Anti-uniqueness without articles

We report on the expression of singular nominals in Burmese, an articleless language, from original elicitation work. Bare nouns are interpreted as singular definites, to which the numeral tiq 'one' is added to form indefinites. We propose that tiq 'one' restricts the domain of the nominal to a singleton, and that its addition is subject to a Non-Vacuity constraint; this is the source of the anti-uniqueness inference of indefinites. We furthermore investigate the availability of tiq 'one' in anaphoric definites. Such behavior forms an argument that the compositional semantics of anaphoric definites does not involve contextual restriction via a situation variable, unlike unique definites

Evidence of an upper mantle seismic anomaly opposing the Cocos slab beneath the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico

Subduction of the Cocos plate beneath southern Mexico is characterized by several unusual features, such as a discontinuous volcanic arc, unusual arc chemistry, and anomalously low topography of Tehuantepec Isthmus. Recent seismic images from both receiver functions and seismic tomography suggest that there may be an additional, opposing structure dipping to the southwest from the Gulf of Mexico, and these images have been previously explained by a southwest-dipping slab. However, standard models of the Caribbean tectonic history do not support this interpretation. To better define the Cocos slab's structure and the possible existence of a structure dipping in the opposite direction, dense seismic data across southern Mexico are used to form high-resolution seismic images, based on the 2-D generalized radon transform method, and to relocate regional earthquakes. Our images show the Cocos plate dipping at 30° to the northeast encounters the anomaly that is dipping in the opposite sense at ∼150 km depth. Relocated seismicity clearly delineates a Wadati-Benioff zone that marks the subducting Cocos plate. A cluster of seismicity also appears at ∼150 km depth which may be related to the subduction of the Tehuantepec ridge and/or to the imaged seismic structure with opposite polarit

Evidence of an upper mantle seismic anomaly opposing the Cocos slab beneath the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico

Subduction of the Cocos plate beneath southern Mexico is characterized by several unusual features, such as a discontinuous volcanic arc, unusual arc chemistry, and anomalously low topography of Tehuantepec Isthmus. Recent seismic images from both receiver functions and seismic tomography suggest that there may be an additional, opposing structure dipping to the southwest from the Gulf of Mexico, and these images have been previously explained by a southwest-dipping slab. However, standard models of the Caribbean tectonic history do not support this interpretation. To better define the Cocos slab's structure and the possible existence of a structure dipping in the opposite direction, dense seismic data across southern Mexico are used to form high-resolution seismic images, based on the 2-D generalized radon transform method, and to relocate regional earthquakes. Our images show the Cocos plate dipping at 30° to the northeast encounters the anomaly that is dipping in the opposite sense at ∼150 km depth. Relocated seismicity clearly delineates a Wadati-Benioff zone that marks the subducting Cocos plate. A cluster of seismicity also appears at ∼150 km depth which may be related to the subduction of the Tehuantepec ridge and/or to the imaged seismic structure with opposite polarity

School Social Workers in the Milieu: Ubuntu as a Social Justice Imperative

Supporting community resilience throughout the milieu, or school community, is a social justice imperative in providing trauma-informed approaches in education. More school social workers need to view their work as a community-level intervention with a trauma-informed approach that includes collaborating with students and staff throughout the building and within the neighboring community. This conceptual article will explore the humanistic concepts of the milieu as a focus of intervention and the South African value of ubuntu, our interconnectedness, through the lens of school social work. The milieu is a humanistic principle in which the community works together to support each other. For school social work, the milieu is not just providing one-on-one counseling in our individual offices, but also working throughout the school building and community by collaborating with teachers, supporting transition times between classes, and spearheading community meetings. Ubuntu is seen as the essence of being human and promoting our interconnectedness, as a person is a person through other people. School social work that promotes ubuntu holds empathy at the forefront and prioritizes connections and supporting others. In South Africa, the ubuntu philosophy has been used to heal national trauma after the Apartheid and many South African schools support ubuntu through their principles within the school community. These concepts work together to support community resilience and need to be a part of key practices in global trauma-informed education. These practices will be explored through school-based case examples across the United States and in South Africa. Lastly, recommendations will be provided for how school social workers can use these practices in their schools

