A Case of Historical Mythology: The Skidi Pawnee Morning Star Sacrifice of 1833

Abstract

Repetition as a substitute for analysis has often resulted in the perpetuation of error. Here the literature of one such myth is traced, and the myth (that there was an attempted Morning Star Sacrifice in 1833) exposed.     

Joe Blackbear’S Story of the Origin Of the Peyote Religion*

Abstract

A folk explanation of certain aspects of peyote ritual and paraphanalia is offered in terms of an origin myth.

There is a story from long ago about the origin of peyote. It goes back to the time the Indians were fighting each other. On the other side of New Mexico, a group of Indians were camped and they were attacked by other bands. The mountains therewereveryhigh. The tribe that was attacked got scattered, There was just one woman and her boy left.     

Whatever Happened to the Id?

There has been a strong tendency in structural and symbolic anthropology to assume that sex and aggression are of no concern to cultural symbol systems. Even when cultural beliefs, myths, or rituals are explicitly and preponderantly sexual or aggressive in content, they are typically interpreted as metaphors for social structural themes. This thesis is illustrated with respect to aggression by an analysis of Lévi-Strauss' interpretation of a Bororo myth, after which the assumptions that structural theory makes concerning the place of aggression in cultural symbol systems are contrasted with the opposing assumptions of psychoanalytic theory. [structuralism, psychoanalysis, cultural symbol systems, myth]     

“The Skunk and the Smallpox:” Mythology and Historical Reality

Abstract

Rare is the myth which provides an understanding of the historic circumstances which brought about its creation, but a narrative collected among the Wyandot Indians of Oklahoma does lend itself to historical analysis. The myth is both etiological and medicinal in its relation of the cause and cure for smallpox. Unique features of the myth’s content relative to cause and cure can be logically and historically related to the Wyandot situation in the second decade of the 19thcentury-in’ close proximity to the white settlement at Sandusky, Ohio. Sandusky Wyandots not only observed white treatment of smallpox, but heard tales told of white exploits in the Great Northwest Trading Company. It is contended here that the Wyandots selected as the etiology of smallpox the explanation offered by whites as a result of experiences of traders on the Columbia river; and that they selected as a cure for smallpox a form based on observation of white treatment at Sandusky. The myth, therefore, had its origin about 1815, when the Wyandot were at Sandusky, Ohio.     

Structure and Process in the Interpretation of South American Myth: The Arawak Dog Spirit People

Recent work on oral narrative has emphasized differences in textual and performative approaches, which in turn has tended to widen the distinction between two fundamental categories of anthropological thought: structure and process. This paper argues that, at least for the interpretation of South American myth, an integrated approach is essential. After reviewing the epistemological basis of current problems in myth studies, the paper attempts a structural analysis of myths with the theme of a metamorphic conjugal union between human and nonhuman. Processual considerations are introduced in the form of syncretic myth, and the argument is advanced that there exist syncretic transformations of a structural nature. Identifying these provides the beginnings of a bridge between structure and process, and leads to an examination of the performative context of the subject myth. Other narrative genres, dealing with explicitly ethnic concepts, are implicated in the processual sequence of the telling and interpretation of the tale. The attempted synthesis of structure and process in narrative analysis leads to an engagement with two difficult problems: the relationship between ethnicity and kinship; and the transition from myth to history. [myth, structure, process, ethnicity, kinship]     

Eggshell Library for Clowns

Abstract

Howard Gardner The Disciplined Mind: What All Students Should Understand New York: Simon &; Schuster, 1999. 287 pp. $25.00 hardback.     

Lévi-Strauss on the Oedipus Myth: A Reconsideration

The first half of the article presents a critique of Lévi-Strauss' well-known analysis of the Oedipus myth. A consideration of Greek beliefs suggests that Lévi-Strauss is incorrect in tying certain events in that myth to the "overvaluation of blood relations" and in asserting that the myth is concerned with the "affirmation/denial of man's autochthonous origins." The second half of the article presents a different structural analysis of the entire Theban Saga, of which the Oedipus myth is but a part. It concludes (1) that Lévi-Strauss is correct in identifying a series of events in the myth which indicate the devaluation of blood relations, but that these events specifically refer to the devaluation of patrilineal kin ties and that the range of events indicating the devaluation of patrilineal ties is broader than his analysis would suggest, and (2) there is another series of repeated events (unmentioned by Lévi-Strauss) which indicates the affirmation of patrilineal kin ties. The final hypothesis— that the opposition between the devaluation/affirmation of patrilineal kin ties underlies the Theban Saga— "makes sense" in terms of Greek history, as the period in which the Olympian myths look their present form is also the period in which the Greeks moved from a society organized along patrilineal kin ties to one organized around allegiance to the polis. [structuralism, Oedipus myth, myth and social structure, Lévi-Strauss, anthropological theory]     

