bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Connoisseurship as knowledge. An introduction
Authors: Perry Chapman H. , Weststeijn Thijs
Published: August 2020

Connoisseurship, the determination of similarity and difference and assessment of quality in works of art and material culture, remains controversial. Long reviled as outmoded and elitist, subjective and intuitive, tainted by the market, and overly invested in a mystified artist and a fetishized masterpiece, connoisseurship is seeing a resurgence. It once again is understood to be an ever-evolving art historical method foundational to the study of the object. It is also a practice with a history that, especially in the early modern period, was closely tied to knowledge. This introduction considers the centrality of identification and attribution to the discipline, offers speculation as to why connoisseurship came to be so denigrated, looks briefly at how science and neuroscience are transforming connoisseurship, and summarizes the volume’s 10 essays and how each advances ‘new connoisseurships’ in dealing with issues in the history of the connoisseurship of Netherlandish art.
Mettre des mots sur l’art
Authors: Blanc Jan
Published: August 2020

This article investigates a neglected aspect of the debates between seventeenth-century painters and connoisseurs: the discourse. Many of these disputes, in the Netherlands and France, where similar questions and arguments were raised, focused, on the one hand, on the legitimacy of amateurs (i.e. mostly non-practitioners) to speak and write about art, and, on the other hand, on the possibility for professional painters to refuse or accept these evaluations. It was not until the end of the seventeenth century and the acknowledged distinction between ‘true’ and ‘false connoisseurs’ that the two sides were truly reconciled, promoting a genuine social and intellectual collaboration aimed at the common edification of art. Prior to this, there were heated debates between artists, who were accused of being incapable of developing an organized reflection on their art, and connoisseurs, whom practitioners considered more eloquent than competent when dealing with an artistic practice that they knew only second-hand.
Painting connoisseurship
Authors: Doherty Tiarna
Published: August 2020

Paintings of liefhebbers, or art lovers, visiting the artist’s studio form a subset of the Dutch genre of artists’ studios. This paper explores the painted scenes of studio visits for the evidence they provide for the practice and performance of connoisseurship and for how they relate to contemporary treatises. The studios are represented as intimate environments conducive to contemplating singular works and acquiring skills of connoisseurship. In addition, they are a space in which individuals exercise a specialized practitioner’s vocabulary, which was part of classical and contemporary literature. The Dutch paintings point to a shift, over time, in the relationship between liefhebber and artist, suggesting to an increased role for the liefhebber in the art-making process. In the majority of paintings, the artists gaze out, prompting the viewer to consider their status as an art lover and their relationship to the artist.
Exotic and exclusive
Authors: Ho Angela
Published: August 2020

In 1734, the Dutch East India Company commissioned the Dutch artist Cornelis Pronk to produce designs for porcelain to be made in China. Departing from its usual practice of buying porcelain directly on the wholesale market in Asia, the VOC took on extra costs and risks in procuring these custom-made pieces. The company's aim was to position the Pronk porcelain as an exclusive, premium product at the top layer of the market. Drawing on a range of visual and textual sources, this paper elucidates the qualities that knowledgeable buyers were seeking in high-value porcelain of the kind designed by Pronk. As porcelain became more generally accessible, connoisseurs sought fine and unique pieces that could operate as effective signifiers of their cultural capital. The Pronk’s chinoiserie designs blended motifs that evoked Chinese-ness and Dutch ideals of domesticity, thus satisfying the connoisseurs’ demand for exoticism and distinctiveness.
John Smith’s Rembrandt research project
Authors: Friedenthal Antoinette
Published: August 2020

The first catalogue raisonné of Rembrandt’s paintings was established by the London art dealer John Smith. Published in 1836, it originated as part of a larger series, itself motivated by the author’s endeavour to transcend his daily business while at the same time aiming to combine ‘pleasure and profit’. Investigating Smith’s connoisseurial practices, this essay looks at his surviving correspondence and unpublished, hitherto unexamined archival materials. Among these are the notebooks which Smith kept during his many travels in Great Britain and on the continent. The archival record also shows that a systematic consultation of auction catalogues was of particular importance for Smith. The manner in which he arrived at his judgments – though clearly shaped by a specific commercial context – speaks of a truly personal style. Finally, the article also publishes an unknown portrait of Smith.
Rembrandt print connoisseurship,
Authors: Scallen Catherine B.
Published: August 2020

Sir Francis Seymour Haden was a physician, etcher, and a collector and connoisseur of Rembrandt etchings. He was also one of the leading British proponents of the etching revival of the nineteenth century. His own aesthetic preferences for etching were consonant with what he understood to be the best Rembrandt etchings, with an emphasis on seeming spontaneity, quick execution, and the promotion of richly individuated impressions through drypoint and plate tone. In an 1877 exhibition, and in writings into the 1890s, he applied this standard to the study of the etchings then attributed to Rembrandt, and made controversial decisions about attributions, challenging some long-held beliefs of Rembrandt print connoisseurs. While Haden’s insistence on studying the etchings in a chronological sequence would prove influential, his status as an amateur rather than an academic or museum professional, and his intemperate language directed towards other scholars, undermined the acceptance of his ideas.
In de voetsporen van Max Friedländer
Authors: Laemers Suzanne
Published: August 2020

