Migracije i mobilnost u transosmanskom kontekstu (Sažetak)

Recent research in historical migration studies has the potential to revise our understanding of Early Modern societies and states. The research program Transottomanica focuses on the historical entanglement between the Middle East and Eastern Europe by examining migration processes from a transregional and transimperial perspective. In the Early Modern period, various types of migration, especially from and across inter-imperial buffer zones such as the northern Black Sea region, the Caucasus, and the Balkans, connected the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Merchants, refugees and slaves not only created an overarching migration society, especially in the cosmopolitan cities, for transregional migration was also visible in the self-description and identities of imperial elites. The effects of inter-imperial migration, which was ingrained in societal and identitarian structures, can be followed until the early 20th centuryNovija istraživanja u području proučavanja povijesnih migracija omogućuju nam da preispitamo svoje shvaćanje ranonovovjekovnih društava i država. Znanstveno-istraživački program Transottomanica usredotočen je na povijesnu isprepletenost Bliskog istoka i Istočne Europe, pri čemu se migracijski procesi razmatraju s transregionalnog i transimperijalnog motrišta. U ranom novom vijeku, raznovrsne migracije – osobito iz i preko inter-imperijalnih tampon-zona poput sjevernog crnomorske regije, Kavkaza i Balkana – povezivale su Bliski istok i Istočnu Europu. Trgovci, izbjeglice i robovi ne samo da su tvorili svojevrsno migracijsko naddruštvo, napose u kozmopolitskim gradovima, već su se transregionalne migracije ogledale i u samoopisima i identitetima imperijalnih elita. Učinci inter-imperijalnih migracija, koje su se usadile u društvene i identitetske strukture, mogu se pratiti sve do ranog 20. stoljeća

"Vom Polocker Venedig"

Bisher liegen kaum Studien vor, welche die Geschichte einer einzelnen Stadt des ostslawischen Siedlungsgebietes über einen längeren Zeitraum untersuchen. Das Beispiel von Polock zeigt, wie sich ein bedeutender Fürstensitz der Rus’ im Kontakt mit Ostmitteleuropa vom 13. Jahrhundert an tief greifend verändert. Im Rahmen Polen-Litauens folgten auf die von Orthodoxen getragene Kommunegenese im Spätmittelalter konfliktreiche Konfessionsbildungsprozesse und die Entstehung orthodoxer sowie unierter Zünfte und Laienbruderschaften im 17. Jahrhundert. Die rechtliche Uneinheitlichkeit der Stadt ließ sie zur Zufluchtsstätte einer wachsenden jüdischen Gemeinde werden. Nach der Eingliederung ins Zarenreich 1772 wurden die Juden in die städtische Selbstverwaltung eingebunden, jedoch 1892 wieder aus ihr ausgeschlossen. Diese Exklusion konnte im Handlungsfeld des Vereinswesens der nun mehrheitlich jüdischen Stadt nur teilweise kompensiert werden

A Muslim Holy Man to Convert Christians in a Transottoman Setting: Approaches to Sarı Saltuk from the Late Middle Ages to the Present

Interpretations of texts on Sarı Saltuk may serve as a central example of the entanglement of Muslim and Christian contexts in (south-)eastern Europe and the Near East. Analyzing the fifteenth-century Saltuk-nâme and reports by Evliya Çelebi from the seventeenth century, a wide extension of the area concerned, as far as Poland-Lithuania, Muscovy and Sweden, can be observed. With the change of the contents of reports from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an increasing interest in Christians participating in the veneration of sites connected to Sarı Saltuk can be remarked. Yet descriptions of a veneration of Sarı S altuk in a non-Muslim setting r emain firmly embedded in Christian contexts, complicating a transreligious interpretation of them. In today’s Turkish perspective, though, Sarı Saltuk is no longer contextualized in a manner encompassing Russia and Poland, too, but much more in a context focusing on and affirming national Turkish Anatolian or nationalized post-Ottoman contents in the Balkans

"Vom Polocker Venedig"

