bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dear Enemy Phenomenon in the Ant Ectatomma brunneum (Formicidae: Ectatomminae): Chemical Signals Mediate Intraspecific Agressive Interactions
Authors: Pereira Márlon César , Firmino Ellen Liciane Barbosa , Bernardi Rafaella Caroline , Lima Luan Dias , Guimarães Ingrid De Carvalho , Cardoso Claudia Andrea Lima , Antonialli Junior William Fernando
Published: August 2019

The integrity of ant colonies depends exclusively on social relationships between their individuals, especially the ability of communication between group members, which is mainly mediated through chemical signals. Another important feature of ant behavior is territory defense, since they need to gather large amounts of food to feed their larvae, males and breeding females. Thereby, ants might display behavioral strategies to defend their territories from intruders. Here we investigated whether Ectatomma brunneum displays the Dear Enemy Phenomenon, what is the relationship between Cuticular Hydrocarbon composition and levels of aggression during their intraspecific interactions and which compounds and/or classes of compounds might be the most important to modulate the level of aggression. To test our hypothesis, we evaluated the levels of aggression through behavioral observations during interactions between 23 pairs of colonies nested in two distinct sites at varied distances. Then, we analyzed the cuticular chemical profile of the individuals involved in the interactions, and compared these results with the levels of aggression displayed between colonies tested. The results allow us to confirm our hypothesis that the DEP occurs in E. brunneum. The higher tolerance between closer colonies can be explained due to their kinship level in addition to sharing the same microhabitats. The results also showed there are significant differences in CHCs profiles, especially between colonies nested at relatively greater distances, and it is likely that differences in content of some branched alkanes are the most important to establish these differences and, therefore, the levels of aggression during the interactions.
Morir para vivir. La muerte celular como proceso regulador
Authors: Campero María Belén , Favre Cristián , Saborido Cristian
Published: August 2019

Usually, the organization of living systems is explained by appealing to an intrinsic purpose that is based on the biological survival. However, paradigmatically, it is inevitable to observe that the final destiny of all living organisms is death. In this work, we defend that, from an organizational approach, there is a form of death—Regulatory Cell Death—that, far from being a mere "absence of life", is a process of biological regulation and a feature of self-maintenance in multicellular organisms.
A “Epopeia Gilgamesh” é uma epopeia?
Authors: Lins Brandão Jacyntho
Published: August 2019

Uma vez que o poema de gilgámesh existiu em seu próprio mundo, tanto quanto no nosso, este artigo discute e pertinência de aplicar-lhe o rótulo de épico. Do ponto de vista moderno, essa classificação depende da aproximação com a épica grega arcaica e responde à necessidade de situar o texto num conjunto de gêneros conhecidos, orientando sua recepção. Da perspectiva babilônica antiga, o rótulo épico parece inadequado e proponho que se entenda o poema como a contraparte literária de um narû, do que se chama “autobiografia em terceira pessoa”.

Palavras-chave: poema de gilgámesh; épica grega; autobiografia em terceira pessoa.
A descrição poética da urbs e a Convenção dos Heróis Fundadores no Livro VIII da Eneida: Hércules, Evandro e Eneias
Authors: Araújo Mota Thiago Eustáquio
Published: August 2019

Neste artigo analisamos um trecho do livro Viii da Eneida no qual o herói troiano visita o sítio da futura Roma, sendo acolhido pelo grego Evandro, fundador de Palanteu, na mesma ocasião em que os árcades comemoram a passagem de hércules pelo lácio. Das margens do tibre até o Palatino, o anfitrião conduz o hospede troiano por espaços que eram familiares ao público da epopeia. A partir do procedimento histórico hermenêutico, problematizamos as escolhas do poeta na compilação de narrativas fundacionais distintas que oferecem, por sua vez, uma etiologia para os monumentos e espaços religiosos da urbs: entre outros, ara Máxima, lupercal, Porta carmental, capitólio. Diferentemente das narrativas de viagem, a construção poética de roma no livro Viii da Eneida reúne aspectos de distintas temporalidades da mesma cidade. com o propósito de compreendermos as referências topográficas da Eneida, para além da análise hermenêutica e exegética do texto latino, dialogamos com a documentação contemporânea a Virgílio, como as obras de Tito Lívio, Dionísio de Halicarnasso, assim como os dados fornecidos pela arqueologia.