Since the early twentieth century connoisseurship has been criticised because of its subjective character. Max Friedländer, the connoisseur par excellence in the field of early Netherlandish painting, always defended connoisseurship as an indispensable art-historical tool. In his days the technical examination of paintings was gradually introduced. Now, it is a full-fledged field of expertise with its own experts. But no matter how much technical examination has led to new insights, it appears that it is not always able to ‘crack the code’. An attribution issue that is still under debate concerns the shutters of the Werlaltarpiece (Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado). Since the nineteenth century they have been attributed alternately to the Master of Flémalle alias Robert Campin or to Rogier van der Weyden. The enigmatic Werlaltarpiece exemplifies the need for connoisseurship and technical research to go hand in hand.
Greenberg’s connoisseurship in Mondrian’s space
Authors: Wieczorek Marek
Published: August 2020

In ‘Modernist Painting’ (1960), Clement Greenberg famously wrote that ‘flatness alone was unique and exclusive to pictorial art’. However, in a less cited passage, he admitted to exaggeration: there ‘can never be an absolute flatness’, and an artist like Mondrian pursued ‘a pictorial, strictly optical third dimension’, a perceived turn to opticality for which the critic was later faulted. Closer readings of drafts for this and other seminal texts such as ‘Towards a Newer Laocoon’ (1940) show that Greenberg was himself a close reader or connoisseur of the spatial and optical (i.e. ‘plastic’) modalities of Mondrian’s ‘Neo-Plasticism’. An underlying tension thus emerges between the familiar Greenberg as ideologue-theorist and a lesser-known Greenberg as connoisseur-critic. The former constructed powerful dogmas of modernism that constituted his primary, lasting influence, yet his greatest contribution may lie precisely in his close readings of specific artists, above all within the orbit of Mondrian’s space.
Semantic Unilocality
Authors: Talmy Leonard
Published: August 2020

If a language regularly places a particular closed class in syntactic construction with an open class—for example, nominal affixes with noun roots, or satellites with verbs—any conceptual category expressed by the closed class tends not to be expressed by the open class. This proposed tendency is here called “semantic unilocality”.

Cognitively, semantic unilocality in language may arise from several more general tendencies, including one to avoid redundancy and one to segregate the representation of different conceptual categories. Both of these may in turn arise from a still more general tendency toward communicative efficiency.

Historically, the rise, extended presence, decline, or extended absence of a closed class that expresses a particular conceptual category may foster certain diachronic processes in a syntactically associated open class. These processes include leaching, culling, shift, filtering, and abstention.
Mathematics in Language
Authors: Hudson Richard
Published: August 2020

Elementary mathematics is deeply rooted in ordinary language, which in some respects anticipates and supports the learning of mathematics, but which in other respects hinders this learning. This paper explores a number of areas of arithmetic and other elementary areas of mathematics, considering for each area whether it helps or hinders the young learner: counting and larger numbers, sets and brackets, algebra and variables, zero and negation, approximation, scales and relationships, and probability. The conclusion is that ordinary language anticipates the mathematics of counting, arithmetic, algebra, variables and brackets, zero and probability; but that negation, approximation and probability are particularly problematic because mathematics demands a different way of thinking, and different mental capacity, compared with ordinary language. School teachers should be aware of the mathematics already built into language so as to build on it; and they should also be able to offer special help in the conflict zones.
‘Changing’ and ‘Becoming’: New Perspectives from Cross-Linguistic Cognitive Semantics
Authors: Farese Gian Marco
Published: August 2020

This paper examines the conceptual and semantic relation between ‘changing’ and ‘becoming’ in cross-linguistic perspective to demonstrate that: (i) the assumption that ‘becoming’ is conceptually and semantically related to ‘changing’ is invalidated in at least two cases in which the meaning of ‘becoming’ does not encompass ‘changing’; (ii) the main verbs of ‘becoming’ in different languages are highly polysemous and therefore are not cross-translatable in all contexts of use; (iii) differences in meaning reflect different conceptualizations of ‘becoming’ across languages. These results emerge from a contrastive semantic analysis between the main verbs of ‘changing’ and ‘becoming’ in English, Italian and Japanese made adopting the methodology of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage. This paper also makes a strong case for the epistemic nature of the predicative complements licensed by verbs of ‘becoming’ by showing that a semantic component ‘it is like this, I know it’ emerges consistently from cross-linguistic comparison.
Differences in Sameness: A Semantic Account of Ambiguity and Argument Structure of Predicate Same
Authors: Graves Syelle
Published: August 2020

