What Do Abelam Images Want from Us?: Plato's Cave and Kwatbi's Belly

In this paper I compare two origin myths, one from the Abelam speaking area of the Sepik region, Papua New Guinea, the other, the allegory of Plato's Cave found in The Republic. I explore the effects which each of these different conceptions of iconography and aesthetics has on the other when they intersect. I argue that fieldwork itself can be looked at as a hybrid form in the sense that it brings into juxtaposition different systems of thought and contrasting cultural tropes. At the moment of intersection a new cultural form, a hybrid, is produced in that someone may ask a question which has never been asked before and respondents may think about something they have never consciously thought about before. I attempt to imaginatively reconstruct one such moment when Anthony Forge questioned Abelam painters in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea about their iconographic system. By comparing the two origin myths we can better comprehend why Forge received particular and, from his viewpoint, problematic answers to questions about the meaning of particular painting designs. The comparison reveals that the myths are inversions of one another and imply radically differing conceptions of space and iconography. The paper ends by demonstrating that Abelam painters in their turn have questions about systems of representation different from their own. This can be seen in their interrogation of the author about the labels on perfume bottles and their response to an art gallery in Sydney, Australia, which they visited with the author.     

Replication origins, factors and attachment sites

The initiation of eukaryotic DNA synthesis occurs at specific sites determined by both cis- and trans-acting elements. Here I review advances in the characterization of yeast origins, origin-binding proteins and the relationship of DNA replication to nuclear substructure in yeast.     

Differential utilization of poly(rC) binding protein 2 in translation directed by picornavirus IRES elements

The translation of picornavirus genomic RNAs occurs by a cap-independent mechanism that requires the formation of specific ribonucleoprotein complexes involving host cell factors and highly structured regions of picornavirus 5' noncoding regions known as internal ribosome entry sites (IRES). Although a number of cellular proteins have been shown to be involved in picornavirus RNA translation, the precise role of these factors in picornavirus internal ribosome entry is not understood. In this report, we provide evidence for the existence of distinct mechanisms for the internal initiation of translation between type I and type II picornavirus IRES elements. In vitro translation reactions were conducted in HeLa cell cytoplasmic translation extracts that were depleted of the cellular protein, poly(rC) binding protein 2 (PCBP2). Upon depletion of PCBP2, these extracts possessed a significantly diminished capacity to translate reporter RNAs containing the type I IRES elements of poliovirus, coxsackievirus, or human rhinovirus linked to luciferase; however, the addition of recombinant PCBP2 could reconstitute translation. Furthermore, RNA electrophoretic mobility-shift analysis demonstrated specific interactions between PCBP2 and both type I and type II picornavirus IRES elements; however, the translation of reporter RNAs containing the type II IRES elements of encephalomyocarditis virus and foot-and-mouth disease virus was not PCBP2 dependent. These data demonstrate that PCBP2 is essential for the internal initiation of translation on picornavirus type I IRES elements but is dispensable for translation directed by the structurally distinct type II elements.     

The ecology of human birth seasonally

This article examines birth seasonality in two environmentally and ethnographically distinct societies: the Copper Inuit of the Central Canadian Arctic and the Samukundi Abelam of Papua New Guinea. Although the regions inhabited by these societies differ dramatically in degrees of seasonal variation, both populations display significant seasonality in conceptions and births. For the Copper Inuit, such seasonal variation was found to be the consequence of social and economic responses to extreme environmental change. Birth seasonality for the Samukundi Abelam is also pronounced and was determined to be the result of social ideologies which are only indirectly linked to environmental factors. The article also proposes a research paradigm designed to facilitate the cross-cultural investigation of birth seasonality in human populations.     

Language Learning and the Politics of Belonging: Sudanese Women Refugees Becoming and Being"American"

In this article, I explore the complicated relationship between ideologies of language and language learning, discourses of immigration and belonging, and the actual lived experiences of individual language learners. The analysis demonstrates how questions of educational access, economic stability, and social membership are all influenced by a range of social, political, and historical factors, particularly for recently arrived immigrants and refugees from war-torn African contexts.     

