towards a new pragmatics of cross- and intercultural criticism

Elektronische Version der gedr. Ausg. 199

Is There a Pragmatist Approach to Literature?

Is There a Pragmatist Approach to Literature?This article explores the relation between literature as a form of artistic understanding and pragmatism as a form of philosophical inquiry. It does so, first, by exploring the place that each similarly accords the imagination as an instrument both of knowing and of making. The American philosopher John Dewey expressed the nature of this linkage when he argued that the purpose of art – and, he could have added, of pragmatic reflection as well – is to contrast actual conditions and their probable consequences with the purely plausible outcomes of experiences that are merely potential. Second, it shows how the cognitive needs served in this way by both literature and pragmatic philosophy converge around a double truth. Just as we need forms to express and experience what would otherwise go unsaid and thus unfelt and unknown, so we also need forms that also help us retrieve what we have already experienced or understood but have then either forgotten or suppressed. Literary and philosophical forms serve both these functions by at once taking us out of ourselves to experience what is strange and foreign on the peripheries of our understanding and also return us to the center of our experience where we so often recover a sense of the strangeness and foreignness that is already within it. Third, this article discusses how these strategies have found expression in a tradition of American writing that begins with Emerson and continues down the present and is marked by a special kind of linguistic skepticism

Bioelectrical phase angle values in a clinical sample of ambulatory rehabilitation patients

Background: Phase angle (PhA) is derived from the resistance and reactance measurements obtained from bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) and is considered indicative of cellular health and membrane integrity. This study measured PhA values of rehabilitation patients and compared them to reference values, measures of functional ability and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels to explore their utility as a clinical tool to monitor disease progression and treatment efficacy. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 215 ambulatory rehabilitation patients aged 20 – 94 years. All participants had been hospitalised for a stroke, orthopaedic or other condition resulting in a functional limitation. PhA was derived from BIA analysis and functional ability characterised using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), timed up and go (TUG) and maximal quadriceps strength (MQS). Serum levels of CRP were also collected. Results: Stroke patients had the highest PhA (5.3°) followed by elective orthopaedic surgery (5.0°) with the other group (4.3°) significantly lower than both previous categories (p < 0.001). Ambulatory rehabilitation patients' PhA values were dependent on age and sex (p < 0.001), lower than published age matched healthy reference values (p ≤ 0.05) and similar to other hospitalised or sick groups, but also higher than values reported in critically ill patients. Patients with CRP values less than 10 mg.L-1 had significantly (p = 0.005) higher mean PhA values. Furthermore, the highest functional status quartiles had significantly higher PhAs (p ≤ 0.04) for the FIM, MQS and TUG measures. Conclusion: The results suggest that the phase angles of rehabilitation patients are between those of healthy individuals and seriously ill patients, thereby supporting claims that PhA is indicative of general health status. Phase angles are a potentially useful indicator of functional status in patients commencing an ambulatory rehabilitation program with a normal hydration status.Simon M. Gunn, Julie A. Halbert, Lynne C. Giles, Jacqueline M. Stepien, Michelle D. Miller and Maria Crott

E. coli O157 on Scottish cattle farms: evidence of local spread and persistence using repeat cross-sectional data

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157 is a virulent zoonotic strain of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli. In Scotland (1998-2008) the annual reported rate of human infection is 4.4 per 100,000 population which is consistently higher than other regions of the UK and abroad. Cattle are the primary reservoir. Thus understanding infection dynamics in cattle is paramount to reducing human infections.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; A large database was created for farms sampled in two cross-sectional surveys carried out in Scotland (1998 - 2004). A statistical model was generated to identify risk factors for the presence of E. coli O157 on farms. Specific hypotheses were tested regarding the presence of E. coli O157 on local farms and the farms previous status. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles were further examined to ascertain whether local spread or persistence of strains could be inferred.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; The presence of an E. coli O157 positive local farm (average distance: 5.96km) in the Highlands, North East and South West, farm size and the number of cattle moved onto the farm 8 weeks prior to sampling were significant risk factors for the presence of E. coli O157 on farms. Previous status of a farm was not a significant predictor of current status (p = 0.398). Farms within the same sampling cluster were significantly more likely to be the same PFGE type (p &#60; 0.001), implicating spread of strains between local farms. Isolates with identical PFGE types were observed to persist across the two surveys, including 3 that were identified on the same farm, suggesting an environmental reservoir. PFGE types that were persistent were more likely to have been observed in human clinical infections in Scotland (p &#60; 0.001) from the same time frame.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; The results of this study demonstrate the spread of E. coli O157 between local farms and highlight the potential link between persistent cattle strains and human clinical infections in Scotland. This novel insight into the epidemiology of Scottish E. coli O157 paves the way for future research into the mechanisms of transmission which should help with the design of control measures to reduce E. coli O157 from livestock-related sources

Combining Slaughterhouse Surveillance Data with Cattle Tracing Scheme and Environmental Data to Quantify Environmental Risk Factors for Liver Fluke in Cattle.

