Pioglitazone and risk of bladder cancer among diabetic patients in France: a population-based cohort study

Abstract Aims/hypothesis Previous studies have suggested an increased risk of bladder cancer with pioglitazone exposure. We aimed to investigate the association between pioglitazone exposure and bladder cancer in France. Methods This cohort study involved use of data from the French national health insurance information system (Système National d'Information Inter-régimes de l'Assurance Maladie; SNIIRAM) linked with the French hospital discharge database (Programme de Médicalisation des Systèmes d'Information; PMSI). The cohort included patients aged 40 to 79 years who filled a prescription for a glucose-lowering drug in 2006. The cohort was followed for up to 42 months. Pioglitazone exposure was modelled as a time-dependent variable and defined by having filled at least two prescriptions over a 6-month period. Incident cases of bladder cancer were identified by a discharge diagnosis of bladder cancer combined with specific aggressive treatment. Statistical analyses involved a multivariate Cox model adjusted for age, sex and exposure to other glucose-lowering drugs. Results The cohort included 1,491,060 diabetic patients, 155,535 of whom were exposed to pioglitazone. We found 175 cases of bladder cancer among exposed patients and 1,841 among non-exposed patients. Incidence rates were 49.4 and 42.8 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Pioglitazone exposure was significantly associated with bladder cancer incidence (adjusted HR 1.22 [95% CI 1.05, 1.43

A multimodal analysis of facework strategies in a corpus of charity ads on British television

The aim of this article is to carry out a qualitative multimodal analysis of the codification of verbal and non-verbal politeness strategies in a sub-corpus of five charity commercials aired on British television. Brown and Levinson's (1987) verbal politeness strategies are taken as a starting point together with a detailed analysis of facework that is realized through paralinguistic and extralinguistic modes of communication (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006 and Machin, 2010). In what we have identified as the problem phase of the commercial, our analysis has revealed that advertisers deliberately attempt to create threats to the viewer's positive and negative face by making him/her feel responsible for the plight of others. In all five ads, through multi-scene montage, positive and off-record politeness strategies are enacted involving vivid case stories, demand images, sad music and serious extradiegetic voices. These strategies also help convey the idea that the suffering of others might also affect viewers at some point in their lives and thus strengthen the bond between the characters depicted in the ads and those watching them. During the solution phase, in which images, melodies and voice-overs become more upbeat, negative politeness strategies are used to soften the actual request to donate while positive politeness strategies are employed to appeal to the presupposed solidarity of the viewers. Our analysis points to the need to carry out further research on the interplay between verbal and non-verbal communication, especially in the field of politeness studies.Pennock-Speck, B.; Saz Rubio, MMD. (2013). A multimodal analysis of facework strategies in a corpus of charity ads on British television. Journal of Pragmatics. 49(1):38-56. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2012.12.010S385649

Catalysis for fuels: general discussion

SCI(E)EDITORIAL MATERIAL165-20519

Unearthing the Infrastructure: Humans and Sensors in Field-Based Scientific Research

Distributed sensing systems for studying scientific phenomena are critical applications of information technologies. By embedding computational intelligence in the environment of study, sensing systems allow researchers to study phenomena at spatial and temporal scales that were previously impossible to achieve. We present an ethnographic study of field research practices among researchers in the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS), a National Science Foundation Science & Technology Center devoted to developing wireless sensing systems for scientific and social applications. Using the concepts of boundary objects and trading zones, we trace the processes of collaborative research around sensor technology development and adoption within CENS. Over the 10-year lifespan of CENS, sensor technologies, sensor data, field research methods, and statistical expertise each emerged as boundary objects that were understood differently by the science and technology partners. We illustrate how sensing technologies were incompatible with field-based environmental research until researchers “unearthed” their infrastructures, explicitly reintroducing human skill and expertise into the data collection process and developing new collaborative languages that emphasized building dynamic sensing systems that addressed human needs. In collaborating around a dynamic sensing model, the sensing systems became embedded not in the environment of study, but in the practices of the scientists. Status and citation: This is the revised and accepted version, prior to publisher’s copy editing. Please quote the final version: Mayernik, Matthew S., Wallis, Jillian C., & Borgman, Christine L. (In press). Unearthing the infrastructure: Humans and sensors in field-based scientific research. Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work. doi: 10.1007/s10606-012-9178-