Characterisation of sequences required for RNA initiation from the PGK promoter of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In the phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) gene of yeast, as in other highly expressed yeast genes, the sequences surrounding the site of RNA initiation have a loosely conserved structure of a CT rich stretch followed by the tetranucleotide CAAG. Using internal deletions and insertions we have identified the elements in the PGK promoter which are required for correct RNA initiation at the CAAG sequence at -39. The results indicate that two different components of the PGK promoter contribute to correct RNA initiation, the TATA homologies, located at -152 and -113, and the sequences at the site of initiation. Both TATA elements can function in RNA initiation. Deletion of the upstream TATA element, TATAI, results in slightly heterogeneous RNA initiation, but the majority of the RNA initiates correctly. Deletion of both the PGK TATA elements results in the majority of the RNA initiating at sites downstream from the wild-type I site, within the structural gene between +40 to +80. The CT rich box is not essential for correct mRNA initiation as shown by deletion analysis. The site of RNA initiation in the PGK promoter appears to be determined by sequences located immediately 5' of the CAAG sequence motif. This short sequence, ACAGATC, when located the correct distance from the TATA elements may be sufficient to determine a discrete initiation site.     

Nucleotide sequence of the Streptococcus faecalis plasmid gene encoding the 3'5"-aminoglycoside phosphotransferase type III

We have cloned in Escherichia coli and sequenced a 1489-bp DNA fragment conferring resistance to kanamycin and originating from the streptococcal plasmid pJH1. The resistance gene was located by analysis of the initiation and termination codons in an open reading frame (ORF) of 792 bp. The deduced gene product, a 3'5'-aminoglycoside phosphotransferase of type III, has an Mr of 29,200. Comparison of its amino acid sequence with those of type I (Oka et al., 1981) and type II (Beck et al., 1982) 3' phosphotransferase, from transposable elements Tn903 and Tn5, respectively, indicated a statistically significant structural relationship between these enzymes from phylogenetically remote bacterial genera. The degree of homology observed indicate that phosphotransferase type III and type I genes have diverged from a common ancestor and that the phosphotransferase type II gene has emerged more recently from the type I evolutionary pathway.     

Sequence requirements of the Epstein-Barr virus latent origin of DNA replication.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent origin of DNA replication (oriP) is composed of two elements that contain binding sites for the sole viral gene product required for latent cycle replication, EBNA-1. One of these elements, region I, functions as an EBNA-1-dependent enhancer for RNA polymerase II-transcribed genes, may play a role in plasmid segregation, and is required for origin function in B cells latently infected with EBV. The second element, region II, contains or is very near the site of initiation of DNA replication. A genetic approach was taken to determine the contribution of the EBNA-1 binding sites in oriP to origin function. Although region I is required for the transient replication of plasmids bearing region II in EBV-infected B cells, a plasmid lacking region I but containing region II, was observed to replicate transiently in both D98/Raji and HeLa cells expressing EBNA-1. Thus, binding of EBNA-1 to region I is not absolutely required for the molecular events that lead to initiation of DNA replication at region II. Site-directed mutagenesis of the four EBNA-1-binding sites in region II, individually and in various combinations, demonstrated that only two EBNA-1-binding sites are required for region II function. The results obtained with these mutants, together with the analysis of the replicative ability of plasmids containing insertions between EBNA-1-binding sites, suggested that the spatial relationship of the two sites is critical. Mutants that contain only two EBNA-1-binding sites separated by 26 to 31 bp in region II were not maintained as plasmids over many cell generations and were greatly reduced in their ability to replicate transiently in D98/Raji cells. The EBNA-1-induced bending or untwisting of the DNA in EBNA-1-binding sites 1 and 4 in region II did not, however, demonstrate this spatial constraint. It may be concluded from these results that specific protein-protein interactions between EBNA-1 and/or between EBNA-1 and a cellular protein(s) are required for origin function.     

