Unique Manuscript Research Articles

A VISION OF THE NEW JERUSALEM: THE TEXT OF STRIGGIO’S ECCE BEATAM LUCEM

Striggio’s forty-part motet Ecce beatam lucem survives in a unique manuscript source, dated 1587, in the Ratsschulbibliothek in Zwickau. Its text, first published in 1595, formed part of a Pindaric ode written by the neo-Latin poet and Calvinist Paul Schede Melissus (1539–1602). A closer consideration of Melissus’ biography indicates that he probably wrote it after 1575, long after the wedding festivities with which the motet has habitually been associated (Florence, 1565; Munich, 1568). Its subject matter – a Calvinist vision of the New Jerusalem – also makes it an unlikely wedding text and inappropriate for Catholic festivities. Rather, it was probably used as the text of a contrafactum, for an as yet unidentified occasion, with which Striggio himself had little or no connection.

On the History of the Princeton University Library Collection of Islamic Manuscripts

Abstract Princeton University’s collection of Islamic manuscripts is by far the largest collection of its kind in the Western hemisphere and one of the most valuable collections in the world. It consists of some 13,500 manuscripts with diverse origins in public and private libraries from the Western to the Eastern Islamic lands. The collection is not only notable for its size and diversity, but also its quality, containing a large number of autograph and otherwise unique manuscripts. Despite its importance, its histories and provenances have not been the subject of an in-depth study. This paper begins to fill this lacuna. Drawing on a number of previously unstudied archival and documentary sources, including personal correspondence and paratextual manuscript notes, the article traces the development of the sub-collections, studies the collectors who built them, their methods and sources, and tells the stories of their collections’ journeys to Princeton.

Spin and reporting in systematic reviews with meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials in restorative dentistry

ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of spin and completeness of reporting of systematic reviews with metanalysis (SRMAs) in restorative dentistry. MethodsInclusion criteria were SRMAs of randomized clinical trials of restorative dentistry on survival, success, or failure rates of treatment in humans, with no language or year restriction. SRMAs performed with non-RCTs were excluded. PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane Collaboration Library were searched from inception to April 2022. Outcomes were the prevalence of spin (primary outcome) and completeness of reporting (secondary outcome) in the abstract and full text. Data were reported through means and standard deviations or absolute and relative frequencies. Spin in each item was considered low when occurring in less than 25% of the papers, moderate (25 to 75%), or high (more than 75%). ResultsWe identified 7029 studies and 49 unique manuscripts were included. There was a moderate presence of spin in the abstracts and low in full texts. In the abstracts, 65.9% did not report adverse events; while in the abstract and full text, more than 16% reported a conclusion containing recommendations for clinical practice not supported by the findings. Regarding completeness of reporting, there was poor reporting for most items in the abstract while there was an adequate report in full texts, except for register name and registration number (not reported in 32.7%). ConclusionsAbstract of SRMAs in restorative dentistry should be better reported. Spin and poor reporting were more frequent in the abstracts, which misleads readers and could lead to inadequate clinical recommendations. Clinical significanceSpin and incomplete reporting are a threat to evidence-based practice, especially in systematic reviews. Therefore, care providers, researchers, and other stakeholders should be aware of the possibility of spin in systematic reviews and other sources to prevent misinterpretation, which could lead to inadequate decisions and treatments.

The Dunghill Fight: Maurice Wheeler’s translation of Polemo-Middinia from the Oxford edition

ABSTRACT I present a case study of the translation practice of Maurice Wheeler (1647/8-1727), compiler of the first Oxford Almanack. Using the edition published by Edmund Gibson in 1692, Wheeler translated William Drummond of Hawthornden’s Polemo-Middinia as The Dunghill Fight, and bound it alongside Gibson’s edition as a kind of appendix. I edit this translation from the unique manuscript in the Bodleian, and place it in the context of Wheeler’s life and varied interests. My annotations show how Gibson’s footnotes shaped Wheeler’s readings, attesting to the influence of editorial apparatus, conjecture, and interpretation in reception history. My introduction considers Wheeler’s other writings and his neglected place in the Oxford antiquarian firmament through his correspondence with men such as William Wake and Edward Lhwyd. I also discuss the evidence for his authorship of a schoolbook published in 1695, whose remarks on English verse offer a parallel to his take on Drummond’s poem.

