bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Die Auslegung der biblischen Verbote der Wahrsagerei, Beschwörung und Hellseherei in der Mishneh Torah Maimunis
Authors: Biernot David 
Published: February 2013

Abstract
The objective of the article is to present the overall picture of Maimonides’s views on magic. As the point of departure, three halakhot prohibiting various types of magical practices have been selected from Maimonides’s code of Law, the Mishne Tora. While the first two refer rather to the popular forms of folk magic and superstition, fortune telling and conjuring, the third prohibition addresses its learned form, astral magic, which in Maimonides’s opinion was the most vicious one. First of all, the article focuses on outlining the extent of diffusion of the above magical practices in the Jewish diaspora during Maimonides’s lifetime, to subsequently explore the epistemological grounds providing the basis for Maimonides's sweeping criticism of magic. Maimonides was convinced that the magical phenomena cannot be subsumed under the rubric of natural causality; they belong to the realm of chance and accident. Belief in the efficacious character of magical activities is actually a result of erroneous cognitive process, according to Maimonides. In principle, Maimonides’s epistemological analysis of the foundations of magical beliefs has much in common with the views voiced by modern positivist anthropology, for example that of Sir James George Frazer.
Weak Historicism: On Hierarchies of Intellectual Virtues and Goods
Authors: Paul Herman 
Published: February 2013

Abstract
This article seeks to reconcile a historicist sensitivity to how intellectually virtuous behavior is shaped by historical contexts with a non-relativist account of historical scholarship. To that end, it distinguishes between hierarchies of intellectual virtues and hierarchies of intellectual goods. The first hierarchy rejects a one-size-fits-all model of historical virtuousness in favor of a model that allows for significant varieties between the relative weight that historians must assign to intellectual virtues in order to acquire justified historical understanding. It grounds such differences, not on the historians’ interests or preferences, but on their historiographical situations, so that hierarchies of virtues are a function of the demands that historiographical situations (defined as interplays of genre, research question, and state of scholarship) make upon historians. Likewise, the second hierarchy allows for the pursuit of various intellectual goods, but banishes the specter of relativism by treating historical understanding as an intellectual good that is constitutive of historical scholarship and therefore deserves priority over alternative goods. The position that emerges from this is classified as a form of weak historicism.
Virtue Ethics and/or Virtue Epistemology: A Response to Anton Froeyman
Authors: Paul Herman 
Published: February 2013

Abstract
In response to Anton Froeyman’s paper, “Virtues of Historiography,” this article argues that philosophers of history interested in why historians cherish such virtues as carefulness, impartiality, and intellectual courage would do wise not to classify these virtues unequivocally as either epistemic or moral virtues. Likewise, in trying to grasp the roles that virtues play in the historian’s professional practice, philosophers of history would be best advised to avoid adopting either an epistemological or an ethical perspective. Assuming that the historian’s virtuous behavior has epistemic and moral dimensions (as well as aesthetic, political, and other dimensions), this article advocates a non-reductionist account of historical scholarship, which acknowledges that the virtues cherished by historians usually play a variety of roles, depending on the goals they are supposed to serve. Given that not the least important of these goals are epistemic ones, the articles concludes that virtue ethical approaches, to the extent that they are focused on the acquisition of moral instead of epistemic goods, insufficiently recognize the role of virtue in the pursuit of such epistemic aims as knowledge and understanding.
Social Governance Innovations in Xinyang: The “Take-as-family Method”: An Interview with Party Secretary Wang Tie (王铁)
Authors: Zhimin Zeng 
Published: February 2013

