Refusing to Endorse. A must Explanation for Pejoratives.

In her analysis of pejoratives, Eva Picardi rejects a too sharp separation between descriptive and expressive content. I reconstruct some of her arguments, endorsing Eva’s criticism of Williamson’s analysis of Dummett and developing a suggestion by Manuel Garcia Carpintero on a speech act analysis of pejoratives. Eva’s main concern is accounting for our instinctive refusal to endorse an assertion containing pejoratives because it suggests a picture of reality we do not share. Her stance might be further developed claiming that uses of pejoratives not only suggest, but also promote a wrong picture of reality. Our refusal to endorse implies rejecting not only a wrong picture of reality but also a call for participation to what that picture promotes

Space-time variation of malaria incidence in Yunnan province, China

BACKGROUND Understanding spatio-temporal variation in malaria incidence provides a basis for effective disease control planning and monitoring. METHODS Monthly surveillance data between 1991 and 2006 for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum malaria across 128 counties were assembled for Yunnan, a province of China with one of the highest burdens of malaria. County-level Bayesian Poisson regression models of incidence were constructed, with effects for rainfall, maximum temperature and temporal trend. The model also allowed for spatial variation in county-level incidence and temporal trend, and dependence between incidence in June-September and the preceding January-February. RESULTS Models revealed strong associations between malaria incidence and both rainfall and maximum temperature. There was a significant association between incidence in June-September and the preceding January-February. Raw standardised morbidity ratios showed a high incidence in some counties bordering Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, and counties in the Red River valley. Clusters of counties in south-western and northern Yunnan were identified that had high incidence not explained by climate. The overall trend in incidence decreased, but there was significant variation between counties. CONCLUSION Dependence between incidence in summer and the preceding January-February suggests a role of intrinsic host-pathogen dynamics. Incidence during the summer peak might be predictable based on incidence in January-February, facilitating malaria control planning, scaled months in advance to the magnitude of the summer malaria burden. Heterogeneities in county-level temporal trends suggest that reductions in the burden of malaria have been unevenly distributed throughout the province.This project was supported by a University of Queensland New Research Scientist Start-Up Fund grant. RWS is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow (#079080) and receives additional support from the Wellcome Trust for the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP, http://www.map.ox.ac.uk)

Cloning and expression of a human kinesin heavy chain gene: interaction of the COOH-terminal domain with cytoplasmic microtubules in transfected CV-1 cells.

To understand the interactions between the microtubule-based motor protein kinesin and intracellular components, we have expressed the kinesin heavy chain and its different domains in CV-1 monkey kidney epithelial cells and examined their distributions by immunofluorescence microscopy. For this study, we cloned and sequenced cDNAs encoding a kinesin heavy chain from a human placental library. The human kinesin heavy chain exhibits a high level of sequence identity to the previously cloned invertebrate kinesin heavy chains; homologies between the COOH-terminal domain of human and invertebrate kinesins and the nonmotor domain of the Aspergillus kinesin-like protein bimC were also found. The gene encoding the human kinesin heavy chain also contains a small upstream open reading frame in a G-C rich 5' untranslated region, features that are associated with translational regulation in certain mRNAs. After transient expression in CV-1 cells, the kinesin heavy chain showed both a diffuse distribution and a filamentous staining pattern that coaligned with microtubules but not vimentin intermediate filaments. Altering the number and distribution of microtubules with taxol or nocodazole produced corresponding changes in the localization of the expressed kinesin heavy chain. The expressed NH2-terminal motor and the COOH-terminal tail domains, but not the alpha-helical coiled coil rod domain, also colocalized with microtubules. The finding that both the kinesin motor and tail domains can interact with cytoplasmic microtubules raises the possibility that kinesin could crossbridge and induce sliding between microtubules under certain circumstances

Coping with newcomer “hangover”: how socialization tactics affect declining job satisfaction during early employment

New entrants to a job often experience a “hangover effect,” whereby their job satisfaction declines as they become familiar with the job. Socialization scholars thus have sought to identify ways to forestall or ameliorate such declines. Recently, Boswell, Shipp, Payne, and Culbertson (2009) found that the extent of socialization can exacerbate the hangover effect. Following up this provocative finding, this study investigated whether socialization tactics worsen or dampen the hangover effect and by so doing, affect newcomer attrition. We monitored how newcomers' job satisfaction changed over time by surveying them on four occasions during the first six months of employment. We observed that socialization tactics (especially context and social tactics) increase the rate of declining job satisfaction during early employment. Yet all three tactics decrease this descent rate when enacted at high levels. Moreover, the present research established that declining job satisfaction translates into a trajectory of increasing turnover intentions and thus higher quits. Further, we found that extremely high social tactics can actually suppress the hangover effect and thereby reduce newcomer attrition. Our dynamic research offered a more nuanced understanding of how socialization tactics influence the hangover effect and newcomer attrition

