bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Report on the Available Recordings of Middle Eastern Music in the United States
Authors: Sakata Lorraine , Albright Charlotte F. , Racy A. Jihad , Schuyler Philip 
Published: March 2016

Recordings of Middle Eastern music are too numerous to list and discuss individually here, but certain exemplary recordings and labels will be noted in this report.Generally speaking, there are two types of recordings of Middle Eastern music available in the United States. One type is intended for general audiences and includes popular music sung by internationally known singers such as Um Kalthum and Fairuz, and orchestral ensembles playing what has become known as “Belly dance” or “Oriental dance” music. Intended for relatively easy listening, very little information is offered about the performances; the main attraction being the artists themselves or the accompaniment to dance. The second type of recording is generally more informative and concentrates on the music as well as the musicians. The division between the two types is certainly not clear cut and many recordings may be described as a little of each.
The Theatrical Movement of the Arabs
Authors: Cachia Pierre 
Published: March 2016

In the immense corpus of pre-19th-century Arabic literature, the only dramatic works extant are three shadow plays by Shams ad-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Dāniyāl (1248–1311), an oculist turned both popular and court entertainer.To explain this paucity, conjectures have been offered ranging from the contention that Islam (whose very name implies the total submission of man to the will of Cod) leaves no room for tragic conflict to the argument that Arabs remained attached to a literary ideal born in nomadism, whereas the theater can arise only in a settled community.
Drama and Theater of the Russian East: Transcaucasus, Tatarstan, Central Asia
Authors: Allworth Edward 
Published: March 2016

This article continues “The Bibliography of the Theatrical Movement of Western Asia and North Africa,” Peter V. Chelkowski, editor, started In the MESA Bulletin XVI.1 (July 1982), pp. 9–23 with P. Cachia, “The Theatrical Movement of the Arabs,” and continued in XVI. 2 (December 1982) pp. 14–20 with F. Rokem, “Theatrical Movement in the Hebrew Theater.”On the dramaturgical map of western Asia, the huge section long held by Czarist and Soviet Russia deserves attentive scrutiny. Theatrical life has been especially rich in the multi-ethnic Transcaucasus and, to a lesser degree, in the Tatar homelands and Central Asia, at least since medieval times. In certain respects the area leads the entire Middle East in this field. Theater in the region is abundant as well as versatile in form. It has given to both players and audiences literary religious performances, a secular neoclassical drama, folk comedy, modern European-style stage works, and ideologically-committed theater, as well as numerous plays translated or adapted from West and East. But how far the modern dramas may be identified either as local Asian or international Western remains a serious question for every specialist.
Freedoms and Ideology: The Current State of Political Thought in the Middle East
Authors: Awad Louis 
Published: March 2016

Mr. Moderator, ladies, and gentlemen: I should like to begin by thanking MESA profoundly for this kind invitation. I must not forget to say that I was surprised to find that the general title of the colloquium today was “The Post-Liberal Age in the Middle East,” which sounds like a gruesome epitaph on a certain period. I personally belong to the school which holds fast to the liberal democratic tradition and I shall try to point out in the few lines which I have put down—which I will read out now—why I still belong to that school which believes in liberal democracy and secularism.It is very difficult to trace the concept of Freedom or to analyse its theoretical content across Egyptian history up to 1798, the date of Bonaparte’s Expedition in Egypt.
Survey Research among Middle Eastern Immigrant Groups in the United States: Iranians in Los Angeles
Authors: Bozorgmehr Mehdi , Sabagh Georges 
Published: March 2016

Immigration research poses special problems, but survey researchers studying immigrant groups rarely write about the problems they encounter in the design and conduct of their surveys (Hurh and Kim 1984). Three areas of particular importance are: (1) securing the approval of community leaders or persons of influence; (2) identifying adequate frames for relatively small immigrant populations, from which random samples can be selected; and (3) conducting the fieldwork, including recruiting and training interviewers fluent in immigrant languages.The main objective of this paper is to describe various stages of our recently completed survey of Iranians in Los Angeles (see Figure 1). We pay particular attention to the problems we have faced in carrying out this study, and how resolving some of them reshaped our original research design.
The Ottoman Fiscal Calendar
Authors: Rose Richard B. 
Published: March 2016

