bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The mating system of the Mediterranean monk seal in the Western Sahara
Authors: Pastor T. , Cappozzo H. L. , Grau E. , Amos W. , Aguilar A. 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThe mating system of the Mediterranean monk seal was studied combining the use of diverse technologies. Sexual dimorphism in size was limited. Sexual activity was only observed to occur in the water. The different segments of the population segregated spatially: females, pups, and juveniles aggregated inside two main caves, whose entrances were controlled by a small number (2–3) of territorial males that defended aquatic territories situated at the very mouth of the caves. Other territorial males defended aquatic territories located further away (5–30 km). The tenure of aquatic territories was nonseasonal and spanned several years. Relatedness among pups belonging to the same cohort was low or null, indicating a low level of polygyny, which is not surprising for an aquatically mating phocid with a protracted reproductive season. However, in addition, genetic relatedness showed a remarkable temporal periodicity. These results in combination point to the existence of a complex social structure in this species.
A non‐invasive dolphin telemetry tag: Computer design and numerical flow simulation
Authors: Pavlov Vadim V. , Rashad Aqeel M. 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThe impact of devices attached to animals remains a challenge in telemetry studies of dolphins. It was hypothesized that the hydrodynamic design of a tag could provide stable attachment to the dorsal fin by means of resultant hydrodynamic force appearing when a dolphin is swimming. To verify this hypothesis the computer fluid dynamics (CFD) study of tag performance was carried out. A virtual model presenting authentic geometry of a dolphin with tag attached to the dorsal fin was constructed. The same model without tag was used as a reference object to calculate tag impact as regards drag, lift, and moments coefficients. Flow around the models was simulated for the range of velocities as well as the ranges of pitch and yaw angles. It was shown that in 33 of 35 CFD scenarios the streamlined shape of a tag generates the lift force that facilitates keeping a tag attached to the fin. Throughout the set of calculations the tag‐associated drag coefficient does not exceed 4%, which indicates low impact. Data obtained present a baseline for the further development of non‐invasive dolphin telemetry tags.
American Muslims and Religious Pluralism1
Authors: Smith Jane 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThe issue of whether or not Islam as a religion allows for pluralism, or whether the Qur’an is a pluralistic scripture, seems to have taken on new urgency for some American Muslim scholars in light of 9/11 and reactions to Islam from other Americans. In this article I look at some of the ways these scholars have interpreted pluralism, grouping their responses into the general categories of concern for justice, internal critique of current realities within Islam, and the question of whether or not the Qur’an is truly open to the truth of religions other than Islam.
The Mahāyāna Path of the Bodhisattva in the Ornament for Clear Realization
Authors: Apple James B. 
Published: May 2011

AbstractBuddhists have articulated the central notion of the ‘path’ in a variety of different ways and in a great number of texts throughout the history of their traditions. Among texts related to the path, the Ornament for Clear Realization, a commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, has had a significant impact on Mahāyāna Buddhist notions of the path and became the dominant Indian text for the study of the path in Tibetan traditions. This article focuses on two general descriptions of the bodhisattva path found in the Ornament for Clear Realization. The first description centers upon eight ‘clear realizations’ (abhisamaya) that constitute the knowledges and practices of Prajñāpāramitā textual systems. The second description elucidates a system of five paths, shaped by Indian Abhidharma and Yogācāra texts, that is commonly used by Tibetan commentators. The article demonstrates how the eight clear realizations and five paths are interrelated, yet distinct, modes of envisioning the bodhisattva path in the Ornament. While these path structures do not provide details of actual meditation experience, they do provide Tibetan Buddhists who follow the Ornament a structured worldview where a narrative of spiritual progress is possible and where the altruistic goal of Buddhahood can be attained.
Looking Beyond English: Linguistic Inquiry for English Language Learners
Authors: Ginsberg Daniel , Honda Maya , O’Neil Wayne 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThis paper reports on a pilot project that explored the potential of linguistic inquiry in a high school English as a Second Language (ESL) class. In class meetings across the school year, students worked collaboratively to investigate noun phrase pluralization, language acquisition, writing systems, and translation in their own and other languages. Classroom observations and students’ oral and written work provide evidence that:

Examining the structures of the spoken and written languages represented in the ESL classroom captures students’ interest and engages them in critical inquiry about the nature of linguistic knowledge and their beliefs about language.
The cross‐linguistic analysis of students’ home languages validates their languages in the school context, defining them as a rich resource worthy of study, rather than as a hindrance to education.

