bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasminogen Depletion during Streptokinase Treatment or Two-Chain Urokinase Incubation Correlates with Decreased Clot Lysability Ex Vivo and In Vitro
Authors: Önundarson Páll T , Haraldsson H Magnús , Bergmann Lena , Francis Charles W , Marder Victor J
Published: July 2018

The relationship between lytic state variables and ex vivo clot lysability was investigated in blood drawn from patients during streptokinase administration for acute myocardial infarction. A lytic state was already evident after 5 min of treatment and after 20 min the plasminogen concentration had decreased to 24%, antiplasmin to 7% and fibrinogen 0.2 g/1. Lysis of radiolabeled retracted clots in the patient plasmas decreased from 37 ± 8% after 5 min to 21 ± 8% at 10 min and was significantly lower (8 ± 9%, p <0.005) in samples drawn at 20, 40 and 80 min. Clot lysability correlated positively with the plasminogen concentration (r = 0.78, p = 0.003), but not with plasmin activity. Suspension of radiolabeled clots in normal plasma pre-exposed to 250 U/ml two-chain urokinase for varying time to induce an in vitro lytic state was also associated with decreasing clot lysability in direct proportion with the duration of prior plasma exposure to urokinase. The decreased lysability correlated with the time-dependent reduction in plasminogen concentration (r = 0.88, p <0.0005). Thus, clot lysability decreases in conjunction with the development of the lytic state and the associated plasminogen depletion. The lytic state may therefore limit reperfusion during thrombolytic treatment.
Native and Non-glycosylated Recombinant Single-chain Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator Are Recognized by Different Receptor Systems on Rat Parenchymal Liver Cells
Authors: Kaaden Marieke E van der , Rijken Dingeman C , Groeneveld Eleonore , Berkel Theo J C van , Kuiper Johan
Published: July 2018

The recognition systems mediating the clearance of glycosylated high molecular weight single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (HMW-scu-PA, produced in human embryonic kidney cells) and recombinant non-glycosylated scu-PA (rscu-PA, produced in E. coli) were analyzed by studying their binding charactaristics to freshly isolated rat parenchymal liver cells.

The binding of 125I-HMW-scu-PA at 4° C was calcium-dependent and of high affinity (Kd = 37.6 nM) and could be inhibited by low molecular weight two-chain u-PA (LMW-tcu-PA) and lactose, but not by the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP)-associated 39-kDa protein (RAP), rscu-PA or a mutant form lacking amino acids 11-135 (Delta 125-rscu-PA). Removal of the carbohydrate side chain of HMW-scu-PA by treatment with N-glycosidase F, completely reduced the specific binding to the parenchymal cells and strongly reduced its competition with 125I-HMW-scu-PA in cell binding.

Recombinant scu-PA also bound with high affinity (Kd= 38.7 nM) to the parenchymal liver cells. The binding of 125I-rscu-PA could be competed for by unlabeled rscu-PA while Delta 125-rscu-PA, LMW-tcu-PA or lactose were ineffective. In contrast to HMW-scu-PA, binding of 125I-rscu-PA could be effectively inhibited by RAP (Ki = 1.1 nM), while also its association and degradation, as determined at 37° C, were inhibited by RAP. Pretreatment of the parenchymal cells with proteinase K supplied further evidence for the involvement of two different receptor systems. The binding of rscu-PA was decreased for 91%, while that of HMW-scu-PA showed a decrease of 51%.

It is suggested that native HMW-scu-PA is bound and degraded by the rat parenchymal liver cells via a lectin-like recognition site, while non-glycosylated recombinant scu-PA is bound and degraded by rat parenchymal liver cells via the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP). The differences in recognition system for native and recombinant proteins by liver cells suggest that the glycosylation of recombinant proteins, as obtained in mammalian expression systems, can be important for their physiological fate and their pharmacological application.
Protein Tyrosine Phosphorylation in Human Platelets during Shear Stress-Induced Platelet Aggregation (SIPA) Is Regulated by Glycoprotein (GP) Ib/IX as well as GP IIb/IIIa and Requires Intact Cytoskeleton and Endogenous ADP
Authors: Oda Atsushi , Yokoyama Kenji , Murata Mitsuru , Tokuhira Michihide , Nakamura Kosei , Handa Makoto , Watanabe Kiyoaki , Ikeda Yasuo
Published: July 2018

