Film Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Daughters of the Nile . 1982. 46 minutes, color. A film by Joop van Wijk and Hillie Molenaar .
Hidden Faces: A Look at the Lives of Egyptian Women . 1990. 52 minutes, color. A film by Claire Hunt and Kim Longinotto .
Marriage Egyptian Style . 1991. 50 minutes, color. A film by Joanna Head .
Permissible Dreams . 1983. 32 minutes, color. A film by Atiat El Abnoudi .     

American Social Insects. A Book about Bees, Ants, Wasps, and Termites. Charles D. Michener and Mary H. Michener

Beiträge zur Gesellungs und Völkerwissenschaft . Prof. Dr. Richard Thurnwald zu seinem achtzigsten Geburtstag gewidmet.
Chippewa Child Life and Its Cultural Background . Sister M. Inez Hilger.
The Wolf Ritual of the Northwest Coast . Alice Henson Ernst.
The Sandpaintings of the Kayenta Navaho , Leland C.
Three Navaho Households: A Comparative Study of Small Group Culture . John M. Roberts.
Falasha Anthology , translated from Ethiopic Sources with an Introduction. Wolf Leslau.
Marriage and the Family in Caucasia . Louis J. Luzbetak, S.V.D.
The Persian Language . Reuben Levy.
Race-Relations in Ancient Egypt: Greek, Egyptian, Hebrew, Roman . S. Davis.
Paleontology and Modern Biology . D. M. S. Watson.     

BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTES

Australian Aboriginal Social Organization . David H. Turner.
The Affinal Relationship System: A New Approach to Kinship and Marriage among the Australian Aborigines at Port Keats . Aslaug and Johannes Falkenberg.     

Book Notes

Science in Alaska: Selected Papers of the Alaskan Science Conference of the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council. Edited by Henry B. Collins.
The Indians of California in 1852. John Walton Caughey
Tupari; Unter Indios im Urwald Brasiliens. Franz Caspar.
Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers. Richard M. Dorson.
La Familia Rural Haitiana. Remy Bastien.
Beilräge zur Völkerkunde Nordamerikas. Robert H. Lowie.
A Arte dos Indios Kadiuéu. Darcy Ribeiro.
Earliest Evidence of Banana Culture. Philip K. Reynolds.
Ancient South-east Asian Warfare. H. G. Quaritch Wales.
History of the Luapula. Ian Cunnison.
Marriage in a Changing Society. J. A. Barnes.
Recueil de Textes Falachas. A. Z. Aešcolv.
Time's Arrow and Evolution. Harold F. Blum.
The Idea of Conflict. Kurt Singer.
An Autobiographical Study. Sigmund Freud. Authorized Translation by James Strachey.
'Twixt the Cup and the Lip. Margaret Cussler and Mary L. De Give.     

Intimate Politics: Marriage, the Market, and State Power in Southeastern China

Intimate Politics: Marriage, the Market, and State Power in Southeastern China . Sara L. Friedman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006. 344 pp.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Kultur und Siedlung der Randvölker Chinas. Wolfram Eberhard.
Lokalkulturen im alien China. Erster Teil. Wolfram Eberhard.     

Work and Social Transformation Today

Remaking the Economic Institutions of Socialism: China and Eastern Europe . Victor Nee and David Stark
Kilowatts and Crisis: Hydroelectric Power and Social Dislocation in Eastern Panama . Alaka Wali.
From Tank Town to High Tech: The Clash of Community and Industrial Cycles . June C. Nash.
Team Entrepreneurship . Alex Stewart.     

Biogeographical patterns of Chinese spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) based on a parsimony analysis of endemicity

Aim  The distributions of Chinese spiders are used to form biotic regions and to infer biogeographical patterns.
Location  China.
Methods  China was initially divided into 294 quadrats of 2° latitude by 2° longitude. The distributions of 958 species of spiders were summarized for each quadrat. Subsequently, these quadrats were pooled into 28 areas based on topographical characteristics and to a lesser extent on the distributions of spiders. Parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) was used to classify the 28 areas based on the shared distributional patterns of spiders.
Results  China was found to have seven major biogeographical regions based on the distributional patterns of spiders: Western Northern region (clade B₂: Tibetan Plateau and Inner Mongolia-Xinjiang subregions), Central Northern region (clade B₃), Eastern Northern region (clade B₄), Central region (clade C₂), Eastern Southern region (clade C₃), Western Southern region (clade C₄), and Central Southern region (clade C₅).
Main conclusions  The distributional patterns of Chinese spiders correspond broadly to geological provinces. A comparison of the geological provinces and the distributional patterns of spiders reveals that the spiders occur south of the geological provinces. Furthermore, a general biogeographical classification with five natural areas is suggested as follows: Tibetan Plateau, Central Northern, Eastern Northern, Western Northern (excluding Tibetan Plateau), and Southern regions.     

