Review of Philosophical Inquiries into Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering: Maternal Subjects

Philosophy

College of Arts and Letters Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2012.05.25 Author Sheila Lintott and Maureen Sander-Staudt (eds.) Philosophical Inquiries into Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering: Maternal Subjects Published: May 24, 2012 Sheila Lintott and Maureen Sander-Staudt (eds.), Philosophical Inquiries into Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering: Maternal Subjects, Routledge, 2012, 267pp., $125.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780415891875. Reviewed by Shelley M. Park, University of Central Florida Lintott and Sander-Staudt's anthology explores -as its subtitle suggests -a range of "maternal subjects." The most prominent of these include pregnancy, birthing, lactation, and postpartum; less prominent but nonetheless important topics include adoption, stepmothering, and disability. These topics are approached largely, but not exclusively, by foregrounding the subjective experiences of mothers as well as the cultural norms and public policies to which mothers are subjected. As the editors indicate in their introduction to the volume, the subjective perspectives of mothers are frequently rendered invisible in philosophy; thus the book seeks "to make maternal subjects, in the many senses of that word, the central focus of philosophical inquiry" (2). As the title suggests, the essays collected here take a philosophical approach to these topics, drawing on the work of feminist philosophers such as Sara Ruddick (to whom the volume is dedicated), Adrienne Rich, Simone de Beauvoir, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Iris Marion Young, Eve Feder Kittay, Rebecca Kukla, Maria Lugones and many others, as well as that of canonical male philosophers such as Plato, Kant, Emmanuel Levinas, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Care ethics takes center stage in several essays, as do theories of embodiment and standpoint epistemology. Lintott and Sander-Staudts "main claim" is that "pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood yield subjective and embodied standpoints from which to consider a wide array of philosophical areas and topics," including metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, aesthetic, and political concerns (7). The subjective and embodied standpoints that the volume most widely presents are those of straight, biological, middle-class, ablebodied, white, western mothers of infants and very young children. Two-thirds of the essays focus explicitly on philosophical insights gleaned from pregnancy, childbirth and the early months or years of mothering. As a mother of young adults who has inhabited complex and shifting relationships of kinship including open adoption, the divorce-extended family, joint-custody, and same-sex parenting, I yearned for greater philosophical reflection on the personally and philosophically transformative experiences of nonnormative maternal subjects in the collection. That said, a single volume cannot cover everything and the editors are careful to note that "the subjective expressions in this collection are not meant to represent all women's experiences" (5). Although its focus is limited, the volume does successfully indicate a variety of ways in which the maternal subjects that are considered might yield important philosophical insights. The anthology is divided into three parts. Part I, "Maternal Norms, Practices, and Insights," offers critical reflections on some specific maternal norms and practices. Jean Keller explores the goals of maternal practice, such as Ruddick's "preservative love," through the lens of transracial adoption, with specific emphasis on maternal strategies for "kinning" (helping a child develop a sense of belonging in her adoptive family) and the development of racial-ethnic identity in children of color adopted by white parents (helping a child develop a sense of belonging within her own racial-ethnic community). Jennifer Benson and Allison Wolf focus on the invisibility of the needs and experiences of postpartum mothers in lay literature on pregnancy and childbirth. In a nicely paired set of essays, "Into the Mouths of Babes" and "Tales from the Tit," co-authors Christine Overall and Tabitha Bernard argue that there is a moral (albeit defeasible) responsibility to breastfeed, whereas Lissa Skitolsky argues that the maternal pain associated with breastfeeding is "useless suffering" insofar as the benefits to children of breastfeeding may be achieved in other ways. Part I concludes with a delightful and insightful set of reflections by Sherri Irvin on the phenomenon of maternal disgust. Part II, "Maternal Roles and Relations," opens with two essays focusing on disability. Maeve O'Donovan explores the specific challenges faced by mothers with (cognitive as well as physical) disabilities, suggesting that disabled mothers provide an epistemologically valuable standpoint from which to view motherhood; Christine James highlights the challenges of mothering children with disabilities, arguing for impatience as a moral virtue. Following this, two essays by Alison Stone ("Psychoanalytic Feminism and the Dynamics of Mothering a Daughter") and Joshua Shaw ("Why Don't Philosophers Tell Their Mothers' Stories?") serve to highlight the distinctions between mother-daughter and mother-son relationships. Stone argues for mother-daughter relationships as a source of distinctive and transformative value for mothers, while Shaw reflects on the challenges for a male philosopher of learning to listen to his mother's stories. Beckey Sukovaty closes this section with her essay on stepmothers as "hybrid beings" who are uniquely positioned to respond to a child's need for both distance and closeness and thus provide a model for a responsible maternal ethic. Part III, "Maternal Phenomena, Phenomenology, and Aesthetics," shifts our focus to phenomenological and aesthetic reflections deriving from the experiences of pregnancy and childbirth. Brooke Schueneman highlights the ways in which pregnancy and birthgiving give rise to contemplative practices, not unlike the contemplations of Stoics, which prepare us for death. Julie Piering highlights the ways in which pregnant bodies are presumed to belong to the community with both positive consequences (e.g., increased care, attention and status) and negative consequences (e.g., increased surveillance and coercion) for pregnant women. In "Becoming Bovine," Sally Fischer explores the ways in which pregnancy and postpartum motherhood allow us to experience ourselves as mammals (rather than abstract "thinking things") and illuminate the need for gender-sensitive legislation that promotes co-parenting through equal treatment policies of paid leave for caregivers while simultaneously recognizing the need for specific maternal (not parental) rights rooted in biological difference. Co-authors Peg Brand and Paula Granger highlight the absence of images of childbirth in contemporary (western) art, arguing that representations of birthing women, like pregnant, birthing, and lactating bodies themselves, are subjected to male scrutiny, monitoring, and control. The final essay, by Sheila Lintott, explores the ways in which the experiences of gestation and birthgiving may give rise to a distinctly feminist conception of the sublime, less reliant on a subject-object and mind-body split than traditional philosophical conceptions of sublimity. This concluding essay returns us to the first essay of Part III in its reflections on the potential death of the subject involved in birthgiving while also returning us to the overarching theme of the volume, namely the ways in which maternal subjects may transform philosophical inquiry. The organization of the volume seems somewhat strained, showing the signs (as, in fairness, many anthologies do) of attempting to "fit" a diverse selection of essays together into groupings that do not always neatly cohere. The rather broad categories into which the volume is partitioned -maternal norms, maternal relations, and maternal phenomena -seep into each other. Clearly, the essays in Part I are not the only ones in the volume that illuminate norms of motherhood or offer maternal insights on such norms. For example, the essays on mothers with disabilities (O'Donovan) and stepmothers (Sukovaty) included in Part II, as well as Piering's Part III reflections on the public coercions to which pregnant women are frequently subjected, vividly highlight the social norms giving rise to stereotypes of "good" and "bad" mothers. Nor are the essays grouped in Part II the only essays here that speak to maternal roles or relations. For example, Keller's Part I essay -highlighting the unique role of transracially adoptive mothers in helping their children belong -bears some similarities to (as well as differences from) reflections on other types of non-normative families found in Part II, such as those involving ability differences between mothers and children (O'Donovan and James) or those resulting from divorce and remarriage (Sukovaty). It would be fruitful to place these essays closer together, prompting Keller's reflections on "kinning" to bear on the challenges for stepmothers, or James' reflections on impatience as a moral virtue to bear on the public anti-racist work that is a part of parenting a child of color. Likewise, Irvin's essay on the phenomenology of maternal disgust could have been as fruitfully placed in Part III alongside other essays on phenomenology and aesthetics, as in Part I on maternal norms. As these organizational musings suggest, it is difficult for a feminist philosophy text to use standard categorical tools. For decades, feminist philosophers have been deconstructing the subdivisions of philosophy into traditional categories of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and aesthetics; a close examination of pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering such as this volume offers demonstrates further the inseparability of these philosophical pursuits by illustrating how the physical embodiments of mothers give rise to situated epistemologies inseparable from ethical, political, and aesthetic insights (which are themselves largely inseparable from one another). Some of the strongest essays in the collection travel with ease across divergent, but intersecting philosophical terrain. Among the "must reads", I would include the contributions by Skitolsky, Irvin, and Shaw. Skitolsky's "Tales from the Tit: The Moral and Political Implications of Useless Lactational Suffering" is a welcome antidote to much of the lay and professional (including philosophical) literature on the ethics of breastfeeding, which largely focuses on the beneficial consequences of breastfeeding for mothers and especially children. Pointing out that lactation is painful for many women, Skitolsky deftly shifts our attention from the moral responsibility of mothers to our collective moral responsibility to mothers. Adopting Levinas's phrase "useless suffering" to "designate a type of harm that is neither chosen nor deserved and that forms the basis of our ethical obligation to the other" (64), Skitolsky prompts us to simultaneously recognize maternal suffering as part of the lactating mother's phenomenological and ethical landscape and to recognize the uselessness of such suffering by challenging an "exclusive" model of motherhood rooted in the politics of individualism. Central to her claim that lactating mothers experience useless suffering is Skitolsky's claim that the benefits of breastfeeding may be achieved through a "revolutionary politics of cross-nursing" (69) and the (re)establishment of milk banks that would make breast milk readily available through means that (like blood banks) assure its safety, while also compensating lactating women for their labor (75). The (false) dilemma that asks us to choose either the suffering of women or the well-being of children, Skitolsky aptly points out, emerges from the (heterosexist and classist) assumption that mothering must be an exclusive activity, rather than a shared or communal activity. Notably, this is one of the only essays in this volume to consider mothering as a communal activity. This is somewhat surprising given the well-known work of sociologist Patricia Hill Collins on "othermothering" in racial-ethnic communities and perhaps betrays the disciplinary insularity of philosophical work on motherhood, as well as the potential racial and class biases of a profession that remains dominated by white folk. In her "Motherhood and the Workings of Disgust," Irvin works at the intersections of phenomenology, aesthetics, ethics, and politics to explore two interrelated aspects of disgust as they relate to motherhood, namely mothers' affective reactions to the rather disgusting things their children do (eating rotting food off the ground, vomiting, shitting, and rubbing their snot around) and the ways in which others enforce social norms of "good" or "civilized" mothering through looks of disgust cast toward "unruly" mothers. Central to Irvin's autobiographical reflections (which will resonate with anyone who has cared for young children) is the claim that "the workings of disgust" illuminate "a mechanism through which the oppression of women [as the presumed primary caretakers of children] is maintained" (80). On the one hand, mothers should (and often do) relax their sense of disgust in accepting their child's behaviors and bodily functions as healthy and natural. In so doing, a mother allows her child to explore the world, enhances emotional intimacy by embracing her child "without reluctance or