The Culture of Poverty: An Adjustive Dimension

The "Moynihan controversy" concerning the existence of a subculture of poverty among the Negro poor has been marked by polar positions. There are those who feel that much of the "deviant behavior" of this group is actually normative and transmitted in the socialization process. Others maintain that such behavior is not normative and represents merely situational responses to extreme poverty and other forms of deprivation. The data in this paper, derived from interviews with a sample of the Negro population of Philadelphia, indicate that Negroes living in poverty hold attitudes that can be characterized as a "subculture of poverty." On the other hand, the data also suggest that such attitudes represent but one segment of the total range of attitudes and reference values held by this population, many of which are shared by the larger society. Furthermore, the evidence indicates that these attitudes serve to maintain the mental health of those living in a severely disadvantaged social situation. [deviant behavior, Negro, poverty]     

Culture of intramural cardiac ganglia of the newborn guinea-pig

The ultrastructure of cultured intrinsic neurones and SIF (small intensely fluorescent) cells dissociated from the atria and interatrial septum of newborn guinea-pig heart has been studied for the first time and compared with these cells in situ. Mononucleate and binucleate neuronal somata and their processes were observed in the culture preparation; their ultrastructure was similar to that of neurones in intracardiac ganglia observed in situ. The number of neurites associated with neuronal cell bodies increased after the first week in culture. A subpopulation of intracardiac neurones showed abnormalities in culture, comparable to the changes previously described in neurones of the monkey heart after unilateral vagotomy in situ. Small granule-containing cells were observed in culture, corresponding to those described in the heart in situ. One type of large process in the culture preparation containing densely packed mitochondria has not been seen in situ, suggesting that changes in cell ultrastructure due to the conditions of culture cannot be discounted. However, the ultrastructure of the cultured cells was, for the most part, consistent with that of the same cell type in situ, indicating that the culture preparation may be a useful model for investigation of the roles and interactions of intramural neurones in the heart, which are inaccessible for such studies in situ.     

Culture and Rights after Culture and Rights

Building on a critical, theoretical approach outlined in Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives (Cowan et al. 2001a), I posit rights processes as complex and contradictory: Both enabling and constraining, they produce new subjectivities and social relations and entail unintended consequences. To encourage interdisciplinary engagement on these themes, I explore selected texts that consider the relationship between culture and rights, addressing two literatures: (1) debates on culture, rights, and recognition in the context of multiculturalism among political philosophers and (2) an emerging literature by anthropologists, feminists, critical legal scholars, and engaged practitioners analyzing empirical cases. Although political philosophers elucidate ethical implications and clarify political projects, an outmoded arsenal of theoretical concepts of "culture,""society," and "the individual" has hampered their debates. When accounts are both theoretically informed and empirically grounded, contradictions, ambiguities, and impasses of culture and rights are more fully explored and the liberal model of rights and multiculturalism is more open to interrogation.     

The Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Culture Model for Examining Neuronal Injury

Organotypic hippocampal slice culture is an in vitro method to examine mechanisms of neuronal injury in which the basic architecture and composition of the hippocampus is relatively preserved ¹. The organotypic culture system allows for the examination of neuronal, astrocytic and microglial effects, but as an ex vivo preparation, does not address effects of blood flow, or recruitment of peripheral inflammatory cells. To that end, this culture method is frequently used to examine excitotoxic and hypoxic injury to pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, but has also been used to examine the inflammatory response. Herein we describe the methods for generating hippocampal slice cultures from postnatal rodent brain, administering toxic stimuli to induce neuronal injury, and assaying and quantifying hippocampal neuronal death.Download video file.^{(40M, mov)}     

Metamorphosis in the Culture Market of Niger

The banner of authenticity is falling in the contemporary market for non-Western culture. Taking Tuareg artisanry in Niger as a case study, I show that the neocolonial Western habit of collecting "exotic" art objects is giving way to a more collaborative proclivity toward Western objects produced in "traditional" Tuareg style. While Tuareg artisans—adjusting to social and cultural upheavals attending the urbanization of their practice and the recent Tuareg separatist rebellion—are producing such hybrid "modern" objects, some Tuareg nobles, impoverished by those same changes, have begun painting representational images of a more "authentic" Tuareg culture. The nature of the competition between Tuareg artisans and nobles, as well as the complex cross-identification between Tuaregs and their Western expatriate customers, illuminate a general perplexity about modernity in the contemporary Third World and indicate a transformation in the terms of its encounter with the West. [Tuaregs, art and artisanry, authenticity, expatriates, and modernity and tradition]     

The teaching house officer

Although medical students on clinical ward rotations receive a large part of their education from house officers, very often house officers themselves have had little formal preparation as teachers. Because students and teachers work closely together under special conditions, unique educational situations are created where much more than factual information is conveyed. Although some house officers are "natural" teachers, others find such activities uncomfortable or burdensome. Most people, however, can be taught to be effective teachers, and preparation for teaching and teaching itself are beneficial for house officers and their patients as well as their students. House officers who teach enjoy the rewards that all teachers know as well as several others which are particular to the setting in which they teach. Mechanisms are suggested to maintain and develop interest in house staff teaching.     

