443 research outputs found
Actions in Practice: On details in collections
Several of the contributions to the Lynch et al. Special issue make the claim that conversation- analytic research into epistemics is âroutinely crafted at the expense of actual, produced and constitutive detail, and what that detail may show usâ. Here, we seek to address the inappositeness of this critique by tracing precisely how it is that recognizable actions emerge from distinct practices of interaction. We begin by reviewing some of the foundational tenets of conversation-analytic theory and method â including the relationship between position and composition, and the making of collections â as these appear to be primary sources of confusion for many of the contributors to the Lynch et al. Special Issue. We then target some of the specific arguments presented in the Special Issue, including the alleged âover-hearerâsâ writing of metrics, the provision of so- called âalternativeâ analyses and the supposed âcraftingâ of generalizations in epistemics research. In addition, in light of Lynchâs more general assertion that conversation analysis (CA) has recently been experiencing a ârapprochementâ with what he disparagingly refers to as the âjuggernautâ of linguistics, we discuss the specific expertise that linguists have to offer in analyzing particular sorts of interactional detail. The article as a whole thus illustrates that, rather than being produced âat the expense of actual, produced and constitutive detailâ, conversation-analytic findings â including its work in epistemics â are unambiguously anchored in such detail. We conclude by offering our comments as to the link between CA and linguistics more generally, arguing that this relationship has long proven to be â and indeed continues to be â a mutually beneficial one
Unravelling a simple method for the low temperature synthesis of silicon nanocrystals and monolithic nanocrystalline thin films
In this work, we present new results on the plasma processing and structure of hydrogenated polymorphous silicon (pm-Si:H) thin films. pm-Si:H thin films consist of a low volume fraction of silicon nanocrystals embedded in a silicon matrix with medium range order, and they possess this morphology as a significant contribution to their growth comes from the impact on the substrate of silicon clusters and nanocrystals synthesized in the plasma. Quadrupole mass spectrometry, ion flux measurements, and material characterization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy all provide insight on the contribution to the growth by silicon nanocrystals during PECVD deposition. In particular, cross-section TEM measurements show for the first time that the silicon nanocrystals are uniformly distributed across the thickness of the pm-Si:H film. Moreover, parametric studies indicate that the best pm-Si:H material is obtained at the conditions after the transition between a pristine plasma and one containing nanocrystals, namely a total gas pressure around 2 Torr and a silane to hydrogen ratio between 0.05 to 0.1. From a practical point of view these conditions also correspond to the highest deposition rate achievable for a given RF power and silane flow rate.ope
Engaging terminally ill patients in end of life talk: How experienced palliative medicine doctors navigate the dilemma of promoting discussions about dying
Objective:
To examine how palliative medicine doctors engage patients in end-of-life (hereon, EoL) talk. To examine whether the practice of âeliciting and responding to cuesâ, which has been widely advocated in the EoL care literature, promotes EoL talk.
Design:
Conversation analysis of video- and audio-recorded consultations.
Participants:
Unselected terminally ill patients and their companions in consultation with experienced palliative medicine doctors.
Setting:
Outpatient clinic, day therapy clinic, and inpatient unit of a single English hospice.
Results:
Doctors most commonly promoted EoL talk through open elaboration solicitations; these created opportunities for patients to introduce Ă then later further articulate Ă EoL considerations in such a way that doctors did not overtly ask about EoL matters. Importantly, the wording of elaboration solicitations avoided assuming that patients had EoL concerns. If a patient responded to open elaboration solicitations without introducing EoL considerations, doctors sometimes pursued EoL talk by switching to a less participatory and more presumptive type of solicitation, which suggested the patient might have EoL concerns. These more overt solicitations were used only later in consultations, which indicates that doctors give precedence to patients volunteering EoL considerations, and offer them opportunities to take the lead in initiating EoL talk.
There is evidence that doctors treat elaboration of patientsâ talk as a resource for engaging them in EoL conversations. However, there are limitations associated with labelling that talk as âcuesâ as is common in EoL communication contexts. We examine these limitations and propose âpossible EoL considerationsâ as a descriptively more accurate term.