Editor’s Note
Xinyang (信阳), which lies in an old revolutionary area of Henan Province, is a city with a large population and abundant agriculture. Issues such as unemployment among former military service members, village land use, relocations due to urban expansion, and unemployment, resulting from various interrelated historical and practical factors, have caused great numerous social disputes and tensions and have gravely impacted the stability and development of local society. The accumulation of these tensions have led to highly active petitioning of the government, both by letter and in person (and often by groups in person), a practice that has become “the” issue in Xinyang and an important task for local government. Under the strong leadership of Wang Tie (王铁), Xinyang’s “number one”, and through many years of mass work and letter petition work, a concept has emerged in Xinyang, along with a set of institutions and some working methods. These have come to be called the “Take-as-family Method”: “to treat the petitioners as family members; to take the letters from people as letters from your family; to view the troubles of the people as troubles of your own family; to take the issues of the people as your family’s business”. In this way, the reputation of Xinyang’s government has been remolded and the style of public servants as well as institutions and systems have all been greatly improved. The practices have received “political recognition” from high levels and top-down “experience promulgation”. One might say that the “Take-as-family Method” embodies the new measures of Xinyang’s social management innovations; furthermore, they have significant import as a reference during this time of acute social tensions in Chinese society. Upon this basis, in early September, 2011, a group led by the Director of the NGO Research Institute of the Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management, Professor Wang Ming (王名) traveled to Henan’s Xinyang to perform a survey of the “Take-as-family Method.” This writer thus had the fine opportunity to conduct an in-depth interview with Xinyang’s “number one”, Secretary Wang Tie. We not only discussed the “Take-as-family Method” he has personally initiated; we also entered his deeper thoughts, with all their unique concepts, consternations, and ideals.
Analysis of Chinese Grassroots AIDS Prevention NGOs’ Organizational Compliance and Development Strategies —Working from the Example of the Shanghai YAPSC
Authors: Junhong Han , Snape Holly Amelia 
Published: February 2013

Abstract
In present-day China, very few grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs – local social organizations that are active in the field of AIDS prevention work – have completed registration with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Before the appearance of the Shanghai Youth AIDS Prevention Service Center (hereafter, the Shanghai YAPSC), there had been no successful examples of AIDS prevention NGOs dealing primarily with the social group of men who have sex with men (MSM) registering with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. This essay examines the procedure by which the organization came into compliance with the law and its development strategy. We believe that China’s grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs will soon see new, historical opportunities for development. Taking the Shanghai Municipal Government as representative of local governments’ support for grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs, we see that governments’ attitudes towards transformative, constructive cooperation with social organizations have already made important strides forward. The Shanghai YAPSC has used compliance to encourage professionalized, standardized development, providing a model for the development of Chinese grassroots AIDS prevention NGOs.
Conversion to Islam in Ireland: A Post-Catholic Subjectivity?
Authors: Shanneik Yafa 
Published: February 2013

Abstract
This article discusses the conversion experiences as recalled by Irish women who converted to Islam during the so-called ‘Celtic-Tiger’ period—the years of Ireland’s dramatic economic boom and major socio-cultural transformations between 1995 and 2007. In this period, the increasing religious diversity of Irish society and the decline of the social authority of the Catholic Church facilitated the exploration of alternative religious and spiritual affiliations. Irish women converts to Islam are an example of the emergence of a post-Catholic subjectivity in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger years. The women’s agency is illustrated through the choice of Islam as a religion and a cultural space different to Catholicism in order to gain status, power and control within the various religious and ethnic communities. This article is the first major study on conversion to Islam in Ireland during this period.
Oxychilus (Drouetia) viridescens (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Oxychilidae), a new species from Santa Maria, Açores, and a review of the subgenus
Authors: MARTINS ANTÓNIO M. DE FRIAS , BRITO CARLOS P. , BACKELJAU THIERRY 
Published: February 2013

Oxychilus (Drouetia) viridescens n.sp. is described from Santa Maria Island, Açores. It is conchologically similar to the sympatric Oxychilus (Drouetia) brincki Riedel, 1964, from which it is distinguished by the greenish coloration, the flatter spire and the slightly smaller number of whorls. Anatomically, the new species differs from all consubgenerics by the genital morphology: the penis is very thin, the distal half is wrapped in a very thick penial sheath; the epiphallus has two distinct portions, the proximal one attached to the edge of the penial sheath, the distal one attached to a constriction near mid-length of the penis; the atrial end of the vagina has a spongy, glandular appearance. A detailed morphological and anatomical comparison of the new species with the non-umbilicated Oxychilusspecies of Santa Maria is presented. The species of Drouetia are reviewed and an identification key is provided.
The Impact of Gradient Wind Imbalance on Potential Intensity of Tropical Cyclones in an Unbalanced Slab Boundary Layer Model
Authors: Frisius Thomas , Schönemann Daria , Vigh Jonathan 
Published: February 2013

