This article explores the source and the meaning of the eleven quatrains quoted by modern Japanese writer Dazai Osamu (1909-1948) in his last complete novel, Ningen shikkaku (No Longer Human, 1948). ...Although dubbed as “rubaiyat”, which would indicate that they are translations of classical Persian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), the poems do not seem to match any of the known English translations from his work. This article explores the origin of the Japanese quatrains in Dazai’s novel, as well as their possible relevance for his literary work overall.
The absence of chemotherapeutic target hormone receptors in breast cancer is descriptive of the commonly known triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype. TNBC remains one of the most aggressive ...invasive breast cancers, with the highest mortality rates in African American women. Therefore, new drug therapies are continually being explored. Microtubule-targeting agents such as paclitaxel (Taxol) interfere with microtubules dynamics, induce mitotic arrest, and remain a first-in-class adjunct drug to treat TNBC. Recently, we synthesized a series of small molecules of substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs). The lead compound of this series, with the most potent cytostatic effect, was identified as 4-Ethyl-N-(7-hydroxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-2(1H)-yl) benzamide (GM-4-53). In our previous work, GM-4-53 was similar to paclitaxel in its capacity to completely abrogate cell cycle in MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells, with the former not impairing tubulin depolymerization. Given that GM-4-53 is a cytostatic agent, and little is known about its mechanism of action, here, we elucidate differences and similarities to paclitaxel by evaluating whole-transcriptome microarray data in MDA-MB-231 cells. The data obtained show that both drugs were cytostatic at non-toxic concentrations and caused deformed morphological cytoskeletal enlargement in 2D cultures. In 3D cultures, the data show greater core penetration, observed by GM-4-53, than paclitaxel. In concentrations where the drugs entirely blocked the cell cycle, the transcriptome profile of the 48,226 genes analyzed (selection criteria: (p-value, FDR p-value < 0.05, fold change −2< and >2)), paclitaxel evoked 153 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), GM-4-53 evoked 243 DEGs, and, of these changes, 52/153 paclitaxel DEGs were also observed by GM-4-53, constituting a 34% overlap. The 52 DEGS analysis by String database indicates that these changes involve transcripts that influence microtubule spindle formation, chromosome segregation, mitosis/cell cycle, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling. Of interest, both drugs effectively downregulated “inhibitor of DNA binding, dominant negative helix-loop-helix” (ID) transcripts; ID1, ID3 and ID4, and amphiregulin (AREG) and epiregulin (EREG) transcripts, which play a formidable role in cell division. Given the efficient solubility of GM-4-53, its low molecular weight (MW; 296), and capacity to penetrate a small solid tumor mass and effectively block the cell cycle, this drug may have future therapeutic value in treating TNBC or other cancers. Future studies will be required to evaluate this drug in preclinical models.
Firm efficiency and stock returns: Australian evidence Ang, Tze Chuan 'Chewie'; Azad, A.S.M. Sohel; Pham, Thu A.T. ...
International review of financial analysis,
November 2021, 2021-11-00, Volume:
78
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
We employ a stochastic frontier approach to estimate firm efficiency - the efficiency with which a firm converts its inputs into output. We find a negative relation between firm efficiency and the ...cross-section of stock returns (‘firm efficiency effect’) in the Australian stock market. The firm efficiency effect is robust after controlling for other firm characteristics and is more pronounced in stocks with high limits-to-arbitrage. However, we find no evidence that firm efficiency is a priced factor in the cross-section. Our findings suggest that investors misprice firm efficiency and arbitrage costs perpetuate its return predictability.
•We find a negative relation between firm efficiency and the cross-section of stock returns in Australia.•Firm efficiency is not a priced factor in the cross-section.•Investors misprice firm efficiency and arbitrage costs perpetuate its return predictability.