Shear stress-induced platelet aggregation (SIPA) may be essential in thrombus formation in pathologically stenotic arteries. Intracellular events during SIPA are, however, poorly understood. Washed platelets were exposed to shear stress (108 dyne/cm2) in the presence of von Willebrand factor (vWf, 10 μg/ml) and 1 mM CaCl2 for various time intervals, and then lyzed in SDS. Platelet proteins were separated by 10% SDS-PAGE and tyrosine phosphorylated proteins were detected by immunoblotting with an anti-phosphotyrosine monoclonal antibody. Increased tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins of 130, 100, 85, 74, 70, 64, 58, and 40 kDa was observed within 30 s after the beginning of exposure of platelets to high shear force and the degree of tyrosine phosphorylation continued to increase up to approximately 2 min after the exposure. A monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against vWf-binding domain of glycoprotein (GP) Ibα (GUR83-35), anti-vWf MoAb that inhibits binding of vWf to GPIbα (NMC-4), or a MoAb against GP IIb/IIIa complex (AP-2) inhibited SIPA as well as tyrosine phosphorylation of these proteins. Apyrase (an ADP scavenger, 2 U/ml), EDTA (5 mM), or RGDS peptide (200 μg/ml) also had inhibitory effects on both SIPA and tyrosine phosphorylation. However, Cytochalasin D (2 μM) or staurosporin (1 μM) did not affect SIPA, while they inhibited SIPA-associated tyrosine phosphorylation of those proteins. SIPA-associated tyrosine phosphorylation is a novel post-aggregatory pathway in signal transduction, which is dependent on the binding of vWf to GP Ib/IX and GP IIb/IIIa, endogenous ADP, and intact cytoskeleton.
Comparison of the Relative Fibrinogenolytic, Fibrinolytic and Thrombolytic Properties of Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Urokinase in Vitro
Authors: Matsuo O , Rijken D C , Collen D
Published: July 2018

The relative fibrinogenolytic, fibrinolytic and thrombolytic properties of human tissue plasminogen activator and human urokinase were compared in purified systems, in whole human plasma and in a system composed of a radioactive human blood clot (125I-fibrinogen) hanging in circulating human plasma. The human tissue plasminogen activator was highly purified from the culture fluid of a human melanoma cell line.

In purified systems composed of fibrinogen or fibrin, plasminogen and α2-antiplasmin as well as in whole plasma, tissue plasminogen activator digested fibrin without degrading fibrinogen significantly. Urokinase did not have this specific fibrinolytic effect.

In the circulating plasma system, the degree of fibrinolysis was proportional to the amount of activator added, tissue plasminogen activator being about 10 times more efficient than urokinase. In addition, tissue plasminogen activator appeared to cause negligible fibrinogen degradation. Tissue plasminogen activator still induced significant thrombolysis at a concentration of 10 IU per ml whereas no effect of urokinase was observed at 20 IU per ml. Infusion of 100 IU (1 (μg) of tissue plasminogen activator per ml resulted in moderate activation of the fibrinolytic system as judged from a decrease of plasminogen and α2-antiplasmin to 40-50 percent. Nevertheless, extensive fibrinolysis (50 to 80 percent of radioactivity released after 12 hrs) and only very limited fibrinogenolysis were observed. An equivalent amount of urokinase (100 IU per ml) only induced approximately 15 percent lysis in 12 hrs. At higher concentrations of urokinase (260 IU per ml or more) extensive activation of the fibrinolytic system was obtained as evidenced by a depletion of plasminogen, α2-antiplasmin and fibrinogen. This was associated with extensive fibrinolysis (approximately 60 percent after 12 hrs). It is concluded that human tissue plasminogen activator is a more specific and effective fibrinolytic-thrombolytic agent than human urokinase.
Sustained Fibrinolysis After Administration of t-PA Despite Its Short Half-Life in the Circulation
Authors: Eisenberg Paul R , Sherman Laurence A , Tiefenbrunn Alan J , Ludbrook Philip A , Sobel Burton E , Jaffe Allan S
Published: July 2018

To characterize the duration of the fibrinolytic response to tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and streptokinase (SK) in patients with acute myocardial infarction we serially assayed crosslinked fibrin degradation products (XL-FDP) and Bβ15-42 fibrinopeptide. Use of specific monoclonal antibodies permitted quantification and differentiation of fibrin from fibrinogen degradation products. Marked elevations of XL-FDP occurred within 1 hour after administration of t-PA (n = 13) or SK (n = 35) to >1000 ng/ml in 79% of the patients. All patients given t-PA exhibited elevations of XL-FDP >1000 ng/ml, most exhibited values >5000 ng/ml (79% of patients). In contrast 6 of the patients given SK failed to exhibit XL-FDP >1000 ng/ml. XL-FDP >5000 ng/ml occurred in only 14%. The difference in the response to t-PA compared to SK was particularly striking 7 hours or more after administration of activator at which time XL-FDP were markedly elevated in patients given t-PA (5821 ± 1683 ng/ ml) compared with decreasing values in patients given SK (2924 ± 1186 ng/ml) (p <0.01). Levels of Bβ315-42 were significantly higher after t-PA compared with SK beginning 3 hours after treatment, consistent with a greater intensity of fibrinolytic response to t-PA. Marked elevations of this short lived degradation product of fibrin (t1/2 = 10-20 minutes) in the samples drawn late after administration of t-PA (44.3 ±12.8 nM) but not after SK (11.7 ± 4.5 nM) confirmed prolonged fibrinolytic activity of plasmin after t-PA. There was no discernible relationship between the extent of fibrinolysis as assessed by XL-FDP and Bβ 15-42 and the total dose of t-PA administered or the duration of the infusion. Elevations of XL-FDP invariably occurred after SK, and were not significantly different in patients with or without recanalization. Thus “clinical success” of coronary thrombolysis appears to depend on a favorable balance between thrombosis and fibrinolysis rather than the intensity of fibrinolysis alone. The prolonged fibrinolytic activity after t-PA appears to reflect the enhanced binding of this activator to fibrin and is likely to result in more sustained and hence more effective fibrinolysis with t-PA compared to SK despite the short half-life of t-PA (t1/2 = 6 minutes) in the circulation.
Vitamin K-Dependent Carboxylase: Increased Efficiency of the Carboxylation Reaction
Authors: Soute Berry A M , Ulrich Magda M W , Vermeer Cees
Published: July 2018