hesitation," and enhances maternal knowledge by a sensory familiarity with a child's bodily excretions (81). On the other hand, such relaxation of our own disgust makes us subject to the disgust of others who view our dirty, unkempt, or groundfeeding children as a sign of our own failure as mothers. Thus, mothers frequently experience shame even as their own disgust response diminishes. Irvin concludes thus, that "the inner work of mothering is to replace feelings of shame with a lighthearted contempt for the societal demands that would demand it, and for the mechanisms of disgust by which those norms are enforced. The outer work, surely, is to dismantle them" (87). Irvin's essay points us toward the importance for philosophy of the relatively new but burgeoning interdisciplinary field of affect studies. It also illustrates the philosophical import of autobiographical narrative and critical selfreflection on maternal subjects. Shaw's contribution to the volume, "Why Don't Philosophers Tell Their Mothers' Stories?" also engages in autobiographical selfreflection in seeking to understand why philosophers -himself included -frequently share their father's stories, but not those of their mothers -even when "their arguments demand it" (139). Shaw resists stopping at the seemingly obvious answer, namely that the absence of motherhood in philosophy reveals the male-dominated nature of the profession and its exclusion of women, noting that philosophers routinely engage in thought experiments about what it "is like" to be the "other" (e.g., a bat, a brain in a vat). Why then do philosophers have so "little imaginative curiosity about women's experiences"? (141). Candidly confessing that in his own work he repeatedly drew on his father's life to make sense of Levinas's ideas, despite Levinas's own self-criticism for focusing on fatherhood to the exclusion of motherhood, Shaw suggests that in their routine thought experiments male philosophers explicitly imagine what is unfamiliar while covertly imagining qualities that are "comfortingly familiar" such as independence, autonomy, and disembodiment, rather than relationships of dependence -such as pregnancy -that are profoundly embodied. Setting out to remedy this, Shaw attempts to interview his mother about her experiences with pregnancy. During his own wife's pregnancy, however, he learns the limitations of this approach as itself "forced and overly cerebral" (148). Reflecting upon the more fluid conversations he overhears between his wife, mother, and sister about becoming a mother, Shaw suggests that there is a gendered social dimension to conversations about motherhood, concluding that it is "not enough" to advise philosophers to listen to their mothers' stories; what is also needed is reflection on the gendered contexts (e.g., nursing classes, Lamaze classes) in which women tell their stories and how men might learn from them. Philosophical Inquiries into Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering provides one such gendered context from which we, as philosophers, may learn about becoming a mother by eavesdropping on mothers' stories. While some of the essays included here are, like Shaw's attempt to interview his mother, overly cerebral and the organization of the essays seems somewhat forced, as a collection it provides us with dialogical conversations among feminist philosophers on and as maternal subjects that provoke new insights into both motherhood and philosophy itself. What remains needed is further reflection on the racialized, classed, and heterosexist contexts in which women philosophers tell their maternal stories and how we all might learn from this. Copyright © 2017 ISSN: 1538 1617 College of Arts and Letters Accessibility Information Notre Dame, IN


Book review: Carnielli, W., Coniglio, M. paraconsistent logic: Consistency, contradiction and negation. Logic, epistemology, and the unity of science series

Philosophy

Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. BOOK REVIEW: CARNIELLI, W., CONIGLIO, M. Paraconsistent Logic: Consistency, Contradiction and Negation. Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science Series. (New York: Springer, 2016. ISSN: 2214-9775.) Henrique Antunes State University of Campinas Department of Philosophy Campinas, SP Brazil email@example.com Vincenzo Ciccarelli State University of Campinas Department of Philosophy Campinas, SP Brazil firstname.lastname@example.com Article info CDD: 160 Received: 01.12.2017; Accepted: 30.12.2017 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0100-6045.2018.V41N2.HV Keywords: Paraconsistent Logic LFIs ABSTRACT Review of the book 'Paraconsistent Logic: Consistency, Contradiction and Negation' (2016), by Walter Carnielli and Marcelo Coniglio The principle of explosion (also known as ex contradictione sequitur quodlibet) states that a pair of contradictory formulas entails any formula whatsoever of the relevant language and, accordingly, any theory regimented on the basis of a logic for which this principle holds (such as classical and intuitionistic logic) will turn out to be trivial if it contains a pair of theorems of the form A and ¬A (where ¬ is a negation operator). A logic is paraconsistent if it rejects the principle of explosion, allowing thus for the possibility of contradictory and yet non-trivial theories. Among the several paraconsistent logics that have been proposed in the literature, there is a particular family of (propositional and quantified) systems known as Logics of Formal Inconsistency (LFIs), developed and thoroughly studied Henrique Antunes & Vincenzo Ciccarelli 112 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. within the Brazilian tradition on paraconsistency. A distinguishing feature of the LFIs is that although they reject the general validity of the principle of explosion, as all other paraconsistent logics do, they admit a a restrcited version of it known as principle of gentle explosion. This principle asserts that a contradiction that concerns a consistent formula logically entails any other formula of the language. The expression 'consistent' here is a generic term susceptible to several alternative interpretations (not necessarily coinciding with non-contradiction), depending on the particular LFI under consideration. Another (related) feature that distinguishes the LFIs from other paraconsistent logics is that they internalize this unspecified notion of consistency inside the object language by means of a unary sentential operator ○ (called 'consistency operator' or simply 'circle'). When prefixed to a formula A, ○ expresses that A is consistent or well behaved, however these expressions are to be interpreted in each particular case. Paraconsistent Logic: Consistency, Contradiction and Negation, by Walter Carnielli and Marcelo Coniglio, is entirely devoted to the Logics of Formal Inconsistency. The book covers the main achievements in the field in the past 50 years or so, presenting them in a systematic and (to a great extend) selfcontained way. Although the book is mostly concerned with particular logical systems, the relations among them, and their corresponding metatheoretical properties, it also sets the basis of a new philosophical interpretation of paraconsistent logics. The book contains nine chapters, which altogether cover several topics about the LFIs. In Chapter 1 the authors explain the rationales behind paraconsistent logics in general and the LFIs in particular, and discuss the philosophical problems related to paraconsistency under the light of some general issues in the philosophy of logic (such as the nature of logic and the nature of contradictions). It is argued that since there are some real life situations in which contradictions do actually turn up, paraconsistent logics are BOOK REVIEW: Paraconsistent Logic 113 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. justified, no matter how those contradictions are interpreted – whether they are seen as concerning reality or knowledge. The chapter also discusses the relation between paracomplete and paraconsistent logics and analyzes some key notions related to paraconsistency, such as consistency, contradiction (and the principle of non-contradiction) and negation. In Chapter 2 the concept of LFI is precisely defined, as well as other basic technical notions employed throughout the book. A minimal propositional LFI, called mbC, is introduced by means of an axiomatic system. mbC results from positive classical propositional logic by the inclusion of two additional axioms: the principles of excluded middle and gentle explosion – A ∨ A and ○A → (A → (¬A → B), respectively. mbC is then provided with a valuation semantics with respect to which it is proved to be sound and complete. The relations between mbC and classical propositional logic are carefully analyzed. The analysis reveals that mbC can be viewed both as a sublogic and as an extension of classical logic, when these terms are suitably qualified. Chapter 3 presents several extensions of mbC and analyzes the relations between the notions of consistency/inconsistency and contradictoriness/non-contradictoriness – formally expressed by the formulas ○A/¬○A and A  ¬A/¬(A  ¬A), respectively. As it turns out, although consistency and non-contradictoriness (and inconsistency and contradictoriness) are partially independent in mbC, they may or may not coincide in some of its extensions. In addition, the notion of a C-system is introduced. Despite the complexity of the relevant definition, a C-system simply amounts to an LFI within which the consistency operator is definable in terms of the other connectives of the language. Da Costa's hierarchy of paraconsistent logics – a family of paradigm examples of C-systems – is briefly presented and explained. The chapter also deals with the important notions of propagation and retro-propagation of the consistency operator. Henrique Antunes & Vincenzo Ciccarelli 114 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. The first part of Chapter 4 is devoted to the problem of the algebraizability of some LFIs, and the second part discusses some many-valued LFI-systems. In Section 4.1 some preliminary concepts concerning logical matrices are introduced. Section 4.2 contains a Dugundji-style proof of the uncharacterizability by finite matrices of the LFIs presented so far. Section 4.3 contains a proof of the algebraizability of some extension of mbC in the broader sense of Block and Pigozzi. The remaining sections deal separately with different many-valued LFIs, most of which were proposed several decades before the emergence of the concept of Logic of Formal Inconsistency. Chapter 5 represents a partial detour from the main exposition, for the systems presented therein are not extensions of positive classical propositional logic. The first case considered by the authors is that of intuitionistic logic: more specifically, it is shown how a consistency operator ○ can be defined within Nelson's logic N4 in terms of a strong negation ~ operator (i.e., ○A ≡ ~(A  ¬A)). Another interesting case covered by the chapter is that of modal logic, where the consistency operator is shown to be interpretable as having a sort of "modal flavor". In particular, the definition ○A ≡ A → □A can be introduced in normal nondegenerate modal logics. Some systems of fuzzy logic are also analyzed in the chapter. In all of the aforementioned logics, the strategy pursued by the authors consists in defining a consistency operator within the system in question and then showing that it satisfies the general definition of an LFI. Chapter 6 is devoted to the problem of defining nondeterministic semantics for non-algebraizable systems (even in the broader sense of Block and Pigozzi). It presents three main formal semantics – based, respectively, on F-structures, non-deterministic logical matrices, and possible translations. Of particular interest, especially from a more philosophical point of view, is the so-called possible translation semantics, whose main idea is to translate a given logic into logics whose BOOK REVIEW: Paraconsistent Logic 115 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. semantics are well known and deterministic. The relevant notion of translation is that of a mapping preserving logical consequences and the rationale for this approach is the interpretation of a logic as a combination of "possible world views". Chapter 7 concerns first-order LFIs. The chapter is mainly devoted to two systems: QmbC, the first-order extension of mbC, and QLFI1. Due to the nondeterministic nature of mbC, a non-standard semantics is defined for its first-order extension: the authors introduce the notion of a Tarskian paraconsistent structure, defined as an ordered pair composed of a Tarskian structure (in the classical sense) together with a non-deterministic valuation. Concerning QLFI1, the approach is twofold: on one hand, it is shown how the language may be interpreted in a suitable Tarskian paraconsistent structure; on the other hand, a different semantics is proposed, given that the propositional fragment of QLFI1 can be characterized by a three-valued matrix. The semantics is represented by a partial structure, defined in a similar way to a classical Tarskian structure, except for the fact that all predicate symbols are interpreted as partial relations. Both QmbC and QLFI1 are proved to be sound and complete with respect to the corresponding semantics. Compactness and Lowenhëim-Skolem theorems are proved for QmbC. Chapter 8 concerns one of the most straightforward applications of paraconsistent logics: set theory. Nevertheless, the authors' approach to the subject is substantially different from what has been traditionally done in the field of paraconsistent set theory – namely, to formulate a non-trivial naïve set theory countenancing the unrestricted comprehension principle for sets. The systems presented in the chapter include all of Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory's axioms (except for the axiom of foundation, which is replaced by a weaker version of it) with an LFI as the underlying logic. Another distinguishing feature of those systems is that they include a consistency predicate for sets Henrique Antunes & Vincenzo Ciccarelli 116 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. whose behavior is governed by a set of additional axioms. Hence, whereas in a propositional LFI the property of consistency applies only to formulas, in the corresponding paraconsistent set theories it applies to both formulas and sets. The main results of the chapter are the derivability adjustment theorem (establishing that any derivation in ZF can be recovered within its paraconsistent counterpart) and a proof of the non-triviality of the strongest system presented in the chapter. Chapter 9 discusses the significance of contradictions for science, describing some historical paradigm examples where contradictions seem to have played an important role in the development of scientific theories. It also proposes an interpretation of paraconsistent logics according to which they are better viewed as possessing an epistemological, rather than an ontological, character; in a nutshell, this means that they are not supposed to deal primarily with reality and truth (as in the case of classical logic), but with the epistemic notion of evidence. This interpretation is meant to be a more palatable alternative to dialetheism (the thesis that there are true contradictions), since it neither affirms the existence of true contradiction nor rejects classical logic as incoherent – adhering thus to logical pluralism. One of the main virtues of Paraconsistent Logic: Consistency, Contradiction and Negation is that it keenly highlights the pervasiveness and generality of the notion of logic of formal inconsistency. Firstly, because it shows through the definition of an LFI how several systems of paraconsistent logic proposed in the literature – which at first sight might have appeared to be quite unrelated with one another – can be framed under a single unifying concept. Secondly, because it emphasizes that the definition of an LFI is applicable to systems based on logics of various different kinds, such as classical, intuitionistic, fuzzy, and modal logic. The resulting multiplicity of systems allows for various alternative semantic approaches, which are carefully described in several chapters of the book (e.g., valuation BOOK REVIEW: Paraconsistent Logic 117 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. semantics, deterministic and non-deterministic matrices, Fstructures, swap structures, possible translations semantics). The book is mainly devoted to the taxonomy of LFIsystems, leaving little room for a more detailed discussion of the intrinsic properties of each particular system. This is understandable, though, since it is not meant to be a textbook. However, it is possible to use the book as an introductory text on formal paraconsistency by skipping some of the more technical chapters (e.g., a reader merely interested in those LFIs based on positive classical propositional logic may well skip chapters 5, 6 and possibly 8). Concerning the more philosophical chapters of the book (chapters 1 and 9), the reader might think that the issues discussed therein would have deserved a more extended and rigorous analysis, especially when compared to the painstakingness of the other chapters. In particular, she might find the epistemic interpretation of paraconsistent logics wanting, despite its initial plausibility, this view in not sufficiently argued for. Moreover, specific relations between the epistemic interpretation and the particular features of the LFIs are missing. Nevertheless, this apparent shallowness is presumably due to the fact the purpose of those chapters is not to thoroughly develop a philosophical theory about paraconsistency, but merely to indicate some conceptual possibilities. After all, Paraconsistent Logic is mainly a technical piece of work. So much for the general considerations. There are two specific points that we think would deserve a more detailed discussion. The first one concerns the cumbersome notation employed in the characterization of the semantics of firstorder LFIs (Chapter 7): the strategy adopted by the authors in that chapter consists in extending the (non-deterministic) propositional valuations to the first-order case, combining these with a (classical) Tarskian structure – characterized, as usual, by a non-empty domain together with an interpretation function. The resulting first-order valuations Henrique Antunes & Vincenzo Ciccarelli 118 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. apply thus only to sentences and the notion of truth, as in the propositional case, is not defined in terms of assignments, sequences, or any other technical device usually employed in order to interpreted the variables. The absence of any of these devices leads the authors to locally indicate all the relevant substitutions of individual constants for the free variables of a given formula. In the case of QmbC, for example, the semantic value of a quantified formula ∀xA (under a structure A and a valuation v) is defined by means of the following clause: v(∀xA) = 1 iff v(A[x / ā]) = 1, for every a in the domain of A where A[x / ā] denotes the result of substituting the constant ā for all free occurrences of x in A, and where the language is supposed to have at least one individual constant ā for each elements a of the domain of A (that is, the language is supposed to be diagrammatic). At first sight, the use of the notation [x / ā] (and its generalization [x1,..., xn / ā1,..., ān] to multiple simultaneous substitutions) does not seem to compromise readability at all – in fact, they are usually employed in the definition of substitutional semantics for first-order logic. However, matters become much more complicated when it comes to the additional clauses introduced in the definition of v(A) in order to guarantee that the substitution lemma holds for Tarskian paraconsistent structures. One of these clauses, which concerns the negation operator, is formulated as follows: (sNeg) For every contexts (x⃗ ; z) and (x⃗ ; y), for every sequence (a⃗ ; b⃗ ) in the domain of A interpreting (x⃗ ; y⃗ ), for every A ∊ L(A)x⃗ ; z and every t ∊ T(A)x⃗ ; y⃗ such that t is free for z in A, if A[z/t] ∊ L(A)x⃗ ; y⃗ and c = (t[x⃗ ; y⃗ / a⃗ ; b⃗ ])A `then: If v((A[z/t])[x⃗ ; y⃗ / a⃗ ; b⃗ ]) = v(A[x⃗ ; z / a⃗ ; c]) then BOOK REVIEW: Paraconsistent Logic 119 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. v((¬A[z/t])[x⃗ ; y⃗ / a⃗ ; b⃗ ]) = v(¬A[x⃗ ; z / a⃗ ; c]) Without attempting to individually explain every piece of notation above, (sNeg) merely expresses that if the substitution lemma holds for a formula A, then it holds for its negation as well (the introduction of this clause, absent in the definition of classical first-order structures, is necessary given the non-deterministic behavior of the negation operator in mbC). Now, it is quite clear that the reader would probably take several minutes to read and understand (sNeg). Moreover, this situation is not restricted to (sNeg), but it also happens with the similar clause concerning the consistency operator and the formulation and proof of various semantic theorems enunciated in Chapter 7. The notational cumbersomeness of the chapter is further worsened by the introduction of the notion of extended valuation, which assigns a truth value to an arbitrary formula A (not necessarily a sentence) by indicating a sequence of individual constants with respect to which A is to be evaluated. More precisely, if the free variables in A are among x1,..., xn (abbreviated by x⃗ ) then the truth value of A under the extended valuation vx⃗ a⃗ is simply v(A[x1,..., xn / ā1,..., ān]). This notion represents a simile of the notion of satisfaction and is necessary in order to provide an interpretation for the open formulas. The notation of Chapter 7 could, however, be greatly simplified in the following way: instead of importing the notion of valuation from the corresponding propositional LFI, the authors could well have defined a new notion of valuation which assigns one of the truth values 0 or 1 to each pair (s, A), where s is an assignment of objects of the domain to first-order variables and A is an arbitrary formula (open or closed). All definitions and theorems of the chapter could then be easily adapted according to this strategy, yielding much simpler formulations. In particular, clause (sNeg) above would become: Henrique Antunes & Vincenzo Ciccarelli 120 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. (sNeg') Let A be a formula with at least one free variable z and let t be a term free for z in A. Let s be an assignment in a structure A and let s' be the assignment which is just like s except that is assigns the interpretation of t under s to the variable z. Then: If v(s', A) = v(s, A[z / t]) then v(s', ¬A) = v(s, ¬A[z / t]) In addition to the evident simplicity of this new formulation, it is worth mentioning that since the notion of valuation above applies to any formula whatsoever of the language (open or closed), it is unnecessary to introduce extended valuations, resulting in a significant conceptual simplification. Our second criticism concerns the paraconsistent set theories of Chapter 8. In general, the main motivation for a paraconsistent set theory is to recover the intuitive notion of set codified in the unrestricted principle of comprehension – i.e., the idea that every property P determines a set of all and only those objects having P. Of course, this can only be achieved by renouncing to classical logic, since that principle classically entails the existence of contradictory sets (e.g., Russell's set, universal set, etc.). On the other hand, classical set theories (such as ZF) maintain classical logic at the cost of imposing what seems to be ad hoc restrictions to the comprehension principle and countenancing additional principles whose justification seems also ad hoc. Hence, paraconsistent and classical set theories are symmetrically opposed to one another: what the former tries to achieve (i.e., preserve the intuitive notion of set) is given up by the latter, and what the latter preserves (i.e., classical logic) the former revises. Nevertheless, the approach to paraconsistent set theory adopted by the authors diverges significantly from these two trends. Firstly, because the attempt to recover the intuitive notion of set codified in the principle of comprehension is explicitly given up once they opt for ZF-like axiomatizations of their theories – ruling out well-known inconsistent BOOK REVIEW: Paraconsistent Logic 121 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. collections from the outset. Secondly, given that those theories are variations of ZF based on one or another LFI, the revision of the underlying logical theory is achieved by extending classical logic, rather than renouncing to it. In fact, each of the set theories of Chapter 8 is equivalent to ZF under the assumption that all sets enjoy the property of consistency. This particular take on paraconsistency may leave the reader wondering what is the point of having a paraconsistent set theory that does not explicitly countenance contradictory collections ('Why not just stick with ZF?', she might ask.). The book does not provide an explicit answer to this question, though. However, it would not be difficult to imagine a scenario in which the systems of Chapter 8 would be vindicated: suppose that ZF is someday shown to be inconsistent. Under this circumstance, any of those systems could be used to preserve the strength of ZF while avoiding its triviality. Even though a paraconsistent set theory of this kind may turn out to be fruitful, its fruitfulness turns on an unlikely possibility, though – namely, that ZF could be inconsistent. In view of such a possible application, we suggest that the approach to paraconsistent set theory adopted by the authors is aimed at presenting alternative versions of ZF that are more "cautious" in the sense that they would be able to withstand contradictions, should they ever arise within ZF. For this reason, we believe that those theories should not be viewed as competitors to classical set theories, but rather as interesting and possibly useful variations of it, whose mathematical properties are nonetheless worth investigating. Paraconsistent Logic: Consistency, Contradiction and Negation is a comprehensive text on the LFIs and fulfills an important gap in the literature on paraconsistency. A huge amount of significant results is presented for the first time in a single text, providing the reader with an extensive survey of the research in the area. Moreover, the content of the book is not limited to the achievements of the so-called Brazilian Henrique Antunes & Vincenzo Ciccarelli 122 Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 41, n. 2, pp. 111-122, abr.-jun. 2018. school of logic, but also encompasses contributions coming from other areas and research groups. As a result, it is highly recommended for everyone interested in both the formal and the philosophical aspects of paraconsistency, including mathematicians, linguistics, computer scientists, and philosophers of language, mathematics and science. References CARNIELLI, W., CONIGLIO, M. Paraconsistent Logic: Consistency, Contradiction and Negation. Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science Series. New York: Springer, 2016.


