Globalizing 'science and religion': examples from the late Ottoman Empire.

This article brings together insights from efforts to develop a global history of science and recent historical and sociological studies on the relations between science and religion. Using the case of the late Ottoman Empire as an example, it argues that 'science and religion' can be seen as a debate that travelled globally in the nineteenth century, generating new conceptualizations of both science and religion in many parts of the world. In their efforts to counter arguments that represented Islam as the enemy of science and progress, young Ottoman intellectuals wrote many texts addressing a specific European author, or an imagined, broad European audience in the mid- to late nineteenth century. These texts described a 'science-friendly' Islam of which not only Europeans but also 'ignorant Muslims' were unaware. Using examples from the Ottoman press, the article demonstrates how this effort involved separating Islam from the lived reality of Muslims, transforming the religion essentially into a text that referred to scientific facts or that instructed adherents to appreciate science. In their contributions to the debate on science and religion, these young intellectuals thus also defined themselves as the legitimate interpreters of Islam in the 'age of science'.

Kindred fatalisms: debating science, Islam, and free will in the Darwinian era.

An important aspect of the nineteenth century debate on the relationship between science and religion concerned the popularity of deterministic views among scientists. An integral part of Comte's positivism, the idea of immutable laws that determined natural and social phenomena became an increasingly prevalent component of scientific perspectives in the Darwinian era. Referring to this tendency as 'scientific fatalism,' critics likened it to Calvinist predestination, which transformed the debate into one involving polemics about different branches of Christianity as well. This paper focuses on a neglected aspect of this debate, namely, the role that references to Islam and Turks played in it. 'Mohammedan fatalism,' already a common theme in justifications of colonialism, promptly became a tool with which to condemn new scientific views. Comparing French, British, and American writings on the topic, the paper illustrates that while there emerged approaches that praised the fatalism of Muslims while making a case for scientific determinism, most scientists and thinkers resorted to condemning the fatalism of Muslims in order to distinguish their views from it. In this respect, the paper demonstrates how political and religious discourses played a significant part in the shaping of scientific discourse in the Victorian era.

Three-Dimensional Nano-Morphology of Carbon Nanotube/Epoxy Filled Poly(methyl methacrylate) Microcapsules.

The three-dimensional nano-morphology of poly(methyl methacrylate; PMMA) microcapsules filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and epoxy resin were investigated by various microscopy methods, including a novel, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) method. Initially, PMMA microcapsules containing various amounts of CNTs were synthesized by a solvent evaporation method. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that pore-free, smooth-surface microcapsules formed with various types of core-shell morphologies. The average size of CNT/epoxy/PMMA microcapsules was shown to decrease from ~52 µm to ~15 µm when mixing speed during synthesis increased from 300 rpm to 1000 rpm. In general, the presence of CNTs resulted in slightly larger microcapsules and higher variations in size. Moreover, three-dimensional scans obtained from confocal microscopy revealed that higher CNT content increased the occurrence and size of CNT aggregates inside the microcapsules. Entrapped submicron air bubbles were also observed inside most microcapsules, particularly within those with higher CNT content.

Silk as a Natural Reinforcement: Processing and Properties of Silk/Epoxy Composite Laminates.

With growing environmental awareness, natural fibers have recently received significant interest as reinforcement in polymer composites. Among natural fibers, silk can potentially be a natural alternative to glass fibers, as it possesses comparable specific mechanical properties. In order to investigate the processability and properties of silk reinforced composites, vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) was used to manufacture composite laminates reinforced with woven silk preforms. Specific mechanical properties of silk/epoxy laminates were found to be anisotropic and comparable to those of glass/epoxy. Silk composites even exhibited a 23% improvement of specific flexural strength along the principal weave direction over the glass/epoxy laminate. Applying 300 kPa external pressure after resin infusion was found to improve the silk/epoxy interface, leading to a discernible increase in breaking energy and interlaminar shear strength. Moreover, the effect of fabric moisture on the laminate properties was investigated. Unlike glass mats, silk fabric was found to be prone to moisture absorption from the environment. Moisture presence in silk fabric prior to laminate fabrication yielded slower fill times and reduced mechanical properties. On average, 10% fabric moisture induced a 25% and 20% reduction in specific flexural strength and modulus, respectively.

Correlation of quantitative MR imaging findings with symptoms in patients with incidentally detected inflammatory sinonasal disease.

