From Norm Evaluation to Norm Construction

This study examines the issue of norm construction in al-Ghazālī’s thought focusing on the grounds advanced to support his radical infallibilist position. To fulfill such end, al-Ghazālī, I explain, relies on two types of arguments, the first one relates to the presumptive nature of legal texts in order to highlight their fundamental indeterminacy and the second links to the interpreter to show the impossibility to fall into error. To buttress these arguments, al-Ghazālī both draws on epistemological principles and metaethical ones. As it will be shown in the study, al-Ghazālī ultimately explains the divergence in interpretation of norms using the concept of ṭabʿ (nature, disposition or appetitive self) drawing on his well-known relativist ethical theory concerning norm evaluation and therefore brings in a unique way this typical feature of Ashʿarism within his own radical infallibilist theory of norm construction. The concept of ṭabʿ allows to bridge the gap between the ambiguity in the revealed text and the mujtahid’s interpretation in the norm construction process, and ultimately serves to justify ex post the choices made by the mujtahid. In doing so, al-Ghazālī assigns to theology a critical role in revealing the origin of the illusion of the jurists who naively think that licit and illicit are qualities of things themselves.

When Gur class markers are absent: suffix omission in Natioro

The paper deals with the morphology of class marking in Natioro, an underdescribed Gur language spoken in several villages of Burkina Faso. In Natioro, class markers (which are a typical feature of Gur languages) are frequently omitted in many contexts, such as genitive constructions, as well as NPs modified by adjectives, numerals, and quantifiers. In the paper, I will focus on the morphological (rather than semantic) properties of these constructions. I will show that noun stems occurring in constructions with omitted class markers can be regarded as instances of incorporation. Particular attention will be given to adjectival incorporation. In Natioro, there are two types of adjectival constructions, which can be distinguished by the nature of the stems involved. I will argue that some of the incorporated constructions are derived by merging a noun with a non-inflected adjective, whereas others can be regarded as full-fledged adjectives that incorporate noun stems. Some parallels between the constructions of the latter type and constructions with relational nouns are discussed as well.

Formy znakhidnoho vidminka mnozhyny imennykiv – nazv istot v ukrayinsʹkiy narodniy i literaturniy movi

The article investigates the regularities of the use of two forms of the accusative case of the plural of the nouns – the names of creatures in the Ukrainian folk and literary language. Special attention is paid to the form that coincides with the nominative case and is a typical feature of the folk language. The history of the entry of the form of the accusative case of the plural, common with the nominative case, into the system of inflexion of nouns of the Ukrainian literary language is traced. The area of distribution of each of the forms of the accusative case of the plural is determined. The list of nouns – the names of unpersons, which in the accusative case of the plural have the form of the nominative case, is offered. The causes and consequences of the expulsing of the forms of the nominative case of the plural by the forms of the genitive case in nouns – the names of creatures in the modern Ukrainian literary language – are clarified. It is stated that valid morphological literary norm does not correspond to the grammatical traditions of the Ukrainian folk language, because the forms, common to the nominative case, predominate in the folk language, whereas the forms, identical to the genitive case, prevail in the literary standard.

Trichosanthis Semen Suppresses Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation by Regulating the NF-κB Signaling Pathway and HO-1 Expression in Microglia

Neuroinflammation, which is mediated by microglia that release various inflammatory cytokines, is a typical feature of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Hence, alleviating neuroinflammation by downregulating pro-inflammatory action, and upregulating anti-inflammatory action of microglia is an efficient therapeutic target for NDDs. In this study, we evaluated whether trichosanthis semen (TS), a dried ripe seed of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz, reduces lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation by regulating microglial responses in vitro and in vivo. Our results presented that TS reduced the release of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO), inducible NO synthase, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 via inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway in LPS-treated BV2 microglial cells. Moreover, TS induced anti-inflammatory mediators, such as interleukin-10, found in inflammatory zone 1, and chitinase 3-like 3 by the upregulation of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). We further confirmed that TS administration suppressed microglial activation, but enhanced HO-1 expression in LPS-injected mice. These results suggest that TS has anti-neuroinflammatory effects via inhibition of NF-κB signaling through the activation of HO-1, and that TS may be a therapeutical candidate for NDDs treatment.

Autoimmune Diseases of Digestive Organs—A Multidisciplinary Challenge: A Focus on Hepatopancreatobiliary Manifestation

It is well known that some pathological conditions, especially of autoimmune etiology, are associated with the HLA (human leukocyte antigen) phenotype. Among these diseases, we include celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune enteropathy, autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cholangitis. Immunoglobulin G4-related diseases (IgG4-related diseases) constitute a second group of autoimmune gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic illnesses. IgG4-related diseases are systemic and rare autoimmune illnesses. They often are connected with chronic inflammation and fibrotic reaction that can occur in any organ of the body. The most typical feature of these diseases is a mononuclear infiltrate with IgG4-positive plasma cells and self-sustaining inflammatory response. In this review, we focus especially upon the hepatopancreatobiliary system, autoimmune pancreatitis and IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis. The cooperation of the gastroenterologist, radiologist, surgeon and histopathologist is crucial for establishing correct diagnoses and appropriate treatment, especially in IgG4 hepatopancreatobiliary diseases.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Membrane (M) and Spike (S) Proteins Antagonize Host Type I Interferon Response

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread worldwide and has infected more than 250 million people. A typical feature of COVID-19 is the lack of type I interferon (IFN-I)-mediated antiviral immunity in patients. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 evades the IFN-I-mediated antiviral response remain elusive. Here, we performed a comprehensive screening and identified a set of SARS-CoV-2 proteins that antagonize the IFN-I response. Subsequently, we characterized the mechanisms of two viral proteins antagonize IFN-I production and downstream signaling. SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein binds to importin karyopherin subunit alpha-6 (KPNA6) to inhibit interferon regulatory factor 3(IRF3) nuclear translocation. Further, the spike protein interacts with signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) to block its association with Janus kinase 1 (JAK1). This study increases our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and suggests novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of COVID-19.