Liver fluke infection causes serious disease (fasciolosis) in cattle and sheep in many regions of the world, resulting in production losses and additional economic consequences due to condemnation of the liver at slaughter. Liver fluke depends on mud snails as an intermediate host and infect livestock when ingested through grazing. Therefore, environmental factors play important roles in infection risk and climate change is likely to modify this. Here, we demonstrate how slaughterhouse data can be integrated with other data, including animal movement and climate variables to identify environmental risk factors for liver fluke in cattle in Scotland. We fitted a generalized linear mixed model to the data, with exposure-weighted random and fixed effects, an approach which takes into account the amount of time cattle spent at different locations, exposed to different levels of risk. This enabled us to identify an increased risk of liver fluke with increased animal age, rainfall, and temperature and for farms located further to the West, in excess of the risk associated with a warmer, wetter climate. This model explained 45% of the variability in liver fluke between farms, suggesting that the unexplained 55% was due to factors not included in the model, such as differences in on-farm management and presence of wet habitats. This approach demonstrates the value of statistically integrating routinely recorded slaughterhouse data with other pre-existing data, creating a powerful approach to quantify disease risks in production animals. Furthermore, this approach can be used to better quantify the impact of projected climate change on liver fluke risk for future studies

Postinfective bowel dysfunction following Campylobacter enteritis is characterised by reduced microbiota diversity and impaired microbiota recovery

Objectives Persistent bowel dysfunction following gastroenteritis (postinfectious (PI)-BD) is well recognised, but the associated changes in microbiota remain unclear. Our aim was to define these changes after gastroenteritis caused by a single organism, Campylobacter jejuni, examining the dynamic changes in the microbiota and the impact of antibiotics. Design A single-centre cohort study of 155 patients infected with Campylobacter jejuni. Features of the initial illness as well as current bowel symptoms and the intestinal microbiota composition were recorded soon after infection (visit 1, 80 days later (visits 2 and 3). Microbiota were assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Results PI-BD was found in 22 of the 99 patients who completed the trial. The cases reported significantly looser stools, with more somatic and gastrointestinal symptoms. Microbiota were assessed in 22 cases who had significantly lower diversity and altered microbiota composition compared with the 44 age-matched and sex-matched controls. Moreover 60 days after infection, cases showed a significantly lower abundance of 23 taxa including phylum Firmicutes, particularly in the order Clostridiales and the family Ruminoccocaceae, increased Proteobacteria abundance and increased levels of Fusobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. The microbiota changes were linked with diet; higher fibre consumption being associated with lower levels of Gammaproteobacteria. Conclusion The microbiota of PI-BD patients appeared more disturbed by the initial infection compared with the microbiota of those who recovered. The prebiotic effect of high fibre diets may inhibit some of the disturbances seen in PI-BD.Peer reviewe

Psyllium reduces inulin-induced colonic gas production in IBS:MRI and in vitro fermentation studies

Objective Health-promoting dietary fibre including inulin often triggers gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with IBS, limiting their intake. Our aim was to test if coadministering psyllium with inulin would reduce gas production. Design A randomised, four-period, four-treatment, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in 19 patients with IBS. Subjects ingested a 500 mL test drink containing either inulin 20 g, psyllium 20 g, inulin 20 g+ psyllium 20 g or dextrose 20 g (placebo). Breath hydrogen was measured every 30 min with MRI scans hourly for 6 hours. Faecal samples from a subset of the patients with IBS were tested using an in vitro fermentation model. Primary endpoint was colonic gas assessed by MRI. Results Colonic gas rose steadily from 0 to 6 hours, with inulin causing the greatest rise, median (IQR) AUC(0-360 min) 3145 (848-6502) mL·min. This was significantly reduced with inulin and psyllium coadministration to 618 (62-2345) mL·min (p=0.02), not significantly different from placebo. Colonic volumes AUC(0-360 min) were significantly larger than placebo for both inulin (p=0.002) and inulin and psyllium coadministration (p=0.005). Breath hydrogen rose significantly from 120 min after inulin but not psyllium; coadministration of psyllium with inulin delayed and reduced the maximum increase, AUC(0-360 min) from 7230 (3255-17910) ppm·hour to 1035 (360-4320) ppm·hour, p=0.007. Fermentation in vitro produced more gas with inulin than psyllium. Combining psyllium with inulin did not reduce gas production. Conclusions Psyllium reduced inulin-related gas production in patients with IBS but does not directly inhibit fermentation. Whether coadministration with psyllium increases the tolerability of prebiotics in IBS warrants further study.</p