HOKAND HANLIĞI DEVLET YÖNETİMİNE İLİŞKİN BİR KAYNAK: “FERGANA HANLARI TARİHİ”

Working as a clerk in Hokand Khanate and general secretary of khans and being one of the most esteemed and honourable individuals of that era, Ziyabiddin Magzumi was a statesman who lived in nineteenth century. Magzumi, whose exact birth and death dates are unknown, completed a manuscript work called – “History of the Fergana Khans”- which consisted of 833 leaves or 1666 pages. Written in the Old Chagatai language, this work was written from 1865-1888 upon the order of Khudayar Khan. The only known copy of this manuscript as the most comprehensive work about the Hokand Khanates is available in İstanbul. The unique manuscript of Ziyabiddin Magzuni is preserved under the number of IUNEK TY02408 and with the name of “History of Fergana Hans” in the Istanbul University Library and Documentation Department of Rare Books. In the database of Istanbul University Library, manuscript is shown as having 843 leaves (265X160 mm.). This manuscript was translated into the Kyrgyz language in 2007 and was issued in Bishkek. 
 Magzuni, who gives information about the Kokand khans, also talks about what kind of rulers they are. This work was written by Khudayar Khan in order to praise his own khanate and in a responsive way to questions such as how the khan should be and how to manage the people. In the work written up in the style of –“Şahname”- there is information about personal qualities required to be a governor. Almost no information is given about failures of Khudayar Khan in the work. However, the manuscript glosses over Khudayar Khan’s failures, which points to the main objective of the work: not to give an unbiased chronological account of the era, but to praise the works of Hokand Khans and Sultan’s sons. Nevertheless, the work contains such valuable information as interrelations of the Khans and Sultan’s sons, wars in which they took part and how the wars were guided, clear descriptions of some names used in Hokand State, diplomacy of the Khanate, relations of the Khanate with other states, rituals for giving presents to each other, order in Hokand Palace, change of thrones, hospitality customs, victory celebrations, and daily life and trips of Khans.

A Meta-Analysis of Phonemic Awareness Instruction Provided to Children Suspected of Having a Reading Disability.

The present meta-analysis sought to investigate the effects of phonemic awareness instruction provided to children suspected of having a reading disability. Seven databases were systematically searched, and 1,643 unique manuscripts were reviewed for inclusion. Data were extracted from 138 included manuscripts to evaluate the use of phonemic awareness instruction with children suspected of having a reading disability. A random effects model was then used to conduct a meta-analysis of these data with regard to child outcomes. Gains in this population associated with phonemic awareness instruction can vary as a function of the outcome being used. On average, phonemic awareness instruction had a medium effect on composite (g = 0.511) and segmentation (g = 0.571) outcomes and a small effect on outcomes measuring blending (g = 0.341), first sound identification (g = 0.428), and deletion (g = 0.248). Instruction effects were strongest in kindergarten and first grade, but positive outcomes were also found for older children. There was not a significant relationship between cumulative intervention intensity and child performance. The present meta-analysis confirms that phonemic awareness instruction can be effective with children of varying ages and that significant gains can be observed on the key outcome measures of segmentation and blending. Graphemes should be incorporated into phonemic awareness instruction, and future studies need to provide information on dosage beyond just the length and frequency of sessions to clarify which aspects of these interventions are most efficient. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20277714.

