bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reflections on Qajar Art and Its Significance
Authors: Grabar Oleg 
Published: July 2007

It is with some reluctance that I agreed to contribute a few remarks to conclude a learned and fruitful colloquium and to react, once again, to a wonderful exhibition on Qajar art. My reluctance is simple to explain and to justify. Such professional competencies as I have are those of a medievalist who begins to feel slightly uneasy by the middle of the fourteenth century. But, then, as a historian of the visual arts and as an individual curious about the lessons to be drawn from the making and uses of works of art everywhere and at any time, I became fascinated by the exhibition and many questions came to mind which may not be of immediate significance for the history and culture of Iran, but which have a lot to do with the arts in general.For these reasons, I shall not comment directly on the papers published in this volume, which are, for the most part, beyond my competencies, except to make two observations.
Turanian Nomadism and Iranian Politics
Authors: Smith John Masson 
Published: July 2007

The last millenium of Iranian history has been what might best be called the “Turanian period,” a time of Turkish and Mongol rule and nomad domination. It is a period viewed by Iranians and most students of Iranian history with mixed, largely negative, feelings that reflect the experience and writings of the conquered peoples. The experience of the Turanians tends to be disregarded, only in part because they wrote very little about it. This essay considers the nature and some of the experience of the conquering Turanian nomad society.In discussing nomadism it is important to dispose of some perhaps tacit assumptions of cultural bias. The nomad should not be viewed as a mere vagabond or vagrant. He noves purposefully and he is far from lacking means of support, although they may be hidden over the hill or around the bend in the road.
Iranian Studies in France
Authors: Hourcade Bernard 
Published: July 2007

There is, in France, a pronounced awareness of an “Iranian world” that can be identified in terms of cultural, linguistic, ethnic (Aryan peoples) or geographic (highlands, cold winters) characteristics common to the civilizations of all Iranian-speaking peoples living in Afghanistan, Iran, Kurdistan or south central USSR, in particular, Tajikistan. This “world” stands in contrast to the Arab, Indian and Turkish ones. The notion of a Middle East extending from Casablanca to Kabul does not exist in French. Newspapers usually refer to the Moslem lands to the south and east of the Mediterranean as the “Arab world,” as if Turkish- and Persian-speaking peoples were peripheral minorities therein.Owing to its colonial and military heritage, France has long given special importance to theMaghrib(Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria), the Near East (Lebanon and Syria, in particular) and, as a result of the Napoleonic campaigns and Champollion's expeditions, Egypt.
Where Was the Portrait of Ulugh Beg Painted?
Authors: Ashrafi M. M. 
Published: July 2007

The fifteenth century was the golden age of miniature painting. This is strikingly illustrated by the survival both of written sources describing the development of the art and of the miniatures themselves.Various Soviet Scholars including A. A. Semenov, G. A. Pugachenkova, V. G. Dolinskaya, O. I. Galerkina, N. V. Diakonova, O. F. Akimushkin, and A. A. Ivanov, as well as the present writer, have all worked on the problem of the development of the Central Asian miniature. Thanks to their studies, the outline of the Samarqand miniature, something unknown not long ago, has gradually begun to emerge. The issue of the Samarqand miniature has not yet been fully resolved and many problems still remain. These include the difficulties of access to the miniatures themselves which are kept in various libraries, museums, and private collections around the world and the fact that the vast majority have not been published.
The Role of Military Expenditures in Pre‐Revolutionary Iran's Economic Decline
Authors: Looney Robert E. 
Published: July 2007

I told the Shah that if the Army budget were increased we could do little if any thing for agriculture, education or public health. He said, “Very well, then; we'll have to postpone those things.”This incident occurred in 1943, a year after the Shah had succeeded his father and was recounted by A. C. Millspough, then financial advisor to the Iranian government.By the 1970s, however, the Iranian government was denying the relevance of the “guns versus butter” tradeoff for the country. The Shah posed the problem differently, “What is the use of having an advanced industry in a country which could be brought to its knees when faced with any small asinine event?” Asked on a subsequent occasion whether the desire for maximum national power implicit in such defense expenditure was compatible with the efforts to achieve maximum economic development, he replied, “It is not only compatible but essential.
The Evolution of the Safavid Royal Guard
Authors: Haneda Masashi 
Published: July 2007