These findings are of particular significance in this time of English‐only education in the United States, when students’ home languages are often rejected in schools.
Tense and Aspect in Indo‐Iranian Part 2: The Perfect, Futurate, Participial and Periphrastic Categories
Authors: Dahl Eystein 
Published: May 2011

AbstractIn this paper I examine the semantic properties of the Indo‐Iranian Perfect which was associated with the anterior or perfect aspect, of the simple Future, the Desiderative and Voluntative which were all associated with a futurate meaning as well as participial and periphrastic categories. In addition, I will highlight some open questions in this area.
Tense and Aspect in Indo‐Iranian Part 1: The Present and Aorist
Authors: Dahl Eystein 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThe oldest attested Indo‐Iranian languages, Vedic Sanskrit, Avestan and Old Persian, indicate that Proto‐Indo‐Iranian possessed a rich inflectional verbal system with a great variety of temporal and aspectual categories. This paper discusses the semantic properties of some of the inflectional forms belonging to two of the most central inflectional stems in the Indo‐Iranian languages, the Present and Aorist which were associated with the neutral aspect and the perfective aspect, respectively. A comparison with other Indo‐European languages, most notably Ancient Greek clearly shows that this morphosyntactic opposition was inherited from Proto‐Indo‐European.
How Talker Identity Relates to Language Processing
Authors: Creel Sarah C. , Bregman Micah R. 
Published: May 2011

AbstractSpeech carries both linguistic content – phonemes, words, sentences – and talker information, sometimes called ‘indexical information’. While talker variability materially affects language processing, it has historically been regarded as a curiosity rather than a central influence, possibly because talker variability does not fit with a conception of speech sounds as abstract categories. Despite this relegation to the periphery, a long history of research suggests that phoneme perception and talker perception are interrelated. The current review argues that speech perception itself may arise from phylogenetically earlier vocal recognition, and discusses evidence that many cues to talker identity are also cues to speech‐sound identity. Rather than brushing talker differences aside, explicit examination of the role of talker variability and talker identity in language processing can illuminate our understanding of the origins of spoken language, and the nature of language representations themselves.
An evaluation of the Sebia capillarys Neonat Haemoglobin FAST™ system for routine newborn screening for sickle cell disease
Authors: MURRAY C. , HALL S. K. , GRIFFITHS P. 
Published: May 2011