Optimizing Mycobacterial Culture in Smear-Negative,Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Tuberculosis Cases

Introduction

Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant public health problem and the diagnosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—infected individuals is challenging. The use of mycobacterial culture remains an important complementary tool and optimizing it has important benefits. We sought to determine the effect of an increase in the number of specimens evaluated, addition of nutritional supplementation to the culture medium, sputum appearance and volume on diagnostic yield and time to detection of pulmonary TB among smear-negative, HIV-infected adults.

Methods

In this prospective study conducted at the Tshwane District Hospital and Academic TB Laboratory, Pretoria, South Africa we collected three sputum specimens an hour apart from presumptive TB cases at an antiretroviral treatment site. We analysed specimens from 236 patients. Specimen appearance and volume were recorded. All specimens were processed for culture using both standard and supplemented media.

Results

A single specimen identified 79% of PTB cases using standard media; the second and third specimens added 12.5% and 8.3% respectively. Media supplementation, sputum appearance and specimen volume had no effect on culture yield or contamination rates. The mean time to detection was reduced from 19.8 days in standard cultures to 11.8 days in nutrient supplemented cultures (p = 0.002). For every 1 ml increase in sputum volume, time to detection was decreased by a factor of 0.797 (p = 0.011).

Conclusion

Use of an inexpensive culture supplement substantially reduced time to detection and could contribute to reducing treatment delay among HIV-infected cases.     

Culture conditions of Aspergillus oryzae for production of enzyme preparation

Submerged culture was better than solid culture in the production of proteinase and peptidases from Aspergillus oryzae 460. On the contrary, solid culture was better than submerged culture in the production of α-amylase, carboxymethyl cellulase, and pectinlyase from the same fungus.The soy souce mash (moromi) made with the enzyme preparation from submerged culture was highly viscous and the soy sauce produced was characteristic in low contents of alcohol and reducing sugar, low pH value, and less aroma. Soy sauce made with the enzyme preparation from solid culture was superior on these points to that from submerged culture.Wheat bran was best as the raw material for the enzyme preparation in easy koji making, large amount produced, and low cost.In enzyme production from a solid culture, addition of urea (0.8% to wheat bran) nearly doubled the leucine aminopeptidase for Leu-Gly-Gly. The incubation period was reduced to 30 to 40 h from 50 to 60 h using germinated spores and moisture-controlled culture with forced aeration.     

Race and the Culture of Anthropology

The number of panels on "multiculturalism" and "cultural studies" at the AAA's annual meetings has increased significantly. Many anthropologists believe that the discipline has been in the vanguard of debates on racism and multiculturalism, that it stands for precisely those issues raised in the "culture wars": the equal valuation of all cultures. Yet this is not the case.
Multiculturalism and cultural studies have emerged as counterdisciplinary formations which radically foreground race and racial identity precisely because anthropology cannot do so.     

Method for Culture of Early Chick Embryos ex vivo (New Culture)

The chick embryo is a valuable tool in the study of early embryonic development. Its transparency, accessibility and ease of manipulation, make it an ideal tool for studying the formation and patterning of brain, neural tube, somite and heart primordia. Applications of chick embryo culture include electroporation of DNA or RNA constructs in order to analyze gene function, grafts of growth factor coated beads such as FGFs and BMPs , as well as whole mount in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. This video demonstrates the different steps in chick embryo culture; First, the embryo is explanted in saline. Then, the embryo is centered on a glass ring. The membranes surrounding the embryo are lifted along the walls of the ring. The ring is then placed in a culture dish containing a pool of albumine. The culture dish is sealed and placed in a humid chamber, where the embryo is cultured for up to 24 hrs. Finally, the embryo is removed from the ring, fixed and processed for further applications. A troubleshooting guide is also presented.Download video file.^{(101M, mp4)}     