Palavras-chave: Eneida; temporalidades narrativas; roma.
Corpo heroico, ideal flaviano: uma leitura da Argonáutica de Valério Flaco
Authors: Taveira Baptista Natan Henrique
Published: August 2019

Neste artigo, interpretam-se as representações corporais heroicas da Argonáutica de Valério flaco para, em seguida, localizá-las politicamente no recém-iniciado Principado de Vespasiano. Primeiramente, apresentam-se as contribuições que o exame do gênero épico mitológico, especialmente dos seus componentes factuais e ficcionais, oferece para a Epistemologia histórica. Em seguida, investigam e analisam-se os aspectos mitopoéticos relacionados ao corpo heroico flaquiano, a partir do espírito agônico e emulativo da tradição literária na antiguidade clássica. constata-se que a construção do herói feita por flaco, bem como da sua dimensão corporal, está assentada primeiramente sobre virtudes atléticas e bélicas, além de expansionistas, como a audácia, a honra, a fama e a glória. assim, flaco atualiza o herói épico ao contexto de emergência dos flávios, no qual era esperada a ênfase na habilidade militar, uma vez que a atual governança havia ascendido pelo domínio dessa aptidão. Finalmente, conclui-se que a épica flaquiana e o ideal heroico de Jasão, em especial, aludem e promovem o novo regime e a recém-fundada dinastia.

Palavras-chave: Argonáutica; Valério flaco; corpo heroico.
Luz, câmera, ação: história e cinema, métodos e fontes
Authors: Morato Zanatto Rafael
Published: August 2019

agUiar, carolina amaral de, carValho, Danielle crepaldi, MoRETTIN, Eduardo, MONTEIRO, Lúcia Ramos e ADAMATTI, Margarida Maria (orgs). Cinema e história: circularidades, arquivos e experiência estética. Porto alegre: Sulina, 2017, 438 p. 1
Introduction to a thematic review: Pragmatics research in Chinese as a second language
Authors: Taguchi Naoko , Li Shuai
Published: August 2019

As Chinese is quickly becoming the language for intercultural communication, rules and norms of interaction in Chinese – how to speak with the level of politeness and formality required in a situation, or to understand another person’s intention communicated indirectly – are critical aspects of learning Chinese. Despite this growing interest in Chinese teaching and research, most studies have focused on formal aspects of Chinese competence (e.g., grammar and character knowledge), and little research has addressed pragmatic aspects of Chinese learning (Taguchi, 2015). To fill this gap, this thematic review presents four empirical studies on pragmatics in Chinese as a second language. Four studies deal with a variety of pragmatic features in Chinese (e.g., sentence final particles, formulaic expressions, request-making forms, mitigation strategies, stance markers) to illustrate how those features can inform us about L2 Chinese learners’ pragmatic competence and development.
Adolescents’ perceptions of social media writing: Has non-standard become the new standard?
Authors: Hilte Lisa , Vandekerckhove Reinhild , Daelemans Walter
Published: August 2019

The present study examines adolescents’ attitudes and perceptions with respect to writing practices on social media. It reports the findings of a survey conducted among 168 Flemish high school students with various socio-demographic profiles. The survey examines linguistic attitudes and awareness of sociolinguistic patterns in computer-mediated communication, as well as relevant language skills. Moreover, the present paper uniquely combines the study of both adolescents’ perceptions and their production of informal online writing, as the participants’ responses to the survey are compared to their peers’ actual online writing practices.

The respondents appear to have a fairly accurate intuition with respect to age and gender patterns in social media writing, but much less so with respect to education-related patterns. Furthermore, while typical chatspeak phenomena are easily identified as such, ordinary spelling mistakes often are not. Strikingly, the teenagers do not claim a high standard language proficiency, although they do state to care about standard language use in formal contexts. Finally, some significant differences were found between participants with distinct socio-demographic profiles, e. g. girls and highly educated teenagers appear to be more sensitive to the potential negative connotations of linguistic features and that sensitivity seems to increase with age.
Beyond sameness and difference: Narrative sense-making in life and literature
Authors: Meretoja Hanna
Published: August 2019

This article analyses two major problems in the dichotomous framing of the question of whether narratives in fiction and “real life” are the same or different. The dichotomy prevents us from seeing, first, that there arebothcrucialsimilaritiesanddifferencesbetween them and, second, that there are important similarities between variants of the “similarity approach”andthe “difference approach”, both of which tend to rely on ahistorical, universalizing and empiricist-positivistic assumptions concerning factuality, raw experience and the non-referentiality of narrative fiction. The article presents as an alternative to both approaches narrative hermeneutics, which sees all narratives as culturally mediated and historically changing interpretative practices but approaches literary narratives as specific modes of making sense of the world – as ones that have truth-value on a different level than non-literary narratives. Narrative hermeneutics shares with (at least some forms of) unnatural narratology and the Örebro School a passion for the uniqueness of literary narratives, but it places the emphasis on the ability of literature to disclose the world to us in existentially charged ways that would not be otherwise culturally available – in ways that open up new possibilities of thought, action and affect.
Imaginary scenarios: On the use and misuse of fiction
Authors: Grishakova Marina , Gramigna Remo , Sorokin Siim
Published: August 2019

