Sweet Tea Research Articles

Around the World: Sushi and Sweet Tea at the University of Mississippi

PurposeA brief review of recent and upcoming technology initiatives at the University of Mississippi Libraries with a dash of southern hospitality.Design/methodology/approachThis is an introduction to a well‐established, academic library remaking itself in the age of bookstore cafes, Google, and heightened user expectations.FindingsIn an age of budgetary constraints and small staffs, the patron experience is reinvented through library technology and creature comforts.Practical implicationsLibraries have to evolve in terms of both space and technology in order to meet the expectations of 21st century users.Originality/valueProvides a profile of the University of Mississippi Libraries.

Preparative Separation and Identification of the Flavonoid Phlorhizin from the Crude Extract of Lithocarpus Polystachyus Rehd

The flavonoid phlorhizin is abundant in the leaves of Sweet Tea (ST, Lithocarpus Polystachyus Rehd). Phlorhizin was preparatively separated and purified from a crude ST extract containing 40% total flavonoids by static adsorption and dynamic desorption on ADS-7 macroporous resin and neutral alumina column chromatography. Only water and ethanol were used as solvents and eluants throughout the whole separation and purification process. Using a phlorhizin standard as the reference compound, the target compound separated from the crude ST extracts was analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EIS-MS) and identified as 99.87% pure (by HPLC-UV) phlorhizin. The results showed that 10 g of the target compound could be obtained from 40 g of the crude extracts in a single operation, indicating a 40% recovery. Therefore, this represents an efficient and environmentally-friendly technology for separating and purifying phlorhizin from ST leaves.

Dental caries prevalence and risk factors among 12-year old schoolchildren from Baghdad, Iraq: a post-war survey

To examine the prevalence of dental caries in 12-year-old schoolchildren from Baghdad after the end of the United Nations' economic sanctions and to investigate related dental caries risk factors including gender, socio-demographic factors, oral hygiene and sugar intake. A cross-sectional dental caries examination and questionnaire survey was conducted in 10 schools from west Baghdad. Dental examinations based on WHO criteria and questionnaire surveys were performed on 392 children. Water samples were collected and fluoride concentration assessed. The mean DMFT and DF were 1.7 and 1.3. The rate of caries experience (DMFT > 0) was 62%. DMFT increased significantly with higher education of the mother, not being embarrassed to smile, missing school due to dental pain and between-meals mode of drinking. Increased sugar consumption was associated with being a boy, having mothers with low education, living in a low socio-economic area and brushing at least once-a-day. Positive oral hygiene practices were higher for girls. Western sweet snacks were preferred and sweet tea was frequently consumed. The fluoride content in drinking water was too low for caries prevention. It is important to maintain the low prevalence of caries among children by increasing awareness and promoting oral health care strategies.

Dietary Patterns and Diabetes Incidence in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

The authors investigated the association of dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes in a 4-year prospective study of 36,787 adults in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (1990-1994). A total of 31,641 (86%) participants completed follow-up, and 365 cases were identified. Four factors with eigenvalues of greater than 2 were identified using the principal factor method with 124 foods/beverages, followed by orthogonal rotation. Variables with factor loadings having absolute values of 0.3 or greater were used in interpreting the factors. Odds ratios for diabetes incidence across quintiles of factor scores were computed by use of logistic regression, adjusting for age, energy intake, family history of diabetes, country of birth, and other factor scores. Factor 1, characterized by olive oil, salad vegetables, and legumes and by avoidance of sweet bakery items, margarine, and tea, was associated with country of birth but not with diabetes. Factor 2, characterized by salad and cooked vegetables, was inversely associated with diabetes. Factor 3, characterized by meats and fatty foods, was associated with increased diabetes risk. A range of fruits loaded strongly on factor 4, which showed little association with diabetes. Avoidance of a dietary pattern including meats and fatty foods, as well as adherence to a pattern including salad and cooked vegetables, is recommended.

Antiangiogenic Effect of a Chinese Sweet Leaf Tea Extract in Experimental Corneal Neovascularization

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of topical administration of Rubus suavissimus. S. Lee (Rosaceae) (RUS), an extract of Chinese sweet leaf tea, in the prevention of experimentally induced corneal neovascularization. Corneal neovascularization was induced in 40 rat eyes (1 per animal) by a silver nitrate cauterization technique. Three concentrations (0.1%, 1%, and 10% w/v) of RUS in saline were administered topically twice a day for 7 days. The coverage of the corneal surface by neovascular vessels was measured, using photographs, as a percentage of total cornea area. A histopathologic score was assigned to each cornea. The difference in mean burn stimulus scores of treatment and placebo groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.714). The 10% RUS solution caused a significant decrease in the percentage of neovascularization in response to cauterization (p < 0.01); the 0.1% and 1% concentrations were not significantly different from controls (p = 0.173). The 10% concentration group had significantly less neovascularization than the control group (p < 0.01). It was found that topical application of 10% RUS solution caused a significant decrease in neovascular response to silver nitrate cauterization compared with control eyes.