The in vitro vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of peptide- or protein-bound glutamate residues is generally studied in detergent-solubilized microsomes from rat or cow liver. Under the conditions usually employed, the efficiency of the carboxylation reaction is low (less than 1% of the carboxylatable residues is converted into gammacarboxyglutamate). Here we describe that this efficiency may be raised to 30% by carrying out the following adaptations: 1) carboxylase was purified about 100-fold from the solubilized microsomes, so that the enzyme was obtained in a highly concentrated form and could be added in excess; 2) the HCO-
3 concentration in the reaction mixtures was raised to 50 mM and 3) a substrate was selected (decarboxylated osteocalcin from bovine bone) the Km of which had been shown to be low (10 pM) and it was added in rate-limiting amounts. Besides the fact that under these conditions the carboxylation reaction occurred with a higher efficiency than before, the adaptations also enabled us to express the carboxylation activity in terms of moles CO2 incorporated per mole of substrate.
Formation of Activated Protein C and Inactivation of Cell-Bound Thrombin by Antithrombin III at the Surface of Cultured Vascular Endothelial Cells - A Comparative Study of Two Anticoagulant Mechanisms
Authors: Delvos Ulrich , Meusel Petra , Preissner Klaus T , Müller-Berghaus Gert
Published: July 2018

Intact vascular endothelium provides several anticoagulant mechanisms for the maintenance of blood fluidity and the prevention of thrombosis. High-affinity binding of proteolytic active thrombin to thrombomodulin at the cell surface effectively facilitates the activation of the potent anticoagulant protein C (PC). Rapid inactivation of cell-bound thrombin by antithrombin III (AT III) accelerated by heparin-like structures represents another anticoagulant mechanism. In the present investigation the interference of these two events has been studied. Inhibition of thrombin bound to cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) by AT III and the effect of the inhibitor on the activation of PC has been studied using purified components of bovine origin. Exposure of thrombin (45 nM) with prewashed confluent BAEC-monolayers for 10 min resulted in the binding of 12% thrombin. The subsequent incubation with various concentrations (0.3-2.4 μM) of ATIII revealed no acceleration of the inhibition of thrombin by ATIII at the endothelial cell surface when compared with the uncatalyzed fluid phase reaction. However, heparin added to the reaction mixture substantially increased the inactivation of cell-bound thrombin. Modified ATIII that did not possess heparin cofactor activity presented a comparable inactivation pattern for endothelial cell bound-thrombin as native ATIII indicating that heparin-like structures did not accelerate the interaction. When PC (32 nM) and ATIII (1.8 μM) competed for thrombin bound to BAEC, activation of PC was demonstrated within the initial 6 min of the incubation amounting to 62% of the activated PC formation in the absence of ATIII. Preincubation of BAEC with blocking antibodies against ATIII excluded a possible influence of BAEC-bound ATIII on the capacity of cell-bound thrombin to activate PC. The results suggest that an enhancing mechanism for the inactivation of thrombin by ATIII was not operative at the surfaces of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells, but instead, appreciable amounts of activated PC become generated in the presence of an excess of ATIII.
Effects of an Enzymatically Depolymerized Heparin as Compared with Conventional Heparin in Healthy Volunteers
Authors: Mätzsch Thomas , Bergqvist David , Hedner Ulla , Østergaard Per
Published: July 2018

A low molecular weight heparin (LMW-heparin) with a mean molecular weight of 4900 dalton was prepared by controlled enzymatic depolymerization of conventional porcine mucosal heparin. The effects of 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 U (Xal; 29,58 and 116 mg) on factor Xa inhibition (Xal), factor Ila inhibition (Hal), APTT, AT III and platelet count were compared to those of 5,000 U (Xal; 26 mg) of conventional heparin given s. c. to 6 healthy volunteers. 5,000 U (Xal; 58 mg) of LMW-heparin was given i. v. A dose related response with regard to the Xal and the Ila-inhibitory activities with peak values at 4 hours after the s. c. injections was obtained. An increase of the Xal/IIal ratio over the time after injection was seen only after i. v. administration of the LMW-heparin. The APTT was only slightly prolonged and remained within normal range after s. c. injection. AT III and platelet counts were unaffected. The biological half life of the LMW-heparin was 111 minutes if assayed by Xa inhibition, 76 minutes if assayed by Ila inhibition and 40 minutes if assayed by APTT. A strong correlation between the Xal activities obtained and body weight was seen, indicating that LMW-heparin should be administered individually according to body weight.
Significant Reduction in the Binding of a Monoclonal Antibody (LYP 18) Directed Against the IIb/IIIa Glycoprotein Complex to Platelets of Patients Having Undergone Extracorporeal Circulation
Authors: Dechavanne M , Ffrench M , Pages J , Ffrench P , Boukerche H , Bryon P A , McGregor J L
Published: July 2018

Extracorporeal circulation (ECC) used in open heart surgery gives rise to several hemostatic defects. This work investigates the effect of ECC on patient platelets membrane glycoproteins II b/ IIIa. A monoclonal antibody (LYP 18) directed against the IIb/ IIIa complex was used on patient platelets in binding and flow cytometry studies, before and at the end of ECC. An antithrombospondin (LYP 8) monoclonal antibody and a monoclonal antibody (LYP 7) directed against an a-granule glycoprotein of 136 kdaltons, present on the platelet surface after secretion, were used in binding studies together with electron microscopy to assess the release of α-granules.

