Epigenetics, Responsiveness and Embodiment

This short paper comments on the connections between epigenetics, responsiveness and embodiment. Epigenetics has solidified a new conception of DNA as “responsive,” and rightfully so. Yet, the discussion too easily falls back to metaphors of agency and can show a tendency to see responsiveness and embodiment as based on epigenetics, which is shown to be wrong

A Metalloproteinase Secreted by Streptococcus pneumoniae Removes Membrane Mucin MUC16 from the Epithelial Glycocalyx Barrier

The majority of bacterial infections occur across wet-surfaced mucosal epithelia, including those that cover the eye, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary tract. The apical surface of all these mucosal epithelia is covered by a heavily glycosylated glycocalyx, a major component of which are membrane-associated mucins (MAMs). MAMs form a barrier that serves as one of the first lines of defense against invading bacteria. While opportunistic bacteria rely on pre-existing defects or wounds to gain entry to epithelia, non opportunistic bacteria, especially the epidemic disease-causing ones, gain access to epithelial cells without evidence of predisposing injury. The molecular mechanisms employed by these non opportunistic pathogens to breach the MAM barrier remain unknown. To test the hypothesis that disease-causing non opportunistic bacteria gain access to the epithelium by removal of MAMs, corneal, conjunctival, and tracheobronchial epithelial cells, cultured to differentiate to express the MAMs, MUCs 1, 4, and 16, were exposed to a non encapsulated, non typeable strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP168), which causes epidemic conjunctivitis. The ability of strain SP168 to induce MAM ectodomain release from epithelia was compared to that of other strains of S. pneumoniae, as well as the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. The experiments reported herein demonstrate that the epidemic disease-causing S. pneumoniae species secretes a metalloproteinase, ZmpC, which selectively induces ectodomain shedding of the MAM MUC16. Furthermore, ZmpC-induced removal of MUC16 from the epithelium leads to loss of the glycocalyx barrier function and enhanced internalization of the bacterium. These data suggest that removal of MAMs by bacterial enzymes may be an important virulence mechanism employed by disease-causing non opportunistic bacteria to gain access to epithelial cells to cause infection

Сельскохозяйственная кооперация Урала за 1926-27 хозяйственный год и за I квартал 1927-28 г.: материалы к III собранию уполномоченных Уралселькустсоюза

