bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Benthic habitat and megafaunal zonation across the Hebridean Slope, western Scotland, analysed from archived seabed photographs
Authors: Hughes David J. 
Published: February 2014

Benthic habitat and epibenthic megafauna are described from seabed photographs taken in or near three potential deep-water Marine Protected Areas on the Hebridean Slope, surveyed in 1988, 1995–96 and 1998. Broad bathymetric zones are defined by visible substratum characteristics, and by cluster analysis using presence/absence of identified fauna. The shelf edge and upper slope (to 350 m depth) showed current-swept coarse substrata with a very sparse fauna. A transition to finer sandy sediments was apparent at 350–470 m, with a greater abundance of mobile epifauna. The brittlestar Ophiocten gracilis occurred at high density below 600 m depth in all three areas. Southern stations indicated an abrupt lower boundary for this zone at ca 1000 m. In the north, rippled sands with xenophyophores occurred below the O. gracilis zone at 1000–1100 m. Xenophyophores were also seen in smaller numbers at this depth in the south. From ~1300–1600 m a seabed of burrowed fine mud was recorded in both northern and southern areas. Bioturbated sediments on the Rockall Trough floor at ~2060 m supported more visible epifauna, principally the brittlestar Ophiomusium lymani and the octocoral Acanella arbuscula. The bathymetric pattern differs from a scheme proposed in 2010 for the deep north-east Atlantic in the lack of any obvious zonal boundary at 750 m. No cold-water corals or sponge aggregations were observed. Trawl marks were observed in all three areas, particularly in the 1998 northern survey, with highest frequency at 1300–1400 m.
The Case of Ayesha, Muslim ‘Courts’, and the Rule of Law: Some ethnographic lessons for legal theory
Authors: REDDING JEFFREY A. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThis paper aims to challenge the disparagement of non-state Islamic systems of law that has established firm roots in contemporary rule of law ideology and practice around the world, from India to Ontario. In this respect, rule of law ideology has tended to ignore actual mechanics and procedures of law, not only in legal venues outside the state's direct control, but also in the state's courts themselves. With respect to non-state legal venues—and especially non-state Islamic legal venues—such ideology understands and describes the practices and procedures that it finds in these non-state venues as crude and underdeveloped at best, and illiberal and in violation of the rule of law at worst. While other scholarly work has vividly demonstrated the various transformations and mutations that any state's ‘ideal legal procedure’ experiences as it is put into real-world practice by a state's courts and judges, this paper makes a converse move. Using a case-study focused on the circumstances and experiences of an Indian Muslim woman, ‘Ayesha’, who recently used a Delhidar ul qazato exercise her Islamic divorce rights in India, this paper demonstrates how a non-state Islamic legal venue behaves in ways which are highly evocative of rule of law ideology's idealization of state courts and how they (should) operate procedurally. In doing so, this paper provides evidence for Partha Chatterjee's thesis as to how elite and subaltern domains—understood here to be embodied in both state and non-state legal venues, respectively—are products of ‘mutually conditioned historicities’. In this case, the focus is on the state's conditioning of the non-state. As a result, rule of law ideology's state-oriented critique of the (Islamic) non-state is mistaken because, as this paper demonstrates, the non-state is produced in conversation with the state; one cannot critique the one (non-state) domain without realizing how that critique implicates the other (state) domain.
Failing Transnationally: Local intersections of science, medicine, and sectarianism in modernist Shiʿi writings
Authors: FUCHS SIMON WOLFGANG 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThis paper adds to the growing literature on transnational Shiʿism which has so far mostly focused on social history and political contestations. By tracing the thought, transnational legacy, and ultimate failure of the reformist Shiʿi scholar, Muhammad al-Khalisi (d. 1963), I argue for the crucial importance of local contexts and ideas for the genesis of Islamic modernist projects. In his native Iraq, al-Khalisi not only distinguished himself as a guerrilla fighter and political activist but also was shaped by prevailing notions about the compatibility of Islam and science. Exiled to Iran for his opposition to the British from 1922 to 1949, he encountered there specific medicalizing discourses on modernity. This exposure and his experience as a practitioner of medicine in the Iranian countryside led al-Khalisi to identify medicine as the master key to unlocking the secrets of the divine law, thesharīʿa: his major work on Islamic law singles out human health as God's supreme concern. Back in Iraq during the 1950s, al-Khalisi's medical-scientific vision of modernity was finally complemented with an uncompromising call for intra-Muslim unity. This stance led to furious attacks against al-Khalisi which continue unabated in contemporary Pakistan where his name has become a term of abuse.
Experiments with Khomeini's Revolution in Kargil: Contemporary Shi‘a networks between India and West Asia
Authors: GUPTA RADHIKA 
Published: February 2014