SummaryThe West Midlands Newborn Screening Laboratory (NBSL) at Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH), UK, screens approximately 71 000 babies per annum using the Bio‐Rad automated VARIANT™ nbs (Vnbs) high‐pressure liquid chromatograph (HPLC). Any abnormal haemoglobins detected, including S, C, D‐Punjab, E and O‐Arab as directed by the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme (NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme Website, http://sct.screening.nhs.uk), are then confirmed using Resolve® isoelectric electric focusing (IEF) kits supplied by Perkin‐Elmer. The Sebia capillarys Neonat Haemoglobin FAST™ system was evaluated as a possible replacement for the first‐ or second‐line methods used. Both the Sebia and Bio‐Rad methods were compared using anonymized blood spots with known haemoglobin patterns. These results were then confirmed when necessary by IEF. The Sebia‐recommended sample preparation was also modified to enable testing to be more comparable with our current processes. Percentages of haemoglobins calculated from integration of areas under the peaks were compared between the Bio‐Rad Vnbs HPLC and Sebia capillarys Neonat Haemoglobin FAST™ system. Of the 347 blood spots tested by both HPLC and capillary electrophoresis, there were no significant differences. The Sebia capillarys Neonat Haemoglobin FAST™ system can be used to successfully screen newborns for sickle cell disease in blood spots collected for newborn screening with full positive sample identification and traceability.
Rethinking Gender and Violence: Agency, Heterogeneity, and Intersectionality
Authors: Creek S.J. , Dunn Jennifer L. 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThis paper is a consideration of the increasing diversity of images of gender violence and its victims, as both the grassroots antiviolence activists, and the scholars of the movements and the violence that inspires the activism, engage with cultural codes and feeling rules that tend to narrow the criteria for what constitutes gender violence and victimization. We are coming to better understand that social location, including but not limited to positions within patriarchal systems of stratification, shapes violence and victimization in many different ways. Since the inception of the women’s movement, the discourse of victimization has grappled with the implications of constructing ‘pure victims’, and despite the tremendous progress in the resources available to survivors of gender violence, we find the tensions between victimization and agency, and between simplicity and complexity, reemerging repeatedly in the stories victims, activists, and scholars tell about this social problem. Below, we review the sociological research and activism, in conjunction with the collective narratives in the social movements against gender violence, to show how the issues of perceptions of women who are framed as victims began and remain central to feminist research in this area. We also explore the newest visions of gender violence, that broaden theorizing and activism to include multiple dimensions of inequality and their intersections. Taken together, these debates reveal multifaceted layers of complexity that inform the contexts and lived experience of violence, and that continue to enter into our storytelling.
Navigating a Hostile Terrain: Refugees and Human Rights in Southeast Asia
Authors: Palmgren Pei 
Published: May 2011

AbstractCountries in Southeast Asia serve as origins, transit routes, and destinations for an increasing number of refugees, asylum seekers, and other people displaced by conflict and persecution. In this article, I consider existing academic literature on refugees and forced migration and situate current trends and processes related to refugees in Southeast Asia within such work. I begin by surveying sociology material on refugees and forced migration processes in general, also drawing from related fields of human geography and interdisciplinary refugee studies. I then review current mixed migration trends and corresponding state responses in the context of globalization and contemporary conflict in Southeast Asia, placing refugee movements within this setting. Finally, using examples from the region, I consider two rough areas of inquiry in need of further sociological exploration – (i) purposive transnational refugee actions and processes and (ii) the dynamic social spaces created and developed out of refugee migration. Human rights implications of these issues are considered throughout, and suggestions to reconsider human rights protection beyond nation‐state‐focused models are given.
Lone Mother‐led Families: Exemplifying the Structuring of Social Inequality
Authors: Caragata Lea , Cumming Sara J. 
Published: May 2011

AbstractAlmost 25% of Canadian families are headed by a lone parent (Jensen 2003) and over 90% of poor lone parents are women (National Council of Welfare 2002). In Canada lone mother‐led families have been significantly impacted by two major and interrelated changes in Canada; welfare reforms that resulted in the elimination of a separate family benefit and includes the imposition of a work requirement combined with dramatic changes to the labor market. The reduction of welfare benefits and the increase in precarious or non‐standard work have created a high level of social jeopardy for lone mothers and their children. This paper explores the different realms of life where lone‐mothers are particularly disadvantaged and argues that governments need to clearly identify areas of policy intersection before the inequalities that lone mother‐led families face can be ameliorated.
The Sustainable Development of Kuwaiti Sabkhas
Authors: Kleo Abdulhameed A. , Al‐Otaibi Obaid 
Published: May 2011