Influence of the Length of the Phosphate Chain in mRNA 5′ Cap Analogues on Their Interaction with Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4E

Abstract

The recognition of the 5′mRNA cap structure m⁷G(5′)ppp(5′)N by one of the components of the initiation translation machinery, the eIF4E factor, plays a pivotal role in regulation of the protein synthesis. In the present study we have shown two opposing roles of the cap phosphate chain in the specific eIF4E-cap interaction. The extension of the phosphate chain enhances the binding of the cap to the unphosphorylated eIF4E but destabilises the eIF4E-cap complex in case of the phosphorylated protein.     

A Possible Origin for the Cheyenne Sacred Arrow Complex

Abstract

This paper examines known origin myths and describes how the four Sacred Arrows were utilized by the Cheyenne in time of hunger and battle. By combining the existing folklore with an examination of Cheyenne prehistory, a more precise time and geographical point of origin of the whole Cheyenne Sacred Arrow “complex” is developed.     

Concept of “Binary Oligonucleotide Reagent”

Abstract

A new strategy for site-directed chemical modification of NA is described. NA-target-driven autoligation reaction between two oligonucleotide derivatives with N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-(p-formylphenyl)-N-propyl-N-3 -ydeneamino and 4-carbohydrazidephenyl groups at their opposing termini results in the NA-target modification, which is several times more effective than modification by one of the derivatives.     

Diffusion-Collision Model for the Folding Kinetics of the λ-Repressor Operator-Binding Domain

Abstract

The operator-binding domain of the λ-repressor contains five α-helices and an extended N-terminal arm in the crystal structure determined by Pabo and Lewis reported in Nature 298, 443,1982 (1). The four helices form a “box” enclosing a hydrophobic core, with the fifth helix interacting with the equivalent helix in a dimer. With a small number of well-defined secondary structure elements (microdomains), the repressor is well suited for an analysis of its folding pathways and kinetics by use of the diffusion-collision model. In this paper, the basic elements of the model appropriate to a several microdomain protein are formulated and applied to a set of folding pathways consistent with the crystal structure of the operator- binding domain. The overall kinetics, as well as the time-dependence of intermediate states are determined as a function of the microdomain stability parameter.     

Nest and foraging‐site selection in Yellowhammers Emberiza citrinella: implications for chick provisioning

Capsule Vegetation structure and invertebrate abundance interact to influence both foraging sites and nestling provisioning rate; when invertebrate availability is low, adults may take greater risks to provide food for their young.

Aims To investigate nesting and foraging ecology in a declining farmland bird whose fledging success is influenced by the availability of invertebrate prey suitable for feeding to offspring, and where perceived predation risk during foraging can be mediated by vegetation structure.

Methods Provisioning rates of adult Yellowhammers feeding nestlings were measured at nests on arable farmland. Foraging sites were compared with control sites of both the same and different microhabitats; provisioning rate was related to habitat features of foraging‐sites.

Results Foraging sites had low vegetation density, probably enhancing detection of predators, or high invertebrate abundance at high vegetation density. Parental provisioning rate decreased with increasing vegetation cover at foraging sites with high invertebrate abundance; conversely, where invertebrate abundance was low, provisioning rate increased with increasing vegetation cover.

Conclusions Vegetation structure at foraging sites suggests that a trade‐off between predator detection and prey availability influences foraging site selection in Yellowhammers. Associations between parental provisioning rate and vegetation variables suggest that where invertebrate abundance is high birds increase time spent scanning for predators at higher vegetation densities; however, when prey are scarce, adults may take more risks to provide food for their young.     

Autoligation of Oligonucleotides via Nucleophilic Substitution Reaction

Abstract

A Fast and efficient template - driven autoligation reaction between oligonucleotides derivatized with bromoacetyl and thiol groups at their opposing termini is described. The product of reaction is capable of forming a stable duplex with a complementary DNA strand.     

Prove DI Degemmazione Nel Pesco E Loro Effetti Sulla Istogenesi della Cerchia Legnosa

Summary

Tests on disbudding and their effects on the histogenesis of the wood ring. In this work the effects of hormonic character which appear during the histogenesis of the wood ring have been studied testing disbudding effects on the peach tree.

Some observations on the consequences due to defoliation are also included.

By removal of the buds, the annual ring shows a greater depth and a more marked uniformity of structure, due to an increased frequency of the vascular elements.

