bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Garbage Politics
Authors: Adama Onyanta
Published: December 2022

The article provides insights into how a Private Sector Partnership (PSP) between government and local firms in Lagos, Nigeria, became enmeshed in local politics. Drawing largely on primary data, it reports that aided by a discourse which positioned the PSP as the embodiment of local interests, the partnership was deployed by politicians to generate political capital. Furthermore, Mega Infrastructure Projects (MIP s) paved the way for the government to intervene in the partnership. The hiring of a foreign firm by the government was seen by local firms as an attempt to marginalise them and by politicians as a challenge to entrenched local powers. Local firms fought back by creating strategic alliances and networks with politicians. Hence, the PSP was turned into a site of resistance politics. Ultimately, the saga led to the unravelling of the partnership. At the broadest level, the article highlights how globally circulating neoliberal urban visions are grounded within specific cities.
The Effect of Financial Inclusion on Credit Risk in SADC Countries
Authors: Jungo João , Madaleno Mara , Botelho Anabela
Published: December 2022

The objective of this study is to contribute to the knowledge about the relationship between financial inclusion and credit risk in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, which remains relatively unexplored in the developing countries context. The result of panel vector autoregressive models (PVAR) estimation shows that there is no bidirectional causality between financial inclusion and credit risk, but there is unidirectional causality where financial inclusion improves credit risk. Furthermore, the feasible generalised (FGLS) estimation result confirms that financial inclusion reduces credit risk. Policymakers in SADC countries should implement measures that foster financial inclusion to achieve financial stability.
Ekphrasis and the Mind’s Ear
Authors: Hines Caitlin
Published: December 2022

The ekphrasis of Herakles’ shield in Pseudo-Hesiod’s Aspis comprises an immersive experiment in the poetics of sound. As complement to the standard modes of visualization that are crucial to effective ekphrasis, this poem’s rich soundscape invites the audience to ‘auralize’ the sounds described by the internal observer. From the monstrous noises emitted from the shield’s iconographic world to the overdetermined correspondence of sonic features within and between narrative levels, the acoustic techniques of this poem actively destabilize traditional archaic modes of constructing and shattering ekphrastic illusion. As sound effects undermine the notion that materiality must serve as an index of iconographic fixity, and as lexical and semantic recursions echo across representational planes, the poem’s unruly acoustics ultimately problematize the relationship between the world of the shield and the world of its wielder.
Vocal complexity in Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus)
Authors: Umeed Rebecca , Lucchini Karen , Santos Paulo J.P. , Attademo Fernanda , Luna Fabia , Normande Iran , Bezerra Bruna
Published: December 2022

Vocal complexity can be expressed through variations in repertoire size, structure, and individual manatee repertoires. Here we aimed to assess the complexity of the vocal behaviour of Antillean manatees living in captivity (i.e., artificial pools) and in reintroduction enclosures (i.e., natural enclosures placed in an estuarine area). Specifically, we evaluated: (i) the structure of vocalisations to assess whether they had variants; (ii) the variation in call production (rate and pattern) between groups with different configurations; (iii) whether individuality occurred in vocalisation structure. We found four categories of vocalisations, of which two had different variants. Not all study groups produced all call categories and variants. Older and younger males in the reintroduction enclosures had the highest call rates compared to captive females and captive males. The vocal and behavioural patterns differed between groups. Squeak call structure differed between individuals. Such vocal complexity may aid manatees in adapting to their dynamic social and structural environment, facilitating communication.
Smart Fraction Theory
Authors: Kirkegaard Emil O. W. , Carl Noah
Published: December 2022

Previous studies have found that the ability of a country’s cognitive elite is generally more predictive than the average ability. However, these studies have relied on sub-optimal methods. Here, the authors tested smart fraction theory, as it is known, using a pre-residualization approach, which obviates the problem of collinearity. For outcome variables, they utilised the 51 indicators of the Social Progress Index, as well as 6 economic variables. Like in previous research, the authors operationalized the ability of the intellectual class as the 95th percentile score. Consistent with smart fraction theory, they found evidence that the ability of the intellectual class does influence outcomes over and above that of the average ability. For the 93 countries with available data, average ability explained 57% of the variation in country performance. Adding the 95th percentile score increased this to 66%. The authors discuss their findings in light of the existing literature.
National Identity, Ethnicity and Social Capital in Iran
Authors: Mirfardi Asghar , Kazemi Ali , Valinezhad Abdollah
Published: December 2022

This article investigates the national identity and its relationship with ethnicity and social capital among Iranian university students. The findings show that in Iran, despite ethnic diversity, the observed mean index of national identity is higher than the expected mean. The Persian and Lor ethnic groups obtained the highest, and the Kurdish, and Turkish ethnic groups the lowest mean scores on national identity and social capital. Students majoring in agriculture and humanities obtained the highest, and engineering students the lowest mean score of national identity. Students majoring in science obtained the highest, and engineering students the lowest mean score of social capital. The findings suggest a positive correlation between national identity and social capital. In terms of national identity, there are statistically significant differences among students, but not according to their gender and educational major. In Iran, as a multi-ethnic society, social capital and national identity are directly related. This means that civic national identity and inter-group social capital among Iranian ethnic groups reinforce each other.
Tabula Cebetis Printed in Vienna
Authors: Kiliańczyk-Zięba Justyna
Published: December 2022