One of the daunting aspects of studying the Middle East is the confluence of several, often unrelated, languages, each with its own alphabet. Having gained some control over these, the student then comes up against a jumble of calendars. While many of these complications are lessened when focusing on a particular region or period of time, the cosmopolitan nature of the Ottoman Empire evolved a dense fabric of interwoven languages (Persian, Turkish, and Arabic) and of calendars, which were not only in use alongside each other, but were blended to create new subspecies! Handbooks and concordances have existed for a long time to enable the scholar to translate solar, lunar, agricultural, and urban time reckonings into modern calendars. We are most familiar with the standard Gregorian/Hijra guides, as Europeans were once deeply involved in concordances of Old Style (Julian) and New Style (Gregorian) conversion tables.The Ottoman fiscal calendar is one of the more peculiar challenges which must be attended to, in order to control adequately the immense store of documents from the last centuries of the Turkish Empire. This calendar was employed particularly in the State’s fiscal and trade sectors; hereafter it is identified by the code SM, for sene-i-maliye, the fiscal year. It is a solar calendar, first put into use in AD 1676, and adopted by more areas of trade and administration until it becanle the official standard calendar of the empire in AD 1839. The supremacy of SM usage then lasted until AD 1917, when it was first modified to accord with Gregorian NS reckoning over Julian OS. Finally, SM usage was discontinued entirely in December of AD 1925, and replaced by the “Western” Gregorian calendar.
Albert Hourani, 1915–1993
Authors: Khalidi Rashid 
Published: March 2016

It is not easy to sum up, and considerably harder to assess, the life’s work of a scholar as influential and prolific as Albert Hourani. It is harder still to do with any precision when he was a man whose influence was exercised as much through his teaching, his lectures and his erudite conversation and commentary as it was through the broad range of his scholarly writings on the modern Middle East.That Hourani was prolific is evidenced by the eight books he wrote, seven works he edited, the 157 articles and shorter pieces and over 100 book reviews he produced over a scholarly career spanning nearly five decades. Among them were writings of great importance to the field. These included the seminal Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1789–1939, which has gone through two editions and numerous reprints, and may be one of the most widely read works in modern Middle Eastern history. Among his articles, “Ottoman Reform and the Politics of the Notables,” originally published in the volume Beginnings of Modernization in the Middle East: The Nineteenth Century in 1968 and reissued in 1981, has provided a concept—that of “the politics of the notables”—which has helped a generation of historians to better understand the society and politics of the modern Middle East.
Recent Recordings of Traditional music from the Arabian Gulf and Saudi Arabia
Authors: Campbell Kay Hardy 
Published: March 2016

The music of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf flourishes predominantly within its own regional boundaries, a function of both the fragmented music distribution channels in the Middle East and the deep imprint that local traditional cultures have left on it. While the music’s popularity is strictly regional, it is full of vitality, supporting an array of male and female song stars whose audiences eagerly await performances and recordings.The distinct sound of Gulf music echoes the internal and external historic influences on the region, interwoven with the highly syncopated rhythms and the stark unaccompanied songs of the Bedouin. Pilgrims brought foreign music influences to Mecca and Medina and left their mark on the musical ensembles of the Arabian cities in rhythms and maqāmāt. The trading and pearling towns on the coasts and in the Peninsula’s interior also saw foreigners come and go, who left their music and songs behind. As a result, a rich and varied yet distinctly Arabian/Khalījī sound developed, echoing the voices and instrumental music of East Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
Mainstreaming Middle East Gender Research: Promise or Pitfall?
Authors: Roded Ruth 
Published: March 2016