AbstractShi‘i scholars from India have been a sizeable presence in seminaries in Iran and Iraq, both historically and today. Yet there is a dearth of scholarship on Shi‘i linkages between India and West Asia, with the exception of historical work on the patronage of shrine cities in Iraq by centres of Shi‘ism in India. Departing from this geographical and historical focus, this paper lends insight into contemporary religious networks between India and West Asia, using the example of the Twelver Shi‘a in Kargil, a region located on India's ‘border’ with Pakistan in the province of Kashmir. Kargili scholars travelled overland via Afghanistan or by sea from Bombay to Basra to study in seminaries in Iraq and Iran from the nineteenth century onwards. Increasing fluency in Urdu in post-colonial India enabled them to connect with Shi‘i institutions in other parts of India, which mediate religious, cultural, and financial flows from a transnational Shi‘ite realm. These networks ofreligiouslearning are not only conduits for the transmission of textual, doctrinal knowledge, but also for politico-religious ideologies that are selectively harnessed, and often exaggerated, to effect significant social and political changes in micro-locales. While local conflicts are over-determined by the evocation of transnational links, they also reflect, even if only through rhetorical and partial reproduction, doctrinal and politico-religious schisms among Shi‘i leaders in West Asia. This is illustrated by an ethnographic account of the activities undertaken and contestations provoked by the Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust in Kargil, a modernist reform movement that has selectively appropriated Khomeini's revolutionary ideologies to instigate social change and shape local politics and religious practice in Kargil.
Re-assessing the relationship between sporozoite dose and incubation period in Plasmodium vivax malaria: a systematic re-analysis
Authors: LOVER ANDREW A. , COKER RICHARD J. 
Published: February 2014

SUMMARYInfections with the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax are noteworthy for potentially very long incubation periods (6–9 months), which present a major barrier to disease elimination. Increased sporozoite challenge has been reported to be associated with both shorter incubation and pre-patent periods in a range of human challenge studies. However, this evidence base has scant empirical foundation, as these historical analyses were limited by available analytic methods, and provides no quantitative estimates of effect size. Following a comprehensive literature search, we re-analysed all identified studies using survival and/or logistic models plus contingency tables. We have found very weak evidence for dose-dependence at entomologically plausible inocula levels. These results strongly suggest that sporozoite dosage is not an important driver of long-latency. Evidence presented suggests that parasite strain and vector species have quantitatively greater impacts, and the potential existence of a dose threshold for human dose-response to sporozoites. Greater consideration of the complex interplay between these aspects of vectors and parasites are important for human challenge experiments, vaccine trials, and epidemiology towards global malaria elimination.
A moral economy approach to Africa-EU ties: the case of the European Investment Bank
Authors: LANGAN MARK 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThe European Union's (EU) trade and development ‘partnership’ with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries has long interested scholars of North-South relations. Historically, the theoretical literature on ACP-EU ties has been characterised by liberal institutionalist accounts of interdependence and critical assessments of Europe's neo-colonialism. In the timeframe of the Cotonou Agreement (2000–20), this division has expressed itself in relation to liberal assessments of Europe's pursuit of pro-poor market reforms in the Post-Washington Consensus and critical accounts of Europe's neoliberal ‘development’ agenda. This article argues that amoral political economyoffers an innovative lens for the latter critical assessment of ACP-EU ties. With a constructivist focus on Europe's normative ‘development’ agenda, a moral economy standpoint may draw attention to the EU's role in (re)embedding poverty through recourse to legitimating ethical discourse. This is seen to enable the critical school to more closely consider ideational/discursive power in response to contemporary liberal institutionalist accounts. The article focuses on the European Investment Bank (EIB) and its activities in ACP countries – with particular focus on the Bank's Investment Facility (IF) – as an exemplar of the disjuncture between norms and outcomes.
The imperial legacy of international peacebuilding: the case of Francophone Africa
Authors: CHARBONNEAU BRUNO 
Published: February 2014

AbstractComparisons of peacebuilding with historic practices of imperialism are common, but these comparisons have sustained a hegemonic antagonism between humanitarian and imperialist interpretations of international peace intervention. This article argues that this common framing externalises the problem of intervention, romanticises local resistance, and forecloses to investigation the articulation between militarised peace practices and transnational capitalist relations. To do so, the article analyses the case of Francophone Africa, thus providing a context that has been left unexplored in peacebuilding debates. By bringing back in the historicity of particular Franco-African imperial experiences into peacebuilding research, the article reveals the militarisation of politics, transnational elite networks, and the dominant intellectual predispositions that work to reproduce the legitimacy of hegemonic practices of ‘peace’ interventionism. In the last section, the article analyses the debates over the UN-French 2011 intervention in Côte d'Ivoire to reveal the connections between the ethics of humanitarian interventions and the political economy of imperialism. The article concludes that the imperial legacy of peacebuilding is found in old capabilities, new organising logics, and specific practices and power relations and that to focus on the humanitarian-imperialist antagonism caricatures the relationships between ‘local’ and ‘international’ actors.
Legal Developments in Civil Party Participation at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
Authors: STEGMILLER IGNAZ 
Published: February 2014

