bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex interactions during self-control of cigarette craving
Authors: Hayashi Takuya , Ko Ji Hyun , Strafella Antonio P. , Dagher Alain
Published: January 2013

Drug-related cues induce craving, which may perpetuate drug use or trigger relapse in addicted individuals. Craving is also under the influence of other factors in daily life, such as drug availability and self-control. Neuroimaging studies using drug cue paradigms have shown frontal lobe involvement in this contextual influence on cue reactivity, but have not clarified how and which frontal area accounts for this phenomenon. We explored frontal lobe contributions to cue-induced drug craving under different intertemporal drug availability conditions by combining transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging in smokers. We hypothesized that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) regulates craving during changes in intertemporal availability. Subjective craving was greater when cigarettes were immediately available, and this effect was eliminated by transiently inactivating the DLPFC with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that the signal most proportional to subjective craving was located in the medial orbitofrontal cortex across all contexts, whereas the DLPFC most strongly encoded intertemporal availability information. The craving-related signal in the medial orbitofrontal cortex was attenuated by inactivation of the DLPFC, particularly when cigarettes were immediately available. Inactivation of the DLPFC also reduced craving-related signals in the anterior cingulate and ventral striatum, areas implicated in transforming value signals into action. These findings indicate that DLPFC builds up value signals based on knowledge of drug availability, and support a model wherein aberrant circuitry linking dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices may underlie addiction.
Injectable protease-operated depots of glucagon-like peptide-1 provide extended and tunable glucose control
Authors: Amiram Miriam , Luginbuhl Kelli M. , Li Xinghai , Feinglos Mark N. , Chilkoti Ashutosh
Published: January 2013

Peptide drugs are an exciting class of pharmaceuticals increasingly used for the treatment of a variety of diseases; however, their main drawback is a short half-life, which dictates multiple and frequent injections and an undesirable “peak-and-valley” pharmacokinetic profile, which can cause undesirable side-effects. Synthetic prolonged release formulations can provide extended release of biologically active native peptide, but their synthetic nature can be an obstacle to production and utilization. Motivated by these limitations, we have developed a new and entirely genetically encoded peptide delivery system—Protease Operated Depots (PODs)—to provide sustained and tunable release of a peptide drug from an injectable s.c. depot. We demonstrate proof-of-concept of PODs, by fusion of protease cleavable oligomers of glucagon-like peptide-1, a type-2 diabetes drug, and a thermally responsive, depot-forming elastin-like-polypeptide that undergoes a thermally triggered inverse phase transition below body temperature, thereby forming an injectable depot. We constructed synthetic genes for glucagon-like peptide-1 PODs and demonstrated their high-yield expression in
Escherichia coli
and facile purification by a nonchromatographic scheme we had previously developed. Remarkably, a single injection of glucagon-like peptide-1 PODs was able to reduce blood glucose levels in mice for up to 5 d, 120 times longer than an injection of the native peptide drug. These findings demonstrate that PODs provide the first genetically encoded alternative to synthetic peptide encapsulation schemes for sustained delivery of peptide therapeutics.
Observability of complex systems
Authors: Liu Yang-Yu , Slotine Jean-Jacques , Barabási Albert-László
Published: January 2013

A quantitative description of a complex system is inherently limited by our ability to estimate the system’s internal state from experimentally accessible outputs. Although the simultaneous measurement of all internal variables, like all metabolite concentrations in a cell, offers a complete description of a system’s state, in practice experimental access is limited to only a subset of variables, or sensors. A system is called observable if we can reconstruct the system’s complete internal state from its outputs. Here, we adopt a graphical approach derived from the dynamical laws that govern a system to determine the sensors that are necessary to reconstruct the full internal state of a complex system. We apply this approach to biochemical reaction systems, finding that the identified sensors are not only necessary but also sufficient for observability. The developed approach can also identify the optimal sensors for target or partial observability, helping us reconstruct selected state variables from appropriately chosen outputs, a prerequisite for optimal biomarker design. Given the fundamental role observability plays in complex systems, these results offer avenues to systematically explore the dynamics of a wide range of natural, technological and socioeconomic systems.
Direct chemical evidence for sphingolipid domains in the plasma membranes of fibroblasts
Authors: Frisz Jessica F. , Lou Kaiyan , Klitzing Haley A. , Hanafin William P. , Lizunov Vladimir , Wilson Robert L. , Carpenter Kevin J. , Kim Raehyun , Hutcheon Ian D. , Zimmerberg Joshua , Weber Peter K. , Kraft Mary L.
Published: January 2013

