Introduzione

Saggio introduttivo del numero monografico 2/2015 della Rivista InVerbis, su lingua, canzone, identit\ue0 con breve excursus critico-bibliografico sullo stato dell'arte degli studi sulla lingua della canzone italiana contemporane

IL "SICULO-ARABIC" E GLI ARABISMI MEDIEVALI E MODERNI DI SICLIA

IL \uabSICULO ARABIC\ubb E GLI ARABISMI SICILIANI MEDIEVALI E MODERNI Nell\u2019ambito degli studi sulla vicenda storico-linguistica del periodo arabo-normanno in Sicilia, il saggio di Agius (1996), dal titolo Siculo Arabic, richiama l\u2019attenzione sul Trattato di Ibn Makk\u12b detto \u201cil Mazarese\u201d, rientrante nel filone dei \u201cla\u1e25n works\u201d. Si tratta di opere volte a segnalare e correggere gli errori ricorrenti tra gli utenti delle diverse variet\ue0 di arabo, errori intesi come devianze dal modello classico. La possibilit\ue0 di disporre di una discreta quantit\ue0 di dati presumibilmente \u201csiciliani\u201d (dati \u201cinterferiti\u201d e \u201csgrammaticati\u201d possibilmente riconducibili a una \u201cvariet\ue0 ponte\u201d tra l\u2019arabo e gli arabismi dialettali correnti), come quelli traibili dal lavoro di Ibn Makk\u12b e \u201cfiltrati\u201d da Agius (1996), potr\ue0 permettere da un lato una comparazione (per verificarne la effettiva similarit\ue0) tra i mutamenti fonetici e morfologici ricavabili dal Trattato e quelli osservabili negli arabismi di Sicilia (medievali e moderni) e dall\u2019altro di avviare una modesta e provvisoria rassegna su un ulteriore manipolo di possibili continuatori di voci arabe nei dialetti siciliani. Sar\ue0 inoltre possibile rintracciare qualche ulteriore elemento utile alla comprensione delle dinamiche di contatto all\u2019interno del complesso quadro sociolinguistico medievale gi\ue0 illustrato da V\ue0rvaro (1979; 1981).\uabSICULO ARABIC\ubb AND ARABIC LOAN-WORDS IN MEDIEVAL AND MODERN SICILIAN DIALECT Among the several studies on the complex socio-linguistic situation of medieval Arabic-Norman Sicily [cf. V\ue0rvaro (1979; 1981)], the work of Agius (1996) points at the Treatise of Ibn Makk\u12b, Ta\u1e6fq\u12bf al-lis\u101n wa talq\u12b\u1e25 al \u1e7an\u101n, as an example of \u201cla\u1e25n works\u201d (la\u1e25n = \u2018mistake\u2019), useful to signal the linguistic mistakes of Arabic speakers unable to use the correct and classical model. Since the work of Ibn Makk\u12b is probably referred to Arabic spoken in Sicily during 10th century, the comparison of its features with the ones of medieval and modern arabic loan-words of Sicilian dialects will permit to detect what phonetical and morphological changes we can observe in medieval and modern Sicilian wors of Arabic origin had already taken place in Arabic of medieval Sicily described in the Treatise. On the other hand, the analisys of data taken from Ibn Makk\u12b work and \u201cfiltered\u201d by Agius will also permit to discuss the possible Arabic origin of a further little group of lexemes still alive in Sicilian dialects

Lessico della cultura dialettale delle Madonie. 2. Voci di saggio

Nella prospettiva di una sistematica ricognizione del patrimonio lessicale di un'area di grande interesse etnodialettale come quella madonita e dopo il volume sulla cultura alimentare tradizionale, il volume presenta oltre 3000 voci di saggio e numerose unit\ue0 fraseologiche relative alla terminolgia connessa ai settori della cultura tradizionale. Le voci si riferiscono, in particolare, ai pi\uf9 significativi concetti dell'agricoltura e della pastorizia, ma presentano anche molti ambiti del mondo "naturale" (zoonimi, fitonimi, miconimi, meteoronimi). Il volume \ue8 corredato di carte linguistiche a colori sui principali tratti della cultura dialettale delle Madonie; il libro \ue8 arricchito da numerose illustrazioni sull'ergologia agricola e pastorale e sulla fauna locale (mammiferi, uccelli, rettili, anfibi). Il corpo del Lessico \ue8 infine integrato da numerosi etnotesti (con traduzione integrale), organizzati nella sezione "Racconti di antiche consuetudini"

Cheating in the Digital Age: Do Students Cheat More in Online Courses?