Results obtained in 7 patients show a significant reduction (p <0.02) in the number of LYP 18 monoclonal antibody binding to platelets having undergone ECC (n = 49,725 ± 16,275) compared to platelets drawn before ECC (n = 72,671 ± 13,302). Flow cytometry studies indicate a decrease (p <0.02) in the percentage of platelets bearing the LYP 18 determinant following ECC (75 ± 12% vs 66 ± 14%). Binding of monoclonal antibodies LYP 8 and LYP 7 and electron microscopy studies of patient platelets having undergone ECC do not show degranulation. These results suggest possible cleavage of the IIb/IIIa complex following ECC but no release of α-granules.
Breastfeeding and the Benefits of Lactation for Women's Health
Authors: Del Ciampo Ieda Regina Lopes , Del Ciampo Luiz Antonio
Published: July 2018

The offer of the maternal breast to the baby is an unquestionable right of mothers and their children, and all efforts should be made to promote, follow and maintain exclusive breastfeeding for up to 6 months and supplement it until the child completes 2 years of age. Many publications are available in the literature about the qualities of breast milk, its benefits and health repercussions, stimulating the practice of breastfeeding and supporting campaigns for its implementation. However, although it is widely known that breastfeeding is an important step in the reproductive process of women and its practice offers benefits to both mother and child, most of the available information highlights the benefits of breast milk for children, while mention of the effects of breastfeeding on the health of the mother is usually neglected. Thus, the objective of the present study is to highlight the multiple benefits of breastfeeding for the physical and emotional health of the nursing mother. The authors consulted articles published in the databases PubMed, Virtual Health Library and Web of Science using the keywords breastfeeding, breast milk, lactation and maternal health.
Can Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Predict Intraoperative Autograft Size for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction? A Systematic Review
Authors: Agarwal Suhail , de SA Darren , Peterson Devin C. , Parmar Daniel , Simunovic Nicole , Ogilvie Rick , Musahl Volker , Ayeni Olufemi R.
Published: July 2018

This systematic review explored the utility of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a tool for predicting intraoperative graft size for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Three databases (EMBASE, PubMed, and MEDLINE) were searched in November 2017 for English-language studies of all levels of evidence that aimed to correlate preoperative MRI measurements of common primary ACL autograft sources to intraoperative measurements of the harvested graft. Two reviewers applied predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria to independently complete title, abstract, and full-text review of eligible studies. Data abstraction, quality assessment, and descriptive statistics are presented. A systematic screen of 930 titles resulted in 14 studies satisfying inclusion/exclusion criteria. These studies examined 762 patients of mean age 28.6 (9–67) years, with 37.3% females. Comparing the correlation of preoperative MRI measurements to intraoperative harvested measures, the strength was very highly positive for quadriceps tendon (QT) (one study, 29 patients, intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.96), highly positive for patellar tendon (two studies, 28 patients, ICC: 0.77–0.87), negligible-highly positive for semitendinosus-only tendon (eight studies, 439 patients, r: 0.16–0.81), and negligible-moderately positive for gracilis-only tendon (four studies, 143 patients, r: 0.29–0.59). When combined semitendinosus–gracilis tendon grafts were considered, the correlation ranged from low-very highly positive (10 studies, 517 patients, r: 0.42–0.93). Preoperative MRI assessment of both QT and bone–patellar tendon–bone autografts most highly correlates with intraoperative measurements of autograft diameter. Considerable variability exists when viewing hamstring tendons either individually or together, where most studies indicate at least a moderate correlation. This highlights the advantage of MRI during the preoperative planning process in equipping the surgeon with a better ability to ensure the diameter of the intended autograft will suffice. This is a Level IV study, systematic review of Levels II to IV studies.
Performance optimization of a photovoltaic solar cell-based hybrid system
Authors: Wang Yuan , Li Haidong , Hao Haoshan , Chen Xiaohang
Published: July 2018

A new model of the hybrid system consisting of a photovoltaic (PV) array and thermally regenerative electrochemical cycles (TRECs) is proposed to improve the conversion efficiency of solar energy, where the temperature of the PV array is determined by the energy balance equation. Analytical expressions for the power output, efficiency of the PV array, TRECs, and hybrid system are derived. The influences of the voltage output of the PV array, the electric current of TRECs, the solar irradiation, and the numbers of TRECs on the efficiency of the hybrid system are discussed in detail. The maximum efficiency of the hybrid system is numerically calculated and the corresponding parameters are determined. The results obtained here show that TRECs can efficiently utilize the waste heat from the PV array.
Hydronium ions diffusion behavior in nafion membrane by mesoscopic simulation
Authors: Xiao Jianyu , Yan Dong , Li Jie , Li Qiang , Sun Hong
Published: July 2018