This paper argues that the examination of representational (formal) and semantic (referential) features of fictional and factual narratives would be incomplete without discussing specific pragmatic (communicative, performative, heuristic, and cognitive) functions of fiction – how and why “fictions” are used in literature and arts, but also in scientific, philosophical, and everyday discourses. On the one hand, the pragmatic approach blurs the fictional/ factual divide and identifies similarities in the use of fiction across disciplinary borders. On the other, as we argue, to avoid panfictionalism inherent in Vaihinger’s philosophy of “as if” the pragmatic act of boundary-crossing should be accompanied by mapping out new “cross-territorial” forms and distinctions. The paper revises and recasts the “cross-territorial” concept of scenario as a narrative structure and a type of fictional modeling and explores its semantic and pragmatic features.
How to become a medical professor – a comparative analysis of academic requirements in Germany and the United States
Authors: Alawi Seyed Arash , Luketina Rosalia , Krezdorn Nicco , Busch Lukas Fabian , Limbourg Anne , Branski Ludwik , Vogt Peter M. , Jokuszies Andreas
Published: August 2019

Background

The acquisition of a medical professorship represents a significant step in a physician’s academic career. The responsibility as well as the honor and the associated obligations are significant; however, the requirements to become a medical professor vary in Germany.

Objective

We analyzed the variable requirements for prospective medical professors in Germany, with special focus on the tenure track concept and the U.S. system.

Methods

Based on an online research, we queried German medical faculty regulations to obtain a medical professorship within Germany.

Results

We analyzed 35 German universities. On average, 11 publications are required after “venia legendi” to meet professorship (apl) prerequisites (median x̅ = 10, max = 24, min = 6, n = 16), whereas 6 publications with first or last authorship are required on average (x̅ = 6, max = 16, min = 4, n = 26). In most German universities, it takes an average of 4 years after gaining habilitation to apply for a professorship (x̅ = 5 years, max = 6 years, min = 2 years). Candidates for university chair positions, however, can shorten this period by an average of 38%.

Discussion

In the German academic system, the prerequisites to gain a professorship differ among universities. Due to different scientific cooperation and exchange programs, research and academic activities have reached an intense international exchange level. Yet there is no international or even national standardization, quality assurance, and comparability to gain a medical professorship.
Antibacterial, anthelmintic, and analgesic activities of Piper sylvaticum (Roxb.) leaves and in silico molecular docking and PASS prediction studies of its isolated compounds
Authors: Chy Md. Nazim Uddin , Chakrabarty Nishan , Roy Ajoy , Paul Arkajyoti , Emu Khadija Aktar , Dutta Trishala , Dutta Emon , Ferdous Irin , Das Raju , Hasan Md. Jahid , Tasnim Syeda Mashnia
Published: August 2019

Background

In the present study, we investigated the antibacterial, anthelmintic, and analgesic activities of methanol extract of P. sylvaticum leaves (MEPSL) in experimental models. Then, computational analysis (in silico molecular docking and PASS prediction) was performed to determine the potent phytoconstituents of total six isolated compounds of this plant for antibacterial and anthelmintic activities.

Methods

Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical studies were carried out by established methods. In vitro antibacterial activity was determined by disc diffusion technique and anthelmintic activity was tested against Tubifex tubifex worm whereas analgesic activity was determined by the acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice. Molecular docking study was performed using Schrödinger Maestro 10.1 and an online tool used for PASS prediction.

Results

Our phytochemical study revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, and also indicated a substantial amount of phenols (65.83 mg), flavonoids (102.56 mg), and condensed tannins (89.32 mg). MEPSL showed good antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Our result exhibited that MEPSL has strong anthelmintic action compared to standard levamisole. In addition, the extract also showed a dose-dependent and statistically significant analgesic activity at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, body weight. Docking studies showed that piperine and piperlonguminine have the best scores for the tested enzymes. PASS predicted the antibacterial and anthelmintic activity of both phytoconstituents.

Conclusions

This study suggests that MEPSL possess significant antibacterial, anthelmintic, and analgesic activities which could be related to the presence of several phytochemicals. The phytoconstituents, i.e. piperine and piperlonguminine were found to be most effective in computational studies.
A Tale of Two CDs: Archaeological Analysis of Full-Motion Video Formats in Two PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 Games
Authors: Aycock John , Reinhard Andrew , Therrien Carl
Published: August 2019

As an example of how the archaeology of modern/contemporary media can be conducted, we examine the technology behind artifacts with cultural relevance in modern society: video games. In particular, we look at two game artifacts from the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, a game console produced from 1987–1994. A 1× CD-ROM drive could be added on to the console, with a corresponding increase in the amount of data a game could access, and some games took advantage of this capability to include full-motion video (FMV). This digital excavation report details the FMV formats of two such games along with the methodology used to reverse engineer the formats and verify the correctness of the analysis.
A Computationally Assisted Reconstruction of an Ontological Argument in Spinoza’s The Ethics
Authors: Horner Jack K.
Published: August 2019