Abstract“Sabkha” is an Arabic term commonly used in foreign languages to denote a salt flat, a shallow depression. Sabkhas normally occur near sea level or at the underground water level. They usually are encrusted with a salt crust layer, the thickness of which depends on the location of the sabkhas and the evaporation rate. Sabkhas are one of the prominent surface topographical features in the Kuwaiti coastal zone, occupying an area of about 769.4 km2, equivalent to 4.3 percent of the nation's total area. Due to their presence in the most important locations near the coastline, they are a most suitable setting for exploitative human activities. Sabkhas have attracted development proponents, particularly after the increased economic growth, and urgent need for homes and housing facilities. The most significant developments in the sabkha lands are urban development, agricultural forestation, and nature reserves. This study has revealed that there are environmental hazards related to the use of sabkha lands, including salt weathering, soil salinization, tree damage and depletion of natural reserves, the deterioration of nebakha (formation and growth around plants in the desert where groundwater is available for vegetation; the usual dune forms that occur in such instances are isolated mounds around individual plants) fields, and semikarstic (an area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns) solution holes. Therefore, use of such lands should take into account scientific investigation and selection among the different development fields. Such a fragile environment obliges us to consider nature conservation, a non‐disruption or depletion of sabkhas' limited natural resources, and their environmental components. The concept of the sustainable development should prevail in the use of such sabkhas.
Transjordan During the Nineteenth Century: Reconsidering the Relation Between Arab Tribes and Christian Religious Communities
Authors: Maggiolini Paolo Maria Leo Cesare 
Published: May 2011

AbstractThe article aims to reconsider the history of Ottoman Transjordan during the second half of the nineteenth century. Istanbul's decision to impose its direct control over this province triggered a process of evolution and change within local political spaces. The traditional balance of power was altered and tribes were forced to accept the authority of the Ottoman Empire. States and tribes were not the only political actors. Christian religious institutions also participated in the dynamics of change. The article reconsiders the history of a Christian village of Transjordan, Madaba, to describe the complex relationship between tribes and Christian religious communities during this period of change and evolution. The section Karak highlights the main aspects that characterized the refoundation of Madaba. In the section The Exodus and the Rebirth of Madaba, the exodus of several Christian tribes from Karak to Madaba is analyzed to explain the overlap and intertwinement between the different cultural horizons and sociopolitical logics of the two actors. The section The Village of Madaba analyzes some episodes of daily life in Madaba to detail the consequences of the interaction between tribes and religious communities. Finally, the functioning of the local sociopolitical space on which the Hashemite emirate was later founded is explained. The religious community‐tribe dyad was, in fact, part of the transition from “the tribe to the state.”
Suppression of inflammatory response and endothelial nitric oxide synthase downregulation in hyperlipidaemic C57BL/6J mice by eugenosedin-A
Authors: Shen Kuo-Ping , Lin Hui-Li , Chang Wen-Tsan , An Li-Mei , Chen Ing-Jun , Wu Bin-Nan 
Published: May 2011

Abstract

Objectives
Eugenosedin-A has been found to ameliorate high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperglycaemia and hyperlipidaemia in C57BL/6J mice. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of action of eugenosedin-A on endothelial function and inflammation in hyperlipidaemic mice.

Methods
C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into two control groups and two treatment groups. The control mice received either a regular diet or HFD, and the treatment groups were fed HFD with either 5 mg/kg eugenosedin-A or atorvastatin for eight weeks.

Key findings
Mice fed a HFD had higher concentrations of nitrate (NO) but not prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), increased tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) mRNA and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) proteins, but decreased endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) proteins. HFD-induced upregulation of iNOS is associated with p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK), PI3K and Akt/IKKα/p65. Eugenosedin-A and atorvastatin reduced HFD-induced TNF-α and IFN-γ mRNA, NO generation, upregulation of iNOS protein, and down-regulation of eNOS protein. Both agents inhibited p38, ERK, JNK and Akt/IKKα/p65 protein levels in the aorta. However, eugenosedin-A did not significantly reduce p38 in the liver.