Alginate Hydrogels for Three-Dimensional Organ Culture of Ovaries and Oviducts

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women and has a 63% mortality rate in the United States¹. The cell type of origin for ovarian cancers is still in question and might be either the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) or the distal epithelium of the fallopian tube fimbriae^2,3. Culturing the normal cells as a primary culture in vitro will enable scientists to model specific changes that might lead to ovarian cancer in the distinct epithelium, thereby definitively determining the cell type of origin. This will allow development of more accurate biomarkers, animal models with tissue-specific gene changes, and better prevention strategies targeted to this disease.Maintaining normal cells in alginate hydrogels promotes short term in vitro culture of cells in their three-dimensional context and permits introduction of plasmid DNA, siRNA, and small molecules. By culturing organs in pieces that are derived from strategic cuts using a scalpel, several cultures from a single organ can be generated, increasing the number of experiments from a single animal. These cuts model aspects of ovulation leading to proliferation of the OSE, which is associated with ovarian cancer formation. Cell types such as the OSE that do not grow well on plastic surfaces can be cultured using this method and facilitate investigation into normal cellular processes or the earliest events in cancer formation⁴.Alginate hydrogels can be used to support the growth of many types of tissues⁵. Alginate is a linear polysaccharide composed of repeating units of β-D-mannuronic acid and α-L-guluronic acid that can be crosslinked with calcium ions, resulting in a gentle gelling action that does not damage tissues^6,7. Like other three-dimensional cell culture matrices such as Matrigel, alginate provides mechanical support for tissues; however, proteins are not reactive with the alginate matrix, and therefore alginate functions as a synthetic extracellular matrix that does not initiate cell signaling⁵. The alginate hydrogel floats in standard cell culture medium and supports the architecture of the tissue growth in vitro.A method is presented for the preparation, separation, and embedding of ovarian and oviductal organ pieces into alginate hydrogels, which can be maintained in culture for up to two weeks. The enzymatic release of cells for analysis of proteins and RNA samples from the organ culture is also described. Finally, the growth of primary cell types is possible without genetic immortalization from mice and permits investigators to use knockout and transgenic mice.Download video file.^{(42M, mov)}     

The Making of the Maori: Culture Invention and Its Logic

"Traditional culture" is increasingly recognized to be more an invention constructed for contemporary purposes than a stable heritage handed on from the past. Anthropologists often participate in the creative process. Two distinct inventions of New Zealand Maori culture are analyzed, together with the role of anthropologists in each of them. The conclusion explores the logic of culture invention and some of its implications for the practice of anthropology.     

Culture of intramural cardiac ganglia of the newborn guinea-pig

Summary The present study describes the ultrastructure of non-neuronal cells and their interrelationships with intracardiac neurones present in cultures dissociated atria and interatrial septum from newborn guinea-pig. When compared with the in situ preparation, most of these features in culture were similar to those observed in situ, but some differences were also apparent. Both mature and immature Schwann cells were observed in culture, and as in situ, the latter were closely associated with intracardiac neurones, whilst the former were more widely separated. The ultrastructure of satellite cells was more variable in culture than in situ: three general types were distinguished on the basis of their 10-nm filament content. This variation could be due to conditions of culture. Interstitial cells were present in culture and closely resembled those described in situ, although there was less space between cultured interstitial cells and their associated cells. Many fibroblasts, some myoblasts and a few mast cells were also found in the culture preparations.     

Distributive Models of Culture: A Sapirian Alternative to Essentialism

The Boasian conception of culture has been roundly criticized in recent years for its essentialist, or even racist, implications. Yet an alternative model that avoids these implications was proposed in the 1930s by Boas student Edward Sapir. Having long survived on the margins of anthropological theory, Sapir's "distributive" concept of culture is now entering the theoretical mainstream through recent developments in both psychological and "postmodernist" anthropology.
By emphasizing the full range of variation within any so-called culture, anthropologists have begun to apply the same style of population thinking that helped launch the Darwinian revolution in biology.     

Preservice elementary teachers’ willingness to specialize in science and views on evolution

Background

Acceptance and understanding of evolutionary ideas remains low in the United States despite renewed science education standards, nearly unanimous acceptance among scientists, and decades of research on the teaching and learning of evolution. Early exposure to evolutionary concepts may be one way to reduce resistance to learning and accepting evolution. While there is emerging evidence that elementary students can learn and retain evolutionary ideas, there is also emerging evidence that elementary teachers may be unprepared to teach evolution. It may not be possible to train elementary teachers like their secondary counterparts who receive specialized training in science. This exploratory study was designed to determine if the 147 surveyed preservice elementary teachers (PETs) who are most willing to specialize in science maintain a greater understanding and acceptance of evolution. Such a relationship could have implications for teacher training and science instruction at elementary schools.