The article focuses on an edition of Tabula Cebetis printed in 1517 in Vienna represented by a unique copy (preserved in a Sammelband) that is furnished with a full-page woodcut dated 1515. The inquiry lays emphasis on the design and appearance of the 1517 edition. These are analyzed as reflecting the book’s potential audience, but also as suggesting the former existence of an edition of the Tabula (Vienna, 1515) that is presently not available in a surviving copy. Concurrently, since issuing the dialogue in Vienna was connected to the activities of itinerant poets, scholars, printers and they patrons, who worked towards integrating the humanist curriculum into the local education, this study provides insight into the intellectual networks of those who were involved with the Tabula’s publication and who constituted the contemporary audience in Central Europe both for this and other humanistic texts.
Ethnic Politics and Violation of Basic Civil Rights of Amharas in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State of the Post 1991 Ethiopia
Authors: Endalew Getasew , Molla Adugna , Hussen Endris , Bayeh Addisalem
Published: December 2022

Ethnic politics, conceptually, entails the political orientation of employing ethnicity as a means of cooperation and conflict. Based on this concept, the study was aimed to examine actors, causes and consequences of the violation plus challenges in preserving civil rights of Amharas in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State (bgrs) of the post 1991 Ethiopia. It applied qualitative research approach. Accordingly, the research found that the major actors on the violation of civil rights of Amharas are ‘titular’ nationalities, public officials, police force and agricultural investors of bgrs. The causes for the violations of rights of Amharas are ethnic attacks and evictions. These maltreatments brought the consequence of eroding their sense of citizenship and potential of development. The challenges for protection of civil rights of Amharas are problems of controlling rulers and exclusionary constitution. Thus, it concluded that civil rights of Amharas in bgrs have no guarantee and requires immediate political solution.
Der Serbisch-Orthodoxe Patriarch Porfirije als „Brückenbauer“
Authors: Kisić Rade
Published: December 2022

The article offers a portrait of Porfirije (Perić), the new patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, elected in February 2021. Based on Porfirije’s own writings, he is characterized first and foremost as a “builder of bridges” in various senses and contexts of dialogue, concerning ecumenical, but also inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue. This corresponds with his conscious self-identification and interpretation of his role as a Christian and as an Orthodox bishop. Main sketches of this image already became visible during Porfirije’s time as Orthodox metropolitan of Zagreb, a position he took over by 2014. Historical burdens from the complex history of the territory of former Yugoslavia form multiple challenges to the conciliatory approach of Porfirije. The Serbian patriarch devotes particular attention to the relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, in Croatia and beyond.
Digital Humanitarians and International Lawyers: Worlds apart or Two Sides of the Same Coin?
Authors: Soave Tommaso
Published: December 2022

The field of humanitarian assistance is undergoing a computational revolution, but international lawyers are slow to realize it. Thanks to the deployment of data analytics, humanitarian agencies are increasingly able to forecast where and when a crisis will strike, whom it will affect, and what needs it will create. These developments enable new and promising models of anticipatory response, but also raise concerns in terms of risk management and irresponsible experimentation. Yet, so far, international lawyers have been strikingly silent about the normative implications of digital humanitarianism. Seeking to fill the gap, this article assesses the impact of data- driven humanitarian response on the practice of international law, and sets out some broad parameters for dialogue and mutual engagement between the two fields of expertise. That engagement requires, first, an understanding of the normative character of humanitarian data practices. Based on that understanding, international lawyers can contribute to the regulation of digital humanitarian networks and help steer the system towards greater accountability.
The Interpretation of Slavery before the International Criminal Court: Reconciling Legal Borders?
Authors: Palacios-Arapiles Sara
Published: December 2022

This article examines the interpretation of the definition of slavery/ enslavement by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Ongwen case (2021) and its application to the facts of the case at hand. This examination is warranted because Ongwen represents the first case in which the ICC was tasked with deciding whether the crime of enslavement had been committed. This article illustrates that the ICC has been outward-looking, finding that judgments of other courts largely featured in the reasoning of the ICC when interpreting slavery. The detailed study in this article further reveals that, either directly or indirectly, the ICC more specifically drew on the judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Kunarac case. The article shows that, in doing so, the ICC reconciled legal borders by incorporating in its decision elements of general international law, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law instruments to inform its understanding of slavery/enslavement. The article highlights that the ICC contributed to norm consolidation globally.
Un cas de renommée savante :  Sylvain Lévi, de la grandeur à l’oubli
Authors: Fhima Catherine , Lardinois Roland
Published: December 2022