To study the mesoscopic transfer characteristics of water and hydronium ions in Nafion membrane of all vanadium flow battery, a mesoscopic model was developed in this paper. In this model, Nafion membrane, water, and hydronium ions were coarse-grained according to the Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) method by Materials Studio software, and the three-dimensional topology of water channel is developed by the DPD theory as well. The impact of temperature, water content and hydronium ions content on diffusion coefficient was analyzed by the diffusion coefficient, and the radial distribution function and its influencing factor were also studied. The results show that, the adsorbed water on sulfonic acid group in the Nafion membrane forms the water channel for hydrated hydrogen ion transfer; more water and higher temperature respectively increase the transfer coefficient of hydrated hydrogen ion in the Nafion membrane by increasing water channel and speeding up movement of the hydrated hydrogen ion. This work is helpful to understand working principle of Nafion membrane and will promote the application of all vanadium flow battery.
Motion of vortices in ferromagnetic spin-1 BEC
Authors: Sonin E. B.
Published: July 2018

The paper investigates dynamics of nonsingular vortices in a ferromagnetic spin-1 BEC, where spin and mass superfluidity coexist in the presence of uniaxial anisotropy (linear and quadratic Zeeman effect). The analysis is based on hydrodynamics following from the Gross–Pitaevskii theory. Cores of nonsingular vortices are skyrmions with charge, which is tuned by uniaxial anisotropy and can have any fractal value between 0 and 1. There are circulations of mass and spin currents around these vortices. The results are compared with the equation of vortex motion derived earlier in the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert theory for magnetic vortices in easy-plane ferromagnetic insulators. In the both cases the transverse gyrotropic force (analog of the Magnus force in super-fluid and classical hydrodynamics) is proportional to the charge of skyrmions in vortex cores.
A hybrid system utilizes waste heat to improve solar cell efficiency
Authors: Yiu Yuen
Published: July 2018

Analysis of the power-generating efficiency for photovoltaic hybrid systems shows the benefits available by coupling arrays with thermally regenerative electrochemical cycles.
Bristled wings could provide a propulsive punch for future micro air vehicles
Authors: Agner Mary Alexandra
Published: July 2018

Results from numerical models describing microscale insects with bristled wings in flight show the effects of viscous diffusion on key characteristics.
"This hair-style called as 'duck tail'": The 'intrusive as' -construction in South Asian varieties of English and Learner Englishes
Authors: Koch Christopher , Lange Claudia , Leuckert Sven
Published: July 2018

This paper focuses on the ‘intrusive as’-construction in complex-transitive verb
complementation which was so far only attested for Indian English. Our data
show that ‘intrusive as’ is a common feature in South Asian Englishes generally, albeit to different degrees. Comparing the South Asian data with data from Learner Englishes allows to test several hypotheses concerning the origin of ‘intrusive as’; the most robust correlation within the data points to redundancy as a motivating factor for both ESL and EFL contexts.
In case of innovation: Academic phraseology in the Three Circles
Authors: Edwards Alison , Lange Rutger-Jan
Published: July 2018

This paper addresses the equivalence often drawn between labels such as ESL, New Englishes and Outer Circle on the one hand, and between EFL, Learner Englishes and Expanding Circle on the other. It argues that this mapping takes insufficient account of both intra-varietal variation and inter-varietal similarities. We compare the two non-native varietal types with each other and with native English on the basis of ‘user’ data from the International Corpus of English and the Corpus of Dutch English, focusing on three-word clusters in academic writing. Quantitative analyses reveal no clear grouping per circle, but rather a regional East Africa grouping. Case studies of four specific clusters (in case of, due to the, the fact that and the other hand) mostly show a native/non-native divide. Characteristics of both ESL and EFL, including innovative processes as well as learner strategies, are shown to be at play in the Outer and Expanding Circle alike. The findings are consistent with the notion of neither a strict divide between varietal types, nor a continuum.
"It's always different when you look something from the inside": Linguistic innovation in a corpus of ELF Skype conversations
Authors: Brunner Marie-Louise , Diemer Stefan , Schmidt Selina
Published: July 2018

The article discusses linguistic creativity in informal Skype conversations between university students from eight different European countries. The basis for the study is the Corpus of Academic Spoken English (CASE), a corpus of Skype conversations in an English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) context. With the help of qualitative examples, the article examines innovative language use and proposes a taxonomy for functionally accepted innovations, distinguishing instances of L1 influence, approximations and ad hoc innovation. Our findings point towards an assertive and creative perspective on language use, which seems to have a positive influence on the communicative setting, e.g. illustrated by code-switching in combination with laughter. CASE participants use non-standard forms and innovations freely, accommodating to each others’ language use. They also establish their own ephemeral communication strategies and showcase and emphasize their respective language and cultural backgrounds.
Great pretenders
Authors: Kirner-Ludwig Monika
Published: July 2018

This paper deals with the contradictory phenomenon of fake profiles within the blogosphere, i.e. blogger profiles that are overtly fictional in specific. We encounter these in the medieval weblog Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog, launched in 2006 by Brantley Bryant, then Associate Professor of Medieval Literature at Sonoma State University. During the interaction with other users within the boundaries of this blog, Bryant impersonates the late 14th century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer and creates pseudo-personal narratives that blend in both pieces of his real-life professional self as well as his pseudo-self (henceforth LeVostreGC). The main tool employed by himself and other users in playing the roles of (fictional) historical personae so as to uphold the fictional sphere and roleplay is the shared language code of pseudo-archaic English.

