We ...with Anna: the Inclusory Plural Pronominal Construction in Finnish and Fenno-Swedish

This article provides a syntactic analysis of the inclusory plural pronominal construction in FennoSwedish and Finnish. In this construction, a plural pronoun has a singular reading: vi ...med Anna (literally “we ...with Anna”) means ‘Anna and I’. In addition to the plural pronoun, the construction includes a comitative PP. In both Fenno-Swedish and Finnish, the PP can be placed rather flexibly. This article discusses the resulting variety of outcomes and what they indicate about the syntactic nature of the construction. At the same time, the singular reading is unavailable in almost all scenarios including an expanded pronoun: vi lingvister ...med Anna (literally “we linguists ...with Anna”). Similar constructions can be found in several other languages, especially in the eastern parts of Europe which suggests it is an areal feature. The diversity of the acceptable syntactic compositions in Fenno-Swedish and Finnish seems to require an analysis that differs from previous analyses of other languages. Instead of a derivation involving movements, the study suggests that the analysis must employ an unvalued feature. In some compositions, the necessary movements would be far too complex for an appealing explanation.</p

The people behind the samples : Biographical features of Past Hunter- Gatherers from KwaZulu-Natal who yielded aDNA

Abstract: Purpose: Skeletons sampled for ancient human DNA analysis are sometimes complete enough to provide information about the lives of the people they represent. We focus on three Later Stone Age skeletons, ca. 2000 B.P., from coastal KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, whose ancient genomes have been sequenced (Schlebusch et al., 2017). Methods: Bioarchaeological approaches are integrated with aDNA information. Results: All skeletons are male. Dental development shows that the boy, with prominent cribra orbitalia, died at age 6–7 years. Two men show cranial and spinal trauma, extensive tooth wear, plus mild cribra orbitalia in one. Conclusions: Dental wear and trauma of the adults are consistent with hunter-gatherer lives. Even partial aDNA evidence contributes to sex determination. Parasitic infection such as schistosomiasis is the best-fit cause for the child’s anemia in this case. Contribution to knowledge: The convergence of genomic and bioarchaeological approaches expands our knowledge of the past lives of a boy and two men whose lives as hunter-gatherers included episodes of trauma and disease. Limitations: The skeletons are incomplete, in variable condition, and from poorly characterized local cultural contexts. Suggestions for further research: Thorough osteobiographic analysis should accompany paleogenomic investigations. Such disciplinary collaboration enriches our understanding of the human past

Decorin Expression in Human Vulva Carcinoma: Oncosuppressive Effect of Decorin cDNA Transduction on Carcinoma Cells

The extracellular matrix proteoglycan decorin is well-known for its oncosuppressive activity. Here, decorin expression was examined in human vulva carcinoma tissue samples and in primary and commercial cell lines representing this malignant disease. Furthermore, the effect of adenovirus-mediated decorin cDNA (Ad-DCN) transduction on the viability, proliferation, and the expression and activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (ErbB/HER) family members of the cell lines were investigated. Using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry for decorin, it was demonstrated that malignant cells in human vulva carcinoma tissues lack decorin expression. This result was true independently on tumor stage, grade or human papillomavirus status. RT-qPCR analyses showed that the human vulva carcinoma cell lines used in this study were also negative for decorin expression. Transduction of the cell lines with Ad-DCN caused a marked reduction in cell viability, while the proliferation of the cells was not affected. Experiments examining potential mechanisms behind the oncosuppressive effect of Ad-DCN transduction revealed that ErbB2/HER2 expression and activity in carcinoma cells were markedly downregulated. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that human vulva carcinoma cells lack decorin expression, and that Ad-DCN transduction of these cells induces oncosuppressive activity in part via downregulation of ErbB2/HER2.</p