Cet article se propose d’étudier le processus par lequel se construit puis se perpétue une renommée savante en considérant le cas de Sylvain Lévi (1863-1935), professeur de langue et littérature sanskrites au Collège de France et qui fut pendant 15 ans (1920-1935) président de l’Alliance israélite universelle. On analyse la renommée de Sylvain Lévi sur les trois plans que sont le nom propre, l’œuvre et les actions dans lesquelles il s’est engagé. On montre que la position éminente de Sylvain Lévi, de son vivant, tient au fait que son double magistère d’homme de science et d’autorité morale est en pleine adéquation avec l’actualité de son temps. Mais au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les conditions historiques, politiques et sociales ne sont plus réunies pour soutenir ce type de position. La renommée de Sylvain Lévi est alors fragmentée selon les publics, et la mémoire de son nom s’efface même des reconstructions historiographiques portant sur les grandes figures intellectuelles de la première moitié du XXe siècle.
Minorities Between State and Sharia Discourses in African Muslim Societies
Authors: Tayob Abdulkader
Published: December 2022

This essay proposes a framework for understanding the construction of religious groups and minorities in Muslim societies through two intersecting and inter-related discourses. The first is a discourse and experience of modern state formation with roots in Africa’s colonial history. And the second is a discourse of the Other in Islamic jurisprudence and theology. It builds on Talal Asad’s thesis that a modern state discourse of secular authority does not preclude religious symbols that shape religious minorities. However, the essay goes beyond Asad by showing that Muslim reformist groups also articulate a religious discourse on minorities and religious groups. The essay argues that a discursive construction of Muslim religious minorities and groups occurs through contemporary state and Islamic reformist discourses. The article presents Egypt and Nigeria as case studies to illustrate this construction.
The Formation of Muslim Minorities within a Muslim Majority Context: the Case of Shia Groups in Nigeria
Authors: Ibrahim Musa
Published: December 2022

Focusing on al-Ḥaraka al-Islamiyya fī Nayjīriyā (Islamic Movement in Nigeria), which is the largest Shia group in the country, this article examines Shia’s growth and social relations between its members and the Sunni majority. It analyses how the imn uses its structure, networks, and reform programs to spread Shia at the grassroots despite theological and political opposition from the Sunni majority. Beyond engaging in doctrinal polemics with the Sunnis, the Shias organized themselves into a well- structured religious movement with a political agenda challenging the Sunni majority and the Nigerian state. They are construed as a threat by the state, a notion supported by the Sunni Muslims within and outside the government. Subsequently, these dynamics inform how both Shia minorities and Sunni majority react to each other and how they both partake in remaking the wider social fabric of the society they share through interpersonal encounters and their relationship with the state.
Of Patience and Pity: Rewriting and Reciting the Widely Travelled Islamic Poem “The Hawk and the Dove” in East Africa
Authors: Vierke Clarissa
Published: December 2022

The Swahili poem of “The Hawk and the Dove” (Kozi na Ndiwa) has long been popular along the Swahili coast. In brief, the poem tells the story of the prophet Musa, who is put to the test by the angels Mikaili and Jibrili, disguised as a dove and a hawk. The dove, fleeing the famished hawk, finds refuge in the folds of Musa’s clothes. The bird of prey, approaching Musa, claims its right to the dove, since it is hungry. Musa faces a dilemma: he understands the hawk’s argument but is also full of pity for the dove. When he finally offers to cut off a part of his own right thigh to feed the hawk, the birds reveal themselves as the two angels and praise the prophet.

“The Hawk and the Dove” has been a travelling Islamic poem par excellence: like many other popular Swahili Islamic poems dating back to the eighteenth, but mostly the nineteenth century – the heyday of Swahili Islamic poetry, having flourished amid the Sufi movements and their emphasis on poetry in vernacular languages as a means to ignite religious zeal in wider audiences – the poem is also based on sources that have widely travelled the Indian Ocean. Swahili poets creatively adapted them into Swahili verse, just as other Muslim poets in North Africa, West Africa, and, earlier, the Iberian Peninsula did for the discourses relevant to their own contexts. This contribution takes the double optic of providing a first text edition of the most ancient surviving Swahili manuscript of the poem. Secondly, I view the poem amid a longer history of circulation beyond the Swahili coast, as well as compare it with other popular, vernacular versions in the Arabic dialect of Algeria, Hausa in Nigeria, and the earlier adaptations by moriscos from the Iberian Peninsula in Aljamiado. This kaleidoscope of various rewritings of the story allows me to see the Swahili-specific readings more clearly in contrast.
Two Logics of Non-Recurrence after Civil Conflict
Authors: McAuliffe Padraig
Published: December 2022