Gamma-convergence of Gaussian fractional perimeter

We prove the Γ-convergence of the renormalised Gaussian fractional s-perimeter to the Gaussian perimeter as s → 1 - {s\to 1^{-}} . Our definition of fractional perimeter comes from that of the fractional powers of Ornstein–Uhlenbeck operator given via Bochner subordination formula. As a typical feature of the Gaussian setting, the constant appearing in front of the Γ-limit does not depend on the dimension.

Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia on Cytokine Expression Involved in Insulin Resistance

Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a prevalent disorder characterized by recurrent apnea or hypoxia episodes leading to intermittent hypoxia (IH) and arousals during sleep. Currently, the relationship between SAS and metabolic diseases is being actively analyzed, and SAS is considered to be an independent risk factor for the development and progression of insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Accumulating evidence suggests that the short cycles of decreased oxygen saturation and rapid reoxygenation, a typical feature of SAS, contribute to the development of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. In addition to IH, several pathological conditions may also contribute to insulin resistance, including sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity, oxidative stress, vascular endothelial dysfunction, and the activation of inflammatory cytokines. However, the detailed mechanism by which IH induces insulin resistance in SAS patients has not been fully revealed. We have previously reported that IH stress may exacerbate insulin resistance/T2DM, especially in hepatocytes, adipocytes, and skeletal muscle cells, by causing abnormal cytokine expression/secretion from each cell. Adipose tissues, skeletal muscle, and the liver are the main endocrine organs producing hepatokines, adipokines, and myokines, respectively. In this review, we focus on the effect of IH on hepatokine, adipokine, and myokine expression.

Lingvistisko īpatnību paralēles kursiskajās un dziļajās tāmnieku izloksnēs

The present paper aims to show the most significant phonetic and morphological features belonging both to the deep Tamian (tāmnieku) subdialects of the Livonic dialect and the Curonian (kursiskās) subdialects of the Middle dialect. The main focus is on the forms used in the deep Tamian subdialects of Pope, Ziras, Piltene, Zlēkas, Ance, Dundaga, and Ugāle, based on the materials acquired by the author during the period 2008–2019, and compared with the data of dialect archive of the Latvian Language Institute of the University of Latvia (collected in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century). In phonetics, a typical feature is the use of broad e, ē, especially in infinitives, e. g., celt ‘to raise, to build’, sēt ‘to sow’, meklēt (Curonian subd.), meklet (Tamian subd.) ‘to search’, the lengthening or diphthongization of short vowels a, e, i, u before consonant r, e. g., dârps ‘work’, ʒērt ‘to drink’, zîrks // ziêrks ‘horse’, bũrt // buõrt ‘to conjure’, palatal consonant ŗ, e. g., kaŗš ‘war’, gaŗš ‘long’, jũŗ ‘sea’, also the use of vowel u before the consonant v or b, e. g., zuve (Curonian subd.), zȗu // zȗi (Tamian subd.) ‘fish’, suvēnc (Curonian subd.), suvēnc // suvans (Tamian subd.) ‘pig’, dubans // dubenc ‘bottom, seat’, dui // dȗv (Tamian subd.) ‘two’, the loss of sounds in different positions, e. g., cilēks (Curonian subd.), cileks (Tamian subd.) ‘human’, ciris (Curonian subd.), cȋrs (Tamian subd.) ‘axe’, dures // duõres (Curonian subd.), dȗrs // dûrs // duôrs (Tamian subd.) ‘the doors’, tēs ‘father’, vẽš ‘wind’, rupš ‘rude’, and assimilation of -ln- to -ll-, e. g., mells ‘black’, vells ‘the devil’, villa (Curonian subd.), vill (Tamian subd.) ‘wool’, pills ‘full’. In morphology, a characteristic feature is the use of ē-stem substantives, e. g., klẽte (Curonian subd.), klẽt (Tamian subd.) ‘barn’, pirte // piêrte (Curonian subd.), pirt // piêrt (Tamian subd.) ‘bathhouse’, sirde // siêrde (Curonian subd.), sȋrd (Tamian subd.) ‘heart’, also the use of archaic plural dative endings -iems or -ems, e. g., zirgiêms // zîrgiêms (Curonian subd.), zirgems // zîrgems (Tamian subd.) ‘for horses’, -ams: mãsams ‘for sisters’, -ems or -ems, e. g., guõvems (Curonian subd.), guõvems (Tamian subd.) ‘for cows’, and the use of prefix / preposition az or āz, e. g., âzvakãr // azvakar (Curonian subd.), azvakar // aizvakar // aîzvakar (Tamian subd.) ‘the day before yesterday’, âz // az kalna (Curonian subd.), az // aiz // aîz kal:n (Tamian subd.) ‘behind the hill’, also prefix or preposition ūz, e. g., ũzlikt (Curonian subd.), ûzlikt (Tamian subd.) ‘to put on’, ûz galda (Curonian subd.), ûz gal:d (Tamian subd.) ‘on the table’, also a typical peculiarity of the Curonian and Tamian subdialects (but not heard nowadays) is the use of pronouns tau, sau ‘for yourself, for myself’.