Rubusuaviins A-F, Monomeric and Oligomeric Ellagitannins from Chinese Sweet Tea and Their .ALPHA.-Amylase Inhibitory Activity

Six new ellagitannins herein, rubusuaviins A-F, were isolated from the aqueous acetone extract of Chinese sweet tea (Tien-cha, dried leaves of Rubus suavissimus S. LEE) together with seven known tannins. Rubusuaviin A was characterized as 1-O-galloyl-2,3-O-(S)-HHDP-4,6-O-(S)-sanguisorboyl-beta-D-glucopyranose. Rubusuaviins B, C, and E are dimeric, trimeric, and tetrameric ellagitannins, respectively, in which the sanguisorboyl groups were connected ellagitannin units. Rubusuaviins D and F were desgalloyl derivatives of rubusuaviins C and E, respectively. The inhibition of alpha-amylase activity by rubusuaviins and related ellagitannins was compared. Ellagitannins with beta-galloyl groups at the glucose C-1 positions showed stronger inhibition compared with the alpha-galloyl and desgalloyl compounds. The molecular weight of these compounds was not important for the inhibition of alpha-amylase activity.

Self‐Reported Sugar‐Sweetened Beverage Intake among College Students

To characterize sugar-sweetened beverage intake of college students. Undergraduates in an urban southern community campus were surveyed anonymously about sugared beverage consumption (soda, fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, sweet ice tea) in the past month. Two hundred sixty-five undergraduates responded (66% women, 46% minority, 100% of volunteers solicited). Most students (95%) reported sugared beverage intake in the past month, and 65% reported daily intake. Men were more likely than women to report daily intake (74% vs. 61%, p = 0.035). Soda was the most common sugar-sweetened beverage. Black undergraduates reported higher sugared beverage intake than whites (p = 0.02), with 91% of blacks reporting sugar-sweetened fruit drink intake in the past month and 50% reporting daily consumption. Mean estimated caloric intake from combined types of sugar-sweetened beverages was significantly higher among black students than whites, 796 +/- 941 vs. 397 +/- 396 kcal/d (p = 0.0003); the primary source of sugar-sweetened beverage calories among blacks was sugared fruit drinks (556 +/- 918 kcal/d). Younger undergraduates reported significantly higher intake than older students (p = 0.025). Self-reported sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among undergraduates is substantial and likely contributes considerable non-nutritive calories, which may contribute to weight gain. Black undergraduates may be particularly vulnerable due to higher sugared beverage intake. Obesity prevention interventions targeting reductions in sugar-sweetened beverages in this population merit consideration.

A Confederacy of Letters

American hview Ferrer continuedfrom previous page-----------------genres , having grown out ofthem. And in those lazy, pat, spiceless, typecastformulas ofour private lives, we find—to give Michael Chabon the penultimate word—that we have "lost the sense of mystery, of mysteries and in the short form in general. the Mystery that redeems the whole sad production." BAMS 2005 is a robust and intriguing collection that goes some way in recovering the Mystery, both in Hugh Ferrer is the program coordinator for the International Writing Program andfiction editor at The Iowa Review. A Confederacy of Letters Tom Williams New Stories from the South 2005 Edited by Shannon Ravenel Algonquin http://www.algonquin.com 328 pages; paper, $13.95 Recently, the editor ofanother southernjournal asked me how long I had lived in the region. "Ifyou count my five years in Houston," I replied, "I've lived, off and on, for over ten years in the South, the last half in Eastern Arkansas." "And," I added, "I've no plans ofleaving." "But you'll neverbe a Southerner," my colleague said, and he was absolutely right. While one can emigrate to the US from anywhere in the world and become an American citizen, the Old Confederacy might allow transplants like us to take advantage of their low tax burdens, abundant sunshine, temperate weather—along with barbecue, catfish, and sweet tea by the gallon—but we will always be considered outsiders by natives. Why this occurs requires much more time than I have here, but let it be said that members of the Old and New South still view outsiders suspiciously, as if the only reason we're here is to spy upon primitive practices and report back to Manhattan about how little Dixie has changed since 1965—or, for that matter, since 1865. Yet, in my case, what drew me to this part ofthe world was the world of southern letters. And whether it was Flannery O. or William F. or Richard W. who first beckoned them, non-southern lovers of southern literature are common, far more common—to my mind—than what one finds with the other regional literatures of the United States. In fact, a case could be made that southern literature is the only regional literature we have. All one need do is look at Algonquin 's New Storiesfrom the South series, now in its twentieth year. Is there an equivalent for stories from the East, Midwest, or West? Occasionally, one finds such a volume, but not an annual, and not one with the consistent quality found in this series, started in 1986 by the indomitable Shannon Ravenel. The first issue's contributors (the latest volume, 2005, lists titles and authors from each year in the series) included Madison Smartt Bell, James Lee Burke, Mary Hood, and Max Apple, among others. A perusal of other volumes shows such names as Lewis Nordan, Richard Bausch, Larry Brown, Ellen Gilchrist, and Bobbie Ann Mason, notables always on the top of my list for bestAmerican writers as well as southern writers. The newest volume ofNew Storiesfrom the South will once again show the need for such an annual—there is so much good stuff published in journals and magazines every year. And the reader, whether southern (as the bumper stickers claim) "by the grace of God" or by choice, will find another sampling ofwonderful stories varied enoughtoplease just about anyone. Unlike the Best American Short Stories or O'Henry annuals, there is no celebrity judge for New Storiesfrom the South. Since 1997, such writers as Robert Olen Butler and Lee Smith have written prefaces, but have not participated in assembling the collection. This year's preface writer, Jill McCorkle —herself represented several times in the series—offers a fairly tame and lightly interesting take on the differences between the South and other regions; but once again it is Ravenel who selected the stories. I find it fairly impressive that New Stories has remained surprising and fresh over the years and hasn't fallen into a predictable aesthetic. Granted, one rarely encounters formally innovative fictions, but this is to be expected when one considers that, in the wake of Faulkner's daring experiments, most southern fiction...