This article examines the interactions of two under-theorised means to forestall recurrence of violence and human rights abuses after conflict with two very different, but by no means mutually incompatible, logics. The first of these is guarantees of non-recurrence (gnr s), a branch of transitional justice characterised by a deeply formalist, institutionalised logic. The second is political settlements characterised by a highly informal logic. This article explores the conceptual terrain between these two logics of non-recurrence. It demonstrates a mismatch between the faith of transitional justice policy-makers in the centrality of gnr s to non-recurrence, on the one hand, and the actual process of guarding against conflict resumption as it is shaped extra-institutionally by the informal practices that underpin settlements, on the other. Post-conflict states generally place greater faith in the informal logic of settlements than the institutionalist logic of gnr s. Arguing that the prospects for non-recurrence are not fully captured if we focus only on the legal and institutional attributes of the state, it shows that settlements evolve or disintegrate incrementally over time. This critically conditions when gnr s are essential and efficacious. Put another way, the fate of gnr s in particular institutions depends on how settlements in general maintain the peace. Transitional justice theorists should be open to the possibility that guarantees of non-repetition are the fruit, not the precondition, of social order.
Dostoevsky on the Metaphysical Mystery of the Unhappy Consciousness
Authors: Petrova Galina I. , Tarabanov Nikolay A.
Published: December 2022

We argue that such trends of modern philosophy as philosophical anthropology, hermeneutics and phenomenology in their ideological origins were born in Russian philosophizing, so that the ideas and images of Dostoevsky’s works have been revealed as their harbinger. More specifically, he supplemented the categorical apparatus of philosophy with the concept of mystery, foreseeing the specifics of descriptive language, which has become relevant to the specifics of modern philosophical and anthropological discoveries and socio-ontological constructions. In addition, we consider the phenomenon of unhappy consciousness found in Notes from the Underground and make an assumption about intersubjective (pluralistic) idealism – an original metaphysical conception, within the framework of which the definition of man as a mystery can be explained.
Russian Orthodoxy is a Terrible Force
Authors: Ryygas Elena-Olga
Published: December 2022

The invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops in February 2022 calls into question the legal status of the Russian Orthodox Church (headed by Patriarch Kirill) as a religious organization claiming Eastern Christian heritage. While the Russian Orthodox Church appropriates the history of Kievan Rus, the top hierarchs of the roc are guided by the ideology of servility and Bolshevism. At the same time, the Catacombers who survived the Bolshevik persecution also consider themselves part of Russian Orthodoxy. They are like the inhabitants of Kitezh-Town, the legendary sunken city hidden under water. The Catacombers are silent participants in the anti-war protest and oppose the ideas of the Russian World and nuclear Orthodoxy. They run a partisan movement of volunteers helping Ukrainian refugees. If one wonders whether Russian Orthodoxy is possible after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, then the answer is seen in the prophecy of the political scientist, V. Kramnik, about the inevitable collapse of the Russian Federation and the appearance of the Republic of Rus instead of it. Citizens of the provisional Kitezh-Town in the Republic of Rus will be the real descendants of Kievan Rus and elective affinities of the Ukrainians.
Mapping Missions: New Data for the Study of African History
Authors: Hedde-von Westernhagen Christine , Becker Bastian
Published: December 2022

The study of societal and institutional change has greatly benefited from a growing number of studies exploring sub-national variation in colonialism and its legacies. One vibrant stream in this literature focuses on the role of Christian missionaries in European empires. However, advances are often hampered by the quality and scarcity of available historical data. In this article, the authors introduce a new geospatial dataset of Catholic and Protestant mission stations in colonial Africa that offers a more complete picture than currently used data sources. The authors illustrate the greater coverage their data provides and demonstrate its utility by replicating the effect of missions on the expansion of formal education, one of the most established legacies of Christian missionaries.
From Defiance to Civilizationalism
Authors: Verpoest Lien
Published: December 2022

Russia’s complex relationship with the West is the result of a long history of frustration and a perception of humiliation. The Russian empire, Soviet Union and the Russian Federation all have perceived the West alternately as a touchstone and a threat. This article assesses how discourses of humiliation and historical greatness intersect in Russian foreign policy. A first section explains how the discourse of humiliation has always been present Russia’s discourse on East-West relations. The second part of the article discusses how critical junctures in its relations with the west affected Russia’s foreign policy since 1991. As a consequence, Russia’s reactive frustration turned into defiance and a proactive discourse of humiliation, which became strongly intertwined with the legitimation for its attacks on the territorial integrity of sovereign states like Ukraine. Countries warning not to further antagonize or humiliate Russia with an eye on diplomacy and negotiations risk to mainstream this Russian discourse. This would enable Russia to successfully “securitize” humiliation by making the narrative of humiliation an object of security through discursive actions. It is therefore crucial not to perceive Russia’s humiliation rhetoric apart from the internal legitimation of its military invasion of Ukraine.
Weaponizing History
Authors: Khislavski Grigori
Published: December 2022