By removal of the leaves, the cambial activity is completely inhibited. These results are attributed to the fact that the leaves, according to the more recent hypotheses, produce the substance which stimulates the formation of the wood elements and the differentiation of the newly formed elements.

This inactive substance, produced by the leaf, would exert its action only when the buds, towards which it is directed, transform it into its active form. The removal of the buds would eliminate the centres of diffusion of the inactive substance and also its centres of activation and concentration for the coming rest period, in view of a new vegetative cycle.

As a conseguence the circulation of the inactive substance is more marked, as it is probably activated by the cambium, and its activity lasts longer, producing in the annual ring those characters peculiar to the spring wood, that is of a season in which the circulation of this substance is at its utmost.     

Trees,Woodland and Woodmanship in Early Mediaeval Ireland

Summary

The evidence for woodmanship in mediaeval Ireland is discussed. Palynological evidence dispels the continuing myth that there were vast mediaeval woods. Nonetheless, place name and documentary sources indicate discrete areas of woodland. At these places underwood was probably managed, livestock sheltered and fattened, berries and nuts gathered and timber felled. A range of historical texts and archaeological excavations support these claims. Woodland was an important aspect of the agricultural landscape and economy.     

Oligonucleotide Mediated Mutational Analysis of Recognition Sequence Effects on Lariat Formation During Messenger RNA Splicing in Yeast

Abstract

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae the 5′ and the 3′ splice junctions and the internal branch acceptor site (TACTAAC-box) are highly conserved intron elements. They represent favourable targets for oligonucleotide mediated site directed mutagenesis.     

The Australian Aborigines and the Human Past

Indifference to events which may actually have taken place between the Dreamtime and European contact is commonly held to be a salient feature of traditional Aboriginal thought. This contention contains a significant element of truth but it may have been exaggerated by some anthropologists. Structural-functionalist emphases on myth as charter led not only to the rejection of historical interpretations of Aboriginal myths which were ill-considered and naïve, but also to an excessive neglect of potentially fruitful attempts to extract from myths clues about post-Dreamtime experiences. This neglect has unduly strengthened the view that Aboriginal thought is entirely sui generis and that its supposed indifference to human history is an inescapable cultural attribute of Aboriginality. A sketch is offered for a reappraisal of the significance of Aboriginal myths for Aboriginal history.     

Prevalence of dental myths,oral hygiene methods and tobacco habits in an ageing North Indian rural population

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2010.00395.x
Prevalence of dental myths, oral hygiene methods and tobacco habits in an ageing North Indian rural population Background and objectives: Though increased emphasis is being given to expanding dental care facilities and awareness in Indian villages, the target population is unfortunately less literate and financially‐equipped compared to their urban counterparts. This study attempted to evaluate dental myths, oral hygiene methods and beliefs, and tobacco habits present in a rural ageing population. Material and methods: The study area consisted of a group of 10 villages, situated in the district of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The sample comprised 681 people aged 50 years or above. The subjects were questioned about dental myths, tobacco habits and oral hygiene methods and then divided into groups on the basis of age, gender, and educational status. Mean values, standard deviation, chi‐square test, t‐test and p values were used to obtain inter‐group comparisons. Results: Forty percent of the subjects considered oral hygiene unnecessary, with 61% relying on simple mouth rinsing for maintaining oral hygiene, 48% either smoked and chewed tobacco or both and 81% had one or more dental myth. Conclusion: The results showed that the rural ageing population is deprived and a targeted programme to spread scientific dental practices to them is necessary.     

Linear landscape elements in an Austrian viticultural landscape have limited effects on spatial patterns of plant genetic diversity

Background: The Wachau region along the river Danube in eastern Austria represents one of central Europe's hotspots of plant and animal species diversity. One of the typical landscape elements is vineyards, mostly established as linear elements on terraces along the slopes, with a characteristic and species-rich flora and fauna on terrace slopes lying between the cultivated terraces.

Aims: We addressed the question of how the genetic variation of four plant species of open grassland vegetation types is distributed. We asked if levels and distribution of genetic diversity of the plant species Aster amellus, Gentianella aspera, Pulsatilla grandis, and Stachys recta were correlated with geographic distances along the terrace slopes.

Methods: The dominant inherited molecular marker system random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD ) was used to estimate and compare the distribution of genetic diversity of the four selected species.

Results: We found only low levels of correlation of the distribution of genetic variation with linear geographic patterns and obtained indirect evidence for high levels of gene flow between adjacent terrace slopes.

Conclusions: We found that genetic diversity parameters of the four target species did not mirror the pattern of linear landscape elements, indicating that gene flow acts efficiently against the linear distribution of genetic variation.