This article is an investigation and analysis of the word same. It focuses first on the ambiguous nature of same, in that the same x can be (i) one entity seen on different occasions, or (ii) two different entities of the same kind. I discuss the empirical differences associated with these two readings, and hypothesize that they can be explained in terms of the formal semantic concepts of extension and intension: Reading (i) is extensional while reading (ii) is intensional (a “kind of” reading). In addition, I suggest that the two readings do not mean that there are two completely different meanings to same, but rather that the reading of same is determined by context and the nouns being modified by it; indeed, this polysemy exists largely below the speaker’s conscious awareness. I then provide a formal representation of the syntax and semantics of same as a two-place predicate. I show that when either of the two arguments we expect to be obligatory is not overt, it is because same has undergone a derivation to license this null argument—one derivation type in extensional cases of same, and a different derivation in intensional cases.
Sovereignty Re-postulation: the Theatricality of Statist–National Sovereignty Wrestling in Taiwan
Authors: Tseng Hui-Yi Katherine
Published: August 2020

Statehood and sovereignty have been mutually implicating in the Westphalian international order. The spatially characteristic tenet of sovereignty has not been questioned, which collaterally fortifies the one-nation/one-state formula prescribed in modern sovereignty. However, fissures inhered in this nation-state formula are discernible, particularly when the conventional statist sovereignty has remained indefinite and inchoate. Taiwan’s statist sovereignty has been overshadowed by its undetermined statehood and indefinite territorial domain. Intriguingly, once the rigidity of statist sovereignty is lifted, the development of national sovereignty becomes irrepressible. Reinvention of national sovereignty is informed by both universal values and case-specific particularity. For the former, individualism, multiculturalism, and self-determination serve exemplary cases. For the latter, the particularity is mostly presented in the wrestling between statist and national sovereignty. Taiwan’s constitutional jurisprudence serves to verify the universal, as well as the particular development of Taiwan’s national sovereignty. However, dangers loom large, in that identity reconfiguration has been cultivated collaterally, which brings about not only a sophisticated Taiwanese consciousness, but also a more uncertain outlook for cross-Strait relations.
Legalisation of Same-Sex Marriage in Contemporary Taiwan
Authors: Chang Doris T.
Published: August 2020

In 2019 Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage pursuant to the Constitutional Court’s decision two years earlier. This article adds to previous research on same-sex marriage in Taiwan in two respects. Firstly, this study contends that most of the major arguments made in the Court’s decision in 2017 that legalised same-sex marriage were already present in several legislative bills that preceded the Court’s ruling. Secondly, the separate same-sex marriage law that was finally passed in 2019 reflected the government’s endeavour to reach a compromise in meeting some of the demands of both advocates and opponents of marriage equality in Taiwanese society. The story of the marriage equality debate is analysed through textual comparisons of relevant government documents, ngo websites of marriage equality advocates and opponents, newspaper articles, and academic journal articles.
Beyond Cultural China: the Representation of Taiwan in US-based Speech Communication and Journalism Research
Authors: Yueh Hsin-i Sydney
Published: August 2020

This paper investigates how Taiwan is studied in the research of us-based speech communication and journalism. Specifically, Taiwan-related journal articles published by major us-based communication and journalism associations are selected and analysed in terms of their numbers, authorship, and themes. The results indicate that Taiwan studies is a marginalised subject in speech communication and journalism. However, there has been an increasing research interest in Taiwan in the last two decades. These journal articles also record the role of Taiwan in Cold War history, the legacy of ‘Free China’, and the establishment of two Chinese communication associations in the United States. They explain why the representation of Taiwan is often ambivalent in a ‘cultural China’ framework in speech communication and journalism. This investigation aims to begin a conversation about how speech communication and journalism research can be more engaged in Taiwan studies, and how research on Taiwan can be more integrated into these two disciplines.
Connecting the Local and the Global: the Association for Taiwan Literature
Authors: Hsieh Hsin-Chin Evelyn
Published: August 2020

The Association for Taiwan Literature was founded in 2016 as a non-profit association by researchers and students from institutions dedicated to Taiwan literature in Taiwan. The aims and objectives of the association are to promote research, teaching, creative writing, translations, and international collaboration related to Taiwan literature. This report will demonstrate and evaluate multiple strategies and projects adopted by the association, including the development of intellectual and academic communities, industry–academia cooperation, the Toward Taiwan ‘New’ Literature series, and global Taiwan studies to create a sustainable community of Taiwan literature studies working outside of regular academic channels to build a collaborative network in Taiwan and beyond.
Review of the Exhibition Oppression and Overcoming: Social Movements in Post-War Taiwan, National Museum of Taiwan History, 28 May 2019–17 May 2020
Authors: Chang Susan Shih , Chiang Jeremy Huai-Che
Published: August 2020

This review article looks at “Oppression and Overcoming: Social Movements in Post-War Taiwan” (2019.5.28–2020.5.17), an exhibition at the National Museum of Taiwan History (nthm) through approaches of museum studies and social movement studies, and aims to understand its implication for doing Taiwan Studies. This review concludes that “Oppression and Overcoming” is significant as a novel museological practice by being part of a continuation of social movements, which transformed the museum to a space for civil participation and dialogue. This allows the exhibition to become a window for both citizens and foreigners to understand and realize Taiwan’s vibrant democracy and civil society. In addition, this review suggests that future exhibitions on social movements could demonstrate the possibility to position Taiwan in a global context to better connect with other countries in the Asian region.
“No Journey is Possible Outside of the Heart”: The Story of King Lavaṇa in Bedil’s Muḥīṭ-i aʿẓam
Authors: Kovacs Hajnalka
Published: August 2020