Conclusions:
Through communicating Ă via open elaboration solicitations Ă in ways that create opportunities for patients to volunteer EoL considerations, doctors navigate a core dilemma in promoting EoL talk: giving patients opportunities to choose whether to engage in conversations about EoL whilst being sensitive to their communication needs, preferences and state of readiness for such dialogue
Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at â s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector
Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fbâ1 of â s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente
The graniteâhosted Variscan gold deposit from Santo AntĂłnio mine in the Iberian Massif (Penedono, NW Portugal): constraints from mineral chemistry, fuid inclusions, sulfur and noble gases isotopes
The study area is located in the Central Iberian Zone, a major tectonic unit of the Iberian Massif (Variscan belt). In this region the basement is composed of Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary and minor volcanic rocks that underwent deformation and metamorphism during the Carboniferous. These metamorphic rocks host ca. 331â308 Ma granitic plutons emplaced during the D2 extensional and D3âD4 contractional deformation phases. The gold-bearing quartz veins from the Santo AntĂłnio mine (Penedono region) occur in granite formed at 310.1 ± 1.1 Ma and post-dated the peak of metamorphism. Goldâsilver alloy is included in quartz, but mainly occurs in spaces between grains or micro-fractures within arsenopyrite of all three generations and less in pyrite. Late sulphides and sulphosalts were deposited along fractures mainly in arsenopyrite, and locally surrounding the goldâsilver alloy grains. Ferberite, scheelite and stolzite replace arsenopyrite. The abundant aqueous carbonic fluids and the occurrence of a low-salinity fluid and their minimum possible entrapment temperature of 360â380 °C suggest that this gold-forming event began during the waning stages of the Variscan orogeny. The mean ÎŽ34S values of arsenopyrite and pyrite are â 4.7â° and â 3.8â°, respectively. HeâArâNe isotopic data suggest a crustal origin. The ascent of the granite magma has provided the heat for remobilization of gold, other metals and metalloids from the metamorphic rocks. This gold-arsenopyrite deposit has thus similar characteristics as other selected gold-arsenopyrite deposits from the Iberian Massif, but it contains tungstates.El ĂĄrea de estudio estĂĄ ubicada en la Zona CentroibĂ©rica, una importante unidad tectĂłnica del Macizo IbĂ©rico (cinturĂłn
varisco). En esta regiĂłn el basamento estĂĄ compuesto por rocas sedimentarias y volcĂĄnicas del CĂĄmbrico-OrdovĂcico tectonizadas y metamorfzadas durante el CarbonĂfero. Estas rocas metamĂłrfcas sirven como caja de los plutones granĂticos datados
en torno a 331â308 Ma y que fueron emplazados durante la fase de deformaciĂłn extensional D2 y las fases de deformaciĂłn
contraccional D3 y D4. Las venas de cuarzo ricas en oro de la mina de Santo AntĂłnio (regiĂłn de Penedono) que aparecen en
un granito datado a los 310.1 ± 1.1 Ma son posteriores al pico metamórfco regional. La aleación de oro y plata se incluye
en el cuarzo, pero se produce principalmente en los espacios entre granos o micro-fracturas dentro de arsenopirita de las
tres generaciones y menos en pirita. Los sulfuros y sulfuros tardĂos se depositaron a lo largo de las fracturas principalmente
en arsenopirita, y alrededor de los granos de aleaciĂłn de oro y plata. Ferberita, scheelita y la estolzita sustituyen a la arsenopirita. Los abundantes lĂquidos acuosos carbĂłnicos y la presencia de un fuido de baja salinidad y su posible temperatura
de atrapamiento mĂnima en torno de 360-380 ÂșC sugieren que este evento de formaciĂłn de oro comenzĂł durante las etapas
fnales de la orogenia varisca. Los valores medios de S de arsenopirita y pirita son â 4.7 â° y â 3.8 â°, respectivamente. Los datos isotĂłpicos de HeâArâNe sugieren que en el origen de los fuidos mineralizados participa la corteza continental.
