bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
hucMSCs Attenuate IBD through Releasing miR148b-5p to Inhibit the Expression of 15-lox-1 in Macrophages
Authors: Kang Jingjing , Zhang Zhaoyang , Wang Jingyan , Wang Gaoying , Yan Yongmin , Qian Hui , Zhang Xu , Xu Wenrong , Mao Fei
Published: May 2019

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exert powerful immunosuppression in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Macrophages are the dominant inflammatory cells in enteritis regulated via MSCs. However, the roles of macrophages in the process of MSCs attenuating IBD and the mechanisms of MSCs regulating macrophages are largely unknown. In this study, DSS- (dextran sulfate sodium salt-) induced IBD in macrophage-depleted models of CD11b-DTR mice was used to study the relationship between hucMSCs (human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells) and macrophage. Body weights, disease activities, and pathological changes were documented to assess the therapeutic effects of hucMSCs. Furthermore, hucMSCs transfected with miR148b-5p mimics and miR148b-5p inhibitors were cocultured with LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells to investigate the role of miR148b-5p in hucMSC-regulated colitis. The outcome indicated that hucMSCs attenuated the IBD by downregulating 15-lox-1 expression in macrophages. Further findings pointed out that hucMSCs transfected with miR148b-5p mimics could be elevated to promote the tissue repair and inhibit the expression of 15-lox-1 but failed to perform the function of easing enteritis when treated with miR148b-5p inhibitors. In conclusions, we propose that hucMSCs attenuate IBD by releasing miR148b-5p to inhibit the expression of 15-lox-1 in macrophages.
The Hsp27-Mediated IkBα-NFκB Signaling Axis Promotes Radiation-Induced Lung Fibrosis
Authors: Kim Jee-Youn , Jeon Seulgi , Yoo Young Jo , Jin Hee , Won Hee Yeon , Yoon Kyeonghee , Hwang Eun Sook , Lee Yoon-Jin , Na Younghwa , Cho Jaeho , Lee Yun-Sil
Published: May 2019

Purpose:

Lung fibrosis is a major side effect experienced by patients after lung cancer radiotherapy. However, effective protection strategies and underlying treatment targets remain unclear. In an effort to improve clinical outcomes, pharmacologic treatment of fibrosis is becoming increasingly popular; however, no ideal therapeutic strategy is yet available.

Experimental Design:

We used a mouse model to irradiate high focal (90 or 75 Gy) to 3-mm volume of the left lung. Lung tissues of mice were subjected to microarray, mRNA expression, and immunohistochemical analysis. Correlations of radiation (IR)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) were validated in lung cell lines using appropriate treatments to activate or inhibit selected pathways.

Results:

The expression of Hsp27 was increased during IR-induced lung fibrosis in a mouse model. Inhibition of functional Hsp27 using shRNA and a synthetic small molecule inhibitor (J2) in lung cells alleviated IR-mediated EMT. The activation of NFkB pathways via direct interaction between Hsp27 and IkBα resulted in increased expressions of Twist, IL-1β, and IL-6 and facilitated IR-mediated EMT, which was identified as an underlying mechanism of Hsp27-mediated fibrosis after IR. J2 also inhibited IR-induced lung fibrosis in an orthotopic lung cancer model, and IR-induced lung fibrotic tissues from patients showed higher expression of Hsp27 than unirradiated lungs.

Conclusions:

Collectively, IkBα-NFkB signaling activation by Hsp27, which resulted in the facilitation of Twist, IL1β, and IL6 expression, is involved in the EMT process that is tightly connected to the development of IR-induced lung fibrosis. Our findings also suggest that inhibition of Hsp27 has the potential to become a valuable therapeutic strategy for IR-induced lung fibrosis.
Cannabinoids in Gynecological Diseases
Authors: Luschnig Petra , Schicho Rudolf
Published: May 2019

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a multifunctional homeostatic system involved in many physiological and pathological conditions. The ligands of the ECS are the endo­cannabinoids, whose actions are mimicked by exogenous cannabinoids, such as phytocannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids. Responses to the ligands of the ECS are mediated by numerous receptors like the classical cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) as well as ECS-related receptors, e.g., G protein-coupled receptors 18 and 55 (GPR18 and GPR55), transient receptor potential ion channels, and nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. The ECS regulates almost all levels of female reproduction, starting with oocyte production through to parturition. Dysregulation of the ECS is associated with the development of gynecological disorders from fertility disorders to cancer. Cannabinoids that act at the ECS as specific agonists or antagonists may potentially influence dysregulation and, therefore, represent new therapeutic options for the therapy of gynecological disorders.
Development of and Gathering Validity Evidence for a Theoretical Test in Thoracic Ultrasound
Authors: Pietersen Pia Iben , Konge Lars , Madsen Kristian Rørbæk , Bendixen Morten , Maskell Nick A. , Rahman Najib , Graumann Ole , Laursen Christian B.
Published: May 2019

