114 research outputs found
The Linguistic Politeness Having Seen on the Current Study Issue
The current issue is overviewed in this paper about the linguistics politeness. Positive politeness strategies seek to minimize the threat to the hearer\u27s positive face. These strategies are used to make the hearer feel good about themselves, their interests or possessions, and are most usually used in situations where the audience knows each other fairly well. In sociolinguistics and conversation analysis (CA), politeness strategies are speech acts that express concern for others and minimize threats to self-esteem ("face") in particular social contexts. Being polite means being aware of and respecting the feelings of other people. Politeness can and will improve your relationships with others, help to build respect and rapport, boost your self-esteem and confidence, and improve your communication skills. Importance of Politeness in Life. Politeness is a great virtue. But a polite person will always please others with his polite behavior and good manners. Politeness means consideration for the feelings of others. Politeness is one of the central features of human communication. It is a human phenomenon, yet expressed differently in different cultures. Positive politeness refers to an atmosphere of inclusion and mutuality created by linguistic means such as compliments, encouragement, joking, even the use of "white lies.
Dirac field on Moyal-Minkowski spacetime and non-commutative potential scattering
The quantized free Dirac field is considered on Minkowski spacetime (of
general dimension). The Dirac field is coupled to an external scalar potential
whose support is finite in time and which acts by a Moyal-deformed
multiplication with respect to the spatial variables. The Moyal-deformed
multiplication corresponds to the product of the algebra of a Moyal plane
described in the setting of spectral geometry. It will be explained how this
leads to an interpretation of the Dirac field as a quantum field theory on
Moyal-deformed Minkowski spacetime (with commutative time) in a setting of
Lorentzian spectral geometries of which some basic aspects will be sketched.
The scattering transformation will be shown to be unitarily implementable in
the canonical vacuum representation of the Dirac field. Furthermore, it will be
indicated how the functional derivatives of the ensuing unitary scattering
operators with respect to the strength of the non-commutative potential induce,
in the spirit of Bogoliubov's formula, quantum field operators (corresponding
to observables) depending on the elements of the non-commutative algebra of
Moyal-Minkowski spacetime.Comment: 60 pages, 1 figur
Magnesium treatment for patients with refractory status epilepticus due to POLG1-mutations
Mutations in the gene encoding of the catalytic subunit of mtDNA polymerase gamma (POLG1) can cause typical Alpers' syndrome. Recently, a new POLG1 mutation phenotype was described, the so-called juvenile-onset Alpers' syndrome. This POLG1 mutation phenotype is characterized by refractory epilepsy with recurrent status epilepticus and episodes of epilepsia partialis continua, which often necessitate admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and pose an important mortality risk. We describe two previously healthy unrelated teenage girls, who both were admitted with generalized tonic-clonic seizures and visual symptoms leading to a DNA-supported diagnosis of juvenile-onset Alpers' syndrome. Despite combined treatment with anti-epileptic drugs, both patients developed status epilepticus requiring admission to the ICU. Intravenous magnesium as anti-convulsant therapy was initiated, resulting in clinical and neurophysiological improvement and rapid extubation of both patients. Treating status epilepticus in juvenile-onset Alpers' syndrome with magnesium has not been described previously. Given the difficulties encountered while treating epilepsy in patients with this syndrome, magnesium therapy might be considered
Interobserver reliability of classification and characterization of proximal humeral fractures: a comparison of two and three-dimensional CT
Interobserver reliability for the classification of proximal humeral fractures is limited. The aim of this study was to test the null hypothesis that interobserver reliability of the AO classification of proximal humeral fractures, the preferred treatment, and fracture characteristics is the same for two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography (CT). Members of the Science of Variation Group--fully trained practicing orthopaedic and trauma surgeons from around the world--were randomized to evaluate radiographs and either 2-D CT or 3-D CT images of fifteen proximal humeral fractures via a web-based survey and respond to the following four questions: (1) Is the greater tuberosity displaced? (2) Is the humeral head split? (3) Is the arterial supply compromised? (4) Is the glenohumeral joint dislocated? They also classified the fracture according to the AO system and indicated their preferred treatment of the fracture (operative or nonoperative). Agreement among observers was assessed with use of the multirater kappa (κ) measure. Interobserver reliability of the AO classification, fracture characteristics, and preferred treatment generally