Home About us Contact | |||
Cultural Characteristics (cultural + characteristic)
Selected AbstractsProduction of bioactive metabolites by Nocardia levis MK-VL_113LETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009A. Kavitha Abstract Aims:, To isolate and identify the bioactive compounds produced by Nocardia levis MK-VL_113. Methods and Results:, Cultural characteristics of Noc. levis isolated from laterite soils of Guntur region were recorded on International Streptomyces Project media. Morphological studies of the strain through scanning electron microscopy revealed the clear pattern of its hyphal fragmentation into rod-shaped bacilli. Chemical examination of the secondary metabolites of the strain grown on sucrose,tryptone broth led to the isolation of three fractions active against Bacillus cereus. Further analysis of second fraction resulted in the isolation of two active subfractions. Two different phthalate esters, namely, bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and bis-(5-ethylheptyl) phthalate, were purified from the first active subfraction, and the structural elucidation of these compounds was confirmed on the basis of FT-IR, mass and NMR spectroscopy. The partially purified second subfraction subjected to Gas Chromatography,Mass spectroscopy contained nine components: decanedioic acid; 2,6-piperdione monooxime; 1-eicosanol; beta-1-arabinopyranoside, methyl; cyclopentaneundecanoic acid; hexadecanoic acid; silane, trichloro eicosyl; 1-hexacosanol; and 1,2-dodecanediol. The antimicrobial activity of the bioactive compounds produced by Noc. levis was expressed in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration. Conclusions:, The present study clearly revealed that the metabolites of Noc. levis act as bioactive compounds against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi. It also supports the idea that there are a number of rare actinomycetes remained to be explored for new bioactive compounds. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Metabolites of Noc. levis exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities. This is the first report of bis-(5-ethylheptyl) phthalate as well as the nine partially purified compounds from actinomycetes. In addition, this is also the first report of bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from the genus Nocardia. [source] Are there genetic influences on addiction: evidence from family, adoption and twin studiesADDICTION, Issue 7 2008Arpana Agrawal ABSTRACT Aims In this exciting era of gene discovery, we review evidence from family, adoption and twin studies that examine the genetic basis for addiction. With a focus on the classical twin design that utilizes data on monozygotic and dizygotic twins, we discuss support in favor of heritable influences on alcohol, nicotine, cannabis and other illicit drug dependence. Methods We review whether these genetic factors also influence earlier stages (e.g. experimentation) of the addictive process and whether there are genetic influences specific to each psychoactive substance. Results Converging evidence from these studies supports the role of moderate to high genetic influences on addiction with estimates ranging from 0.30 to 0.70. The changing role of these heritable factors as a function of gender, age and cultural characteristics is also discussed. We highlight the importance of the interplay between genes and the environment as it relates to risk for addiction and the utility of the children-of-twins design for emerging studies of gene,environment interaction is presented. Conclusions Despite the advances being made by low-cost high-throughput whole genome association assays, we posit that information garnered from twin studies, especially extended twin designs with power to examine gene,environment interactions, will continue to form the foundation for genomic research. [source] Do Enlargements Make the European Union Less Cohesive?JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 2 2007An Analysis of Trust between EU Nationalities This article analyses the impact enlargements have had on the social cohesion of the European Union (EU), measured as generalized interpersonal trust between EU nationalities. Based on a quantitative-dyadic approach, Eurobarometer surveys from 1976 to 1997 are utilized. The key result is that enlargements do not necessarily weaken cohesion, but southern enlargement and the recent eastern enlargement did. The integrative effect of enlargement depends on the extent to which acceding nations differ from existing club members in three main dimensions: the level of modernization (mechanisms: prestige), cultural characteristics (mechanisms: similarity) and their power in the international system (mechanisms: perceived threat). [source] Moral emotions and bullying: A cross-national comparison of differences between bullies, victims and outsidersAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 6 2003Ersilia Menesini Abstract This study aims to analyse the role of moral emotions and reasoning in relation to children's behaviour in a bullying situation. On the basis of a peer nomination questionnaire [Salmivalli et al., 1996; Sutton and Smith, 1999], children from three different cities (Seville, Florence, and Cosenza) were assigned to one of three different status groups: bullies, victims, or outsiders. Subsequently they were interviewed about their feelings in relation to the task of putting themselves in the role of the bully in a bullying scenario. Specifically, emotions such as guilt and shame, expressed in a sense of moral responsibility, and indifference and pride, expressed in an attitude of moral disengagement, were investigated. Results showed significant differences between bullies, victims, and outsiders, with regard to moral disengagement, at both the affective and cognitive levels. Across the three cities, bullies, as compared to victims and outsiders, showed a higher level of disengagement emotions and motives when they were asked to put themselves in the role of bully. At a more detailed level, analyses of specific mechanisms of moral disengagement revealed that bullies possessed a main profile of egocentric reasoning. Besides the differences between bullies and victims, cross-cultural differences were also present. Compared to children from Seville, children from the south of Italy (Cosenza) attributed higher disengagement to the bullies. Findings are discussed in relation to specific cultural characteristics of this area. Aggr. Behav. 