Sphingolipids play important roles in plasma membrane structure and cell signaling. However, their lateral distribution in the plasma membrane is poorly understood. Here we quantitatively analyzed the sphingolipid organization on the entire dorsal surface of intact cells by mapping the distribution of
15
N-enriched ions from metabolically labeled
15
N-sphingolipids in the plasma membrane, using high-resolution imaging mass spectrometry. Many types of control experiments (internal, positive, negative, and fixation temperature), along with parallel experiments involving the imaging of fluorescent sphingolipids—both in living cells and during fixation of living cells—exclude potential artifacts. Micrometer-scale sphingolipid patches consisting of numerous
15
N-sphingolipid microdomains with mean diameters of ∼200 nm are always present in the plasma membrane. Depletion of 30% of the cellular cholesterol did not eliminate the sphingolipid domains, but did reduce their abundance and long-range organization in the plasma membrane. In contrast, disruption of the cytoskeleton eliminated the sphingolipid domains. These results indicate that these sphingolipid assemblages are not lipid rafts and are instead a distinctly different type of sphingolipid-enriched plasma membrane domain that depends upon cortical actin.
Assembly and mechanism of a group II ECF transporter
Authors: Karpowich Nathan K. , Wang Da-Neng
Published: January 2013

Energy-coupling factor (ECF) transporters are a recently discovered family of primary active transporters for micronutrients and vitamins, such as biotin, thiamine, and riboflavin. Found exclusively in archaea and bacteria, including the human pathogens
Listeria
,
Streptococcus
, and
Staphylococcus
, ECF transporters may be the only means of vitamin acquisition in these organisms. The subunit composition of ECF transporters is similar to that of ATP binding cassette (ABC) importers, whereby both systems share two homologous ATPase subunits (A and A′), a high affinity substrate-binding subunit (S), and a transmembrane coupling subunit (T). However, the S subunit of ECF transporters is an integral membrane protein, and the transmembrane coupling subunits do not share an obvious sequence homology between the two transporter families. Moreover, the subunit stoichiometry of ECF transporters is controversial, and the detailed molecular interactions between subunits and the conformational changes during substrate translocation are unknown. We have characterized the ECF transporters from
Thermotoga maritima
and
Streptococcus thermophilus
. Our data suggests a subunit stoichiometry of 2S:2T:1A:1A′ and that S subunits for different substrates can be incorporated into the same transporter complex simultaneously. In the first crystal structure of the A–A′ heterodimer, each subunit contains a novel motif called the Q-helix that plays a key role in subunit coupling with the T subunits. Taken together, these findings suggest a mechanism for coupling ATP binding and hydrolysis to transmembrane transport by ECF transporters.
S-nitrosylation of HDAC2 regulates the expression of the chromatin-remodeling factor Brm during radial neuron migration
Authors: Nott Alexi , Nitarska Justyna , Veenvliet Jesse V. , Schacke Stephan , Derijck Alwin A. H. A. , Sirko Piotr , Muchardt Christian , Pasterkamp R. Jeroen , Smidt Marten P. , Riccio Antonella
Published: January 2013

Dynamic epigenetic modifications play a key role in mediating the expression of genes required for neuronal development. We previously identified nitric oxide (NO) as a signaling molecule that mediates S-nitrosylation of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) and epigenetic changes in neurons. Here, we show that HDAC2 nitrosylation regulates neuronal radial migration during cortical development. Bead-array analysis performed in the developing cortex revealed that brahma (Brm), a subunit of the ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complex BRG/brahma-associated factor, is one of the genes regulated by S-nitrosylation of HDAC2. In the cortex, expression of a mutant form of HDAC2 that cannot be nitrosylated dramatically inhibits Brm expression. Our study identifies NO and HDAC2 nitrosylation as part of a signaling pathway that regulates cortical development and the expression of Brm in neurons.
Water-controlled wealth of nations
Authors: Suweis Samir , Rinaldo Andrea , Maritan Amos , D’Odorico Paolo
Published: January 2013

Population growth is in general constrained by food production, which in turn depends on the access to water resources. At a country level, some populations use more water than they control because of their ability to import food and the virtual water required for its production. Here, we investigate the dependence of demographic growth on available water resources for exporting and importing nations. By quantifying the carrying capacity of nations on the basis of calculations of the virtual water available through the food trade network, we point to the existence of a global water unbalance. We suggest that current export rates will not be maintained and consequently we question the long-term sustainability of the food trade system as a whole. Water-rich regions are likely to soon reduce the amount of virtual water they export, thus leaving import-dependent regions without enough water to sustain their populations. We also investigate the potential impact of possible scenarios that might mitigate these effects through (i) cooperative interactions among nations whereby water-rich countries maintain a tiny fraction of their food production available for export, (ii) changes in consumption patterns, and (iii) a positive feedback between demographic growth and technological innovations. We find that these strategies may indeed reduce the vulnerability of water-controlled societies.
Human Tim-Tipin complex affects the biochemical properties of the replicative DNA helicase and DNA polymerases
Authors: Cho Won-Ho , Kang Young-Hoon , An Yun-Young , Tappin Inger , Hurwitz Jerard , Lee Joon-Kyu
Published: January 2013