In his sāqīnāmah, Muḥīṭ-i aʿẓam (“The Greatest Ocean”), Bedil describes the cosmogonic unfolding of the universe from the One as the gradual overflowing of wine, and the spiritual return of the soul as transcending the boundaries of the self in intoxication. This paper examines Bedil’s adaptation of the story of King Lavaṇa, a tale originally from the Yogavāsiṣṭha, showing that within the conceptual framework of the Muḥīṭ-i aʿẓam the story of King Lavaṇa serves to underscore the necessity of transforming the heart from its imagined separateness into a state of awareness of its essential unity with the one Reality.
Where Septuagint and Qumran Meet
Authors: De Troyer Kristin , Herbison David R.
Published: August 2020

In this article, a significant textual variant in Isa 40:7–8 is studied by examining the evidence from MT, the Old Greek, and 1QIsaa in conjunction with the text-critical data of the early Jewish revisers of the Septuagint. It is argued that the variant text is not a minus of the Old Greek, but a plus in MT. Since this plus can be found in 1QIsaa by way of a later correction that can be dated paleographically to the time period in which the scribe of 1QS and (Kaige-)Theodotion were active, the plus can be dated to approximately 100–75 BCE. Moreover, it will be made clear that the information gleaned from 1QIsaa and the early Jewish revisers not only matches, but also that the evidence of 1QIsaa for this passage significantly bolsters the value of the Septuagint and Hexaplaric evidence for understanding the development of the Hebrew text.
Dressing Thai
Authors: Thepboriruk Kanjana Hubik
Published: August 2020

Public attire and policies governing it have been a reoccurring feature of Siamese/Thai nation building since the nineteenth century. Clothing has been political instruments for rulers and regime in raising the global status of Siam and Siamese Kings, transforming the Kingdom of Siam into the Nation of Thailand, reviving the popularity of the monarchy, promoting national unity, and provoking political opponents. Their collective efforts during the past one and half century gradually normalised the policing of Thai bodies and increased the state control of public attire in service of the Nation. Today, despite such attire no longer being criminalised, the possible negative political, social, economic, and legal consequences of non-conformity continue to drive Thais to accept the State’s ‘invitation’ to use their bodies in promoting its agenda.
Parallel Planetary Astrologies in Medieval China and Inner Asia
Authors: Pankenier David W.
Published: August 2020

Portentous clusters of the five visible planets are repeatedly implicated in historical sources in connection with dynastic transitions in early China. In the medieval period, which is the focus of this investigation, the History of the Three Kingdoms records how timely planetary portents during the decline of the Later Han dynasty (184–220 CE) were exploited as the celestial signs justifying usurpation and the founding of the (Cao-)Wei 曹魏 dynasty by Cao Pi 曹丕 (ca. 187–226). Half a millennium later, in mid-Tang 唐 dynasty, the impetus for the devastating rebellion of An Lushan 安祿山 (703–757) that nearly brought down the Tang can likewise be shown to have been strongly influenced by the historical precedents, and more immediately by a conjunction of all five visible planets that occurred in 750. That ominous astral omen, coupled with portentological speculations based on Han dynasty apocryphal texts, together with the parallels between An Lushan’s and Cao Cao’s 曹操 (155–220) careers, played a role in prompting An Lushan to attempt to overthrow the Tang. In Inner Asia, the founding of the Sasanian Empire in 224 CE in parallel with the Cao-Wei, and the emergence of a political astrology based on the periodicity of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions suggested the possibility of mutual influences in planetary astrology. However, incompatibility between the two astrological traditions may have militated against mutual influence on a theoretical level. In the absence of detailed information concerning the foundations of Sasanian planetary astrology, to all appearances, and notwithstanding extensive cultural contact, the imperial political astrologies of China and Inner Asia in the medieval period remained resistant to infiltration in either direction.
Portents in Early Imperial China: Observational Patterns from the “Spring and Autumn” Weft Profoundly Immersed Herptile (Qiantan ba 潛潭巴)
Authors: Espesset Grégoire
Published: August 2020

Still neglected by modern research, the “Weft” (or “Apocrypha”) contain a wealth of unexploited data relevant to Chinese history in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Sometimes ascribed to Confucius, these texts, whose Chinese name (wei 緯) denotes the crosswise threads of woven fabric, have long been perceived as arcane supplements to the “Classics,” called jing 經, the lengthwise threads. Repeatedly prohibited and destroyed, they survive mainly as citations today. This paper focuses on one of them, anonymous, undated, and fragmentary, titled Qiantan ba 潛潭巴. Most of its remnants present extrapolations derived from observed phenomena interpreted as signs. By comparing the observed patterns to the typology of portents in the official monographs on celestial phenomena and the Five Agents of the era, the paper sheds light on the logic at work in the interpretative process.
Chan Narratives about Death Premonitions and Avoidance of Fate
Authors: Poceski Mario
Published: August 2020