The Influence of Molar Furcation Involvement and Mobility on Future Clinical Periodontal Attachment Loss

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141720/1/jper0025.pd

Bicyclic imidazolium inhibitors of Gli transcription factor activity

Gli transcription factors within the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway direct key events in mammalian development and promote a number of human cancers. Current therapies for Gli‐driven tumors target Smoothened (SMO), a G protein‐coupled receptor‐like protein that functions upstream in the Hh pathway. Although these drugs can have remarkable clinical efficacy, mutations in SMO and downstream Hh pathway components frequently lead to chemoresistance. In principle, therapies that act at the level of Gli proteins, through direct or indirect mechanisms, would be more efficacious. We therefore conducted a screen of 325,120 compounds for their ability to block the constitutive Gli activity induced by loss of Suppressor of Fused (SUFU), a scaffolding protein that directly inhibits Gli function. Our studies reveal a family of bicyclic imidazolium derivatives that can inhibit Gli‐dependent transcription without affecting the ciliary trafficking or proteolytic processing of these transcription factors. We anticipate that these chemical antagonists will be valuable tools for investigating the mechanisms of Gli regulation and developing new strategies for targeting Gli‐driven cancers

Evaluation of Ferric Oxalate as an Agent for Use During Surgery to Prevent Postâ Operative Root Hypersensitivity

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141264/1/jper1040.pd

China and the WTO: Progress, Perils, and Prospects

In November 2001, member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO) approved the proposal to admit China to the international trading body. After fifteen years of exhaustive negotiations, China finally became the 143rd member of the WTO on December 11, 2001. To reflect on this event, this panel brings together six China experts to explore the ramifications of China\u27s accession to the WTO. Among the issues addressed are whether China is making progress in its compliance with the WTO requirements, whether China is suffering setbacks in the socio-economic arena, whether there are any prospects for democratic reforms and stronger human rights and environmental protection in the country, and what the WTO accession means to China\u27s neighbors and the global community

Carotid plaque imaging and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Carotid artery plaque is a measure of atherosclerosis and is associated with future risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), which encompasses coronary, cerebrovascular, and peripheral arterial diseases. With advanced imaging techniques, computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have shown their potential superiority to routine ultrasound to detect features of carotid plaque vulnerability, such as intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH), lipid-rich necrotic core (LRNC), fibrous cap (FC), and calcification. The correlation between imaging features and histological changes of carotid plaques has been investigated. Imaging of carotid features has been used to predict the risk of cardiovascular events. Other techniques such as nuclear imaging and intra-vascular ultrasound (IVUS) have also been proposed to better understand the vulnerable carotid plaque features. In this article, we review the studies of imaging specific carotid plaque components and their correlation with risk scores

Considering the impact of situation-specific motivations and constraints in the design of naturally ventilated and hybrid buildings

A simple logical model of the interaction between a building and its occupants is presented based on the principle that if free to do so, people will adjust their posture, clothing or available building controls (windows, blinds, doors, fans, and thermostats) with the aim of achieving or restoring comfort and reducing discomfort. These adjustments are related to building design in two ways: first the freedom to adjust depends on the availability and ease-of-use of control options; second the use of controls affects building comfort and energy performance. Hence it is essential that these interactions are considered in the design process. The model captures occupant use of controls in response to thermal stimuli (too warm, too cold etc.) and non-thermal stimuli (e.g. desire for fresh air). The situation-specific motivations and constraints on control use are represented through trigger temperatures at which control actions occur, motivations are included as negative constraints and incorporated into a single constraint value describing the specifics of each situation. The values of constraints are quantified for a range of existing buildings in Europe and Pakistan. The integration of the model within a design flow is proposed and the impact of different levels of constraints demonstrated. It is proposed that to minimise energy use and maximise comfort in naturally ventilated and hybrid buildings the designer should take the following steps: 1. Provide unconstrained low energy adaptive control options where possible, 2. Avoid problems with indoor air quality which provide motivations for excessive ventilation rates, 3. Incorporate situation-specific adaptive behaviour of occupants in design simulations, 4. Analyse the robustness of designs against variations in patterns of use and climate, and 5. Incorporate appropriate comfort standards into the operational building controls (e.g. BEMS)