With the assistance of the Internet and related technologies, students today have many more ways to be academically dishonest than students a generation ago. With more and more Internet based course offerings, the concern is whether cheating will increase as students work and take tests away from the eyes of instructors. While the research on academic dishonesty in general is quite extensive, there is very limited research on student cheating in online courses. This study of 635 undergraduate and graduate students at a medium sized university focused on student cheating behaviors in both types of classes (on-line and face to face), by examining cheating behavior and perceptions of whether on-line or traditional face-to-face classes experienced greater cheating behaviors. (Contains 6 tables.

A combined genome-wide approach identifies a new potential candidate marker associated with the coat color sidedness in cattle

Coat color is one of the most important phenotypic features in livestock breeds. Cinisara is a local cattle breed generally of uniform black color which occasionally presents a particular phenotype, with animals typically display a white band along their spine, from the head to the tail, and on the ventral line (color sidedness). Therefore, this breed provides an ideal model to study the genetic components underlying phenotypic variation in coat color. A total of 63 animals, ten with sidedness phenotype and 53 with uniform black color were genotyped with Illumina Bovine 50 K. The comparison among genome-wide association study and FST analysis revealed a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), ARS-BFGL-NGS-55928, significantly associated with the trait. Only one gene (PLK2)was annotated near the associated SNP in a window of ±200 kb. The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the polo-like kinases, the same family of several known coat-color candidate genes. Based on the reported results, we draw the possible conclusion that the identified marker is potentially associated with the coat color sidedness in Cinisara. The local breeds with their genetic variability represent an important resource and model to study the genetic basis affecting peculiar traits. Future studies would be particularly relevant to refine these results and to better understand the genetic basis for this phenotype

Towards quantitative molecular mapping of cells by Raman microscopy: Using AFM for decoupling molecular concentration and cell topography

Raman micro-spectroscopy (RMS) is a non-invasive technique for imaging live cells in vitro. However, obtaining quantitative molecular information from Raman spectra is difficult because the intensity of a Raman band is proportional to the number of molecules in the sampled volume, which depends on the local molecular concentration and the thickness of the cell. In order to understand these effects, we combined RMS with atomic force microscopy (AFM), a technique that can measure accurately the thickness profile of the cells. Solution-based calibration models for RNA and albumin were developed to create quantitative maps of RNA and proteins in individual fixed cells. The maps were built by applying the solution-based calibration models, based on partial least squares fitting (PLS), on raster-scan Raman maps, after accounting for the local cell height obtained from the AFM. We found that concentrations of RNA in the cytoplasm of mouse neuroprogenitor stem cells (NSCs) were as high as 25 ± 6 mg ml-1, while proteins were distributed more uniformly and reached concentrations as high as ∼50 ± 12 mg ml-1. The combined AFM-Raman datasets from fixed cells were also used to investigate potential improvements for normalization of Raman spectral maps. For all Raman maps of fixed cells (n = 10), we found a linear relationship between the scores corresponding to the first component (PC1) and the cell height profile obtained by AFM. We used PC1 scores to reconstruct the relative height profiles of independent cells (n = 10), and obtained correlation coefficients with AFM maps higher than 0.99. Using this normalization method, qualitative maps of RNA and protein were used to obtain concentrations for live NSCs. While this study demonstrates the potential of using AFM and RMS for measuring concentration maps for individual NSCs in vitro, further studies are required to establish the robustness of the normalization method based on principal component analysis when comparing Raman spectra of cells with large morphological differences

Anomalous Angular Dependence of the Dynamic Structure Factor near Bragg Reflections: Graphite

The electron energy-loss function of graphite is studied for momentum transfers q beyond the first Brillouin zone. We find that near Bragg reflections the spectra can change drastically for very small variations in q. The effect is investigated by means of first principle calculations in the random phase approximation and confirmed by inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the dynamic structure factor S(q,\omega). We demonstrate that this effect is governed by crystal local field effects and the stacking of graphite. It is traced back to a strong coupling between excitations at small and large momentum transfers

Differences in Perceived Issues in Teacher Preparation Between First-Year Teachers and Their Principals

The perspectives of both teachers and principals are valuable in understanding to what extent recent graduates from formal educator preparation programs are ready to take on teaching roles and tasks as a teacher. The understanding gained may contribute to bettering initiatives targeted on teacher retention, particularly in those critical beginning years of practice. This study examined the perceived effectiveness of first-year teachers’ preparation from the perspectives of the teachers and the principals, utilizing three-year survey data of 644 first-year teachers who graduated from a higher education institution and 497 hosting principals in a Midwest state. The findings note that the first-year teachers and principals, in general, had similar views regarding the preparation of the teachers. Significant differences were found related to certain competency domains as identified in the state’s teaching standards. Also discussed in the article are longitudinal trends and recommendations for addressing noted challenges faced by first-year teachers