29:515,530, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Auditors' Ability to Resist Client Pressure and Culture: Perceptions in China and the United KingdomJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 2 2008Kenny Z. Lin Ongoing corporate scandal and audit failure raise serious concerns about the ability of auditors to resist client pressure. Based on a sample of 93 auditors from China and the United Kingdom (U.K.), we analyze the effect of specificity of accounting standard, level of auditor tenure, provision of management advisory services (MAS) and degree of audit market competition on perceptions of auditors' ability to withstand client pressure in audit conflict situations. We draw on cultural differences to explain differences in auditors' perceptions in the respective countries. Our findings are consistent with national cultural characteristics identified in the research literature. We find that U.K. auditors perceive specificity of accounting standards, auditor tenure, MAS and competition as less likely to affect decisions as to whether or not to accept clients' preferred accounting treatments than do their Chinese counterparts. Additionally while Chinese auditors perceive MAS and competition to be significant factors, they perceive accounting standard specificity and auditor tenure to be insignificant. For U.K. auditors, these results are reversed. The results may be relevant to international audit firms operating cross-culturally and seeking to apply common audit procedures or codes of professional conduct in different national settings. [source] Genetic Relationship of Pyrenophora graminea, P. teres f. maculata and P. teres f. teres Assessed by RAPD AnalysisJOURNAL OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2007J. Bakonyi Abstract Barley-pathogenic Pyrenophora isolates are P. graminea (PG), P. teres f. maculata (PTM) and P. teres f. teres (PTT), which cause foliar leaf stripe, spot blotch and net blotch lesions, respectively. However, the species are often indistinguishable by morphological and cultural characteristics. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis has been used to study the genetic relationship amongst 11 PG, 9 PTM and 23 PTT isolates from distant geographical locations. Using seven primers, 55 (52.38%) polymorphic DNA bands were detected out of 105 different fragments amplified in the three pathogens. Genotypic diversity was high as all but two PTT strains had distinct multilocus RAPD fingerprints. Unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering separated the isolates into three main clusters, corresponding to the three pathogens studied. No clear geographical substructuring was found. Nei's gene diversity analysis detected only small differences (max. 6.6%) in band frequencies but considerable levels of differentiation were observed among the pathogen species/forms. However, the variability among the Pyrenophora species/forms (max. 42.0%) was less than within species/forms (max. 58%). Nei's unbiased genetic distance values were in agreement with UPGMA clustering and gene diversity analysis: the two forms of P. teres showed higher divergence from one another (D = 0.132) than the distance found between PG and PTM (D = 0.094). The results suggest that the present taxonomical classification of these morphological taxa may not correspond to their phylogenetic relationship and that there is a very close genetic relationship amongst barley-pathogenic Pyrenophora species, but genetic exchanges between them could be infrequent. [source] Identification and Pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia spp.JOURNAL OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Causing Wirestem of Betula nigra in China Abstract During July 2004, wirestem was frequently observed on the seedlings of Betula nigra at Dehong district in Yunnan Province, China. Isolates of Rhizoctonia spp. consistently obtained from their diseased leaves, roots and stems were identified as belonging to binucleate Rhizoctonia anastomosis groups (AG) AG-P and AG-R, and R. solani AG-I IB and AG-4 HG-I, based on cultural characteristics, nuclear staining, anastomisis reaction and analysis of their ITS rDNA region. The percentage of recovery of AG-P, AG-1, AG-R and AG-4 was 48%, 39%, 8% and 3%, respectively. This is the first report of wirestem of red birch cause by binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-P and AG-R, and R. solani AG-1 IB and AG-4 HG-I in China. [source] Imperial versus National Discourse: The Case of RussiaNATIONS AND NATIONALISM, Issue 1 2000David G. Rowley It is inaccurate and misleading to apply the term ,nationalism' to Russia prior to the present day. Both Tsarist and Soviet leaders sought to maintain an empire and not a nation-state, and their national consciousness was imperial rather than national. The lack of Russian nationalism was crucial for Russian history since