Background: Thoracic ultrasound (TUS) has a high diagnostic accuracy for many common pulmonary diseases, but theoretic knowledge in sonographic physics, thoracic anatomy and physiology, and sonopathologic patterns is required to develop competence. Objectives: The aims of the study were to develop and gather validity evidence for a theoretical test in TUS and to establish a pass/fail standard. Methods: Content was provided based on expert interviews, leading to the creation of 113 initial multiple-choice question (MCQ) items. Consensus was reached on 92 proceeding items through a Delphi process, and items were presented to physicians with different knowledge and experience in TUS. Answers were used for item statistics in order to select the items with the most optimal item discrimination and difficulty (i.e., level I items) to be included in the final test. Mean scores of the novice, intermediate and experienced groups were compared, and a pass/fail score was established using the contrasting groups’ standard setting method. Results:Item statistics revealed 38 level I items, of which 30 were selected to be included in the final test. The internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.88). Differences in mean scores were 8.6 points (p < 0.001), 6.3 points (p = 0.01), and 14.9 points (p < 0.001) between novices and intermediates, intermediates and experienced, and novices and experienced, respectively. A pass/fail standard of 20 points was established. Conclusion: The established MCQ test can distinguish between physicians with different levels of competence in TUS and enables an objective, evidence-based approach for assessing the theoretical knowledge of trainees undergoing an educational programme in TUS.
O LEGADO DA ARQUITETURA DO SÉCULO XX: PROTEÇÃO ADMINISTRATIVA VERSUS SALVAGUARDA EFETIVA
Authors: Klein Richard
Published: May 2019

O artigo aborda, num primeiro momento, os instrumentos franceses da proteção do patrimônio arquitetônico e urbano e a sua evolução e, em seguida, as questões levantadas pelo legado arquitetônico do século XX. Objeto de muitas desnaturações e destruições, o futuro deste legado questiona os valores tradicionais que normalmente justificam o reconhecimento patrimonial. Os conhecimentos materiais e culturais da arquitetura do século XX são apresentados como condições indispensáveis para a sua salvaguarda efetiva frente a uma proteção administrativa muitas vezes ineficiente.
Associations Between Age at Arterial Switch Operation, Brain Growth, and Development in Infants With Transposition of the Great Arteries
Authors: Lim Jessie Mei , Porayette Prashob , Marini Davide , Chau Vann , Au-Young Stephanie H. , Saini Amandeep , Ly Linh G. , Blaser Susan , Shroff Manohar , Branson Helen M. , Sananes Renee , Hickey Edward J. , Gaynor J. William , Van Arsdell Glen , Miller Steven P. , Seed Mike
Published: May 2019

Background:

Brain injury, impaired brain growth, and long-term neurodevelopmental problems are common in children with transposition of the great arteries. We sought to identify clinical risk factors for brain injury and poor brain growth in infants with transposition of the great arteries undergoing the arterial switch operation, and to examine their relationship with neurodevelopmental outcome.

Methods:

The brains of 45 infants with transposition of the great arteries undergoing surgical repair were imaged pre- and postoperatively using magnetic resonance imaging. Brain weight
z
scores were calculated based on brain volume and autopsy reference data. Brain injury scores were determined as previously described. Neurodevelopment was assessed at 18 months using the Bayley-III scores of infant development. The relationships between clinical variables, brain injury, perioperative brain growth, and 18-month Bayley-III scores were analyzed.

Results:

On preoperative imaging, moderate or severe white matter injury was present in 10 of 45 patients, whereas stroke was seen in 4 of 45. A similar prevalence of injury was seen on postoperative imaging, and we were unable to identify any clinical risk factors for brain injury. Brain weight
z
scores decreased perioperatively in 35 of 45 patients. The presence of a ventricular septal defect (
P
=0.009) and older age at surgery (
P
=0.007) were associated with impaired perioperative brain growth. When patients were divided into those undergoing surgery during the first 2 weeks of life (32/45) versus those being repaired later (13/45), infants repaired later had significantly worse perioperative brain growth (late repair postoperative brain weight
z
= –1.0±0.90 versus early repair
z
= –0.33±0.64;
P
=0.008). Bayley-III testing scores fell within the normal range for all patients, although age at repair (
P
=0.03) and days of open chest (
P
=0.03) were associated with a lower composite language score, and length of stay was associated with a lower composite cognitive score (
P
=0.02).

Conclusions:

Surgery beyond 2 weeks of age is associated with impaired brain growth and slower language development in infants with transposition of the great arteries cared for at our center. Although the mechanisms underlying this association are still unclear, extended periods of cyanosis and pulmonary overcirculation may adversely impact brain growth and subsequent neurodevelopment.
Humans and Sharks
Authors: Panoch Rainer , Pearson Elissa L.
Published: May 2019

There is worldwide concern regarding the conservation status of sharks. Public perceptions of sharks, often based on inaccurate negative stereotypes transmitted through the media and popular culture, appear to be limiting support for their conservation. Yet, there is a paucity of research exploring the knowledge and attitudes of the general public regarding sharks and their conservation, as well as approaches to improve these factors and encourage greater conservation support. The primary aim of this review is to explore the role that psychology, education, and the media might play in engendering greater support for shark conservation through increasing knowledge and shifting attitudes relating to sharks, ultimately increasing public support for, and participation in, shark conservation. Directions for future research to further understand and enhance public engagement with shark conservation issues are also discussed.
Two Notes on Xie He’s 謝赫 “Six Criteria” (liufa 六法), Aided by Digital Databases
Authors: Goldin Paul R.
Published: May 2019