AbstractFor the first time in the history of international criminal justice, victims of mass crimes have been granted the status of so-called ‘civil parties’ at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This status grants them – at least theoretically – the right to participate in the proceedings as a formal party with broad participatory rights similar to the those of the defence and the prosecution. While the ECCC is exemplary in how it has addressed the issue of victims’ participation, practical necessities and judicial skepticism have led to significant changes in the civil party mechanism and continuously constrained participatory rights. First, changes in the ECCC's Internal Rules have significantly altered the original civil party mechanism and led to a form of victim participation similar to the one practised at the International Criminal Court (ICC), thus departing from the true meaning of a partie civile. Judicial decisions by the ECCC's judges, as well as changes in the Internal Rules, have abrogated the strong civil party mechanism that was originally anticipated in Cambodian criminal procedure law. Second, the practical challenges surrounding victim participation have been enormous. The Court itself was struggling due to lack of funding and lack of prioritization of a meaningful outreach program for victims and civil parties. The ECCC's Public Affairs Section (PAS) and the Victims Support Section (VSS) held the responsibility of reaching out to the general Cambodian population. However, it was Cambodian NGOs that ultimately established a collaborative outreach system and collected more than 8,000 Victim Information Forms (VIFs). All these efforts notwithstanding, only political willingness and a Cambodian discussion of how to deal with the vast number of perpetrators beyond a handful of criminal trials, can lead to a process of coming to terms with one's past.
Serotonin receptors are selectively expressed in the avian germ cells and early embryos
Authors: Stępińska Urszula , Kuwana Takashi , Olszańska Bożenna 
Published: February 2014

SummaryThe expression of nine serotonin (5-HT) receptor transcripts was studied using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in germ cells, cleavage and gastrulation stages of Japanese quail, and qPCR for 5-HT3and 5-HT4receptors in oocytes and embryos. We show the presence/absence of nine serotonin transcripts known in birds for receptors 5-HT1A, 5-HT1F, 5-HT2B, 5-HT2C, 5-HT3, 5-HT4, 5-HT5A, 5-HT6and 5-HT7Ain avian germ cells and early embryos. The absence of 5-HT3and 5-HT5Ain primordial germ cells and of 5-HT3and 5-HT7Ain sperm is characteristic. All transcripts appeared in oocytes at all stages (except for 5-HT3and 5-HT5Atranscripts) and all were present in cleaving embryos and at gastrulation, except for 5-HT3, which was permanently observed as late as in stage 4. Interestingly, 5-HT3and 5-HT5Areceptors accumulated in 3-mm and F1 oocytes but were degraded at ovulation and started to be re-transcribed in cleavage stage II embryos and beyond. The selective appearance of 5-HT receptors in germ cells and early embryos supports the hypothesis that serotonin may act as a signalling molecule at early stages of germ line and embryo differentiation via individual receptors present during different stages, when specialized communication systems are not yet developed.
Estimating the causal effect of improved fallows on environmental services provision under farmers' field conditions in Chongwe, Zambia
Authors: Kuntashula Elias , Mungatana Eric 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThe provision of environmental services on-farm by the improved fallow (an agroforestry technology) has largely remained empirically untested in sub-Saharan Africa. Where effects of planting trees have been used to estimate the impacts on consumption of fuel wood from public land, actual estimates of the size of fuel wood consumption changes have been lacking. Using data from a survey of 324 households in the Chongwe district of Zambia, we tested the hypothesis that households embracing improved fallows use less fuel wood from public land since the technology provides wood as a by-product. Estimates from ordered probit and matching strategies showed that the technology had a significant causal effect of reducing the consumption of fuel wood from public land. Therefore, in addition to promoting it for soil fertility improvement, the extension messages should explicitly reflect the technology's potential to provide on-farm environmental quality.
Support for families of patients dying with dementia: A qualitative analysis of bereaved family members' experiences and suggestions
Authors: Muders Pia , Zahrt-Omar Corinna Aruna , Bussmann Sonja , Haberstroh Julia , Weber Martin 
Published: February 2014

AbstractObjective:To explore and document the needs of family caregivers of patients dying with dementia and to identify how healthcare professionals can adequately support them.Method:We employed a cross-sectional survey containing open-ended questions that were analyzed using qualitative methods.Results:Receiving information about the diagnosis and disease trajectory of dementia is essential for the caregiving families of people dying with the disease. However, at present the communication of information offered by professionals is not experienced as satisfying. Further aspects that require improvement concern issues related to time constraints, as well as practical and emotional support from professionals in the care setting. Family members would also like professionals to better assist them during and after the dying process.Significance of Results:Family members face multiple burdens while caring for their demented relatives and need more professional support during the course of the disease trajectory as well as in the terminal phase.
A palliative environment: Caring for seriously ill hospitalized patients
Authors: Timmermann Connie , Uhrenfeldt Lisbeth , Høybye Mette Terp , Birkelund Regner 
Published: February 2014