The article explores the scope, content, and function of prophecies and premonitions presented in Chinese Buddhist literature, with a focus on the Chan school and the late medieval period. It is especially concerned with Chan narratives that feature premonitions about an upcoming death or demise, either one’s own or of another person. Additionally, that is related to prevalent notions about the possibility of changing individual fate (or destiny), mainly at the point of facing death or when coming to terms with the daunting prospect of a terrible afterlife. While these themes resonate with the broader Buddhist tradition, the Chan school’s production of narratives that feature this kind of thaumaturgic elements were linked to changing conceptions of exemplary religiosity, in which the Chan masters’ real supernatural power is ultimately based on their possession of superior wisdom.
Sociocybernetics and Political Theory in a Complex World
Authors: Mancilla Roberto
Published: August 2020

Many of the basic concepts of political science and law were conceived during the Middle Ages, but were not adapted to the current times. The purpose of this study is to address this incongruity by incorporating ideas of cybernetics and complexity theory with political and constitutional theory in order to reconstitute it. In this process, the author offers a basic model of human sociability and alternative frameworks to the idea of the state, the constitution and the way it is applied in the separation of powers, the public/private distinction and constitutionalism.
Varieties of English Accents: A Study of the Degree of Preference and Intelligibility Among Second-Year English Major Students at Maejo University
Authors: Choomthong Daranee , Manowong Supaporn
Published: August 2020

Thailand is regarded as a country of the expanding circle (EC). The fact that English has become a working language in the asean community makes it vital that Thai students are aware of the varieties of English. The study examined the perception of English majors towards varieties of English pronunciation. Listening tasks spoken by speakers in the expanding circle (EC), the inner circle (IC) and outer circle (OC), were presented to students enrolled in a course on Sound and English Sound System. The students rated accent preference and intelligibility. A semi-structure interview was included for more in-depth information. The results revealed that the variety of English that was perceived as the most favorable accent by the participants was English spoken by speakers from IC. The participants were more aware of varieties of English, especially those spoken by non-native speakers of English. However, English spoken by speakers from the EC was perceived as the most intelligible.
Analysis of the Khmer Walled Defensive System of Vimayapura (Phimai City, Thailand): Symbolism or Military Effectiveness?
Authors: Garcia Víctor Lluís Pérez
Published: August 2020

This article analyses the walled defensive system of the Khmer city centre of Vimayapura (modern Phimai, Thailand) to evaluate the theoretical level of military effectivity of both the walls and the moats against potential attackers, considering their technical characteristics and the enemy’s weapons. We also study the layout of the urban enceinte, the constructive material, the gateways as well as weakness and strengths of the stronghold and the symbolic, monumental and ornamental functions in the overall role of the walls. Based on comparisons with similar cases, as well as in situ observations of the archaeological remains and a bibliographical research, our study reveals that the stonewalls were not designed primarily to resist military attacks. Instead, the army, the moat, and possibly the embankments and/or palisades would have been the first lines of defence of the city.
A Case of Ceruminous Adenocarcinoma Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) in the External Auditory Canal
Authors: Wada Kento , Tsuda Takeshi , Hanada Yukiko , Mori Kiyoshi , Nishimura Hiroshi
Published: August 2020

External auditory canal cancer is a rare disease which can be treated by surgery or chemoradiation. The most common histological type is squamous cell carcinoma, but rare types such as adenocarcinoma have been reported and are thought to be derived from the ceruminous glands. Here, we present a case of ceruminous adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified (NOS) in the external auditory canal. A 72-year-old woman was referred to our department with discomfort due to a mass in the external ear canal. No typical symptoms of malignancy, such as pain or bleeding, were noted at the initial examination. The patient underwent a total excision under local anesthesia as a diagnostic treatment. She was diagnosed with ceruminous adenocarcinoma, NOS based on the results of immunostaining of the excised specimen, and is currently being followed up as an outpatient. Adenocarcinoma is thought to originate from the cerumen glands of the ear canal and the lack of specific symptoms may make it difficult to differentiate it from benign tumors. Although adenocarcinoma, NOS has been reported in the head and neck region, there have been no reported cases occurring in the external ear canal, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report.
Extensive Production Practices and Incomplete Implementation Hinder Brazil’s Zero-Deforestation Cattle Agreements in Pará
Authors: Pereira Ritaumaria , Rausch Lisa L. , Carrara Aline , Gibbs Holly K.
Published: August 2020

Global attention to the role of cattle production in Amazon deforestation led to the development of new public and private-sector supply chain policies designed to control deforestation in Brazil. These zero-deforestation Cattle Agreements (hereafter, CA) are between meatpacking companies and Greenpeace and other nongovernmental organizations, as well as with Brazil’s public prosecutors. However, after over a decade of concerted efforts to reduce deforestation linked to the cattle sector, the problem persists. Here, we use field surveys of ranchers, slaughterhouse managers, and key industry personnel to characterize cattle supply chain actors in southeastern Pará and their responses to the CA. We show that loopholes weaken the CA and enable ranchers to evade full compliance, and we highlight strategies and challenges for ranchers seeking to intensify production. We conclude by discussing how the findings presented in this study suggest that ongoing efforts to reduce Amazon deforestation may require both support for improved efficiency in the cattle sector and the tightening of several loopholes currently utilized by ranchers to avoid detection of ongoing deforestation.
A Danish Sentence Corpus for Assessing Speech Recognition in Noise in School-Age Children
Authors: Koiek Shno , Nielsen Jens Bo , Kjærbæk Laila , Gormsen Maria Baltzer , Neher Tobias
Published: August 2020