Abstract
The assumption of gradient wind balance is customarily made so as to derive the theoretical upper-bound intensity of a mature tropical cyclone. Emanuel's theory of hurricane potential intensity (E-PI) makes use of this assumption, whereas more recent studies by Bryan and Rotunno demonstrate that the effect of unbalanced flow can result in maximum winds that are well in excess of E-PI (superintensity). The existence of supergradient winds has been verified in a slab boundary layer model developed by Smith. Here, the authors apply the slab boundary layer model within the framework of classical E-PI theory to investigate the sensitivity of supergradient winds to the radius of maximum gradient wind (RMGW) and four nondimensional model parameters. The authors find that the Rossby number, the drag coefficient, and the modified Rankine decay parameter all have a considerable influence on the strength of the unbalanced flow. In contrast, the ratio of surface exchange coefficients has little noticeable effect on superintensity. The inclusion of horizontal momentum diffusion leads to a weaker superintensity, but the qualitative features of the model remain similar. To further elucidate these findings, the authors use the boundary layer model to examine the modified E-PI theory proposed by Emanuel and Rotunno. They assume a constant Richardson number for the outflow. The boundary layer model driven by the modified E-PI solution depends on just three model parameters rather than the four parameters used in the classical E-PI framework. Despite this apparent advantage, the results obtained in the framework of the modified E-PI are less realistic than those computed with the classical E-PI approach.
On the Epochal Strengthening in the Relationship between Rainfall of East Africa and IOD
Authors: Manatsa Desmond , Behera Swadhin K. 
Published: February 2013

Abstract
Variability of the equatorial East Africa “short rains” (EASR) has intensified significantly since the turn of the twentieth century. This increase toward more extreme rainfall events has not been gradual but is strongly characterized by epochs. The rain gauge–based Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) monthly precipitation dataset for the period 1901–2009 is used to demonstrate that the epochal changes were dictated by shifts in the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) mode. These shifts occurred during 1961 and 1997. In the pre-1961 period, there was virtually no significant linear link between the IOD and the EASR. But a relatively strong coupling between the two occurred abruptly in 1961 and was generally maintained at that level until 1997, when another sudden shift to even a greater level occurred. The first principal component (PC1) extracted from the EASR spatial domain initially merely explained about 50% of the rainfall variability before 1961, and then catapulted to about 73% for the period from 1961 to 1997, before eventually shifting to exceed 82% after 1997. The PC1 for each successive epoch also displayed loadings with notably improved spatial coherence. This systematic pattern of increase was accompanied by both a sharp increase in the frequency of rainfall extremes and spatial coherence of the rainfall events over the region. Therefore, it is most likely that the 1961 and 1997 IOD shifts are responsible for the epochal modulation of the EASR in both the spatial and temporal domain.
Bereaved relatives’ perspectives of the patient’s oral intake towards the end of life: A qualitative study
Authors: Raijmakers Natasja JH , Clark Jean B , van Zuylen Lia , Allan Simon G , van der Heide Agnes 
Published: February 2013