“Your English is so good”: Linguistic experiences of racialized students and instructors of a Canadian university

Racism has increasingly been exposed and problematized in public domains, including institutions of higher education. In academia, critical race theory (CRT) has guided scholars to uncover everyday experiences of racism by highlighting the intersectionality of race with other identity categories, among which language constitutes an important, yet underexplored, component. Through the conceptual lens of CRT and counter-storytelling as a methodological orientation, this study investigated how racialized graduate students and faculty members at a Canadian university experienced racialization and racism in relation to issues of language, including communication and the use of ethnic names as semiotic markers. Individual and focus group interviews generated participants’ stories, to which we applied a thematic analysis. Participants generally felt that they were forced into pre-determined and essentialized categories of race, ethnicity, nationality, and language. Racialized non-native speakers of an official language—English or French—often received compliments or inquisitive comments on their language proficiency, which further accentuated their raciolinguistic Otherness and caused pain. Conversely, racialized native speakers did not report receiving compliments on language. For East Asian participants especially, speaking White English seemed to offset their racial stigma and psychologically separated them from non-native, English-speaking East Asian immigrants who looked like them. These experiences indicate normative expectations. The participants felt they were expected to not only speak, write, or communicate in the White normative language and manners, but also to use or not use an Anglicized name against their will. These impositions were questioned and resisted by some participants, and antiracist consciousness was expressed. The participants’ voices encourage universities to validate their stories as well as their ways of telling their stories

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST9 in Pigs in Thailand

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important nosocomial and community-associated pathogen. Recently, livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) has emerged and disseminated in Europe and North America and now constitutes a considerable zoonotic burden in humans with risk factors of pig exposure, whereas the extent of the livestock reservoir is relatively unknown on other continents. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From March through April 2011, MRSA was identified in pigs from 3 out of 30 production holdings in Chang Mai Province, Thailand. Representative isolates were subjected to molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility testing; all isolates had genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of LA-MRSA previously characterized in the region: they belonged to ST9, lacked the lukF-lukS genes encoding Panton-Valentine leukocidin, and were resistant to multiple non-β-lactam antimicrobials. However, unlike other Asian LA-MRSA-ST9 variants, they were spa type t337 and harbored a different staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec IX. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A novel MRSA-ST9 lineage has been established in the pig population of Thailand, which differs substantially from LA-MRSA lineages found in other areas of the continent. The emergence of novel LA-MRSA lineages in the animal agriculture setting is worrisome and poses a serious threat to global public health

Population health and regional variations of disease burden in Japan, 1990–2015:a systematic subnational analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

BackgroundJapan has entered the era of super-ageing and advanced health transition, which is increasingly putting pressure on the sustainability of its health system. The level and pace of this health transition might vary across regions within Japan and concern is growing about increasing regional variations in disease burden. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015) provides a comprehensive, comparable framework. We used data from GBD 2015 with the aim to quantify the burden of disease and injuries, and to attribute risk factors in Japan at a subnational, prefecture-level.MethodsWe used data from GBD 2015 for 315 causes and 79 risk factors of death, disease, and injury incidence and prevalence to measure the burden of diseases and injuries in Japan and in the 47 Japanese prefectures from 1990 to 2015. We extracted data from GBD 2015 to assess mortality, causes of death, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), life expectancy, and healthy life expectancy (HALE) in Japan and its 47 prefectures. We split extracted data by prefecture and applied GBD methods to generate estimates of burden, and attributable burden due to known risk factors. We examined the prefecture-level relationships of common health system inputs (eg, health expenditure and workforces) to the GBD outputs in 2015 to address underlying determinants of regional health variations.FindingsLife expectancy at birth in Japan increased by 4·2 years from 79·0 years (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 79·0 to 79·0) to 83·2 years (83·1 to 83·2) between 1990 and 2015. However, the gaps between prefectures with the lowest and highest life expectancies and HALE have widened, from 2·5 to 3·1 years and from 2·3 to 2·7 years, respectively, from 1990 to 2015. Although overall age-standardised death rates decreased by 29·0% (28·7 to 29·3) from 1990 to 2015, the rates of mortality decline in this period substantially varied across the prefectures, ranging from -32·4% (-34·8 to -30·0) to -22·0% (-20·4 to -20·1). During the same time period, the rate of age-standardised DALYs was reduced overall by 19·8% (17·9 to 22·0). The reduction in rates of age-standardised YLDs was very small by 3·5% (2·6 to 4·3). The pace of reduction in mortality and DALYs in many leading causes has largely levelled off since 2005. Known risk factors accounted for 34·5% (32·4 to 36·9) of DALYs; the two leading behavioural risk factors were unhealthy diets and tobacco smoking in 2015. The common health system inputs were not associated with age-standardised death and DALY rates in 2015.InterpretationJapan has been successful overall in reducing mortality and disability from most major diseases. However, progress has slowed down and health variations between prefectures is growing. In view of the limited association between the prefecture-level health system inputs and health outcomes, the potential sources of regional variations, including subnational health system performance, urgently need assessment.FundingBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Japan Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, AXA CR Fixed Income Fund and AXA Research Fund