From Al_ Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mulla Al-Hilli's poetry (1322 AH). Study and investigation

There is Hilla enjoyed a great scientific and literary renaissance that started from its foundation، and has always reached a climax in certain time periods، and perhaps the most prominent one is the thirteenth century AH، which is truly the golden age Al-Hilli literature. A small number of writers and poets came out remarkably well، leaving clear imprints in the literary scene at the time. Perhaps among them was the poet Sheikh Muhammad al-Mulla Al-Hilli (d. 1322 AH)، who despite all this was his literary product of looting، neglect and absenteeism، and this is what prompted us، of course، to move forward in reviving and treating his literary heritage. In light of his being worthy like this،us succeeded in Al_Bari eaza wajal/God almighty to obtain a unique manuscript of poetry for him that included a good collection of versatile poetry.The research included three axes، the first of which wasdevoted to the biography of the poet and highlighting his scientific and literary status in his era، and the second axis concerned with studying the poetry of manuscripts objectively and artically، and revealed its aesthetics from the literary achievement of the poet and explaining his artistic value، and the third and last axis included the poetry of the manuscript that was verified From him after explaining our approach to investigation and described the manuscript.

Selected hadithai piece Authorship Al-Miqdad bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Hussain al-Siuri (D.826 AH)

This is a Hadiths collections compiled by Sheikh Al-Miqdad bin Abdullahbin Muhammad bin Hussain Al-Siuri (d.826 AH).We attributed it tohim , based on what was mentioned by its famous copays it , Muhammadbin Ali al -Jabba'i in a unique manuscript collection in the library of theShura council in Iran.We have made efforts to achieve this text, attribute the texts to theirsources, and include various narrations, and we have returned in his serviceand control to dozens of sources and references.and mention the differentnarrations of them.

Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for focal epilepsy: A systematic review of preclinical models and clinical studies.

Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is characterized by recurrent seizures despite appropriate treatment with antiseizure medication (ASM). Due to their regenerative and immunomodulatory potential, therapies with biologics such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) offer a potential therapeutic benefit for structural causes of epilepsy, such as hippocampal sclerosis. In this article, we report a systematic review of the literature evaluating the preclinical and clinical studies of MSCs for DRE. Medline, Ovid EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Databases were searched electronically from their dates of inception to November 2021 using the following keywords: (("mesenchymal") AND ("stem cell")) AND (("epilepsy") OR ("convulsion") OR ("seizures")). This review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The initial query identified 488studies representing 323 unique manuscripts. After application of selection criteria, 15studies were included in this systematic review; 11 were preclinical studies and 4 were clinical studies. All preclinical studies were performed in rodents and all clinical studies were phase 1 trials. Thus far, therapy with MSCs appears to be safe for use in humans, as no severe adverse events related directly to the therapy were reported. Furthermore, MSC therapy appears to provide a statistically significant clinical benefit by reducing the seizure burden of patients, reducing the electrophysiological biomarkers of epilepsy, and improving their comorbidities, such as depression and anxiety. In addition, animal studies reveal that the therapy exerts its effect by reducing aberrant mossy fiber sprouting (reduce excitatory pathways) and increasing γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons (increase inhibitory pathways). Both preclinical and clinical studies have shown MSC therapy to be safe and preliminary effective, thus warranting further studies to investigate its therapeutic potential.

Tinctoris’s L’homme armé Mass Restored

In an earlier article in this Journal (2013), I argued that the Tenor parts of the ‘Et in terra’ and ‘Patrem’ subsections of Johannes Tinctoris’s L’homme armé mass, which had been omitted by the main scribe of the unique manuscript (V-CVbav Cappella Sistina 35) and added by a slightly later scribe, were not by the composer, but I could not show what I thought he had written. In this article I demonstrate that Tinctoris constructed both Tenor parts from canonic transformations of a single melodic module, the A-section of the L’homme armé tune. I discuss the implications of this discovery and evaluate the conjectures I put forward in 2013; about half of them were accurate. I extend my earlier discussion of varietas as expressed by Tinctoris’s reference in his L’homme armé mass to those of earlier composers, arguing that one of these must have been that of Philippon (Philippe Basiron), known to have been newly available in central Italy in early 1484, meaning that Tinctoris’s mass must have been composed in 1484-89. I argue that no occasional significance can be attributed to this mass, but that all its special features simply intensify the inherent Christological and Trinitarian aspects of the mass Ordinary.

