Die Satire als invektive Gattung

A discussion of satire as borderline case of invectivity will be presented in this paper. The particular focus lies on literary debates in eighteenth-century Britain and in Germany. British satirists like Dryden, Haywood or Pope described ridicule and sarcasm as main features of satire, however, it was viewed as necessary to uphold the distinction between satire and libel resp. lampoon. This distinction was explained by concepts of urban wit or raillery. In German literature Wieland introduced the concept of wit in his satirical writings, however, since romanticism it was replaced with the opposition between sarcasm and ‚Humor‘.

The intrinsic frame of reference and the Dhivehi ‘FIBO’ system

While geocentric and relative frames of reference have figured prominently in the literature on spatial language and cognition, the intrinsic frame of reference has received less attention, though various subtypes of the intrinsic frame have been proposed. This paper presents a revised classification of the intrinsic frame, distinguishing between three subtypes: a ‘direct’ subtype, an ‘object-centered’ subtype and a ‘figure-anchored’ subtype, with a cross-cutting distinction between ‘function-based’ and ‘shape-based’ systems. In addition, the ‘FIBO’ (front = inner, back = outer) system in Dhivehi is analyzed as an example of a borderline case, with some important features of the intrinsic frame but also some differences, presenting a challenge for existing frame of reference classifications. The rotational properties of these various systems are also considered. The analysis underscores the considerable diversity within intrinsic systems but also points to a closer relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic frames than has previously been appreciated. This may have implications for broader theoretical issues including how frames of reference are acquired, how speech communities come to use different frames and whether patterns of frame use in discourse shape patterns of non-verbal frame use.

Conformer-specific polar cycloaddition of dibromobutadiene with trapped propene ions

Diels–Alder cycloadditions are efficient routes for the synthesis of cyclic organic compounds. There has been a long-standing discussion whether these reactions proceed via stepwise or concerted mechanisms. Here, we adopt an experimental approach to explore the mechanism of the model polar cycloaddition of 2,3-dibromo-1,3-butadiene with propene ions by probing its conformational specificities in the entrance channel under single-collision conditions in the gas phase. Combining a conformationally controlled molecular beam with trapped ions, we find that both conformers of the diene, gauche and s-trans, are reactive with capture-limited reaction rates. Aided by quantum-chemical and quantum-capture calculations, this finding is rationalised by a simultaneous competition of concerted and stepwise reaction pathways, revealing an interesting mechanistic borderline case.

Democracy and Borderline Cases: Covid-19 Emergency

Since the primary mode of Covid transmission is person-to-person contact both through respiratory droplets produced by sneezing, breathing, coughing and direct contact with an infecting subject or indirect through hand-mediated transfer of the virus, governments had to limit the contact between individuals to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. The effect has been a drastic reduction of human interactions, as these were “cut to the bone”. The strict rules the world population has been following, have brought about an urgent debate on the behaviour and regulations that governments have embraced. Fundamental questions about democracy and social theory have been raised by scholars and theorists seeking for a possible answer about why, how and whether the Covid-19 emergency has caused a transformation in a society and, if it is so which are the effects and where are we heading. The paper will be divided in two sections: the former is focused on different perspectives on the impact of Covid-19 and aims to understand whether a western democracy can handle a borderline case like this, or does it have to develop into some other social system. The latter section will focus on what the Covid emergency has been causing in a society and how governments have decided to control and face this situation.

Borderline Serous Papillary Tumor Arising in a Paraovarian Cyst: A Case Report and an Extensive Review of the Literature

Background: Paraovarian cysts are benign cysts that develop near the ovaries and fallopian tubes in the pelvic region. They can cause mass effects requiring excision. In rare cases, tumors may develop inside these cysts. These tumors may be benign, malignant, or borderline. Case Report: A 26-year-old lady presented for excision of a paraovarian cyst. Pre-operative imaging showed the presence of few undulating folds at the periphery of the cyst. The patient underwent laparoscopic pelvic cystectomy without intra-operative drainage. Pathological examination of the specimen revealed a borderline serous papillary tumor protruding from the cyst wall. Conclusion: The occurrence of a borderline tumor, also known as a tumor of low malignant potential, in a pre-existing paraovarian cyst is very rare and has only been reported few times in the literature. A thorough review of these cases showed that the most common imaging finding that raises suspicion for a borderline tumor within a paraovarian cyst is the presence of small intracystic projections within the unilocular adnexal cyst. However, since evaluating the presence of an intracystic tumor is not always possible, performing a fertility-preserving laparoscopic cystectomy without cyst content spillage, is recommended. If properly excised, the prognosis of this tumor is good, and recurrence is rare.

