Do silica phytoliths really wear mammalian teeth?

There is considerable literature suggesting that silica (opal) phytoliths cause dental enamel microwear in mammals. Much of this literature cites a single study from 1959 as evidence that silica phytoliths are harder than mammalian tooth enamel and so have the potential to cause dental microwear. No other studies using similar methodology have actually confirmed whether phytoliths are harder than dental enamel.     

The discovery of motor cortex and its background

In 1870 Gustav Fritsch and Edvard Hitzig showed that electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex of a dog produced movements. This was a crucial event in the development of modern neuroscience because it was the first good experimental evidence for a) cerebral cortex involvement in motor function, b) the electrical excitability of the cortex, c) topographic representation in the brain, and d) localization of function in different regions of the cerebral cortex. This paper discusses their experiment and some developments in the previous two centuries that led to it including the ideas of Thomas Willis and Emanuel Swedenborg, the widespread interest in electricity and the localizations of function of Franz Joseph Gall, John Hughlings Jackson, and Paul Broca. We also consider the subsequent study of the motor cortex by David Ferrier and others.     

Is there any interest in Nehemiah 5?

Abstract

It is generally held that the issue addressed by Nehemiah in Neh 5, 6–11 was that the wealthy of the restored community were charging interest or usury from their poorer fellow Jews. This article contends that a better sense is gained by understanding the Hebrew roots na?a and nasah as meaning “to have (or “press") a claim on” instead of “to lend”. It can then be seen that the situation facing Nehemiah was one of the wealthy making inappropriate demands for repayment of loans in a time of financial stringency, demands which were causing severe hardship to the less fortunate members of the community.     

Adapting Western Style Regional Planning to Russia: The University of Massachusetts‐Pskov Region Partnership

Reflecting on 5 years of experience in an ongoing partnership between the University of Massachusetts and the Pskov region in Russia, this paper analyses the process of introducing Western style planning in a provincial region in Russia at the post-Soviet era. After describing the region, the participants, and some changes undergoing in Russia, the key elements of the project, its accomplishments and some problems encountered are reported. The distinguishing characteristics of this project are its attempt at a unified approach that combines academic, consulting and public policy elements, and its success as a partnership in which Americans and Russians together attempt to find the best way to introduce Western style planning in a country moving from a centralized to a free market economy.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

The coordinated behavior of members of a state delegation to the U.S. Senate can provide constituents in a state greater representation in Congress. Despite this potentially improved level of representation through coordination, popular and scholarly accounts of the U.S. Senate often feature senators from the same state at odds with one another on a variety of policy issues. In this research, we investigate competing expectations regarding the frequency (across topics) of collaborations between members of a state delegation to the Senate. We then test our expectations using patterns in bill cosponsorship in the 103rd–110th U.S. Senates. We find that senators from the same state work together often on the development of legislation, and that this coordinated activity is consistent across a variety of bill topics across many sessions of congressional activity. Notably, same-state status is an even stronger predictor of support via cosponsorship than is same-party status, raising possible avenues of breaking through partisan gridlock.