fusiform initials, and includes multiplication of ray initials by anticlinal divisions, intrusive growth of ray initials, elimination of ray initials caused by intrusive growth of neighbouring fusiform initials, and transformation of ray initials into fusiform initials. Intrusive growth of a ray initial does not necessarily lead to the formation of a new fusiform initial, as it is dependent on the extent of the intrusive growth taken place. The extent of rearrangement of cambial cells is determined by the intensity of events occurring among the fusiform as well as ray initials. Intrusive growth of these initials does not influence the size of the cambial circumference.
Formation of traumatic resin ducts in the phloem of western redcedar (Thuja plicata) roots following abiotic injury and pathogenic invasion by Armillaria ostoyae
Authors: Cleary Michelle R. , Holmes Terry
Published: March 2013

Anatomical changes involved in traumatic phloem resin duct (TPRD) formation in western redcedar (Thuja plicata) roots were examined following abiotic wounding and fungal invasion by Armillaria ostoyae. Following necrophylactic periderm formation, hyperplasia and expansion of a band of phloem parenchyma cells occurred in close proximity to the vascular cambium and schizogenous and lysigenous separation of its derivatives resulted in a series of longitudinal resin ducts in the inner to mid-phloem region. Fungal invasion appeared to amplify traumatic resin duct formation in the phloem. While traumatic cavities in the phloem have been reported for other Cupressaceae, this is the first report documenting TPRD formation in western redcedar.
Anatomical Comparison of Original and Regrowth wood from coppiced and Pollarded Poincianella Pyramidalis Trees in the Caatinga of Pernambuco, Brazil
Authors: Leme Claudia Luizon Dias , Gasson Peter
Published: March 2013

Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz (‘catingueira’) is one of the most used trees by rural communities for wood and charcoal in the caatinga of northeast Brazil. It grows rapidly and can survive and thrive after either wet or dry season coppicing or pollarding. This paper explores the anatomical basis for P. pyramidalis being a good choice for fuel and charcoal by comparing the proportions of the constituent cell types (vessels, fibres and parenchyma) in wood from the trunk and branches of original trees with those from regrowth branches after three and six years. Since wood density is correlated with mechanical and physiological strategies of trees, the observations suggest that the anatomical differences between branch and regrowth are the result of rapid regrowth after coppicing or pollarding. The observed differences in cell type proportions along the trunk and branches are of interest from a physiological point of view but have little bearing on whether the regrowth is good for charcoal.
Stem Anatomy and Development of Successive Cambia in the Neotropical Liana Securidaca Rivinifolia (Polygalaceae)
Authors: Rajput Kishore S. , Fiamengui Marina B. , Marcati Carmen R.
Published: March 2013

The pattern of secondary growth and structure of secondary xylem was studied in the stem of the Neotropical liana Securidaca rivinifolia A. St.-Hil. (Polygalaceae). Increase in thickness of the stem was achieved by formation of successive cambia, from which initially two or three successive rings formed complete oval to circular cambia. Thereafter, the successive cambia were always crescent-shaped and never formed a complete cylinder, resulting in dumbbell-shaped cross-sectional outlines of the stems. The first successive cambium originated in the pericyclic parenchyma located outside the crushed protophloem. Prior to the development of cambium, pericyclic parenchyma formed a meristematic band of radially arranged cells. From this band, cells located in the middle of the band became the new ring of cambium. Cells on the inner face of the xylem produced by newly formed cambium differentiated into conjunctive tissue. The first elements to be differentiated from the newly developed cambium were always xylem fibres but differentiation of vessels was also observed occasionally. The xylem was diffuse porous with relatively distinct growth rings and composed of mostly solitary vessels with simple perforation plates, fibres with bordered pits, paratracheal axial parenchyma, and exclusively uniseriate rays.
Ultrastructural Changes in the Cell Walls of Cambial Derivatives During Wood Formation in Indian ELM (Holoptelea Integrifolia)
Authors: Rao Karumanchi S. , Kim Yoon Soo , Sivan Pramod
Published: March 2013

