Nigeria is indeed a typical pluralistic society with innumerable differences in culture, ethnicity, tribe, religion, and class. Yet there exists in Nigeria certain dominant cultures, ethnic nationalities, religions, and classes. In some parts of the country the influence of a dominant culture or ethnic group is more pronounced than in others. This paper is therefore an attempt to look into our pluralism and see how it can enhance the development and promotion of democracy in the country. This paper will address (...) this topic by considering a working definition of democracy and how it is understood and applied in Nigeria; the ethnoreligious politics in Nigeria; postmodernism, democracy, and pluralism in Nigerian society; and the role of religious leaders in the survival of democracy in Nigeria. (shrink)

L'auteur étudie trois termes rencontrés dans les sources byzantines et généralement mal employés : Agarenoī , Ismaelītai et Sarakenoī , adoptés afin de désigner, avec une connotation religieuse, les dynasties arabe et turque du Proche et du Moyen Orient, mais également les diverses tribus de Turcomans qui s'établirent, à partir du XIe siècle dans les anciens territoires de ces dynasties.

The origin and evolutionary dynamics of the spatial heterogeneity in genomic base composition have been debated since its discovery in the 1970s. With the recent availability of numerous genome sequences from a wide range of species it has been possible to address this question from a comparative perspective, and similarities and differences in base composition between groups of organisms are becoming evident. Ample evidence suggests that the contrasting dynamics of base composition are driven by GC‐biased gene conversion (gBGC), a process (...) that is associated with meiotic recombination. In line with this hypothesis, base composition is associated with the rate of recombination and the evolutionary dynamics of the recombination landscape, therefore, governs base composition. In addition, and at first sight perhaps surprisingly, the relationship between demography and genomic base composition is in agreement with the gBGC hypothesis: organisms with larger populations have higher GC content than those with smaller populations. (shrink)

It has long been observed that human protein‐coding genes have a particular distribution of GC‐content: the 5′ end of these genes has high GC‐content while the 3′ end has low GC‐content. In 2012, it was proposed that this pattern of GC‐content could act as an mRNA identity feature that would lead to it being better recognized by the cellular machinery to promote its nuclear export. In contrast, junk RNA, which largely lacks this feature, would be retained in the nucleus and (...) targeted for decay. Now two recent papers have provided evidence that GC‐content does promote the nuclear export of many mRNAs in human cells. (shrink)

This paper concerns the classification of the process of mixture, for Aristotle, and the related issue of the manner in which the ingredients remain present once mixed. I argue that mixture is best viewed as a kind of substantial generation in the context of the GC and, accordingly, that the ingredients do not enjoy the kind of strong presence within a mixture usually attributed to them. To do this, I critically examine the most promising versions of the standard view and (...) offer a new interpretation of Aristotle’s treatment of a puzzle about mixture in GC 1.10. (shrink)

Properties of non‐canonical GC base pairs and their relations with mechanochemical cleavage of DNA are analyzed. A hypothesis of the involvement of the transient GC wobble base pairs both in the mechanisms of the mechanochemical cleavage of DNA and epigenetic mechanisms involving of 5‐methylcytosine, is proposed. The hypothesis explains the increase in the frequency of the breaks of the sugar‐phosphate backbone of DNA after cytosines, the asymmetric character of these breaks, and an increase in break frequency in CpG after cytosine (...) methylation. As an alternative hypothesis, probable implication of GC+ Hoogsteen base pairs is considered, which now exemplify the best‐studied non‐canonical GC base pairs in the DNA double helix. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/EUunVWL0ptw. (shrink)

RésuméLe dosage de traces de molécules organiques dans les matrices biologiques fait appel à des techniques analytiques physico‐chimiques dont la chromatographie en phase gazeuse couplée à la spectrumétrie de masse est une des plus puissantes. Des possibilityés nouvelles pour augmenter la sensibilityé de la détection de ces substances sont presentees et mises en relation avec la signification physiologique des résultats obtenus.SummaryGas chromatography‐mass spectrometry is the method of choice for the quantitative determination of organic traces in biological systems. New technical developments (...) allow higher sensitivity and greater specificity which are discussed together with the physiological meaning of the data thus obtained.ZusammenfassungDie Dosierung der Spuren von organischen Molekülen in den biologischen Matrizen erfordert physico‐chemische analytische Techniken, deren Chromatographie in gasförmiger Phase ver‐bunden mit der Massenspektrometrie eine der mächtigsten ist. Es werden neue Möglichkeiten zur Steigerung der Empfindlichkeit der Aufweisung dieser Substanzen vorgelegt, und mit der physio‐logischen Bedeutung der erhaltenen Ergebnisse in Beziehung gesetzt. (shrink)