From The Advent Of Middle Eastern Studies, the ‘status of the Muslim woman’ was a major subject of interest, not to say fascination. Women in Middle Eastern society were depicted as invisible, downtrodden figures, whiling away their time in harems, ignorant of anything but the most frivolous matters, and prone to childlike behavior. A handful of outstanding, unique women were portrayed either as ideal paragons or as evil shrews.In the wake of the feminist movement of the 1960s, Middle Eastern ‘women’s history’ gradually began to modify these stereotypes. During the last two decades, new research has revealed the varied roles women have played in the economic, social, and cultural life of the Middle East. Quantitative studies of economic records have produced provocative findings on the ownership and management of property by women.
Scholarship in the Shadow of Empire (2004 Presidential Address)
Authors: Brand Laurie A. 
Published: March 2016

As a colleague of mine has recently written, a term that was slanderous a mere decade ago—empire—has now become a cliché in discussing the United States. Indeed,what word but ‘empire’ describes the awesome thing that America is becoming? It is the only nation that polices the world through five global military commands; maintains more than a million men and women at arms on four continents; deploys carrier battle groups on watch in every ocean; guarantees the survival of countries from Israel to South Korea; drives the wheels of global trade and commerce...
Cairo Notes
Authors: Gran Peter 
Published: March 2016

Many American scholars work in Cairo these days. For this reason, we pay more attention to Egyptian history-writing, to the situation of the archives as well as to newly discovered textual sources. I have compiled here a few notes along these lines.Published in late 2004, Mashayna khatti-sirah dhatiyah [Going My Way], (Cairo: Dar al-Hilal, 336 pp.), is an unusual work by the well-known Egyptian historian Raouf Abbas, which sold several thousand copies in days and elicited a number of reviews. The wide interest in this autobiographical work doubtless lies in the controversial subjects it raises and the names it names.
Report on the Pre-Collegiate Activities of Federally Funded Middle East Language and Area Centers
Authors: Ek Barbro M. 
Published: March 2016

This Report was prepared under the auspices of the MESA Committee on Pre-Collegiate Education, Michael W. Suleiman, Chairperson; Barbro M. Ek, Marvin Fricklas, Mounir Farah, Glenn Perry, Juanita Will Soghikian and Don Peretz, Members.There are presently twelve regional centers for the study of the Middle East receiving operational grants from the Office of Education under its language and area centers program. These grants range In amounts from $50,000 to $114,000 per year with the average falling somewhere around $92,000 yearly. Although there is a yearly competition, most centers receive funding for a minimum of three years. Of the presently funded centers, two (University of Arizona and Portland State) are funded as undergraduate programs, with the remainder serving the graduate sector as well. Government guidelines stipulate that 15% of the total grant must be spent in the area of “outreach” services to agencies, organizations and individuals outside the university interested in the resources of the center. Funding criteria for fiscal 1976 published in the Federal Register (Vol. 41, No. 20, Feb. 9, 1976) further specifies that “Centers shall provide such “outreach activities” in two or more of the following areas, at least one of which shall be either (1) or (2) below:(1) Assistance to other institutions of higher education including public and private four-year colleges, particularly those with teacher education programs, and two year colleges (such as sharing of library resources, faculty workshops, and cross-registration of students); (2) assistance to state and local elementary and secondary educational agencies (such as in-service teacher training, bibliographic assistance, textbook evaluation, curriculum development, and direct instructional services; (3) assistance to the business community (such as workshops and special courses) and (4) sharing of resources (such as general lectures, films and book and art exhibits) with the community at large.”
Efficiency of lambda-encodings in total type theory
Authors: STUMP AARON , FU PENG 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThis paper proposes a new typed lambda-encoding for inductive types which, for Peano numerals, has the expected time complexities for basic operations like addition and multiplication, has a constant-time predecessor function, and requires only quadratic space to encode a numeral. This improves on the exponential space required by the Parigot encoding. Like the Parigot encoding, the new encoding is typable in System F-omega plus positive-recursive type definitions, a total type theory. The new encoding is compared with previous ones through a significant case study: mergesort using Braun trees. The practical runtime efficiency of the new encoding, and the Church and Parigot encodings, are compared by two translations, one to Racket and one to Haskell, on a small suite of benchmarks.
Seed longevity and dormancy state in a disturbance-dependent forest herb, Ageratina altissima
Authors: Redwood Mame E. , Matlack Glenn R. , Huebner Cynthia D. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractDoes seed dormancy allow disturbance-oriented forest herbs such as Ageratina altissima to persist in heterogeneous natural communities? To document seed longevity and dormancy state, Ageratina seeds were buried in nylon mesh bags in second-growth forest stands in south-eastern Ohio, USA. Bags were recovered at 2-month intervals, and seeds were tested for viability and germinability in the lab. Live seed numbers declined rapidly, with seed banks exhausted in an estimated 33–37 months. Seeds showed a strong dormancy polymorphism, with 71–84% of live seeds germinable between March and July, the season of natural seedling emergence. At other dates, most seeds appeared to be in a state of induced dormancy, allowing little (0–21%) germination. The slope aspect of the burial site, an important factor controlling above-ground vegetation, had no effect on seed longevity or dormancy condition. Dormancy in Ageratina appears to be adapted to allow opportunistic germination in late spring–early summer, but to prevent germination in less benign periods. Seed longevity is shorter than the natural frequency of gaps in mesophytic forest. We conclude that a long-term dispersal/dormancy trade-off is probably an oversimplification of the spatial ecology of this species. The primary function of dormancy appears to be short-term tracking of seasonal variation.
Sickness certification for common mental disorders and GP return-to-work advice
Authors: Gabbay Mark , Shiels Chris , Hillage Jim 
Published: March 2016