Conclusions
Our results showed an association between obesity-induced inflammation and altered levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, p38, ERK, JNK and Akt/IKKα/p65. Eugenosedin-A, like atorvastatin, could inhibit p38, ERK, JNK, Akt/IKKα/p65 proteins, as well as TNF-α and IFN-γ mRNA during the regulation of the obesity-induced inflammatory process.
Personalization and perceived personal relevance in computer‐tailored persuasion in smoking cessation
Authors: Dijkstra Arie , Ballast Karien 
Published: May 2011

Objectives. In most computer‐tailored interventions, the recipient's name is used to personalize the information. This is done to increase the process of persuasion but few empirical data exist that support this notion.Design. An experimental laboratory study was conducted to test the effects of mentioning the participants name and to study whether it was related to the depth of processing in a 2 (personalization/standard) × 2 (weak/strong arguments) design.Methods. Over 120 student smokers were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions in which they read smoking cessation messages offering (pre‐tested) strong or weak arguments. Personalization was applied by mentioning the recipient's first name three times in the text. The intention to quit smoking was the dependent variable.Results. Personalization increased persuasion when perceived personal relevance was high, but it decreased persuasion when perceived personal relevance was low. The effects on persuasion were only present in the case of strong arguments.Conclusions. Personalization is not always effective, and it may even lead to less persuasion. Therefore, this often used way to tailor messages must be applied with care.
Induction of Efflux-Mediated Macrolide Resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Chancey Scott T. , Zhou Xiaoliu , Zähner Dorothea , Stephens David S. 
Published: May 2011

ABSTRACT

The antimicrobial efflux system encoded by the operon
mef(E)-mel
on the mobile genetic element MEGA in
Streptococcus pneumoniae
and other Gram-positive bacteria is inducible by macrolide antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides. Induction may affect the clinical response to the use of macrolides. We developed
mef(E)
reporter constructs and a disk diffusion induction and resistance assay to determine the kinetics and basis of
mef(E)-mel
induction. Induction occurred rapidly, with a >15-fold increase in transcription within 1 h of exposure to subinhibitory concentrations of erythromycin. A spectrum of environmental conditions, including competence and nonmacrolide antibiotics with distinct cellular targets, did not induce
mef(E).
Using 16 different structurally defined macrolides, induction was correlated with the amino sugar attached to C-5 of the macrolide lactone ring, not with the size (e.g., 14-, 15- or 16-member) of the ring or with the presence of the neutral sugar cladinose at C-3. Macrolides with a monosaccharide attached to C-5, known to block exit of the nascent peptide from the ribosome after the incorporation of up to eight amino acids, induced
mef(E)
expression. Macrolides with a C-5 disaccharide, which extends the macrolide into the ribosomal exit tunnel, disrupting peptidyl transferase activity, did not induce it. The induction of
mef(E)
did not require macrolide efflux, but the affinity of macrolides for the ribosome determined the availability for efflux and pneumococcal susceptibility. The induction of
mef(E)-mel
expression by inducing macrolides appears to be based on specific interactions of the macrolide C-5 saccharide with the ribosome that alleviate transcriptional attenuation of
mef(E)-mel.
Diversity and Evolution of AbaR Genomic Resistance Islands in Acinetobacter baumannii Strains of European Clone I
Authors: Krizova Lenka , Dijkshoorn Lenie , Nemec Alexandr 
Published: May 2011

ABSTRACT

To assess the diversity of AbaR genomic resistance islands in
Acinetobacter baumannii
European clone I (MLST clonal complex 1), we investigated 26 multidrug-resistant strains of this major clone isolated from hospitals in 21 cities of 10 European countries between 1984 and 2005. Each strain harbored an AbaR structure integrated at the same position in the chromosomal ATPase gene. AbaR3, including four subtypes based on variations in class 1 integron cassettes, and AbaR10 were found in 15 and 2 strains, respectively, whereas a new, unique AbaR variant was discovered in each of the other 9 strains. These new variants, designated AbaR11 to AbaR19 (19.8 kb to 57.5 kb), seem to be truncated derivatives of AbaR3, likely resulting from the deletions of its internal parts mediated by either IS
26
elements (AbaR12 to AbaR19) or homologous recombination (AbaR11). AbaR3 was detected in all 10 strains isolated in 1984 to 1991, while AbaR11 to AbaR19 were carried only by strains isolated since 1997. Our results and those from previous publications suggest that AbaR3 is the original form of AbaR in European clone I, which may have provided strains of the lineage with a selective advantage facilitating their spread in European hospitals in the 1980s or before.