This article uses evidence from digital databases to re-examine two controversial issues regarding the “Six Criteria” (liufa 六法) of painting listed by Xie He 謝赫 (d. after 532) in the preface to his Gu huapin lu 古畫品錄: (1) their syntax and phrasing, and (2) the origin and connotations of qiyun 氣韻, the most famous of the six. Despite recent claims to the contrary, the series of six numbered clauses taking the form “X, Y shi ye 是也” is unremarkable for the language of the time; moreover, the application of the Six Criteria in the subsequent biographies discloses that they are listed in decreasing order of importance. While the meaning and connotations of qiyun are impossible to state succinctly because they vary from one source to another, it is used (like similar phrases, such as yayun 雅韻 and shenyun 神韻) both to praise people’s character and as an aesthetic quality pertaining to music, literature, and art.
Yuan Hong’s 袁宏 Evaluation of the Han-Wei Transition
Authors: Eicher Sebastian
Published: May 2019

The early depictions of the transition from the Han 漢 (25-220) to the Wei dynasty 魏 (220-265) are surprisingly diverse. Within a span of less than two hundred years, several historians arrived at different views on the event’s legitimacy and as a result described it in widely varying tones. This is still visible in the dynastic histories: while Chen Shou’s 陳壽 (233-297) Sanguo zhi 三國志 paints the picture of the establishment of a legitimate dynasty, Fan Ye 范曄 (398-446) in his Hou Han shu 後漢書 describes a ruthless overthrow of the Han court by Cao Cao 曹操 (155-220) and his son Cao Pi 曹丕 (187-226).
The Tang Poet in Song Poetics, Song Poetics in the Tang Poet: The Construction of Du Fu’s Image as Verbal Master
Authors: Chen Jue
Published: May 2019

The image of Du Fu as a poet who excels at using the most appropriate words in his poetry was, to a large extent, constructed by the poets and critics of the Song dynasty. When reading, transcribing, editing, and commenting on Du Fu’s poetic texts, the Song literati prioritized textual variants in Du Fu’s poetry that could in their opinion better demonstrate Du Fu’s poetic craftsmanship; by doing so, they defined Du Fu as a verbal master who was able to use the finest words in poetic composition. The Song literati’s interest in word usage in Du Fu’s poetry was essentially a projection of their own desire to pursue expressional effect in poetic composition, which drove them to learn from Du Fu.
The Varieties of Ecological Piety
Authors: SZERSZYNSKI Bronislaw
Published: May 2019

The idea of nature's sacrality, contrasting starkly with industrial modernity's overwhelmingly instrumental valuation of non-human nature, visibly inform philosophical positions such as deep ecology and Gaia theory. But at a more unspoken level they can also be seen as suffusing a wider societal sensibility, evident not least in popular values regarding nature. But, granted that many people would ascribe such a value to nature, how are such beliefs embodied in their lives? An attention to the theological or cosmological level can only take us so far in understanding the dynamics of culture; we need also to attend to questions of practice, ritual, community and relationship, for it is through such elements that more abstract ideas about humanity's place in the universe are given both support and expression. It is in this spirit of inquiry that this paper proceeds, arguing that religious forms of action and corporateness characteristic of monastic, sectarian, churchly, and folk religiosity have shaped the way that contemporary environmental values are embodied in the practices and experience of everyday life.
In Defence of Earth's Insights
Authors: Callicott J. Baird
Published: May 2019

The foregoing criticisms of Earth's Insights notwithstanding: there is an environmental crisis; reconstructed postmodern science provides a privileged discourse, more particularly, an evolutionary-ecological master narrative; in which a globally credible environmental ethic may be grounded; and by comparison with which, in turn, the several local environmental ethics grounded in traditional and indigenous worldviews may be validated.
Reality and Possibility: A Defense of Kant against New Realisms
Authors: Chiurazzi Gaetano
Published: May 2019

The movement of New Realism, which in Italy has been launched by Maurizio Ferraris, is conceived explicitly in opposition to Kant. In his defense of the distinction between ontology and epistemology, Ferraris starts from the presupposition that it is Kant himself who is responsible for their confusion because of his transcendental philosophy and its consequent constructionism. In this paper I will defend Kant’s perspective, explaining his reasons (or his concept of reason), even against Meillasoux’s “speculative realism.” The basic idea is that Kant’s transcendental philosophy requires a new philosophical attitude, which implies a shift from reality to possibility as the fundamental philosophical category, since only possibility enables a critical perspective on reality.
India-Africa Forum Summits and Capacity Building
Authors: Modi Renu
Published: May 2019