Tim (Timeless) and Tipin (Tim-interacting protein) form a stable heterodimeric complex that influences checkpoint responses and replication fork progression. We report that the Tim-Tipin complex interacts with essential replication fork proteins and affects their biochemical properties. The Tim-Tipin complex, reconstituted and purified using the baculovirus expression system, interacts directly with Mcm complexes and inhibits the single-stranded DNA-dependent ATPase activities of the Mcm2-7 and Mcm4/6/7 complexes, the DNA unwinding activity of the Mcm4/6/7 complex, and the DNA unwinding and ATPase activity of Cdc45-Mcm2-7-GINS complex, the presumed replicative DNA helicase in eukaryotes. Although stable interactions between Tim-Tipin and DNA polymerases (pols) were not observed in immunoprecipitation experiments with purified proteins, Tim was shown to interact with DNA pols α, δ, and ɛ in cells. Furthermore, the Tim-Tipin complex significantly stimulated the pol activities of DNA pols α, δ, and ɛ in vitro. The effects of Tim-Tipin on the catalytic activities of the Mcm complexes and DNA pols are mediated by the Tim protein alone, and distinct regions of the Tim protein are responsible for the inhibition of Mcm complex activities and stimulation of DNA pols. These results suggest that the Tim-Tipin complex might play a role in coupling DNA unwinding and DNA synthesis by directly affecting the catalytic activities of replication fork proteins.
Genotype–phenotype correlation in 1,507 families with congenital adrenal hyperplasia owing to 21-hydroxylase deficiency
Authors: New Maria I. , Abraham Moolamannil , Gonzalez Brian , Dumic Miroslav , Razzaghy-Azar Maryam , Chitayat David , Sun Li , Zaidi Mone , Wilson Robert C. , Yuen Tony
Published: January 2013

Over the last two decades, we have extensively studied the genetics of congenital adrenal hyperplasia caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency (CAH) and have performed 8,290 DNA analyses of the
CYP21A2
gene on members of 4,857 families at risk for CAH—the largest cohort of CAH patients reported to date. Of the families studied, 1,507 had at least one member affected with one of three known forms of CAH, namely salt wasting, simple virilizing, or nonclassical CAH. Here, we report the genotype and phenotype of each affected patient, as well as the ethnic group and country of origin for each patient. We showed that 21 of 45 genotypes yielded a phenotypic correlation in our patient cohort. In particular, contrary to what is generally reported in the literature, we found that certain mutations, for example, the P30L, I2G, and I172N mutations, yielded different CAH phenotypes. In salt wasting and nonclassical CAH, a phenotype can be attributed to a genotype; however, in simple virilizing CAH, we observe wide phenotypic variability, particularly with the exon 4 I172N mutation. Finally, there was a high frequency of homozygous I2G and V281L mutations in Middle Eastern and Ashkenazi Jewish populations, respectively. By identifying the predominant phenotype for a given genotype, these findings should assist physicians in prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling of parents who are at risk for having a child with CAH.
Hsp70/Hsp90 chaperone machinery is involved in the assembly of the purinosome
Authors: French Jarrod B. , Zhao Hong , An Songon , Niessen Sherry , Deng Yijun , Cravatt Benjamin F. , Benkovic Stephen J.
Published: January 2013

The de novo biosynthesis of purines is carried out by a highly conserved metabolic pathway that includes several validated targets for anticancer, immunosuppressant, and anti-inflammatory chemotherapeutics. The six enzymes in humans that catalyze the 10 chemical steps from phosphoribosylpyrophosphate to inosine monophosphate were recently shown to associate into a dynamic multiprotein complex called the purinosome. Here, we demonstrate that heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), and several cochaperones functionally colocalize with this protein complex. Knockdown of expression levels of the identified cochaperones leads to disruption of purinosomes. In addition, small molecule inhibitors of Hsp90 and Hsp70 reversibly disrupt purinosomes and are shown to have a synergistic effect with methotrexate, an anticancer agent that targets purine biosynthesis. These data implicate the Hsp90/Hsp70 chaperone machinery in the assembly of the purinosome and provide a strategy for the development of improved anticancer therapies that disrupt purine biosynthesis.
An acquisitional approach to disharmonic word-order/affixation pairings
Authors: Fortescue Michael , Mackenzie J. Lachlan
Published: January 2013

Various proposals have been put forward to explain the typological skewing produced by the universal preference for suffixing as opposed to prefixing. These proposals have focused either on processing or on diachronic explanations (or a combination of both). In the present paper it is argued that a developmental approach is more comprehensive than either of these. It can explain exceptions from typologically universal tendencies as well as the tendencies themselves in terms of alternative ways of balancing off basic acquisitional principles involved already at the holophrastic stage of development. The long-term stability of certaina priori‘disharmonic’ or unusual combinations of features is emphasised. What is needed to give support to the model is data from the acquisition of languages with rich morphologies. The available data is examined for evidence and a framework is proposed as a guide to future investigations.
The image-schematic basis of the EVENT STRUCTURE metaphor
Authors: Peña Cervel María Sandra
Published: January 2013