Extended Abstract One of the basic conditions for understanding the Quran is comprehending the language of the time of revelation. Then, only referring to the interpretations or translations ...of the Quran, which are based on such an understanding, is acceptable. Accordingly, among the conditions of understanding, interpreting, and translating the Quran, attention should be paid to its syntactic implications. Without having proper knowledge of syntactic implications, the process of understanding, interpretation, and translation may not be completed. Hence, the semantics of the syntactic construction of the Quran and finding their equivalents in various languages, including Persian, are the prerequisites of understanding, interpreting, and translating the Quran. The present study aims at investigating the syntactic semantics of the structure of ‘Aṣbaḥa + the present verb’ in the Holy Quran and its equivalent in Persian. Therefore, the study reviews the verb ‘Aṣbaḥa’ in Arabic as well as the structure of ‘Aṣbaḥa + the present verb’ in Quranic exegeses and translations. Finally, through examining about 150 exegeses and more than 50 translations, this construction is modeled in two positive and negative aspects in Persian. The verb ‘Asbaha’ is one of the semi-mutisarrif verbs. This verb and its similar verbs (adhha, zalla, amsa, and bat) have two functions in Arabic grammar: 1) Tamma (complete): when it means entering one of these five times (morning, noon, during the day, evening or the beginning of the night, and during the night), in this case, it suffices to take the subject and does not need a noun and a predicate; 2) Naqisah (incomplete): when these verbs are incomplete, they have two states (i.e. attribution of the predicate to the subject in one of the five tenses, and attribution of the predicate to the subject without indicating the five tenses). In the second and third cases, these verbs are considered as linking or attributive verbs and are translated as ‘became, made, turned’, with the difference that in the third case, they no longer have the meaning of time. The verb ‘Asbaha’ before the present verb is an auxiliary (definite) verb. This structure is used 3 times in the Holy Quran. In two verses, the present verb, which is the predicate of ‘Asbaha’, are positive and in one verse is negative. Through the grammatical analysis and the study of the interpretive context (combination), the present study proves that when ‘Asbaha’ is used as an auxiliary verb and its predicate is a verbal sentence (fi'liyah) accompanied by a present verb, it is emptied of the concept of time and has only the meaning of becoming (sayrourat). Also, the Quranic applications of this syntactic structure by examining the context of the verses show that ‘Asbaha’ in these cases lacks the meaning of time. There is no indication of the combination of the verses. It concludes that the special event happened in the morning. Most interpretations are silent about the time of occurrence of these verses. Among 150 interpretations, only a few have specified their occurrence in the morning, of which one or two interpretations have suggested the existence or non-concept of time as a probability. By examining the translations of the Holy Quran, in general, the translation of the verb ‘Asbaha’ in these verses may be divided into 4 categories based on their frequency including the concept of time, the concept of becoming, the scattered concepts, and the equivalent. As there is no reason in the interpretations for the existence of the concept of time. It seems that the adverb ‘digar’ (no longer) is an appropriate equilibrium for the verb ‘Asbaha’ in this structure, which indicates the concept of becoming and evolution and is used for both positive and negative aspects.
Background: There is evidence that mental disorders are more frequently reported among emergency services personnel due to the stressful nature of the job in combination with a high exposure to ...traumatic events. However, most of this research is based on occupational surveys that may lead to a contextual bias in the prevalence estimates or lack an adequate comparison group.
Objectives: To investigate mental health outcomes and associations with individual, job and trauma related characteristics among emergency services personnel compared to other workers.
Method: Participants were identified from the UK Biobank, a large study that collected a variety of genetic, physical and health data on individuals from across the UK. UK Biobank participants were aged between 40-69 years at recruitment. Those employed in the emergency services were identified based on job titles. A comparison sample of other workers was selected and matched to the gender composition of emergency services personnel.
Results: 5052 participants were included, and 842 were currently working in the emergency services. The majority were male (77.4%) and the mean age at Biobank enrolment was 52.5 years. Alcohol misuse was reported in 32.8% of emergency services personnel compared to 29.2% in non-emergency services personnel, followed by PTSD (9.2% vs 6.0%), depression (6.8% vs 5.1%) and anxiety (3.9% vs 3.6%). An increased risk of PTSD was found among emergency services personnel compared to other workers (odds ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.21-2.06), but this association was no longer significant after adjustment for exposure to traumatic events and job characteristics.
Conclusions: The substantial levels of alcohol misuse and increased risk of PTSD, possibly as a result of traumatic exposures in the line of duty in combination with job stressors such as shift work, call for continued monitoring of the health and wellbeing of emergency services personnel.
This study aims at investigating aspects of colonialism in both novels of the title. The two works expose a number of the evils of colonialism like masked colonization, stereotyping and hybridity. ...The colonizer's appointing of national agents to run the country in the colonizer 's stead, raising nonentities on the political hierarchy and sowing seeds of hatred among citizens of the same nation will be discussed under the first subtitle, masked colonization. Under the second, stereotyping and misrepresenting Africans will be investigated. The paper will discuss ideas of language, culture and religion when dealing with hybridity, the third concept in such a trichotomy, to show how these have been affected by colonization. The paper will respond to the following questions: how do Achebe's No Longer at Ease and Salih's Season of Migration to the North question the credibility of achieving independence? How (and why) did the (British) colonizer persistently stereotype African nations? How did the evil aftermath of British colonialism reach and spoil the different aspects of the lives of the colonized nations, as shown in both?
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