Salience: Descriptions and incompleteness

The contention of this thesis is that there are good reasons for preferring a Russellian analysis of descriptions to any other account, but that there exists a fundamental problem to be overcome for such an approach. This is the issue of incompleteness, for the quantificational treatment makes an appeal to uniqueness which is often not satisfied by the descriptive material mentioned, e.g. 'the dog' does not contain enough predicative material to secure a unique denotation. In this thesis I consider, and offer reasons for rejecting, the three most common (pragmatic level) solutions and suggest that we are instead forced to a semantic level alteration. I then go on to offer my own preferred version of such a move: a semantic level appeal to the pragmatic property of salience. I suggest that we have antecedent reasons for requiring such a notion of salience, as a property which is both able to operate prior to the securing of a referent and which may be mutually recognisable between interlocutors. Such a property would then be available to underpin and direct decisions on intended reference in a communicative environment. To show this I briefly examine the nature of communication itself and argue that there is good reason to posit the shared ground in referential communication as mutual recognition of salience. Finally, having established an independent requirement for such a notion, I show how it might be adopted, as elided content, into the truth conditions of incomplete descriptions, without violating the major tenets of the quantificational theory

Reconciling Relationships with the Land through Land Acknowledgements

One of the limitations of conventional Canadian conceptions of reconciliation is the underlying assumption that reconciliation applies, virtually exclusively, to relationships among peoples. There are, however, other dimensions to reconciliation that are equally important from an Indigenous point of view. As Mi’kmaq Elder Augustine suggests, “other dimensions of human experience—our relationships with the earth and all living beings—are also relevant in working towards reconciliation” (TRC 2015a, 122). Indigenous conceptions of reconciliation extend beyond people to the natural world and are informed by direct relationships to the Land. In this chapter. an Anishinaabe scholar, living in her own Lands, and a settler planner, moving across the Land, further explain how Land, Spirit and, more fundamentally, relationships have endured through time and can offer profound insights if one can learn to relate to the People and Land. This relation is explored through an examination of the Land Acknowledgement

Primer selection impacts specific population abundances but not community dynamics in a monthly time-series 16S rRNA gene amplicon analysis of coastal marine bacterioplankton.

Primers targeting the 16S small subunit ribosomal RNA marker gene, used to characterize bacterial and archaeal communities, have recently been re-evaluated for marine planktonic habitats. To investigate whether primer selection affects the ecological interpretation of bacterioplankton populations and community dynamics, amplicon sequencing with four primer sets targeting several hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene was conducted on both mock communities constructed from cloned 16S rRNA genes and a time-series of DNA samples from the temperate coastal Santa Barbara Channel. Ecological interpretations of community structure (delineation of depth and seasonality, correlations with environmental factors) were similar across primer sets, while population dynamics varied. We observed substantial differences in relative abundances of taxa known to be poorly resolved by some primer sets, such as Thaumarchaeota and SAR11, and unexpected taxa including Roseobacter clades. Though the magnitude of relative abundances of common OTUs differed between primer sets, the relative abundances of the OTUs were nonetheless strongly correlated. We do not endorse one primer set but rather enumerate strengths and weaknesses to facilitate selection appropriate to a system or experimental goal. While 16S rRNA gene primer bias suggests caution in assessing quantitative population dynamics, community dynamics appear robust across studies using different primers

An overview of reflective learning in Years 1 and 2 of the medical curriculum at the University of Liverpool

Reflective practice is a method of continual learning from clinical experience, identifying learning needs and implementing changes in practice. It is an important learning tool for both medical students and qualified doctors. Despite the importance of refection, medical students, in their earlier years, can struggle to see its value and are often reluctant to engage with the process beyond superficial levels. In Years 1 and 2 of the MBChB Curriculum at the University of Liverpool, reflective practice is taught and assessed via several modules using a variety of approaches. We describe those approaches and discuss our methods for developing a standardised framework for reflective learning, with the aim of increasing consistency of teaching and assessment and improving student engagement and performance