Sequential changes occurring in cell walls during expansion, secondary wall (SW) deposition and lignification have been studied in the differentiating xylem elements of Holoptelea integrifolia using transmission electron microscopy. The PATAg staining revealed that loosening of the cell wall starts at the cell corner middle lamella (CCML) and spreads to radial and tangential walls in the zone of cell expansion (EZ). Lignification started at the CCML region between vessels and associated parenchyma during the final stages of S2 layer formation. The S2 layer in the vessel appeared as two sublayers,an inner one and outer one.The contact ray cells showed SW deposition soon after axial paratracheal parenchyma had completed it, whereas noncontact ray cells underwent SW deposition and lignification following apotracheal parenchyma cells. The paratracheal and apotracheal parenchyma cells differed noticeably in terms of proportion of SW layers and lignin distribution pattern. Fibres were found to be the last xylem elements to complete SW deposition and lignification with differential polymerization of cell wall polysaccharides. It appears that the SW deposition started much earlier in the middle region of the fibres while their tips were still undergoing elongation. In homogeneous lignin distribution was noticed in the CCML region of fibres.
Sexual dichromatism in a Mexican checkered beetle (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Neorthopleurinae)
Authors: RIFKIND JACQUES
Published: March 2013

This paper describes sexual dichromatism in the Mexican checkered beetle Nelsonoplium jeanae Barr, an unusual case for the Cleridae. Although sexual dimorphism is common in Cleridae, it is primarily expressed in morphological differences such as antennal composition, relative body size, shape of the hind legs, and the structure of the terminalia. Polychromatism is often encountered in clerids, with different color phena sometimes occurring within the same population. For example, Colyphus signaticollis Spinola presents in various concolorous, banded and striped elytral forms (Ekis 1977), and I have beaten several distinct morphs of this species (or near) from oak at the same location in Sonora, México. Solervicens (personal communication) has observed non sex–linked dichromatism among species of Eurymetopum Blanchard and within Pelonium Spinola. Much confusion has been attached historically to the identity of many species of the epiphloeine genus Ichnea Castelnau because earlier workers counted primarily on coloration to diagnose taxa. Recognizing the plasticity of elytral color pattern within the genus, and its unreliability for species determination, Opitz (2010) synonymized no fewer than 17 of the 31 previously described species. Solervicens’ (1986) study of Eurymetopum revealed that certain color morphs occur more frequently within one sex than the other, and he discusses a species within which the typical color pattern is expressed in males and some females while other females have their own distinct coloration, not found among males. Nevertheless, records of consistent sexual dichromatism in clerids are rare. Gerstmeier (2013) reports and illustrates a pair of an Indonesian Tenerus sp. where the male and female are so different in habitus and coloration from one another that they could easily have been mistaken for separate species had they not been collected in copula. As far as I am aware, the present note represents the first record of a North or Central American clerid exhibiting a similar dichromatism.
Redescription of Microprosthema semilaeve (von Martens, 1872) (Decapoda: Stenopodidea: Spongicolidae) and description of a new species of Microprosthema from Dry Tortugas, Florida
Authors: GOY JOSEPH W. , MARTIN JOEL W.
Published: March 2013

Microprosthema semilaeve, a fairly common spongicolid shrimp of reefal habitats in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean is redescribed and figured based on type material and an additional 78 specimens from the majority of its known zoogeographical range. It is distinguished from the Indo-Pacific species of M. validum and an undescribed species of Microprosthema with which it has been confused in the literature by a number of morphological characters. A new species of Microprosthema from deeper waters off the Dry Tortugas and closely related to M. inornatum Manning & Chace, 1990, is described and illustrated. Microprosthema jareckii Martin, 2002 is synonymized with M. manningi Goy & Felder, 1988. A key to the Western Atlantic species of Microprosthema is presented.
New species of Ameletus Eaton, 1885 and redescription of Ameletus longulus Sinichenkova, 1981 from the Russian Far East (Ephemeroptera: Ameletidae)
Authors: TIUNOVA TATIANA M.
Published: March 2013