it explains the failure of both Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union. Modern societies cannot be successfully constructed upon the basis of imperial thinking. The absence of Russian nationalism also has significance for nationalism theory. Russia possessed the social, political and cultural characteristics that have been adduced as ,causes' of nationalism by a wide variety of scholars, yet Russia failed to develop a nationalist movement. This suggests that what is crucial to modem nationalism is the appearance of a particularist, secular ideology, since the most notable aspect in which Russia differed from Europe was Russia's universalistic, religious and imperialist discourse of national identity. [source] Culture and Economic SystemsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY, Issue 4 2007Frederic L. Pryor Applying a cluster analysis to the results of the World Value Study, this article shows that the OECD nations have five distinct patterns of cultural characteristics. Moreover, these five cultural systems are almost the same as a classification of economic systems that have been derived from a cluster analysis of their economic institutions. A comparison of the cultural characteristics of East and West Germany suggests that the economic system has relatively little influence on the cultural systems. Instead, in a democracy, where the economic system is not imposed by force, the cultural characteristics are more likely to determine the economic system, rather than the reverse. [source] How well do advertising images of health and beauty travel across cultures?PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 10 2006A self-concept perspective This study is a cross-cultural examination of the ideal self-image of women in terms of health and beauty. The match-up between two advertising beauty types (possible advertising presenters) and female consumers' ideal health and beauty images in terms of wanting to look like a specific model were tested with 750 female respondents from five European cities. The respondents also identified the ideal eye and hair colors for health and beauty. This quantitative study revealed cross-cultural variation in ideal self-image in terms of healthy and beautiful beauty types. International advertisers need to understand the important, contemporary, cultural characteristics of an ideal beauty type in terms of healthy or beautiful before developing standardized advertising communicating such appeals. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Gender and agrobiodiversity: a case study from BangladeshTHE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2005EMILY OAKLEY Local geography and gender are two major factors determining which crop varieties are cultivated in a case study of two rural villages in Bangladesh. This paper explores the interrelationships between gender, agrobiodiversity, and the use of, and preferences for, improved and local crop varieties. These are examined in relation to rice, minor field crops, and home garden fruits and vegetables. Reasons for both the displacement and the persistence of local varieties (LVs) are analysed in comparison to improved variety (IV) diffusion. The research evaluates agrobiodiversity through the number, types, and varieties of crops grown in fields and home gardens. The desired agroecological, economic, and cultural characteristics of crops grown document how respondents rank their variety preferences. Variety preferences and the perceived importance of LV preservation are compared with what is actually grown. The study indicates that there was little variation between villages in their approach towards the use of IV and LV rice; IVs were cultivated for their high yields and LV rice for taste and culinary uses. However, there were significant differences in relative agricultural dependence between the two villages which led to unique variety preferences. In both villages, women's preferences for IVs or LVs play a major role in crop choices, particularly as they manifest themselves in gendered domains of authority. [source] Does infectious disease cause global variation in the frequency of intrastate armed conflict and civil war?BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 3 2010Kenneth Letendre Geographic and cross-national variation in the frequency of intrastate armed conflict and civil war is a subject of great interest. Previous theory on this variation has focused on the influence on human behaviour of climate, resource competition, national wealth, and cultural characteristics. We present the parasite-stress model of intrastate conflict, which unites previous work on the correlates of intrastate conflict by linking frequency of the outbreak of such conflict, including civil war, to the intensity of infectious disease across countries of the world. High intensity of infectious disease leads to the emergence of xenophobic and ethnocentric cultural norms. These cultures suffer greater poverty and deprivation due to the morbidity and mortality caused by disease, and as a result of decreased investment in public health and welfare. Resource competition among xenophobic and ethnocentric groups within a nation leads to increased frequency of civil war. We present support for the parasite-stress model with regression analyses. We find support for a direct effect of infectious disease on intrastate armed conflict, and support for an indirect effect of infectious disease on the incidence of civil war via its negative effect on national wealth. We consider the entanglements of feedback of conflict into further reduced wealth and increased incidence of disease, and discuss implications for international warfare