This paper deals with Weaponizing History in the Russo-Ukranian War in diachronic perspective focusing on the events of 2014 and 2022. It shall be demonstrated that in 2014 it was medieval narratives that were the main focus: For instance, in the presidential speech addressed to the Federal Assembly on December 4, 2014, the annexation of Crimea was legitimized by the disputed “Korsun Legend”. This firmly established narrative has made it possible to proclaim Crimea to be the cradle of the Russian nation and a sacred place. In the recent war Putin invokes the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945) which has been developed into a central place of remembrance in his regime and according to which Ukraine is to be denazified and delegitimized as a product of Bolshevism. It is significant to note that these narratives synchronize and harmonize rather well with one another in the collective historical consciousness of Russians.
In Schoolbooks and on Telegram
Authors: Astrouskaya Tatsiana
Published: December 2022

Since 1991 memory politics in Belarus has undergone several shifts, conditioned by the alteration in international and inner policies and the whims of political elites. During the last two years, the civil protest movement and recently, the Russian war in Ukraine afresh prompted the re-interpreting of the past. In this revised interpretation, the already central place of WWII has become even more pronounced. The history of this war has been turned into a weapon by which Belarusian pro-governmental historians and propagandists attempt to combat the “collective West,” the NATO, the Ukrainian and Belarusian nationalists, and the émigré diaspora alike. This paper aims to outline the portrayal of Ukraine and Ukrainians in Belarusian memory politics (in school textbooks and, since 2020, on Telegram). It asks about the place Belarusian southern neighbour and, until recently, the “brotherly people” occupied in the official Belarusian historical narrative, shaped by the mythologisation of WWII.
Religione e regionalismo nell’Egitto ottomano attraverso una ricognizione dei generi e dei temi della letteratura religiosa
Authors: Tondi Arianna
Published: December 2022

In this paper we will examine how religious literature in Ottoman Egypt (16th–19th century), in continuity with the production of the Mamluk period, contributed to celebrate the geographical boundary in order to claim the lost centrality of Egypt, at that time a province of the Ottoman Empire. We will focus on genres and themes of this literature, which has intensified a feeling of belonging to the land that has influenced the nationalist thought emerged in the Nahḍa. In particular we will draw attention to Sufi literature, such as ṭabaqāt, manāqib and devotional treatises. These genres enhanced the strength of Egypt by celebrating the unicity of its religious landscape and the utmost powers of its saints. How has the geographical boundary been rewritten in the religious literature of the Ottoman period?
Crossing the Boundaries: Hashish Intoxication in Pre-modern Arabic Literature and Law
Authors: Marino Danilo
Published: December 2022

Despite the legal condemnation of mind-altering substances crystallized in formulas such as “everything that intoxicates is like ḫamr and ḫamr is illegal (ḥarām)”, intoxicants are largely represented in the Arabic literary corpus. Wine in particular is even the central topic of the ḫamriyya, a poetic genre describing the liquor and its effects that flourished in the early-Abbasid era. From the Mamlūk period (1250–1517) onward, other non-fermented stimulants based on hemp, banǧ, opium etc. were also included in the poetic imaginary, without nevertheless rising to the status of a literary genre. In other words, while intoxication (sukr) as a literary motif did not cross the boundaries of the moral and socially acceptable, its function as transition was instead meant in the fictional text to mark an emotional shift and negotiate between imagination and reality.

In this article, I propose to work on hashish intoxication as a liminal stage, where the boundaries between rational and irrational, pleasure and pain, conventional beauty and unattractiveness are often blurred. To do so, I will first briefly explore the centrality of the ʿaql in Muslim thought and how sukr not only was considered a threat to the normal functioning of the mind, but also a danger to the divine order. Subsequently, I will focus on hashish and how it challenged the traditional views on intoxication. The central part of the paper will approach hashish consumption as a literary motif. I will extract poems and anecdotes describing the ambiguous psycho-physical experience of hashish from the Rāḥat al-arwāḥ fī al-ḥašīš wa-l-rāḥ of al-Badrī (d. 894/1488), the most comprehensive anthology of texts on hashish within Arabic tradition.
Matrimonio e negoziazione del posizionamento sociale in Ḫiṭbat al-šayḫ (Il fidanzamento dello šayḫ, 1915), il romanzo incompiuto di Ṭāhā Ḥusayn
Authors: Paniconi Maria Elena
Published: December 2022

In the early twentieth century, themes such as the emergence of a young, newly urbanized effendiyya, the idea of marriage nurtured by this new class, the choice of the bride, and the role of the wife and the husband within the family were crucial in the cultural and social debate in Egypt. Throughout the discussion of these themes, the relationship between genders and generations was established, and new social boundaries were negotiated.

After a short analysis of the trope of marriage in the first period of the Egyptian novel (1906–1945) this contribution focuses on Ḫiṭbat al-šayḫ (The šayḫ’s engagement), a text by the renowned Egyptian author and academic Ṭāhā Ḥusayn (1889–1973), published only in 2017 by Dār al-waṯāʾiq in Cairo. This novel, although unfinished, offers one of the first examples of epistolary novel in the Egyptian late nahḍa context. The text, which consists of fifteen letters of various lengths, written by five fictional characters, is fundamental in understanding the theme of marriage as a social positioning tool.

