Special Issue on ‘‘Metagenomics of Marine Environments”

<正>We are pleased to announce a special issue on‘‘Metagenomics of Marine Environments’’of the journal Genomics,ProteomicsBioinformatics(GPB),aiming to provide a platform for high-quality papers focusing on the topic and we invite submissions for this special issue(to be published in the fall of 2015).With most microbes being difficult or impossible to culture,metagenomic approaches based on culture-independent genomic sequencing provide the first real insight of the magnitude and diversity of     

‘Ins’ and ‘outs’ of triple therapy

Chronic oral anticoagulant treatment is obligatory in patients (class I) with mechanical heart valves and in patients with atrial fibrillation with CHADS2 score >1. When these patients undergo percutaneous coronary intervention with placement of a stent, there is also an indication for treatment with aspirin and clopidogrel. Unfortunately, triple therapy is known to increase the bleeding risk. For this group of patients, the bottom line is to find the ideal therapy in patients with indications for both chronic anticoagulation therapy and percutaneous intervention to prevent thromboembolic complications such as stent thrombosis without increasing the risk of bleeding. (Neth Heart J 2010;18:444-50.)     

Simulation of ‘hitch-hiking’ genealogies

An ancestral influence graph is derived, an analogue of the coalescent and a composite of Griffiths' (1991) two-locus ancestral graph and Krone and Neuhauser's (1997) ancestral selection graph. This generalizes their use of branching-coalescing random graphs so as to incorporate both selection and recombination into gene genealogies. Qualitative understanding of a ‘hitch-hiking’ effect on genealogies is pursued via diagrammatic representation of the genealogical process in a two-locus, two-allele haploid model. Extending the simulation technique of Griffiths and Tavaré (1996), computational estimation of expected times to the most recent common ancestor of samples of n genes under recombination and selection in two-locus, two-allele haploid and diploid models are presented. Such times are conditional on sample configuration. Monte Carlo simulations show that ‘hitch-hiking’ is a subtle effect that alters the conditional expected depth of the genealogy at the linked neutral locus depending on a mutation-selection-recombination balance. Received: 21 July 2000 / Published online: 5 December 2000     

Special Issue on‘‘Metagenomics of Marine Environments’’

<正>We are pleased to announce a special issue on‘‘Metagenomics of Marine Environments’’of the journal Genomics,ProteomicsBioinformatics(GPB),aiming to provide a platform for high-quality papers focusing on the topic and we invite submissions for this special issue(to be published in the fall of 2015).With most microbes being difficult or impossible to culture     

Making sense of ‘mixture’: states and the classification of ‘mixed’ people

Caribbean diaspora intellectuals have contributed significantly to African-American political struggles over the years, despite arguments by some African-American intellectuals about what they discern as West Indian negativism, extremism, and divisiveness in American political life. This essay examines the legacy of a representative sample of diasporic Caribbean intellectuals since the time of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and culminating in the 1970s, notably, Garvey, members of the African Blood Brotherhood [ABB], C.L.R. James, and Walter Rodney, to demonstrate the phenomenal ideological vision, organizational capability, and political activism they have brought into fostering solidarity with African Americans in the struggle for fundamental change. The focus here is on their respective contributions to the debate on the relationship between class and race in America and the black diaspora generally, which has helped to shape the form, and orient the direction of African-American and Caribbean diasporic struggles for the better part of the twentieth century.     

Structural and Narrative Reconstruction of Rural Residents’ Representations of ‘Nature’, ‘Wildlife’, and ‘Landscape’

The objective of this paper is the structural and narrative reconstruction of representations of ‘nature’, ‘wildlife’ and ‘landscape’, held by rural residents of the Dadia Forest Reserve. Data collection involved in-depth interviews. Employing a social representations’ approach, we recovered representational elements that are expected in the case of rural belief systems, such as negative dispositions towards wolves and foxes, as well as elements of an urban adherence, such as nature’s independence. Representational elements refer to visual aspects of the countryside, which seem compatible with the figurative nucleus of the rural idyll. Concerning ‘wildlife’, residents focused on vultures, which comprise the main tourist attraction of the reserve. Scientific knowledge adds to the complexity of the narrative schema, which corresponds to the representation of ‘wildlife’. Interviewees perceived the rural landscape as an interface between the natural and the human-conditioned environment. Our study shows that interviewees make no reference to environmental conservation or quality of life issues, as it could be expected according to relatively wide definitions of the term ‘environmentalism’. Environmental messages reinforced by ecotourism development seem to be recalled primarily in terms of their compatibility with the perceived economic benefit of local people. Despite ecotourism development, representational elements that diverge from a tourist version of ‘nature’, ‘wildlife’ and ‘landscape’ were not pronounced within rural belief-systems. Further interventions within the study area are needed, in order to address a variety of topics under the environmental conservation discourse and raise the environmental awareness of rural residents.     

