RITUAL HAGGLING AT CATTLE FAIRS

Ritualno pogađanje na stočnim sajmovima dokumentirano je u etnološkoj literaturi najmanje od početka ovog stoljeća. Na temelju vlastitih povremenih zapažanja tijekom posljednjih desetak godina, te usporedbom s ranije objavljenim etnografskim opisima, autorica analizira četiri faze ritualnog cjenkanja: ogledavanje, samo pogađanje, vrhunac pogađanja i likovo. Ponudivši definicije običaja, rituala i predstavljanja ili igre, autorica analitički razlučuje ritualne i predstavljačke aspekte tog posebnog načina cjenkanja. Naglašava, međutim, da su u stvamosti te komponente neodvojive kao što su neodvojivi i racionalni i utilitarni od simboličkih aspekata ritualnog pogađanja. Autorica traži odgovor na pitanje o smislu takva pogađanja i o temeljnim kultrnim vrijednostima koje taj ritual simbolizira. Zaključuje da se njime psihološki prevladava konflikt između depersonalizirane robnonovčane razmjene i neanonimnih, direktnih i kompleksnih odnosa ljudi u malim (seoskim) zajednicama - posebno kad se ti odnosi jasno manifestiraju na javnim okupljalištima poput sajmova. Na dubljoj razini, koje sudionici ovog događanja nisu svjesni, mora se riješiti konflikt izmedu temeljnih kulturnih vrijednosti koje održavaju njihovu zajednicu i temeljnog tržišnog principa suvremenog depersonaliziranog društva.On the basis of her own observations over the last ten years and comparisons with earlier ethnographic descriptions, the author analyzes four phases in ritual haggling. Offering definitions for custom, ritual and performance or play, she distinguishes analytically between the ritual and the performance aspects of such haggling. It is emphasized, however, that in reality these components are indivisible, just as are the utilitarian and symbolic aspects of ritual haggling. The author concludes that the meaning of this ritual lies in a psychological mastery of the conflict between the depersonalized exchange of goods for money, and direct, complex relations of people who live in small (village) communities

Hydroxymethylated Cytosines Are Associated with Elevated C to G Transversion Rates

It has long been known that methylated cytosines deaminate at higher rates than unmodified cytosines and constitute mutational hotspots in mammalian genomes. The repertoire of naturally occurring cytosine modifications, however, extends beyond 5-methylcytosine to include its oxidation derivatives, notably 5-hydroxymethylcytosine. The effects of these modifications on sequence evolution are unknown. Here, we combine base-resolution maps of methyl- and hydroxymethylcytosine in human and mouse with population genomic, divergence and somatic mutation data to show that hydroxymethylated and methylated cytosines show distinct patterns of variation and evolution. Surprisingly, hydroxymethylated sites are consistently associated with elevated C to G transversion rates at the level of segregating polymorphisms, fixed substitutions, and somatic mutations in tumors. Controlling for multiple potential confounders, we find derived C to G SNPs to be 1.43-fold (1.22-fold) more common at hydroxymethylated sites compared to methylated sites in human (mouse). Increased C to G rates are evident across diverse functional and sequence contexts and, in cancer genomes, correlate with the expression of Tet enzymes and specific components of the mismatch repair pathway (MSH2, MSH6, and MBD4). Based on these and other observations we suggest that hydroxymethylation is associated with a distinct mutational burden and that the mismatch repair pathway is implicated in causing elevated transversion rates at hydroxymethylated cytosines

Systematic discovery of germline cancer predisposition genes through the identification of somatic second hits

The genetic causes of cancer include both somatic mutations and inherited germline variants. Large-scale tumor sequencing has revolutionized the identification of somatic driver alterations but has had limited impact on the identification of cancer predisposition genes (CPGs). Here we present a statistical method, ALFRED, that tests Knudson’s two-hit hypothesis to systematically identify CPGs from cancer genome data. Applied to ~10, 000 tumor exomes the approach identifies known and putative CPGs – including the chromatin modifier NSD1 – that contribute to cancer through a combination of rare germline variants and somatic loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH). Rare germline variants in these genes contribute substantially to cancer risk, including to ~14% of ovarian carcinomas, ~7% of breast tumors, ~4% of uterine corpus endometrial carcinomas, and to a median of 2% of tumors across 17 cancer types

Light response of pure CsI calorimeter crystals painted with wavelength-shifting lacquer

We have measured scintillation properties of pure CsI crystals used in the shower calorimeter built for a precise determination of the pi+ -> pi0 e+ nu decay rate at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). All 240 individual crystals painted with a special wavelength-shifting solution were examined in a custom-build detection apparatus (RASTA=radioactive source tomography apparatus) that uses a 137Cs radioactive gamma source, cosmic muons and a light emitting diode as complementary probes of the scintillator light response. We have extracted the total light output, axial light collection nonuniformities and timing responses of the individual CsI crystals. These results predict improved performance of the 3 pi sr PIBETA calorimeter due to the painted lateral surfaces of 240 CsI crystals. The wavelength-shifting paint treatment did not affect appreciably the total light output and timing resolution of our crystal sample. The predicted energy resolution for positrons and photons in the energy range of 10-100 MeV was nevertheless improved due to the more favorable axial light collection probability variation. We have compared simulated calorimeter ADC spectra due to 70 MeV positrons and photons with a Monte Carlo calculation of an ideal detector light response.Comment: Elsevier LaTeX, 35 pages in e-print format, 15 Postscript Figures and 4 Tables, also available at http://pibeta.phys.virginia.edu/~pibeta/subprojects/csipro/tomo/rasta.p