El ascenso del magma granĂtico ha provisto el calor para la movilizaciĂłn del oro, otros metales y metaloides desde las rocas
metamĂłrfcas. Este depĂłsito de oroarsenopirita tiene asĂ caracterĂsticas similares a otros yaciamientos con arsenopirita y oro
del Macizo IbĂ©rico, pero sin embargo contienen tungstates.This research was financially supported by Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia through the projects GOLDGranites, Orogenesis, Long-term strain/stress and Deposition of ore metalsâPTDC/GEO-GEO/2446/2012: COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-029192 and UID/GEO/04035/2013
The mechanisms of humic substances self-assembly with biological molecules: The case study of the prion protein
Humic substances (HS) are the largest constituent of soil organic matter and are considered as a key component of the terrestrial ecosystem. HS may facilitate the transport of organic and inorganic molecules, as well as the sorption interactions with environmentally relevant proteins such as prions. Prions enter the environment through shedding from live hosts, facilitating a sustained incidence of animal prion diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease and scrapie in cervid and ovine populations, respectively. Changes in prion structure upon environmental exposure may be significant as they can affect prion infectivity and disease pathology. Despite its relevance, the mechanisms of prion interaction with HS are still not completely understood. The goal of this work is to advance a structural-level picture of the encapsulation of recombinant, non-infectious, prion protein (PrP) into different natural HS. We observed that PrP precipitation upon addition of HS is mainly driven by a mechanism of âsalting-outâ whereby PrP molecules are rapidly removed from the solution and aggregate in insoluble adducts with humic molecules. Importantly, this process does not alter the protein folding since insoluble PrP retains its α-helical content when in complex with HS. The observed ability of HS to promote PrP insolubilization without altering its secondary structure may have potential relevance in the context of âprion ecologyâ. These results suggest that soil organic matter interacts with prions possibly without altering the protein structures. This may facilitate prions preservation from biotic and abiotic degradation leading to their accumulation in the environment
Proteomic identification and characterization of hepatic glyoxalase 1 dysregulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide. However, its
molecular pathogenesis is incompletely characterized and clinical biomarkers remain scarce. The aims of these
experiments were to identify and characterize liver protein alterations in an animal model of early, diet-related,
liver injury and to assess novel candidate biomarkers in NAFLD patients.
Methods: Liver membrane and cytosolic protein fractions from high fat fed apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoEâ/â)
animals were analyzed by quantitative proteomics, utilizing isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation
(iTRAQ) combined with nano-liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-MS/MS). Differential
protein expression was confirmed independently by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry in both murine
tissue and biopsies from paediatric NAFLD patients. Candidate biomarkers were analyzed by enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay in serum from adult NAFLD patients.
Results: Through proteomic profiling, we identified decreased expression of hepatic glyoxalase 1 (GLO1) in a
murine model. GLO1 protein expression was also found altered in tissue biopsies from paediatric NAFLD patients. In
vitro experiments demonstrated that, in response to lipid loading in hepatocytes, GLO1 is first hyperacetylated then
ubiquitinated and degraded, leading to an increase in reactive methylglyoxal. In a cohort of 59 biopsy-confirmed adult
NAFLD patients, increased serum levels of the primary methylglyoxal-derived advanced glycation endproduct,
hydroimidazolone (MG-H1) were significantly correlated with body mass index (r = 0.520, p < 0.0001).
Conclusion: Collectively these results demonstrate the dysregulation of GLO1 in NAFLD and implicate the
acetylation-ubquitination degradation pathway as the functional mechanism. Further investigation of the role
of GLO1 in the molecular pathogenesis of NAFLD is warranted.
Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Glyoxalase, Methylglyoxal, Proteomics, iTRA
Search for High-Mass Resonances Decaying to ÏÎœ in pp Collisions at âs=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector
A search for high-mass resonances decaying to ÏÎœ using proton-proton collisions at âs=13 TeV produced by the Large Hadron Collider is presented. Only Ï-lepton decays with hadrons in the final state are considered. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fbâ1. No statistically significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed; model-independent upper limits are set on the visible ÏÎœ production cross section. Heavy WâČ bosons with masses less than 3.7 TeV in the sequential standard model and masses less than 2.2â3.8 TeV depending on the coupling in the nonuniversal G(221) model are excluded at the 95% credibility level
Search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with tau leptons in âs=13 TeV collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with at least two hadronically decaying tau leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fbâ1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV.Nosignificant deviation from the expected Standard Model background is observed. Limits are derived in scenarios of ËÏ+1 ËÏâ1 pair production and of Ëϱ1 ËÏ02 and ËÏ+1 ËÏâ1 production in simplified models where the neutralinos and charginos decay solely via intermediate left-handed staus and tau sneutrinos, and the mass of the Ë ÏL state is set to be halfway between the masses of the Ëϱ1 and the ËÏ01. Chargino masses up to 630 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level in the scenario of direct production of ËÏ+1 ËÏâ1 for a massless ËÏ01. Common Ëϱ1 and ËÏ02 masses up to 760 GeV are excluded in the case of production of Ëϱ1 ËÏ02 and ËÏ+1 ËÏâ1 assuming a massless ËÏ01. Exclusion limits for additional benchmark scenarios with large and small mass-splitting between the Ëϱ1 and the ËÏ01 are also studied by varying the Ë ÏL mass between the masses of the Ëϱ1 and the ËÏ01
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