The comments accompanying Proposition (Prop.) 11 (“God ... necessarily exists”) in Part I of Spinoza’s The Ethics contain sketches of what appear to be at least three more or less distinct ontological arguments. The first of these is problematic even on its own terms. More is true: even the proposition “God exists” (GE), a consequence of Prop. 11, cannot be derived from the definitions and axioms of Part I (the “DAPI”) of The Ethics; thus, Prop. 11 cannot be derived from the DAPI, either. To prove these claims, I use an automated deduction system (ADS) to show that Prop. 11 is independent of the DAPI. I then augment the DAPI with some auxiliary assumptions I believe Spinoza would accept and that sustain an automated derivation of (GE). The results illustrate how an ADS can facilitate the analysis of arguments and yield an apparently novel argument cast in the style of Spinoza.
𝑉-law for random block matrices under the generalized Lindeberg condition
Authors: Girko Vyacheslav L.
Published: August 2019

The V-law under generalized Lindeberg condition for the independent blocks of random matrices having double stochastic matrix of covariances and different expectations of their array is proven.
No Entrepreneurship without Opportunity: The Intersection of Return Migration Research and Entrepreneurship Literature
Authors: Croitoru Alin
Published: August 2019

The article proposes a theoretical discussion at the crossroads of the return migration scholarship with the entrepreneurship research. Its main goal is to build an analytical framework in which entrepreneurial experiences of international return migrants are conceptualized. The fertile theoretical legacy within the study of entrepreneurship along with an idealized view of the positive effects of migration constitute essential premises for understanding the biased outputs of the empirical studies of entrepreneurship upon return to the origin country. Firstly, the article draws on the main lines of theorising opportunities within the Weberian and Schumpeterian theoretical traditions. Secondly, it points out how contemporary studies of entrepreneurship reinforced this perspective and placed great emphasis on individual agents able to benefit from opportunities within the return context. The final part of the paper illustrates several modalities in which scholars concerned with return migration were affected by the mythical image of the entrepreneur. As a corollary, necessity entrepreneurship is sporadically used in this niche of study and it usually has only a complementary role. The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges of transposing entrepreneurship’ theoretical insights into different empirical research designs.
Islamists in Power
Authors: Shalata Ahmed Zaghloul
Published: August 2019

In the first parliamentary elections after Mr. Mubarak’s overthrow in February 2011, the Muslim Brotherhood’s newly formed Freedom and Justice Party had won nearly half the seats in the People’s Assembly. The Muslim Brotherhood, had, over the two previous years, gained political expansion in parliament. The Brotherhood entered into a coalition with other Islamist parties including two Salafist parties, forming an Islamist bloc, but their experience ended with their removal from power and significant changes in the structure of the Brotherhood.

Based on the political programs of the Islamist parties in Egypt, this article seeks to analyze the experience of Islamists in power by focusing on their practical perceptions of the Islamist political system.

The article concludes that the political Islamist organizations lacked a coherent mechanism to propel them from the stage of the organization’s (political party) management to a stage of state administration. Egyptian Islamist groups had no specific perception of the nature of the state, or of an applied model to implement the “Islamic state.” Although these groups had a declared project, which they had been attempting to establish for decades, their focus was solely on discussing the expected outcome they had hoped to achieve, while neglecting to elaborate on how their affairs could be run, once in power. This shortfall was due to an accumulation of the multiple problems the groups had faced, whether they be conceptual reasons of state, power issues, or the organizational obstacles strewn along the paths of the components that comprised the group, which had prevented them, over decades, from overcoming them. Hence, the traditional mechanisms they continued to apply while in power proved inadequate in responding to the crises inherent in the experience of government. They failed to introduce new mechanisms to address the issues as dictated by the necessity for practical experience and solutions once they had attained power.
The Fragmentation of the Palestinian Political Field
Authors: Hilal Jamil
Published: August 2019

The mid-1960s saw the beginnings of the construction of a Palestinian political field after it collapsed in 1948, when, with the British government’s support of the Zionist movement, which succeeded in establishing the state of Israel, the Palestinian national movement was crushed. This article focuses mainly on the Palestinian political field as it developed in the 1960s and 1970s, the beginnings of its fragmentation in the 1990s, and its almost complete collapse in the first decade of this century. It was developed on a structure characterized by the dominance of a center where the political leadership functioned. The center, however, was established outside historic Palestine. This paper examines the components and dynamics of the relationship between the center and the peripheries, and the causes of the decline of this center and its eventual disappearance, leaving the constituents of the Palestinian people under local political leadership following the collapse of the national representation institutions, that is, the political, organizational, military, cultural institutions and sectorial organizations (women, workers, students, etc.) that made up the PLO and its frameworks. The paper suggests that the decline of the political field as a national field does not mean the disintegration of the cultural field. There are, in fact, indications that the cultural field has a new vitality that deserves much more attention than it is currently assigned.
The Social Actor
Authors: Salameh Bilal Awad
Published: August 2019

This article is based on a critical vision that attempts to highlight the importance of the social actor in the Palestinian context as a whole. It includes basic ideas about the author’s understanding and expectations of all the aspects associated with the role and profession of the social actor as a transforming mechanism of issues in the Palestinian context. It broaches fields of work, specialization, and concentration in viewing individual cases as manifesting a nationwide social phenomenon. If we accept that Palestinian society is vulnerable to psychological setbacks, its recovery, according to Fanon (1972) lies in the resistance against the colonizer.
The Syrian Conflict and “Women Terrorists”
Authors: Makanda Joseph , Matambo Emmanuel , Mncibi Vumile
Published: August 2019