This study attempts to assess the perceptible or real impacts of the pledges made at the high level India-Africa Forum Summits towards building human capabilities, in recipient countries in Africa. Ensconced within the theoretical frameworks of South-South Cooperation and South-South Development Cooperation, this study affirms that international cooperation between India and Africa goes beyond aid. It includes inter alia, the sharing of development experiences for building human and physical infrastructural capabilities in Africa. Training programmes and the implementation of capacity building institutions are being set up, based on requests from partner countries. Evidently there has been a mixed response to these endeavours. This study analyses the causes for the time lapse between the commitments made at the first two editions of the forum summits and the delayed implementation of the capacity building initiatives on the ground. The tardy implementation of mutually agreed upon projects obfuscates the agenda of development cooperation between India and Africa. The ongoing stock taking and proactive efforts by India and recipient countries in Africa towards completing the long pending institutions and schemes will further enhance the efficacy and credibility of South-South Development Cooperation between India and Africa.
ʻSpeaking for Islamʼ and Religious Authority in Zongos in Asante, Ghana
Authors: Pontzen Benedikt
Published: May 2019

In presenting and comparing three different endeavors of ʻspeaking for Islamʼ in the Muslim communities of zongos in Asante, this essay analyzes what renders this act into a felicitous performance. Accordingly, I delineate and discuss the grounds on which one is accorded or denied the authority to make consequential pronouncements on Islamic matters within the discursive tradition of this religion. As I argue, this authority does not solely hinge on one’s erudite Islamic learning and one’s abilities to implement it in one’s rhetoric; it also depends on one’s personal demeanor and reputation in the community. In order to have the actual chance to make consequential pronouncements on Islamic matters, which include religious as well as moral issues, one’s authority has to be accorded by those over whom it is exercised, and can neither be claimed nor enforced as such.
Singing “The Song of Chief Iipumbu”
Authors: Crews Emily D.
Published: May 2019

This essay addresses “The Song of Chief Iipumbu,” an oral poem performed by a woman named Nekwaya Loide Shikongo in North-Central Namibia in 1953. It argues that “The Song of Chief Iipumbu” acted as an astute analysis of local power relations, employing scornful commentary on a deposed native chief as a cover for subtle but profound criticisms of European colonial institutions to which Shikongo, as a African Christian woman, was subject. Through a brief history of colonialism in Namibia and detailed attention to the linguistic and discursive webs woven by the poem’s author, this essay shows that Shikongo’s censure of oppressive authorities was not an attempt to undermine the networks of power operating in colonial Namibia. Rather, it was an effort to affect acceptance of (or at least resignation to) her subordination in order to achieve the renewal of psychological and social equilibrium.
A Question (Still) Worth Asking about The Religions of Man
Authors: McCutcheon Russell T.
Published: May 2019

Based on a lecture first presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), this paper explores the possible reasons for the continued popularity of the work of the late Huston Smith – carried out in what could be characterized as the pre-history of the North American field’s rebirth in public universities throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. For unlike other works dating from the 1950s, which are now read, if at all, only as primary sources and thus as evidence of an earlier time in the field, his book (originally entitled The Religions of Man [1958]) presents a dated example worth considering, inasmuch as it is, for many, still the preferred classroom resource for training newcomers to the field.
The Debate on Medieval Western Christian Dualism through the Prism of Slavonic Pseudepigrapha
Authors: Stoyanov Yuri
Published: May 2019

The study of the Old Slavonic pseudepigrapha has assumed wider significance in wider areas of Jewish and Christian religious history after recent research has indicated their importance for the investigation of early Jewish and Christian apocalypticism, Gnost­icism and the Jewish Merkabah tradition. The article intends to present the state of evidence and research of the influx of early Jewish and Christian parabiblical narratives and notions in western medieval heretical milieux (via the transmission of Slavonic apocryphal traditions through Eastern dualist channels). The parabiblical narratives or elements of earlier pseudepigraphic texts in the sources for Catharism have been largely downplayed or ignored in the current debates on medieval Western heresy. However, they should be reintegrated in the central ground of these debates, as they provide vital clues to medieval dualist stances on Scripture and the exegetical and compilatory techniques in recasting biblical and parabiblical material in medieval theological and literary environments
The Lilies of Worms
Authors: Brocke Michael
Published: May 2019

The Worms cemetery is a treasure trove of medieval and early modern Ashkenazic epigraphical, spiritual and material culture. The oldest Jewish burial place of Europe contains more than 1,400 tombstones dating from the eleventh to the seventeenth centuries. Having published epigraphical documentations of several large cemeteries, the Salomon Ludwig Steinheim-Institut, University of Duisburg-Essen is working on a full documentation of Worms. This article highlights an unknown aspect of this hallowed lieu de mémoire: the artwork to be discovered on the medieval stones, here the lily and fleur-de-lys as symbols and ornaments of the thirteenth century.
A Pearl in the Levite Crown: Fred Wander’s The Seventh Well
Authors: Fischer Lars
Published: May 2019