Drafting Away from It All

I loved sweet tea, fried chicken, and pulled pork sandwiches. I drove an American-made car and enjoyed old country music. I had a fishing license and drank domestic beer, preferably cheap, on a regular basis. I lived in Nashville, and to the outsider I was living a life in accordance with my geography. Since the antenna broke on my car's radio, I had been limited to listening to only one station. It was dedicated to sports talk, and inevitably the subject of NASCAR would come up. I would normally have just changed the station, but silence was my only other option, so I listened. It was alienating. I had no idea what a restrictor plate was. I thought Daytona was for spring break. I had seen folks clad in NASCAR clothes and stickers of Calvins pissing on Fords my whole life, but the shirts walked away and the stickers drove off. The NASCAR talk on the radio followed me, to my mind repeatedly affirming the devastating reality that I lacked understanding of an important southern cultural tradition. A dark secret hid itself under my overt appreciation for barbecue and bluegrass: I knew next to nothing about NASCAR. Something had to be done. Two weeks later, my friend Doug and I were headed east on Interstate-40 towards the Nashville Superspeedway, thirty miles from Nashville proper, the site of the NASCAR Busch Series Pepsi 300. In Lebanon we exited from Interstate-40 onto 840, a four lane highway bordered by limestone and livestock. I started to speed a little bit. On one side of the road, a shirtless man with a Confederate flag bandanna on his head was stooping over the engine of his Pontiac Sunfire, which was spewing out vapor from the radiator. On the other side of the road, the top of the track's grandstand peeked over the blown out limestone wall that lined the highway. It was the only structure in sight, standing powerfully in juxtaposition to the virtually flat landscape. The $125 million track, which opened in 2001, is one-point-three miles in length and can hold around thirty thousand fans. It was built so that it might be expanded to hold up to one hundred and fifty thousand, in case the Nextel series, the biggest of the races, decides to have an event there. I exited the highway and was directed, along with a throng of other cars, through thousands of cones, set up in no particular order, that somehow or another led to the parking area, an expansive field of grass behind the grandstand. Most of the cars parked in it were fairly new models, and most were American. We found the closest spot, about a quarter mile from the track, and parked. Worried about the amount of beer we would be allowed to bring inside, Doug and I decided to lighten the load of our cooler and enjoy the seventy-degree March day by having a Natural Light. Alcohol was a crucial catalyst in the creation of stock car racing. During prohibition, and for some time after, bootleggers would modify their cars in order to avoid trouble from law enforcement. The bootleggers became proficient mechanics, and during daylight hours they had no use for their cars. In order to kill time before their next bootlegging run, they would often race each other for bragging rights or money. Inevitably, locals would hear about the races and come to watch, no doubt enjoying the same whiskey that the fledgling racers would smuggle later that night. The winner of the first real NASCAR race, which occurred in 1949, was still bootlegging and was disqualified due to extra modifications he had made in order to outrun police the night before. We sat on the hood of my car and soaked in the sun and the scene. I could hear Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird playing in the distance, accompanied by requisite rebel yells. The main event, the Pepsi 300, was an hour away from starting. A smaller race, just a hundred miles, with less powerful cars, was finishing up. A huge plume of black smoke rose from behind the grandstand from what must have been a hell of a fire. …