PURPOSE: To assess the relationships between mucosal thickness, T1-weighted, T2-weighted signals and restricted diffusion on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the degree of symptoms in patients with incidentally detected inflammatory sinonasal disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Conventional and diffusion-weighted MRI of 100 patients with incidental sinonasal mucosal thickening were prospectively evaluated. There were 53 men and 47 women, with a mean age of 44.6 years±15.17 (SD) (range: 18-81 years). Correlations between quantitative values (T1-signal, T2-signal and apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]) and three different quality of life questionnaires (chronic sinusitis survey, sinonasal outcomes test-22 and nasal obstruction and septoplasty effectiveness scale [NOSE]) were searched using the Spearman correlation test. RESULTS: The mean SNOT-22 score was 35.81±20.36 (SD) (range: 0-83), CSS score was 4.64±3.42 (SD) (range: 0-14), and NOSE score was 5.91±4.84 (range: 0-18). All patients (100%) had maxillary sinus involvement. Ethmoidal sinus involvement was present in 57% of patients, frontal sinus involvement in 33% and sphenoidal sinus involvement in 27%. Morphologically, 40 patients (40%) had septal deviation, 41 (41%) had maxillary sinus retention cyst and 78 (78%) had hypertrophy of the conchae. No correlations were found between morphological abnormalities, quantitative values and patient scores in none of the questionnaires. CONCLUSION: Incidental morphological abnormalities or restricted diffusion of the paranasal sinuses on MRI do not correlate with the degree of symptoms in patients with incidentally detected inflammatory sinonasal disease.

Shell Evolution towards

The level structure of the neutron-rich ^{77}Cu nucleus is investigated through ß-delayed γ-ray spectroscopy at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory of the RIKEN Nishina Center. Ions of ^{77}Ni are produced by in-flight fission, separated and identified in the BigRIPS fragment separator, and implanted in the WAS3ABi silicon detector array, surrounded by Ge cluster detectors of the EURICA array. A large number of excited states in ^{77}Cu are identified for the first time by correlating γ rays with the ß decay of ^{77}Ni, and a level scheme is constructed by utilizing their coincidence relationships. The good agreement between large-scale Monte Carlo shell model calculations and experimental results allows for the evaluation of the single-particle structure near ^{78}Ni and suggests a single-particle nature for both the 5/2_{1}^{-} and 3/2_{1}^{-} states in ^{77}Cu, leading to doubly magic ^{78}Ni.

Gamma Decay of Unbound Neutron-Hole States in

Excited states in the nucleus ^{133}Sn, with one neutron outside the double magic ^{132}Sn core, were populated following one-neutron knockout from a ^{134}Sn beam on a carbon target at relativistic energies at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. Besides the γ rays emitted in the decay of the known neutron single-particle states in ^{133}Sn additional γ strength in the energy range 3.5-5.5 MeV was observed for the first time. Since the neutron-separation energy of ^{133}Sn is low, S_{n}=2.402(4) MeV, this observation provides direct evidence for the radiative decay of neutron-unbound states in this nucleus. The ability of electromagnetic decay to compete successfully with neutron emission at energies as high as 3 MeV above threshold is attributed to a mismatch between the wave functions of the initial and final states in the latter case. These findings suggest that in the region southeast of ^{132}Sn nuclear structure effects may play a significant role in the neutron versus γ competition in the decay of unbound states. As a consequence, the common neglect of such effects in the evaluation of the neutron-emission probabilities in calculations of global ß-decay properties for astrophysical simulations may have to be reconsidered.

Comparative plasma and milk dispositions, faecal excretion and efficacy of per os ivermectin and pour-on eprinomectin in horses.

The horse milk gains increasing interest as a food product for sensitive consumers, such as children with food allergies or elderly people. We investigated the plasma and milk disposition, faecal excretion and efficacy of per os ivermectin (IVM) and pour-on eprinomectin (EPM) in horses. Ten mares were divided into two groups. The equine paste formulation of IVM and bovine pour-on formulation of EPM were administered orally and topically at dosage of 0.2 and 0.5 mg/kg bodyweight. Blood, milk and faecal samples were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The plasma concentration and persistence of IVM were significantly greater and longer compared with those of EPM. Surprisingly, EPM displayed a much higher disposition rate into milk (AUCmilk/plasma : 0.48) than IVM (AUCmilk/plasma : 0.19). IVM exhibited significantly higher faecal excretion (AUCfaeces : 7148.54 ng·d/g) but shorter faecal persistence (MRTfaeces : 1.17 days) compared with EPM (AUCfaeces : 42.43 ng·d/g and MRTfaeces : 3.29 days). Faecal strongyle egg counts (EPG) were performed before and at weekly intervals after treatment. IVM reduced the EPG by 96-100% for up to 8 weeks, whereas the reduction in the EPM group varied from 78 to 99%. In conclusion, due to the relatively low excretion in milk, EPM and IVM may be used safely in lactating mares if their milk is used for human consumption. Nevertheless, much lower plasma and faecal availabilities of EPM could result in subtherapeutic concentrations, which may increase the risk of drug resistance in nematodes after pour-on EPM administration compared with per os IVM.

Science as an ally of religion: a Muslim appropriation of 'the conflict thesis'.

