Cristina Gomez

Most of the standard approaches consider abduction in terms of a backward reasoning and miss some of its fundamental features. Overall, they neglect its pragmatic dimension and the conjectural aspect of the conclusion. In this paper, we approach abduction in terms of strategic adjustment process in the context of dialogical logic. This sheds light on the use of conjectures in argumentative interactions. Although abductive dialogues are sometimes based upon sentential conjectures, they can also involve hypotheses about the context of argumentation itself. Indeed, the underlying logic of an argumentative interaction is not always settled since the beginning. In this context, abduction is not only concerned with the introduction of sentential hypotheses, but also with hypotheses concerning the structural rules governing the dialogue itself. We thus emphasize the instrumental dimension of abduction in dialogues.

The present study focuses on a grammatical category called evidentiality. The primary meaning of evidentiality is concerned with information source. That is, it expresses whether something has been seen, heard or inferred. The aim here is to conduct a conceptual study of evidentiality in which use is made of formal tools. The fundamental intuition is that the distinction between ‘evidence’as ‘proof’and ‘evidentiality’as ‘to do with proof’is a crucial one. Evidentiality is a dynamic notion to be analysed through the use of knowledge by the agents, a knowledge in action, which involves an in-coming state and an out-coming state that is typical of the transmission of information. We propose our own approach in which the dynamics of knowledge in action is grasped in the context of a dynamic epistemic logic.

Jenner (1749–1826) is known as the father of the smallpox vaccine. Through an inferential analysis of Jenner’s report of inquiry, in which medical practice and medical research are intrinsically intertwined, we highlight his use of abductive hypotheses. Our understanding of abduction is based on the Gabbay and Woods (2005, The Reach of Abduction Insight and Trial, 2, 39) model, in which hypotheses can be activated even when they have not been confirmed, as well as Magnani’s Select and Test model (1992, 2017). We discuss the fundamental role of abductive hypotheses in experimental medicine and understood in the sense of Bernard (1865, Introduction à l’étude la médecine expérimentale). We conclude with remarks about mechanistic hypotheses discussed by Jenner, in relation to the thesis advocated by Russo and Williamson (2007, Int. Stud. Philos. Sci., 21, 157–170).

A 43-year-old man was admitted into the emergency room at our hospital after presenting with a tonic-clonic seizure. MRI showed a right-side operculo-insular tumor. This was treated by performing a craniotomy under general anesthesia with intraoperative monitoring. Tumor resection was started by exploring the temporal and frontal opercula without problems. However, during the resection of the insular compartment, a sudden loss of MEPs was observed. Surgery was stopped immediately, and all the relevant anesthetic parameters, vital signs, anesthetic drugs were reviewed. No retractors had been used at that time, so vasospasm was suspected as the underlying cause of the signal change. An ICG bolus injection confirmed vasospasm in one of the M2 branches running over the insula. A direct vessel massage was performed yet resulted in no apparent improvement in the appearance of the vessel when ICG was injected. Therefore, repeated massage with nimodipine was performed, which resulted in the resolution of the vasospasm. MEPs progressively recovered to base line levels, and surgery could then be finished without further incident. During the postoperative recovery period, no focal deficit was identified, and the postoperative MRI showed a planned subtotal resection without apparent ischemia. The goal of this report is to review the potential causes of such a loss of intraoperative MEPs and its best management in order to prevent postoperative motor deficit and to manage the situation should it occur.

This article articulates a contextualized understanding of gender and ethnicity as interacting social determinants of HIV risk and acquisition, with special focus on African Americans and HispanicsLatinos-2 ethnic groups currently at most risk for HIV/AIDS acquisition in the United States. First, sex and gender are defined. Second, a conceptual model of gender, ethnicity, and HIV risk and resilience is presented. Third, a historical backdrop of gender and ethnic disparities is provided, with attention to key moments in history when notions of the intersections between gender, ethnicity, and HIV have taken important shifts. Finally, new frontiers in psychology are presented, with recommendations as to how psychology as a discipline can better incorporate considerations of gender and ethnicity as not only HIV risk factors but also as potential avenues of resilience in ethnic families and communities. Throughout the article, we promulgate the notion of a syndemic intersectional approach, which provides a critical framework for understanding and building the conditions that create and sustain overall community health by locating gendered lived experiences and expectations within the layered conceptual model ranging from the biological self to broader societal structures that define and constrain personal decisions, behaviors, actions, resources, and consequences. For ethnic individuals and populations, health disparities, stress and depression, substance abuse, and violence and trauma are of considerable concern, especially with regard to HIV risk, infection, and treatment. The conceptual model poses new frontiers for psychology in HIV policy, research, interventions, and training. © 2013 American Psychological Association.