One would have hoped that the publication of Michael Hofmann’s superb translation of Fred Wander’s novel The Seventh Well (New York 2008) might finally help secure Wander’s text the attention it deserves, alas, as yet to no avail. Fred Wander, probably best known (if at all) as the widower and executor of Maxie Wander, was a survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. First published in East Berlin in 1971, The Seventh Well is a semi-fictionalized account of his experiences in the camps (and an attempt to lend those of his peers who did not survive a posthumous voice).
The Voskopoja Guild of Tailors’ Credit Lending Operations and Risk Management (1716–27)
Authors: Giakoumis Konstantinos
Published: May 2019

The paper analyzes the credit activities of the Voskopoja (Moschopolis) guild of tailors on the basis of a new dataset constructed from its credit lending transactions recorded in a guild register. The dataset was used to understand lending patterns and risk management in the local economy of Voskopoja and compare them with similar practices in other parts of the Ottoman empire. I found that interest rates were not stable in 1716–27 and that the Voskopoja economy experienced an economic growth in this period. This case study contributes to our understanding of Ottoman financial institutions, guilds as lending institutions, their business organization, as well as the operations of local credit markets.
‘I Assume You Know’
Authors: Bahloul Maher
Published: May 2019

This paper is a pilot study on the form and function of the Arabic discourse marker ‘ṭabʕan’. Discourse markers in language have been the focus of myriad studies under a number of denotations such as discourse operators, discourse connectives, modal markers, cue phrases, amongst several others. While such markers occur in written and spoken forms of language, they are much more abundant in formal and informal conversations. ṭabʕan, for instance, is observed in media Arabic in formal and semi-formal contexts. The paper highlights its formal features, its syntactic distribution, and identifies its core pragmatic function. Although the marker does not change the truth value of utterances or alter them in any significant way, it tends to cluster around the speaker. Thus, it injects some modal features oscillating between assertiveness and evidentiality.
The Arabic Imperfective
Authors: Hallman Peter
Published: May 2019

‮This paper argues that the imperfective verb form in Standard Arabic does not express an ‘imperfective’ meaning, but rather marks the default lexical form of the verb, and is therefore analogous to the English infinitive. The progressive and habitual readings cross-linguistically typical of the imperfective are derived in Arabic by applying covert progressive and habitual operators to this infinitival base. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that imperfective verbs receive an eventive interpretation in certain contexts, an interpretation incompatible with the stativity of progressive and habitual readings. Additional scopal evidence indicates that the progressive applies at the verb phrase level, not at the word level at which the imperfective morphology itself is found.‬‎
The Change of ɻɻ to dd in Ṭyare Neo-Aramaic
Authors: Mutzafi Hezy
Published: May 2019

The change of a rhotic consonant into a voiced dental one is unique to some dialects of Ṭyare Neo-Aramaic amongst all other Aramaic and Semitic languages. It is a conditioned change, operating only on the Ṭyare retroflex rhotic phoneme /ɻ/ and only when the latter is geminated, whereas the two other rhotic phonemes of the Ṭyare cluster of dialects, alveolar /r/ and emphatic alveolar /ṛ/, are left unaffected. The diachronic background of Ṭyare ɻɻ > dd is discussed after a survey of problematic aspects related to its treatment in previous scholarly works.
Possessively Construed Attitude Dative Constructions in Lebanese Arabic
Authors: Haddad Youssef A.
Published: May 2019

Possessive dative constructions—a subcategory of external possession constructions, similar but not identical to the English sentence She looked him in the eye—are a cross-linguistic phenomenon. These structures feature a nominal or pronominal element—in this case, him—that functions semantically as the possessor of a separate DP—eye—and syntactically as a dependent of the verb. Syntactic approaches to possessive dative constructions in such languages as Hebrew and German argue for a movement analysis in which the possessor starts out in the possessum DP before moving to a higher position. Semantic approaches to the same phenomenon in German and French, among other languages, analyze possessive dative constructions as instances of anaphoric binding; the dative undergoes first-merge outside the possessum DP and binds a variable in it. The present article documents and analyzes what appear to be instances of possessive dative constructions in Lebanese Arabic. I show that the possessive construal of the datives in these structures is not syntactically or semantically mediated, but rather pragmatically determined.
Root-Extraction
Authors: Ouhalla Jamal
Published: May 2019

This article examines the verb ‘need’ in Arabic in light of the decompositional approach proposed in Harves and Kayne (2012) which assumes a Hale and Keyser (1993, 2002)-style analysis whereby transitive ‘need’ derives by incorporation of the noun ‘need’ into a silent possessive verb HAVE. The properties of Arabic ‘need’ are shown to favour the alternative Marantz (1998)-style analysis, whereby the verb ‘need’ and its nominal variant both derive from a common root. On a broader crosslinguistic level, the root-based analysis is shown to account for languages that have transitive possessive ‘have’ and a noun ‘need’ but lack transitive ‘need’ (e.g. French), which are unexpected in the context of the noun-based analysis. Finally, the article sheds light on the critical role of the mechanism of root-extraction out of lexicalised nouns in generating roots necessary for the derivation of verbs.
Restructuring and control in Arabic
Authors: Albaty Yasser , Ouali Hamid
Published: May 2019