Some Biological Problems comected with the Himalaya

(1) The Himalaya underwent a period of uplift from sea-level commencing in Eocene times and reached their present approximate elevation in Pliocene times. The Quaternary Glacial Period caused intense cold on the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, but precipitation was insufficient to form an extensive ice-cap.
(2) Modern distribution in the Himalaya and Indian Peninsula were not much influenced by the Quaternary Glacial Period.
(3) Discontinuous distribution is evidence of previous continuous distribution, intervening extermination being brought about by some form of competition.
(4) The afforested area of the Himalaya from Kashmir to Bhutan, and up to timber-line, is a sub-region of the Oriental Region and not of the Palæarctic Region. It was colonised almost entirely from the east or the hills of western China.
(5) The Tibetan Plateau is definitely a sub-region of the Palmirctic Region, and was probably colonised from the north.
(6) The Kashmir sub-region is probably more correctly placed in the Palæarctic than the Oriental Region, and appears to have been colonised from the north or north-west.
(7) A Transition Zone above timber-line forms a true contact zone between the Palæarctic and Oriental Regions along the Himalayan Divide from Kashmir to Bhutan and beyond.     

China's Century: Fast Forward with Historical Baggage

Private Life under Socialism: Love, Intimacy, and Family Change in. Chinese Village 1949–1999 . Yan Yunxiang. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003. 289 pp.
Only Hope: Coming of Age under China's One-Child Policy . Vanessa Fong. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 242 pp.
On the Move: Women in Rural-to-Urban Migration in Contemporary China . Arianne M. Gaetano and Tamara Jacka, eds. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. 355 pp.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
METHODS AND PRINCIPLES: Kin, Kinship .
METHODS AND PRINCIPLES: Marriage, Introductory and Primitive.     

Evidence of autumn overseas migration in the rice planthoppers, Nilaparvata lugens and Sogatella furcifera: analysis of light trap catches and associated weather patterns

ABSTRACT. 1. Daily trap catches of the rice planthoppers, N.lugens Stal and S.furcifera Horvath, and associated synoptic weather patterns were analysed in Kyushu, south-west Japan, in the autumns of 1980–85.
2. Certain weather patterns which seemed to favour overseas immigration, were reflected in trap catches: of eighteen occasions in which back-tracks on 850 mbar wind fields reached central China, marked mass catches in a light trap occurred on six occasions, and peaks in catch curves were found on another seven occasions.
3. These results strongly imply overseas immigration of the planthoppers from China to Kyushu in autumn, identical to invasions by the same species in early summer. However, such autumn migration is apparently non-adaptive because migrants or their progeny are soon killed by cold weather.     

Characterization of rpoB mutations associated with rifampin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis from eastern China

Aims:  The aim of this study was to investigate the features of rpoB gene mutations associated with Rifampin (RIF) resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( M. tuberculosis ) in eastern China.
Methods and Results:  The mutations of rpoB gene in 56 clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis resisted to one to four first-line drugs (rifampin, isonicotinyl hydrazide, ethambutol and streptomycin) were analysed by polymerase chain reaction single strand conformation polymorphism analysis (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing. The results of PCR-SSCP showed 52 isolates were positive (existing rpoB mutation) including 47 isolates resisted to RIF. Subsequent results of DNA sequencing showed that 54 isolates had rpoB gene mutation including 49 isolates resisted to RIF. The most frequently mutated sites were at codons 526 (73·2%), 513 (10·7%) and 531 (3·5%).
Conclusions:  The rpoB codon 526 was the most frequently mutated site of RIF-resistant M. tuberculosis strains in eastern China and its frequency is significantly higher ( P  < 0·0001) compared with that in other areas of China and in other geographic regions worldwide.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  Our results reveal that geographic variation is responsible for rpoB mutations in M. tuberculosis and the resulting information will be helpful to improve a novel rapid molecular drug resistance screening approach for MDR TB.     

