On the borders of the Turkish and Iranian nation-states: the story of Ferzende and Besra

Following the First World War, empires were replaced with nation-states for good and the map of the Middle East was redrawn. Traced back to the final decades of the nineteenth century, Kurdish nationalism did not result in a nation-state in the modern Middle East. Therefore, the Kurds inhabiting the borderlands of the four nation-states of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria came to be perceived as ‘trouble’ by these nation-states. Through the use of a wide array of published and unpublished Kurdish, Turkish, Persian and French archival documents, memoirs and oral and written literary pieces, this article unearths the role of a Kurdish tribal chief by the name of Ferzende in Mount Ararat Revolt in the late 1920s and early 1930s against the Turkish and Iranian nation-states. An exceptional contribution of this study is its exploration of the petition submitted to the Iranian Parliament by Ferzende's wife Besra. This study thus is a fresh contribution to the study of social history of the Middle East from the margins.     

Authoritarian legitimation: assessing discourses of legitimacy in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

ABSTRACT

What are the sources of authoritarian persistence in Central Asia? This study explores the argument that authoritarian regimes persist through effective authoritarian legitimation. Drawing on the theory and analysis of discourse, it develops an approach to authoritarian legitimation and examines discursive appeals to legitimacy by the Kazakh and Uzbek presidents. The study also assesses the effectiveness of the presidential discourses of legitimacy for public perception of the governing regimes in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This research shows that by defining what constitutes legitimate power and presenting political rule as consistent with this definition, authoritarian governments can foster certain modes of reasoning and evaluation among citizens, and create possibilities for their acceptance of the regime as ‘right’ or ‘proper’.     

Evaluation of the Postmortem Glucose and Glycogen Levels in Hepatic,Renal, Muscle,and Brain Tissues: Is It Possible to Estimate Postmortem Interval Using These Parameters?

The aim of our study was to investigate the postmortem levels of glucose and glycogen in hepatic, renal, muscle, and brain tissues and then examine the changes in those levels that could be useful for estimating postmortem interval. We established an animal model. Seventy female BALB/c albino mice were used in this study. After being sacrificed, the mice were randomly divided into six groups according to time elapsed since death (Group 1: 0 h; Group 2: 12 h; Group 3: 24 h; Group 4: 36 h; Group 5: 48 h; and Group 6: 60 h). Glucose levels were significantly different between groups for all tissues studied. Slope of the change per unit time was higher for the hepatic glucose levels. Based on these results, it is possible to estimate postmortem interval using postmortem glucose levels in hepatic tissue. Tissue‐specific assessment may contribute valuable information to postmortem interval studies.     

A Comparison of Dental Chartings Performed at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Central Identification Laboratory and the Kokura Central Identification Unit on Remains Identified from the Korean War

During the Korean War, the Office of the Quartermaster General's Graves Registration Service (GRS) was responsible for the recovery, processing, identification, and repatriation of US remains. In January 1951, the GRS established a Central Identification Unit (CIU) at Kokura, Japan. At the Kokura CIU, postmortem dental examinations were performed by the dental technicians. Thirty‐nine postmortem dental examinations performed at the CIU were compared to the findings documented in the Forensic Odontology Reports written at the JPAC Central Identification Laboratory (CIL). Differences were noted in 20 comparisons (51%). The majority of the discrepancies was considered negligible and would not alter the JPAC decision to disinter a set of unknown remains. Charting discrepancies that were considered significant included the occasional failure of the Kokura technicians to identify teeth with inter‐proximal or esthetic restorations and the misidentification of a mechanically prepared tooth (i.e., tooth prepared for a restoration) as a carious surface.     

"08雪灾"民间救助的法律思考

"08雪灾",灾情严重,但民心稳定,体现出民众对政府的信任。"08雪灾"启示危机管理中政府与社会合作互助的法制建设亟待加强。"08雪灾"的民间救助呼唤加快慈善立法。     

Simultaneous determination of trace benzodiazepines from drinks by using direct electrospray probe/mass spectrometry (DEP/MS).

This study presents a novel means of rapidly determining benzodiazepines in various drinks. Electrospray mass spectrometry with a direct probe design is used as the analytical instrument. Samples are treated only by a simple liquid-liquid extraction prior to direct electrospray probe/mass spectrometry (DEP/MS) analysis. The proposed method provides a relatively easy and efficient means of identifying the drugs in a very short time interval. On average, sample analysis is completed in less than five minutes including sample pretreatment. It is especially useful in forensic science since the technology can provide a rapid identification for unknown samples. Thus, the method proposed herein is highly appropriate for rapidly screening a large number of samples.     

论民事二审案件裁定再次发回重审的正当性原理

民事二审案件裁定再次发回重审的司法实践具有其正当性基础,契合保障当事人权利、查明案件事实的基本价值目标、符合科学的法律解释方法。对案件裁判结果具有显著影响的基本事实未经第一审法院进行实质性审理,或者必须参加诉讼的当事人未参加第一审诉讼,或者存在其他可能影响公正裁判情形的,二审法院可以裁定再次发回重审。为实现重审制度的基本价值目标,建议最高人民法院作出解释,明确再次发回重审的法定适用事由、完善二审审查程序和一审审理程序,以应对司法实践的复杂多样性挑战。