and global patterns of wealth and imperialism. [source] Vulnerability factors in OCD symptoms: cross-cultural comparisons between Turkish and Canadian samplesCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 2 2010Orçun Yorulmaz Abstract Recent findings have suggested some potential psychological vulnerability factors for development of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms, including cognitive factors of appraisal and thought control, religiosity, self-esteem and personality characteristics such as neuroticism. Studies demonstrating these associations usually come from Western cultures, but there may be cultural differences relevant to these vulnerability factors and OC symptoms. The present study examined the relationship between putative vulnerability factors and OC symptoms by comparing non-clinical samples from Turkey and Canada, two countries with quite different cultural characteristics. The findings revealed some common correlates such as neuroticism and certain types of metacognition, including appraisals of responsibility/threat estimation and perfectionism/need for certainty, as well as thought,action fusion. However, culture-specific factors were also indicated in the type of thought control participants used. For OC disorder symptoms, Turkish participants were more likely to utilize worry and thought suppression, while Canadian participants tended to use self-punishment more frequently. The association with common factors supports the cross-cultural validity of some factors, whereas unique factors suggest cultural features that may be operative in cognitive processes relevant to OC symptoms.,Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: , Despite cross-cultural validity in the cognitive accounts for OCD, there are some evidences implying the impact of cultural characteristics on some cognitive factors across different cultures. Thus, it is important for clinicians who work with people from different cultural backgrounds to be vigilant for possible variations in the cognitive processes during psychotherapy and psychological assessment. [source] Correlates of breastfeeding duration in an urban cohort from ArgentinaACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 8 2003S Berra Aim: To analyse factors associated with the duration of breastfeeding in a representative cohort of mothers and children, including socio-demographic and cultural characteristics, breastfeeding antecedents, perinatal factors and perinatal healthcare practices. Methods: The study was conducted in the city of Cordoba, between 1993 and 1998. Mother-child binomials from all public and private hospitals were asked to participate. Follow-up consisted of home visits at 30 d, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 50 mo. Information was obtained on 650 healthy newborns. Cessation of breastfeeding during the first 24 mo of life was analysed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and factors associated with weaning were studied using Cox's proportional risk regression. Results. The median duration of breastfeeding was 4 mo. Factors associated with weaning were: the introduction of artificial formulas within 30 d postpartum [relative risk (RR) = 2.27; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.82,2.82]; breastfeeding of a previous child for less than 6 mo (RR=1.64; 95% CI = 1.32,2.02); delay in the first mother-child contact for over 90 min (RR=1.50; 95% CI = 1.17,1.93); mother's having completed primary or partially completed secondary education (RR= 1.40; 95% CI = 1.01,1.92) or completed secondary education or higher (RR= 1.59; 95% CI = 1.14,2.22); primiparous mother (RR= 1.39; 95% CI = 1.12,1.74) and; the mother recalling having been breastfed for less than 6 mo (RR = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.01,1.61). Conclusions. The purpose of strategies to promote breastfeeding should be to eliminate inappropriate care practices, such as delay in the first mother-child contact, as well as reducing the impact of other factors leading to the introduction of artificial milk. Moreover, mothers need more and better support from professionals and peers. [source] The scope, motivation and dynamic of Guest EngineeringR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2001Michael Lewis The exchange of technical personnel between organizational actors in a supply network has become known as Guest Engineering (GE). Despite increasing popularity as an inter-organisational arrangement (especially in the automotive sector) it has generated relatively little academic research and therefore this paper seeks to extend our understanding of GE by exploring how its scope is determined, what motivates the participants and how the relationships evolve. The paper draws on extant GE, supply networks and Resource-Based View (RBV) literature to derive research propositions that are used to analyse empirical work carried out with four automotive suppliers and four automotive OEMs. A number of preliminary conclusions are drawn. At a micro-project level, the criticality of the individual ,playing the GE role' is highlighted, as are related concerns that collaborative team structures often fail to address broader social/cultural characteristics. At a macro-project level, the study argues that difficulties and mistrust will often characterise integrated and competitively successful GE relationships. Finally, at a strategic level, GE needs to be understood as a process of resource transfer and transformation, and therefore the management of interdependency and power asymmetry are core considerations in effective adoption. The paper concludes with recommendations for further critical and practical work. [source] |