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Silk Road (silk + road)
Selected AbstractsHow to deal with Behcet's disease in daily practiceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RHEUMATIC DISEASES, Issue 2 2010Fereydoun DAVATCHI Abstract Introduction:, Behcet's Disease (BD) is classified as a vasculitis, and progresses via attacks and remissions. BD is mainly seen around the Silk Road. The picture varies in different reports. For clinical descriptions, the data from the international cohort of patients (27 countries), will be used. Clinical manifestations:, Mucous membrane manifestations were oral aphthosis seen in 98.1%, and genital aphthosis in 76.9% of patients. Skin manifestations were seen in 71.9% (pseudofolliculitis in 53.6% and erythema nodosum in 33.6%). Ocular manifestations were seen in 53.7% (anterior uveitis 38.8%, posterior uveitis 36.9%, retinal vasculitis 23.5%). Joint manifestations were seen in 50.5% (arthralgia, monoarthritis, oligo/polyarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis). Neurological manifestations were seen in 15.5% of patients (central 11.5%, peripheral 4.4%). Gastrointestinal manifestations were seen in 6.3% of patients. Vascular involvement was seen in 18.2% of patients and arterial involvement in 3% (thrombosis, aneurysm, pulse weakness). Deep vein thrombosis was seen in 8%, large vein thrombosis in 6.5%, and superficial phlebitis in 5.8%. Orchitis and epididymitis were seen in 7.2%. Pathergy test was positive in 49.3% and HLA-B51 in 49.1% of patients. Diagnosis:, Diagnosis is based on clinical manifestations. The International Criteria for Behcet's Disease (ICBD) may be helpful. Treatment:, The first line treatment is colchicine (1 mg daily) for mucocutaneous manifestations, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for joint manifestations, anticoagulation for vascular thrombosis, and cytotoxic drugs for ocular and brain manifestations. If incomplete response or resistance occurs, therapeutic escalation is worthwhile. Conclusion:, Behcet's disease is a systemic disease characterized by mucocutaneous, ocular, vascular and neurologic manifestations, progressing by attacks and remissions. [source] Non-destructive Raman study of the glazing technique in lustre potteries and faience (9,14th centuries): silver ions, nanoclusters, microstructure and processingJOURNAL OF RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY, Issue 3 2004Philippe Colomban Abstract The oldest known nanotechnology dates back to the fabrication of the first lustre potteries. A lustre is a thin film formed just below the surface of medieval Islamic glazed potteries which contains silver and/or copper in the metallic and ionic form. Raman studies of the lustre films of different ceramics excavated from Fustât (near Cairo, Egypt, 11,12th century) or from the Silk Road (Termez, 13,14th centuries) showed that they associate many layers of different compositions (with or without cassiterite). Energy-dispersive spectroscopic analysis shows that all studied glazes are Ca- (and K)-rich, nearly free of Al silicates, with some addition of lead. Comparison is made with a copy of three-colour Tang ceramics made in Bassorah or Baghdad, in the 9th century, which is among the first known ,faiences', i.e. ceramics enamelled with an Sn-containing glaze. Surprisingly, Sn is not present in the form of a cassiterite (SnO2) precipitate but as a Ca,K-rich salt. Composition analysis and Raman spectra show that all glazes have been processed with similar technology. The distribution of elemental Ag and Cu is very heterogeneous in the lustre decor. The main Raman signature (50,100 cm,1 peaks) of the lustre film is assigned to Ag+ ions. The additional low-wavenumber features could be due to the Ag0 [or (Agn)m+] nanocluster modes. It is clear that the lustre colour arises from the combination of iridescence (diffraction) and absorption/diffusion. Raman criteria are proposed for a sample classification as a function of processing (cassiterite content, processing temperature). The glazing technique is discussed on the basis of experimental evidence and ancient potters' reports. Exothermic burning of acetate residus is proposed as the key step for the preparation of polychrome lustre. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Classic type of Kaposi's sarcoma and human herpesvirus 8 infection in Xinjiang, ChinaPATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 11 2001Payzula Dilnur We report 17 cases of the classic type of Kaposi's sarcoma in Xinjiang, which is located in the north-western area of China surrounded by Mongolia in the east, Russia in the north and Kazakhstan in the west. Fifteen of the patients were of the Uygur people. All patients were male and did not have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Most of the lesions were found in the lower and/or upper extremities, with 16 patients showing multiple lesions. Immunohistochemical examination of the lesions revealed that human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)-encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen was expressed in the nuclei of spindle-shaped tumor cells. HHV-8 DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in all seven cases examined. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that DNA sequences of the HHV-8-encoded K1 gene in the seven Kaposi's sarcoma cases were classified as subtype C that was common in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and East Asian countries. In addition, using immunofluorescence we investigated the seroprevalence of HHV-8 in 73 Uygur patients with diseases other than Kaposi's sarcoma. Surprisingly, the serological study revealed that 34 of the patients (46.6%) were positive for antibodies against HHV-8, suggesting that HHV-8 infection is widespread in Xinjiang area. The occurrence of the classic type of Kaposi's sarcoma with a high seropositivity rate implies that Xinjiang is the most endemic area for HHV-8 infection in the world known to date. Considering that Xinjiang is located at the middle point of the Silk Road that used to extend from Rome to China, these data imply that the virus may have been in circulation in this area due to the migration of the people via the Silk Road. [source] Horse-mounted invaders from the Russo-Kazakh steppe or agricultural colonists from western Central Asia?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2004A craniometric investigation of the Bronze Age settlement of Xinjiang Abstract Numerous Bronze Age cemeteries in the oases surrounding the Täklamakan Desert of the Tarim Basin in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, western China, have yielded both mummified and skeletal human remains. A dearth of local antecedents, coupled with woolen textiles and the apparent Western physical appearance of the population, raised questions as to where these people came from. Two hypotheses have been offered by archaeologists to account for the origins of Bronze Age populations of the Tarim Basin. These are the "steppe hypothesis" and the "Bactrian oasis hypothesis." Eight craniometric variables from 25 Aeneolithic and Bronze Age samples, comprising 1,353 adults from the Tarim Basin, the Russo-Kazakh steppe, southern China, Central Asia, Iran, and the Indus Valley, are compared to test which, if either, of these hypotheses are supported by the pattern of phenetic affinities possessed by Bronze Age inhabitants of the Tarim Basin. Craniometric differences between samples are compared with Mahalanobis generalized distance (d2), and patterns of phenetic affinity are assessed with two types of cluster analysis (the weighted pair average linkage method and the neighbor-joining method), multidimensional scaling, and principal coordinates analysis. Results obtained by this analysis provide little support for either the steppe hypothesis or the Bactrian oasis hypothesis. Rather, the pattern of phenetic affinities manifested by Bronze Age inhabitants of the Tarim Basin suggests the presence of a population of unknown origin within the Tarim Basin during the early Bronze Age. After 1200 B.C., this population experienced significant gene flow from highland populations of the Pamirs and Ferghana Valley. These highland populations may include those who later became known as the Saka and who may have served as "middlemen" facilitating contacts between East (Tarim Basin, China) and West (Bactria, Uzbekistan) along what later became known as the Great Silk Road. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] China's Oil Strategy: "Going Out" to IranASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 1 2010Wen-Sheng Chen China's rapid development has drawn worldwide attention and has been referred to as a "peaceful rise" in recent years. The country's booming economy feeds Beijing's insatiable thirst for sufficient, stable, and secure energy sources. This article argues that Iran's plentiful oil reserves and its capacity to produce and export vast quantities of oil make Tehran a natural partner as China pursues its goal of rising to global-power status. Furthermore, Iran's location on the "Energy Silk Road" to China is potentially of great significance for Beijing as it seeks to break out of the "Malacca predicament." This article suggests that China sees an important role for Iran in securing its oil supply and pursuing a "westward oil strategy." The article also demonstrates that China's energy ties with Iran are constrained and conditioned by Sino-U.S. cooperation and competition and by the Middle Eastern power structure. [source] | ||||||||||