Ever since Minorsky published his introduction and commentary on the Safavid manual of administration Tadhkirat al-Mulūk, which has become a classic in the field, scholars have come to agree on the tribal character of the state that was founded by Shah Esma`il. In fact, it is through the military force of the Turkmen tribes, the Qezelbash, that Shah Esma`il was able to accede to the throne, thus inaugurating a period of relative stability for Iran that lasted more than two centuries. Iran owed its ability to resist the recurring and alternating attacks by the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbegs to Qezelbash power as well.Initially mobilized by religious fanaticism, the military strength of the Qezelbash became a double-edged sword for the Safavid rulers with the waning of unconditional Qezelbash devotion to the shah. Though they were indispensable to the defense of the empire's frontiers, the Qezelbash amirs, with their unbridled despotism and the resulting turmoil, never ceased to be a prime source of concern for the rulers.
The Study of History in Post-Revolutionary Iran: Nostalgia, Illusion, or Historical Awareness?
Authors: Amanat Abbas 
Published: July 2007

Lo! thou the awareness-seeking heart, see by the sight,Make the palace of Mada'in the mirror of your heart.Khaqani's opening verse in his famous qaṣīda of Ivan-i Mada'in has a recognizable resonance in the works of many Persian writers, poets, and historians of pre-modern times who tried to make sense of the events and upheavals of the past. For them ‘ibrat, which in this context may loosely be translated as a grievous sense of historical consciousness, was the essence of the past. It made them see in the ruins of the once mighty empire, or the records of kings of bygone times, the never-ending cycle of the rise and fall of worldly powers. The Sassanian arch of the palace of Ctesiphon in the above verse was a powerful metaphor for the believer and the skeptic alike.In modern Persian historical accounts, for all intents and purposes, this sense of ‘ibrat was lost to the multitudes, if not to a handful of the adept.
Allocation of Educational and Occupational Opportunities in the Islamic Republic of Iran: A Case Study in the Political Screening of Human Capital
Authors: Habibi Nader 
Published: July 2007

The Iranian Revolution, while similar to other modern revolutions in many aspects, has resulted in several innovative social policies which have not been pursued as seriously by other revolutionary governments. In this paper we will study one political innovation that has significant consequences for economic development. Taking advantage of its near monopoly on higher education and complete control over public sector employment, the Iranian government has set up a complex system of political screening and filtering for admission to colleges and universities, as well public sector employment.This filtering process is complemented by a quota system which further enables the government to control the accessibility of higher education and public sector employment to various social groups. As would be expected, public reactions to these discriminatory policies are diverse. The beneficiary social groups offer justifications for this policy while those who are damaged by it express resentment in private circles.
The Career of Mohammad Beg, Grand Vizier of Shah 'Abbas II (r. 1642-1666)
Authors: Matthee Rudi 
Published: July 2007

La plus belle charge de la cour, c'est la faveur.Safavid historiography has oscillated between admiration and vilification in its appraisal of Shah ‘Abbas II's reign (1642-1666). In the accounts of contemporary observers—for the most part European travelers—one finds favorable descriptions of the shah and his court as part of a positive assessment of the overall state of the country. Impressed by the hospitality they enjoyed at the court of Isfahan, these foreign visitors spoke highly of a magnanimous and tolerant monarch; moreover, the absence of rebellion and relatively secure roads prompted them to refer to Iran as a prosperous and stable country. Those who visited Iran within a generation after the shah's death corroborated this image; indeed, in their narratives one already finds an element of nostalgia for the days of ‘Abbas II.
Masterpieces of Persian Textiles from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Collection
Authors: Salam‐Liebich Hayat 
Published: July 2007