Nucleophosmin Phosphorylation by v-Cyclin-CDK6 Controls KSHV Latency

Nucleophosmin (NPM) is a multifunctional nuclear phosphoprotein and a histone chaperone implicated in chromatin organization and transcription control. Oncogenic Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiological agent of Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and multicentric Castleman disease (MCD). In the infected host cell KSHV displays two modes of infection, the latency and productive viral replication phases, involving extensive viral DNA replication and gene expression. A sustained balance between latency and reactivation to the productive infection state is essential for viral persistence and KSHV pathogenesis. Our study demonstrates that the KSHV v-cyclin and cellular CDK6 kinase phosphorylate NPM on threonine 199 (Thr199) in de novo and naturally KSHV-infected cells and that NPM is phosphorylated to the same site in primary KS tumors. Furthermore, v-cyclin-mediated phosphorylation of NPM engages the interaction between NPM and the latency-associated nuclear antigen LANA, a KSHV-encoded repressor of viral lytic replication. Strikingly, depletion of NPM in PEL cells leads to viral reactivation, and production of new infectious virus particles. Moreover, the phosphorylation of NPM negatively correlates with the level of spontaneous viral reactivation in PEL cells. This work demonstrates that NPM is a critical regulator of KSHV latency via functional interactions with v-cyclin and LANA

Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain

ience, this issue p. eaap8757 Structured Abstract INTRODUCTION Brain disorders may exhibit shared symptoms and substantial epidemiological comorbidity, inciting debate about their etiologic overlap. However, detailed study of phenotypes with different ages of onset, severity, and presentation poses a considerable challenge. Recently developed heritability methods allow us to accurately measure correlation of genome-wide common variant risk between two phenotypes from pools of different individuals and assess how connected they, or at least their genetic risks, are on the genomic level. We used genome-wide association data for 265,218 patients and 784,643 control participants, as well as 17 phenotypes from a total of 1,191,588 individuals, to quantify the degree of overlap for genetic risk factors of 25 common brain disorders. RATIONALE Over the past century, the classification of brain disorders has evolved to reflect the medical and scientific communities' assessments of the presumed root causes of clinical phenomena such as behavioral change, loss of motor function, or alterations of consciousness. Directly observable phenomena (such as the presence of emboli, protein tangles, or unusual electrical activity patterns) generally define and separate neurological disorders from psychiatric disorders. Understanding the genetic underpinnings and categorical distinctions for brain disorders and related phenotypes may inform the search for their biological mechanisms. RESULTS Common variant risk for psychiatric disorders was shown to correlate significantly, especially among attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and schizophrenia. By contrast, neurological disorders appear more distinct from one another and from the psychiatric disorders, except for migraine, which was significantly correlated to ADHD, MDD, and Tourette syndrome. We demonstrate that, in the general population, the personality trait neuroticism is significantly correlated with almost every psychiatric disorder and migraine. We also identify significant genetic sharing between disorders and early life cognitive measures (e.g., years of education and college attainment) in the general population, demonstrating positive correlation with several psychiatric disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa and bipolar disorder) and negative correlation with several neurological phenotypes (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and ischemic stroke), even though the latter are considered to result from specific processes that occur later in life. Extensive simulations were also performed to inform how statistical power, diagnostic misclassification, and phenotypic heterogeneity influence genetic correlations. CONCLUSION The high degree of genetic correlation among many of the psychiatric disorders adds further evidence that their current clinical boundaries do not reflect distinct underlying pathogenic processes, at least on the genetic level. This suggests a deeply interconnected nature for psychiatric disorders, in contrast to neurological disorders, and underscores the need to refine psychiatric diagnostics. Genetically informed analyses may provide important "scaffolding" to support such restructuring of psychiatric nosology, which likely requires incorporating many levels of information. By contrast, we find limited evidence for widespread common genetic risk sharing among neurological disorders or across neurological and psychiatric disorders. We show that both psychiatric and neurological disorders have robust correlations with cognitive and personality measures. Further study is needed to evaluate whether overlapping genetic contributions to psychiatric pathology may influence treatment choices. Ultimately, such developments may pave the way toward reduced heterogeneity and improved diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders

The Sign of the V: Papers in Honour of Sten Vikner

‘The Sign of the V’ is a festschrift in honour of Sten Vikner, written by friends, colleagues, and collaborators, present and past, to celebrate both his 60th birthday and his contribution to the field of linguistics. The papers cover a wide range of topics in theoretical and empirical linguistic research, from phonetics and phonology, through morphology, semantics, and syntax, to pragmatics, as well as language acquisition, second-language learning, language processing, language teaching, language contact, historical linguistics, and language variation and change. Many different languages are featured, including the Scandinavian languages (i.e. Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish), Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish, West Flemish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Scots, and Yiddish. The scope and depth of the chapters in this anthology is a clear indication of the scope and depth of Sten Vikner’s own comparative research well as his impact on the field of linguistics.‘The Sign of the V’ is a festschrift in honour of Sten Vikner, written by friends, colleagues, and collaborators, present and past, to celebrate both his 60th birthday and his contribution to the field of linguistics. The papers cover a wide range of topics in theoretical and empirical linguistic research, from phonetics and phonology, through morphology, semantics, and syntax, to pragmatics, as well as language acquisition, second-language learning, language processing, language teaching, language contact, historical linguistics, and language variation and change. Many different languages are featured, including the Scandinavian languages (i.e. Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish), Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish, West Flemish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Scots, and Yiddish. The scope and depth of the chapters in this anthology is a clear indication of the scope and depth of Sten Vikner’s own comparative research well as his impact on the field of linguistics

The Sign of the V: Papers in Honour of Sten Vikner

‘The Sign of the V’ is a festschrift in honour of Sten Vikner, written by friends, colleagues, and collaborators, present and past, to celebrate both his 60th birthday and his contribution to the field of linguistics. The papers cover a wide range of topics in theoretical and empirical linguistic research, from phonetics and phonology, through morphology, semantics, and syntax, to pragmatics, as well as language acquisition, second-language learning, language processing, language teaching, language contact, historical linguistics, and language variation and change. Many different languages are featured, including the Scandinavian languages (i.e. Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish), Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish, West Flemish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Scots, and Yiddish. The scope and depth of the chapters in this anthology is a clear indication of the scope and depth of Sten Vikner’s own comparative research well as his impact on the field of linguistics.‘The Sign of the V’ is a festschrift in honour of Sten Vikner, written by friends, colleagues, and collaborators, present and past, to celebrate both his 60th birthday and his contribution to the field of linguistics. The papers cover a wide range of topics in theoretical and empirical linguistic research, from phonetics and phonology, through morphology, semantics, and syntax, to pragmatics, as well as language acquisition, second-language learning, language processing, language teaching, language contact, historical linguistics, and language variation and change. Many different languages are featured, including the Scandinavian languages (i.e. Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish), Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish, West Flemish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Scots, and Yiddish. The scope and depth of the chapters in this anthology is a clear indication of the scope and depth of Sten Vikner’s own comparative research well as his impact on the field of linguistics

Me jonkun kanssa – kaksitulkintainen pronominikonstruktio suomessa ja suomenruotsissa