AimTo report the types and duration of sickness certification for different common mental disorders (CMDs) and the prevalence of GP advice aimed at returning the patient to work.BackgroundIn the United Kingdom, common mental health problems, such and depression and stress, have become the main reasons for patients requesting a sickness certificate to abstain from usual employment. Increasing attention is being paid to mental health and its impact on employability and work capacity in all parts of the welfare system. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which different mental health diagnoses impact upon sickness certification outcomes, and how the GP has used the new fit note (introduced in 2010) to support a return to work for patients with mental health diagnoses.MethodsSickness certification data was collected from 68 UK-based general practices for a period of 12 months.FindingsThe study found a large part of all sickness absence certified by GPs was due to CMDs (29% of all sickness absence episodes). Females, younger patients and those living in deprived areas were more likely to receive a fit note for a CMD (compared with one for a physical health problem). The highest proportion of CMD fit notes were issued for ‘stress’. However, sickness certification for depression contributed nearly half of all weeks certified for mental health problems. Only 7% of CMD fit notes included any ‘may be fit’ advice from the GP, with type of advice varying by mental health diagnostic category. Patients living in the most socially deprived neighbourhoods were less likely to receive ‘may be fit’ advice on their CMD fit notes.
Overcoming MITF-conferred drug resistance through dual AURKA/MAPK targeting in human melanoma cells
Authors: Pathria G , Garg B , Borgdorff V , Garg K , Wagner C , Superti-Furga G , Wagner S N 
Published: March 2016