Studies on terrorism have often taken the usual bias towards studying and analyzing phenomena from a male-dominated perspective. The current article looks at jihadi feminism as a growing trend in contemporary terrorism. The paper argues that there is an increase of women from both traditionally Muslim and traditionally non-Muslim regions joining ISIS and taking part in the Syrian war on the side of Islamic extremists. The paper argues that women from Western countries, because of their understanding of feminism, are more combatant in championing religious terrorism than are women who have been brought up in Islamic role, who see their role mainly as that of helper of terrorist activists rather than active participants.
Reforming Arab Reason
Authors: Shibib Khalid
Published: August 2019

As a humanitarian worker who was professionally involved for decades in crisis-and war-shaken countries, the author strove to understand the political, socioeconomic, and cultural factors contributing to conflicts. This contextualization, with a focus on Arab countries, confirmed what other thinkers found: the majority of political, economic, social, cultural, religious, and finally humanitarian crises in the Arab world are man-made and can be attributed to both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Central to the latter appears to be a shared cultural construct that can be termed “Arab reason.” This essay tries to present information on various aspects of the crisis; to understand why reform efforts come so late and why are they are more difficult for Arabs than for other Muslims. It continues by looking at the knowledge systems that govern Arab reason and their evolution, including the decisive role of the religious knowledge system. From there, it proposes some reform ideas including a renewed legal reasoning process with the goal of a future-oriented, knowledge-based, and inclusive Arab Islamic vision. A pragmatic way forward could be an additional unifying eighth legal school (madhhab/madhāhib) to counter sectarian conflicts and violence. This essay is built on a targeted literature search and is not a comprehensive review of the growing literature generated by distinguished thinkers on various aspects of Arab Islamic identity.
Palestinian Protests
Authors: Kurd Dana El
Published: August 2019

This paper argues that both the institutions and the social cohesion of Palestinians in Jerusalem were dealt a heavy blow following the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994. The Palestinian Authority increasingly demobilized Palestinians within Jerusalem and eroded traditional institutions. Nevertheless, the Israeli occupation’s intention to repress Jerusalemites by shutting down their organizations has inadvertently opened up new opportunities for collective action. Since then, Jerusalemites have begun reviving traditional institutions and working to address Israeli policies. This article incorporates new quantitative and qualitative data on the most recent waves of protest to make the argument that social cohesion is crucial to understanding protest capacity in East Jerusalem today.
The Trap of Neoliberalism for GCC Countries
Authors: Al-Beraidi Abdullah
Published: August 2019

This study investigates the extent to which neoliberalism could be the cornerstone for economic reform and diversification in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It seeks to determine the most important effects of neoliberalism as well as its social and economic costs, starting from the premise that economics is by and large a social science. The study is aimed at exploring the possibilities of crafting an economic doctrine suited to the conditions of these countries and capable of satisfying their current and future needs with the aim of fostering sustained development and stability on a sound basis. In its quest for answers, it uses a descriptive, critical and interpretive methodology in an analytical framework that combines the views of prominent economists and social scientists while paying special attention to the scientific and critical views of Arab Gulf thinkers and their analysts. The study looks at what it called “the five major defects” of neoliberalism: an unfair class system; lack of social solidarity; the debt trap; communal protests; and marketization and commoditization. Five warnings were made to the citizens of the Gulf States: to avoid impoverishment; to be wary of debt; to avoid ventures; to be wary of predators; and to be wary of intruders. The study tackled the twin issues of opting for limited liberalism and the need for reform to allow the economy breathing space.
The Modernization of the Hawza?
Authors: Kassem Ali
Published: August 2019

A hawza is the establishment responsible for the training of Shia Islam’s imams, preachers, professors, and researchers. For hundreds of years, its educational model has involved the teaching of Fikh, Usul, philosophy, Quranic studies and Arabic language. Over the past few decades, the social sciences—the systematic study of man and society which had emerged in the West—have been slowly making their way into these institutions, alongside a number of other changes. This article investigates, qualitatively, the religious training of Shia men of religion in Lebanon in order to explore the changes taking place within this institution. Based on a triangulation of participant observation, interviews with professors, students, and stakeholders, as well as content analysis of certain course material, it claims a hawza in metamorphosis. While structural and material alterations have straightforwardly made their way into the institution, content and curricular ones have faced more difficulty. These changes reveal plenty about both Islamic education and Shia Islam in Lebanon’s public sphere. Additionally, the article raises questions and insights regarding decolonial theory, Lebanon’s future, and the geopolitics of the Arab world.
China’s Military Diplomacy towards Arab Countries in Africa’s Peace and Security
Authors: Elmahly Hend , Sun Degang
Published: August 2019

