A Small Island With Big Differences? Folk Perceptions in the Context of Dialect Levelling and Koineization

This paper presents the results of the first study within a perceptual dialectology framework in the Greek-speaking community in Cyprus. Thirty participants from three age groups of equal size took part in a sociolinguistic interview. As part of the language module component of the interview, they discussed their beliefs about regional variation in Cyprus and completed the so-called ‘draw-a-map task’. All participants were residents of urban areas of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. The Greek-speaking community in Cyprus is diglossic: Standard Modern Greek is the High variety, while Cypriot Greek—the mother tongue of Greek Cypriots—is the Low variety. The latter is currently undergoing levelling of marked local basilect features and subvarieties. A quantitative analysis of the maps demonstrates that some areas in Cyprus (mainly in the periphery) have a stronger sociolinguistic salience than others. At the same time, the participants’ own way of speaking is perceived as unmarked, neutral and one that enjoys wider acceptance over other regional dialects. This study also shows a clear preference for characterizing a (presumed) dialect area with linguistic characteristics, rather than with evaluative commentary contra many similar studies in the literature and suggests a number of reasons why this may be so. Overall, this research shows how studies on language perception can inform and complement studies on language production in a given community. The participants drew an average of just four regional areas on their maps and viewed the different cities and their districts, or combinations thereof, as the different regional dialect areas they perceive to exist in Cyprus. It is argued in this paper that the small number of areas drawn and the emphasis on urban sites are consistent with regional dialect levelling. Consistent with regional dialect levelling is also the finding that the participants’ linguistic description of regional variation, while mainly accurate, is superficial and lacks detail. Interestingly, many of the participants also seem to be well aware of regional dialect levelling in their community. Other studies in the literature do not really discuss speakers’ awareness of levelling and this should be further explored in future studies.

Regional variations in lumbar spine surgery in Finland

Introduction The regional variation in spine surgery rates has been shown to be large both within and between countries. This variation has been reported to be less in studies from countries with spine registers. The aim of this study was to describe the regional variation in lumbar spine surgery in Finland. Materials and methods This is a retrospective register study. Data from the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register (NHDR) were used to calculate and compare the rates of lumbar disc herniation (LDH), decompression, and fusion surgeries in five University Hospital catchment areas, covering the whole Finnish population, from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2018. Results A total of 138,119 lumbar spine operations (including LDH, decompression, and fusion surgery) were performed in Finland between 1997 and 2018. The regional differences in the rate of LDH surgery were over fourfold (18 vs. 85 per 100,000 person years), lumbar decompression surgery over threefold (41 vs. 129 per 100,000 person years), and lumbar fusion surgery over twofold (14 vs. 34 per 100,000 person years) in 2018. The mean age of the patients increased in all regions during the study period. Conclusions In Finland, the regional variations in spine surgeries were vast. In a country with a publicly funded healthcare system, this finding was surprising. The recently created national spine register may serve to shed more light on the reasons for this regional variation.

Sexual size dimorphism and geographic variation in forearm length of Rafinesque’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) and Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius)

Sexual size dimorphism is common in many taxa and results from various pressures, including competition, reproductive requirements, functional differences, and sexual recognition. For mammals, males are typically the larger sex; however, for vespertilionid bats, females are more often the larger sex. Forearm length, a feature that influences overall wing and body size and is often sexually dimorphic, is a standard morphological measurement taken from bats. Forearm length was measured in two vesper bat species (Corynorhinus rafinesquii and Myotis austroriparius) that co-occur across much of the southeastern United States. Forearm length was greater in females of both species, and females of both species also exhibited regional variation in forearm length. By having a longer forearm and therefore being larger in size, females may be more maneuverable and better equipped to carry young. While this study did not directly investigate the mechanisms behind regional variation in forearm length, it is possible this is the result of variability in habitat types, resources, or thermodynamic constraints. Knowledge of sexually dimorphic characteristics is important for obtaining a general understanding of a species and its morphology.

Significance of Skull IX in Asian Paleoanthropology

Skull IX (Tjg-1993.05) was found in Sangiran, Central Java, in 1993, and is now stored at the Institute of Technology, Bandung. It is a remarkably complete fossil cranium of Homo erectus. It is one of the six H. erectus crania from the early Pleistocene of Java that preserves a nearly complete vault and is the third Javanese H. erectus crania with a substantial part of the facial skeleton preserved. After preliminary studies by late Prof. Sartono and other researchers, our team, led by Prof. Yahdi Zaim, had an opportunity to re-reconstruct and fully describe the specimen during 2008-2010. In this paper, I introduce how we corrected the distorted original reconstruction and summarize the specimen’s implications for the Homo erectus evolution in and outside Indonesia. Skull IX closely resembles Sangiran 17 and other Javanese H. erectus crania from the same stratigraphic level. The neurocranium of Skull IX is slightly smaller than the so-far-recorded smallest cranium from this zone, suggesting this individual was female. The face exhibits some “Asian” features, which highlights regional variation in Afro-Asian archaic members of Homo.