Background: Patients approaching death often have a decreasing oral intake, which can be distressing for relatives. Little is known about the relatives’ experiences with and perceptions of oral intake at the end of life. Aim: This study aims to contribute to a more thorough understanding of relatives’ concerns regarding decreased oral intake of the patient at the end of life. Design: Qualitative interview study: semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Setting/participants: Twenty-three bereaved relatives of patients who had been referred to a New Zealand palliative care service were interviewed. Results: All relatives experienced significant changes in patients’ oral intake at the end of life. Oral intake towards the end of life was considered important and is perceived as meaningful by relatives in different ways, such as nutritional value, enjoyment, social time, daily routine and a way of caring. Relatives responded differently to decreasing oral intake; some accepted it as inherent to the dying process, others continued efforts to support the patient’s oral intake. Some relatives perceived decreasing oral intake as the patient’s choice, and some viewed maintaining oral intake as part of the battle against the disease. Relatives recalled limited communication with health-care professionals concerning oral intake at the end of life. Conclusions: This study revealed the complexity of meaning relatives’ experiences with dying patients’ decreasing oral intake. Their perceptions and concerns were related to their awareness of the imminent death. These findings can guide staff involved in care delivery to better support relatives.
Vaspin Serum Concentration in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Carotid Plaque
Authors: Li Z , Ma C , Li L , Pan X , Chen L 
Published: February 2013

Objective: To examine whether there is an association between the serum concentration of vaspin and the presence of carotid plaque in early stage type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Patients ( n = 61) with T2DM within 3 years of diagnosis were divided into those with and those without carotid plaque. Fasting serum vaspin levels, measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay, and blood pressure were compared between these two groups and also with an age-matched, apparently healthy control group ( n = 26). Results: Fasting serum vaspin concentrations were significantly higher in patients with T2DM without carotid plaque than in controls, but significantly lower in T2DM patients with carotid plaque than inthose without. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant positive association between the presence of carotid plaque and systolic blood pressure and a significant inverse association between the presence of carotid plaque and fasting serum vaspin concentration. Conclusion: A significant inverse association was found, in patients with T2DM within 3 years of diagnosis, between serum vaspin concentration and the presence of carotid plaque.
Beneficial Effects of the Herbal Medicine Di Huang Yin Zi in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study
Authors: Li YL , Li LT , Yu M , Wang YZ , Ge HY , Song CQ 
Published: February 2013

Objective: This study investigated the safety and therapeutic efficacy of Di Huang Yin Zi (DHYZ), a traditional Chinese decoction used to treat neurological disorders, in spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: In this doubleblind, placebo-controlled study, patients with traumatic SCI and American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment grades B - D were randomized to receive DHYZ ( n = 30) or placebo ( n = 30) for 12 weeks. Both groups also received rehabilitation therapy during the study period. Motor and sensory function and activities of daily living (ADL) were assessed before treatment and at 4-week intervals. Results: Significantly more patients in the DHYZ group showed an improved ASIA impairment grade during the treatment period (32.1%) compared with the placebo group (10.3%), and scores for sensory and motor function and ADL at the end of the treatment period were significantly higher in the DHYZ group than in the placebo group. No serious side-effects were reported. Conclusions: DHYZ was found to improve neurological function in patients with SCI and may be an effective adjuvant therapy to enhance functional recovery.
Diaper Dermatitis: A Survey of Risk Factors for Children Aged 1 - 24 Months in China
Authors: Li CH , Zhu ZH , Dai YH 
Published: February 2013

Objectives: To measure the prevalence of diaper dermatitis and identify risk factors relating to diaper dermatitis in Chinese children aged 1 - 24 months. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that used structured questionnaires during face-toface interviews with parents to determine the risk factors associated with diaper dermatitis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between diaper dermatitis and 15 potential risk factors. Results: A total of 43.8% (454/1036) of infants in the study had experienced diaper dermatitis in the 6 weeks prior to enrolment. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the risk of diaper dermatitis was significantly decreased by solid foods (eggs), home location (urban) and frequency of diaper changing (≥ 6 changes/day), whereas the risk was increased by diarrhoea. Conclusions: Diarrhoea was a major risk factor for diaper dermatitis. Confirmation of the risk factors could lead to better understanding of the aetiology of diaper dermatitis and to new prevention strategies in Chinese infants.
The Effects of Epidural Anaesthesia and Analgesia on Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxicity and Cytokine Response in Patients with Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Undergoing Radical Resection
Authors: Dong H , Zhang Y , Xi H 
Published: February 2013