Meskawayh

Philosophy

MESKAWAYH, ABU ʿALI AḤMAD MESKAWAYH, ABU ʿALI AḤMAD b. Moḥammad [Ebn], Persian chancery official and treasury clerk of the Buyid period, boon companion, litterateur and accomplished writer in Arabic on a variety of topics, including history, theology, philosophy and medicine (d. 421/1030). His name appears variously in the sources as "Ebn Meskawayh" and "Meskawayh," with the former form more probably correct. Although Yāqut, who calls him "Meskawayh," states that he was a convert from Zoroastrianism (II, p. 91), it is more likely that one of his ancestors bore the name "Meskawayh" and converted to Islam before him. At any event, Ebn Meskawayh does not come across at all as a religious zealot in his works, and this was possibly due to the influence of his Magian background on his intellectual formation. Very little is known about his early life. According to the Persian biographer of Shiʿite ulama, Moḥammad-Bāqer Ḵ vānsāri (pp. 70-71), he was born at Ray, and it would seem very likely that he grew up in the province of Jebāl. He must have received training as a kāteb, or secretary (see DABIR), before 340/952, around which time he served as a secretary and boon companion (nadim) to Abu Moḥammad Ḥasan Mohallabi (d. 352/963), the vizier of the Buyid amir Moʿezz-al-Dawla (d. 356/967). He lived mainly in Baghdad and thus enjoyed a wealth of amenities and contacts in what was still the cultural, if not the political, hub of the central and eastern Islamic world. After serving Mohallabi for twelve years he then spent seven years with another major Buyid vizier, Ebn al-ʿAmid (d. 360/971) at the court of Rokn-al-Dawla in Ray. He apparently served both as librarian and keeper of the state papers and archives in the official chancery (the sources usually call him al-ḵāzen, "custodian, keeper," as in Yāqut, II, pp. 88, 95; Ebn al-Qefti, Taʾriḵal-ḥokamāʾ, p. 331; Tawḥidi, p. 346), and also as tutor to the vizier's son, Abu'l-Fatḥ. Ebn Meskawayh himself praises the richness of Ebn al-ʿAmid's library, and he personally saved it from destruction in 355/966, when a band of religious warriors from Khorasan passed through Ray on their way to the Byzantine wars; the library amounted to 100 camel's loads, according to his explicit statement (Margoliouth and Amedroz, Eclipse II, p. 224; V, p. 237). After Ebn al-ʿAmid's death, Ebn Meskawayh probably continued in the service of his son Abu'lFatḥ; in 364/975 he came to Baghdad with Abu'l-Fatḥ and a Buyid army. He rejected an opportunity to serve under the Ṣāḥeb Esmāʿil b. ʿAbbād at Isfahan under Moʾayyed-al-Dawla, since he considered himself at least the equal of the Ṣāḥeb; but soon after 367/978 he entered the service of ʿAżod-al-Dawla (q.v.; d. 372/982) at his court in Shiraz. He must have been already well-acquainted with the emir, since Ebn al-ʿAmid had in the past been his tutor, but now for the first time he found himself directly in his service. He seems to have served as a ḵāzen in the sense of "financial official;" certainly, he always expresses a keen interest in financial matters in his Tajāreb al-omam, making this history a valuable contemporary source on taxation policy and the spread of the eqṭāʿ (q.v.), or land-grant system, in Iraq and western Persia. After ʿAżod-alDawla's death, Ebn Meskawayh probably served under his son Ṣamṣām-al-Dawla (d. 388/998) in Ray, since he is mentioned as one of the boon companions of Ṣamṣām-al-Dawla's vizier, Ebn Saʿdān. Certain sources (e.g. Yāqut, II, p. 90) mention further that he served Bahāʾ-al-Dawla (d. 403/1012; see BUYIDS), Ṣamṣām-al-Dawla's brother and rival in Fārs, though this is not known for certain. The details of Ebn Meskawayh's life are obscure in the period starting from Ebn Saʿdān's execution in 375/985 until his own death at an advanced age on Ṣafar 421/ February 1030 (according to Ḵ vānsāri again, loc. cit.) at Isfahan, then under Kakuid rule. Some vague references in the sources connect him with Ḵ vārazm and its shahs (presumably the Maʾmunids of Gorgānj, 385-408/995-1017, who were the patrons of such eminent scholars of the time as Avicenna and Biruni), but there is no solid evidence for this, and it is remarkable that Ṯaʿālebi, for instance, should not mention his presence there. Ebn Meskawayh had extended his history, the Tajāreb al-omam, up to the year 369/979-80, working on its completion until 372/982-83, but nothing is known for certain about his life after his associations with Ebn Saʿdān and Abu Ḥayyān Tawḥidi. Yāqut (II, pp. 95-96) cites a spiritual testament (waṣiya) of his, but he is probably quoting here from Abu Ḥayyān. Ebn Meskawayh was a prominent figure in the intellectual and cultural life of his time. He engaged in correspondence with figures like Abu Ḥayyān and Badiʿ-al-Zamān Hamaḏāni. He was, it seems, an accomplished writer in the style of badiʿ (rhetorical embellishment) and a fluent poet; examples of his verse are quoted by Ṯaʿālebi in his biographical notice on him (I, pp. 96100). Ebn Meskawayh was also fascinated by alchemy, including the transmutation of base metals, and by the occult sciences. His general attitude towards Islam seems to have been a mild one; he displays a philosophical and somewhat rationalist approach to religion characteristic of certain circles of his time, such as that of the Eḵwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity) of Baṣra. Another of his interests was medicine, a science much encouraged by his master ʿAżod-al-Dawla; it may well have been for the Buyid amir that he wrote his two works on pharmacology, which are listed by Ebn al-Qefṭi (p. 331) but are not otherwise known. The sources list some nine works by Ebn Meskawayh, including two works on theology and an anthology of poetry. But it was firstly as an historian, and secondly as a writer on philosophy and ethics, that his lasting reputation as an author of major importance was established. His Tajāreb al-omam wa taʿāqeb (or ʿawāqeb) al-hemam ("Experiences of the nations and consequences of high ambitions") is an outstanding piece of work. In form a general history extending as far as the death of ʿAżod-al-Dawla in 372/982, it is remarkable for its secular and philosophical attitude to events. For the period until the early 4th/10th century, he offers an abridgement of Ṭabari's chronicle, dispensing with the annalistic division of the early Islamic period and concentrating on the essentials. From the point where Ṭabari's chronicle comes to an end (302/915) up to the point where his contemporary history begins, Ebn Meskawayh's chief source is the largely lost history of Ṯābet b. Senān of the famous family of Sabians from Ḥarrān. Thereafter he relies on eyewitness reports from contemporaries, such as Mohallabi, Ebn al-ʿAmid, and other secretaries of the Buyids. In his history, Ebn Meskawayh's explicit intention was to point out the practical guidance that examples from history and experience can offer. Hence his contemptuous dismissal, at the outset of the book, of "entertaining stories and idle tales (al-asmār wa'l-ḵorāfāt) which merely have a soporific effect on the reader." Moreover, he openly eschewed dwelling upon the element of religious motivation in history, to the extent that he even omitted the sacred biography of the Prophet himself; as he explained, he was concerned with the achievements of ordinary human beings and not with those achievements, reached with divine or supernatural aid, of saints and prophets, since they can provide no practical guidance for ordinary men (see Rosenthal, pp. 14142). Ebn Meskawayh's major work in the field of philosophy is his Tahḏib al-aḵlāq wa-taṭhir al-aʿrāq. This manual of philosophy and ethics aims to provide the student with a lucid exposition of the main elements of the falsafa (q.v.) tradition. Its success is confirmed by the wide diffusion of the work and the efforts of later scholars in the field of philosophical and practical ethics to build upon its foundations, including Naṣir-al-Din Ṭusi (597-672/1201-74) in his Aḵlāq-e nāṣeri. One should mention here also Ebn Meskawayh's Ketāb al-ḥekma al-ḵāleda ("Book of eternal wisdom"), an Arabic translation of the Persian Jāvidān ḵerad, one manuscript of which bears the title Ketāb ādāb al-ʿArab wa'l-Fors. It is probably the philosophical tinge in all his works that, as Mohammed Arkoun has noted, made Ebn Meskawayh distinctly more acceptable to the Shiʿite Persian cultural milieu than to the more strictly orthodox Sunnite one; he himself could best be characterized as an adherent of philosophical Shiʿism, comparable with the Eḵwān al-Ṣafāʾ. Bibliography: H. F. Amedroz, "Note on the Historian," prefixed to facs. ed. of the Tajāreb al-omam, GMS VII/1, Leiden-London, 1909. ʿĀmeli, Aʿyān al-šiʿa X, Damascus, 1945. M. Arkoun, Miskawayh, philosophe et historien, contribution à l'etude de l'humanisme arabe au IV/X siècle, Paris, 1970. Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, 2 vols., Weimar, 1898-1902,I, pp. 41718, Supplement, 3 vols., Leiden, 1937-42, I, pp. 582-84. D. M. Donaldson, Studies in Muslim Ethics, London, 1953, pp. 121-33. Ebn al-Qefṭi, Taʾriḵ al-ḥokamāʾ, ed. J. Lippert, Leipzig, 1903, p. 331. M. ʿA. ʿEzzat, Ebn Meskawayh, Cairo, 1946. M. S. Khan, "The Eyewitness Reporters of Miskawaih's Contemporary History," Islamic Culture 38, 1964, pp. 295-313. Idem, "Miskawaih and Ṯābit ibn Sinān," ZDMG 117, 1967, pp. 303-17. Idem, "Miskawayh and the Buwayhids," Oriens 21-22, 1968-69, pp. 235-47. Idem, "Miskawaih and Arabic historiography," JAOS 89, 1969, pp. 710-30. Moḥammad-Bāqer Ḵ vānsāri, Rawżāt al-jannāt, Tehran, 1307/1889-90, pp. 70-71. D. S. Margoliouth, Lectures on Arabic Historians, Calcutta, 1930, pp. 128-37. D. S. Margoliouth and H. F. Amedroz, eds. and trs., The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate: Original Chronicles of the Fourth Islamic Century, 7 vols., Oxford, 1921-22. F. Rosenthal, A History of Muslim Historiography, 2nd ed., Leiden, 1968. Abu Ḥayyān Tawḥidi, Aḵlāq al-wazirayn, ed. M. Ṭanji, Damascus, n.d., p. 346. Ṯaʿālebi, Tatemmat al-yatima, ed. ʿAbbās Eqbāl, Tehran, 1353/1934, I, pp. 96-100 . Yāqut b. ʿAbd-Allāh Ḥamawi, Moʿjam al-odabāʾ, ed. D. S. Margoliouth as Eršād-al-arib elā maʿrefat al-adib, 7 vols., Leiden and London, 1907-27, II, pp. 88-96. (C. Edmund Bosworth) Originally Published: July 20, 2002 Last Updated: June 16, 2017 Cite this entry: C. Edmund Bosworth, "MESKAWAYH, ABU ʿALI AḤMAD," Encyclopaedia Iranica, online edition, 2002, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/meskavayh-abu-ali-ahmad (accessed on 20 September 2016).