Influence of sweetness on the sensory-specific satiety and long-term acceptability of tea

Our objectives were to investigate: (1) the effect of long-term exposure on acceptance of tea with two sucrose levels; (2) whether long-term consumption of tea at a specific sucrose level would shift the optimum sucrose level; and (3) whether sensory-specific satiety could serve as a rapid method for predicting the long-term acceptability of sweetened tea. This study had four parts: an initial taste test to determine the optimum and low levels of sucrose, a 6-week long-term acceptability test during which two groups of subjects consumed tea with the optimum and low sweetness levels, respectively, a second taste test, and a sensory-specific satiety test. Liking for the low sweet tea increased with repeated consumption, but this increase was not predicted by sensory-specific satiety. Liking, consumption and tiredness were complexly interrelated with each other and with measures of hunger and desire to consume the tea.

Gallic acid is partially responsible for the antiangiogenic activities ofRubus leaf extract

An aqueous extract of leaves from Rubus suavissimus S. Lee (Rosaceae) or sweet leaf tea was tested for antiangiogenic activity in a human tissue-based fibrin-thrombin clot angiogenesis assay. Further fractionation of this crude extract was performed and the antiangiogenic effect of individual fractions was assessed. The extract was also tested for its oral bioavailability by using the serum of normal rats gavaged with the extract in the assay. At a 0.1% w/v concentration, the extract inhibited initiation of the angiogenic response and subsequent neovessel growth from samples that had already initiated an angiogenic response. Two subfractions of the extract showed significant inhibition of angiogenesis at 0.1% w/w. Gallic acid was elucidated as one of the active angiogenesis inhibitors in one fraction. A 1 mm concentration of gallic acid totally inhibited angiogenesis. In the form of leaf extract, a one-tenth concentration produced the same total inhibition as pure gallic acid. The 10-fold difference in potency suggests the presence of other active compounds contributing to the overall antiangiogenic effect of the extract. The oral absorption of this extract was tested by using serum from rats given the extract orally (gavage) in the angiogenesis assay system. The serum of rats orally administered the sweet leaf tea extract at doses of 0.1% w/w and 0.3% w/w did not significantly inhibit angiogenesis. However, the serum of rats injected intraperitoneally at a dose of 0.1% w/w caused a 41% inhibition of angiogenesis compared with saline injected controls. These preliminary results warrant further bioassay directed identification of other responsible compounds.

Rivka's Tomb

Rivka's Tomb Gila Tal (bio) I have always pictured her lying in the ditch. At first she is consumed by the throbbing pain in her broken leg and does not have time to digest the horror of what has happened to her. Is her leg broken in more than one place? I guess that it is not, that she has merely stumbled over some fallen branches or loose rocks in the ground and tumbled into this would-be grave. It is not long before she understands that she cannot allow her physical pain to immobilize her. Perhaps the sun is beginning to set already. She struggles like an untamed animal in a man-made trap. If she could only drag herself up onto level ground surely she could retrace her steps, even if it meant crawling on all fours at a loss to her dignity. After a full hour of struggling to free herself her energy is no longer reliable and comes only in stops and starts. With another hour's passing, her weariness is greater than any other force in her body and she succumbs to her exhaustion. Her final reality sets in: the pain, the fear and eventually the wild hunger. She must have been blanketed by these multiple curses. Forests are filled with animals. Maybe a lean fox appeared that momentarily stopped her heart while the last rays of daylight were vanishing beyond the thin treetops or a screeching pointy-eared owl spooked her all night, keeping her alert and unable to hide in sleep. I cannot push my imagination beyond that; an animal's teeth tearing into her arm while she is still conscious or biting an already shattered leg while she is not, those images I must omit. How many days does it take to die in a ditch in a forest? I have always been afraid to ask. By the time they found her body she had [End Page 114] been missing for three months. Three months of rain and merciless Middle Eastern sun marching on her dying and then dead body. Rivka: daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, wife, mother, grandmother. What could I have learned from you? I know you spoke Hebrew, Arabic and Yiddish. That's already countless buttery afternoons stolen: the ones where we did not sit and swap languages over sweet tea and warm colorful cookies. I can hear myself counting to ten slowly in English, waiting for that elderly nod of affection and that slow smile of understanding. Then I lean forward in my eager-to-play mood, and it's my turn to wrap my tongue around the foreign Arabic words in exchange for the final sweet we both knew was always mine. Sometimes I sift through old black and white family photographs looking for alternative images of my grandmother; something warmer to bury the image of the cold body in the ditch. In the first photo I ever found of her she is dressed in mock royal garb: Miss Tel Aviv. Four men are carrying her on a throne and she could be Batya or any other Pharaoh's daughter out to tour her subjects. There were no talent shows or swimsuit competitions in the first half of the twentieth century. She is covered from head to toe in a colorful long skirt and a matching jacket that triple buckles over her breast. A scarf peppered with tiny silver bells is wrapped around her wavy hair that is long enough to sit on and black as tragic loss. There are several other photographs of my grandmother with her lips parted, but never really smiling. Here she is with a younger cousin, there with her parents. By the time color photographs were invented she had lost most of hers. In black and white she has skin that looks smooth as freshly peeled apples. You feel as though you can look right into her eyes, they are so lucid in one photograph after another. Her hair is either swept over one shoulder or tossed loosely over both. She is dressed modestly, what people today would consider extremely modestly, but never without decorative collars and buttons on her tops and...

