Historical lexicography of Old French and linked open data: transforming the resources of the Dictionnaire étymologique de l'ancien français with OntoLex-Lemon

The adaptation of novel techniques and standards in computational lexicography is taking place at an accelerating pace, as manifested by recent extensions beyond the traditional XML-based paradigm of electronic publication. One important area of activity in this regard is the transformation of lexicographic resources into (Linguistic) Linked Open Data ([L]LOD), and the application of the OntoLex-Lemon vocabulary to electronic editions of dictionaries. At the moment, however, these activities focus on machine-readable dictionaries, natural language processing and modern languages and found only limited resonance in philology in general and in historical language stages in particular. This paper presents an endeavor to transform the resources of a comprehensive dictionary of Old French into LOD using OntoLex-Lemon and it sketches the difficulties of modeling particular aspects that are due to the medieval stage of the language

The Shortcomings of Language Tags for Linked Data When Modeling Lesser-Known Languages

In recent years, the modeling of data from linguistic resources with Resource Description Framework (RDF), following the Linked Data paradigm and using the OntoLex-Lemon vocabulary, has become a prevalent method to create datasets for a multilingual web of data. An important aspect of data modeling is the use of language tags to mark lexicons, lexemes, word senses, etc. of a linguistic dataset. However, attempts to model data from lesser-known languages show significant shortcomings with the authoritative list of language codes by ISO 639: for many lesser-known languages spoken by minorities and also for historical stages of languages, language codes, the basis of language tags, are simply not available. This paper discusses these shortcomings based on the examples of three such languages, i.e., two varieties of click languages of Southern Africa together with Old French, and suggests solutions for the issues identified

Using RDFa to link text and dictionary data for medieval French

Around the world, there is a wide range of traditional data manually collected for different scientific purposes. A small portion of this data has been digitised, but much of it remains less usable due to a lack of rich semantic models to enable humans and machines to understand, interpret and use these data. This paper presents ongoing work to build a semantic model to enrich and publish traditional data collection questionnaires in particular, and the historical data collection of the Bavarian Dialects in Austria in general. The use of cultural and linguistic concepts identified in the questionnaire questions allow for cultural exploration of the non-standard data (answers) of the collection. The approach focuses on capturing the semantics of the questionnaires dataset using domain analysis and schema analysis. This involves analysing the overall data collection process (domain analysis) and analysing the various schema used at different stages (schema analysis). By starting with modelling the data collection method, the focus is placed on the questionnaires as a gateway to understanding, interlinking and publishing the datasets. A model that describes the semantic structure of the main entities such as questionnaires, questions, answers and their relationships is presented

Depletion of Dendritic Cells Enhances Innate Anti-Bacterial Host Defense through Modulation of Phagocyte Homeostasis

Dendritic cells (DCs) as professional antigen-presenting cells play an important role in the initiation and modulation of the adaptive immune response. However, their role in the innate immune response against bacterial infections is not completely defined. Here we have analyzed the role of DCs and their impact on the innate anti-bacterial host defense in an experimental infection model of Yersinia enterocolitica (Ye). We used CD11c-diphtheria toxin (DT) mice to deplete DCs prior to severe infection with Ye. DC depletion significantly increased animal survival after Ye infection. The bacterial load in the spleen of DC-depleted mice was significantly lower than that of control mice throughout the infection. DC depletion was accompanied by an increase in the serum levels of CXCL1, G-CSF, IL-1α, and CCL2 and an increase in the numbers of splenic phagocytes. Functionally, splenocytes from DC-depleted mice exhibited an increased bacterial killing capacity compared to splenocytes from control mice. Cellular studies further showed that this was due to an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by neutrophils. Adoptive transfer of neutrophils from DC-depleted mice into control mice prior to Ye infection reduced the bacterial load to the level of Ye-infected DC-depleted mice, suggesting that the increased number of phagocytes with additional ROS production account for the decreased bacterial load. Furthermore, after incubation with serum from DC-depleted mice splenocytes from control mice increased their bacterial killing capacity, most likely due to enhanced ROS production by neutrophils, indicating that serum factors from DC-depleted mice account for this effect. In summary, we could show that DC depletion triggers phagocyte accumulation in the spleen and enhances their anti-bacterial killing capacity upon bacterial infection

Comparison of cardiovascular risk factors between children and adolescents with classes III and IV obesity: findings from the APV cohort

Objective!#!Obesity is associated with many cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in childhood. There is an ongoing discussion whether there is a linear relationship between degree of overweight and deterioration of CVRFs justifying body mass index (BMI) cut-offs for treatment decisions.!##!Methods!#!We studied the impact of BMI-SDS on blood pressure, lipids, and glucose metabolism in 76,660 children (aged 5-25 years) subdivided in five groups: overweight (BMI-SDS 1.3 to <1.8), obesity class I (BMI-SDS 1.8 to <2.3), class II (BMI-SDS 2.3-2.8), class III (BMI-SDS > 2.8-3.3), and class IV (BMI-SDS > 3.3). Analyses were stratified by age and sex.!##!Results!#!We found a relationship between BMI-SDS and blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, liver enzymes, and the triglycerides-HDL-cholesterol ratio at any age and sex. Many of these associations lost significance when comparing children with obesity classes III and IV: In females < 14 years and males < 12 years triglycerides and glucose parameters did not differ significantly between classes IV and III obesity. Prevalence of dyslipidemia was significantly higher in class IV compared to class III obesity only in females ≥ 14 years and males ≥ 12 years but not in younger children. In girls < 14 years and in boys of any age, the prevalences of type 2 diabetes mellitus did not differ between classes III and IV obesity.!##!Conclusions!#!Since a BMI above the highest BMI cut-off was not associated consistently with dyslipidemia and disturbed glucose metabolism in every age group both in boys and girls, measurements of CVRFs instead of BMI cut-off seem preferable to guide different treatment approaches in obesity such as medications or bariatric surgery

La régionalité lexicale du français au Moyen Âge

La variation diatopique du lexique français médiéval constitue une dimension linguistique à part entière qui est depuis toujours largement sous-estimée – et sous-exploitée – par les historiens de la langue, les philologues, les éditeurs de texte et même les lexicographes. Le présent volume souhaite dépasser les approches centenaires qui ont considéré la régionalité lexicale essentiellement au niveau microscopique des lexèmes ou des textes individuels. Son objectif est d’appréhender le phénomène de manière systématique en le plaçant dans le cadre interprétatif de la linguistique variationnelle actuelle. Le volume comporte deux volets: (i) un inventaire de 2 800 lexèmes régionaux provenant du territoire d’oïl continental et établi notamment à partir de l’œuvre intégrale de Gilles Roques, en l’honneur duquel le colloque a été réalisé; (ii) une série d’études thématiques qui tentent d’identifier la place de la régionalité lexicale dans la lexicographie du français, dans l’évolution du diasystème entre le 9e et le 20e siècle et dans les différents genres textuels (littérature profane et religieuse, textes documentaires). Ils mettent également en relief le rôle du contact linguistique pour la régionalité lexicale et le rôle de cette dernière dans la formation d’une variété standard en comparant le français avec les langues voisines (anglais, espagnol et italien)