A Craniometrical Analysis of the Early Bronze Age Dogs from Vu~edol Site (East Slavonia, Croatia)

During archaeological campaigne on Vu~edol site 7 crania and cranial fragments together with 10 halfs of lower jawswere found. Due to existance of crania and lower jaws damages and therefore lack of preserved craniometrical points, it was not possible to measure the same craniometrical lengths on all the samples. Apart from craniometrical measurements, 6 craniometrical indices and ratios were calculated. Comparison of calculated values and values of craniometrical indices and ratios identify dog\u27s crania from Vu~edol site as dolichocephalic cranial type. Mutual comparison of all analyzed craniometricalvalues for crania and lower jaws of dog\u27s crania don\u27t show a significant difference in size and ratios of individual measures, nor significant deviation in value of the samples of other Vu~edol culture sites. This point out on type of dogs with similar appearance which tallness and form respond to smaller dog\u27s breed, in the first place a type of Croatian sheepdog or Hungarian Mudi

Maedi Visna virus infection and TMEM154 genotypes in Valle del Belìce sheep breed

Maedi Visna (MV) is a viral infection in sheep caused by Lentivirus and characterised by a long incubation period, slow progression, weight loss and eventually death. TMEM154 was reported in the ovine as major candidate gene associated with host susceptibility/resistance. The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence of MV infection within Sicilian herds of Valle del Belìce breed using an ELISA serological test and to estimate the frequencies of the resistant/susceptible genotypes to the TMEM154 gene. Finally, we investigated the association between TMEM154 E/K genotype and MV infectious status. A total of 1,083 animals from different flocks were tested. The ELISA method showed 15.33% (n = 166) of infected individuals. Analyses of the sequences showed the presence of both K and E alleles with frequencies of 0.151 and 0.849, respectively. On the total individuals, only 23 carried KK genotype while 280 were heterozigous EK, and 780 homozygous EE. The locus was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the breed (p-value <0.05) and observed and expected heterozygosity values were 0.258 and 0.256, respectively. Moreover, a significant association (p-value < 0.001) between TMEM154 genotypes and seroprevalence status (positive vs. negative) was found. This study allowed us to know the prevalence of MV infection in Sicilian flocks of Valle del Belìce breed and could be helpful in establishing selection programs aimed at controlling and eradicating this virus

Dental Contribution to Paleo-Odontological Study of Interarch Relations in a Human Fossil

In paleo-anthropology the fragility of fossil pieces (teeth and supporting bones) reduces their possible manipulation when studying the interarch relations. Two original impression methods of the jaw pieces are proposed, both adapted from those currently practiced in odontology. The plaster replicas of the dental occlusal parts are prepared according to the manufacturing procedures used in prosthetic dental laboratories. This study led to the following observations: 1) the impression techniques used by odontologists are adapted to the moulding of fragile samples. 2) The replicas elaborated from these mouldings made easier the cast manipulation in confrontation. 3) Macrophotography is a complement to direct observation of the pieces and their replicas. 4) For paleoanthropologic purposes, such studies can be easily carried out on almost any animal or human fossils

Dental Contribution to Paleo-Odontological Study of Interarch Relations in a Human Fossil

In paleo-anthropology the fragility of fossil pieces (teeth and supporting bones) reduces their possible manipulation when studying the interarch relations. Two original impression methods of the jaw pieces are proposed, both adapted from those currently practiced in odontology. The plaster replicas of the dental occlusal parts are prepared according to the manufacturing procedures used in prosthetic dental laboratories. This study led to the following observations: 1) the impression techniques used by odontologists are adapted to the moulding of fragile samples. 2) The replicas elaborated from these mouldings made easier the cast manipulation in confrontation. 3) Macrophotography is a complement to direct observation of the pieces and their replicas. 4) For paleoanthropologic purposes, such studies can be easily carried out on almost any animal or human fossils