John W. Draper's History of the Conflict between Religion and Science (1874) is commonly regarded as the manifesto of the 'conflict thesis'. The superficiality of this thesis has been demonstrated in recent studies, but to read Draper's work only as a text on 'science versus religion' is to miss half of its significance, as it also involved evaluations of individual religions with respect to their attitudes towards science. Due to Draper's favourable remarks on Islam, the Ottoman author Ahmed Midhat translated his work into Turkish, and published it along with his own comments on Draper's arguments. Midhat interpreted Islam using the cues provided by Draper, and portrayed it as the only religion compatible with science. While his Christian readers condemned Draper for his approach to Islam, Midhat transformed the 'conflict thesis' into a proclamation that Islam and science were allies in opposition to Christian encroachment on the Ottoman Empire. This paper analyses Midhat's appropriation of Draper's work and compares it to the reaction of Draper's Christian readers. It discusses the context that made an alliance between Islam and science so desirable for Midhat, and emphasizes the impact of the historico-geographical context on the encounters between and representations of science and religion.

Morphometric measurements of the caudal cranial nerves in the petroclival region.

OBJECTIVE: The dural zone of entry or exit of the caudal cranial nerves in the petroclival region does not have a constant localization. The present study aimed to measure the clival length, the distances between cranial nerve dural openings and the distance of cranial nerves from the mid-clival line in 30 human autopsy cases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty autopsy specimens (8 female, 22 male) from persons aged between 20-76 years (mean age 38.9 years) were studied. Autopsies with intracranial lesions were not included in the study. RESULTS: The average distances between the right and left dural openings of caudal cranial nerves in the petroclival region were as follows (mean+/-sd): trigeminal, 32.17+/-5.41 mm; abducent, 20.04+/-3.23 mm; facial and vestibulocochlear, 50.97+/-5.86 mm; glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, 41.59+/-6.46 mm and hypoglossal 26.8+/-4.33 mm. The measurements of the distances of the cranial nerve exits to the mid-clival line showed considerable asymmetries for the left and right trigeminal nerves. Furthermore, the distances between the trigeminal and the abducent nerves on the right and left differed significantly (p<0.029). The average distance between these two cranial nerves on the left was 8.44+/-3.66 mm and on the right was 7.31+/-2.41 mm. In addition, the average clival length was 56.96+/-5.91 mm (range: 42-71 mm). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the surgical procedures performed in this area are to remove tumors which significantly modify the local anatomy. Knowledge of morphometric variations can increase the success of cranial nerve preservation during surgical procedures of the posterior cranial fossa.

Outstanding spin-orbit-activated interchannel coupling in the Cs and Ba 3d photoemission.

Partial 3d5/2 photoionization cross sections of atomic Cs and Ba as well as the asymmetry parameter beta of the angular distribution of the Cs 3d5/2 photoelectrons were investigated near the threshold of the 3d3/2 channel at about 750 eV and 800 eV, respectively. Strong electron correlations, in particular, the spin-orbit activated interchannel coupling between the 3d5/2 and 3d3/2 channels, govern the observed spectra. The most striking effect was found for beta5/2 of Cs with a dramatic increase from beta=1.0 to beta=1.5 in the energy region where the mixing between both channels causes a pronounced minimum in the partial 3d5/2 cross section. This result indicates the decisive influence of the interference term on the asymmetry parameter beta with its dependence on the phase difference between the outgoing p and f waves.

Increased bladder apoptosis with alpha-1 adrenoceptor antagonists in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether preoperative usage of alpha-1 adrenoceptor antagonists (alpha-1ARA) prevents the alterations in bladder wall components due to obstruction via changing apoptotic and/or proliferative activity and provides an advantage for improvement of irritative symptoms following removal of bladder outlet obstruction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 39 patients were enrolled to the present study. According to preoperative medical treatment, patients were divided into 2 groups as preoperative untreated (n = 15) and medically treated patients with alpha-1ARA (n = 24). Apoptotic and proliferative indices of bladder wall were determined with TUNEL assay and proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunoreactivity, respectively. RESULTS: While the mean apoptotic indexes (AI) of lamina propria were 0.293 +/- 0.163 vs 0.978 +/- 0.194 in untreated and treated patients, the mean AI of myofibroblast cells were 0.10 +/- 0.06 and 0.90 +/- 0.23 in untreated and treated patients, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between lamina propria (p = 0.0067) and myofibroblast cells (p = 0.0280) AI in the two groups. However, there were no significant differences between postoperative symptom indices in preoperatively treated and untreated groups. CONCLUSIONS: alpha 1-ARA treatment might have an effect on hypertrophy and supersensitivity of bladder wall due to increased outlet obstruction via prevention of the imbalance between cell proliferation and apoptosis, providing normal homeostatic control mechanisms, through the interval between the onset of the lower urinary tract symptoms and time surgical intervention. However, further studies should be organized to demonstrate the impact of long-term alpha 1-ARA medication for post-operative significant improvement on irritative symptom index.

Measuring the shape and volume of an above-knee stump.

A set of design criteria for sensing the shape of an above-knee (AK) stump is presented and used as the basis for evaluating various shape sensing technologies. A mechanical probe type shape sensing system is described and its use in quantifying the external shape of the AK stump is discussed as it relates to generating a grid for finite element analysis in CAD/CAM studies and comparing the segmental volumes of the loaded and unloaded stump. This study also discusses a method that uses circumferential measurements to compute total and incremental volumes of the stump.