Ecological Forms of Life: Wittgenstein and Ecolinguistics

The present philosophical literature on philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein tends to either stagnate by focusing upon issues particular to Wittgenstein's philosophy or expand the boundaries of Wittgenstein's thought to shed light onto other areas of study. One area that has largely been ignored is the realm of environmental philosophy. I prepare the way for a solution to this by first arguing that Wittgenstein's later philosophy of language shows 'proto-ecolinguistic' concerns, sharing much in common with the ecolinguistic thought of both Peter Mühlhäusler and Luisa Maffi. This reading, as well as the work of Mühlhäusler and Maffi, is a starting point for an opposition to a common trend in much of contemporary linguistics of adhering to a linguistic paradigm of universalizing linguistic atomism that gives an impoverished account of language. This impoverished account is argued to have potential environmental and ecological consequences which the universalizing atomistic paradigm is ill-equipped to address

How can Appreciative Inquiry be used to improve cancer clinical trials efficiency? The UNC Lineberger Case Study

Cancer is a leading cause of death world-wide and the number of new cases diagnosed annually is expected to double by 2050. Better treatments are urgently needed. Clinical trials, the gold standard for testing therapies for safety and efficacy, are conducted in settings including academic medical centers. Long-standing difficulties with the clinical trials system are exemplified by the slow pace of clinical trial activation and low rate of trial completion. Descriptive case study research was conducted at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to explore how Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a generative form of organization development, can be used to improve clinical trials efficiency. The literature on clinical trials efficiency, organization development, appreciative inquiry, and case study research was reviewed. The case study protocol included six questions for two units of analysis, research coordinators and disease team leaders. A process improvement initiative using AI had been completed and documentation was available for analysis. AI was conducted with the disease team leaders and interview notes were analyzed. Participant observation was employed with both groups. Themes and provocative propositions were identified or created. Changes attributable to the use of appreciative inquiry and potential contributions to improved efficiency were documented along with limitations, barriers, or obstacles to the use of the technique with each group. Together the case study protocol questions described the extent and effect of applying AI with the two groups. A plan for change included six recommendations to advance and sustain change towards improving the clinical trials system. These included presenting the case study report to the Protocol Office Executive Committee; initiating a system-wide application of AI with the CPO; monitoring efficiency metrics and assessing impact of AI; assessing other potential AI applications at UNC Lineberger; publishing and presenting findings. Leadership theory and practice will continue to guide efforts to create a more efficient cancer clinical trials program

The Role of Models and Communication in the Ad Hoc Multiagent Team Decision Problem

Abstract Ad hoc teams are formed of members who have little or no information regarding one another. In order to achieve a shared goal, agents are tasked with learning the capabilities of their teammates such that they can coordinate effectively. Typically, the capabilities of the agent teammates encountered are constrained by the particular domain specifications. However, for wide application, it is desirable to develop systems that are able to coordinate with general ad hoc agents independent of the choice of domain. We propose examining ad hoc multiagent teamwork from a generalized perspective and discuss existing domains within the context of our framework. Furthermore, we consider how communication of agent intentions can provide a means of reducing teammate model uncertainty at key junctures, requiring an agent to consider its own information deficiencies in order to form communicative acts improving team coordination

Effect of Shear Stress on Platelet Activation via the Glycoprotein VI Receptor

Cardiovascular diseases are the nation\u27s leading cause of death. Such diseases are caused by platelet response to collagen especially in the event of vascular injury leading to thrombosis. One of the platelet receptors known to bind to the collagen ligand is glycoprotein VI (GPVI) with co-receptor Fc receptor γ chain (FcRγ). By stably expressing the GPVI receptor in rat basophilic leukemia cells (RBL-2H3), which abundantly express FcRγ, but endogenously lack GPVI, studies have shown that GPVI-FcRγ is sufficient to confer adhesion as well as signaling responses to collagen as long as the receptor density is equivalent to that found on human platelets. While those investigations confirm that the GPVI receptor mediate binding to collagen under static conditions, they do not provide information on how the GPVI receptor interacts with collagen under dynamic conditions. In the present study we have used the GPVI-expressing RBL-2H3 cells to observe the kinetics of adhesion to collagen under hydrodynamic flow conditions in vitro using a parallel plate flow chamber coupled with video microscopy. We demonstrate that these cells do adhere to the surface at a low shear rate and do so at a greater adherent cell density than wild-type RBL-2H3 (WT-RBL) cells

“SOME WEIRD BUNCH OF ANTI-REBELS”: POSTMODERNISM AND THE EMERGENCE OF POST-POSTMODERNISM IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

(Statement of Responsibility) by Trey Sarratt(Thesis) Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2014RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE(Bibliography) Includes bibliographical references.This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida Libraries, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.Faculty Sponsor: Dimino, Andre

Community development as a classroom management tool

Community development as a classroom management too

Role of GPVI and alpha2beta1 in platelet collagen responses

In this thesis, we examine the functionality of two platelet collagen receptors, GPVI and α2β1, in their role in platelet collagen interactions as a result of vascular injury. Using rat basophilic leukemia cells transfected with the GPVI receptor, we show that GPVI is capable of mediating adhesion to collagen under shear stress in a density-dependent fashion that is independent of signaling. To extend these findings to a more physiological context, we used pharmacologic and genetic approaches to study human and mouse platelet adhesion to collagen under arterial shear rates. Our studies demonstrate that both GPVI and integrin α2β1 play significant roles for platelet adhesion to collagen under flow, and that the loss of both receptors completely ablates this response. Intracellular signaling mediated by the cytoplasmic adaptor SLP-76, but not by the transmembrane adaptor LAT, is critical for platelet adhesion to collagen under flow. In addition, reduced GPVI receptor density results in severe defects in platelet adhesion to collagen under flow. Defective adhesion to collagen under flow is associated with prolonged tail bleeding times in mice lacking one or both collagen receptors. These studies establish platelet collagen responses under physiologic flow as the consequence of a close partnership between two structurally distinct receptors and suggest that GPVI and α2β1 play significant hemostatic roles in vivo. With the establishment that integrin α2β1 is required for platelet collagen responses, we next address how it mediates bidirectional signaling in those responses. Specifically, we study whether or not the tyrosine residues of its β1 cytoplamic domain contribute to the response in outside-in signaling by inducing mutations, YF and YA, in the NPXY motifs. We find that YF mutant platelets maintain a near normal response in platelet adhesion and spreading on collagen but the YA results show a defective response. These results suggest that the tyrosine residues are important regulators of outside-in signaling; however, tyrosine phosphorylation is not required