China’s security concept is evolving, and its participation in Africa’s Arab countries’ peacekeeping is transforming itself from aloof bystander to active player, and from multilateralism to both multi- and unilateralism. The establishment of China’s logistics base in Djibouti does not signify a sudden change in China’s African foreign policy; instead, change has been gradual and tangible and began with the evolution of China’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and engagement in Africa’s infrastructure projects, in parallel with China’s increasing global presence. The base serves as a logistics and support facility for Chinese peacekeepers, as well as a naval facility to support anti-piracy missions off the coast of Somalia as part of an international anti-piracy operation. Moreover, the base helps China to ensure its maritime and commercial interests and safeguard Chinese nationals in West Asia and the African continent. However, the United States and the West are concerned with the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications of China’s logistics base in Djibouti. The geography of Djibouti has led to the rising of geopolitical rivalries between the great powers, which may intensify in the coming years.
Power and the Security Sector
Authors: Camps-Febrer Blanca , Farrés-Fernández Guillem
Published: August 2019

Following the long trail of critique that emerged from first- and second-generation security sector reform (SSR) programs, this paper introduces a new theoretical framework for the socio-political analysis of the security sector that will enhance the potential for reform and transformation. This introduction to the special issue gathers shared considerations among authors researching the security sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and promotes a dialogue for the improvement of the analysis of the sector within its socio-political context. Drawing from Sociology of Power, we aim to provide analytical and theoretical tools in order to develop a new conception of the “security sector,” which differs from what mainstream academia, think tanks, and public policies have traditionally dealt with.
Securitization Dysfunction
Authors: Mustafa Tahani
Published: August 2019

This article contributes to the critical discourse on security sector reform (SSR) by explicitly acknowledging its political dimensions and implications. Through a consideration of the role of SSR in international processes of securitization and state-building, it highlights the paradoxes implicit in this model, and the subsequent consequences of its implementation on the ground using the case of occupied Palestinian territories where SSR has significantly altered the local security landscape.
Egypt’s Military Post-2011
Authors: Hussein Ebtisam , Martino Claudia De
Published: August 2019

Seven years after the 2011 uprisings, the Egyptian military shows no evident signs of internal cracks. This article argues that the Egyptian army’s unrivalled dominance, both in politics and within the security apparatus, could be explained as the result of three combined factors: substantial economic interests, a long-time legitimacy buttressed by the army’s active involvement in welfare and development initiatives, and the reliance on universal conscription as the main avenue for the successful accommodation of class and social cleavages—key elements underpinning the army’s status of supreme political arbitrator in Egyptian politics.
The Transformation of the Power Structure and Security in Libya
Authors: Feliu Laura , Aarab Rachid
Published: August 2019

The Libyan security sector has undergone a profound transformation since the 17 February Revolution in 2011. The Jamahiriya experience gave way to a period in which violence ceased to be predominantly a state monopoly, and a series of armed conflicts took place with important consequences for the security sector. This article applies the Sociology of Power to an analysis of the security sector as a complement to other theoretical focuses. This approach helps to explain the transformation of the sector from a personal, unified system to a fragmented system with territorial divisions associated with different competing power centers.
Socialism or Neoliberal Barbarism
Authors: Da’na Seif
Published: August 2019

Over the past sixty years, contemporary Arab political history has witnessed two significant shifts, each of which has resulted in enormous social, economic, cultural, and ideological transformations. The experience of the Arab world is not unique; rather, it is part of the contemporary “world story” in general, and experience of “the societies of the South” in particular, despite the uniqueness of the Arab experience, in general, and the experience of individual country. This review reconstructs the Arab experience since the early 1950s and distinguishes two historical stages economically, politically, and ideologically. The first stage is the era of decolonization and the rise of Arab socialism (1952–70); the second stage is the era of globalization of colonialism or neoliberal capitalism (1980–2011), which in the opinion of the author is responsible for the unfolding of events in the Arab world since the end of 2010. The goal of this comparison is intended as political and historical criticism of the current Arab condition. Comparing and contrasting both stages, and reconsidering the model and experience presented by President Gamal Abdel Nasser, it is concluded that the Arab nation is facing the choice between two critical options: socialism or neoliberal barbarism.
Sovereignty in Morocco
Authors: Achouri Mohamed Fouad El
Published: August 2019

This article tackles the issue of sovereignty in the Moroccan political system and argues that there are formally two sources of legitimacy, royal and democratic, with deeper implications for decision-making and political power. The article analyzes this phenomena as enshrined in the Moroccan constitution of 2011 and identifies the characteristics of a political system quite different from known democratic systems. This concept of political power makes the elected institutions play a secondary representative function compared with the high and transcendent representation of the royal institution.
Saudi Arabia and UAE in the Horn of Africa
Authors: Mansour Shady Ahmed , Ahmed Yara Yehia
Published: August 2019

This article explains the active policies adopted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) towards the Horn of Africa, which could be attributed to the existence of rival regional powers, especially Iran and Turkey, and their adoption of policies deemed threatening to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. It uses “alliance politics” to explain how both countries are containing regional threats by building alliances with countries in the Horn of Africa by promoting military and trade relations and boosting development.
Antidiabetic medication and risk of dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes: a nested case–control study
Authors: Wium-Andersen Ida Kim , Osler Merete , Jørgensen Martin Balslev , Rungby Jørgen , Wium-Andersen Marie Kim
Published: August 2019

Objective

Diabetes is a risk factor for dementia, but whether antidiabetic medication decreases the risk is unclear. We examined the association between antidiabetic medication and dementia.