The Youth Collaborative Mental Health Survey: A Community-Based Participatory Research Approach Using Constructivism With Majority Hispanic Youth

Youth today face novel mental health challenges compared to youth of previous generations. Youth voice in research is necessary to better understand and alleviate this national youth mental health crisis, but current U.S. nationally representative datasets on youth mental health lack youth voice in their survey designs. The academic team collaborated with 19 high school students to design a comprehensive youth mental health survey called the Youth Collaborative Mental Health Survey (YCMHS). The youth co-investigators represented the diversity of San Antonio, Texas, and were majority Hispanic. The constructivism pedagogy in education, which empowers youth voice in the learning process, was utilized to facilitate the youth-led creation of the YCMHS. During eight 2-hour meetings, the youth co-investigators designed the YCMHS with 20 domains and 195 questions. The YCMHS embraced respondent flexibility and voice and included 42 conditional response questions and 29 free-text response questions. The youth co-investigators led the survey administration at five schools during the 2020–2021 school year. The youth-led research design also strengthened collaboration between community and school partners. Takeaways from the academic team include the importance of being flexible and patient and advocating for the youth collaborators. Takeaways from the youth co-investigators include the importance of being open-minded, asking honest questions related to youth mental health, and being persistent. Future work will strengthen the scientific rigor of the YCMHS and highlight preliminary survey results

Efferocytosis produces a prometastatic landscape during postpartum mammary gland involution

Breast cancers that occur in women 2–5 years postpartum are more frequently diagnosed at metastatic stages and correlate with poorer outcomes compared with breast cancers diagnosed in young, premenopausal women. The molecular mechanisms underlying the malignant severity associated with postpartum breast cancers (ppBCs) are unclear but relate to stromal wound-healing events during postpartum involution, a dynamic process characterized by widespread cell death in milk-producing mammary epithelial cells (MECs). Using both spontaneous and allografted mammary tumors in fully immune–competent mice, we discovered that postpartum involution increases mammary tumor metastasis. Cell death was widespread, not only occurring in MECs but also in tumor epithelium. Dying tumor cells were cleared through receptor tyrosine kinase MerTK–dependent efferocytosis, which robustly induced the transcription of genes encoding wound-healing cytokines, including IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, and TGF-β. Animals lacking MerTK and animals treated with a MerTK inhibitor exhibited impaired efferocytosis in postpartum tumors, a reduction of M2-like macrophages but no change in total macrophage levels, decreased TGF-β expression, and a reduction of postpartum tumor metastasis that was similar to the metastasis frequencies observed in nulliparous mice. Moreover, TGF-β blockade reduced postpartum tumor metastasis. These data suggest that widespread cell death during postpartum involution triggers efferocytosis-induced wound-healing cytokines in the tumor microenvironment that promote metastatic tumor progression