0|7|Общие условия и итоги работы с.-х. кооперации за отчетный период [c. 7]0|11|Направление и темп кооперирования [c. 11]0|13|Союзное строительство [c. 13]0|13|Социальный состав пайщиков и его регулирование [c. 13]0|16|Итоги перевыборной кампании [c. 16]0|17|Аппарат системы [c. 17]0|18|Направление и характер организационной работы системы [c. 18]0|19|Культработа [c. 19]0|20|Массовая работа [c. 20]0|20|Колхозное строительство [c. 20]0|22|Кредитная работа [c. 22]0|26|Торгово-посредническая деятельность [c. 26]0|30|Финансы [c. 30]0|33|Производственная деятельность [c. 33]0|34|Агрикультурная работа [c. 34]0|35|Кустарно-промысловая кооперация в системе сел.-хоз. кооперации [c. 35]0|38|Состояние и работа системы в I кв. 1927-28 г. [c. 38]0|39|Рост колхозного движения [c. 39]0|40|Товарооборот с.-х. кооперации [c. 40]0|41|Финансовое состояние системы [c. 41]0|41|Итоги и перспективы [c. 41]0|45|Таблицы [c. 45]1|45|Сельско-хозяйственная кооперация в 1926-28 году [c. 45]2|45|Организационное состояние [c. 45]3|46|Сеть кооперативов в районах деятельности союзов сельско-хоз. и куст. пром. кооперации Уралобласти по видам [c. 46]3|47|Число всех кооперативов и членов в них в районах деятельности отдельных союзов сел.-хоз. и куст.-пром. кооперации и процент кооперированности хозяйств по округам [c. 47]3|49|Социально-имущественный состав членов-пайщиков сел.-хоз. кредитных товариществ на 1 октября 1927 года [c. 49]3|50|Состав правлений и ревкомиссий низовой сети сельско-хозяйственной кооперации до и после перевыборов 1927-28 г. [c. 50]2|51|Финансовое состояние [c. 51]3|52|Сводные балансы по отдельным видам сельско-хозяйственных кооперативов на 1-Х-1926 г. и 1-Х-1927 г. [c. 52]3|53|Сводные балансы сельско-хозяйственных кредитных товариществ на 1 октября 1927 года по союзам [c. 53]3|54|Балансы (нетто) союзов сел.-хоз. куст.-пром. кооперации на 1 октября 26 г. и на 1 октября 27 г. [c. 54]3|56|Балансы Уралселькустсоюза на 1-Х-1926 г. и 1-Х-1927 года [c. 56]3|57|Использование фондов кооперирования бедноты в 1926-27 г. и создание таковых из прибылей 1926-27 г. по низовой сети [c. 57]2|59|Хозяйственная работа и ее результаты [c. 59]3|61|Оброт по продаже товаров отдельных звеньев сельско-хозяйственной кооперации по сортиментным группам за 1926-27 год [c. 61]3|62|Распределение торговых оборотов сель.-хоз, кредитных товариществ по контрагентам в 1926-27 г. [c. 62]3|63|Общеторговые расходы сел.-хоз. кредитных товариществ за 1926-27 год [c. 63]3|64|Доходы сельско-хозяйственных кредитных товариществ за 1926-1927 год [c. 64]3|65|Агрономические предприятия низовой сети сель.-хоз кооперации на 1-Х 1927 год [c. 65]3|66|Промышленные предприятия низовой сети сельско-хозяйственной кооперации на 1-Х-1927 г. [c. 66]3|67|Товарооборот союзов сельско-хозяйственной и кустарно-промысловой кооперации за 1926-27 год [c. 67]3|68|Покупка и продажа товаров по снабжению союзами с.-х. куст. промысл. кооперации с разбивкой на контрагентов в 1926-27 г. [c. 68]3|69|Покупка и продажа товаров по сбыту союзами сел.-хоз. куст. пром. кооперации с разбивкой на контрагентов в 1926-27 году [c. 69]3|70|Доходы и обще-торговые расходы союзов сел.-хоз. и куст.-пром. кооперации в 1926-1927 году [c. 70]3|71|Наложение на себестоимость товаров в 1927-28 году [c. 71]2|72|Сельско-хозяйственная кооперация в I квартале 1927-28 года [c. 72]3|73|Сеть кооперативов в районе деятельности окружных и районных союзов, входящих в систему областного союза сел.-хоз. кооперации на 1-Х-27 г. и 1-I-1928 г. [c. 73]3|74|Число всех кооперативов и членов в них по отдельным союзам и процент кооперированости хозяйств по округам [c. 74]3|75|Сводные балансы с.-хоз. кредитных товариществ на 1 октября 27 г. и 1 января 1928 г. [c. 75]3|76|Сводные балансы (нетто) 1-ти окружных и районных союзов сел.-хоз. кооперации на 1-Х-27 и 1-I -28 г. [c. 76]3|78|Балансы (нетто) Уралселькустсоюза на 1/I-27 г., 1/I-28 г. и 1-IV-28 г. [c. 78]3|80|Оборот по продаже товаров союзов сельско-хозяйственной кооперации за I кварта 1927-28 года [c. 80]3|81|Обще-торговые расходы союзов сел.-хоз. кооперации в I квартале 1927-28 года [c. 81]3|82|Товарооборот и обще-торговые расходы союзов сел.-хоз. кооперации [c. 82]2|83|Текущие кампании [c. 83]3|84|Паевая кампания [c. 84]3|85|Перевыборная кампания 1927-28 г. [c. 85]3|85|Общие перевыборные собрания членов пайщиков сел.-хоз. кооперации в 1927-1928 году [c. 85]3|86|Перевыборные собрания уполномоченных сельско-хозяйственных к-вово в 1917-28 году [c. 86]0|87|Пояснения к таблицам [c. 87]0|90|Оглавление [c. 90