Design

We performed a nested case–control study within a cohort of all 176 250 patients registered with type 2 diabetes in the Danish National Diabetes Register between 1995 and 2012. This population was followed for dementia diagnosis or anti-dementia medication use until May 2018. Using risk-set sampling, each dementia case (n = 11 619) was matched on follow-up time and calender year of dementia with four controls randomly selected among cohort members without dementia (n = 46 476). Ever use and mean daily defined dose of antidiabetic medication was categorized in types (insulin, metformin, sulfonylurea and glinides combined, glitazone, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) analogs, sodium-glucose transport protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and acarbose).

Methods

Conditional logistic regression models were fitted to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for dementia associated with antidiabetic medication use, adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

Use of metformin, DPP4 inhibitors, GLP1 analogs, and SGLT2 inhibitors were associated with lower odds of dementia after multible adjustments (ORs of 0.94 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.89–0.99), 0.80 (95% CI 0.74–0.88), 0.58 (95% CI: 0.50–0.67), and 0.58 (95% CI: 0.42–0.81), respectively), with a gradual decrease in odds of dementia for each increase in daily defined dose. Analyses of the most frequent treatment regimes did not show any synergistic effects of combined treatment.

Conclusion

Use of metformin, DPP4 inhibitors, GLP1 analogs and SGLT2 inhibitors was associated with lower risk of dementia in patients with diabetes.
Proteomic analysis of uterine fluid of fertile and subfertile hens before and after insemination
Authors: Riou Cindy , Brionne Aurélien , Cordeiro Luiz , Harichaux Grégoire , Gargaros Audrey , Labas Valérie , Gautron Joël , Gérard Nadine
Published: August 2019

Avian uterine fluid (UF) and uterovaginal sperm storage tubules (SST) are key components in accepting sperm in SST, maintaining sperm function for several weeks, releasing sperm from SST and their ascent through the uterus. To improve the understanding of sperm storage processes requires investigating UF and SST. This study aimed to identify proteins modulated by sperm in the hen’s genital tract and to highlight their role during sperm storage. Two genetic lines of hens exhibiting long (F+) or short (F−) sperm storage ability were used. GeLC MS/MS analysis was used to establish a quantitative inventory of proteins regulated after insemination in both lines. The proteomic data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD013514. Immunohistochemistry was used to identify high (ANXA4/ANXA5/OCX32) and low (HSPA8/PIGR) fertility markers in the uterovaginal junction. Our results demonstrated that sperm induced a significant and rapid change in the UF proteomic content and also in the SST epithelium. In F+ hens, mobilization of the ANXA4 protein in the apical part of SST cells after insemination was associated with increased levels of some proteoglycans and binding proteins, and also antimicrobial eggshell matrix protein (OCX32) in the UF. We also observed increased levels of lipid transporters involved in egg formation (VTG1-2, APOA1-4-H). In F− hens, insemination induced increased levels of PIGR in both UF and SST, of ANXA5 in SST, of UF enzymes exhibiting metallopeptidase activity and mucins. In conclusion, sperm induced significant changes in the UF proteomic content. This study also provides evidence that the SST immune system plays a major role in regulating sperm storage.
The Secret Language of Bulgarian Embroidery
Authors: Veleva Petya , Jordanova Lina , Kiriakova Gabriela , Angelova Nadejda
Published: August 2019

As contemporary members of an informational society we are often separated from the heritage and art works and at the same time the global Internet is fostering our abilities to search for deeper meanings. The current study looks at Bulgarian embroidery art with a focus on the symbolism in the ornaments in the embroidery
The conducted survey among Trakia University's students in Bulgaria aimed to find out the level of their common knowledge of the symbolism and the secret language of the Bulgarian embroidery. The results show that the knowledge of young people is not sufficiently in-depth which motivated the team of IT teachers to apply interdisciplinary methods of integrating the geometrized ornaments in the information technology education process in order to preserve this valuable knowledge related to Bulgarian embroidery.
STUDY OF RESULTS BETWEEN INITIAL AND FINAL SPECIFIC TESTS IN WOMEN WITH NORMAL PREGNANCY
Authors: Nesheva Ir.
Published: August 2019