Philosophy

Shakibaie. Ann Microbiol Res 2018, 2(1):45-50 Volume 2 | Issue 1 Copyright: © 2018 Shakibaie MR, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Review Article Open Access • Page 45 • *Corresponding author: Mohammad Reza Shakibaie, Department of Microbiology and Virology, Research Center for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, Tel: +98-340-322-1660, Fax: +98-340-322-1671, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Received: March 14, 2018; Accepted: April 30, 2018; Published online: May 02, 2018 Citation: Shakibaie MR (2018) Bacterial Biofilm and its Clinical Implications. Ann Microbiol Res 2(1):45-50 Annals of Microbiology and Research SCHOLARLY PAGES Bacterial Biofilm and its Clinical Implications Mohammad Reza Shakibaie1,2,3* 1Department of Microbiology and Virology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran 2Research Center for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran 3Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Abstract Microbial biofilm created huge burden in treatment of both community and hospital infections. A biofilm is complex communities of bacteria attached to a surface or interface enclosed in an exopolysaccharide matrix and protected from unfavorable conditions such as presence of antibiotics, host defense or oxidative stresses. Biofilms are often considered hot spot for horizontal gene transfer among same or different bacterial species. Furthermore, bacteria with increased hydrophobicity facilitate biofilm formation by reducing repulsion between the extracellular matrix and the bacterium. There is a marked increase in the rate of persons nonresponsive to antibiotic therapy for infections of the Urinary Tract (UTIs), burns and upper respiratory tract due to biofilm formations. It is estimated that 90% of nosocomial infections are mediated by biofilm. The role of biofilm in infections has become so great that the treatment of such antibiotic resistance infections is proving difficult and costly to health care systems. The biofilm related infections varied from dental plaque, destruction of prosthetic valve to death of cystic fibrosis patients. This review aims to provide a summary of role of bacterial biofilm and its clinical implications for the patients. Keywords Biofilm, Bacterial infections, Antibiotic resistance, Plasmids Introduction Bacteria can be found in natural ecosystem in two forms, planktonic cells; better freedom of migration, more prone to mutation, sensitivity to environment, more active metabolically, sensitive to antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents and biofilm form; better protection, less subjects to mutation, are resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants and are less active metabolically. Biofilms are surface attached communities of bacteria, encased in an extracellular matrix of secreted proteins, carbohydrates, and/or eDNA, that creates phenotypes distinct from those of planktonic cells [1]. Microbes form a biofilm in response to various different factors which may include cellular recognition of specific or non-specific attachment sites on a surface, nutritional scarcity, or exposure of planktonic cells to subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics or disinfectants [2]. When a cell switches to the biofilm mode of growth, it undergoes a phenotypic shift in behavior in which large number of genes are differentially regulated [3]. For example, biofilm formation in Escherichia coli was shown to involve the differential expression of 230 genes, including those encoding proteins associated with adhesion and auto-aggregation, outer membrane proteins (OmpC, OmpF, OmpT, and Slp), and proteins involved in lipid A biosynthesis [4]. Modarressi, et al. showed RND efflux pump and quorum sensing genes influenced by iron limitation in biofilm Acinetobacter baumannii [5]. Places in Which the Biofilms are Mostly Form Nearly 80% of bacteria in natural environment can • Page 46 • Citation: Shakibaie MR (2018) Bacterial Biofilm and its Clinical Implications. Ann Microbiol Res 2(1):45-50 SCHOLARLY PAGES Shakibaie. Ann Microbiol Res 2018, 2(1):45-50 fection [11]. Recurring tonsil infections and sore throats are a fact of life for many children. The pediatrician prescribes antibiotics, and they help for a while, but the infection returns. The pattern repeats itself until the doctor or the frustrated parents finally decide that the wrinkly olive-sized ovals of inflamed tonsil tissue must come out. Why, they wonder, can't the body eliminate these infections, even with the help of antibiotics? This question later resolved by discovery of biofilm and its clinical implications. Sanclement, et al. [12] reported that biofilms are prevailed on the removed tissue of 80% of patients had surgery for chronic sinusitis. Infections associated with the biofilm growth usually are difficult to eradicate and has several implications on our life, for example, disease prolongation, collapse of antibiotic therapy, prolong hospital stay and increase in severity of infections [13]. In ecosystems biofilm has positive role in acceleration of natural cycles of biogenic elements like C, N2, P, S, O2 [14]. Steps in Biofilm Formation Biofilm formation is initiated by interaction of cells with a surface or with each other. It is thought that the planktonic bacteria adhere to the surface initially through weak, reversible adhesion via van der Waals forces and hydrophobic effects aggregate, then the cells form an extracellular matrix. This matrix encases the cells within it and facilitates communication among them through biochemical signals as well as genetic exchange. It contained the microbial cells, exopolysaccharide and water form biofilm, recent studies indicated biofilms can grow in the most extreme environments from the extremely hot, briny waters of hot springs ranging from very acidic to very alkaline, to frozen glaciers [6]. However, a detailed examination of biofilms would await the electron microscope, which allowed high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at much higher magnifications than did the light microscope [7]. Most places that biofilm are formed in hospitals are medical devices on catheters, ventilators or other hospital devices [8]. In addition, biofilm can form on teeth, middle ear, GI, and respiratory tract (cystic fibrosis patients). Biofilms also form on soft tissue surfaces in living organisms or at liquid-air interfaces [9]. The biofilms on teeth can either be in an uncalcified state that can be removed by dental instruments, or a calcified state which is more difficult to remove. On the surface of teeth, they frequently subject to oxidative and acid stresses. Dietary carbohydrates can cause a dramatic decrease in pH in oral biofilms to values of 4 and below (acid stress). A pH of 4 at body temperature of 37 °C causes depurination of DNA, leaving apurinic (AP) sites in DNA especially loss of guanine [10]. Biofilms Impacts Richard Chole, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis was the first who discovered that bacteria often form biofilms in the wet and warm folds of the tonsils, and that these may serve as reservoirs of in- Planktonic state Diapersion Mature biofilm Matrix develpment Motility Adhesion Quorum sensing play an important role Slow metabolism Resistant to antibiotics Figure 1: Steps in biofilm formation. • Page 47 • Citation: Shakibaie MR (2018) Bacterial Biofilm and its Clinical Implications. Ann Microbiol Res 2(1):45-50 SCHOLARLY PAGES Shakibaie. Ann Microbiol Res 2018, 2(1):45-50 tobacter baumannii [21]. Analysis of bap expression by rqRT-PCR revealed five isolates with four-fold bap overexpression in the presence of low iron concentration (20 μM) [21]. Similarly, the ability of A. baumannii to form biofilms is also largely dependent on pili, which mediate attachment and biofilm formation. In addition, csuE, is a member of the usher-chaperone assembly system. The genes are cluster together in form of the csu operon, the products of which form a pilus-like bundle structure in this bacterium. This gene has proved to be an important factor of A. baumannii biofilm formation [22]. Role of Plasmids in Bacterial Biofilms It is well established that the biofilm is an important niche for horizontal gene transfer (HGT) by transformation in naturally competent bacteria and that biofilm development and competence are mediated and regulated by many of the same gene products [23,24]. Plasmid transfer has been shown to occur in many natural biofilm communities, such as soil, water, plant leaves, river rocks, biofilm reactors and mouse intestines [25]. In situ surveys of plasmid transfer in biofilms grown in flow cells have also shown that plasmid invasion in an established biofilm was detected only at the interfaces, where bacteria were most metabolically active and dividing [26]. The role of plasmids in biofilm formation described the effects of the well-studied conjugative F plasmid of E. coli biofilms. The experiments demonstrated that addition of the F plasmid to E. coli cells greatly increased their ability to form biofilms a conjugation-independent and plasmid-encoded pilus-dependent fashion [24]. Most published studies of plasmid biology and conjugation in biofilms have focused on Gram negative spp. such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E. coli. Many chromosomal genes have now been shown to be involved in different [15]. Other