Systematic reviews on the success of dental implants present low spin of information but may be better reported and interpreted: An overview of systematic reviews with meta-analysis.

To estimate the prevalence of spin and completeness of reporting of systematic reviews with metanalysis (SRMAs) in implant dentistry. Inclusion criteria were SRMAs of randomized clinical trials of implant dentistry on survival, success, or failure rates in humans, with no language restriction. Three databases were searched from inception to May 2021. Main outcomes were prevalence of spin (primary outcome) and completeness of reporting (secondary outcome) in abstracts and full texts. We identified 2481 SRMAs and 45 unique manuscripts were included. There was a low presence of spin in the abstracts and full text, except for adverse events, in which 51.1% (in the abstract) failed to mention any adverse event for summarized interventions. There was an adequate report of SRMAs in the full text except for prospective register (33.3% not reported). However, there was an incomplete report for most items in the abstract considering PRISMA-A checklist. In general, the included SRMAs presented a (a) low prevalence of spin (except for adverse events in the abstract); (b) adequate completeness of reporting in the full text (except for prospective register); and (c) incomplete report for most items in the abstracts.

Proton beam irradiation induces invisible modifications under the surface of painted parchment

Ion beam analysis plays an important role in cultural heritage (CH) studies as it offers a combination of simultaneous and complementary analytical techniques (PIXE/PIGE/RBS) and spatially resolved mapping functions. Despite being considered non-destructive, the potential risk of beam-induced modifications during analysis is increasingly discussed. This work focuses on the impact of proton beams on parchment, present in our CH in form of unique historical manuscripts. Parchment is one of the organic, protein-based CH materials believed to be the most susceptible to radiation-induced changes. Various modification patterns, observed on parchment cross-sections by optical and electron microscopy are reported: discoloration (yellowing), formation of cavities and denaturation of collagen fibers. Considerable modifications were detected up to 100 µm deep into the sample for beam fluences of 4 µC/cm2 and higher. The presence of ultramarine paint on the parchment surface appears to increase the harmful effects of proton radiation. Based on our results, a maximum radiation dose of 0.5 µC/cm2 can be considered as ‘safe boundary’ for 2.3 MeV PIXE analysis of parchment under the applied conditions.

Place of Virtue Ethics within the Post-Classical Discourse on ḥikma

Preserved in what seems to be a unique manuscript at the Bodleian Library, al-Nafs wa-l-rūḥ wa-sharḥ quwāhumā (The Soul and the Spirit together with an Explanation of Their Faculties) of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210) is a curious book. At the beginning, the author decribes the text as part of the philosophical sciences (as opposed to the religious ones) and clarifies that it deals with ʿilm al-akhlāq, meaning Aristotelian virtue ethics. The text is divided into two parts, the first explaining subjects of philosophical psychology, such as the nature of the soul, its faculties, and its survival after the death of the body. The second part explains how one can “treat” or “heal” the soul from certain negative character traits or vices. In both parts, the book makes liberal use of quotations from the Qur’an, from prophetical ḥadīth, and from sayings by other prophets and sages. This is quite unlike any other “book on philosophy” that Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī wrote.The article explains the distinction between philosophical and non-philosophical books in Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī and what it means for a book to belong to the former group. Al-Rāzī’s works in the theoretical fields of philosophy (logic, the natural sciences, metaphysics, and theology) do not use evidence derived from revelation and hardly ever refer to it. The relationship between revelation and the practical disciplines of philosophy (among them ethics), however, is different from the relation between revelation and theoretical philosophy. This difference leads in Avicenna to an almost complete abandonment of the practical disciplines. In authors who follow Avicenna in his Farabian approach to the relationship between philosophy and revelation, it leads to hybrid works such as al-Nafs wa-l-rūḥ wa-sharḥ quwāhumā that follow a philosophical agenda but employ means and strategies that mimic and imitate revelation.

