Historical ‘signposts’ and other temporal indicators in the Czech lexicon

This article posits that the Czechs employ a great many historical markers, previously applied to other events of national importance, which help to shape collective memory and right the ‘wrongs’ of the past. It is argued that these temporal indicators share a number of clearly defined characteristics, and that their use is too systematic and calculated to be merely a function of the constraints of the lexicon. The first part of the study considers in detail questions of semantics (especially the distinction between denotation and connotation), the lexicographical sources available to the researcher, and the lexical ‘signpost’ in context, while the second part focuses on practical examples of lexical re-appropriation since 1918, with particular reference to dictionaries and the Czech National Corpus.University of Wolverhampto

No Exit? Withdrawal Rights and the Law of Corporate Reorganizations

Bankruptcy scholarship is largely a debate about the comparative merits of a mandatory regime on one hand and bankruptcy by free design on the other. By the standard account, the current law of corporate reorganization is mandatory. Various rules that cannot be avoided ensure that investors’ actions are limited and they do not exercise their rights against specialized assets in a way that destroys the value of a business as a whole. These rules solve collective action problems and reduce the risk of bargaining failure. But there are costs to a mandatory regime. In particular, investors cannot design their rights to achieve optimal monitoring as they could in a system of bankruptcy by free design. This Article suggests that the academic debate has missed a fundamental feature of the law. Bankruptcy operates on legal entities, not on firms in the economic sense. For this reason, sophisticated investors do not face a mandatory regime at all. The ability of investors to place assets in separate entities gives them the ability to create specific withdrawal rights in the event the firm encounters financial distress. There is nothing mandatory about rules like the automatic stay when assets can be partitioned off into legal entities that are beyond the reach of the bankruptcy judge. Thus, by partitioning assets of one economic enterprise into different legal entities, investors can create a tailored bankruptcy regime. In this way, legal entities serve as building blocks that can be combined to create specific and varied but transparent investor withdrawal rights. This regime of tailored bankruptcy has been unrecognized and underappreciated and may be preferable to both mandatory and free design regimes. By allowing a limited number of investors to opt out of bankruptcy in a particular, discrete, and visible way, investors as a group may be able to both limit the risk of bargaining failure and at the same time enjoy the disciplining effect that a withdrawal right brings with it

Cholangiocyte organoids can repair bile ducts after transplantation in the human liver.

Organoid technology holds great promise for regenerative medicine but has not yet been applied to humans. We address this challenge using cholangiocyte organoids in the context of cholangiopathies, which represent a key reason for liver transplantation. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we show that primary human cholangiocytes display transcriptional diversity that is lost in organoid culture. However, cholangiocyte organoids remain plastic and resume their in vivo signatures when transplanted back in the biliary tree. We then utilize a model of cell engraftment in human livers undergoing ex vivo normothermic perfusion to demonstrate that this property allows extrahepatic organoids to repair human intrahepatic ducts after transplantation. Our results provide proof of principle that cholangiocyte organoids can be used to repair human biliary epithelium

A Marketing plan for 1993 of the Metro Ferry

The Pasig River Transit Co., Inc. owns and operates the Metro Ferry, a water transport system which ferries people from Escolta to Guadalupe and vice-versa using the Pasig river. At present, the company has seven riverbuses or vessels in Metro Manila. These operate from 7 am to 7 pm with 30 minute intervals during peak hours and hourly intervals during slack hours. To utilize the riverbuses during slack hours, the company has introduced the Pasig River Educational Tour which takes in students on a charter basis and provides an educational, guided tour of Pasig river aboard the Metro Ferry. The Metro Ferry as a public transport service is being positioned as an alternative mode of transportation in Metro Manila. This mode of transportation is fast, economical and generally pollution-free (from smoke belchers). There is also no long lines, no overcrowding and no traffic. Meanwhile, the Pasig River Educational Tour is positioned as a supplement for classroom learning as it provides students with a historical and ecological experience of the Pasig river. The marketing plan for 1993 focuses on both the Metro Ferry as a public transport system and as a charter service for the Pasig River Educational Tour. Short term objectives include increasing regular passenger ridership by 20% and increasing charter ridership by 50%. A 30% increase in product awareness is also expected. The main thrust of the marketing plan is to increase ridership. To do this, there should be an improvement of the people\u27s image of the Metro Ferry. Hence, an improvement of the quality of service is the main concern. This includes improvements of the Metro Ferry, the crew, the operations, boat signages and the stations. Meanwhile, itineraries, annotations, tour costs, summer packages will be improved to increase the usership of charter services. An increase in tour costs for charter services is recommended to increase the revenues generated from these activities. Likewise, the plan includes the increase of sales force, the provision of sales trainings, the use of sales brochures, clear books and other sales paraphernalia as part of the sales and distribution strategies. It is also recommended that Metro Ferry go into advertising and promotional activities to increase product awareness and usership. Print and radio ads will be used throughout the year. The advertising concept will emphasize Metro Ferry as an alternative mode of transportation where people can avail of a comfortable, economic, fast and hassle-free ride. A series of PR activities have also been prepared to supplement the radio and print ads throughout the year. The PR objective is to create a more favorable image for Pasig river and consequently, for Metro Ferry. Total investments for the marketing plan will amount to P 2,160,408 but profits of P 306,012.46 can be expected. Evaluations will be done quarterly and annually by the marketing and operations manager

Cellular and molecular events leading to paraquat-induced apoptosis:mechanistic insights into Parkinson’s disease pathophysiology

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the cardinal features of tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural instability, in addition to other non-motor symptoms. Pathologically, PD is attributed to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, with the hallmark of the presence of intracellular protein aggregates of α-synuclein in the form of Lewy bodies. The pathogenesis of PD is still yet to be fully elucidated due to the multifactorial nature of the disease. However, a myriad of studies has indicated several intracellular events in triggering apoptotic neuronal cell death in PD. These include oxidative stress, mitochondria dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, alteration in dopamine catabolism, inactivation of tyrosine hydroxylase, and decreased levels of neurotrophic factors. Laboratory studies using the herbicide paraquat in different in vitro and in vivo models have demonstrated the induction of many PD pathological features. The selective neurotoxicity induced by paraquat has brought a new dawn in our perspectives about the pathophysiology of PD. Epidemiological data have suggested an increased risk of developing PD in the human population exposed to paraquat for a long term. This model has opened new frontiers in the quest for new therapeutic targets for PD. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the relationship between the exposure of paraquat and the pathogenesis of PD in in vitro and in vivo models