Objective: Epidural anaesthesia appears to promote antitumourigenic activity in patients with malignant disease who are undergoing surgery. This study investigated immune function in women with epithelial ovarian cancer undergoing radical resection with either general anaesthesia alone or in combination with epidural anaesthesia. Methods: Patients ( n = 61) were randomized to receive either combined general/epidural anaesthesia (study group) or general anaesthesia alone (control group). Natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) and serum concentrations of four cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1β, -8 and -10 and interferon [IFN]-γ) were measured before anaesthesia ( Tpre) and 4h after skinincision ( T4 h) in both groups. Results: In both groups, concentrations of protumourigenic cytokines (IL-1β and IL-8) were significantly higher at T4 h than at Tpre, while concentrations of antitumourigenic cytokines (IL-10 and IFN-γ) and NKCC were significantly lower at T4 h. The study group had significantly higher NKCC, IL-10 and IFN-γ levels and lower IL-1β and IL-8 levels at TT h compared with the control group. Conclusion: Combined general/epidural anaesthesia appeared to promote antitumourigenic NKCC and cytokine responses.
Sleeping Beauty Transposon System is a Reliable Gene Delivery Tool for Hereditary Tyrosinaemia Type 1 Disease Gene Therapy: Size of the Foreign Gene Decides the Timing of Stable Integration into the Host Chromosomes
Authors: Pan X-J , Ma Z-Z , Zhang Q-J , Fan L , Li Q-H 
Published: February 2013

Objective: This study investigated compensation for loss of the fumaryl - aceto acetate hydrolase gene ( Fah) by gene therapy using the Sleeping Beauty transposon system (SBTS), in a hereditary tyrosinaemia type 1 (HT-1) mouse model (Fah-/-). Methods: Twenty Fah-/- study mice, five wild-type positive controls and five Fah-/- negative controls were included. All Fah-/- mice received 2-(2- nitro-4-trifluoro-methylbenzoyl)-1,3-cyclo - hexaedione (NTBC). Fah-/- study mice were randomly injected with one of two SBTS Constructs: Fah-SBTS (containing mouse Fah gene), or forkhead box M1b ( FOXM1B)- Fah-SBTS (containing mouse Fah and human FOXM1B genes). Firefly luciferase-SBTS was injected as a trace marker. NTBC treatment stopped after construct injection; Fah-/- negative controls were kept healthy with continued NTBC. Mice were weighed daily; the luciferase signal was monitored by in vivo bioluminescence, and Fah and FOXM1B gene expression were evaluated. Results: The Fah gene integrated into the mouse chromosomes within 1 week of Fah-SBTS injection (mice survived without NTBC thereafter) and within 1 month of FOXM1B-Fah-SBTS injection (mice lost weight dramatically and needed additional NTBC). Conclusion: The shorter Fah gene had an advantage over the longer FOXM1B-Fah gene for stable integration into the host mouse chromosomes.
Risk Factors for Developing Pneumonia in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Following Acute Ischaemic Stroke
Authors: Zhang X , Wang F , Zhang Y , Ge Z 
Published: February 2013

Objectives: To evaluate markers of infection and identify risk factors for the development of pneumonia following acute ischaemic stroke in patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: Patients with diabetes mellitus ( n = 106) who were hospitalized after acute ischaemic stroke with ( n = 32) or without ( n = 74) pneumonia at admission were included in the study. Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), white blood cell (WBC) count, mean body temperature and severity of stroke on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale were measured at the time of admission. The degree of disability according to the modified Rankin Scale was assessed after 30 days. Results: Raised levels of IL-6 and CRP, older age, more severe stroke, longer duration of hospitalization and dysphagia were significantly associated with the development of pneumonia. Patients with pneumonia had significantly worse outcomes compared with nonpneumonia patients after 1 month. Raised WBC count and mean body temperature were not significant predictors of pneumonia. Conclusions: Markers of infection, more severe ischaemic stroke, dysphagia and older age may help in predicting the occurrence of pneumonia at stroke onset.