Indeed, through the mechanism of epistolography, Ḫiṭbat al-šayḫ mirrors the complex social debate, incorporating in its own structure the discussion of social boundaries by different social actors.
The Reversal of the Reasonable in a Smart Social Outcast: Ḫalīfa ‘The Scabby’ by al-Bašīr Ḫurayyif
Authors: Facchin Andrea
Published: December 2022

Can healing cause social exclusion? By contrast, can illness signify belonging to a group, in addition to serenity? Throughout the analysis of the short story “Ḫalīfa al-aqraʿ” (1960) by the famous Tunisian author al-Bašīr Ḫurayyif (1917–1983), this study will unravel how its main character – a smart social outcast – performs his boundaries. Specifically, the paper will discuss how Ḫalīfa ‘the scabby’ experiences his illness, by overturning the logic of its boundaries and social inclusion, where illness is lived and interpreted differently, in apparent self-contradiction, and is employed to shape the protagonist’s marginalized role in a group.
The Key to the Labyrinth: Boundaries and Spaces in Raǧāʾ ʿĀlim’s Novel The Dove’s Necklace
Authors: van Leeuwen Richard
Published: December 2022

As an urban structure, Mecca is inscribed with several layers of meaning. It is the place where the Divine revelation of Islam took place; it is the setting of the life and preaching of the prophet Muhammad; and it is the location of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage, with its sacred and ritual sites. These complex domains of signification are related/separated by various kinds of boundaries, which are made even more intricate by the strict Wahhabi regime of religiosity and social segregation and Saudi policies of urban reconstruction. All these influences result in a fragmented spatial structure, and, concomitantly, in a fragmented social structure, which are both to some extent hidden in the folds of the urban landscape. In this contribution, the boundaries between the various domains will be discussed as they are portrayed, and contested, in the novel Ṭawq al-ḥamām (The Dove’s Necklace) by the Saudi author Raǧāʾ ʿĀlim. It will be explained how several characters are described as either upholding, breaking, preserving, and challenging the diverse boundaries vested in Mecca as a container of a profound religious heritage.
Genetic population structure of Cheilolejeunea rigidula (Lejeuneaceae) in the Amazon region
Authors: CAMPOS LAURA V. , STECH MICHAEL , DE OLIVEIRA SYLVIA MOTA , MUÑOZ-ORTIZ ASTRID , STEEGE HANS TER , URIBE-M. JAIME
Published: December 2022

We studied the community structure and diversity of epiphytic bryophytes in a vertical gradient from tree base to canopy in four lowland rain forest sites of the Colombian Amazon (Amazonas, Caquetá, Putumayo, and Vaupés). Each of the 64 sampled phorophytes was divided into six height zones from the base (Z1) to the outer canopy (Z6). As a subproject, we carried out a genetic population study using the liverwort Cheilolejeunea rigidula (Lejeuneaceae) as our model species, which occurred in all six height zones. In addition to 65 successfully sequenced samples from the study sites, we included individuals of C. rigidula from Guiana and Brazil (Manaus and Tapajos) to investigate the connectivity and genetic structure of this species across the Amazon region and to evaluate the genetic structure based on phorophyte height zones. Each site in Colombia, Brazil and Guiana was considered a subpopulation. The sequenced chloroplast markers (partial atpB gene, partial psbA gene/psbA-trnH spacer) showed little variation across the Amazon and the height zones on the trees. The nuclear marker (ITS) showed a spatial structure indicating genetic differentiation of subpopulations across the Amazon, but little genetic differentiation of C. rigidula along the height of the trees. The gradient across the Amazon shows a relationship between genetic distance and geographic distance, indicating dispersal limitations (P<0.001). At local and regional scales, our results suggest that dispersal can have a dominant effect on populations and communities, increasing connectivity.
Effects of Shading Treatments on the Growth and Physiological Indexes of Potentilla anserina L. in Dry Area of Northern Shaanxi, China
Authors: Bai Xiaoxia , Zhang Jing
Published: December 2022

Potentilla anserina L. is a widely distributed medicinal and edible perennial herb, which has a strong adaptability to the environment, thus it is necessary to explore its growth and physiological status under different shadings for further developing and utilization. In this
study, P. anserina from the dry area of Northern Shaanxi was took as material, different shading treatments including full light (S0), 30% (S1), 50% (S2) and 70% shading (S3) were adopted, to analyze the effects on its growth and physiological status. In the results, under different
shading levels, the growth indexes of P. anserina reached the maximum under 30% shading, and the water content of the aboveground part showed increasing first then decreasing. The content of chlorophyll a and b in leaves increased with shading degree, while the chlorophyll a/b decreased
with the increase of shading degree. In addition, the photosynthetic parameters of P. anserina under different shading were different (P <0.05). The net photosynthetic rate (Pn) curve showed single-peak, and reached the maximum under S1 treatment, which was positively correlated
with the diurnal variation trend of intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci). Under the treatment of S0 and S1, the diurnal variation trend of transpiration rate was the same, showing a “double peak” curve, and the stomatal conductance of all treatments showed a gradual
downward trend. Moreover, the diurnal variation trend of transpiration rate under S0 and S1 treatments was the same, showing a double-peak curve, and the stomatal conductance of all treatments showed a gradually decreasing trend. In conclusion, P. anserina was proved to be a shade tolerant
ground cover, and could exert the maximum ecological benefits under 30% shade environment. This is conducive to its further planting, promotion and utilization.
Silver Ion Loaded Agarose-Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel as a Potential Antibacterial Wound Dressing
Authors: Zhu Yun , Liu Li , Chen Shaoqing , Han Dan , Wang Cheng
Published: December 2022