从生态学语言向景观生态规划设计语言的转化途径

本研究旨在探索景观规划设计领域中的生态知识（生态学语言）与生态实践（景观生态规划设计语言）之间的转化关系,希望通过一套逻辑严密、步骤清晰、简单有效的转化途径推进这一学界持续讨论的问题。研究首先通过相关综述研究了二者之间的关系,提出景观生态规划设计三层次研究体系,从而确立了应用基础研究在转化过程中的桥梁地位。然后通过剖析基于岛屿生物地理学原理开展的自然保护区规划的经典方法,发现从生态学基础研究通往生态规划设计应用的桥梁是“空间导则与空间格局”的提炼,基于此提出了T-P-C的转化途径。最后,通过T-P-C途径的指导提出了具有普适性的5步骤转化方法。研究希望通过这5步骤的转化方法,引导更多生态学基础知识能够言之有理、行之有效地转化到具体的景观规划设计实践之中。     

Finger or toe: the molecular basis of limb identity

Despite their obvious similarities, the forelimbs and hindlimbs of tetrapod vertebrates have evolved distinct structural elements to carry out their discrete functions. Many genes required for limb initiation and patterning are involved in regulatory networks common to both limb-types. Other genes are differentially expressed between forelimb and hindlimb, and have been implicated in the initiation of limb bud outgrowth and the specification of limb-type identity. In this review, I will discuss the current understanding of how genes that control limb identity interact with regulatory networks common to both appendages to produce the fingers of the hand and toes of the foot.     

Up,up, and away: relative importance of horizontal and vertical escape from predators for survival and senescence

Animals fleeing a potential predator can escape horizontally or vertically, although vertical flight is more expensive than horizontal flight. The ability to escape in three dimensions by flying animals has been hypothesized to result in greater survival and eventually slower senescence than in animals only fleeing in two dimensions. In a comparative study of flight initiation distance in 69 species of birds when approached by a human, I found that the amount of variance explained by flight initiation distance was more than four times as large for the horizontal than the vertical component of perch height when taking flight. The slope of the relationship between horizontal distance and flight initiation distance (horizontal slope) increased with increasing body mass across species, whereas the slope of the relationship between vertical distance and flight initiation distance (vertical slope) decreased with increasing body mass. Therefore, there was a negative relationship between horizontal and vertical slope, although this negative relationship was significantly less steep than expected for a perfect trade‐off. The horizontal slope decreased with increasing density of the habitat from grassland over shrub to forest, whereas that was not the case for the vertical slope. Adult survival rate increased and rate of senescence (longevity adjusted for survival rate, body mass and sampling effort) decreased with increasing vertical, but not with horizontal slope, consistent with the prediction that vertical escape indeed provides a means of reducing the impact of predation.     

La symbolique des gravures rupestres du Mont Bego

The analysis of imaginary anthropological structures elaborated by Gilbert Durand enables us to identify a symbolic language of ideograms from Mont Bego (circa 2500-1800 BC). There are three main types of figures: figures associated with the Bull- God and with the God of Storms, which come under the first function “heroic”; figures depicting harnessing and reticulates which evoke ploughed fields ands make reference to the feminine and maternal function known as “mystic nocturne”; figures linked to initiation, to the relationship between the first and the second function, which come under the function known as “synthetic nocturne”. These figures are located particularlyon the slab known as the “witch”. A comparative study of the later symbolic figures, presented in worship practises in archaic and then classic Greece and in the Greek-Roman imaginary, helps us to understand that Mediterranean mankind portrays a coherent image of the cosmos. This image is stable from the proto-Ligurian figures of Mont Bego until the forms elaborated by the Greek-Roman religious imaginary, in particular through mysterious rituals.     

Scenting a Subject: Odour Poetics and the Politics of Space

Olfactory studies are truly multidisciplinary, from anthropology to zoology. What literary criticism can offer is analysis of the language of smell and the discourses of olfactory practice which give smell meanings. In this paper I explore the poetics of odour in selected contexts in the developed West of the twenty-first century. I argue that the language of smell is elusive, contradictory, disguised: nonetheless, it deploys metaphor, story, personal meaning and social meaning, all frames that ‘nest’ together. I demonstrate contradictions of olfactory practice with reference to urban space and technologies of scent, acting on bodies and places. I argue that a relationship between scent, identity and space can be understood in terms of an olfactory sublime, to which there is also resistance, sanctioned by new laws. In public space, the complexity of deodorisation appears in the conflict between fragrance-free and compulsory olfaction, as I argue with reference to Halifax, Nova Scotia and to the London Underground.