AbstractObjective:To explore how patients experience being in the hospital environment and the meaning they assign to the environment during serious illness.Method:A qualitative study design was applied, and the data analysis was inspired by Ricoeur's phenomenological-hermeneutic theory of interpretation. Data were collected through multiple qualitative interviews combined with observations at a teaching hospital in Denmark from May to September 2011. A total of 12 patients participated.Results:The findings showed that the hospital environment has a strong impact on patients' emotions and well-being. They reported that aesthetic decorations and small cozy spots for conversation or relaxation created a sense of homeliness that reinforced a positive mood and personal strength. Furthermore, being surrounded by some of their personal items or undertaking familiar tasks, patients were able to maintain a better sense of self. Maintaining at least some kind of familiar daily rhythm was important for their sense of well-being and positive emotions.Significance of Results:The results stress the importance of an aesthetically pleasing and homelike hospital environment as part of palliative care, since the aesthetic practice and a sense of homeliness strengthened patients' experiences of well-being, relief, and positive emotions while in a vulnerable situation. Such knowledge could encourage the development of new policies regarding appropriate care settings, which in turn could result in overall improved care during serious illness.
Frequency and factors associated with falls in patients with advanced cancer presenting to an outpatient supportive care clinic
Authors: Kuriya Meiko , Yennurajalingam Sriram , de la Cruz Maxine Grace , Wei Wei , Palla Shana , Bruera Eduardo 
Published: February 2014

AbstractObjective:The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and factors associated with fall episodes in advanced cancer patients.Method:We analyzed data that included demographic characteristics, utilization of assistive devices, cancer diagnosis, metastatic site, performance status, medications including hypnotics and opioids, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) score, and Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS) score in 384 consecutive patients who were newly referred to the Supportive Care Clinic at the MD Anderson Cancer Center from January 1 to December 31, 2009. All patients completed standardized forms to report falls within the last month. Multivariate backward regression analyses were employed to identify factors predictive of falls in advanced cancer.Results:The mean age of patients was 58 years, and 192 (50%) were male. Mean (SD)/median score for pain was 5 (2.8), 5; fatigue 5.6 (2.6), 6; sleep disturbance 5(2.7), 5; drowsiness 3.7(3), 3; and anorexia 5(3), 5. Some 31 patients (8%) reported fall episodes within the past month, 17 (55%) of whom reported the use of assistive devices. Using assist devices (OR = 5.5, 95% CI: 2.6–11.9, p < 0.0001) and taking zolpidem (OR = 3.39, 95% CI: 1.39–7.7, p = 0.008) were associated with an enhanced chance of falling. Higher MDAS score (4.00 vs. 1.42, p = 0.001) and MDAS positive screening for delirium (21 vs. 3.6%, p < 0.001) were also associated with falls. However, severity on the ESAS at the initial consult was not associated with falls.Significance of Results:We conclude that 31 of 384 patients (8%) with advanced cancer receiving outpatient supportive care reported falls in the previous month. Patients with assistive devices, taking zolpidem, and with a higher MDAS score, and a positive delirium screening reported more frequent falls. Further studies are warranted.
Breathlessness and crises in the context of advanced illness: A comparison between COPD and lung cancer patients
Authors: Dunger Christine , Higginson Irene J. , Gysels Marjolein , Booth Sara , Simon Steffen T. , Bausewein Claudia 
Published: February 2014

AbstractObjective:The objective of this study was to explore and contrast the experience and meaning of breathlessness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or lung cancer at the end of life.Method:We conducted a qualitative study embedded in a longitudinal study using topic-guided in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of patients suffering from breathlessness affecting their daily activities due to advanced (primary or secondary) lung cancer or COPD stage III/IV. All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using framework analysis.Results:Ten COPD and eight lung cancer patients were interviewed. Both groups reported similarities in their experience. These included exertion through breathlessness throughout the illness course, losses in their daily activities, and the experience of breathlessness leading to crises. The main difference was the way in which patients adapted to their particular illness experience and the resulting crises over time. While COPD patients more likely sought to get their life with breathlessness under control, speaking of daily living with breathlessness under certain conditions, the participating lung cancer patients often faced the possibility of death and expressed a need for security.Significance of Results:Breathlessness leads to crises in patients with advanced disease. Although experiences of patients are similar, reactions and coping mechanisms vary and are more related to the disease and the stage of disease.