Wound infection, especially chronic ones, not only increases the opportunity to generate superbacteria but also imposes significant burden, both physically and mentally, on the patients. Therefore, the development of suitable wound addressing is an important way to deal with this matter.
Here in this study, we employed the good gelling property of agarose (AR) and the wound healing promotion effect of hyaluronic acid (HA) to prepare an agarose-hyaluronic acid hydrogel. The AR-HA gel was loaded with silver ion (Ag+ from AgNO3) upon gelling (AR-HA/Ag) and
finally applied as a potential wound dressing for antibacterial treatment and healing promotion of wounds. Our results suggested that the AR-HA/Ag hydrogel maintained the antibacterial efficacy of Ag+ while significantly promoted the healing of human umbilical vein endothelial cells
(HUVEC) due to the cell proliferation promotion effect of HA. Taken together, AR-HA/Ag might be a potential antibacterial wound dressing for future application in clinic.
CD109 facilitates progression and 5-fluorouracil resistance of nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Zhu Zhenwei , Zhou Fang , Mao Cheng
Published: December 2022

CD109 involves in human cancers, but its role and mechanism in the chemosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells is yet to be investigated. Our investigation discovered that the CD109 had abnormally higher expression in the NPC tissues and cells. By depleting or supplementing
CD109 in the NPC cells, the aggressive capabilities of NPC cells were suppressed or augmented, respectively. Moreover, silencing of CD109 promoted NPC cells chemosensitivity to 5-FU, and also inhibited 5-FU-mediated cell biological behaviors, facilitating cell apoptosis. Furthermore, CD109
was found to regulate the activities of AKT/mTOR signaling in the NPC cells. The tumor-promotive effect of CD109 overexpression was partially annulled by AKT/mTOR signaling inhibition. Finally, we also observed that tumor growth was retarded in the xenograft mice model and activity of AKT/mTOR
signaling was reduced in the CD109 deficient group. Our data indicated that CD109, could be a therapeutic biomarker candidate in NPC treatment.
Command-filtered adaptive containment control of fractional-order multi-agent systems via event-triggered mechanism
Authors: Chen Tao , Yuan Jiaxin
Published: December 2022

In this paper, the containment control problem of a class of fractional-order nonlinear multi-agent systems is studied, in which the multi-agent system contains unmeasured states and system nonlinearity. An adaptive neural network backstepping controller combined with event-triggered mechanism is proposed to ensure all followers can converge to the convex hull spanned by the leaders. The command filter is introduced into the proposed fractional-order control system to obtain fractional derivatives for virtual control functions continuously and avoid “explosion of complexity.” From the Lyapunov stability theory, all the signals can remain semi-global uniformly ultimately bounded in the closed-loop system. Numerical example and simulation results confirm the feasibility of the proposed control method.
Supine Pharyngeal Width Is Associated With Complete Concentric Palatal Collapse During Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy and Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulator Outcomes
Authors: Weiner Jordan S. , Munhall Christopher C. , Kent David T.
Published: December 2022

Objective

Hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS) implantation in the US requires preoperative drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) screening for complete concentric palatal collapse (CCC) to establish treatment candidacy. We hypothesized that supine pharyngeal width (SPW) in awake patients is associated with CCC and HNS therapy outcomes.

Methods

Adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea underwent awake measurement of SPW followed by DISE screening for CCC. Eligible patients electing for HNS implantation underwent postoperative polysomnography per standard of care.

Results

SPW was measured in 73 patients. For SPW >20 mm, the positive likelihood ratio for absence of CCC was 6.67 with pre- and post-test odds of 6.3 and 42.0, respectively. Postoperative PSG data were available from 31 of 44 (70.5%) patients subsequently implanted with HNS. Patients with SPW >20 mm had a greater rate of HNS response than those with SPW ≤20 (62 vs 30%; P < .05). Only SPW and BMI were significantly associated with CCC and HNS response in regression models.