Ameletus khasanensis sp. nov. is described and Ameletus longulus Sinichenkova, 1981 is revalidated and redescribed based on material from the Russian Far East. The structure of the penis of both species is similar to that of Ameletus costalis (Matsumura 1931), a description and drawings of which are also presented in this paper. The male imago of A. khasanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from that of A. costalis by the absence of spinules on the dorsal surface of the fore tibia. The male imago of A. longulus can be distinguished from A. khasanensis sp. nov. and A. costalis by the color of the forewings. The larvae of A. khasanensis sp. nov. differ from A. costalis in the length of the denticles on the right mandible, in the absence of the group of setae on the dorsal surface at the base of fore femora and the width/length ratio of gillVII. The larvae of A. longulus differ from A. khasanensis and A. costalis in the form and number of the denticles of the first comb-shaped seta of the maxilla and the number of setae on the dorsal surface of the base of the fore femora.
Two new species of Amblypsilopus Bigot with a key to species from Vietnam (Diptera: Dolichopodidae)
Authors: LI XUANKUN , LI ZHU , YANG DING
Published: March 2013

Eight species of the genus Amblypsilopus Bigot are now recorded from Vietnam. The following two new species are described: Amblypsilopus lacduonganus sp. nov. and A. longus sp. nov. Two species, A. basalis Yang and A. capitatus Yang, are newly reported fromVietnam. A key to the species of the genus fromVietnam is provided.
A New Mechanism of Droplet Size Distribution Broadening during Diffusional Growth
Authors: Korolev Alexei , Pinsky Mark , Khain Alex
Published: March 2013

A new mechanism has been developed for size distribution broadening toward large droplet sizes. This mechanism may explain the rapid formation of large cloud droplets, which may subsequently trigger precipitation formation through the collision–coalescence process. The essence of the new mechanism consists of a sequence of mixing events between ascending and descending parcels. When adiabatically ascending and descending parcels having the same initial conditions at the cloud base arrive at the same level, they will have different droplet sizes and temperatures, as well as different supersaturations. Isobaric mixing between such parcels followed by further ascents and descents enables the enhanced growth of large droplets. The numerical simulation of this process suggests that the formation of large 30–40-μm droplets may occur within 20–30 min inside a shallow adiabatic stratiform layer. The dependencies of the rate of the droplet size distribution broadening on the intensity of the vertical fluctuations, their spatial amplitude, rate of mixing, droplet concentration, and other parameters are considered here. The effectiveness of this mechanism in different types of clouds is discussed.
The North Atlantic Oscillation Response to Large-Scale Atmospheric Anomalies in the Northeastern Pacific
Authors: Drouard Marie , Rivière Gwendal , Arbogast Philippe
Published: March 2013

Ingredients in the North Pacific flow influencing Rossby wave breakings in the North Atlantic and the intraseasonal variations of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are investigated using both reanalysis data and a three-level quasigeostrophic model on the sphere. First, a long-term run is shown to reproduce the observed relationship between the nature of the synoptic wave breaking and the phase of the NAO. Furthermore, a large-scale, low-frequency ridge anomaly is identified in the northeastern Pacific in the days prior to the maximum of the positive NAO phase both in the reanalysis and in the model. A large-scale northeastern Pacific trough anomaly is observed during the negative NAO phase but does not systematically precede it.

Then, short-term linear and nonlinear simulations are performed to understand how the large-scale ridge anomaly can act as a precursor of the positive NAO phase. The numerical setup allows for analysis of the propagation of synoptic waves in the eastern Pacific in the presence of a large-scale ridge or trough anomaly and their downstream impact onto the Atlantic jet when they break. The ridge acts in two ways. First, it tends to prevent the downstream propagation of small waves compared to long waves. Second, it deflects the propagation of the wave trains in such a way that they mainly propagate equatorward in the Atlantic. The two modes of action favor the anticyclonic wave breaking and, therefore, the positive NAO phase. With the trough, the wave train propagation is more zonal, disturbances are more meridionally elongated, and cyclonic wave breaking is more frequent in the Atlantic than in the ridge case.