AR Blockers

Access Recirculation (AR) severely decreases the efficiency of dialysis while having the potential to lead to a variety of complications (Fig. 3). If recirculation occurs during treatment, the patient may be at risk of developing stenosis (narrowing of blood vessels), leading to thrombosis (the local coagulation/clotting of blood) [4]. The most influential cause of recirculation results from the misplacement of the arterial and venous needles that will significantly harm the patient, wasting both money and resources. It is clear that the medical community has focused their energy on developing a proactive approach to monitoring AR, instead of preventing it. Creating biomedical devices that closely monitor the occurrence of AR isn’t sufficient enough. In order to prevent further complications and ensure dialysis is as efficient as possible, the goal should be to eliminate AR. There is a clear need for a device that can be implemented during hemodialysis treatments to reduce the percentage of recirculated blood, thus, reducing the occurrence of treatment for an individual and aiding the nurses in proper needle placement

Prevention of Access Recirculation During Hemodialysis Treatment

Approximately 660,000 Americans are being treated for kidney failure or end stage renal disease annually. Access recirculation can happen to any patient, varying from treatment to treatment, as it is a problem with the current technology of two butterfly needles used during a dialysis procedure and not with the patient. Access Recirculation severely decreases the efficiency of dialysis while having the potential to lead to a variety of complications.There is a clear need for a device that can be implemented during hemodialysis treatments to reduce the percentage of recirculated blood, thusly reducing the occurrence of treatment for an individual and aiding the nurses in proper needle placement. Our proposed design is the Cannulation Pilot and it is responsible for reducing recirculation during dialysis by holding the two butterfly needles necessary for treatment at a fixed distance of 5 cm apart from one another and at an angle of insertion between 20 to 35 degrees; as this should drastically reduce or halt recirculation form occurring during treatment

Cardiac Neuroanatomy and Chronotropic Modulation of the Adult Giant Danio Heart

Studies in non-mammalian models species have contributed significantly to our understanding of the biology and the nature of innervation in the heart. The giant danio (D. malabaricus) is a teleost fish species closely related to zebrafish, that is also capable of heart regeneration. We previously described the development and maturation of the giant danio (GD) heart. However, little is known about its innervation. We hypothesized that the pattern of innervation in the GD heart is anatomically and physiologically complex, and that the heart is responsive to physiological modulation similar to that seen in cyprinid fish and mammals. Using various neuronal markers and electron microcopy, we described the presence, distribution, and nature of nerves in the GD heart. Our study shows first that fine intrinsic cardiac nerve fibers are present throughout the heart chambers. Second, nerve soma and ganglia are highly concentrated at nerve plexuses located near the sinoatrial (SA) and atrioventricular (AV) junctions. However, the volume density of axonal processes located over the ventral aorta_ is highest over the corpus of the bulbus arteriosus. Third, using an ex vivo GD heart preparation, we found that the GD heart responded to both adrenergic and cholinergic agonists, in a manner that mirrors mammalian and teleost hearts. Taken together, our studies show that the GD heart displays complex patterns of innervation, and conserved cardiac physiological responses, and strongly suggest that the GD could be used as a viable model for investigating cardiac biology

The Effects of Combined Movement and Storytelling Intervention on Motor Skills in South Asian and White Children Aged 5–6 Years Living in the United Kingdom

Early motor development has an important role in promoting physical activity (PA) during childhood and across the lifespan. Children from South Asian backgrounds are less active and have poorer motor skills, thus identifying the need for early motor skill instruction. This study examines the effect of a movement and storytelling intervention on South Asian children’s motor skills. Following ethics approval and consent, 39 children (46% South Asian) participated in a 12-week movement and storytelling intervention. Pre and post, seven motor skills (run, jump, throw, catch, stationary dribble, roll, and kick) were assessed using Children’s Activity and Movement in Preschool Study protocol. At baseline, South Asian children had poorer performance of motor skills. Following the intervention, all children improved their motor skills, with a bigger improvement observed for South Asian children. Early intervention provided remedial benefits to delays in motor skills and narrowed the motor skills gap in ethnic groups

Learning legacy: lessons learned from the London 2012 Games construction project

Regulatory policy makers have shown an increasing interest in the use of supply chains to improve standards of health and safety. A recent review, however, suggests that although the potential to use supply chains in this positive way exists, in practice it is rarely exploited. This research project assessed supply chain strategies on the Olympic Park and the driving factors behind them. It also considered their transferability - something which is being explored further within an ongoing comparative research project including case studies both within and beyond the construction sector