Within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics, the study of metaphor has received great attention mainly because of its conceptual character. This conception is at odds with traditional accounts, in which metaphor was merely a linguistic phenomenon endowed with a decorative function. One of the metaphors which has been the object of a greater amount of research is the EVENT STRUCTURE metaphor. It qualifies as a generic-level metaphor provided with a universal character. One of the main reasons for this is the image-schematic component which lies at the base of many of the expressions belonging to this metaphorical system. Image-schemas have long been postulated to emerge from everyday bodily experience (Johnson 1987; Lakoff 1987). It is thus argued that they are shared by people and cultures all over the world. As a consequence, any conceptual system based on them must be endowed with some universal character. We attempt to examine the image-schematic component which underlies the different specific metaphoric mappings which integrate the EVENT STRUCTURE metaphor both in the LOCATION and OBJECT branches.
Grammaticalisation through constructions
Authors: Ziegeler Debra
Published: January 2013

Recent arguments by Langacker (2003) on the nature of verb meanings in constructions claim that such meanings are created by entrenchment and frequency of use, and only with repeated use can they become conventionalised and acceptable. Such a position raises the need for a diachronic perspective on Construction Grammar. The present paper investigates the evolution of constructions through the example of thehave-causative in English, which appears to have had its origins as a transfer verb in telic argument structure constructions. When the construction contains a transfer verb, construction meaning reinforces verb meaning and periphrastic causatives may grammaticalise as output; this is a gradual development over time. In one way, then, the verbhavegrammaticalises across a succession of constructions, but in another, the telic argument structure construction itself is seen to have a progressive diachronic development.
Spatial cognition and linguistic expression
Authors: Shinohara Kazuko , Matsunaka Yoshihiro
Published: January 2013

This paper analyzes frames of reference involved in linguistic expression of spatial relations of objects, using an experimental method. Objects with and without intrinsic orientation are used as the figure object, and it is demonstrated that there exists in Japanese a phenomenon we call ‘figure-aligned mapping’, where the coordinate system on the figure object is projected onto the ground object. This is what previous studies have not reported or argued. We claim that this figure-aligned mapping belongs to the intrinsic frame of reference among the three (intrinsic, relative, and absolute) frames of reference proposed by Levinson, and some revision of his definition of the intrinsic frame is proposed so that figure-aligned mapping can be accommodated in it. The result of this study confirms the importance of the notion of coordinate system in the discussion of frames of reference.
Why Construction Grammar is radical
Authors: Taylor John R.
Published: January 2013

This article reviews some of the foundational assumptions of Croft'sRadical Construction Grammar. While constructions have featured prominently in much recent work in cognitive linguistics, Croft adopts the ‘radical’ view that constructions are the primary objects of linguistic analysis, with lexical and syntactic categories being defined with respect to the constructions in which they occur. This approach reverses the traditional view, according to which complex expressions are compositionally assembled through syntactic rules operating over items selected from the lexicon. The ubiquity of idioms, especially so-called constructional idioms, provides compelling evidence for the essential correctness of the radical constructional view. The possibility of a radical constructional approach to phonology is also discussed.
Where is Dutch (really) heading?
Authors: Grondelaers Stefan , van Hout Roeland
Published: January 2013

Like other European standard languages, Dutch is currently undergoing destandardization processes which excite concern on the part of the linguistic and cultural establishment, and inspire uncertainty in school teachers of Dutch. In the face of the progressing variability in a variety which should (in theory) be uniform, the question which norm should be taught in the schools is becoming increasingly legitimate, though theoretical linguists do not typically concern themselves with it. This paper first pools and reviews the available evidence in favour of a more positive account of ongoing developments in Netherlandic Standard Dutch (NSD). It then proposes a concrete division of labour between formal and less formal varieties of Dutch. Our principal conclusion is that the norm relaxation observed in NSD must not engender lawlessness in language teaching.
Unity in Super-diversity
Authors: Messelink Annelies , ten Thije Jan D.
Published: January 2013

Vertovec (2007) discusses super-diversity with reference to technological developments and increasing migration patterns which increase exposure to cultural diversity. As a consequence, ‘the other’ becomes less predictable and assumptions regarding cultural and linguistic features are less easily made (Blommaert & Backus, 2011, pp. 2–4). This paper examines students and graduates living in Brussels who have obtained significant experience working and studying in foreign countries: the Erasmus generation 2.0. We analyse discourse strategies used by members of the Erasmus generation 2.0 coping with super-diversity. The aim is to give insight into how members manage cultural and linguistic differences in interaction, and how this enables them to achieve unity in diversity. Instead of speaking of a European identity, we introduce the notion of ‘European capacity’, which denotes the ability to manage differences and multiple identities in interaction. European capacity emphasises how communicative competencies allow interlocutors to successfully operate in European multicultural and multilingual groups.
Time scales in second language development
Authors: de Bot Kees
Published: January 2013