substances often found in the biofilm include extracellular DNA, RNA, and proteins reaching approximately 2% in total [16]. Dispersion is final state in biofilm, at the time of dispersal, microcolonies undergo cell death and lysis along with active dispersal of motile bacteria to leave behind hollow colonies. A biofilm is thought to maintain equilibrium via growth and dispersal. Dispersal is believed to occur either as single cells or as small microcolonies [17]. Dispersion help the biofilm producing bacteria to detach from biofilm body and form another biofilm microcolonies spread to the environment. It should be noted that structure of biofilms is dramatically different due to the specific organisms in the film and environmental conditions. Steps in biofilm formation are illustrated in Figure 1. The in-vitro observations available today suggest that it is more likely that biofilm formation proceeds through a series of temporal events that reflect adaptation to nutritional and environmental conditions [18]. Hydrophobicity and electro kinetic potential of bacterial cells depend on their surface composition and structure, where lipopolysaccharide, in Gram-negative bacteria, may affect the ability of bacteria to form biofilms. Bacteria with increased hydrophobicity have reduced repulsion between the extracellular matrix and the bacterium [19]. Some bacteria species are not able to attach to a surface on their own due to their limited motility but are instead able to anchor themselves to the matrix or directly to other, earlier bacteria colonists. Non-motile bacteria cannot recognize surfaces or aggregate together as easily as motile bacteria [20]. Figure 2 shows the mechanism of interaction, hydrophobicity and charges play in biofilm matrix formation. Further studies revealed that iron play an important role in biofilm formation and expression of biofilm related genes in Acine-  Amount of positive chhemotactic signals emitted inversely related on number of bacterial neighbors  Carried by water, which attracts bacteria  Force is proportional to amount of attractant in water The hydrophobic interaction between bacterium and sessil surface influence outcome of the biofilm Interaction berween charges and polymeric surface is important in attachment to substrate Figure 2: Interaction between charges and amount of chemotactic signals such as pheromones involve in matrix formation. • Page 48 • Citation: Shakibaie MR (2018) Bacterial Biofilm and its Clinical Implications. Ann Microbiol Res 2(1):45-50 SCHOLARLY PAGES Shakibaie. Ann Microbiol Res 2018, 2(1):45-50 In most of the studies conducted to date host-pathogen interactions concern bacteria in planktonic state, however, recent studies have begun to investigate immune response to biofilms. Their tolerance of host defences is dramatically increased [34]. This definition differs in one respect from most other biofilm definitions because it no longer requires that a biotic or abiotic surface is a hallmark. Antimicrobial factors such as lactoferrin and the human cationic host defense peptide LL37 found at mucosal surfaces or in secondary granules of PMN, when used in vitro at very low concentrations, strongly inhibit formation of pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. However, bacteria are known to counter such host defense by secreting protease able to degrade both lactoferrin and LL-37 [35]. Recent research adds further aspects to this phenomenon because phagocytes do come in contact with the bacteria in biofilms and they can even penetrate biofilms. However, the bacteria in the biofilms are not killed [36]. Biofilm and Antibiotic Resistance Tolerance to antimicrobial agents is common feature of microbial biofilm formation. Biofilm reduced susceptibility to antibiotics in quantified by a tolerance factor, TF, defined as: TF = (LRP × tB × CB/LRB × tP × CP). Where CP and CB shows planktonic and biofilm dose concentration, respectively. tP and tB indicate planktonic and biofilm dose duration and LRp and LRB show the measured log reduction in planktonic and biofilm populations, respectively. TF compares the rate of killing in planktonic and biofilm states. TF = 10 means that biofilm killing is 10 times slower than in planktonic condition. Biofilm are 1000-1500 times more resistant to antibiotics than planktonic state. Treatment of infections with biofilm forming bacteria is extremely difficult, requires higher doses or combination of antibiotics, and removal of foreign bodies when implicated in device related infections [37]. In biofilms, poor antibiotic penetration, nutrient limitation and slow growth, adaptive stress responses, and formation of persister cells are hypothesized to constitute a multi-layered defense. Recent report suggest that the biofilm matrix can act as a barrier to delay the diffusion of antibiotics into biofilms because antibiotics may either react chemically with biofilm matrix components or attach to anionic polysaccharides [2]. It must to be noted that biofilm antibiotic tolerance should not be confused with antibiotic resistance because, although bacteria within a biofilm tend to survive antibiotic treatment, they become susceptible to the treatment when the biofilm is disrupted [38]. In study conducted by my research group on 85 isolates of K. pneumoniae from four hospitals in Kerman, Iran. The antibiotic susceptibility under biofilm and planktonic growths was compared by stages of biofilm development. By contrast, the contribution of the plasmid gene pool (representing as much as 10-20% of total bacterial DNA) to biofilm biology is poorly understood. As a consequence, with the exception of biotechnology application and antibiotic resistance spread, the role of plasmids in bacterial ecology has been largely overlooked. Conjugative plasmids of E. coli including pOLA52 and pMAS2027 have been shown to enhance biofilm formation through type 3 fimbriae [27]. The pOLA52 plasmid can also be transferred to a variety of organisms and retains its ability to induce biofilm formation in Salmonella typhimurium, Kluyvera spp. and Enterobacter aerogenes [28]. Co-culture studies with P. putida, E. coli, and Kluyvera spp. also demonstrated the impact of conjugative plasmids on biofilm development. In these experiments, the conjugative plasmid pKJK5, an IncP-1 plasmid [29]. Role of Biofilm in Microbial Infections Increasing evidence suggests that the chronicity of persistent bacterial infections is due to bacterial biofilm formation, which contrasts with the planktonic bacteria found in acute infections [17]. It is more often that infectious biofilm form in a host that is in a compromised state due to immune deficiency, drug treatment, trauma, tissue damage (burns and surgery) or has an underlying physiological diseases such as cystic fibrosis or diabetes [30]. Cystic fibrosis is the most common lethal inherited disease in Caucasians. It is a monogenic, autosomal recessive multi-organ disease with a worldwide incidence of gene defects in the range of 1: 32000 to 1: 2000 live births. It is proved that biofilm play vital role in this syndrome and increases mortality of the patients considerably [18]. In this case, formation of immune complexes stimulates release of proteolytic enzymes that destroy adjacent tissues causing more damage than the invading P. aeruginosa [31]. Biofilm related infections are primarily caused by opportunistic pathogens, once, having access to a host, are able to evade the immune system by surrounding themselves in an exopolymer matrix or glycocalyx [32]. For example, Proteus mirabilis inhabits the environment and causes a number of infections including catheter related urinary tract through biofilm formation. Factors relevant to P. mirabilis biofilm formation include adhesion factors, proteins involved in LPS production, transporters, transcription factors, two component systems, and communication factors [33]. Scanning electron microscopy has revealed the rough, irregular nature of catheter surfaces, Latex-based catheters have particularly uneven surfaces facilitate attachment of P. mirabilis on catheters [32]. It is important to note that, the exopolysaccharides that cover biofilm bacteria have been found to be less immunogenic, thus hiding the proteins and lipopolysaccharides on bacteria surfaces. • Page 49 • Citation: Shakibaie MR (2018) Bacterial Biofilm and its Clinical Implications. Ann Microbiol Res 2(1):45-50 SCHOLARLY PAGES Shakibaie. Ann Microbiol Res 2018, 2(1):45-50 3. Mataraci E, Dosler S (2012) In vitro activities of antibiotics and antimicrobial cationic peptides alone and in combination against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilms. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 56: 6366-6371. 4. Schembri MA, Kjaergaard K, Klemm P (2003) Global gene expression in Escherichia coli biofilms. Mol Microbiol 48: 253-267. 5. Modarresi F, Azizi O, Shakibaie MR, et al. (2015) Effect of iron on expression of efflux pump (adeABC) and quorum sensing (luxI, luxR) genes in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii. APMIS 123: 959-968. 6. Rampelotto PH (2013) Extremophiles and extreme environments. Life 3: 482-485. 7. Hall-Stoodley L, Costerton JW, Stoodley P (2004) Bacterial biofilms: From the natural environment to infectious diseases. Nat Rev Microbiol 2: 95-108. 8. Guggenbichler JP, Assadian O, Boeswald M, et al. (2011) Incidence and clinical implication of nosocomial infections associated with implantable biomaterials-catheters, ventilator-associated pneumonia, urinary tract infections. GMS Krankenhhyg Interdiszip 6. 9. Gbejuade H, Lovering AM, Webb JC (2015) The role of microbial biofilms in prosthetic joint infections: A review. Acta Orthop 86: 147-158. 10. Marquis RE (1995) Oxygen metabolism, oxidative stress and acid-base physiology of dental plaque biofilms. J Ind Microbiol 15: 198-207. 11. Chole RA, Faddis BT (2003) Anatomical evidence of microbial biofilms in tonsillar tissues: A possible mechanism to explain chronicity. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 129: 634-636. 12. Sanclement J, Webster P, Thomas J, et al. (2005) Bacterial biofilms in surgical specimens of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Laryngoscope 115: 578-582. 13. Parsek MR, Singh PK (2003) Bacterial biofilms: An emerging link to disease pathogenesis. Annu Rev Microbiol 57: 677-701. 14. Dang H, Chen CT (2017) Ecological energetic perspectives on responses of nitrogen-transforming chemolithoautotrophic microbiota to changes in the marine environment. Front Microbiol 8: 1246. 15. Sutherland IW (2001) The biofilm matrix-an immobilized but dynamic microbial environment. Trends Microbiol 9: 222-227. 16. Southey-Pillig CJ, Davies DG, Sauer K (2005) Characterization of temporal protein production in pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. J Bacteriol 187: 8114-8126. 17. Costerton JW, Stewart PS, Greenberg EP (1999) Bacterial biofilms: A common cause of persistent infections. Science 284: 1318-1322. 18. Bjarnsholt T (2013) The role of bacterial biofilms in chronic infections. APMIS Suppl 136: 1-51. 19. Gaddy JA, Actis LA (2009) Regulation of Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm formation. Future Microbiol 4: 273-278. 20. López D, Vlamakis H, Kolter R (2010) Biofilms. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2. 21. Azizi O, Shahcheraghi F, Modarresi F, et al. (2016) Molecular analysis and expression of bap Gene in Biofilm-Forming Multi-Drug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Rep Biochem Mol Biol 5: 62-72. microdilution method. A considerable increase in MIC to piperacillin/tazobactam, tetracycline and cefotaxime occurred for the cells taken from 24 h biofilm but all were sensitive to colistin and tigecycline [39]. Rodriguez-Baño, et al. [40] showed that biofilm-forming A. baumannii isolates were more susceptible to imipenem and ciprofloxacin than non-biofilm-forming counterparts, which suggests that the survival of these isolates in the hospital environment was less dependent on antibiotic resistance than on biofilm formation. In a study carried out on biofilm production and antibiotic resistance in Proteus spp. out of 88 patients infected by Proteus, 81 isolates were identified as P. mirabilis and 7 identified as P. vulgaris. 17% [n = 15] of the isolates exhibited strong biofilm and showed high resistance to ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole [41]. Furthermore, recent study by my research group [42] on effect of nano-silver, nano-copper, deconex and benzalkonium chloride on biofilm formation and expression of transcription regulatory quorum sensing gene (rh1R) in drug-resistance P. aeruginosa burn isolates showed that Ag NPs exerted highest antibiofilm activity, follow by deconex and benzalkonium chloride and Benzalkonium chloride, Ag NPs and deconex increased the expression of rhlR gene 64, 2 and 7 folds, respectively. Results suggested that, there is direct relationship between decrease in antibiofilm activity and increase in expression of the rhlR gene in the presence of benzalkonium chloride [42]. Conclusion From above results it can be concluded that biofilms play an important role in survival of bacteria under natural harsh condition and protecting them from antimicrobial agents and toxic compounds. In medicine, biofilm forming bacteria are responsible for chronic and persistence infections. They are especially important in hospitals where most of the hospital acquired infecting bacteria are capable of producing biofilm. The biofilm can tolerate high concentrations of antibiotics because antibiotics may either react chemically with biofilm matrix components or attach to anionic polysaccharides. The antibiotic resistant biofilm producing bacteria are responsible for major death among patients with adverse conditions such as immune deficiency or cancer. References 1. Limoli DH, Jones CJ, Wozniak DJ (2015) Bacterial extracellular polysaccharides in biofilm formation and function. Microbiol Spectr 3: 10. 2. Lebeaux D, Ghigo JM, Beloin C (2014) Biofilm-related infections: Bridging the gap between clinical management and fundamental aspects of recalcitrance toward antibiotics. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 78: 510-543. • Page 50 • Citation: Shakibaie MR (2018) Bacterial Biofilm and its Clinical Implications. Ann Microbiol Res 2(1):45-50 SCHOLARLY PAGES Shakibaie. Ann Microbiol Res 2018, 2(1):45-50 33. Jacobsen SM, Shirtliff ME (2011) Proteus mirabilis biofilms and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Virulence 2: 460-465. 34. Hoiby N, Bjarnsholt T, Givskov M, et al. (2010) Antibiotic resistance of bacterial biofilms. Int J Antimicrob Agents 35: 322-332. 35. Singh PK, Parsek MR, Greenberg EP, et al. (2002) A component of innate immunity prevents bacterial biofilm development. Nature 417: 552-555. 36. Haagensen JA, Klausen M, Tolker-Nielsen T, et al. (2006) Differentiation and distribution of colistin/SDS tolerant cells in Pseudomonas aeruginosa flow-cell biofilms. J Bacteriol 189: 28-37. 37. Modarresi F, Azizi O, Shakibaie MR, et al. (2015) Iron limitation enhances acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) production and biofilm formation in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii. Virulence 6: 152-161. 38. Bayles KW (2007) The biological role of death and lysis in biofilm development. Nat Rev Microbiol 5: 721-726. 39. Monirzadeh F, Shakibaie MR, Gholamrezazadeh M, et al. (2018) Susceptibility of Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical strains to antibiotics and two quaternary ammonium compounds (benzalkonium chloride and deconex) under biofilm and planktonic conditions. Applied Biol and Biotechnol. 40. Rodríguez-Baño J, Martí S, Soto S, et al. (2008) Biofilm formation in Acinetobacter baumannii: Associated features and clinical implications. Clin Microbiol Infect 14: 276-278. 41. Shikh-Bardsiri H, Shakibaie MR (2013) Antibiotic resistance pattern among biofilm producing and non-producing Proteus strains isolated from hospitalized patients; matter of hospital hygiene and antimicrobial stewardship. Pak J Biol Sci 16: 1496-1502. 42. Gholamrezazadeh M, Shakibaie MR, Monirzadeh F, et al. (2018) Effect of nano-silver, nano-copper, deconex and benzalkonium chloride on biofilm formation and expression of transcription regulatory quorum sensing gene (rh1R) in drug-resistance Pseudomonas aeruginosa burn isolates. Burns 44: 700-708. 22. Lee HW, Koh Y, Kim J, et al. (2008) Capacity of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii to form biofilm and adhere to epithelial cell surfaces. Clin Microbiol Infect 14: 49-54. 23. Donlan RM (2002) Biofilms: Microbial life on surfaces. Emerg Infect Dis 8: 881-890. 24. Cook LC, Dunny GM (2014) The influence of biofilms in the biology of plasmids. Microbiol Spectr 2: 0012. 25. Van Elsas JD, Bailey MJ (2002) The ecology of transfer of mobile genetic elements. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 42: 187-197. 26. Król JE, Nguyen HD, Rogers LM, et al. (2011) Increased transfer of a multidrug resistance plasmid in Escherichia coli biofilms at the air-liquid interface. Appl Environ Microbiol 77: 5079-5088. 27. Burmølle M, Bahl MI, Jensen LB, et al. (2008) Type 3 fimbriae, encoded by the conjugative plasmid pOLA52, enhances biofilm formation and transfer frequencies in Enterobacteriaceae strains. Microbiology 154: 187-195. 28. Ong CL, Beatson SA, Mc Ewan AG, et al. (2009) Conjugative plasmid transfer and adhesion dynamics in an Escherichia coli biofilm. Appl Environ Microbiol 75: 6783-6791. 29. Bahl MI, Hansen LH, Goesmann A, et al. (2007) The multiple antibiotic resistance IncP-1 plasmid pKJK5 isolated from a soil environment is phylogenetically divergent from members of the previously established alpha, beta and delta sub-groups. Plasmid 58: 31-43. 30. Costerton JW, Lewandowski Z, Cadwell DE, et al. (1955) Microbial biofilm. Annu Rev Microbiol 49: 711-745. 31. Kronborg G, Hansen M, Sevenson M, et al. (1993) Cytokines in sputum and serum from patients with cystic fibrosis and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection as markers of destructive inflammation in the lungs. Pediatr Pulmonol 15: 292-297. 32. Stickler D, Young R, Jones G, et al. (2003) Why are Foley catheters so vulnerable to encrustation and blockage by crystalline bacterial biofilm? Urol Res 31: 306-311.


Introduction. Modeling and Measuring Cycles, Processes, and Trends.

Philosophy

The present Yearbook (which is the fourth in the series) is subtitled Trends &
          Cycles. Already ancient historians (see, e.g., the second Chapter of Book VI of
          Polybius' Histories) described rather well the cyclical component of historical
          dynamics, whereas new interesting analyses of such dynamics also appeared in
          the Medieval and Early Modern periods (see, e.g., Ibn KhaldÅ«n 1958 [1377], or
          Machiavelli 1996 [1531] 1). This is not surprising as the cyclical dynamics was
          dominant in the agrarian social systems. With modernization, the trend dynamics
          became much more pronounced and these are trends to which the students
          of modern societies pay more attention. Note that the term trend â as regards its
          contents and application â is tightly connected with a formal mathematical
          analysis. Trends may be described by various equations â linear, exponential,
          power-law, etc. On the other hand, the cliodynamic research has demonstrated
          that the cyclical historical dynamics can be also modeled mathematically in
          a rather effective way (see, e.g., Usher 1989; Chu and Lee 1994; Turchin 2003,
          2005a, 2005b; Turchin and Korotayev 2006; Turchin and Nefedov 2009; Nefedov
          2004; Korotayev and Komarova 2004; Korotayev, Malkov, and Khaltourina
          2006; Korotayev and Khaltourina 2006; Korotayev 2007; Grinin 2007),
          whereas the trend and cycle components of historical dynamics turn out to be
          of equal importance.