Scattering in Quantum Dots via Noncommutative Rational Functions

In the customary random matrix model for transport in quantum dots with M internal degrees of freedom coupled to a chaotic environment via $$N\ll M$$ N ≪ M channels, the density $$\rho $$ ρ of transmission eigenvalues is computed from a specific invariant ensemble for which explicit formula for the joint probability density of all eigenvalues is available. We revisit this problem in the large N regime allowing for (i) arbitrary ratio $$\phi := N/M\le 1$$ ϕ : = N / M ≤ 1 ; and (ii) general distributions for the matrix elements of the Hamiltonian of the quantum dot. In the limit $$\phi \rightarrow 0$$ ϕ → 0 , we recover the formula for the density $$\rho $$ ρ that Beenakker (Rev Mod Phys 69:731–808, 1997) has derived for a special matrix ensemble. We also prove that the inverse square root singularity of the density at zero and full transmission in Beenakker’s formula persists for any $$\phi <1$$ ϕ < 1 but in the borderline case $$\phi =1$$ ϕ = 1 an anomalous $$\lambda ^{-2/3}$$ λ - 2 / 3 singularity arises at zero. To access this level of generality, we develop the theory of global and local laws on the spectral density of a large class of noncommutative rational expressions in large random matrices with i.i.d. entries.

Compositional and Verbal Aspect in Greek: The Aorist Imperfect Distinction and the Article-Aspect Interplay

According to an aspectological model proposed by Kabakčiev in 1984, later developed and sophisticated, languages differ according to whether they mark aspect (perfectivity and imperfectivity) on verbs, as in the Slavic languages – among others, or through nouns/NPs featuring (non-)boundedness which is transferred onto verbs, as in the Germanic languages – among others. In this model of compositional aspect (CA), Bulgarian is a borderline case with a perfective-imperfective and an aorist-imperfect distinction and a definite article only (no indefinite), and the model is used to analyze Greek, a language exhibiting identical features. NP referents play a major role for the compositional explication of aspect. The study finds that Greek is of the same borderline/hybrid type of language as Bulgarian, featuring verbal aspect (VA) predominantly, but also peripherally CA. The aorist/imperfect distinction exists both in Greek and Bulgarian to offset the structural impact of the definite article. Analyzed are some conditions for the explication of CA in Greek and they are found similar to those in Bulgarian. However, there are specificites and differences between the two languages that must be further studied and identified. Keywords: verbal aspect, compositional aspect, definite article, article-aspect interplay, aorist-imperfect contrast

The Riddle of Vagueness

This anthology includes fourteen of Crispin Wrights’s highly influential essays on the phenomenon of vagueness in natural language, collectively representing almost half a century of cutting-edge systematic research. Key issues addressed include whether or under what assumptions vague expressions’ apparent tolerance of marginal changes in things to which they apply indicates that they are governed by inconsistent semantic rules, the varieties of Sorites paradox and the roots of the plausibility of their respective major premises, what it is for something to be a borderline case of a vague expression, whether vagueness should be viewed as fundamentally a semantic or an epistemic phenomenon, whether there is ‘higher-order’ vagueness, and what should be the appropriate logic for vague statements. The essays reprinted here jointly document the development of a distinctively original treatment of the philosophy and logic of vagueness, broadly analogous to the intuitionistic philosophy and logic for pure mathematics. Richard Kimberly Heck contributes an extended introductory essay, providing both an insightful critical overview of the development of the distinctive elements of Wright’s thought about vagueness, and indeed an invaluable advanced introduction to the topic.