“Confessionario em Lingua Mandarina” by Fr. Francisco Varo: An Unknown Manuscript of the Renowned Dominican

The Oriental Department of the St Petersburg University’s library has a unique manuscript “Confessionario em Lingua Mandarina”, a handbook for confession, compiled by Dominican father Francisco Varo (1627-1687) for use in his (and his confrères) missionary work in earlier Qing China (sec. half of the 17th c.). The manuscript, seven folios altogether, bound into a dictionary (Dictionario Lusitanico Sinico Tartaro Historico Mathematico Latino for Congregação da Missão Portugueza), amidst its main body, is a precious gift to all researchers in the field, for it is, by all accounts, a unique exemplar of this kind of text by the famous missionary. Varo’s written legacy has received special attention from historians of Catholic missions in China and researchers on the Ming and Qing Chinese language. However a Confessionario is not traced in Varo’s bibliography. The undenied value of the text is its bilingual contents: the confessor’s questions in the Portuguese language translated into the earlier Qing Mandarin (southern guanhua). Documents, codifying the main Chinese dialect of the 17th c. are rather rare, although a number of elaborated descriptions of variant systems of guanhua romanization by Western missionaries provide us with all necessary instruments to analyse the transcription method, used by Varo in the Confessionario. The author of the article attempts to implement the existing methodology to identify the place of this piece of Varo’s work in the Chinese romanization mosaic. Being Portuguese-based, the transcription of the Confessionario differs significantly from Varo’s Spanish-oriented system in Vocabulario de la Lengua Mandarina (1670) and Arte de la Lengua Mandarina (1682-1703), naturally demonstrating more in common to the earlier systems by Ricci, Trigault and Martini. A few peculiarities of the romanization used in Confessionario are revealed in the article.

To the South-East of Rome: Relations between the Syriac and Coptic Churches

This article brings to light the wide spectrum of cooperation over time and space between the Churches of Syro-Mesopotamia and Egypt, which both reject the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. Among the ancient Apostolic Churches only these two conserved an unbroken, transparent and full ecclesiastical unity, nurturing the complementary heritages not just at the level of Church hierarchy. They are true sister Churches, also literally: in Semitic languages the word “church” is feminine. The article describes several common elements in liturgy, the circumstances of patriarchs from one Church reigning over the other, ordination of each other’s priests, monasteries built on each other’s territory, where up to hundreds of monks of both denominations served, including famous theologians, writers, translators and scholars. An important place, even today, belongs to the still working monastery of Dayr as-Suryān in Egypt. Its extensive library with unique manuscripts in Syriac was moved, mostly to the Vatican, in the 18 th century. Other important aspects are mutual help with education and church access, as well as Syriac borrowings present in the Coptic liturgy and everyday speech.

К истории изучения бумаг Ф. П. Литке в собрании Российского государственного архива древних актов

The article reviews the history of studying Admiral F. B. von Lutke’s manuscript legacy. An outstanding navigator, statesman and scientist, founder and first vice-chairman of the Russian Geographical Society, president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, he was a key figure in the intellectual life of Russia. Lutke’s archive contains valuable materials on social history of science in general, as well as on certain branches of knowledge. His papers are scattered over various St. Petersburg and Moscow archives, thus remaining little studied. Using methods of systems analysis, retrospective and comparative approaches, the authors summarize the experience of studying Lutke’s papers stored in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA). They have examined published research, as well as manuscript of dissertation of the Admiral’s descendant, N. F. Lutke. It is concluded that most documents remained unintroduced into scientific use. However, attempts to investigate and publish Lutke’s papers were undertaken by Soviet historians of science after World War II. St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences and Technology holds a unique manuscript “F. P. Lutke – Vice-Chairman of the Russian Geographical Society, 1845–74: Collected Letters and Materials” compiled and prepared for publication under A. I. Andreev. It contains 140 documents from the Central State Archive of Ancient Acts: letters from K. E. von Baer, A. V. Golovnin, E. I. Lamansky, R. F. F. von der Osten-Sacken, O. W. Struve, A. T. Kupffer and others addressed to Lutke; correspondence of Konstantin Nikolayevich; references, notes and projects of L. V. Dubbelt, etc. The authors reconstruct the process of the almanac preparation. Its publication was to coincide with two memorable dates: the 100th anniversary of the Russian Geographical Society and Lutke’s 150th anniversary. A review of V. R. Svirskaya (Leikina) reveals that the book remained unpublished for ideological reasons. The authors compare documents from Andreev’s collection with sources used in subsequent works devoted to Lutke. They conclude that most documents found in mid-1940s remain unstudied. Publication of the most valuable materials from F. V. Lutke’s fond in the RGADA is an important scientific task.