畑地かんがい事業に伴う集落の営農形態の変化と課題―鹿児島県南薩地区の事例―

The effect and problems of an upland irrigation project on the farming patterns of settlements were investigated based on the questionnaire surveys and agricultural census data in the Nansatsu district. The farming patterns, which are categorized as three main crops of vegetables, manufacturing sweet potatoes and tea, are significantly affected by the natural conditions such as the terrains or the type of soils. The crops of vegetables and tea having high effect of the project have been preferred year by year, while the crops of the potatoes having low effect still continue to exist because of traditional crops in this district.

Fingol: A Caribbean Libretto

Fingol: A Caribbean Libretto Nehassaiu deGannes (bio) Overture Jalousies up Jalousies curtsy askew Pink bougainvillea leap into view Picture a sun Picture a sea Figure a wind at hurricane season ∂ ∂ ∂ Gretel's parents had to take a trip Far up north Had to get on a plane and fly Away So, Gretel went to stay With her Granny, Catherine Who lived in a house At 9 Turkey Lane Jalousies winked Jalousies clapped 9 Turkey Lane In Roseau, Dominica There was grandpa Aunties and uncles [End Page 851] Hugs and kisses And plantain chips There were hellos---my she's grown What you feeding her smiles We'll send for her soon Don't cry Goodbye Mommy and Daddy flew Far up north Gretel couldn't see them anymore Even when she squinted her eyes What she could see was The man who lived next door Mr. G He was not a very old man Not a very sweet man But no one told Gretel the truth About Mr. G Not even me Gretel liked two things To suck her thumb Play with her bellybutton Stand at the window and sing Mr. G Mr. G look I have my chicken bone One day I'll be flying home Look-nuh see all the world was made for me Jalousies fluttered Jalousies flicked One slow fan batted an eye At slats appearing To shudder n' stutter Open sesame! Then, [End Page 852] One day Mr. G Invited Gretel over for tea Granny let her go Gretel was only three And Mrs. G was never home For tea and hidden biscuits Gretel oh Gretel Where could they be? Mr. G would task her My biscuits? My bonbons? My sly diabetic's basket? Under our chesterfield's vinyl pool? Atop my lemon-oiled walnut Staircase open chest of drawers? In the lap of a sleepy phonograph? Hump-a-bump Hump-a-bump Horsey goes over a hill What's that I spy under your skirt? What currant? What button? What plum? My raison d´être! My raisin of ether And he'd breathe her Nibble her biscuit Instead of sweet tea He'd feed her his tongue Gretel was three Didn't like the cud of his tongue Nor the wet-fowl of his hands She told Granny No and scolded her skirt Next time he invited for tea He fingoled me. He fingoled me. She told her grandmother plainly So plainly the woman forgot [End Page 853] Everyone forgot. Aunties forgot. Uncles forgot. Her parents up north never knew. Her grandfather was at work on sweet afternoons What was a neighbor to do? Everyone forgot even me And agreed to more tea At nine more tea at fourteen More tea each time The plane brought Gretel south over-seas Jalousies blinked Jalousies yawned Jalousies slept in this fish-gut rose-water town Picture a now Picture a then Figure a poem unraveling at the hem When, when, when Twenty-seven years later At a kitchen table In a country far up north Granny Catherine plucks from her basket The lost planet Of Gretel's own pomegranate word One girl-child's forensic dialect Demeter's redemptive hunt-and-peck FINGOL Six stuttering moths in a lamp-lit mouth An elliptical orbiting sound: singed wings, bruised rind Black thread spooled six times round my finger One drunk constellation I wasn't dreaming I really did go to hell [End Page 854] ∂ ∂ ∂ Coda To all you hugging Your chin to your knees Remember Nehassaiu deGannes Nehassaiu Degannes is author of Percussion, Salt & Honey (Providence Athenaeum, 2001), a chapbook of poems, which won her the Philbrick Poetry Prize. She has also published poems in a number of periodicals, including American Poetry Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, and Callaloo. After completing the MFA in creative writing at Brown University, she completed a three-year graduate acting program at Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. Copyright © 2004 Charles H. Rowell

Are Kurds a Pariah Minority?