Conclusion

In a retrospective cohort study, SPW was significantly associated with CCC and postoperative apnea-hypopnea index following HNS implantation. SPW may be a viable screening tool for HNS candidacy.
Contesting Infrastructural Futures: 5G Opposition as a Technological Drama
Authors: Butot Vivien , van Zoonen Liesbet
Published: December 2022

This paper addresses the public contestation of the rollout of the fifth generation of mobile telecommunications networks (5G) in the Netherlands. Drawing on Pfaffenberger’s framework of technological dramas, we analyze the variety of symbolic expressions about 5G made in documents published by “design constituencies” leading the technology’s implementation, “ambivalent intermediaries” reporting on 5G’s implementation and its emerging controversial status in the news, and by “impact constituencies” who organize on Facebook to oppose against 5G. The analysis describes a variety of publicly performed narratives and activities that build on symbolic meanings of a supposed public need for 5G, imaginaries of 5G futures, and scientifically manageable and responsible innovation. The paper demonstrates how the technological drama of 5G is constituted by tensions between different interpretations of these publicly performed meanings. However, amidst the drama, meanings of public need and imaginaries of 5G futures are temporarily suspended, constraining the stage for opposition and enforcing partial closure of the conflict.
Efficacy of percutaneous electrolysis for the treatment of tendinopathies: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Asensio-Olea Laura , Leirós-Rodríguez Raquel , Marqués-Sánchez Mª Pilar , de Carvalho Fernanda Oliveira , Maciel Leonardo Y. S.
Published: December 2022

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous electrolysis for the treatment of patients with tendinopathies.

Data sources

A systematic search of publications was conducted in Pubmed, Cinahl, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science.

Methods

The Oxford 2011 Levels of Evidence and the Jadad scale were used to assess the quality of studies. The mean and standard deviation were obtained for each study group and used to calculate the effect size. The DerSimonian and Laird method was used to develop a random-effects model.

Results

Of the 14 articles, four applied percutaneous electrolysis to the knee, three to the shoulder, three to the elbow, two to the hip and two to the ankle and foot. A meta-analysis on intensity of pain (evaluated with algometer and the Visual Analogue Scale) was performed on studies comparing percutaneous electrolysis with a control group, indicating that the groups treated with percutaneous electrolysis had better results ( p = 0.01). Although percutaneous electrolysis did not overcome the analgesic effect achieved by corticosteroid injections.

Conclusions

The percutaneous electrolysis is effective for the treatment of tendinopathies. The combination of this technique with eccentric training has proven to be one of the most effective treatments to date for improving pain. PROSPERO Registration: CRD42021230005.
Assessment of unexplored isoconversional methods to predict epoxy-based composite curing under arbitrary thermal histories
Authors: González Ruiz Jose Antonio , Farjas Jordi , Blanco Norbert , Costa Josep , Gascons Marc
Published: December 2022

The mass manufacturing of composite products is hindered by long curing times, and composite manufacturers demand shorter curing cycles while keeping material properties. This requires reliable methods to predict the curing kinetics of each resin formulation. Isoconversional methods are easy to implement and able to deal with complex processes. However, scientists still limit their isoconversional predictions of curing degree to isothermal or constant heating programs. In this study, we perform combined dynamic and isothermal DSC measurements for two different commercial epoxies for aerospace applications (M18 and VTC401). Based on the isoconversional kinetic analysis, we show the feasibility of predicting the evolution of an epoxy resin cure for an arbitrary and complex temperature program using two different unexplored methods for this purpose. Because of the versatility of both prediction methods, they are especially suited to deal with actual conditions in industrial processes. The proposed approach is validated experimentally by comparing predictions against the curing degree of these epoxies during a temperature program that comprises isothermal and dynamic stages. These reliable and straightforward predictions open the door to optimize curing times and increase productivity in composites.
Race Talk During the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election: Emerging Adults’ Critical Consciousness and Racial Identity in Context
Authors: Moffitt Ursula , Rogers Leoandra Onnie , Mzizi Yola , Charlson Elana
Published: December 2022

In this study, we drew on the m(ai)cro framework, which centers racism as a macrosystem, to examine how college-going emerging adults made meaning about society and themselves during the 2020 U.S. presidential election and 2021 inauguration. This period was marked by racial justice protests, a global pandemic, anti-Asian violence, and the storming of the U.S. Capitol by predominantly white Trump supporters. Using the constructs of critical consciousness and racial identity meaning making, we analyzed participants’ reports of recent race related conversations. Our sample included 47 students ( Mage = 19.71, SD = 1.72; 81% female, 17% male, 2% other; 45% Asian/Asian American, 30% white, 13% Latinx/Hispanic, 4% Black/African American, 4% Multiracial, 2% Middle Eastern/Arab) at a private, predominantly white university in the U.S. Midwest. Hybrid inductive-deductive analysis showed that a majority reported conversations with peers, focused primarily on racial inequity and justice. For many participants of color, conversations about topics including protests and anti-Asian violence were woven into their racial identities. In contrast, although many white participants discussed events such as the Capitol insurrection, none made links to their racial identities. Our findings highlight connections between critical consciousness and racial identity, and the importance of context and participant positionality in developmental research.