Suomen pronomini-ilmaus me jonkun kanssa on kaksitulkintainen: konstruktion mahdollisia merkityksiä ovat ’minä ja joku’ sekä ’me ja joku’. Sama toteutuu suomenruotsissa, esimerkiksi vi med Anna voi viitata osallistujajoukkoon ’minä ja Anna’ tai ’me ja Anna’, paljolti kontekstin osoittamana. Erityislaatuista konstruktiossa on sen yksiköllinen ’minä ja joku’ -merkitys, joka poikkeaa monikollisen pronominin tavanomaisesta käytöstä. Sekä suomen että suomenruotsin konstruktio esintyy tyypillisimmin puhutussa kielessä, mutta käyttö ei kuitenkaan rajoitu siihen. Etenkin suomessa ilmaus soveltuu muodollisempaankin kielenkäyttöön. Suomenruotsissa käyttö vaikuttaa rajatummalta, eikä se hyvään huollettuun kieleen kiistatta kuulukaan. Tämä selittyy osaltaan sillä, ettei ilmaus ole myöskään standardiruotsin käytössä. Varteenotettava hypoteesi on, että ilmaus on tullut suomenruotsiin suomesta. Tämä tutkimus tarkastelee konstruktiota kahdesta näkökulmasta: historiallisiin korpusaineistoihin tallettunutta käyttöä kuvaamalla sekä konstruktion hyväksyttävyyttä nykykielessä kyselytutkimuksen avulla analysoiden. Sanomalehdistä, kirjallisuudesta ja kirjeenvaihtokokoelmista muodostuvat historialliset aineistot osoittavat, että ilmaus on ollut suomessa kirjallisessa käytössä jo 1800-luvun alkupuoliskolla. Vastaavat suomenruotsin kokoelmat pitävät sisällään 1800-luvun jälkipuoliskolle sijoittuvia osumia. Vuonna 2019 verkossa toteutettu kyselytutkimus on tuottanut aineiston, joka koostuu laajan osallistujajoukon arvioista valittujen esimerkkilauseiden hyväksyttävyydestä. Kyselyn yhteydessä kerättiin tietoa vastaajien taustasta (mm. ikä ja asuinhistoria). Tämän aineiston analyysi osoittaa, että konstruktion erityinen yksiköllinen tulkinta on vähemmän hyväksytty niiden suomenruotsia edustavien informanttien keskuudessa, joiden asuinhistoria kytkeytyy ruotsinkieliseen Pohjanmaahan (erityisesti Vaasan ulkopuolelle). Alueelle tyypillistä on vähäisempi kielikontakti suomen ja suomenruotsin välillä, mikä tuloksena osaltaan puoltaa hypoteesia, jossa suomenruotsin konstruktion alkuperä on juuri suomessa.   ‘We with somebody’ – an ambiguous pronominal construction in Finnish and Fenno-SwedishThe Finnish pronominal construction me Annan kanssa, literally ‘we with Anna’, is ambiguous in its interpretation. Both ‘Anna and I’ and ‘Anna and us’ are possible readings. The same phenomenon occurs in Fenno-Swedish. For example, vi med Anna (lit. ‘we with Anna’) can have the very same two interpretations. The outcome is very much context-dependent. What makes the construction special is the singular interpretation ‘Anna and I’ that differs from how the meaning of plural pronouns is usually understood. In both Finnish and Fenno-Swedish, the construction occurs typically in the vernacular, but it isnot limited to it. Especially in Finnish, it can be encountered in more formal contexts as well. In Fenno-Swedish, it has been disputed whether the construction should be used in correct language use, as it does not appear in standard Swedish. The hypothesis is that the construction originates from Finnish. This paper examines the construction from two points of view. The first one concerns investigating occurrences found in historical corpus material. A contemporary overview is given by analysing survey data collected online in 2019. The historical corpus material consists of literature, newspapers and letter collections. In this material, the earliest Finnish examples of the construction are from the mid-19th century. The oldest corresponding Fenno-Swedish occurrences are from the second half of the same century. The survey data used in this paper is a result of a grammaticality judgement experiment. Various syntactic compositions, including the pronominal construction, have been judged by a large cohort of informants. At the same time, the participants provided information on their age and regional background. In analysing the data, this study shows that the pronominal construction, in its special singularinterpretation, is less accepted by Fenno-Swedish informants with a residential history linked to the Coastal Ostrobothnia region. In this area, the language contact between Finnish and Fenno-Swedish is considered weak. The result indicates that the hypothesis, in which the Fenno-Swedish construct would be of Finnish origin, is supported by the data