This paper discusses how the co-bloggers form a community of practice (CoP), while they enjoy both the privacy and the secrecy of the medieval blog. The fact that participants need very specific, historio-linguistic knowledge in order to access this community (and ‘play the game’) contributes immensely to the makeup and behavior within it: the community reinforces its members’ identities as medievalists and values their command of knowledge generally perceived as arcane outside the community. As shall be argued, the language code(s) employed in the blog are the key to entering and acting within this CoP.1
Code-switching and identity construction in WhatsApp
Authors: Wentker Michael
Published: July 2018

This paper examines how the use of WhatsApp promotes the linguistic construction of group identity and social meaning in a close-knit community of practice of six German university students. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of a private WhatsApp group chat, supported by the findings from a group-specific questionnaire, suggests that code-switching between English and German proves a powerful resource of group identity construction. The code-switches fulfil a variety of functions and are shown to be the overall unmarked choice in the group. Governed by the technical and social factors of WhatsApp as a multi-modal digital discourse mode, the CofP members draw on various verbal strategies and linguistic structures in order to negotiate social relationships and facets of group identity online.
Finnish evidential adverbs in argumentative texts
Authors: Jaakola Minna
Published: July 2018

The analysis concerns three meaning types that denote the interlocutors’ epistemic access and epistemic authority to knowledge: expectedness, shared access, and individual access. The different accesses lead to different interactional and textual functions of evidential adverbs. The most relevant features concern the rhetoric patterns (concession, contrast, adding, etc.) connected with argumentation and the type of knowledge occurring in the scope of an adverb (generic – specific, conventionalized – non-conventionalized, irrefutable – negotiable). The study focuses on Finnish adverbs derived from the verb tietää ‘know’, and their usage in reader comments in newspaper online sites.
Reportive sollen in an exclusively functional view of evidentiality
Authors: Vanderbiesen Jeroen
Published: July 2018

First, this chapter discusses some problems with a ‘narrow’ view of evidentiality that imposes structural requirements, both in its analysis of evidentiality as a whole and in its analysis of the reportive vs. quotative distinction in particular. It argues instead for a ‘broad’, exclusively functional view where evidentiality is seen as relating to justification for knowledge. On this basis, reportive evidentials are distinguished from quotatives, which are non-evidential forms that attribute information to a source. Second, the chapter substantiates its claims with a case study of specific uses of German sollen ‘shall’ that are analyzed as non-quotative, non-epistemic modal, reportive evidential constructions. Finally, sollen is related to ‘referral’, a newly-coined concept that captures the functional relation between quotatives and reportives.
The French future
Authors: Mari Alda
Published: July 2018

We propose a new analysis for the French future, which treats it as a modal-evidential, articulating two perspectival points – a conjectural and a ratificational one. Considering that future also contributes a relative tense, we explain a variety of uses covering previously unexplained cases, including those in which the speaker knows that the prejacent is true. Finally, our account sheds some light on cross-linguistic facts and most notably on the relation between the ratificational French future and the conjectural future in Italian (akin to an epistemic modal), paving the way for a typological distinction between two types of languages: ‘conjectural future type’ languages and ‘ratificational future type’ ones.
Treasures and wondrous objects in Gothic Toledo and Muslim Medieval culture
Authors: Gómez de Caso Zuriaga Jaime
Published: July 2018

The aim of the present contribution is twofold. On the one hand we shall discuss the background of some Islamic legends about places and
wondrous objects – holy relics of the past – that had once been in the possession of the Gothic monarchy by inheritance, but were
subsequently lost or looted out of al-Andalus by the Muslim leaders. On the other hand our study is concerned with the relationship between
the content of the legends in question and the “loss of Spain” in a more general sense, i.e. not only the loss of these objects by the
Christian Goths subsequent to their loss of power in Spain, but also their disappearance from Muslim ownership. Besides, the legends possess
a moral core, which is interesting in its own right: the way in which they are viewed in the Muslim sources, the locations and objects they
describe, and their relationship to the Gothic monarchy may provide the modern reader with an insight into the striking vision of the past
held by the invading Muslim culture.
Nursery words and hypocorisms among Germanic kinship terms
Authors: Hansen Bjarne Simmelkjær Sandgaard
Published: July 2018

By using Jakobson’s (1960: 127–130) criteria for determining the nursery-word status of a given lexeme, I argue in this article that, even if we should no longer regard PG *aiþīn-/-ōn-‘mother’ (Goth.aiþei), *aiþma-‘daughter’s husband’ and *faþōn-‘father’s sister’ as nursery words or hypocorisms (Hansen 2017: 207–220), we should certainly still do so for PG *ammōn-‘parent’s mother; wet nurse’, *attan-‘father’ (Goth.atta), *basōn-‘father’s sister’ and *mōnōn-/mōmōn-‘mother; mother’s sister’.
The relevance of certain Semiticisms in the Gothic New Testament
Authors: Wolfe Brendan N.
Published: July 2018