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to achieve a control model of basic functional indicators established by comparative analysis between the results of initial and final anthropometric and functional tests in women with normal pregnancy.
METHODS: The research was done among 112 individuals, all Bulgarians, in the period 2015-2018, ages 21 to 31 years old. In order to fulfil the aim of the research we used: functional tests for assessing the effects of our original program build for the specific needs of pregnant women. The program content was branded under our family name: “Gym program for pregnant women Nesheva” and was validated in our doctoral thesis and then published in a book (under patent).
RESULTS: During our original gymnastics program was registered data by specific tests and the analysis has shown that the average values (Mean ± SD) of the measured parameters, in the three periods of time (during the pregnancy) are statistically different (p <0.05), which is a natural process resulting from the changes taking place in the body of the woman with the progression of pregnancy. These values are interpreted as optimal prenatal weight gain, but probably gymnastics for pregnant women also favour the maintenance of normal values. Studied indicators are presented with the results of the Mean ± SD of the blood circulation parameters and the vital capacity of the pregnant women.
CONCLUSIONS: The results in our study are in support to establishing a system for collecting and processing information on the clinical status, general and functional characteristics of pregnant women is a reliable basis for validating standards for regulated inclusion in physical activity programs in normal pregnancy. Indicators of blood circulation and vital capacity in relative resting conditions of pregnant women when enrolled in the gymnastics program are within the limit of normal.
A SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF RURALITY IN ITALY USING A PLS-SEM APPROACH
Authors: Galluzzo N.
Published: August 2019

In Italy there has been a significant decrease of farms which undertake an important role in rural environmental protection and in the socio-economic development in rural areas.
PURPOSE: The aim of this paper was to assess by a quantitative methodology the index of rurality in Italian farms part of the FADN dataset since 2004 to 2016.
METHODS: The methodology has used the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling aimed at estimating the notable cause-effect relationships among all economic variables.
RESULTS: Findings have pointed out as the variable financial subsidies allocated by the CAP and the farm specialization have influenced the index of rurality.
CONCLUSIONS: For the future development of rural areas it is important to support financially rural areas; in particular subsidies should be addressed to less favored areas in order to reduce their socio-economic marginalization.
Simultaneous identification and quantification of three biologically active xanthones in Garcinia species using a rapid UHPLC-PDA method
Authors: Kureshi Azazahemad A. , Dholakiya Chirag , Hussain Tabaruk , Mirgal Amit , Salvi Siddhesh P. , Barua Pritam C. , Talukdar Madhumita , Beena C. , Kar Ashish , Zachariah T. John , Kumari Premlata , Dhanani Tushar , Singh Raghuraj , Kumar Satyanshu
Published: August 2019

Xanthones are well recognized as chemotaxonomic markers for the plants belonging to the genus Garcinia. Xanthones have many interesting pharmacological properties. Efficient extraction and rapid liquid chromatography methods are essentially required for qualitative and quantitative determination of xanthones in their natural sources. In the present investigation, fruit rinds extracts of 8 Garcinia species from India, were prepared with solvents of varying polarity. Identification and quantification of 3 xanthones, namely, α-mangostin, β-mangostin, and γ-mangostin in these extracts were carried out using a rapid and validated ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection (UHPLC–PDA) method at 254 nm. γ-Mangostin (3.97 ± 0.05 min) was first eluted, and it was followed by α-mangostin (4.68 ± 0.03 min) and β-mangostin (5.60 ± 0.04 min). The calibration curve for α-mangostin, β-mangostin, and γ- mangostin was linear in the concentration range 0.781–100 μg/mL. α-Mangostin was quantified in all 4 extracts of Garcinia mangostana. Its content (%) in hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of G. mangostana was 10.36 ± 0.10, 4.88 ± 0.01, 3.98 ± 0.004, and 0.044 ± 0.002, respectively. However, the content of α-mangostin was below the limit of detection or limit of quantification in the extracts of other Garcinia species. Similarly, β-mangostin was quantified only in hexane (1.17 ± 0.01%), chloroform (0.39 ± 0.07%), and ethyl acetate (0.28 ± 0.03%) extracts of G. mangostana. γ-Mangostin was quantified in all 4 extracts of G. mangostana. Its content (%) in hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of G. mangostana was 0.84 ± 0.01, 1.04 ± 0.01, 0.63 ± 0.04, and 0.15 ± 0.01, respectively. γ-Mangostin was also quantified in hexane (0.09 ± 0.01), chloroform (0.05 ± 0.01), and ethyl acetate (0.03 ± 0.01) extracts of G. cowa, ethyl acetate extract of G. cambogia (0.02 ± 0.01), G. indica (0.03 ± 0.01), and G. loniceroides (0.07 ± 0.01). Similarly, γ-mangostin was quantified in 3 extracts of G. morella, namely, hexane (0.03 ± 0.01), chloroform (0.04 ± 0.01), and methanol (0.03 ± 0.01). In the case of G. xanthochymus, γ-mangostin was quantified in chloroform (0.03 ± 0.001) extract only. α-Mangostin and β-mangostin were not detected in any of 4 extracts of G. pedunculata.