Taking the ‘Error’ Out of Ruse‘s Error Theory

Michael Ruses Darwinian metaethics has come under just criticism from Peter Woolcock (1993). But with modification it remains defensible. Ruse (1986) holds that people ordinarily have a false belief that there are objective moral obligations. He argues that the evolutionary story should be taken as an error theory, i.e., as a theory which explains the belief that there are obligations as arising from non-rational causes, rather than from inference or evidential reasons. Woolcock quite rightly objects that this position entails moral nihilism. However, I argue here that people generally have justified true beliefs about which acts promote their most coherent set of moral values, and hence, by definition, about which acts are right. What the evolutionary story explains is the existence of these values, but it is not an error theory for moral beliefs. Ordinary beliefs correspond to real moral properties, though these are not objective or absolute properties independent of anyones subjective states. On its best footing, therefore, a Darwinian metaethics of the type Ruse offers is not an error theory and does not entail moral nihilism.     

The ‘curse’ of Westermarck 1

This article consists of a critical application of recent theory of nationalism to the unusual case of Mauritius. It is a poly‐ethnic and poly‐religious society whose inhabitants neither share a mythical distant past nor consider themselves culturally identical, but where nation‐building has nevertheless been moderately successful since the late 1960s. Through an examination of the processes of institutional and cultural nation‐building in the island, it is argued that the current Eurocentric view of the nation (notably as a culturally homogeneous imagined community) must be modified to fit cases like this one. Thus, the value of nationalism and nationhood as comparative concepts is questioned.     

The ‘division of labour’ model of eye evolution

The ‘division of labour’ model of eye evolution is elaborated here. We propose that the evolution of complex, multicellular animal eyes started from a single, multi-functional cell type that existed in metazoan ancestors. This ancient cell type had at least three functions: light detection via a photoreceptive organelle, light shading by means of pigment granules and steering through locomotor cilia. Located around the circumference of swimming ciliated zooplankton larvae, these ancient cells were able to mediate phototaxis in the absence of a nervous system. This precursor then diversified, by cell-type functional segregation, into sister cell types that specialized in different subfunctions, evolving into separate photoreceptor cells, shading pigment cells (SPCs) or ciliated locomotor cells. Photoreceptor sensory cells and ciliated locomotor cells remained interconnected by newly evolving axons, giving rise to an early axonal circuit. In some evolutionary lines, residual functions prevailed in the specialized cell types that mirror the ancient multi-functionality, for instance, SPCs expressing an opsin as well as possessing rhabdomer-like microvilli, vestigial cilia and an axon. Functional segregation of cell types in eye evolution also explains the emergence of more elaborate photosensory–motor axonal circuits, with interneurons relaying the visual information.     

Poetic transformations of yolmo ‘sadness’

One way in which Yolmo Sherpa of Helambu, Nepal, come to terms with loss is to sing of it. The paper seeks to show how one Yolmo song of sadness works to express, evoke and assuage sentiments of funerary grief. Yet to best explore the transformative poetics of the song, we must trace its semantic links to other songs and situations, and so develop a contextual understanding of the experiential contours of Yolmo sadness, the local ethos of emotional avoidance and restraint, and the sociopolitical nature of emotional distress in the Helambu valley. The findings of this analysis lead the author to argue, in contrast with recent ethnographies which treat discourses on emotions as rhetorical strategies rather than as reflections of personal or communal experience, that we need an integrative approach which focuses on the relationship between language and experience, politics and felt emotion.     

Implementation of a ‘standard’ LIMS

This article is an extract of a presentation given at the LIMS conference in the Hague June 4, 1997 [S.M. Fransen et al., Presentation given at the conference LIMS 97, June 4 1997 in the Hague.]. It describes the project steps for the LIMS project in the Danish company Novo Nordisk, with focus on vendor evaluation, validation and implementation of a ‘Standard’ LIMS software. The main project steps are described and experiences gained are discussed.     

The spectre of ‘spurious’ correlations

Summary Ecologists often standardize data through the use of ratios and indices. Such measures are employed generally to remove a size effect induced by some relatively uniteresting variable. The implications of using the resultant data in correlation and regression analyses are poorly recognized. We show that ratios and indices often provide surprising and spurious results due to their unusual properties. As a solution, we advocate the use of randomization tests to evaluate hypotheses confounded by spurious correlations. In addition, we emphasize that identifying the appropriate null correlation is of utmost importance when statistically evaluating ratios, although this issue is frequently ignored.     