The Group Cohesiveness Scale measures patient-rated group cohesiveness. The English version of the scale has demonstrated good psychometric properties. This study describes the validation of the Czech version of the GCS. A total of 369 patients participated in the study. Unlike the original study, the ordinal confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-dimensional solution. The analysis demonstrated the existence of two moderately to highly associated domains of group cohesiveness—affective and behavioral. The two-dimensional model was invariant across genders, age, education, and time (...) up to factor means level. Internal consistency reached satisfactory values for both domains. In terms of convergent validity, only weak association was found between the GCS domains and the group working alliance measured by the Group Outcome Rating Scale. This is the first revision of the factor structure of the GCS in the European context. The scale showed that the Czech version of the GCS is a valid and reliable brief tool for measuring both aspects of group cohesiveness. (shrink)

Continuateur d’Eusèbe de Césarée (265-339), Socrate de Constantinople (380-440), un des plus grands historiens de l’Antiquité chrétienne de langue grecque, est l’auteur d’une précieuse Histoire (publiée probablement vers 439/440) dont l’intérêt réside, non seulement dans le fait qu’elle prolonge de plus d’un siècle l’Histoire ecclésiastique d’Eusèbe, mais aussi parce qu’elle nous a conservé des documents historiques de la plus haute importance, souvent cités in extenso, et dont certains sont ..

We demonstrate how different normalization techniques in GC‐MS analysis impart unique properties to the data, influencing any biological inference. Using simulations, and empirical data, we compare the most commonly used techniques (Total Sum Normalization ‘TSN’; Median Normalization ‘MN’; Probabilistic Quotient Normalization ‘PQN’; Internal Standard Normalization ‘ISN’; External Standard Normalization ‘ESN’; and a compositional data approach ‘CODA’). When differences between biological classes are pronounced, ESN and ISN provides good results, but are less reliable for more subtly differentiated groups. MN, TSN, and (...) CODA approaches produced variable results dependent on the structure of the data, and are prone to false positive biomarker identification. In contrast, PQN exhibits the lowest false positive rate, though with occasionally poor model performance. Because ESN requires extensive pre‐planning, and offers only mixed reliability, and ISN, TSN, MN, and CODA approaches are prone to introducing artefactual differences, we recommend the use of PQN in GC–MS research. (shrink)

Group contingency (GC) is an effective and cost-efficient strategy that can be successfully applied to technology-based interventions. This study examined the relative effectiveness and cost efficiency of three types of technology-based group contingencies on walking among adults. Seventy two students were divided into teams of three. Each team was randomly assigned to one of three GC conditions (independent, interdependent, or dependent) and underwent 66 days of technology-based group contingency intervention. Sixty five participants completed the intervention and 61 completed the follow-up (...) assessment 2 months later. Step counts and self-reported walking activity increased after the intervention under all three conditions. The proportion of participants that met the target step counts was significantly higher under the dependent group contingency condition. However, 2 months later, intervention effects were not maintained under any condition. For cost efficiency, the increase in step count per point was significantly higher under the interdependent group contingency condition. Group cohesion and social validity (point satisfaction and point utility) were significantly higher under the dependent group contingency condition. Finally, the clinical implications and limitations of this study are discussed. (shrink)

Cancers often express hundreds of genes otherwise specific to germ cells, the germline/cancer (GC) genes. Here, we present and discuss the hypothesis that activation of a “germline program” promotes cancer cell malignancy. We do so by proposing four hallmark processes of the germline: meiosis, epigenetic plasticity, migration, and metabolic plasticity. Together, these hallmarks enable replicative immortality of germ cells as well as cancer cells. Especially meiotic genes are frequently expressed in cancer, implying that genes unique to meiosis may play a (...) role in oncogenesis. Because GC genes are not expressed in healthy somatic tissues, they form an appealing source of specific treatment targets with limited side effects besides infertility. Although it is still unclear why germ cell specific genes are so abundantly expressed in cancer, from our hypothesis it follows that the germline's reproductive program is intrinsic to cancer development. (shrink)