Development, and thus language development takes place at many interacting timescales, ranging from the milliseconds of lexical retrieval to pragmatic development at the scale of the life span. Different factors play a role in development at different time scales and even the same factor may play out differently at different time scales. Motivation in language learning may impact on long term intentions like a successful career, but also on short term motives like passing an examination. Such motivational drives interact, leading to a complex non-linear trajectory over time. There is hardly any research that looks at the same developmental process at different time scales and much of the research on second language development needs to be reconsidered on the basis of these insights.
‘A gup of dea, please’
Authors: Beckmann Eltje
Published: January 2013

Although crosslinguistic influence (CLI) in voice onset time (VOT) production is a widely studied phenomenon (e.g. Flege, 1987), few studies look at more than two languages. This study examines the production of word-initial stops in Dutch, English and German by two groups of German L3 learners of Dutch: frequent and less frequent L3 users. The aim was to uncover evidence for CLI between Dutch and English/German by employing a picture-naming task. An acoustic analysis revealed that the frequent users produced significantly shorter voiceless stops and more prevoicing in English than the other groups did. However, all participants produced native VOTs in German, indicating that the L1 is not affected.
Exploring response tokens in Irish English — a multidisciplinary approach
Authors: Murphy Bróna
Published: January 2013

Schneider & Barron (2008) discuss the effect of macro-social factors such as region, ethnic background, age, social status and gender on intra-lingual pragmatic conventions, and state that, to date, they have received comparatively little attention in the study of pragmatics. This paper chooses two macro-social factors, age and gender, and focuses on how they impact on the use of response tokens in Irish English. Not only does the paper shed light on the use of variational pragmatics as a framework for corpus-based studies but it also brings together research on sociolinguistics and corpus linguistics, which has, to-date, been scarce (Baker 2010). The paper reveals the importance of avoiding the exploration of sociolinguistic variables in isolation and concludes by highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research and the merits of fine-grained sociolinguistic investigations using small corpora.
CQPweb — combining power, flexibility and usability in a corpus analysis tool
Authors: Hardie Andrew
Published: January 2013

CQPweb is a new web-based corpus analysis system, intended to address the conflicting requirements for usability and power in corpus analysis software. To do this, its user interface emulates the BNCweb system. Like BNCweb, CQPweb is built on two separate query technologies: the IMS Open Corpus Workbench and the MySQL relational database. CQPweb’s main innovative feature is its flexibility; its more generalised data model makes it compatible with any corpus. The analysis options available in CQPweb include: concordancing; collocations; distribution tables and charts; frequency lists; and keywords or key tags.

An evaluation of CQPweb against criteria earlier laid down for a future web-based corpus analysis tool suggests that it fulfils many, but not all, of the requirements foreseen for such a piece of software. Despite some limitations, in making a sophisticated query system accessible to untrained users, CQPweb combines ease of use, power and flexibility to a very high degree.
Direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs as an argumentative activity type
Authors: Wierda Renske , Visser Jacky
Published: January 2013

With direct-to-consumer advertisements (DTCA), pharmaceutical companies can market their prescription drugs directly to consumers. In order to properly study the argumentative aspect of these advertisements from a pragma-dialectical perspective, it is necessary to characterize DTCA as an ‘argumentative activity type’. This characterization shows that in DTCA, the advertiser combines two genres of communicative activity: promotion and consultation. The use of promotion stems from the advertiser’s commercial objective of selling products, while the use of consultation is a result of the legal obligation to present a fair balance between arguments for and against the use of a drug.
The rhetoric of imperial righteousness in a post-9/11 world
Authors: Burnette Ann E. , Kraemer Wayne L.
Published: January 2013

This paper examines the three US national security strategies released by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama since 9/11. These national security strategies are required presidential statements describing US plans for national security. The authors analyze Bush’s two and Obama’s one post-9/11 national security strategies and evaluate the argumentative framework of imperial righteousness in the documents. The rhetoric of American imperial righteousness contains four themes: national security, the nature of the enemy, freedom and democracy, and American morality. While there are some differences between the documents, the authors argue that Bush and Obama both promoted the idea of imperial righteousness in their plans for American national security. Moreover, the four themes of imperial righteousness worked together effectively to advance America’s interests in world affairs.
The discursive construction of the good death and the dying person
Authors: Van Brussel Leen , Carpentier Nico
Published: January 2013

The concept of a good death is central to contemporary discourses on death and dying; it is also frequently used in contexts of end-of-life decision-making. We argue that in and through the medical-revivalist discourse, which challenges the idea that curative treatment is necessary beneficial and constructs death as something familiar, a good death is discursively organised around two nodal clusters: control, autonomy and dignity, and awareness and heroism. Moreover, we also argue that — within this framework of the medical-revivalist discourse — political contestation exists over the articulation of these nodal points. Especially two social movements, the right to die movement and the palliative care movement, have been at the forefront of the political struggle over the good death. In this article, we use a discourse-theoretical approach to develop an analytical model of the construction of the good death and the present-day political struggles over these constructions. This model then allows us to identify and analyse the constructions of the good death in the North Belgian newspaper coverage on three 2008 euthanasia cases. Using discourse-theoretical analysis (DTA) (Carpentier & De Cleen, 2007), our analysis shows that the articulations of the right to die variation are privileged in the newspaper coverage. There is a celebration of the extraordinariness and heroism of the dying subject who autonomously chooses on how and when to die and who preferably dies in a state of full awareness so that he can die with dignity. This privileging is often accompanied by the symbolic annihilation of many other ways of dying. Consequentially, the richness of ways of dying that characterize contemporary social realities becomes curtailed in the analysed newspaper representations.
Death penalty discourses and the U.K. polity
Authors: Flanagan Eugene
Published: January 2013