This paper examines verbal complex constructions in two varieties of Arabic, namely: Moroccan Arabic (MA) and Najdi Arabic (NA). We provide a novel analysis that departs from the two previous studies that discussed this phenomenon in Lebanese Arabic (LA): Hallman (2011), and Ouwaydah & Shlonsky (2016). We argue that verbal complex constructions are derived using a monoclausal restructuring strategy (Wurmbrand 1998, 2001) in which the matrix control verb of nisa/forget-type instantiates a monoclausal structure. This analysis is novel in various aspects. First, it departs from and argues against control-based theories and, consequently, a biclausal structure. Second, it provides an account for various properties, including: agreement facts, Cinque’s restrictions on adverb distribution, tense and aspect absence on subordinate verbs, and the unexpected occurrence of the VVSO word order. Third, it analyzes new data related to the requirement of voice matching.
On the morphophonology of domains in Somali verbs and nouns
Authors: Green Christopher R. , Morrison Michelle E.
Published: May 2019

Morphemes involved in the formation of Somali verbs and nouns are, in most instances, clearly individuated into categories corresponding to their role in word formation. Verbs contain a base, derivational extensions, inflectional affixes, and clitics that attach in a fixed order. Nouns also contain a base and derivational affixes, but little inflectional morphology. Indeed, both parts of speech have similar morphological templates in Somali, but the relationship between the language’s morphological domains and prosodic domains has only recently become a subject of detailed inquiry. We add to this ongoing trend by illustrating in this paper that there are close correlations between these domains in the language’s verbal and nominal systems that can be elucidated by morphophonological processes; certain processes occur only in a particular prosodic domain, and these process/domain combinations are similar in both the nominal and verbal systems. By establishing diagnostic phenomena attributable to phrase-level domains, this paper fills a gap between recent works focused only on defining prosodic characteristics of Somali words (Downing & Nilsson 2017; Green & Morrison 2016) and the accentual behavior of Somali clauses (Le Gac 2002, 2003a, b).
Verb innovation in Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic
Authors: Laks Lior
Published: May 2019

This study investigates the criteria for form selection in the formation of new verbs in Modern Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic. The verbal systems of these languages consist of templatic forms (binyanim, sg. binyan), where every verb that enters the language must conform to one of them. Some binyanim are not used at all for the formation of new verbs, while others are used quite rarely. The paper is based on productions of new verbs that have been collected during the past six years. It is shown that the interaction of thematic-semantic and morpho-phonological criteria dictates the selection of binyan for new verbs and explains why certain binyanim are favored over others. Morpho-phonological criteria involve the properties of the base from which the verb is derived. Thematic-semantic criteria relate to the distinction between basic and derived entries in the lexicon as well as semantic resemblance to existing words. Verb innovation provides direct access to the process of word formation and shows how different types of criteria and constraints are taken into consideration.
Reforming Men, Refining Umma: Tablīghī Jamā‛at and Novel Visions of Islamic Masculinity
Authors: Wario Halkano Abdi
Published: May 2019

Tablīghī Jamā‛at, a pietistic movement run by laypeople that originated in India is currently the most widespread Muslim missionary group worldwide. It is essentially men-oriented in terms of its main target for proselytization and organization. Spaces of proselytization are mosques, sacred spaces frequented by men, and the home, a place of reinforcement of ‘lifestyle evangelism’ dominated by women. The group has been described as anti-intellectualist, apolitical, docile, otherworldly, and a front for militant groups. Based on recent ethnographic research in northern Kenya, the paper explores two main thematic questions: What does it take to be a Tablīghī man? Does emerging Tablīghī masculinity embolden or reconfigure gender/patriarchal relations? The paper posits that the movement provides social mobility for non-‘ulamā men in an alternative religious hierarchy but also lays the foundation for the emergence of a transnational practice of Islamic masculinity that appropriates the different local versions of being and becoming a man.
Collective Female Identities in Discussions about Pussy Riot’s Performance
Authors: Agaltsova Anna
Published: May 2019

In this paper, I address the issue of collective female identities in contemporary Russia. The Pussy Riot performance is regarded as a critical event that serves as a trigger for certain ‘groupness’. Taking critical event perspectives avoids framing the respondents with the researcher’s predetermined categories. The empirical data is collected via collective interviews with the diverse group of Moscovites. Analysis highlights the domination of an authoritarian/collectivistic interpretative repertoire in older participants’ discussions about the performance, which has resulted in the articulation of the image of the disadvantaged female and the denial of women’s agency. The younger participants, being familiar with a co-existing liberal interpretative repertoire, have continued to use a conservative repertoire to discuss Pussy Riot. This and a general lack of gender problematisation in the interviews indicate that feminist discourse is not at all widespread in the Moscovites’ everyday discourse.
Between Science and Religion: Spiritism in the Ottoman Empire (1850s-1910s)
Authors: Türesay Özgür
Published: May 2019