For the audiological assessment of the speech-in-noise abilities of children with normal or impaired hearing, appropriate test materials are required. However, in Denmark, no standardized materials exist. The purpose of this study was to develop a Danish sentence corpus suitable for testing school-age children. Based on the 600 validated test sentences from the Danish DAT ( Dagmar, Asta, or Tine) corpus, 11 test lists comprising 20 sentences each were carefully constructed. These lists were evaluated in terms of their perceptual similarity and reliability with a group of 20 typically developing, normal-hearing children aged 6 to 12 years. Using stationary speech-shaped noise and diotic stimulus presentation, speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) were measured twice per list and participant at two separate visits. The analyses showed that six test lists were perceptually equivalent. These lists are characterized by a grand average SRT of −2.6 dB signal-to-noise ratio, a test–retest improvement of 0.6 dB, and a within-subject standard deviation of 1.1 dB signal-to-noise ratio. The other lists were characterized by slightly higher SRTs, slightly larger training effects, and slightly larger measurement uncertainty, but were otherwise also usable. Overall, it is therefore concluded that the developed corpus is suited for assessing speech recognition in noise in Danish 6- to 12-year olds. The corpus is publicly available.
Towards common ground in measuring acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution across Europe: a systematic review of the state of research
Authors: Kuschmierz Paul , Meneganzin Andra , Pinxten Rianne , Pievani Telmo , Cvetković Dragana , Mavrikaki Evangelia , Graf Dittmar , Beniermann Anna
Published: August 2020

Background

Relatively little information is available regarding the level of acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution in different educational settings in Europe. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap and provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research regarding evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of students and teachers across Europe, based on a systematic literature review.

Results

We identified 56 papers for the period 2010–2020, presenting results for 29 European countries. Both knowledge and acceptance of evolution were assessed in 17 studies. Out of 13 instruments most commonly used in the literature, five have been used in the European context so far: ACORNS, CINS, I-SEA, KEE and MATE. Thirty-one other instruments were identified of which 16 were used in studies on knowledge and 15 in studies on acceptance. The extent of knowledge was hard to compare even within groups of the same education level due to the application of different instruments and assessment of different key concepts. Our results illustrate the persistence of misconceptions through all education levels. Comparing acceptance among different education levels and countries revealed a high diversity. However, a lack of evolution in curricula tended to be associated with rejection of evolution in some countries. European studies that investigated both acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution varied highly concerning the existence and strength of the relationship between these factors. However, some trends are visible, such as an increase of strength of the relationship the higher the education level.

Conclusions

The present review highlights the lack of a standardized assessment of evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of evolution across Europe and, therefore, of reasonably comparable data. Moreover, the review revealed that only about one-third of all studies on acceptance and/or knowledge about evolution provided evidence for local validity and reliability. We suggest the use of assessment categories for both knowledge and acceptance instruments to allow for interpretation and comparison of sum scores among different sample groups. This, along with prospective comparative research based on similar samples, paves the way for future research aimed at overcoming current biases and inconsistencies in results.
An assessment of the training and practice of circumcision by medical circumcisers in Ghana
Authors: Maison Patrick Opoku Manu , Yahaya Ikili , Mensah Samuel , Apraku Cosmos , Egyir Elizabeth
Published: August 2020

Background

Circumcision is a common procedure in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated prevalence of 95% in Ghana. It has been documented that most circumcision related injuries in Ghana occur after circumcision by health care professionals who perform these circumcisions in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. In spite of the high rates of circumcision in Ghana, the expertise of circumcision providers and the safety of their practice has not been assessed. This study evaluates the training and practice of circumcision by health care professionals from across the country.

Methods

This is a questionnaire-based study of health care professionals who perform circumcision in Ghana. Data was extracted from pre-conference evaluation questionnaire completed by participants attending a circumcision training workshop from January to October 2019. These participants included responses on their training and practice of circumcision. Data was captured using the Epi-data software and analyzed with PASW Statistics for Windows, Version 18.0. Chicago: SPSS Inc.

Results

There were 378 participants seen over the study period who already performed circumcision. The majority of them were midwives 281 (74.3%), followed by general nurses 89 (23.5%). The duration of practice of circumcision ranged from 4 months to 23 years and one-third of them (33.3%) had practiced circumcision for less than 1 year. The forceps guided technique was the most common (53.2%) circumcision technique used followed by the dorsal slit technique (24.1%). None of these participants who performed circumcision had any formal training on the procedure and all of them had experienced at least one adverse event such as excessive bleeding, insufficient skin coverage or redundant foreskin. Six (6) of them had seen patients who reported later with urethrocutaneous fistula and two of them had caused glans amputations. Only 102 (27%) of these participants offered anesthesia for circumcision.