In this paper I investigate the lack of public participation and consequent democratic deficit on the issue of the death penalty in the United Kingdom (henceforth the U.K.). I critically analyse the institutions and practices of the U.K. polity, and several parliamentary contributions to the death penalty discourses around abolition in 1964/65 and in 1994, the last debate to date on the issue in the U.K. parliament. Consequently, I argue that a range of causal tendencies operating in the polity are responsible for the lack of public participation and hence democratic deficit on this and other issues. And while I am sympathetic with present abolitionist penal policy, I nevertheless argue that these tendencies constitute dominatory practice.
The symbolic construction of communism in Turkish anti-communist propaganda during the Cold War
Authors: Özman Aylin , Yazıcı Yakın Aslı
Published: January 2013

The aim of this study is to analyse cultural and social referential importance of the stereotypes of communists/communism in the anti-communist propaganda texts circulated in Turkey during the Cold War. The article displays the symbolism underlying anti-communist discourse by re-reading the propaganda material as texts that introduce the reader to ultimate anti-communist fantasies. The analyzed texts were mainly produced by one of the leading participants of anti-communist struggle, namely the Association for Fighting Communism in Turkey (AFCT) (Türkiye Komünizmle Mücadele Derneği, TKMD, 1963–1977), and its members. The article shows that the analyzed anti-communist propaganda creates mystification as a strategy and builds a narration in which temporal, spatial, and personal references are obscure. The article also shows that anti-communist propaganda operates on traditional dichotomies nature/culture, emotion/reason, and body/mind and that the images of communists/communism are constructed by appealing to a variety of animal species connoting “danger”; the unsocial connoting of the “absence of rules” and animality; and the woman of desire recalling the “immoral” in the popular imagination. It is argued that the texts are all interdiscursive thus allowing for the sexist, Islamist and nationalist arguments to be used as supportive subtopics while defending the anti-communist cause. The analysis also establishes intertextual relationship with the Nazi anti-Jewish and anti-communist discourse.
Uniformity and diversity
Authors: Sigurdsson Halldór Ármann
Published: January 2013

This essay discusses language uniformity and diversity in the light of recent developments of the minimalist program (Hauser et al. 2002; Chomsky 2008; Berwick & Chomsky 2011, and much related work). It pursues two leading ideas. First, Universal Grammar (UG) is maximally minimal: hence early internal language (I-language) is largely uniform across individuals, language variation being mainly or entirely confined to externalization. Second, the mapping from I-language to external language (E-language) is non-isomorphic (the Non-isomorphy Generalization), morphological processes such as agreement and case marking being E-language phenomena, taking place in the externalization component. The first line of reasoning converges with many of Chomsky’s recent ideas, the second one is more divergent. Keywords: E-language; externalization; I-language; person; tense; non-isomorphy generalization
Crosslinguistic and experimental evidence for non-number plurals*
Authors: Butler Lindsay Kay
Published: January 2013

In this paper, I find support for the idea that plural marking shows variation across languages but can still be captured in a universal syntax (Wiltschko 2008, 2011). The proposal that the plural morpheme heads the Number Phrase (Ritter 1991; Bernstein 1991; Valois 1991; inter alia) is not adequate to account for plural marking in all languages. Wiltschko (2008) proposed that plurals may merge either as heads or adjuncts to various projections along the spine of the Determiner Phrase (DP, NumP, nP and the root). I provide syntactic, semantic and experimental evidence that the plural morpheme in Yucatec Maya is adjoined to the DP. I highlight evidence from other language types for variation in the syntax of plural marking, and I discuss how this variation might be constrained in particular ways. The implication of these findings is that identity of function does not imply identical syntax or semantics. Keywords:﻿﻿ plural marking; Number Phrase; Determiner Phrase; Yucatec Maya; sentence production; morphosyntactic priming
Vowel Mutability in Print in English and Spanish
Authors: Moates Danny R. , Alonso-Marks Emilia
Published: January 2013

Studies of vowel mutability have shown that it is easier to change a nonword (e.g., /tibl/) into a real word by changing a vowel (/tebl/) than by changing a consonant (/fibl/). All previous studies have used auditory materials, suggesting that the effect is a spoken language phenomenon. We conducted two studies with print materials, one in English and one in Spanish. Both showed clear vowel mutability effects, suggesting that vowel mutability is a more a general phenomenon. Vowel mutability is also shown to be one of many phenomena in which vowels and consonants show asymmetrical effects. Implications for models of auditory and visual word recognition are discussed.
A new strategy for progressive marking and its implications for grammaticalization theory
Authors: Loporcaro Michele
Published: January 2013