Bisher liegen kaum Studien vor, welche die Geschichte einer einzelnen Stadt des ostslawischen Siedlungsgebietes über einen längeren Zeitraum untersuchen. Das Beispiel von Polock zeigt, wie sich ein bedeutender Fürstensitz der Rus’ im Kontakt mit Ostmitteleuropa vom 13. Jahrhundert an tief greifend verändert. Im Rahmen Polen-Litauens folgten auf die von Orthodoxen getragene Kommunegenese im Spätmittelalter konfliktreiche Konfessionsbildungsprozesse und die Entstehung orthodoxer sowie unierter Zünfte und Laienbruderschaften im 17. Jahrhundert. Die rechtliche Uneinheitlichkeit der Stadt ließ sie zur Zufluchtsstätte einer wachsenden jüdischen Gemeinde werden. Nach der Eingliederung ins Zarenreich 1772 wurden die Juden in die städtische Selbstverwaltung eingebunden, jedoch 1892 wieder aus ihr ausgeschlossen. Diese Exklusion konnte im Handlungsfeld des Vereinswesens der nun mehrheitlich jüdischen Stadt nur teilweise kompensiert werden

Pycnogenol® French maritime pine bark extract in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical studies

Pycnogenol® French maritime pine bark extract is a well-known and thoroughly studied patented extract from the bark of Pinus pinaster Ait. ssp. Atlantica. In 39 randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled (RDP) human clinical trials including 2,009 subjects, Pycnogenol® French maritime pine bark extract supplementation for two weeks to six months has been shown to beneficially affect cardiovascular health, chronic venous insufficiency, cognition, joint health, skin health, eye health, women’s health, respiratory health and allergies, oral health and sports performance. The mechanisms of action that can explain the respective effects on different conditions in the human body are discussed as well. As investigated in several in vitro, in vivo and in clinical studies, Pycnogenol® French maritime pine bark extract showed antioxidative effects, anti-inflammatory abilities, beneficial effects on endothelial function and reinforcing effects on the extracellular matrix. The present review aims to give a comprehensive overview of currently available “gold standard” RDP trials of Pycnogenol®’s benefits across various health domains compared to placebo. In addition, some of the processes on which the presented effects of Pycnogenol® French maritime pine bark extract are based will be elucidated and discussed. This broad overview of RDP studies on Pycnogenol® in different health domains can be used as a basis for further research on applications and mechanisms of this unique French maritime pine bark extract

Blind Test of Methods for Obtaining 2-D Near-Surface Seismic Velocity Models from First-Arrival Traveltimes

Seismic refraction methods are used in environmental and engineering studies to image the shallow subsurface. We present a blind test of inversion and tomographic refraction analysis methods using a synthetic first-arrival-time dataset that was made available to the community in 2010. The data are realistic in terms of the near-surface velocity model, shot-receiver geometry and the data’s frequency and added noise. Fourteen estimated models were determined by ten participants using eight different inversion algorithms, with the true model unknown to the participants until it was revealed at a session at the 2011 SAGEEP meeting. The estimated models are generally consistent in terms of their large-scale features, demonstrating the robustness of refraction data inversion in general, and the eight inversion algorithms in particular. When compared to the true model, all of the estimated models contain a smooth expression of its two main features: a large offset in the bedrock and the top of a steeply dipping low-velocity fault zone. The estimated models do not contain a subtle low-velocity zone and other fine-scale features, in accord with conventional wisdom. Together, the results support confidence in the reliability and robustness of modern refraction inversion and tomographic Methods

Prevention of venous thrombosis and thrombophlebitis in long-haul flights with pycnogenol.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and superficial vein thrombosis (SVT) and its prophylaxis with an oral anti-edema and antithrombotic agent (Pycnogenol®, Horphag, Research Management SA, Geneva, Switzerland) in long-haul flights, in subjects at moderate to high-risk of DVT and SVT. The study pre-included 244 pre-selected subjects; 211 were included (33 were excluded for several reasons due to logistic problems) and 198 completed the study; 13 subjects were lost for follow-up at the end of the flight, all for non-medical problems (i.e., for difficult connections). All subjects were scanned within 90 minutes before the flight and within 2 hours after disembarking. Subjects were supplemented with 100 mg Pycnogenol® per capsule. Treatment subjects received two capsules between 2 and 3 hours before flights with 250 mL of water; two capsules were taken 6 hours later with 250 mL of water and one capsule the next day. The control group received comparable placebo at the same intervals. The flight duration was on average 8 hours and 15 minutes (SD 55 min) (range, 7.45-12.33). In the control group there were five thrombotic events (one DVT and four superficial thromboses) while only nonthrombotic, localized phlebitis was observed in the Pycnogenol®group (5.15% vs. no events; p<0.025). The ITT (intention to treat) analysis detects 13 failures in the control group (eight lost to follow up + five thrombotic events) of 105 subjects (12.4%) vs. five failures (4.7%; all lost, no thrombotic events) in the treatment group (p<0.025). No unwanted effects were observed. In conclusion, this study indicates that Pycnogenol® treatment was effective in decreasing the number of thrombotic events (DVT and SVT) in moderate-to-high risk subjects, during long-haul flights

