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Preliminary Insight (preliminary + insight)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	37%
Humanities and Social Sciences	37%

Selected Abstracts

Preliminary Insights into the Constitution of a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery through Autoethnographic Reflections on the Dual/Nondual Mind Duality

ANTHROPOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Issue 2 2008
BORIS H. J. M. BRUMMANS
ABSTRACT In this autoethnographic essay, I reflect on my brief personal experiences of conducting field research on ways in which way a small group of Tibetan Buddhist monks enact a monastic total institution in Ladakh, India. More specifically, I analyze my experiences in view of the relationship between dual and nondual mind, as discussed by Henry Vyner (2002) in Anthropology of Consciousness, and use this analysis to develop preliminary insights into the ways in which a Tibetan Buddhist monastery is constituted. [source]

Preliminary insights into the status of ground-dwelling terrestrial arthropods at sites representing three riparian conditions

ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION, Issue 2 2007
Andrew Kramer
First page of article [source]

Polymerization and matrix physical properties as important design considerations for soluble collagen formulations

BIOPOLYMERS, Issue 8 2010
S. T. Kreger
Abstract Despite extensive use of type I collagen for research and medical applications, its fibril-forming or polymerization potential has yet to be fully defined and exploited. Here, we describe a type I collagen formulation that is acid solubilized from porcine skin collagen (PSC), quality controlled based upon polymerization potential, and well suited as a platform polymer for preparing three-dimensional (3D) culture systems and injectable/implantable in vivo cellular microenvironments in which both relevant biochemical and biophysical parameters can be precision-controlled. PSC is compared with three commercial collagens in terms of composition and purity as well as polymerization potential, which is described by kinetic parameters and fibril microstructure and mechanical properties of formed matrices. When subjected to identical polymerization conditions, PSC showed significantly decreased polymerization times compared to the other collagens and yielded matrices with the greatest mechanical integrity and broadest range of mechanical properties as characterized in oscillatory shear, uniaxial extension, and unconfined compression. Compositional and intrinsic viscosity analyses suggest that the enhanced polymerization potential of PSC may be attributed to its unique oligomer composition. Collectively, this work demonstrates the importance of standardizing next generation collagen formulations based upon polymerization potential and provides preliminary insight into the contribution of oligomers to collagen polymerization properties. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 93: 690,707, 2010. This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The "Published Online" date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com [source]

Prediction of metabolic function from limited data: Lumped hybrid cybernetic modeling (L-HCM)

BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 2 2010
Hyun-Seob Song
Abstract Motivated by the need for a quick quantitative assessment of metabolic function without extensive data, we present an adaptation of the cybernetic framework, denoted as the lumped hybrid cybernetic model (L-HCM), which combines the attributes of the classical lumped cybernetic model (LCM) and the recently developed HCM. The basic tenet of L-HCM and HCM is the same, that is, they both view the uptake flux as being split among diverse pathways in an optimal way as a result of cellular regulation such that some chosen metabolic objective is realized. The L-HCM, however, portrays this flux distribution to occur in a hierarchical way, that is, first among lumped pathways, and next among individual elementary modes (EM) in each lumped pathway. Both splits are described by the cybernetic control laws using operational and structural return-on-investments, respectively. That is, the distribution of uptake flux at the first split is dynamically regulated according to environmental conditions, while the subsequent split is based purely on the stoichiometry of EMs. The resulting model is conveniently represented in terms of lumped pathways which are fully identified with respect to yield coefficients of all products unlike classical LCMs based on instinctive lumping. These characteristics enable the model to account for the complete set of EMs for arbitrarily large metabolic networks despite containing only a small number of parameters which can be identified using minimal data. However, the inherent conflict of questing for quantification of larger networks with smaller number of parameters cannot be resolved without a mechanism for parameter tuning of an empirical nature. In this work, this is accomplished by manipulating the relative importance of EMs by tuning the cybernetic control of mode-averaged enzyme activity with an empirical parameter. In a case study involving aerobic batch growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, L-HCM is compared with LCM. The former provides a much more satisfactory prediction than the latter when parameters are identified from a few primary metabolites. On the other hand, the classical model is more accurate than L-HCM when sufficient datasets are involved in parameter identification. In applying the two models to a chemostat scenario, L-HCM shows a reasonable prediction on metabolic shift from respiration to fermentation due to the Crabtree effect, which LCM predicts unsatisfactorily. While L-HCM appears amenable to expeditious estimates of metabolic function with minimal data, the more detailed dynamic models [such as HCM or those of Young et al. (Young et al., Biotechnol Bioeng, 2008; 100: 542,559)] are best suited for accurate treatment of metabolism when the potential of modern omic technology is fully realized. However, in view of the monumental effort surrounding the development of detailed models from extensive omic measurements, the preliminary insight into the behavior of a genotype and metabolic engineering directives that can come from L-HCM is indeed valuable. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;106: 271,284. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Re-articulating Identity: The Shifting Landscape of Indigenous Politics and Power on the Ecuadorian Coast

BULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010
DANIEL ERIC BAUER
The Levantamiento Indígena of 1990 was a defining moment in the advancement of indigenous politics in Ecuador. Following the uprising of 1990, scholars have paid close attention to the politics of identity and indigenous representation in Ecuador with the main focus being placed on the highland and Amazonian regions of the country. Based on fieldwork conducted in Ecuador's Manabí province, this article provides preliminary insight into the growth of an indigenous discourse on the Ecuadorian coast. I focus on the process of re-indigenisation in the coastal community of Macaboa. This research is significant because while a great deal of scholarly attention has been paid to indigenous movements in Ecuador's highland and Amazonian regions, indigenous politics on the coast have gone largely unnoticed. The case outlined in this article is emblematic of the shifting nature of identity and the way in which ethnic discourses are increasingly being adopted by marginalised groups in their attempts to negotiate with the state. [source]

Preliminary Insights into the Constitution of a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery through Autoethnographic Reflections on the Dual/Nondual Mind Duality

Ecological biogeography of species of Gelonus, Acantholybas and Amorbus in Australia

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
Martin J. Steinbauer
Abstract Geographic ranges and host plants of 10 species of Australian coreid, Gelonus tasmanicus, Acantholybas brunneus, Amorbus alternatus, Am. atomarius, Am. biguttatus, Am. bispinus, Am. obscuricornis, Am. rhombifer, Am. robustus and Am. rubiginosus, were summarized using data from specimen collection labels and sampling. One process (CLIMEX) and two correlative range-modelling programs (BIOCLIM and DOMAIN) were used to infer the bioclimatic profiles of each species. By inference from the maximum range predictions made by CLIMEX, the suggestion that G. tasmanicus, Am. atomarius and Am. obscuricornis are temperate species was supported. Similarly, the suggestions that Ac. brunneus was a subtropical species and Am. biguttatus and Am. rhombifer are predominantly tropical species were supported. That Am. alternatus, Am. robustus and Am. rubiginosus are apparently ubiquitous species was supported. Comparison of the bioclimatic profiles of the habitats of G. tasmanicus and Am. obscuricornis within Tasmania using BIOCLIM supported information available in the published literature, that is, that G. tasmanicus is better suited to sites at higher elevations than Am. obscuricornis. In addition, the suggestion that the regions of high Amorbus species endemism should overlap with regions of high eucalypt species endemism was also supported. This finding is taken as evidence that the evolutionary radiation of Amorbus has followed that of the eucalypts. Using these models we have obtained preliminary insights into the biology of each species and the environmental characteristics of their preferred climatic envelope. This is an achievement that might never have been attained through concentrated study given that these insects can vary from being rare to, at best, locally common in occurrence. [source]

Earliest symptoms discriminating juvenile-onset bipolar illness from ADHD

BIPOLAR DISORDERS, Issue 4 2009
David A Luckenbaugh
Objectives:, Controversy surrounds the diagnosis and earliest symptoms of childhood-onset bipolar illness, emphasizing the importance of prospective longitudinal studies. To acquire a preliminary, more immediate view of symptom evolution, we examined the course of individual symptoms over the first 10 years of life in juvenile-onset bipolar illness (JO-BP) compared with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods:, Parents of formally diagnosed children retrospectively rated 37 symptoms in each year of the child's life based on the degree of dysfunction in their child's usual family, social, or educational roles. A subset of children with onset of bipolar disorder prior to age 9 (JO-BP) compared with those with ADHD was the focus of this analysis. Results:, Brief and extended periods of mood elevation and decreased sleep were strong early differentiators of JO-BP and ADHD children. Depressive and somatic symptoms were later differentiators. Irritability and poor frustration tolerance differentiated the two groups only in their greater incidence and severity in JO-BP compared with a moderate occurrence in ADHD. In contrast, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and decreased attention showed highly similar trajectories in the two groups. Conclusions:, Elevated mood and decreased sleep discriminated JO-BP and ADHD as early as age 3, while classic ADHD symptoms were parallel in the groups. These retrospective results provide preliminary insights into symptom differences and their temporal evolution between bipolar disorder and ADHD in the first 10 years of life. [source]