The variety of Sicilian spoken in Pantelleria has developed a progressive construction which involves pronominal subject clitics. This is striking in many respects. Firstly, on a Romance scale, subject clitics are usually regarded as characteristic for varieties spoken north of Florence. Secondly, in none of the central Romance dialects where subject clitics are known to occur do these convey progressive meaning. The latter seems to be unusual on a larger scale too, as none of the strategies for progressive marking reported in the relevant literature on linguistic typology seems to be directly comparable with the one displayed by Pantiscu. Besides, the results of the present study have some consequences for grammaticalization theory, as they suggest that recent revisions of Hopper & Traugott’s ‘cline of grammaticalization’ are not on the right track and that the cline originally proposed should rather be revised so as to include the distinction between syntactic and phonological cliticization.
Scope hierarchies and modality in Manchu
Authors: Rentzsch Julian
Published: January 2013

The present paper aims to register the principal morphological and morphosyntactic items of the Manchu language that encode modal notions and to propose a functional and semantic classification for them. The inventory of items is classified according to three functional categories which are determined by their relationship to aspect within a hierarchy of scope. The position of a given modal item in the scope hierarchy is established by testing whether it is combinable with aspect, and if so, whether the modal item operates on aspect or forms part of the operandum of aspect. The three functional modal categories, which are also mutually distinct in terms of basic semantic properties, are investigated with regard to their internal semantic design. It will be suggested that while the domain of event modality can be adequately described with received theories of modality, the other semantic classes call for alternative approaches.
Ditransitive constructions in Kashibo-Kakataibo and the non-distinguishable objects analysis
Authors: Biondi Roberto Zariquiey
Published: January 2013

The present paper offers a description of ditransitive constructions in Kashibo-Kakataibo (Panoan, Peru). While doing so, this paper challenges what can be called the “non-distinguishable objects analysis”, which stipulates that, in some Panoan languages, the two objects of ditransitive constructions cannot be syntactically distinguished. I not only argue that this analysis cannot be applied to Kashibo-Kakataibo, but also that it invokes important methodological problems. In contrast, this paper argues for a constructional approach, which looks at different grammatical properties independently. This approach allows us to explain the distribution of alignments found in Kashibo-Kakataibo’s ditransitive constructions: the neutral alignment type dominates according to a principle of coding-behavior harmony, while the indirective alignment type is limited to reflexive constructions, which have an intrinsic bias to T-based constructions. This constructional approach can also be applied to other Panoan languages and, therefore, offers a solid comparative basis for future studies on ditransitive constructions from a Panoan perspective.
“The sheikh of the translators”
Authors: Osman Ghada
Published: January 2013

With the ascension to power of the Abbasid dynasty in 750 CE and the transfer of the capital of the Muslim Empire to the newly-created city of Baghdad, the middle of the eighth century heralded an era that in Islamic history is referred to as the “Golden Age,” during which period the Muslim world became an unrivaled intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. Approximately eighty years after the dynasty’s rise to power, the Abbasid Caliph (ruler) al-Ma’mun (d. 833 CE) established in Baghdad Bayt al-Hikma (the House of Wisdom), an educational institution where Muslim and non-Muslim scholars together sought to gather the world’s knowledge not only via original writing but also through translation. Probably the most well-known and industrious translator of the era was Hunayn ibn Ishaq (d. 873 CE), known in the West by the Latinized name “Joannitius.” Referred to as “the sheikh of the translators,” he is reported to have mastered the four principal languages of his time: Greek, Syriac, Persian, and Arabic. Hunayn is credited with an immense number of translations, ranging from works on medicine, philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics, to magic and oneiromancy. This article looks at Hunayn’s work, briefly places this key figure within the translatorial habitus, discusses his methodology towards translation, as described in his own works, and examines that methodology in light of the sociological and sociolinguistic factors of the time.
Italy’s other Mafia
Authors: Caliendo Giuditta
Published: January 2013

Following its translation into more than thirty languages, Roberto Saviano’s non-fiction novel Gomorrah [Gomorra], has unveiled to a vast number of readers across the globe the endless saga of Naples’ crime syndicate, the Camorra (from which the book’s title derives its bitter play on words). Literary critics and reviewers in the UK and in the U.S. have widely acclaimed Saviano’s talent in depicting the corruption plaguing Naples’ gloomy and degraded hinterland, although the sociocultural context portrayed in Gomorrah is naturally distant from the repertoire of the target culture: the text is widely populated by culture-bound concepts and implicit meanings, which further complicates the translation process. Through a contrastive analysis of the Italian and English versions of the exposé, this study explores the strategies employed in translating the voices and deeds of Naples’ mobsters, as well as the socioeconomic setting of the Camorra. With reference to types of non-equivalence between the two language versions, this article investigates to what extent the English translation contributes to the identity-building process of the Camorra as a separate and far more deadly criminal organization vis-à-vis the Sicilian Mafia.
Translation as human–computer interaction
Authors: O'Brien Sharon
Published: January 2013

