Writing and rhetoric along the U.S.-Mexico border
This article explores the rhetorical patterns of writers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The article first explores the complex history of the border region, and grounded in this cross-border history, the article rejects border theories that privilege the local and U.S. view. Instead, based on the Human Capability Approach, this article explores five "functionings" or typified rhetorical patterns or genres on the border and examines how writers along the border are capable of working in a variety of these functionings. It grounds this analysis in health communications but ends by discussing how different Spanish-English multilinguals manifest different variations of these five functionings based on their individual rhetorical and cultural histories.
Tejano Arts of the U.S.-Mexico Contact Zone.
The fact is that theories about the nature of writing, writing development, the uses of writing, and the process of writing, cannot be said to correspond to external reality broadly if these theories do not account for the experiences of over half of the world's population, the half that can be placed along the bilingual continuum and classified as fluent and functional in two languages. Guadalupe Valdes
Familial Cortical Myoclonic Tremor and Epilepsy, an Enigmatic Disorder: From Phenotypes to Pathophysiology and Genetics. A Systematic Review
Background Autosomal dominant familial cortical myoclonic tremor and epilepsy (FCMTE) is characterized by distal tremulous myoclonus, generalized seizures, and signs of cortical reflex myoclonus. FCMTE has been described in over 100 pedigrees worldwide, under several different names and acronyms. Pathological changes have been located in the cerebellum. This systematic review discusses the clinical spectrum, treatment, pathophysiology, and genetic findings. Methods We carried out a PubMed search, using a combination of the following search terms: cortical tremor, myoclonus, epilepsy, benign course, adult onset, familial, and autosomal dominant; this resulted in a total of 77 studies (761 patients; 126 pedigrees) fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results Phenotypic differences across pedigrees exist, possibly related to underlying genetic differences. A “benign” phenotype has been described in several Japanese families and pedigrees linked to 8q (FCMTE1). French patients (5p linkage; FCMTE3) exhibit more severe progression, and in Japanese/Chinese pedigrees (with unknown linkage) anticipation has been suggested. Preferred treatment is with valproate (mind teratogenicity), levetiracetam, and/or clonazepam. Several genes have been identified, which differ in potential pathogenicity. Discussion Based on the core features (above), the syndrome can be considered a distinct clinical entity. Clinical features may also include proximal myoclonus and mild progression with aging. Valproate or levetiracetam, with or without clonazepam, reduces symptoms. FCMTE is a heterogeneous disorder, and likely to include a variety of different conditions with mutations of different genes. Distinct phenotypic traits might reflect different genetic mutations. Genes involved in Purkinje cell outgrowth or those encoding for ion channels or neurotransmitters seem good candidate genes.