Antioxidant activity and analysis of proanthocyanidins from pine (Pinus densiflora) needles

In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant activity of pine needle extracts prepared with hot water, ethanol, hexane, hot water-hexane (HWH), and hot water-ethanol (HWE), using the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical method. The hot water extract possessed superior antioxidant activity than the other extracts. We also compared the antioxidant activity of pine needle extracts through ROS inhibition activity in a cellular system using MC3T3 E-1 cells. The hot water extract exhibited the lowest ROS production. The pattern of HPLC analysis of each extract indicated that the hot water extract contained the highest proanthocyanidin level. The pine needle hot-water extract was then isolated and fractionated with Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography to determine the major contributor to its antioxidant activity. The No.7 and 12 fractions had high antioxidant activities, that is, the highest contents of proanthocyanidins and catechins, respectively. These results indicate that the antioxidant activity of procyanidins from the hot water extract of pine needles is positively related to not only polymeric proanthocyanidins but also to monomeric catechins. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the pine needle hot water extract was similar to well-known antioxidants, such as vitamin C. This suggests that pine needle proanthocyanidins and catechins might be of interest for use as alternative antioxidants

Single and multiple dose pharmacokinetics of maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) after oral administration to healthy volunteers

BACKGROUND: Since plant extracts are increasingly used as phytotherapeutics or dietary supplements information on bioavailability, bioefficacy and safety are warranted. We elucidated the plasma kinetics of genuine extract components and metabolites after single and multiple ingestion of the standardized maritime pine bark extract Pycnogenol (USP quality) by human volunteers. METHODS: Eleven volunteers received a single dose of 300 mg pine bark extract, five volunteers ingested 200 mg daily for five days to reach steady state concentrations. Plasma samples were obtained before and at defined time points after intake of the extract. Samples were analyzed by HPLC with ion-pair reagents and simultaneous UV and electrochemical detection. RESULTS: We quantified total plasma concentrations of catechin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, taxifolin and the metabolite M1 (δ-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-γ-valerolactone). Additionally, we describe plasma time courses and steady state appearance of ten so far unknown compounds, U1 to U10. After single ingestion, compounds derived from the extract were rapidly absorbed and the majority of them were detectable over whole experimental period of 14 h. The analysis of steady state plasma samples revealed significant phase II metabolism. CONCLUSION: We present the first systematic pharmacokinetic analysis of compounds derived from maritime pine bark extract. Beyond the known constituents and metabolites we uncovered the plasma time courses of ten unknown compounds. In concert with our previous detection of anti-inflammatory bioefficacy of these plasma samples ex vivo we suggest that constituents and metabolites of Pycnogenol bear potential for disclosure of novel active principles

Pycnogenol® and Ginkgo biloba extract: effect on peroxynitrite-oxidized sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

The effect of two natural standardized plant extracts, Pycnogenol® and EGb 761, on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) activity and posttranslational modifications induced by peroxynitrite was investigated to assess their possible protective role. EGb 761 was found to have a protective effect on SERCA activity in the concentration range of 5–40 µg/ml. On the other hand, Pycnogenol® caused a decrease of SERCA activity at concentrations of 25 µg/ml. EGb 761 did not prevent protein carbonyl formation upon oxidation with peroxynitrite. On the contrary, Pycnogenol® at the concentrations of 5 and 10 µg/ml significantly decreased the level of protein carbonyls by 44% and 54%, respectively. Neither Pycnogenol® nor EGb 761 exerted a protective effect against thiol group oxidation.The plant extracts studied modulated peroxynitrite-injured SERCA activity by different ways and failed to correlate with posttranslational modifications. Their effect seems to be associated with their ability to change SERCA conformation rather than by their antioxidant capacity