Valuatio of Inequality in the Russian Federation and its Decomposition Using the Theil Index

The high level of interregional socio-economic inequality is one of the main problems of spatial development of the Russian Federation, which is enshrined in several state strategic planning documents. Such a situation requires constant monitoring of this inequality and the search for solutions to this problem. The article analyzes the current situation of interregional inequality in the Russian Federation according to a few key indicators of socio-economic development and assesses the dynamics of changes in inequality of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the period 2000–2019. In addition, the article decomposes interregional inequality using the Theil index and proves that differences between federal districts explain a relatively small part of interregional differentiation, while differences between regions within districts account for more than 80% of all regional variation.

Identifying regional variation in place visit behavior during a global pandemic

The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2019 lead to a global pandemic that altered the activity behavior of most people on our planet. While government regulations and public concern modified visitation patterns to places of interest, little research has examined the nuanced changes in the length of time someone spends at a place, nor the regional variability of these changes. In this work, we examine place visit duration in four major U.S. cities, identify which place types saw the largest and smallest changes, and quantify variation between cities. Furthermore, we identify socio-economic and demographic factors that contribute to changes in visit duration and demonstrate the varying influence of these factors by region. The results of our analysis indicate that the pandemic's impact on visiting behavior varies between cities, though there are commonalities found in certain types of places. Our findings suggest that places of interest within lower income communities experienced less change in visit duration than others. An increase in the percentage of younger, Black or Hispanic populations within a community also resulted in a smaller decrease in visit duration than in other communities. These findings offer insight into the factors that contribute to changes in visiting behavior and the resilience of communities to a global pandemic.

Regional Differences in the Ratio of Observed and Expected In-hospital Mortality for Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients in China: The Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-Acute Coronary Syndrome Project Analysis

Previous studies reported regional variations in in-hospital acute coronary syndrome (ACS) mortality, but the reasons for that were not clearly defined. We explored whether differences in patient characteristics could explain regional variation. The Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China (CCC)-ACS project is an ongoing national registry and quality improvement project, involving 150 tertiary hospitals from 30 provinces across China. We applied a prediction model that included patient-specific variables to calculate the expected in-hospital mortality. For each province, we reported the observed, expected in-hospital mortality and the risk-adjusted ratio which is based on the observed divided by the expected mortality. From 2014 to 2018, 79 585 ACS patients were enrolled. The average in-hospital mortality was 1.8%. There was a wide variation in the in-hospital mortality among different provinces (0.2-3.9%). Patient characteristics explained part of this variation because of differences in the expected in-hospital mortality (0.7-2.8%). There was a substantial variation in the risk-adjusted ratio among provinces (0.2-3.5), which suggests that the variations in the mortality cannot be completely explained by the differences in patient characteristics. In conclusion, we observed a wide regional variation in mortality for ACS, part of which could be explained by the difference in patient characteristics.

REGIONAL VARIATION IN FLUID RESERVOIR THICKNESS, OXYGEN TRANSMISSIBILITY AND CORNEAL OEDEMA DURING SCLERAL LENS WEAR

Purpose: To determine if regional variation in post lens fluid reservoir thickness (PLFT) during scleral lens wear leads to regional variation in oxygen transmissibility and corneal edema during 4 hours of non-fenestrated scleral lens wear.Methods: About 20 healthy subjects (mean age, 28.8 ± 4.2 years) were fitted with nonfenestrated rotationally symmetric scleral lenses. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography was used to measure cornea thickness before and after lens wear, PLFT 10 minutes and 4 hours after lens application, and scleral lens thickness (with the scleral lens in situ) 4 hours after scleral lens application. These measurements were limited to the central 6 mm and divided into three zones (central, mid-peripheral, and peripheral zones). In the mid-peripheral and peripheral zones, eight principal meridians were measured, generating 17 measurement points in total. Scleral lens thickness and PLFT measurements were corrected for optical distortions by a series of equations. Oxygen transmissibility was calculated by dividing the scleral lens oxygen permeability by the optically-corrected scleral lens thickness, taking into account the oxygen permeability of saline and fluid reservoir thickness.Results: A significant regional variation in PLFT (F = 12.860, P = 0. 012) was observed after 10 minutes of the lens application, PLFT was thickest and thinnest in the inferotemporal and the superonasal region of the peripheral zones( 322.6 ± 161.8 µm and 153.8 ± 96.4 µm, respectively); however, this variation was not statistically significant at 4 hours of scleral lens wear (F = 4.692; P = 0.073). Despite significant regional variation in oxygen transmissibility (F = 48.472; P = 0.001) and relatively low oxygen transmissibility through the scleral lens, induced corneal edema did not vary significantly in different regions (F = 3.346; P = 0.126). In the central corneal region, the induced corneal edema correlated moderately with PLFT (r = 0.468; P = 0.037) and oxygen transmissibility (r = -0.528; P = 0.017). This relationship was insignificant in the peripheral cornea.Conclusion: The inferotemporal peripheral region had the thickest PLFT and least oxygen transmissibility, and the superonasal region had the vice versa. Despite significant variation in PLFT and oxygen transmissibility initially, in healthy corneas, this variation does not seem to induce statistically significant regional variation in corneal edema. Increased central PLFT and decreased oxygen transmissibility moderately correlate with central corneal edema.