This paper seeks to characterise translation as a form of human–computer interaction. The evolution of translator–computer interaction is explored, and the challenges and benefits are enunciated. The concept of cognitive ergonomics is drawn on to argue for a more caring and inclusive approach towards the translator by developers of translation technology. A case is also made for wider acceptance by the translation community of the benefits of the technology at their disposal and for more humanistic research on the impact of technology on the translator, the translation profession, and the translation process.
Frequency and Severity of Trauma in Fishes Subjected to Multiple-Pass Depletion Electrofishing
Authors: Panek Frank M. , Densmore Christine L.
Published: January 2013

The incidence and severity of trauma associated with multiple-pass electrofishing and the effects on short-term (30-d) survival and growth of Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis, and five representative co-inhabiting nontarget or bycatch species were examined. Fish were held in four rectangular fiberglass tanks (190 × 66 cm) equipped with electrodes, a gravel–cobble stream substrate, and continuous water flow. Fish were exposed to one, two, or three electroshocks (100-V, 60-Hz pulsed DC) spaced 1 h apart or were held as a control. The heterogeneous field produced a mean (±SD) voltage gradient of 0.23 ± 0.024 V/cm (range = 0.20–0.30 V/cm) with a duty cycle of 30% and a 5-s exposure. Radiographs of 355 fish were examined for evidence of spinal injuries, and necropsies were performed on 303 fish to assess hemorrhagic trauma in soft tissue. Using linear regression, we demonstrated significant relationships between the number of electrical shocks and the frequency and severity of hemorrhagic and spinal trauma in each of the nontarget species (Potomac Sculpin Cottus girardi, Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus, Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas, Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus, and Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides). Most of the injuries in these species were either minor or moderate. Rainbow Trout and Brook Trout generally sustained the highest incidence and severity of injuries, but those injuries were generally independent of the number of treatments. The 30-d postshock survival for the trout species was greater than 94%; survival for the bycatch species ranged from 80% (Fathead Minnow) to 100% (Green Sunfish and Channel Catfish). There were no significant differences in 30-d postshock condition factors despite observations of altered feeding behavior lasting several days to 1 week posttreatment in several of the study species.

Received June 27, 2012; accepted November 20, 2012
Interaction between autism-linked MDGAs and neuroligins suppresses inhibitory synapse development
Authors: Pettem Katherine L. , Yokomaku Daisaku , Takahashi Hideto , Ge Yuan , Craig Ann Marie
Published: January 2013

Rare variants in MDGAs (MAM domain–containing glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors), including multiple protein-truncating deletions, are linked to autism and schizophrenia, but the function of these genes is poorly understood. Here, we show that MDGA1 and MDGA2 bound to neuroligin-2 inhibitory synapse–organizing protein, also implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. MDGA1 inhibited the synapse-promoting activity of neuroligin-2, without altering neuroligin-2 surface trafficking, by inhibiting interaction of neuroligin-2 with neurexin. MDGA binding and suppression of synaptogenic activity was selective for neuroligin-2 and not neuroligin-1 excitatory synapse organizer. Overexpression of MDGA1 in cultured rat hippocampal neurons reduced inhibitory synapse density without altering excitatory synapse density. Furthermore, RNAi-mediated knockdown of MDGA1 selectively increased inhibitory but not excitatory synapse density. These results identify MDGA1 as one of few identified negative regulators of synapse development with a unique selectivity for inhibitory synapses. These results also place MDGAs in the neurexin–neuroligin synaptic pathway implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders and support the idea that an imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory synapses may contribute to these disorders.
Immobile myosin-II plays a scaffolding role during cytokinesis in budding yeast
Authors: Wloka Carsten , Vallen Elizabeth A. , Thé Lydia , Fang Xiaodong , Oh Younghoon , Bi Erfei
Published: January 2013

Core components of cytokinesis are conserved from yeast to human, but how these components are assembled into a robust machine that drives cytokinesis remains poorly understood. In this paper, we show by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching analysis that Myo1, the sole myosin-II in budding yeast, was mobile at the division site before anaphase and became immobilized shortly before cytokinesis. This immobility was independent of actin filaments or the motor domain of Myo1 but required a small region in the Myo1 tail that is thought to be involved in higher-order assembly. As expected, proteins involved in actin ring assembly (tropomyosin and formin) and membrane trafficking (myosin-V and exocyst) were dynamic during cytokinesis. Strikingly, proteins involved in septum formation (the chitin synthase Chs2) and/or its coordination with the actomyosin ring (essential light chain, IQGAP, F-BAR, etc.) displayed Myo1-dependent immobility during cytokinesis, suggesting that Myo1 plays a scaffolding role in the assembly of a cytokinesis machine.