KURDS invariably greet visitors to “Kurdistan” with a cup of sweet tea and the complaint that they are “the largest people without a nation.” They are right. Approximately 24 million Kurds are spread across Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iran, and the countries of the Caucasus. While the Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East (after Arabs, Persians, and Turks), they remain destined to be a minority spread among nations.1 But are they a pariah minority? And what historic responsibility do the Kurds themselves bear for their status? Kurds and Kurdistan The term “Kurdistan” first appeared in the fourteenth century, but like many regions before the rise of nationalism, its boundaries shifted through time (Nikitine, 1956: 23). Today, the area claimed as Kurdistan spans 500,000 square kilometers—roughly the size of Spain—and stretches from the center of Turkey to the southern Caucasus and then southward along the Iran-Iraq border (Bois, 1965: 1-2). Kurdistan literally means “land of the Kurds,” but the area is not homogenous and contains Arabs, Turks, Persians, Assyrians, and Armenians, among others. Many Kurds live outside Kurdistan as well. Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the shahs of Iran’s Safavid dynasty transferred Kurds to Khorasan in what is now northeastern Iran, conscripting them to guard the SOCIAL RESEARCH, Vol. 70, No. 1 (Spring 2003) Are Kurds a Pariah Minority?* MICHAEL RUBIN *I am grateful for the help provided by Seth Wikas, a research assistant at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, as well as that of many Iraqi Kurds who must remain anonymous until their future is more secure. frontier against marauding Uzbeks (Avery, 1991: 4-5). More recently, urban migration has shifted Kurdish demographics. The city with the world’s largest Kurdish population today is Istanbul, followed closely by Ankara, even though neither city falls within traditional Kurdistan (Koknar, 1999). There is even disagreement over who can be considered a Kurd. When I lived in Iraqi Kurdistan during the academic year 2000-2001, some officials insisted that the Lur and Bakhtiari tribesmen of Iran were actually Kurds, although most Lur and Bakhtiari consider themselves distinct peoples (Tapper, 1997: 11; Garthwaite, 1983: 18; Mortensen, 1993: 44). Likewise, linguistic or religious minorities, such as the Zaza of Turkey and the Chaldeans of Iraq, often seek to be recognized as separate ethnicities. Despite the frequent use of the term “Kurdistan,” only in Iran and Iraq does the name have official definition. In Iran, Kurdistan is a province, albeit one that encompasses just one-eighth of the area in Iran inhabited by Kurds.2 In Iraq, the 1974 autonomy law defined Kurdistan as areas found by the 1957 census to have a Kurdish majority, meaning the governorates of Dohuk, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah. However, Kurds have long disputed the census , and make additional claims on both the city and governorate of Kirkuk (McDowall, 2000: 336). Among the Kurds, there is religious, linguistic, and tribal diversity . Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, with perhaps 15 percent Shiite . Tens of thousands of Kurds also adhere to Islamic heterodox and pre-Islamic religions. For example, perhaps 1 million Alevi Kurds live in Turkey. Alevi theology combines a pivotal role for the Caliph ‘Ali (one of Muhammad’s companions and the fourth caliph) with vestiges of pre-Islamic beliefs (Boseley, 1989).3 Yezidi Kurds are concentrated in Iraq’s Ninawa and Dohuk governorates ; they claim approximately 140,000 adherents in Iraq (Khayli, 2001; Pope, 1993).4 (Yezidism is a pre-Islamic belief combining a cult of angels, with vestiges of pre-Islamic Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism.)5 Communities of Kaka’is (Ahl-i Haqq) 296 SOCIAL RESEARCH blend pre-Islamic beliefs with Shia Islam and live in mountain villages along the Iran-Iraq border (During, 1998). Language is perhaps the factor that most divides Kurds today. Kurdish is an Indo-Iranian language similar to the Persian spoken in neighboring Iran (and very dissimilar to Arabic and Turkish , both of which belong to separate language families). Kurdish is, however, divided into numerous dialects, not all of which are mutually intelligible. Generally speaking, the two most important Kurdish dialects are Kurmanji (sometimes called Bahdahnani, after a nineteenth-century emirate) and...