Results

As willingness to specialize in science increases so too does acceptance of evolution. For both measures, there was a monotonic increase with increasing willingness to specialize in science. There was a significant correlation (p?=?.047) between willingness to specialize in science and acceptance of evolution as measured by the MATE. There was not a significant correlation between willingness to specialize in science and understanding of evolution as measured by the CINS (p?=?.21). The thirty-two PETs who are enthusiastically willing to specialize in science had the highest understanding and acceptance of evolution.

Conclusions

It may be possible to identify prospective elementary teachers that could assume roles as specialists simply by identifying PETs’ willingness to specialize. Such students appear to enter elementary teacher preparation programs with the science background and enthusiasm for science required to be specialists without the need for much additional training. Thus, science teacher educators could help local elementary school principals identify graduating, and recently graduated, elementary teachers who are willing to specialize in science. Identified teachers could serve as specialists to work with their building and district colleagues to develop, among other topics, evolution related curricular materials and facilitate the implementation of those materials through co-teaching and peer coaching.

     

Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: A Political Perspective on Culture and Terrorism

The link between Islam and terrorism became a central media concern following September 11, resulting in new rounds of "culture talk. This talk has turned religious experience into a political category, differentiating 'good Muslims" from "bad Muslims, rather than terrorists from civilians. The implication is undisguised: Whether in Afghanistan, Palestine, or Pakistan, Islam must be quarantined and the devil must be exorcized from it by a civil war between good Muslims and bad Muslims. This article suggests that we lift the quarantine and turn the cultural theory of politics on its head. Beyond the simple but radical suggestion that if there are good Muslims and bad Muslims, there must also be good Westerners and bad Westerners, I question the very tendency to read Islamist politics as an effect of Islamic civilization—whether good or bad—and Western power as an effect of Western civilization. Both those politics and that power are born of an encounter, and neither can be understood outside of the history of that encounter. Cultural explanations of political outcomes tend to avoid history and issues. Thinking of individuals from "traditional" cultures in authentic and original terms, culture talk dehistoricizes the construction of political identities. This article places the terror of September 11 in a historical and political context. Rather than a residue of a premodern culture in modern politics, terrorism is best understood as a modern construction. Even when it harnesses one or another aspect of tradition and culture, the result is a modern ensemble at the service of a modern project. [Keywords: Muslims, culture talk, Islamist politics, political identities, terrorism]     

Defining the True Sensitivity of Culture for the Diagnosis of Melioidosis Using Bayesian Latent Class Models

Background

Culture remains the diagnostic gold standard for many bacterial infections, and the method against which other tests are often evaluated. Specificity of culture is 100% if the pathogenic organism is not found in healthy subjects, but the sensitivity of culture is more difficult to determine and may be low. Here, we apply Bayesian latent class models (LCMs) to data from patients with a single Gram-negative bacterial infection and define the true sensitivity of culture together with the impact of misclassification by culture on the reported accuracy of alternative diagnostic tests.

Methods/Principal Findings

Data from published studies describing the application of five diagnostic tests (culture and four serological tests) to a patient cohort with suspected melioidosis were re-analysed using several Bayesian LCMs. Sensitivities, specificities, and positive and negative predictive values (PPVs and NPVs) were calculated. Of 320 patients with suspected melioidosis, 119 (37%) had culture confirmed melioidosis. Using the final model (Bayesian LCM with conditional dependence between serological tests), the sensitivity of culture was estimated to be 60.2%. Prediction accuracy of the final model was assessed using a classification tool to grade patients according to the likelihood of melioidosis, which indicated that an estimated disease prevalence of 61.6% was credible. Estimates of sensitivities, specificities, PPVs and NPVs of four serological tests were significantly different from previously published values in which culture was used as the gold standard.

Conclusions/Significance

Culture has low sensitivity and low NPV for the diagnosis of melioidosis and is an imperfect gold standard against which to evaluate alternative tests. Models should be used to support the evaluation of diagnostic tests with an imperfect gold standard. It is likely that the poor sensitivity/specificity of culture is not specific for melioidosis, but rather a generic problem for many bacterial and fungal infections.     

Sociobiology and Creationism: Two Ethnosociologies of American Culture

One of the most important motifs in mythology is the animal-human distinction. The relationship between humans and nonhuman animals is also a major concern of both human sociobiology and "scientific" creationism. In this paper, we suggest that sociobiology and creationism function as ethnosociologies of American society and that neither can be completely understood until they are related to each other and to the key symbols of American culture. We argue that sociobiology and creationism are comments on the secular world view of American culture and exist as transformations of one another.