In defence of activities

In this paper, we examine what is to be said in defence of Machamer, Darden and Craver’s (MDC) controversial dualism about activities and entities (Machamer, Darden and Craver’s in Philos Sci 67:1–25, 2000). We explain why we believe the notion of an activity to be a novel, valuable one, and set about clearing away some initial objections that can lead to its being brushed aside unexamined. We argue that substantive debate about ontology can only be effective when desiderata for an ontology are explicitly articulated. We distinguish three such desiderata. The first is a more permissive descriptive ontology of science, the second a more reductive ontology prioritising understanding, and the third a more reductive ontology prioritising minimalism. We compare MDC’s entities-activities ontology to its closest rival, the entities-capacities ontology, and argue that the entities-activities ontology does better on all three desiderata

Heritability of Intraindividual Mean and Variability of Positive and Negative Affect : Genetic Analysis of Daily Affect Ratings Over a Month

Positive affect (e.g., attentiveness) and negative affect (e.g., upset) fluctuate over time. We examined genetic influences on interindividual differences in the day-to-day variability of affect (i.e., ups and downs) and in average affect over the duration of a month. Once a day, 17-year-old twins in the United Kingdom (N = 447) rated their positive and negative affect online. The mean and standard deviation of each individual’s daily ratings across the month were used as the measures of that individual’s average affect and variability of affect. Analyses revealed that the average of negative affect was significantly heritable (.53), but the average of positive affect was not; instead, the latter showed significant shared environmental influences (.42). Fluctuations across the month were significantly heritable for both negative affect (.54) and positive affect (.34). The findings support the two-factor theory of affect, which posits that positive affect is more situational and negative affect is more dispositional

Beyond quantitative and qualitative traits: three telling cases in the life sciences

This paper challenges the common assumption that some phenotypic traits are quantitative while others are qualitative. The distinction between these two kinds of traits is widely influential in biological and biomedical research as well as in scientific education and communication. This is probably due to both historical and epistemological reasons. However, the quantitative/qualitative distinction involves a variety of simplifications on the genetic causes of phenotypic variability and on the development of complex traits. Here, I examine three cases from the life sciences that show inconsistencies in the distinction: Mendelian traits (dwarfism and pigmentation in plant and animal models), Mendelian diseases (phenylketonuria), and polygenic mental disorders (schizophrenia). I show that these traits can be framed both quantitatively and qualitatively depending, for instance, on the methods through which they are investigated and on specific epistemic purposes (e.g., clinical diagnosis versus causal explanation). This suggests that the received view of quantitative and qualitative traits has a limited heuristic power—limited to some local contexts or to the specific methodologies adopted. Throughout the paper, I provide directions for framing phenotypes beyond the quantitative/qualitative distinction. I conclude by pointing at the necessity of developing a principled characterisation of what phenotypic traits, in general, are

DSM-5 and Psychiatry's Second Revolution: Descriptive vs. Theoretical Approaches to Psychiatric Classification

A large part of the controversy surrounding the publication of DSM-5 stems from the possibility of replacing the purely descriptive approach to classification favored by the DSM since 1980. This paper examines the question of how mental disorders should be classified, focusing on the issue of whether the DSM should adopt a purely descriptive or theoretical approach. I argue that the DSM should replace its purely descriptive approach with a theoretical approach that integrates causal information into the DSM’s descriptive diagnostic categories. The paper proceeds in three sections. In the first section, I examine the goals (viz., guiding treatment, facilitating research, and improving communication) associated with the DSM’s purely descriptive approach. In the second section, I suggest that the DSM’s purely descriptive approach is best suited for improving communication among mental health professionals; however, theoretical approaches would be superior for purposes of treatment and research. In the third section, I outline steps required to move the DSM towards a hybrid system of classification that can accommodate the benefits of descriptive and theoretical approaches, and I discuss how the DSM’s descriptive categories could be revised to incorporate theoretical information regarding the causes of disorders. I argue that the DSM should reconceive of its goals more narrowly such that it functions primarily as an epistemic hub that mediates among various contexts of use in which definitions of mental disorders appear. My analysis emphasizes the importance of pluralism as a methodological means for avoiding theoretical dogmatism and ensuring that the DSM is a reflexive and self-correcting manual