In September, new issues of scientific journals Linguistica Uralica, Oil Shale, Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and Trames were published.
Brief reviews:
LINGUISTICA URALICA
In the September issue of Linguistica Uralica, the well-known Komi linguist Galina Nekrasova investigates uses of the Komi indefinite pronoun мыйкö ‘something’ as a discourse marker. In its place holder function, мыйкö may, in principle, substitute all parts of speech. In her research, Nekrasova pays attention to the degree of syntactic embeddedness. Most typically, the marker replaces a substantive, thereby fully or partially coinciding with the grammatical encoding of the substituted unit. In verb substitution, however, the pronoun occurs either as a derived verb (e.g. мыйкö-ав- ‘something-verb’), or together with an auxiliary verb meaning ‘to do’. As a hesitation marker, on the other hand, мыйкö appears without any inflection. The study is a very welcome contribution to modern pragmatic approaches analysing spoken Komi.
OIL SHALE
The new issue of Oil Shale contains two articles by authors from Estonia and two from China.
We would like to highlight the article authored by Estonian scientists, titled “Phase transformation and strength of hydrated circulating fluidised bed combustion ash sediment in an open environment over 15 years: implications for the long-term stability of ash waste plateaus”. This research presents findings from a long-term field study investigating the mineral and chemical transformations of total CFBC ash sediments over a 15-year period. The study reveals that the pozzolanic properties of CFBC ashes are primarily influenced by the formation of Ca-Al sulphate mineral ettringite and the compactness of sediment. The compaction of ashes during deposition contributes to the development of a dense microstructure, providing uniaxial compressive strength that exceeds 20 MPa. The authors suggest that compacted and hydrated CFBC ashes are sufficiently stable in ash deposits, holding promise as a sustainable alternative for cement-free construction materials.
The article by Chinese scientists, titled “Study on the influence of non-temperature factors on the migration path of organic carbon and evolution characteristics of pore permeability parameters of organic-rich shale under supercritical water in situ conversion”, is also worth highlighting. The study reveals that the increase in pressure and reaction time has opposite effects on the pore structure parameters of shale. Higher pressure leads to a decrease in these parameters, while longer reaction times result in improved and expanded parameters.
We also recommend reading the other articles: “Co-pyrolysis of biomass woodchips with Ca-rich oil shale fuel in a continuous feed reactor” and “Logging identification of lithology in fine-grained sedimentary rocks based on the FSSA-HKELM model: a case study of the Qingshankou Formation in the Songliao Basin (NE China)”.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ESTONIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
The September issue of the Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences has the honour of publishing three articles by speakers from the conference commemorating the 100th birthday of Prof. Viktor Mutt.
In the article “Four decades of research on Viktor Mutt’s neuropeptides with focus on galanin”, Tomas Hökfelt and his co-authors describe their work on peptides discovered in Viktor Mutt’s laboratory, particularly galanin. Some personal recollections of meetings with Viktor Mutt and a brief overview of early neuropeptide research at Karolinska Institutet are provided. The aim of the article is to highlight the potential of the large group of neuropeptides as targets for the development of drugs that may further help patients with illnesses afflicting the nervous system.
Ülo Langel in his article “Beyond the discovered peptides by Viktor Mutt – a contribution” gives a summary of the results obtained in collaboration between the laboratory of Prof. Viktor Mutt at Karolinska Institutet and the laboratory at Stockholm University, headed by Prof. Tamas Bartfai. It is demonstrated that the contribution of Viktor Mutt to the discovery and study of bioactive peptides has led to several further developments, which extend far beyond the original goals of his study and allow us to discuss their importance today and in the future. This perspective has made the contribution of Viktor Mutt to bioactive peptide research excellent and extraordinary.
In the article “Neuropeptides and pharmacology”, Tamas Bartfai and Pēteris Alberts briefly describe their work together with Viktor Mutt, who discovered and purified many new gastrointestinal bioactive neuropeptides that have important applications as therapeutic agents in diabetes, epilepsy, migraine and weight control.
TRAMES. A JOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The opening article by the Australian and South Korean researcher David W. Kim examines the selection and risk management of astronauts, including their psychological traumas and resilience for space travel. Kim is interested in the historical narratives of the astronaut selection process for short-term missions. Considering major hazards, such as confinement (isolation), distance from Earth (travel time), and hostile environments, this paper proposes a hypothetical policy for a Mars return mission (2.5–3 years). It focuses on enhancing the astronauts’ psychiatric resilience through a selection protocol that takes into account family traumas (bereavement, divorce, and abuse), addictions (drugs, alcohol, smoking, internet gambling, and sex), and personality traits associated with possible emergency situations (threat, stubbornness, aggression, hostility, or violence) in the context of space community security.
In the next article, Zhengqing Gu and Dexin Tian from China tackle the China–US relationship through a thematic analysis of YouTube comments on the China–US Anchorage Summit that took place in 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska. The analysis rested on the six conditions of Dahlberg’s model of an ideal online public sphere.
Muhammad Dachlan et al. from Indonesia examine the practice of female circumcision on the basis of Islamic rituals, traditions and power dynamics in Indonesia. The research relies on Michel Foucault’s theories.
Taiwanese researchers Indarti Indarti and Li Hsun Peng analyse the impact of consumer cultural identity on the fashion preferences and buying patterns of hijab wearers. The article concludes that religious beliefs considerably influence fashion choices of young Muslim women. The cultural identity of consumers plays a decisive role in shaping the awareness of fashion, and this has an impact on marketing strategies and production development in the hijab fashion industry.
The last contribution comes from Ukraine. Khrystyna Mereniuk and Illia Parshyn present an overview of military units and symbolism from the medieval Kyivan Rus to today’s Russian-Ukrainian war. The aim of the paper is to analyse the significance of Kyivan Rus in the Ukrainian military memory, reflected in contemporary names of military units. References to Kyivan Rus era evokes pride in the Ukrainians. At the same time the Russian narrative revolves around the Soviet concept of the Great Patriotic War, also emphasising figures from medieval times, without delving into their links with Rus. The conclusions highlight a distinctive precedent in terms of divergent memory politics of Ukraine and Russia.
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