Istro-romanians: the legacy of a culture

The Istro-Romanians are one of Europe’s smallest ethnic groups. They inhabit villages like: Šušnjevica (i.e. Suşnieviţa), Zejane (i.e. Jeiani), Brdo (i.e. Bârdo) and Nova Vas (i.e. Noselo), in the central and north-eastern corner of the Istria Peninsula, Croatia. Their dialect is currently included in the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages as Seriously Endangered. Istro-Romanians are not accepted by the Croatian Constitution as a national minority. In the lack of any institutions to preserve their language and cultural heritage, the very existence of this ethnic group is threatened. In this paper I am presenting potential solutions for preserving the culture of Istro-Romanians

STRUTTURA E STRATIFICAZIONE DEL LESSICO ISTRORUMENO

U članku se pokušava sinkronijski i dijakronijski odrediti različite izvorne i aloglotske leksičke slojeve u istrorumunjskim idiomima. Svaki se sloj oprimjeruje riječima koje je autor sam prikupio tijekom terenskih istraživanja od 1985. do današnjih dana (autor raspolaže korpusom od preko 15.000 leksičkih jedinica – računajući dakako i sve glasovne inačice) i primjerima iz literature o istrorumunjskim govorima. Pripadnost pojedinih riječi odgovarajućem sloju dokazuje se suvremenim etimologijskim i leksikologijskim metodama. Autor je svjestan stanovita broja mogućih pogrešnih procjena jer riječ je ipak o idiomu za koji ne postoje nikakvi tekstovi iz iole starijih vremena.Nell\u27articolo si cerca di determinare, dal punto di vista sincronico e diacronico, vari strati autentici e alloglotti del lessico degli idiomi istrorumeni. Ogni strato viene illustrato da esempi di parole raccolte dall\u27autore stesso durante le indagini fatte sul terreno dal 1985 in poi (l\u27autore dispone di un corpus di oltre 15.000 unità lessicali – comprese anche tutte le varianti di pronuncia) nonché da esempi presi dai rispettivi studi sulle parlate istrorumene. L\u27appartenenza di singole parole a strato particolare viene provata mediante metodi moderni di etimologia e di lessicologia. L\u27autore è consapevole della possibilità di alcune interpretazioni sbagliate, dato che si tratta dell\u27idioma su cui non esistono testi scritti risalenti ad un periodo che potrebbe essere considerato remoto

Razvoj zbirke slovenskega čustvenega govora iz radijskih iger – EmoLUKS

V prispevku predstavljamo graditev slovenske zbirke čustvenega govora za umetno tvorjenje govora in hkrati raziščemo tudi možnosti njene uporabe pri razpoznavanju čustvenega stanja govorca. V prispevku se osredotočamo na opis razvite metodologije za označevanje paralingvistične informacije v govoru na primeru označevanja čustvenih stanj v slovenskih radijskih igrah. Zbirka vsebuje govorne zvočne signale sedemnajstih radijskih iger. Trenutno označeno gradivo obsega čustven govor enega govorca in ene govorke. Čustvene oznake posnetkov smo pridobili s pomočjo dvostopenjskega označevanja s petimi prostovoljnimi označevalci, ki so označili posnetke v dveh časovno ločenih intervalih. Način označevanja omogoča medsebojno primerjavo oznak označevalcev. S pomočjo označenega gradiva v obeh iteracijah poročamo o konsistentnosti označevalcev in ujemanju njihovih mnenj. Na podlagi večinskega mnenja pridobljenih čustvenih oznak vsakemu posnetku pripišemo tisto čustveno oznako, ki je bila med označevalci največkrat izbrana, in tako označene posnetke združimo v zbirko čustvenega govora EmoLUKS, ki jo kvantitativno in kvalitativno ovrednotimo z uporabo uveljavljenega samodejnega sistema za razpoznavanje čustvenih stanj govorca. Konsistentnost oznak ovrednotimo z dvorazrednim in sedemrazrednim od govorca odvisnim razvrščevalnikom čustvenih stanj. Uspešni rezultati razpoznavanja dodatno potrjujejo, da podatkovna zbirka kljub svoji zahtevnosti vsebuje jasno izražena čustvena stanja govorca