AbstractMITF (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor) is a frequently amplified lineage-specific oncogene in human melanoma, whose role in intrinsic drug resistance has not been systematically investigated. Utilizing chemical inhibitors for major signaling pathways/cellular processes, we witness MITF as an elicitor of intrinsic drug resistance. To search kinase(s) targets able to bypass MITF-conferred drug resistance, we employed a multi-kinase inhibitor-directed chemical proteomics-based differential affinity screen in human melanocytes carrying ectopic MITF overexpression. A subsequent methodical interrogation informed mitotic Ser/Thr kinase Aurora Kinase A (AURKA) as a crucial regulator of melanoma cell proliferation and migration, independent of the underlying molecular alterations, including TP53 functional status and MITF levels. Crucially, assessing the efficacy of investigational AURKA inhibitor MLN8237, we pre-emptively witness the procurement of a molecular program consistent with acquired drug resistance. This involved induction of multiple MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathway components and their downstream proliferation effectors (Cyclin D1 and c-JUN) and apoptotic regulators (MITF and Bcl-2). A concomitant AURKA/BRAF and AURKA/MEK targeting overcame MAPK signaling activation-associated resistance signature in BRAF- and NRAS-mutated melanomas, respectively, and elicited heightened anti-proliferative activity and apoptotic cell death. These findings reveal a previously unreported MAPK signaling-mediated mechanism of immediate resistance to AURKA inhibitors. These findings could bear significant implications for the application and the success of anti-AURKA approaches that have already entered phase-II clinical trials for human melanoma.
MiR-125a-5p decreases after long non-coding RNA HOTAIR knockdown to promote cancer cell apoptosis by releasing caspase 2
Authors: Tang L , Shen H , Li X , Li Z , Liu Z , Xu J , Ma S , Zhao X , Bai X , Li M , Wang Q , Ji J 
Published: March 2016

AbstractHOTAIR (homeobox transcript antisense RNA), one of the prototypical long non-coding RNAs, has been verified overexpressed in multiple carcinomas and has emerged as a promising novel anticancer target. Its well-established role is acting as a predictor of poor prognosis and promoting cancer cell metastasis. Recently, another important mission of HOTAIR was uncovered that targeting HOTAIR caused cancer cell apoptosis. Nevertheless, so far there is no published data elaborating the mechanism. Here, we report that microRNA miR-125a-5p decreases and releases caspase 2 to promote cancer cell apoptosis after HOTAIR knockdown. We applied siRNAs targeting HOTAIR to various cancer cells, and observed apoptosis in all of these cell lines. RNA sequencing detected that miR-125a-5p was decreased after HOTAIR knockdown and miR-125a-5p mimics could rescue the apoptosis induced by HOTAIR deficiency. Luciferase assays identified caspase 2, an initiator caspase, to be a new target of miR-125a-5p. Elevated expression and subsequent cleavage of caspase 2 was observed after HOTAIR knockdown or inhibition of miR-125a-5p. RNAi of caspase 2 could attenuate the apoptosis induced by HOTAIR knockdown. In 80 clinical colon cancer tissues, HOTAIR and miR-125a-5p levels were higher than adjacent tissues, whereas caspase 2 was lower. MiR-125a-5p expression level was significantly correlated with colon tumor size, lymph node metastasis and clinical stage. These findings indicate that miR-125a-5p decreases after HOTAIR knockdown to promote cancer cell apoptosis by releasing caspase 2. Our work reveals a previously unidentified apoptotic mechanism, which might be exploitable in anticancer drug development.
Three mechanisms control E-cadherin localization to the zonula adherens
Authors: Woichansky Innokenty , Beretta Carlo Antonio , Berns Nicola , Riechmann Veit 
Published: March 2016

AbstractE-cadherin localization to the zonula adherens is fundamental for epithelial differentiation but the mechanisms controlling localization are unclear. Using the Drosophila follicular epithelium we genetically dissect E-cadherin transport in an in vivo model. We distinguish three mechanisms mediating E-cadherin accumulation at the zonula adherens. Two membrane trafficking pathways deliver newly synthesized E-cadherin to the plasma membrane. One is Rab11 dependent and targets E-cadherin directly to the zonula adherens, while the other transports E-cadherin to the lateral membrane. Lateral E-cadherin reaches the zonula adherens by endocytosis and targeted recycling. We show that this pathway is dependent on RabX1, which provides a functional link between early and recycling endosomes. Moreover, we show that lateral E-cadherin is transported to the zonula adherens by an apically directed flow within the plasma membrane. Differential activation of these pathways could facilitate cell shape changes during morphogenesis, while their misregulation compromises cell adhesion and tissue architecture in differentiated epithelia.