Conclusion

The majority of medical circumcisers in Ghana have no formal training for circumcision. They require formal circumcision training and certification to improve the practice of circumcision in Ghana.
Collagen-dependent platelet dysfunction and its relevance to either mitochondrial ROS or cytosolic superoxide generation: a question about the quality and functional competence of long-stored platelets
Authors: Hosseini Ehteramolsadat , Hojjati Saba , Afzalniaye gashti Safoora , Ghasemzadeh Mehran
Published: August 2020

Background

Upon vascular damage, the exposed subendothelial matrix recruits circulating platelets to site of injury while inducing their firm adhesion mainly via GPVI-collagen interaction. GPVI also supports aggregatory and pro-coagulant functions in arterial shear rate even on the matrix other than collagen. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) modulate these stages of thrombosis; however augmented oxidant stress also disturbs platelet functions. Stored-dependent platelet lesion is associated with the increasing levels of ROS. Whether ROS accumulation is also relevant to collagen-dependent platelet dysfunction is the main interest of this study.

Methods

Fresh PRP-PCs (platelet concentrates) were either stimulated with potent ROS-inducers PMA and CCCP or stored for 5 days. Intra-platelet superoxide (O2−−) or mitochondrial-ROS and GPVI expression were detected by flowcytometery. GPVI shedding, platelet aggregation and spreading/adhesion to collagen were analyzed by western blot, aggregometry and fluorescence-microscopy, respectively.

Results

Mitochondrial-ROS levels in 5 days-stored PCs were comparable to those induced by mitochondrial uncoupler, CCCP while O2−−generations were higher than those achieved by PMA. Shedding levels in 5 days-stored PCs were higher than those induced by these potent stimuli. GPVI expressions were reduced comparably in CCCP treated and 5 days-stored PCs. Platelet adhesion was also diminished during storage while demonstrating significant reverse correlation with GPVI shedding. However, only firm adhesion (indicated by platelets spreading or adhesion surface area) was relevant to GPVI expression. Platelet adhesion and aggregation also showed reverse correlations with both O2−−and mitochondrial-ROS formations; nonetheless mitochondrial-ROS was only relevant to firm adhesion.

Conclusion

As a sensitive indicator of platelet activation, GPVI shedding was correlated with either simple adhesion or spreading to collagen, while GPVI expression was only relevant to platelet spreading. Thereby, if the aim of GPVI evaluation is to examine platelet firm adhesion, expression seems to be a more specific choice. Furthermore, the comparable levels of ROS generation in 5 days-stored PCs and CCCP treated platelets, indicated that these products are significantly affected by oxidative stress. Reverse correlation of accumulating ROS with collagen-dependent platelet dysfunction is also a striking sign of an oxidant-induced lesion that may raise serious question about the post-transfusion quality and competence of longer-stored platelet products.
Case report: contradictory genetics and imaging in focal congenital hyperinsulinism reinforces the need for pancreatic biopsy
Authors: Yau Daphne , Marwaha Ria , Mohnike Klaus , Sajjan Rakesh , Empting Susann , Craigie Ross J. , Dunne Mark J. , Salomon-Estebanez Maria , Banerjee Indraneel
Published: August 2020

Background

Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI) is an important cause of severe hypoglycaemia in infancy due to excessive, dysregulated insulin secretion. In focal CHI, a localised lesion within the pancreas hypersecretes insulin and, importantly, hypoglycaemia resolution is possible through limited surgical resection of the lesion. Diagnosis of focal CHI is based on a crucial combination of compatible genetics and specialised imaging. Specifically, a focal lesion arises due to a paternal mutation in one of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel genes, KCNJ11 or ABCC8, in combination with post-zygotic loss of maternal heterozygosity within the affected pancreatic tissue. 6-[18F]Fluoro-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F-DOPA) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging is used to detect and localise the lesion prior to surgery. However, its accuracy is imperfect and needs recognition in individual case management.

Case presentation

We report the case of an infant with hypoglycaemia due to CHI and a paternally inherited KCNJ11 mutation, c.286G > A (p.Ala96Thr), leading to a high probability of focal CHI. However,18F-DOPA PET/CT scanning demonstrated diffuse uptake and failed to conclusively identify a focal lesion. Due to unresponsiveness to medical therapy and ongoing significant hypoglycaemia, surgery was undertaken and a small 4.9 × 1.7 mm focal lesion was discovered at the pancreatic neck. This is the second case where this particular KCNJ11 mutation has been incorrectly associated with diffuse 18F-DOPA uptake, in contrast to the correct diagnosis of focal CHI confirmed by pancreatic biopsy.