Microbiology of the fermentation of ‘iru pete’ and ‘iru woro’ obtained from local producers

Summary The microorganisms responsible for the fermentation of iru, obtained from local producers, were isolated and identified. Only bacteria were involved in the fermentation; the species areMicrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Citrobacter freundii, Lactobacillus salivarius andStreptococcus pyogenes. Microbial population, temperature, pH and moisture content increased with increase in period of fermentation. A progressive in titratable acidity accompanied the fermentation.

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Resumen Se aislaron e identificaron los microorganismos responsables de la fermentación de iru obtenido de productores locales. En el proceso de fermentación unicamente estaban implicadas bacterias que se identificaron como:Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Citrobacter freundii, Lactobacillus salivarius yStreptococcus pyogenes. La población microbiana, la temperatura, el pH y el contenido en humedad se incrementaron al aumentar el periodo de fermentación. Se observó un decremento progresivo del título de acidez a lo largo de la fermentación.

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Résumé Les microorganismes responsables de la fermentation des iru obtenus de producteurs locaux ont été isolés et identifiés. Seules des bactéries sont impliquées dans la fermentation. Les espèces sontMicrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Citrobacter freundii, Lactobacillus salivarius etStreptococcus pyogenes. La population microbienne, la température, le pH et la teneur en eau agumentent avec l'augmentation du temps de fermentation. Une baisse progressive de l'acidité titrable accompagne la fermentation.

     

Improvement of in vitro propagation of apricot cultivar ‘Bebecou’

Factors affecting successful establishment in vitro, rapid proliferation and rooting of apricot cultivar ‘Bebecou’ were studied. Ethanol and NaOCl were applied in several combinations for disinfection; chilling, plant growth regulators BA, IAA and GA₃, antibiotics, different culture vessels and systems of subculture were evaluated for the optimization of shoot proliferation and the auxins NAA and IBA were assessed for root induction. The highest number of new microshoots/explant (18.7) was obtained in a culture medium supplemented with 2.2 μM BA+0.57 μM IAA after 300 h of chilling. The effect of GA₃ (11.4 μM) on shoot proliferation was positive in combination with 4.4 or 8.9 μM BA. Shoot length and productivity were highest at 2.2 μM BA+11.4 μM GA₃+0.57 μM IAA and at 2.2 μM BA+0.57 μM IAA, respectively and decreased as cytokinin concentration increased. The antibiotic ‘Na-cefotaxime’ had a minimal impact on shoot growth when used at the lowest concentration (250 mg l⁻¹). Subculture every 2 weeks in a medium supplemented with 2.2 μM BA and 0.57 μM IAA was more efficient for shoot induction than alternation of 20 days culture in a propagation medium supplemented with 2.2 μM BA and 10 days culture in an elongation medium supplemented with 1.1 μM BA and 5.71 μM IAA. The highest number of roots/shoot (8.1) was recorded at 19.6 μM IBA.     

The imagination of ‘society’ in measurements of immigrant integration

Abstract

My aim in this contribution is to clarify in which way social scientific measurements of immigrant integration operate as a form of ‘social imagination’, that is, of the routinized and professionalized visualization of social life. Through such measurements, images of ‘society’ are produced that feed into larger social imaginaries. My discussion takes as an example Dutch discourse and research on integration. Crucial to the constitution of society in the Netherlands and many other Western European countries is what I call a culturist discourse that has many similarities to racism. This discourse demarcates the boundaries of society by rendering objectively observable the non-integrated who are considered to reside ‘outside society’. The image of society thereby produced is that of a morally cleansed realm: social problems are relegated to the domain ‘outside society’, consisting of persons in need of integration.     

A texture-processing model of the ‘visual sense of number’

It has been suggested that numerosity is an elementary quality of perception, similar to colour. If so (and despite considerable investigation), its mechanism remains unknown. Here, we show that observers require on average a massive difference of approximately 40% to detect a change in the number of objects that vary irrelevantly in blur, contrast and spatial separation, and that some naive observers require even more than this. We suggest that relative numerosity is a type of texture discrimination and that a simple model computing the contrast energy at fine spatial scales in the image can perform at least as well as human observers. Like some human observers, this mechanism finds it harder to discriminate relative numerosity in two patterns with different degrees of blur, but it still outpaces the human. We propose energy discrimination as a benchmark model against which more complex models and new data can be tested.