The aim of this article is to introduce a fine and representative, but little-known, collection of Persian woven fabrics in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. These superb specimens reflect both the chronological and technical range of textile production in Islamic Iran, from the provocative fabrics found at Rayy to the myriad of sumptuous weavings produced on Safavid looms.The greatest number of these textiles entered the Museum's collection through the active efforts of a single person, F. Cleveland Morgan. A pioneering and avid collector, true connoisseur and art lover, Morgan founded the Museum's Decorative Arts department in 1917 and, during his fifty years’ association with the Museum, many objects found their way into the Montreal collection. Not only did he himself contribute many objects to develop then little appreciated fields, such as Islamic art, but he also encouraged other donors and advised potential patrons to follow his example. In a final act of generosity, Morgan bequeathed his own collection to the Museum, thus further enriching the department which he himself had created.
The Sufi Lords of Bahrabad: Sa‘d al-Din and Sadr al-Din Hamuwayi
Authors: Elias Jamal J. 
Published: July 2007

The Seljuk and Khwarazmid periods witnessed a growing relationship between Sufism and the state in the central Islamic lands. This link grew even stronger during the Ilkhanid Mongol period when there was an immense rise in the influence of Sufi masters in court circles, so much so that, in many ways, some Sufi figures became the primary religious authorities in Ilkhanid Iran. At the same time, there also appears to have been a blurring of the philosophical line separating Sufism from Shi'ism.The family of wealthy Sufi masters from Bahrabad in Khurasan has attracted the attention of modern scholars on account of their involvement with the highest levels of the Ilkhanid state machinery and their association with the Kubrawi order and its influential figures, such as Najm al-Din Kubra, Sayf al-Din Bakharzi, and ‘Ala’ al-Dawla Simnani.
THE ROLES OF LIFE EVENTS AND SUPPORT NETWORKS IN THE AETIOLOGY OF FEMALE ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
Authors: Holubowycz O.T. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractEpidemiological research in medicine and psychiatry has recently illustrated the significance of life adjustment and adversity associated with life events in the development of illness.The present paper reports findings from a study of the predisposing and precipitating factors of alcohol dependence in women. Quantitative measures of distress and life change associated with life events experienced by a group of alcohol‐dependent women and a group of age‐matched control women are presented. The life events are further analyzed according to their classification as controllable or uncontrollable. It is proposed that life events have some aetiological significance in the development of female alcohol dependence.If it is assumed that some factors, such as a high level of distress and life change associated with life events, may predispose a woman to develop alcohol‐related problems, it must simultaneously be assumed that other factors may act to decrease the probability of the development of excessive drinking. One such factor that in more recent years has been recognized as an important mediator in the adjustment to distress is the existence of a social support network. This paper discusses the potential mediating role played by such networks.The paper also provides a brief description of the research design of the study, as well as the methods used in gathering the data.
REFERRAL PATTERNS BETWEEN HOSPITALS AND A SPECIALIZED ADDICTION CLINIC
Authors: Stanhope J.M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPatient records were surveyed for a two‐year period from 1 December 1980. Referrals between hospitals and the Langton Clinic numbered 561 of which 446 (80%) were referred for assessment/management of alcohol and drug‐related problems, and 44 were referred from the Clinic because they required base hospital care (24 patients) or acute psychiatric care (20 patients).Such inter‐hospital referrals accounted for about 20% of all patient contacts with the Langton Clinic. The mutually supportive roles of the general, psychiatric and addiction hospitals are discussed.
THE LANGTON CLINIC CLIENTELE: SOCIAL & DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG DEPENDENT PATIENTS
Authors: Stanhope John M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractOne year's experience of patients admitted to the Langton Clinic for the first time in 1980–81 is reviewed. Alcohol was the principal or only drug abused by 388 patients, and was abused conjointly with other drugs by 58 patients; 188 patients abused other drugs, but not alcohol.Various sub‐cultural groups were suspected from the distribution of drug used, sex, age, religion and country of birth. Patients were characterized by social, marital and employment difficulties rather than physical and psychiatric morbidity.
Murine Chemokine CXCL2/KC Is a Surrogate Marker for Angiogenic Activity in the Inflammatory Granulation Tissue
Authors: BELO A. V. , LELES F. , BARCELOS L. S. , FERREIRA M. A. N. D. , BAKHLE Y. S. , TEIXEIRA M. M. , ANDRADE S. P. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTObjectives:A wide range of compounds inhibit formation of new blood vessels in a variety of models, accompanied by decreases in pro‐angiogenic cytokines. The authors sought a surrogate marker for the complex process of neovascularization by correlating inhibition of cytokine production with anti‐angiogenic effect.Methods:Three anti‐angiogenic compounds, clotrimazole (120 mg kg−1day−1), thalidomide (100 mg kg−1day−1), and rosiglitazone (10 mg kg−1day−1), were used to inhibit angiogenesis developing over 9 days, in sponges implanted subcutaneously in Swiss mice. Angiogenesis was assessed by hemoglobin content and by histology. Content of cytokines in implants was measured by specific immunoassays and accumulation of neutrophils or macrophages in implants by measuring myeloperoxidase orN‐acetylglucosaminidase activity, respectively.Results:These compounds caused equal inhibition of angiogenesis (about 40%). However, implant levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF‐α) or the macrophage chemoattractant cytokine, CCL2/MCP‐1/JE, and accumulation of macrophages were more variably inhibited. Only the neutrophil chemokine, CXCL2/KC, was inhibited equally by the three compounds, in this model.Conclusions:Anti‐angiogenic effect was most clearly and closely correlated with levels of the chemokine KC. Thus, measurement of the chemokine KC might provide an adequate surrogate marker for the functional process of neovascularization in our model.
Angiogenesis and Microvascular Remodeling: A Brief History and Future Roadmap
Authors: SKALAK THOMAS C. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTAngiogenesis and vessel remodeling determine the integrative control of the architectural structure and functional behaviors of the microcirculation over the lifetime of an organism. Vascular remodeling is the basis of promising therapeutic strategies, including vascularization of ischemic organs. The history of angiogenesis research is long—more than 250 years—and the Microcirculatory Society has been the birthplace of numerous techniques, assays, and scientific concepts that have stimulated massive research endeavors in the pharmaceutical and medical arena. At present, angiogenesis is a dynamic field in which the molecular genetic and proteomic components of the process are still being identified, while integrative systems approaches are once again being recognized as essential to understand microvascular assemblyin vivoacross multiple scales from cells to whole vessel networks. A short history of people and ideas in this field is presented, followed by discussion of emerging directions receiving intense attention today and major questions that remain unanswered. The primary conclusion is that the need for scientists trained in the integrative approaches nurtured by the Microcirculatory Society over the past 50 years has never been greater, as it is clear that a complete mechanistic understanding of vessel adaptation (based on genomic and proteomic supporting casts) will now require deeper studies of angiogenesis and microvascular remodeling in the exquisite complexity of the native microenvironment—the microcirculation.
Membrane Hyperpolarization Is Not Required for Sustained Muscarinic Agonist‐Induced Increases in Intracellular Ca2+ in Arteriolar Endothelial Cells
Authors: COHEN KENNETH D. , JACKSON WILLIAM F. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTObjective: Hyperpolarization modulates Ca2+ influx during agonist stimulation in many endothelial cells, but the effects of hyperpolarization on Ca2+ influx in freshly isolated arteriolar endothelial cells are unknown. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to characterize agonist‐induced Ca2+ transients in freshly isolated arteriolar endothelial cells and to test the hypothesis that membrane hyperpolarization augments agonist‐induced Ca2+ influx into these cells.Methods: Arterioles were removed from hamster cremaster muscles and arteriolar endothelial cells were enzymatically isolated. Endothelial cells were loaded with Fura 2‐AM and the Fura 2 ratio measured photometrically as an index of intracellular Ca2+. The cells were then stimulated with the muscarinic, cholinergic agonist, methacholine, and the resulting Ca2+ transients were measured.Results: Methacholine (1 μ M) increased the endothelial cell Fura 2 ratio from a baseline of 0.81 ± 0.02 to an initial peak of 1.17 ± 0.05 (n = 17) followed by a sustained plateau of 1.12 ± 0.07. The plateau phase of the Ca2+ transient was inhibited by removal of extracellular Ca2+ (n = 12, p < .05), or the nonselective cation channel blockers Gd3+ (30 μ M; n = 7, p < .05) or La3+ (50 μ M; n = 7, p < .05) without significant effect on the baseline or peak (p > .05). The initial peak of methacholine‐induced Ca2+ transients was inhibited by the IP3‐receptor antagonist xestospongin D (10 μ M, n = 5, p < .05). The methacholine‐induced Ca2+ transients were accompanied by endothelial cell hyperpolarization of approximately 14–18 mV, as assessed by experiments using the potentiometric dye, di‐8‐ANEPPS as well as by patch‐clamp experiments. However, inhibition of hyperpolarization by blockade of Ca2+‐activated K+ channels with charybdotoxin (100 nM) and apamin (100 nM) (n = 5), or exposure of endothelial cells to 80 or 145 mM KCl (both n = 7) had no effect on the plateau phase of methacholine‐induced Ca2+ transients (p > .05).Conclusions: Freshly isolated arteriolar endothelial cells display agonist‐induced Ca2+ transients. For the muscarinic agonist, methacholine, these Ca2+ transients result from release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores through IP3 receptors, followed by sustained influx of extracellular Ca2+. While these changes in intracellular Ca2+ are associated with endothelial cell hyperpolarization, the methacholine‐induced, sustained increase in intracellular Ca2+ appears to be independent from this change in membrane potential. These data suggest that arteriolar endothelial cells may possess a novel Ca2+ influx pathway, or that the relationship between intracellular Ca2+ and Ca2+ influx is more complex than that observed in other endothelial cells.
A Role for Hyaluronan in the Preservation of Interstitial Structure
Authors: COLEMAN PETER J. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTHydraulic resistance of interstitium is of major importance in body fluid distribution. In the synovial lining it is vital for the retention of intra‐articular fluid, and is attributed chiefly to the network of interstitial biopolymers occupying intercellular gaps in the tissue. Selective removal of synovial hyaluronan (HA) by protease‐free hyaluronate lyase results in an almost 10× increase in synovial hydraulic permeability from 0.48 ± 0.24 μ L min−1cm H2O (control) to 4.56 ± 0.40 μ L min−1 cm H2O (mean ± SD, n = 6 rabbits, p < .001, t test) leading to the hypothesis that hyaluronan plays a major role in the organization of interstitial matrix structure. To test whether removal of hyaluronan causes significant changes in synovial ultrastructure, morphometry of hyaluronidase‐treated synovium was carried out. Following hyaluronidase, the thickness of the synovial lining was reduced from 13.0 ± 1.6 μ m (control) to 10.6 ± 1.6 μ m (mean ± SD throughout, n = 50 measurements per rabbit, 6 rabbits. p < .001, t test). This was accompanied by a significant reduction of synovial interstitial volume fraction from 76.2 ± 20.6% (control) to 67.04 ± 24.94% (p < .001, t test), and an increase in collagen bundle volume as a fraction of interstitial volume from 40.75 ± 4.97% (control) tissue to 48.77 ± 11.72% (p < .0001, t test). The findings indicate that the removal of hyaluronan chains leads to morphological disruption. Thus, hyaluronan chains play a major role in the organization of synovial structure. The observed morphological changes are insufficiently large to explain fully the great rise in hydraulic permeability observed on HA removal. The latter is likely to be due to disruption of tertiary architecture at the molecular organization level.
Genome‐Wide Analysis of the Globin Gene Family of C. elegans
Authors: Hoogewijs David , Geuens Eva , Dewilde Sylvia , Moens Luc , Vierstraete Andy , Vinogradov Serge , Vanfleteren Jacques R. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe aim of our study was to annotate sequences for 35 putative globins from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. All these proteins are expressed, but seven of these differ from the gene predictions in Wormbase. The entire polypeptide sequences for 31 genes and the core globin domain of four proteins were confirmed or corrected. All core globin domains were aligned manually following a procedure that was designed to fit the putative sequences to the crystal structure based alignment of 56 known globin crystal structures. Neighbor‐joining analysis of the resulting alignment showed that the majority of these globins are very divergent from each other, possibly suggesting a long evolutionary divergence. The surprisingly high number and low sequence conservation of putative globins in this small organism urges a detailed functional analysis.
IUBMB Life, 56: 697‐702, 2004