Effect of Oral Kohki Tea on Bladder Dysfunction Induced by Severe Partial Outlet Obstruction

Extracts of the leaves of Engelhardtia chrysolepis, a subtropical plant that grows wild in southern China, have been used medicinally in east Asia for hundreds of years. A standard extract named Kohki tea (Maruzen Pharmaceuticals, Onomichi City, Japan) is sold over the counter in Japan as a sweet tea shown to confer many beneficial effects on general health and well-being. The tea contains strong antioxidants, including several dihydroflavonol glycosides. The results of previous studies show that natural products with antioxidant activities provide protective effects on the bladder of rabbits with partial outlet obstruction. We determined in vivo and in vitro whether oral pretreatment of rabbits with Kohki tea protects the bladder from dysfunction induced by partial outlet obstruction. A total of 28 New Zealand White rabbits were separated into 4 groups of 7 each. Rabbits in groups 1 and 2 were treated by gavage with 100 mg./kg. Kohki tea daily in distilled water, while those in groups 3 and 4 were given distilled water. After 4 weeks of daily oral administration each rabbit was sedated, the bladder was catheterized and cystometry was performed at a filling rate of 1 ml. per minute. At the completion of cystometry the rabbits were immediately anesthetized. Moderate outlet obstruction was created in groups 1 and 3, and sham surgery was performed in groups 2 and 4. Treatment was continued for an additional 4 weeks, when each rabbit was sedated and cystometry was repeated. After cystometry the bladder was exposed through a midline incision, excised, weighed and 4 strips of bladder body were cut for contractility studies. The balance of the bladder was separated between smooth muscle and mucosa by blunt dissection, frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -70C for biochemical analyses. Partial outlet obstruction stimulated similar increases in the bladder weight of all obstructed rabbits. Partial outlet obstruction resulted in a significant decrease in bladder compliance in all obstructed animals. However, the bladder of obstructed rabbits given Kohki tea were significantly more compliant than those given water. Voiding pressures in the control group and the obstructed group given distilled water were approximately equal, while obstructed rabbits given Kohki tea showed significantly higher maximal voiding pressure. The contractile responses to all forms of stimulation were reduced by obstruction to a significantly greater degree in the rabbits not given tea than in those given tea. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-adenosine triphosphatase enzyme activity of the bladder was significantly reduced in obstructed rabbits given vehicle but activity was not reduced in obstructed rabbits given Kohki tea. Kohki tea had a significant protective effect on bladder function, contractile responses and bladder biochemistry in rabbits with moderate to severe partial outlet obstruction.

Dietary patterns and risk factors of diabetes mellitus among urban indigenous women in Fiji.

The dietary patterns of indigenous Fijians are changing rapidly. Dietary relationships in regard to the prevalence of diabetes are poorly studied in Fiji. A survey was conducted to show the relationship of dietary patterns and other lifestyle factors for the development of diabetes among urban indigenous women in Fiji. A sample of 200 Fijian women aged 30-39 who agreed to participate were interviewed by the use of semiquantitative food frequency, 3 day-24 h recall study. Physical activity and ceremonial dietary customs were also taken into consideration. Anthropometry included measurements of height, weight, waist and hip. Total percentage bodyfat measurements and glycosuria tests were also conducted. The results showed high rates of obesity manifested in high percentage bodyfat, high body mass index (BMI) and high waist and hip ratio (WHR). The mean 24 h dietary intake exhibited a moderate intake of protein, high intake of fat and a low intake of carbohydrate. The carbohydrate reduction was a result from the decline in consumption of traditional staples. Consumption of cereals and related products favored the high intake of butter and margarine and also encouraged the use of cooking oil in frying varieties of flour products. The daily intake of anti-oxidant vitamins of beta-carotene and vitamin E were low, however there was a high intake of vitamin C. The food frequency study revealed cassava, bread and sugar were consumed daily as the main carbohydrate foods. Fish and meat were the most frequently consumed protein foods. The main beverage was sweet tea with whole-cream milk. Butter, margarine, coconut cream, cheap lamb flaps and cooking oil provided the main sources of fat. Levels of physical activity included high sedentary lifestyles with a high rate of subjects being overweight and obese. Ceremonial dietary customs showed a high consumption of meat and fish. Fruits were rarely consumed. Glycosuria existed among the age group under study. The impact of dietary transition, coupled with dietary excesses and physical inactivity, seem to be potential risk factors of diabetes among the indigenous women in the urban area.

Mineral and water soluble vitamin content in the Kombucha drink

Summary Biologically active substances (water soluble vitamins and minerals) were analyzed in ‘Kombucha’—a curative liquor, produced by the so‐called ‘Kombucha cultivation’ (Macedonian collection of microorganisms, No 734) in sweet black tea decoct. The water soluble vitamins in the Kombucha drink were separated and identified using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and quantified by the comparison of their chromatographic UV spectra with the reference compounds. Four soluble vitamins have been determinated to have the following concentrations: vitamin B1 0.74 mg ml−1, vitamin B6 0.52 mg ml−1, vitamin B12 0.84 mg ml−1 and vitamin C 1.51 mg ml−1. Mineral elements of nutritional and toxicological importance were determined in dissolved ash using atomic absorption chromatography (AAS). Mineral composition content involved determination of the essential elements: zinc, copper, iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt. Investigations of some toxic elements showed that lead and chromium were present in very small amounts, whereas cadmium was not found.

Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century, and: Fruits of Empire: Exotic Produce and British Taste, 1660-1800 (review)

Reviewed by: Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century, and: Fruits of Empire: Exotic Produce and British Taste, 1660–1800 Peter Earle Roy Porter and Marie Mulvey Roberts, eds. Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century (New York: New York University Press, 1996). Pp. 273. $37.50 cloth. James Walvin. Fruits of Empire: Exotic Produce and British Taste, 1660–1800 (New York: New York University Press, 1997). Pp. 219. $45.00 cloth. Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century is a promising title, but this book of essays does not really satisfy that promise and one wonders just how and why the editors decided to put it together. The book starts with two essays by Roy Porter, one summarizing the eighteenth-century luxury debate and the other reviewing the consumer revolution and the commercialization of leisure. As one would expect, this is competently done and, although he says nothing very new, it is obviously useful to be reminded that the eighteenth century developed “a faith that the pursuit of pleasure would advance the general good” and that in turn the entrepreneurs of the day were eager to develop new and profitable ways for people to pursue pleasure. One would expect the remaining essays to develop the themes surveyed by Porter by examining the various pleasures available to the men and women of the eighteenth century. This in fact is what we get in the next two essays by Simon Varey and Marie Mulvey Roberts, who examine in turn the pleasures of the table and the strange proliferation of clubs, although Varey’s essay is rather too thin to provide a satisfactory meal and Roberts spends too much time in listing real and imaginary clubs and too little in explaining why people were so fond of them, beyond the rather obvious point that the pleasure principle common to all of them was conviviality. The rest of the essays seem too specialized and remote from the general theme to belong to the book. The best of these is Carolyn D. Williams’s essay on the “luxury of doing good,” which analyzes the relationship between charity and the development of ideas about sensibility, sympathy, and the pleasures of benevolence, her themes being well illustrated by a case-study of the Royal Humane Society, which was founded in 1774 to promote the rescue and resuscitation of people, mainly from drowning. Vivien Jones then uses the concept of the “resisting reader” to suggest that female readers of conduct-books, far from being molded or repressed by them, got pleasure from the fact that they stimulated the very desires they sought to repress. This is an interesting thesis, though obviously one that is virtually impossible to establish. The book ends with three very detailed pieces of musical, aesthetic, and literary criticism by Derek Alsop, E. J. Clery, and Susan Manning. These are interesting enough, especially Alsop’s critical examination of the pleasures given by Handel and the Italian opera in the years 1711–28, but seem too dependent on specialist knowledge of contemporary literature and music and the contemporary critical debate to be easily accessible to the general reader envisaged by the tone and content of the introductory chapters. Fruits of Empire is also about pleasure or rather the astonishing global impact of the simple pleasures of the British people, their love of sweet tea and, to a lesser extent, sweet coffee and chocolate and the addiction of the male half of the population to tobacco. James Walvin examines each of these exotic imports in turn, discussing their cultural functions in their native habitats and then showing how, tentatively at first, and in the face of medical and social criticism, they were adopted and their original functions modified until they had become a fundamental part of British domestic consumption. No one could possibly have predicted in the sixteenth century that British taste would change in such ways but the fact that it did, combined with the development of [End Page 154] imperialism, naval power and the worldwide search of merchants for profit was to transform the face of the globe. Clearing land for the tropical staples completely changed the appearance and flora of many parts of the world, while that accidental European...

Moonlight, Magnolias, and Madness: Insanity in South Carolina from the Colonial Period to the Progressive Era

Moonlight, Magnolias, and Madness is a social history of the perceptions and treatment of the mentally ill in South Carolina over two centuries. Examining insanity in both an institutional and a community context, Peter McCandless shows how policies and attitudes changed dramatically from the colonial era to the early twentieth century. He also sheds new light on the ways sectionalism and race affected the plight of the insane in a state whose fortunes worsened markedly after the Civil War. Antebellum asylum reformers in the state were inspired by many of the same ideals as their northern counterparts, such as therapeutic optimism and moral treatment. But McCandless shows that treatment ideologies in South Carolina, which had a majority black population, were complicated by the issue of race, and that blacks received markedly inferior care. By re-creating the different experiences of the insane--black and white, inside the asylum and within the community--McCandless highlights the importance of regional variation in the treatment of mental illness. |Giving voice to a population too rarely acknowledged, Sweet Tea collects more than sixty life stories from black gay men who were born, raised, and continue to live in the South. E. Patrick Johnson challenges stereotypes of the South as backward or repressive and offers a window into the ways black gay men negotiate their identities, build community, maintain friendship networks, and find sexual and life partners--often in spaces and activities that appear to be antigay. Sweet Tea validates the lives of these black gay men and reinforces the role of storytelling in both African American and southern cultures.