It is worth emphasizing that it is not the generic Greek language which exerts Hellenizing influence on Gothic, but rather the Greek New Testament specifically. This is demonstrated by the consideration of unGreek features of the Greek New Testament, such as Semiticisms. This approach also resolves an anomalous usage of Gothicjabai, generally unexplained in grammars and dictionaries, and highlights a departure from the sense of the Greek in one passage.
On the dynamicity of evidential scales
Authors: Estellés Maria , Albelda Marta
Published: July 2018

Based on examples from academic papers and parliamentary debates in Spain, the present paper studies a particular phenomenon within evidentiality, which is called ‘pragmatic indirectness’ in this work. This phenomenon involves examples in which evidentiality is expressed formally in a certain way (for instance, it is presented as reporting someone else’s words), but where the meaning conveys a different kind of evidentiality (for example, it is actually obtained through a process of reasoning). The existence of this phenomenon can be explained by the facts that

Evidentials are organised according to scales: some evidentials are considered more preferable than are others, as the degrees of preference are changeable and determined contextually; and

Speakers accommodate their discourse to these scales (more or less) strategically, depending on their intentions and goals, as well as on the expectations raised by the context; and they do so by

Choosing the evidence best ranked in a particular context and, if not available,

By concealing the (less preferable) evidence they have available in the guise of evidentials located higher in the ranking.

Special attention will be paid to the role of discursive genres in the use and values of pragmatic indirectness in evidentiality.
Exploring evidentiality in Spanish Biology articles (1850–1920)
Authors: Kotwica Dorota
Published: July 2018

This article examines the expression of evidentiality in scientific articles taking as a starting point the concept of access to the evidence, which is closely related to, albeit not equal with, intersubjectivity. Combining data from the existing theoretical background and corpus analysis, I classify the criteria for distinguishing shared from non-shared evidences within the traditional typology of evidential meanings. The analysis of a corpus of Spanish Biology articles (1850–1920) reveals the relevance of shared evidential constructions in this type of discourse and shows that the accessibility is especially linked to indirect evidential constructions.
Performing the self in illness narratives
Authors: Figueras Bates Carolina
Published: July 2018

Narrating the personal experience of a chronic illness poses the challenge of reflecting on epistemic states and sources of evidence that shape the person´s past, present and future selves. To explore the role of evidentials in different illness stories, 32 unsolicited narratives of eating disorders (ED), 28 accounts of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and 29 testimonies of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were selected from the Internet. The analysis revealed that, in ED narratives, the enactment of the self was realized via visual perception, and the body was construed as self. In BPD narratives, inner emotional states were adopted as the source of evidence, and the mood was defined as self. In CFS narratives, the evidence informing the self came from embodied perception, and sensations were understood as self. Evidentials, therefore, are genre-sensitive and develop particular discursive functions in different illness narratives.
Evidentiality, deonticity and intensification in Internet forum language
Authors: Miche Elisabeth
Published: July 2018

We analyze the Spanish verbal periphrases tienes que + infinitive and debes + infini-tive [you have to + infinitive and you should + infinitive], with a deontic meaning, in an Internet forum. These verbal forms are used to give advice to other Internet users. After analyzing their functions, we reached the conclusion that such periphrases, with deontic value, function as epistemic modals: on the part of the speaker, they imply an axiological evaluation of his or her advice in terms of it being essential and necessary. Its evidential value (in the sense of information validation rather than as a source) derives from two factors. From a pragmatic inference: when a speaker expresses a high degree of certainty, to the extent of presenting an act as a requirement or obligation, he or she must have compelling evidence in order to believe that. And from an argumentative strategy: in order to justify their exhortations, the speakers draw on their personal experience and present themselves as witnesses who guarantee the validity of their recommendations.
según along time
Authors: Maldonado Ricardo , De la Mora Gutiérrez Juliana
Published: July 2018

This paper attempts to show that según has developed not only evidential reportative functions, but also a set of meanings that move towards the dominion of epistemicity. Diachronic analysis, shows that the original meaning of según (Lat. secundare ‘to second, to follow’) gradually moves towards evidential domains. A synchronic analysis of written and oral contemporary Spanish, shows an increase on reportative uses in both registers. Epistemic meanings are considerably more frequent in oral data, and some of these meanings (i.e. questioning the trustworthiness of a proposition) are only found in this register. It is proposed that as some properties of the core meaning are lost – particularly the link with the source of information – the degree of subjective evaluation of the event increases (Langacker 1990). It is also claimed that según functions as a space builder (Fauconnier 1985), becoming an evidential-epistemic marker such that the assertion is never located in the space of reference and only shows up in an alternative space where veracity is restricted to the conceptualizer’s domain. Thus, while third person uses are mostly epistemic, first and second person subjects impose an attenuative reading.
Metacommenting in English and French
Authors: Beeching Kate
Published: July 2018

Metacommenters allow speakers to take some distance from a particular lexical selection, or enter into a negotiation with their interlocutors. A variational pragmatics approach is taken to the investigation of metacommenting in English and French, in Europe and Canada/the US, drawing on a range of time-dated corpora.