Spiritism reached the Ottoman Empire very quickly via the European and Levantine communities in Istanbul in the 1850s. At the outset of 1910, spiritism had become a very popular topic in the press. Spiritist publishing burst in Ottoman Turkish is connected to the environment of a more or less liberal press in the aftermath of the Young Turk revolution of 1908. As was the case in the history of spiritism elsewhere, in the Ottoman Empire reactions against spiritism came mainly from two intellectual circles: the positivistic (or scientific and materialist) ones and the non-positivistic (or religious-spiritual and anti-materialist) ones. Besides, all this spiritist, para-spiritist and anti-spiritist publishing activity involved a respective translation activity into Ottoman Turkish, which enhanced cultural transfer processes.
L’Islam saharien précolonial : portrait d’un champ de recherche
Authors: Warscheid Ismail
Published: May 2019

From the 15th century onwards, a network of Muslim scholarly communities developed in the western and central parts of the Sahara, covering present‐day southern Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, and Niger. The massive diffusion of Islamic literate culture led to the constitution of a rich tradition of scholarship that materialized in various types of texts: doctrinal treatises, biographical dictionaries, chronicles, commentaries, poetry, and, most important, comprehensive fatwa collections. In the last decades, increasing academic attention has been given to this astonishing cultural heritage of the people of the great desert. This article intends to give a short survey of works and research orientations, focusing on projects of identification and edition of Arabic manuscripts and on the mobilization of Muslim scholarly writing as a source for social and cultural history.
The Organisation of Late Pleistocene Robberg Blade Technology in the Doring River Catchment, South Africa
Authors: Low Marika , Mackay Alex
Published: May 2019

Emphasis on the production of small unretouched blades is the strongest defining technological characteristic of southern African assemblages referred to as the Robberg – a ‘technologically uniform’ technocomplex identified across the sub-continent. This paper explores the spatial organisation of Robberg blade technology from three rockshelter sites in the Doring River catchment of the eastern Cederberg Mountains. The Doring is both a key source of water and toolstone, and the three sites are located at varying distances from it. Blades and blade cores from these sites are used to explore the influence of distance to source on the abundance of raw materials, staging of production and maintenance/reduction of transported artefacts. Results suggest key differences in procurement and provisioning strategies for different materials. Hunter-gatherers ‘geared up’ with hornfels and silcrete blades at the river before moving up the tributaries where toolkits were supplemented by small numbers of blades made from transported silcrete cores and the situational use of local rock types such as quartz. Results demonstrate the importance of understanding local-scale controls on technological organisation before inferring patterns of broader behavioural import.
Philosophy Rehinged?
Authors: Glock Hans-Johann
Published: May 2019

This paper is devoted to the role hinge propositions play or should play in epistemology and meta-philosophy. It starts by distinguishing different ways in which propositions can be basic or fundamental and by arguing that the foundational status of hinge propositions cannot be reduced to any of the others. The second part maintains that hinges have anti-sceptical potential, provided that one combines Wittgenstein’s critique of sense with Moore’s method of differential certainty. The final part briefly considers implications of the idea of hinge propositions for two debates in which they have not featured so far—once concerning peer disagreement, the other the role of intuitions in philosophy.
Structuring Regional Citizenship: Historical Continuity and Contemporary Salience
Authors: Piccoli Lorenzo
Published: May 2019

Recent scholarly research has shown that the traditional Westphalian notion of citizenship has been challenged by developments beyond the boundaries of the nationstate. Nonetheless, while significant attention has been devoted to the emergence of spheres of citizenship above the nation-state, little reference has been made to specific forms of membership in regional polities that could be called ‘citizenship’. This article contributes to this gap by bringing together various literature and historical examples to show that regional citizenship has something to offer in the light of global and transnational dynamic processes. In particular, the contribution highlights the historical continuity and contemporary salience of regional citizenship in contexts characterized by strong national minority groups. The article shows that regional citizenship promotes room to maneuver to redefine the membership and the entitlements provided by national citizenship models at a time when state borders are increasingly transcended through multiple forms of participation.
The Concept of the Åland Islands’ Regional Citizenship and Its Impact on the Inclusion of Migrants
Authors: Öst Heidi
Published: May 2019

This article explores how the minority protection regime affects immigrants in the Åland Islands, focusing on the institution of regional citizenship. Is the inclusion of migrants in the Åland Islands of Finland affected by this institution? The article reviews the historical foundations of the minority protection regime, its legislative development, and contemporary debates surrounding the Åland Islands’ institution of regional citizenship. It argues that the right of domicile of the Åland Islands should not be considered a barrier to inclusion for immigrants although it is in part tied to political rights, as well as to the right to acquire property and trade in the Islands. Contemporary debates on the link between the right of domicile and Finnish citizenship attest to the contested nature of this marginal regional citizenship, which, to the extent it performs an exclusionary function, depends on the construction of national citizenship.
Case Law of the European Court on Human Rights Concerning Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities during 2014: About Differential Margins of Appreciation and the Role of the Prohibition of Discrimination
Authors: Henrard Kristin
Published: May 2019