Conclusions

Identifying discrepancies between genetic and imaging investigations is crucial as this may negatively impact upon the diagnosis and surgical treatment of focal CHI. This case highlights the need for pancreatic biopsy when a strong suspicion of focal CHI is present even if 18F-DOPA imaging fails to demonstrate a discrete lesion.
Neutral boundary alignment in total knee arthroplasty: a novel concept
Authors: Deveza Lorenzo , Hajizadeh Khatereh , Song Benjamin , Park Ilwhan
Published: August 2020

The goal of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery is to provide a stable and functional knee joint using current implant designs. Several alignment philosophies and surgical techniques have been introduced to provide a stable and functional knee joint, such as mechanical alignment (MA), kinematic alignment (KA), and anatomical alignment (AA). Recently, functional alignment (FA) is proposed. In this concept article, we propose a TKA approach, which we termed “Neutral Boundary Alignment (NBA).” The proposed approach seeks to establish the overall limb alignment in the direction of gravity at the midstance of gait cycle; consequently, a potential native knee can be restored from an arthritic state by establishing the joint line parallel to the ground. Herein, the NBA approach is described, and an iterative algorithm of structural layout patterns of truss is developed. The following three hypotheses are proposed: 1) The joint line should be parallel to the ground during the midstance of gait as an important initial condition for stability when transitioning toward gait propulsion in the gait cycle; 2) The NBA stability criteria purports that the leg is stable when the direction of gravity is simultaneously situated within the hip, knee and ankle during the midstance of gait, which generally agrees with the Varus/Valgus 3 degree envelope of MA; 3) Femoral and tibial resections that are made parallel to the ground remain within 1.5 degrees of traditional mechanical alignment resections.
Toward the efficient use of Beauveria bassiana in integrated cotton insect pest management
Authors: DANNON H. Fabrice , DANNON A. Elie , DOURO-KPINDOU O. Kobi , ZINSOU A. Valerien , HOUNDETE A. Thomas , TOFFA-MEHINTO Joëlle , ELEGBEDE I. A. T. Maurille , OLOU B. Dénis , TAMÒ Manuele
Published: August 2020

Background

For controlling the resistance to insects, in particular carpophagous and phyllophagous caterpillars, using chemical pesticides has led to contamination of cotton area in Benin. Facing this problem, alternative methods including the use of entomopathogenic fungi as biopesticide could be a sound measure to preserve the environment, biodiversity and ensure good quality of crops. Previous studies have revealed the insecticidal potential of the entomopathogenicBeauveria bassianaon some insect pest species. However, little is known about its effectiveness on cotton Lepidopteran pests. This review is done to learn more aboutB. bassinafor its application in controlling cotton insect pests, especially Lepidopteran species.

Main body

Different sections of the current review deal with the related description and action modes ofB. bassianaagainst insects, multi-trophic interactions betweenB. bassianaand plants, arthropods, soil and other microbes, and biological control programs includingB. bassianaduring last decade. Advantages and constraints in applyingB. bassianaand challenges in commercialization ofB. bassiana-based biopesticide have been addressed. In this review, emphasis is put on the application methods and targeted insects in various studies with regard to their applicability in cotton.

Conclusion

This review helps us to identify the knowledge gaps related to application ofB. bassianaon cotton pest in general and especially in Lepidopteran species in Benin. This work should be supported by complementary laboratory bioassays, station and/or fields experiments for effective management of cotton Lepidopteran pests in Benin.
Characterization of tebuconazole resistance in Botrytis cinerea from tomato plants in China
Authors: Zhang Can , Li Tengjiao , Xiao Lu , Zhou Shunli , Liu Xili
Published: August 2020

Fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, the casual agent of gray mold of vegetables and fruits, has a high risk of developing resistance to fungicide. Tebuconazole, one kind of demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides, has been increasingly applied for the control of tomato gray mold in China. However, very limited information is available on the resistance profile of B. cinerea to tebuconazole. In this study, the baseline sensitivity of B. cinerea to tebuconazole was determined based on 138 isolates from field sites having no history of DMI usage, with a mean EC50 value of 0.29 μg/mL. Another 159 B. cinerea isolates collected in the greenhouse and field from 2011 to 2016 were demonstrated to have a shifted sensitivity to tebuconazole, with a mean EC50 value of 0.66 μg/mL. EC50 values of 10 B. cinerea isolates with reduced sensitivity to tebuconazole were greater than 1.56 μg/mL, and these reduced-sensitive isolates had a fitness penalty in sporulation and conidial germination, but showed similar mycelial growth rate and pathogenicity with those of the sensitive isolates. Positive cross-resistance was observed only between tebuconazole and the other two DMIs difenoconazole and prochloraz, but not between tebuconazole and the non-DMIs iprodione, procymidone, or fludioxonil. In reduced-sensitive isolates, no amino acid variation was found in the BcCYP51 protein. When exposed to tebuconazole, the expression level of BcCYP51 increased in these reduced-sensitive B. cinerea isolates as compared to sensitive ones, thus contributing to the reduced sensitivity of the pathogen to tebuconazole. Additionally, the nucleotide mutation observed in the 1200 bp upstream region of BcCYP51 had no correlation with the development of fungicide resistance in B. cinerea isolates. These findings will be helpful for the understanding of DMI resistance mechnism in B. cinerea.