English and French draw pragmatically on similar linguistic resources for their pool of metacommenters, subjectivity being expressed through sort of/kind of and like in English, and genre, comme and post-posed quoi in French, while intersubjectivity is inherent in the personal pronouns in if you like/if you will in English and si tu veux/si vous voulez in French.

The linguistic forms used for the purpose of metacommenting arise from items with similar core meanings in the two languages, but develop, increase and decrease in frequency at different rates across national varieties, giving rise to regional differences and indexicalities.
“Proper is whatever people make it”
Authors: Valentinsson Mary-Caitlyn
Published: July 2018

This study analyzes a family dinnertime conversation in order to understand how language ideologies are created through everyday talk. Drawing on Conversation/Discourse Analysis and linguistic anthropology, this study address three questions central to this volume: (1) What and how do linguistic forms convey a speaker’s subjectivity and identity in the local context of interaction and to what level of language do they belong? (2) Which forms position individual speakers or groups of speakers socially and culturally (because of their association with particular situations or situational dimensions)? And (3), what are the socio-cultural norms for language usage, which enable speakers to represent their identities? I argue that a range of linguistic stance-taking strategies, and the way these strategies create positionalities for interlocutors, illustrate the relationship between ideology and everyday interaction. This paper also argues for the importance of understanding the sociocultural context of talk in order to interpret interactional data.
The spurious vs. dative problem
Authors: Alcaraz Alejo
Published: July 2018

In this paper I bring new arguments against the morphological analysis of the Spurious Se Rule in Spanish (Bonet 1991, Nevins 2007, 2012, among others). I show that both the dative clitic le and the spurious clitic se differ syntactically. These facts strongly argue against the existence of a morphological rule (i.e. impoverishment) mapping the dative clitic into the spurious one, leaving its syntax unaffected.
Matrix complementisers and ‘speech act’ syntax
Authors: Corr Alice
Published: July 2018

This paper discusses apparent cases of Catalan and Spanish non-embedded clauses headed by the subordinating complementiser que ‘that’, sometimes referred to in the literature as cases of insubordination (Evans 2007, 2009). Three interpretatively distinct types of ‘insubordinate’ que are identified, but only one of these types, viz. quotative que, is shown to be formally identical to the subordinating complementiser. The other two types, viz. exclamative and conjunctive que, exhibit the formal behaviour of speech acts, following Krifka’s (2001, 2003) diagnostics. It is argued that, from a cartographic approach, the three types of ‘insubordinate’ que cannot be accommodated within the split CP, and that, given their formal properties, exclamative and conjunctive que are instead operative within an articulated layer above Force dedicated to encoding ‘speech act’ syntax, a domain argued for in Speas & Tenny (2003), Haegeman & Hill (2014), Haegeman (2014).
External possession in Brazilian Portuguese
Authors: Duek Karen
Published: July 2018

External possession, a phenomenon where the DP interpreted as possessor is a syntactic dependent of the clause, appearing outside a possessive structure, is instantiated in a variety of ways cross-linguistically. A number of recent proposals have understood these constructions to involve A-movement operations. This paper presents evidence that a movement approach to external possession in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) makes incorrect predictions about its locality restrictions, including island effects and sensitivity to discourse factors. I provide an analysis in which the dependency between possessor and possessum is mediated by null anaphors, which are also shown to display logophoric behavior.
Spanish adjectives are PathPs
Authors: Fábregas Antonio , Marín Rafael
Published: July 2018

The goal of this contribution is to explore the hypothesis that not all
languages that have a lexical open class of adjectives project them
syntactically as the same kind of object. Specifically, we will argue that
Spanish adjectives syntactically project their scales as PathPs, while
English adjectives are PlacePs of sorts which do not encode the potential
syntactic differences between types of scales. We contend that three
previously unrelated contrasts between English and Spanish can be elegantly
explained through this hypothesis: (i) the availability of adjectives as
strong result complements, (ii) the availability of positive degree
adjectives as the base of degree achievements and (iii) the availability of
comparison class PPs with semantically absolute adjectives. The proposal
that adjectives can be projected differently in two languages is coherent
with the claim that adjectives are not defined by UG, which is supported by
the existence of languages that lack this category.
Additive and aspectual anche in Old Italian
Authors: Franco Irene , Kellert Olga , Mensching Guido , Poletto Cecilia
Published: July 2018

In Modern Italian (MI), negative additives (e.g. neanche ‘neither/not even’) contain a negative morpheme ne - and obey negative concord (NC) with sentential negation. In Old Italian (OI), negative additives such as neanche are not attested. Instead, a non-negative additive, anche, combines with a negative marker: e.g. né/non…anche (‘neither/not even’). In OI (i) anche can be used both in negative, and positive contexts; (ii) anche can function either as an aspectual marker (= ‘(not) yet’), or as an additive focalizer (= ‘neither/not even’); (iii) different syntactic positions mirror its different interpretations. We suggest that the grammaticalization of neanche originates from the contexts in which additive anche occurs immediately right adjacent to the negative disjunction né (i.e. né + anche > neanche).