History & Mathematics: Trends and Cycles 2014 5–8 5 Introduction Modeling and Measuring Cycles, Processes, and Trends Leonid E. Grinin and Andrey V. Korotayev The present Yearbook (which is the fourth in the series) is subtitled Trends & Cycles. Already ancient historians (see, e.g., the second Chapter of Book VI of Polybius' Histories) described rather well the cyclical component of historical dynamics, whereas new interesting analyses of such dynamics also appeared in the Medieval and Early Modern periods (see, e.g., Ibn Khaldūn 1958 [1377], or Machiavelli 1996 [1531]1). This is not surprising as the cyclical dynamics was dominant in the agrarian social systems. With modernization, the trend dynamics became much more pronounced and these are trends to which the students of modern societies pay more attention. Note that the term trend – as regards its contents and application – is tightly connected with a formal mathematical analysis. Trends may be described by various equations – linear, exponential, power-law, etc. On the other hand, the cliodynamic research has demonstrated that the cyclical historical dynamics can be also modeled mathematically in a rather effective way (see, e.g., Usher 1989; Chu and Lee 1994; Turchin 2003, 2005a, 2005b; Turchin and Korotayev 2006; Turchin and Nefedov 2009; Nefedov 2004; Korotayev and Komarova 2004; Korotayev, Malkov, and Khaltourina 2006; Korotayev and Khaltourina 2006; Korotayev 2007; Grinin 2007), whereas the trend and cycle components of historical dynamics turn out to be of equal importance. It is obvious that the qualitative innovative motion toward new, unknown forms, levels, and volumes, etc. cannot continue endlessly, linearly and smoothly. It always has limitations, accompanied by the emergence of imbalances, increasing resistance to environmental constraints, competition for resources, etc. These endless attempts to overcome the resistance of the environment created conditions for a more or less noticeable advance in societies. However, relatively short periods of rapid growth (which could be expressed as a linear, exponential or hyperbolic trend) tended to be followed by stagnation, different types of crises and setbacks, which created complex patterns of historical dynamics, within which trend and cyclical components were usually interwoven in rather intricate ways (see, e.g., Grinin and Korotayev 2009; Grinin, Korotayev, and Malkov 2010). 1 For interpretations of their theories (in terms of cliodynamics, cyclical dynamics etc.) see, e.g., Turchin 2003; Korotayev and Khaltourina 2006; Grinin 2012a. Introduction. Cycles, Processes, and Trends 6 Hence, in history we had a constant interaction of cyclical and trend dynamics, including some very long-term trends that are analyzed in Section I of the present Yearbook which includes contributions by Leonid E. Grinin, Alexander V. Markov, and Andrey V. Korotayev ('Mathematical Modeling of Biological and Social Evolutionary Macrotrends'), Tony Harper ('The World System Trajectory: The Reality of Constraints and the Potential for Prediction') and William R. Thompson and Kentaro Sakuwa ('Another, Simpler Look: Was Wealth Really Determined in 8000 BCE, 1000 BCE, 0 CE, or Even 1500 CE?'). If in a number of societies and for quite a long time we observe regular repetition of a cycle of the same type ending with grave crises and significant setbacks, this means that at a given level of development we confront such rigid and strong systemic and environmental constraints which the given society is unable to overcome. Thus, the notion of cycle is closely related to the concept of the trap. In the language of nonlinear dynamics the concept of traps will more or less correspond to the term 'attractor'. Continuing the comparison with nonlinear dynamics, we should say that a steady escape from the trap will largely correspond to the concept of a phase transition. In this Yearbook particular attention is paid, of course, to the Malthusian trap. The escape from the Malthusian trap in historical retrospect was incredibly difficult (see, e.g., Korotayev et al. 2011; Grinin 2012b). Periodically, attempts were made to get out of this trap. However, for many millennia no societies managed to achieve a final steady escape from it, but those attempts in the long run led to a systematic increase in the level of technological development of the World System. The problems of the mathematical modeling of the Malthusian trap dynamics are analyzed in the article by Sergey A. Nefedov ('Modeling Malthusian Dynamics in Pre-Industrial Societies: Mathematical Modeling') in Section II of the present issue of the Yearbook. This section also includes the article by Sergey Gavrilets, David G. Anderson, and Peter Turchin ('Cycling in the Complexity of Early Societies'), as well as the one by David C. Baker ('Demographic-Structural Theory and the Roman Dominate'). These articles deal with various cycles in the historical dynamics of pre-Modern social systems that are rather tightly connected with demographic macroprocesses. The first article of the next section also deals with the problems of the escape from the Malthusian trap. Section III deals with Modern history and contemporary processes and includes the contribution by Andrey V. Korotayev, Sergey Yu. Malkov, and Leonid E. Grinin ('A Trap at the Escape from the Trap? Some Demographic Structural Factors of Political Instability in Modernizing Social Systems') continuing the discussion on the issues of the Malthusian and post-Malthusian traps. This issue is also touched upon in the contributions by Arno Tausch Leonid E. Grinin and Andrey V. Korotayev 7 and Almas Heshmati ('Labour Migration and "Smart Public Health"'), Anthony Howell ('Is Geography "Dead" or "Destiny" in a Globalizing World? A Network Analysis and Latent Space Modeling Approach of the World Trade Network'), Kent R. Crawford and Nicholas W. Mitiukov ('The British-Italian Performance in the Mediterranean from the Artillery Perspective'), as well as Alisa R. Shishkina, Leonid M. Issaev, Konstantin M. Truevtsev, and Andrey V. Korotayev ('The Shield of Islam? Islamic Factor of HIV Prevalence in Africa'). Articles in this section are devoted to some rather interesting aspects and events from the Second World War to the prospects for change of the age composition of the Earth's population in the coming decades. What appears valuable is that the contributors have managed to somehow formalize these processes, and to apply various mathematical techniques to the analysis of the recent historical processes. References Chu C. Y. C., and Lee R. D. 1994. Famine, Revolt, and the Dynastic Cycle: Population Dynamics in Historic China. Journal of Population Economics 7: 351–378. Grinin L. E. 2007. The Correlation between the Size of Society and Evolutionary Type of Polity. History and Mathematics: The Analysis and Modeling of Socio-historical Processes / Ed. by A. V. Korotayev, S. Yu. Malkov, and L. E. Grinin, pp. 263–303. Moscow: KomKniga/URSS. In Russian (Гринин Л. Е. Зависимость между размерами общества и эволюционным типом политии. История и математика: анализ и моделирование социально-исторических процессов / ред. А. В. Коротаев, С. Ю. Малков, Л. Е. Гринин, с. 263–303. М.: КомКнига). Grinin L. E. 2012a. From Confucius to Comte. Formation of the Theory, Methodology and Philosophy of History / ed. by A. V. Korotayev. Moscow: LIBROKOM. In Russian (Гринин. Л. Е. От Конфуция до Конта. Становление теории, методологии и философии истории / отв. ред. А. В. Коротаев. М.: ЛИБРОКОМ). Grinin L. E. 2012b. State and Socio-Political Crises in the Process of Modernization. Cliodynamics 3: 124–157. Grinin L. E., and Korotayev A. V. 2009. Social Macroevolution: Growth of the World System Integrity and a System of Phase Transitions. World Futures 65(7): 477– 506. Grinin L., Korotayev A., and Malkov S. 2010. A Mathematical Model of Juglar Cycles and the Current Global Crisis. History & Mathematics. Processes and Models of Global Dynamics / Ed. by L. Grinin, P. Herrmann, A. Korotayev, and A. Tausch, pp. 138–187. Volgograd: Uchitel. Ibn Khaldūn `Abd al-Rahman. 1958 [1377]. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. New York, NY: Pantheon Books (Bollingen Series, 43). Korotayev A. 2007. Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends: A Mathematical Model. Mathematical Modeling of Social and Economic Dynamics / Ed. by M. G. Dmitriev, A. P. Petrov, and N. P. Tretyakov, pp. 118–125. Moscow: RUDN. Introduction. Cycles, Processes, and Trends 8 Korotayev A., and Khaltourina D. 2006. Introduction to Social Macrodynamics: Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends in Africa. Moscow: KomKniga/URSS. Korotayev A., and Komarova N. 2004. A New Mathematical Model of Pre-Industrial Demographic Cycle. Mathematical Modeling of Social and Economic Dynamics / Ed. by M. G. Dmitriev, and A. P. Petrov, pp. 157–163. Moscow: Russian State Social University. Korotayev A., Malkov A., and Khaltourina D. 2006. Introduction to Social Macrodynamics: Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends. Moscow: KomKniga/URSS. Korotayev A., Zinkina J., Kobzeva S., Bogevolnov J., Khaltourina D., Malkov A., and Malkov S. 2011. A Trap at the Escape from the Trap? Demographic-Structural Factors of Political Instability in Modern Africa and West Asia. Cliodynamics: The Journal of Theoretical and Mathematical History 2(2): 276–303. Machiavelli N. 1996 [1531]. Discourses on Livy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Nefedov S. A. 2004. A Model of Demographic Cycles in Traditional Societies: The Case of Ancient China. Social Evolution & History 3(1): 69–80. Turchin P. 2003. Historical Dynamics: Why States Rise and Fall. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Turchin P. 2005a. Dynamical Feedbacks between Population Growth and Sociopolitical Instability in Agrarian States. Structure and Dynamics 1: 1–19. Turchin P. 2005b. War and Peace and War: Life Cycles of Imperial Nations. New York: Pi Press. Turchin P., and Korotayev А. 2006. Population Density and Warfare: A Reconsideration. Social Evolution & History 5(2): 121–158. Turchin P., and Nefedov S. 2009. Secular Cycles. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Usher D. 1989. The Dynastic Cycle and the Stationary State. The American Economic Review 79: 1031–1044.