The Court’s case law regarding ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities during 2014 reveals that in several respects it leaves (de facto) less margin of appreciation to states, focusing on the effective protection of minorities’ fundamental rights. In other respects, the Court seemingly prefers to not take a clear stance, and rather grants states a wide margin of appreciation. Overall, the Court is adamant about state obligations to tolerate ethnic and religious minorities and to protect them against private violence. Positive state obligations to accommodate minorities and their special needs and special “way of life” appear still too controversial and devoid of European consensus for the Court to take a stance. Nevertheless, the developments pertaining to the Court’s scrutiny of models of state–church relations demonstrate that the “lack of European consensus” is subject to a relative and evolutive assessment.
Justice and the Vulnerable: Developments from the Eighth Forum on Minority Issues Regarding Criminal Justice Systems
Authors: Pap András L. , Verhagen Jacob
Published: May 2019

The Eighth forum on minority protection chose to focus on the treatment of minorities within the criminal justice system. During this forum, many issues were discussed, and solutions proposed. These included both long-standing historical issues, as well as contemporary areas of concern on a global scale. First, this paper will examine the background to the forum, its intents and purposes. Secondly, it will draw on the context according to which the topic of the eighth forum was chosen. Thirdly, the paper will take a look at notable contributions in the opening statements and each working group. At the end of the paper, we will examine recurring themes and proposed solutions throughout the forum. The intention of the paper is not to be analytical, but rather to highlight the main focuses of the forum and points of interest. As the event was a global forum, the contributions were on a global scale. Since the issues discussed are often universal and are often found at varying levels across national justice systems, it has import for European legal scholars and offers practical lessons for better understanding the relationship between minorities and the criminal justice system.
Ethnic Minority Rights in Georgia 2013–15: A Period of Stagnation
Authors: Bobghiashvili Giorgi , Donnelly Graham
Published: May 2019

Georgia is the most ethnically diverse state in the South Caucasus. Since independence, it has been blighted by violent secessionism and Russian invasion, the roots of which are invariably described as having stemmed from this diversity; the lack of integration of its ethnic minorities; and the recurrent failures of Georgian governments to adequately balance the nationalizing tendencies of constructing a newly independent state on the one hand and the needs and desires of its multinational citizenry on the other. In the first part of this report, we look at the roots of the present minority situation in Georgia, noting the main minority groups and the issues concerning them, before moving on in the second part to consider the issue of minority governance. We also provide a review of the most significant developments in 2014–2015 before commenting on the prospects for the coming year.
Participation, Citizenship and Transfrontier Exchanges—2016
Authors: Stephan Sarah
Published: May 2019

This article provides an overview of the international developments in 2016 that took place under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe (CoE), and the European Union (EU), with a thematic focus on participation, citizenship and transfrontier exchanges. It aims to capture some of the key developments and trends during this period.
‘Breaking Point’?: Brexit, the Burkini Ban, and Debates on Immigration and Minorities in Britain and France
Authors: Hackett Sarah
Published: May 2019

This article uses the Brexit vote and the burkini ban to assess and explore debates on immigration and minority communities in Britain and France. Drawing upon both the historical context, and recent and contemporary developments, it discusses perceptions regarding there being ‘too many’ immigrants, and Islam and Muslims specifically, as well as the character and tone of the political and public deliberations on these topics in both countries. In doing so, it offers an insight into two of the most contentious episodes of Europe’s 2016 debate on immigration and minorities.
‘Autonomy Convention’ and ‘Consulta’: Deliberative Democracy in Subnational Minority Contexts
Authors: Alber Elisabeth , Röggla Marc , Ohnewein Vera
Published: May 2019

The article compares deliberative practices within the two constituent units of the Italian Autonomous Region of Trentino-South Tyrol: the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen (South Tyrol) and the Autonomous Province of Trento (Trentino). South Tyrol’s ‘Autonomy Convention’ and Trentino’s ‘Consulta’ are consultative processes that are differently structured but have the same aim: the elaboration of proposals as to the revision of the region’s basic law, the Autonomy Statute of 1972. The article highlights differences in structures and procedures of both deliberative practices and it gives evidence on the implications such differences have in the respective sociopolitical contexts. Unlike Trentino, South Tyrol is characterized by a power-sharing system between its major language groups, German- and Italian speakers; some special rules also apply to the third language group, the Ladins. The argument developed is that, in South Tyrol, the successful settlement of conflict by means of consociational arrangements favoured the institutionalization of deliberative practices. However, the same arrangements pose challenges to deliberative practices. The article contributes to the emerging literature on pitfalls and potential of deliberative practices implemented in multilingual and divided societies.
Iceland’s Accession to the Antarctic Treaty
Authors: Tamm Sune , Jabour Julia , Johnstone Rachael Lorna
Published: May 2019

On 13th October 2015, Iceland quietly submitted its instrument of accession to the Antarctic Treaty to the US Department of State (the depositary for the Antarctic Treaty). Iceland’s accession was not accompanied by any official declaration or public discussion in Iceland or elsewhere. This paper investigates some of the factors that are likely to have spurred the decision to join the Antarctic treaty system, examines current Icelandic interests in the Antarctic and proposes constructive policies to enhance Icelandic involvement in Antarctic governance and cooperation following the accession. The authors conclude that logistical operations and adventure tourism involving Icelandic companies in the Antarctic are the most likely triggers for the accession and they propose that Iceland consider ratification of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol).