Evaluational adjectives

This paper demarcates a theoretically interesting class of "evaluational adjectives." This class includes predicates expressing various kinds of normative and epistemic evaluation, such as predicates of personal taste, aesthetic adjectives, moral adjectives, and epistemic adjectives, among others. Evaluational adjectives are distinguished, empirically, in exhibiting phenomena such as discourse-oriented use, felicitous embedding under the attitude verb `find', and sorites-susceptibility in the comparative form. A unified degree-based semantics is developed: What distinguishes evaluational adjectives, semantically, is that they denote context-dependent measure functions ("evaluational perspectives")—context-dependent mappings to degrees of taste, beauty, probability, etc., depending on the adjective. This perspective-sensitivity characterizing the class of evaluational adjectives cannot be assimilated to vagueness, sensitivity to an experiencer argument, or multidimensionality; and it cannot be demarcated in terms of pretheoretic notions of subjectivity, common in the literature. I propose that certain diagnostics for "subjective" expressions be analyzed instead in terms of a precisely specified kind of discourse-oriented use of context-sensitive language. I close by applying the account to `find x PRED' ascriptions

Two types of degree nominalizations: Degree concepts and qualities

Francez and Koontz-Garboden (2017) propose that in many languages, gradable predication is fundamentally about not degrees but qualities qua portions of an abstract substance, like wisdom or beauty, that an individual can be said to possess. Both notions—qualities and degrees—are crucial, we propose, to understanding an important distinction between two varieties of degree nominalization in English (e.g. height in Ingo is Bertha’s height vs tallness in Ingo has Bertha’s tallness). Building on Bochnak (2013) and Gobeski (2019), we marshal a range of unnoticed or under-noticed contrasts that we argue show that some nominalizations denote qualities and others denote what we’ll call \u27degree concepts\u27, which are intensionalized degrees

Adjectival and Adverbial Modification:The View from Modern Type Theories

In this paper we present a study of adjectival/adverbial modification using modern type theories (MTTs), i.e. type theories within the tradition of Martin-Lof. We present an account of various issues concerning adjectival/adverbial modification and argue that MTTs can be used as an adequate language for interpreting NL semantics. MTTs are not only expressive enough to deal with a range of modification phenomena, but are furthermore well-suited to perform reasoning tasks that can be easily implemented (e.g. in proof-assistants) given their proof-theoretic nature. In MTT-semantics, common nouns are interpreted as types rather than predicates. Therefore, in order to capture the semantics of adjectives adequately, one needs to meet the challenge of modeling CNs modified by adjectives as types. To explicate that this can be done successfully, we first look at the mainstream classification of adjectives, i.e. intersective, subsective and non-subsective adjectives. There, we show that the rich type structure available in MTTs, along with a suitable subtyping framework, offers an adequate mechanism to model these cases. In particular, this modelling naturally takes care of the characterising inferences associated with each class of adjectives. Then, more advanced issues on adjectival modification are discussed: (a) degree adjectives, (b) comparatives and (c) multidimensional adjectives. There, it is shown that the use of indexed types can be usefully applied in order to deal with these cases. In the same vein, the issue of adverbial modification is discussed. We study two general typings for sentence and VP adverbs respectively. It is shown that the rich type structure in MTTs further provides useful organisational mechanisms in giving formal semantics for adverbs. In particular, we discuss the use of -types to capture the veridicality/non-veridicality distinction and further discuss cases of intensional adverbs using the type theoretic notion of context (i.e. without resorting to intensional typing). We also look at manner, subject and speech act adverbials and propose solutions using MTTs. Finally, we show that the current proof technology can help mechanically check the associated inferences. A number of our proposals concerning adjectival and adverbial modification have been formalised in the proof assistant Coq and many of the associated inference patterns are checked to be correctly captured

Bis[3α,7α,12α-tris­(4-nitro­benzo­yloxy)-5β-cholan-24-yl] disulfide–ethyl acetate–n-hexane (4/4/1)

The crystal structure of the title compound, C90H100N6O24S2·C4H8O2·0.25C6H14, solved and refined against synchrotron diffraction data, contains two formula units in the asymmetric unit with the all-trans n-hexane mol­ecule having half-occupancy and one of the ethyl acetate mol­ecules disordered over two positions. The two symmetry-independent disulfide mol­ecules are assembled by approximate face-to-face and face-to-edge inter­actions between their 4-nitro­benzo­yloxy groups into an inter­twined dimer having a double-helix-type structure. The centrally placed disulfide bridges in the two symmetry-independent mol­ecules exhibit different helicity as shown by the C—S—S—C torsion angles of 71.0 (1) and −92.5 (1)°

Microfluidic Endothelium for Studying the Intravascular Adhesion of Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND:The ability to properly model intravascular steps in metastasis is essential in identifying key physical, cellular, and molecular determinants that can be targeted therapeutically to prevent metastatic disease. Research on the vascular microenvironment has been hindered by challenges in studying this compartment in metastasis under conditions that reproduce in vivo physiology while allowing facile experimental manipulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We present a microfluidic vasculature system to model interactions between circulating breast cancer cells with microvascular endothelium at potential sites of metastasis. The microfluidic vasculature produces spatially-restricted stimulation from the basal side of the endothelium that models both organ-specific localization and polarization of chemokines and many other signaling molecules under variable flow conditions. We used this microfluidic system to produce site-specific stimulation of microvascular endothelium with CXCL12, a chemokine strongly implicated in metastasis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:When added from the basal side, CXCL12 acts through receptor CXCR4 on endothelium to promote adhesion of circulating breast cancer cells, independent of CXCL12 receptors CXCR4 or CXCR7 on tumor cells. These studies suggest that targeting CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling in endothelium may limit metastases in breast and other cancers and highlight the unique capabilities of our microfluidic device to advance studies of the intravascular microenvironment in metastasis

Gradable nouns as concepts without prototypes

Non-copy-edited preprint. To appear in L. McNally, E. Castroviejo-Miró, and G. Sassoon (eds). The Semantics of Gradability, Vagueness and Scale Structure. Language, Cognition and Mind series. Springer

Self-limiting Spontaneous Isolated Celiac Artery Dissection: A Case Report

IntroductionIsolated dissection of the celiac artery is rare, with less then 100 cases reported to date. Although some patients present with epigastric pain and tenderness, many cases are asymptomatic and found incidentally on CT. The appropriate management of isolated celiac artery dissections is unclear. This report illustrates an observational approach to a symptomatic case of isolated celiac artery dissection.ReportA 55-year-old Caucassian male presented to the emergency department with epigastric pain. His Initial CT revealed possible celiac artery dissection with associated intramural hematoma. Due to continued pain, a subsequent CTA was ordered. This scan showed progression of the intramural hematoma to near occlusion of the hepatic artery. Despite this, there were no signs of ischemic hepatitis as indicated by normal levels of liver transaminases. There was also no evidence to suggest propagation of the dissection or pseudo-aneurysm formation. We therefore choose a conservative and observational approach to this isolated celiac artery dissection. His dissection was managed with ASA and metoprolol, and he was discharged after 1 week of observation. 3 week follow-up CTA showed spontaneous resolution of the intramural hematoma and improved patency of the hepatic artery. There was no change at 3 months follow-up.ConclusionThis case highlights that an observational approach to cases of isolated celiac artery dissection may be indicated if there is no evident end organ disease or malperfusion