ranged from "slight" to "fair." A few small but statistically significant differences were found. Observers randomized to the 2-D CT group had slightly but significantly better agreement on displacement of the greater tuberosity (κ = 0.35 compared with 0.30, p < 0.001) and on the AO classification (κ = 0.18 compared with 0.17, p = 0.018). A subgroup analysis of the AO classification results revealed that shoulder and elbow surgeons, orthopaedic trauma surgeons, and surgeons in the United States had slightly greater reliability on 2-D CT, whereas surgeons in practice for ten years or less and surgeons from other subspecialties had slightly greater reliability on 3-D CT. Proximal humeral fracture classifications may be helpful conceptually, but they have poor interobserver reliability even when 3-D rather than 2-D CT is utilized. This may contribute to the similarly poor interobserver reliability that was observed for selection of the treatment for proximal humeral fractures. The lack of a reliable classification confounds efforts to compare the outcomes of treatment methods among different clinical trials and reports
Innovations in total knee replacement: new trends in operative treatment and changes in peri-operative management
The human knee joint can sustain damage due to injury, or more usually osteoarthritis, to one, two or all three of the knee compartments: the medial femorotibial, the lateral femorotibial and the patellofemoral compartments. When pain associated with this damage is unmanageable using nonsurgical techniques, knee replacement surgery might be the most appropriate course of action. This procedure aims to restore a pain-free, fully functional and durable knee joint. Total knee replacement is a well-established treatment modality, and more recently, partial knee replacement—more commonly known as bi- or unicompartmental knee replacement—has seen resurgence in interest and popularity. Combined with the use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques, gender-specific prosthetics and computer-assisted navigation systems, orthopaedic surgeons are now able to offer patients knee replacement procedures that are associated with (1) minimal risks during and after surgery by avoiding fat embolism, reducing blood loss and minimising soft tissue disruption; (2) smaller incisions; (3) faster and less painful rehabilitation; (4) reduced hospital stay and faster return to normal activities of daily living; (5) an improved range of motion; (6) less requirement for analgesics; and (7) a durable, well-aligned, highly functional knee. With the ongoing advancements in surgical technique, medical technology and prosthesis design, knee replacement surgery is constantly evolving. This review provides a personal account of the recent innovations that have been made, with a particular emphasis on the potential use of MIS techniques combined with computer-assisted navigation systems to treat younger, more physically active patients with resurfacing partial/total implant knee arthroplasty
R5 HIV productively infects Langerhans cells, and infection levels are regulated by compound CCR5 polymorphisms
Identification of Candidate Regulators of Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation by Comparative Phosphoprotein Affinity Profiling: Mol.Cell Proteomics.
Embryonic stem cells are a unique cell population capable both of self-renewal and of differentiation into all tissues in the adult organism. Despite the central importance of these cells, little information is available regarding the intracellular signaling pathways that govern self-renewal or early steps in the differentiation program. Embryonic stem cell growth and differentiation correlates with kinase activities, but with the exception of the JAK/STAT3 pathway, the relevant substrates are unknown. To identify candidate phosphoproteins with potential relevance to embryonic stem cell differentiation, a systems biology approach was used. Proteins were purified using phosphoprotein affinity columns, then separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and detected by silver stain before being identified by tandem mass spectrometry. By comparing preparations from undifferentiated and differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells, a set of proteins was identified that exhibited altered post-translational modifications that correlated with differentiation state. Evidence for altered post-translational modification included altered gel mobility, altered recovery after affinity purification, and direct mass spectra evidence. Affymetrix microarray analysis indicated that gene expression levels of these same proteins had minimal variability over the same differentiation period. Bioinformatic annotations indicated that this set of proteins is enriched with chromatin remodeling, catabolic, and chaperone functions. This set of candidate phosphoprotein regulators of stem cell differentiation includes products of genes previously noted to be enriched in embryonic stem cells at the mRNA expression level as well as proteins not associated previously with stem cell differentiation statusNRC publication: Ye
Histone deacetylase inhibitors induce apoptosis with minimal viral reactivation in cells infected with Kaposi\u27s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus
- …