«Скитское покаяние» в монастырских рукописях XV в.

The understudied text known as “The Skete Repentance” is a prayer related to the monastic penitential discipline. The author of this article identified two new copies of it in manuscript collections of Russian monasteries. Both copies date back to the end of the 15th century. One of them is located in Buslaev’s Psalter, a unique manuscript distinguished by outstanding quality of its calligraphy and ornament. A content analysis of the manuscript and of the text of “The Skete Repentance” allows us to shed light on the circumstances around the creation of the manuscript and on the evolution of the text of the repentance prayer.

Structural rehabilitation of the cervical lordosis and forward head posture: a selective review of Chiropractic BioPhysics® case reports.

[Purpose] To characterize the case report evidence of Chiropractic BioPhysics® (CBP®) technique methods applied to increase cervical lordosis and improve forward head posture. [Methods] The CBP Non-profit website as well as PubMed and Index to Chiropractic literature were searched for case reports/series documenting the increase of cervical lordosis and improvement of forward head posture in the treatment of various craniocervical spinal disorders by CBP technique methods. [Results] Sixty patients were reported in 41 unique manuscripts detailing the improvement in cervical spine alignment by CBP technique methods. On average, there was a 14° improvement in cervical lordosis and a 12 mm reduction in forward head position after 40 treatments over 16 weeks with a 5-point reduction in pain rating scores. Thirty-eight percent of cases included follow-up showing only slight loss of lordosis, but maintenance of pain and disability improvements after an average of 1.5 treatments per month for 1.8 years. [Conclusion] An abundance of reports document improvement in craniocervical and other ailments by CBP methods that increase cervical lordosis. Routine radiographic imaging of the spine is recommended as it is safe and the only current practical method of screening for critical biomechanical biomarkers of sagittal spine alignment.

“Quant alcun hom demanda d’alcuna cosa dubtosa”: el Tractat de les interrogacions de Bartomeu de Tresbens, estudi i edició

A first critical edition of the Tractat de les interrogacions by Bartomeu de Tresbens, from its incompletely preserved, unique manuscript copy (Ripoll, Biblioteca Lambert Mata, XXI, ff. 86r-98r), preceded by an introductory study. This insufficiently studied work, which had so far remained unpublished, was dedicated to King Pere the Ceremonious, and deals with the branch of astrology aiming to answer specific questions, mainly focusing on kingship and government matters. The introductory study analyses several aspects of the treatise: placement within the manuscript, date, structure, contents preserved and lost, as well as sources.

Buddhist Homiletics on Grief

Abstract The study first introduces a hitherto completely unstudied anonymous work, for which I reconstruct the title *Saddharmaparikathā. This substantial text is a Buddhist homiletician’s guidebook with sample sermons in Sanskrit on a rich variety of topics. I argue that it dates from the 5th century and that it was possibly authored in a Saṃmatīya environment. I first discuss the unique manuscript transmitting the text, the structure and contents of the work, what information it can provide for the tradition of preaching and its importance for Buddhist studies. In the second half, I provide a sample chapter ‘On Grief’ with an annotated translation.