Evaluation of ISO enrichment real-time PCR methods with internal amplification control for detection of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica in fresh fruit and vegetables

Aim:  To find a quick and reliable diagnostic technique for penicillin nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PNSSP) from Nanjing, China.
Methods and Results:  A total of 130 S. pneumoniae clinical isolates and 50 healthy carriers' isolates were collected from seven teaching hospitals in Nanjing between March 2005 and June 2007. Three different methods, PCR, seminested-PCR, and PCR-RFLP, were applied in detecting PNSSP. The prevalence of PNSSP was 73·9%, the penicillin-resistance rate of children's group and adults' group were 87·8% and 31·2%, respectively. The PCR method had difficulty in identifying intermediate-resistant and resistant isolates, the PCR-RFLP method could only be used for susceptible isolates and had poor sensitivity. Seminested-PCR was fast, sensitive for detection, and successfully differentiated between moderately and highly resistant S. pnemoniae ; 96·1% of the PCR results were in agreement with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) data.
Conclusions:  The penicillin resistance rate in isolates from children was much higher than of isolates from adults in China. Seminested-PCR for pbp1A was the best diagnostic method.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  We compared three different strategies for the first time in identification of PNSSP in China. In conclusion, seminested-PCR can be applied in clinical microbiology laboratories for detection of serious infections caused by S. pneumoniae .     

Between Marriage and the Market: Intimate Politics and Survival in Cairo

Between Marriage and the Market: Intimate Politics and Survival in Cairo. Homa Hoodfar. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. 302 pp.     

Investigation of bacteria with polyketide synthase genes and antimicrobial activity isolated from South China Sea sponges

Aims:  To obtain bacteria with PKS (polyketide synthase) genes and antimicrobial activity from sponges.
Methods and Results:  Eighteen bacteria with KS (ketosynthase) genes were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening of 98 isolates from South China Sea sponges, Stelletta tenuis , Halichondria rugosa , Dysidea avara and Craniella australiensis . 16S rRNA gene-based B last analysis indicated that 15 isolates belonged to the phylum Firmicutes , among which 14 isolates were closely related to genus Bacillus , and 1 to Staphylococcus lentus . Two isolates were identified as actinomycetes, and one as Alcaligenes sp. in the phylum Proteobacteria . The 18 KS domains belong to trans-AT type I PKS and match PKS of marine bacterial symbionts. The 18 bacteria exhibited broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities against fungi, gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A 21·8-kb PKS gene cluster fragment containing five modules was isolated from the Staphylococcus lentus isolate A75 by screening of a fosmid library.
Conclusions:  The PKS gene diversity and different antimicrobial spectra indicate the potential of bacteria associated with South China Sea sponges for diverse polyketide production.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  Combined with bioactivity assay the PKS gene-based approach can be applied to efficient screening of strains of pharmaceutical value and the prediction of related compounds.     

Nocturnal migration of dragonflies over the Bohai Sea in northern China

Abstract.  1. A sudden increase and subsequent sharp decrease of catches of dragonflies in a searchlight trap, with Pantala flavescens Fabricius (Odonata: Libellulidae) predominating, observed at Beihuang Island in the centre of the Bohai Gulf, in 2003 and 2004, indicated a seasonal migration of these insects over the sea during the night in China. The movements were associated with the onset of fog.
2. Simultaneous radar observations indicated that the nocturnally migrating dragonflies generally flew at altitudes of up to 1000 m above sea level, with high density concentrations at about 200–300 or 500 m; these concentrations were coincident with the temperature inversion.
3. During early summer, the dragonflies oriented in a downwind direction, so that the displacement direction varied between different altitudes. In contrast, during late summer, the dragonflies were able to compensate for wind drift, even headwind drift, so as to orient south-westward no matter how the wind changed, and thus the displacement direction was towards the south-west.
4. The duration of flight, estimated from the variation of area density derived from radar data and hourly catches in the searchlight trap through the night, was about 9–10 h. The displacement speed detected using radar was ≈5–11 m s⁻¹. Therefore, the dragonflies might migrate 150–400 km in a single flight.
5. The dragonflies were thought to originate in Jiangsu province and they migrated into north-east China to exploit the temporary environment of paddy fields in early summer. Their offspring probably migrated back south during late summer and autumn.     

The Unwavering Eye: David McKnight's Ethnographic‐Historical Legacy

Book reviewed in this article: David McKnight . Going the Whiteman's Way: Kinship and Marriage among Australian Aborigines.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
A Natural History of Australia by Tim. M. Berra
Nature in Ireland. A scientific and cultural history , edited by John Wilson Foster
A Botanical Pioneer in South West China , by H. Handel-Mazzetti. Translated by Winstanley, D.     

In the Shadow of Marriage: Gender and Justice in an African Community

In the Shadow of Marriage: Gender and Justice in an African Community. Anne M. O. Griffiths. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.328 pp.