Stylistic Activation in Ethnolinguistic Repertoires

Ethnolinguistic repertoires have recently been described in terms of fluid variability, strategic use, and ethnic identity (Fought 2006; Benor 2010; Hoffman and Walker 2010). In this paper I explore ways of assessing the degree of agency present in the use of ethnolinguistic traits. The study examines the use of Asian and British English variants by older and younger London-born Asian men. I first present a standard variationist analysis that shows older and younger men to have similar overall rates of use. However, closer analysis of variation—in repertoires and discourse—reveals underlying differences by age group, suggesting different indexical values despite similar rates of use. Older men show highly differentiated repertoires and very dynamic use of style-shifting to index stance, footing, and narrative structure. Younger men have a similarly mixed but relatively invariant style across settings, with little interactionally-tuned deployment of ethnic variants. The generational difference indicates change in indexical meaning over time despite retention of the same linguistic forms. The reason for different degrees of ‘stylistic activation’ lies in socio-historical stages of change in the community. The findings suggest that the use of ethnolinguistic features does not entail agentive use or shared identity work. Methodologically, the study indicates a need to attend to relative stylistic activation as much as to frequencies of use in understanding dialect change

The Bitter the Taste, The Better is the Medicine: Is Caffeine the Answer to COVID-19?

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The virus is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales. The firsthand reason for COVID 19 is upper respiratory dysfunction which allows the entry of viruses in the respiratory system and leads to severe problems in the human body. Thus, Bitter taste receptor, TAS2Rs on human airway smooth muscle (ASM) found in the respiratory system can play a big role in providing immunity against COVID-19. Activation of TAS2Rs by bitter agonists activates host defense pathways through calcium signaling. Cytokines storms is the another reason for COVID -19 that can be prevented by TAS2Rs because it can regulate natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, chemokine signaling pathways, T cell receptor signaling pathways, TNF signaling pathways, and others. Since, we propose to utilize caffeine, the bitter agonists to stimulate the TAS2Rs, activating host defense mechanisms and also suppressing the cytokine storms due to its anti-inflammatory action, altogether leading to an ameliorated effects of COVID-19

Attentional Load and Style Control

Labov\u27s (1966) attention-to-speech model suggested both social and cognitive elements in style-shifting: social awareness of prestige norms and cognitive defaulting to an easier style when attention is diverted. A focus on social motivations in later work has left the cognitive dimension under-explored. As the contexts elicited in sociolinguistic interviews vary in both attention and register, new methods are needed to tease these apart. In this study, we investigate the cognitive prediction: Does an increase in attentional load cause individuals to struggle to maintain a later-learned style? The novel experimental design eliminates contextual differences by requiring a formal news report style throughout. Twelve speakers of vernacular British English completed two speech production tasks (reading and recall), each with varying attentional load conditions. Higher load conditions included a cross-modal distractor task requiring simultaneous arithmetical calculations. Both of the variables examined—glottal replacement of /t/ and th-fronting—exhibited a consistent but mild trend towards an increase in vernacular forms under higher load. Speakers seem slightly less able to maintain a formal style when their attention is diverted, as suggested in Labov\u27s original description of the vernacular as a default. However, the low level of the effect also suggests that sharp formality shifts cannot be purely due to a reduction in monitoring, but must also involve social awareness of the stylistic norms of a given register. Processing and cognitive ease should therefore be factored in alongside social motivations in the study of style variation

Pregnancy in uterus didelphys delivered by caesarean section: a case report

The aim of this study is to report a rare case of pregnancy in uterus didelphys. Mullerian duct anomalies are congenital defects of the female genital system that arise from abnormal embryological development of the Mullerian ducts. A didelphys uterus, also known as double uterus is one of the least common amongst the various Mullerian duct anomalies. It results from complete failure of fusion of Mullerian ducts. There is presence of double uterine bodies with two separate cervices and often double or septate vagina. We report the case in our institute of a pregnancy in the left sided body of a didelphys uterus, delivered by caesarean section. Patients with uterus didelphys belong to high risk group and complications are increased in malformed uterus. Such cases need a meticulous prenatal care. It is a rare Mullerian anomaly and can present with varied obstetrical and gynaecological complications. Prompt and accurate diagnosis of uterine malformations and appropriate surgical intervention are essential to prevent complications

Interleukin 6 in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a widespread disease causing varying degrees of disability. It is characterised by flares and remissions and since ancient times, every culture has tried to get the better of it. Even now, research is aimed at finding novel serum biomarkers as surrogates for disease activity and newer targets to sharpen therapy. One such target is IL-6.It mediates neutrophil migration, osteoclast maturation and pannus formation through vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulation causing synovitis and joint destruction.IL-6 leads to various systemic manifestations like hepcidin production causing anemia hypothalamo-pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activation causing fatigue and mood changes and osteoclast activation causes osteoporosis while increase in acute phase reactants (ESR and CRP). The literature we reviewed and our research, enrolling 40 patients of RA as well describes the role of IL-6 in pathogenesis and various manifestations of RA including articular, extra-articular and other comorbid states. It supports that Serum IL-6 levels correlate with disease activity (DAS-28ESR and BRAF-MDQ) and that IL-6 remains a viable target for drug therapy

Women in grassroots governance: a survey

This survey seeks "to assess the representation of women in local governance at the grassroots in the state of Assam, the North East Network (NEN) undertook a study of government schemes, state institutions and other public bodies at the community level. Since these bodies are responsible for ensuring effective community participation in the development processes, it is vital to examine their sensitivity to women’s participation.