Titles play an important role in genre analysis. Cross-genre studies show that research paper and thesis titles have distinctive features. However, thesis and dissertation titles in the field of dentistry have thus far received little attention. Objective: To analyze the syntactic structures and their functions in English-language thesis and dissertation titles in dentistry. Methodology: We randomly chose 413 titles of English-language dentistry theses or dissertations presented at universities in 12 countries between January 2000 and June 2019. The resulting corpus of 5,540 running words was then analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, the two complementary focuses being grammatical structures and their functions. Results: The average title length was 13.4 words. Over half of the titles did not include any punctuation marks. For compound titles, we found that colons, dashes, commas, and question marks were used to separate the different components, colons being the most frequent. Four syntactic structures (nominal phrase, gerund phrase, full-sentence, and prepositional phrase) were identified for single-unit titles. Single-unit nominal phrase titles constituted the most frequent structure in the corpus, followed by compound titles. Four particular rhetorical combinations of compound title components were found to be present throughout the corpus. Conclusions: Titles of dentistry theses and dissertation in English echo the content of the text body and make an important contribution to fulfilling the text’s communicative purposes. Thus, teaching research students about the linguistic features of thesis titles would be beneficial to help them write effective titles and also facilitate assessment by teachers.

No abstract

At the frontline of México’s “war on drugs” is the Mexican-U.S. border city of Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, which has become internationally known as the “murder capital of the world.” In Juárez, which neighbors El Paso, Texas, United States, estimates of the murders in Juárez are as high as 7,643 between 2006 and 2011, leaving approximately 10,000 orphans. Juárez has also experienced an exodus of approximately 124,000 people seeking safety, some migrating to the Mexican interior and others to the U.S., particularly along the U.S.-México border. Based on 63 in-depth interviews with Juárez-El Paso border residents, along with ethnographic observations, we examine the implications of the “war on drugs” on transnational movements and on the initial settlement of those escaping the violence. In particular, we construct a typology of international migrants who are represented in the Juárez exodus: the Mexican business elite, the “Refugees without Status,” and those who resided in México but who are U.S. born or have legal permanent residency in the U.S. This article highlights the role of transnational capital in the form of assets and income, social networks in the U.S., and documentation to cross the port of entry into the U.S. legally, in easing migration and initial settlement experiences in the U.S

Resumen: Este trabajo analiza cómo interpretan la atenuación 25 estudiantes universitarios venezolanos de Odontología, de nuevo ingreso, al responder a dos cuestionarios luego de leer un artículo de revisión. En el primero, con preguntas abiertas, debían interpretar algunas expresiones atenuadas preseleccionadas; en el segundo, debían elegir entre varias interpretaciones cerradas de los mismos fragmentos. Clasificamos sus respuestas en las siguientes categorías: reconocimiento, supresión y aumento de la atenuación, en el primer cuestionario; identificación de aproximadores, escudos, deícticos y construcciones impersonales, en el segundo. En los resultados predomina la identificación de atenuadores asociados a la dimensión semántica: el 30% reconoció la atenuación tal como fue usada en el original, el 30% aumentó su valor y el 40% no la logró identificar. Los estudiantes identificaron con mayor frecuencia los aproximadores, a diferencia de los escudos, las construcciones impersonales y los deícticos temporales. Estos resultados sugieren que es necesario formar a los estudiantes en el uso especializado de las dimensiones pragmática y sociocognitiva de la atenuación, en cursos de lectura y escritura académica. Solo este conocimiento específico permitirá que los estudiantes dominen el discurso científico prototípico de la Odontología.Palabras Clave: Lectura, interpretación, atenuación, artículos de revisión. Interpretaciones Hedging interpretations in Dental review articlesAbstract: This paper analyzes how 25 Venezuelan Dental university fresh men students interpret hedging when answering two questionnaires after having read a Dental review article. In the first one, they should interpret hedged expressions; in the second one, they should choose among several closed interpretations of some hedged expressions. We organized the results in the following categories: From the first questionnaire, identification, suppression, and fertilization of hedges; from the second one, identification of approximators, shields, deictics and impersonal constructions. We found that the identification of hedges associated with the semantic dimension predominated. 30% recognized hedging as it was used in the original text, 30% fertilized hedging and 40% did not identify hedging devices at all. The students identified approximators more frequently, but they fail in identifying hedging expressed in shields, impersonal constructions or in temporary deictics. Since these students could not interpret the pragmatic and socio-cognitive dimensions of discourse associated with hedging, it is necessary to teach these devices in the academic reading and writing courses. The capacity to interpret and use hedging strategies will allow the students be more competent in using prototypical Dental scientific discourse.

No abstract

To the Editor:The recently published consensus recommendations 1 on use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for treating depression are very thorough and the most comprehensive recommendations published to date. However, there were several points that should not be accepted into guidelines.First, there is no evidence that adding pharmacotherapy to TMS improves response and remission rates. A study of active TMS + placebo medication, active TMS + active medication, sham TMS + active medication, and sham TMS + placebo medication has not been done yet.Second, the article states (in the section Evidence Basis for Antidepressant Efficacy) that 21% of subjects in the H1-coil multicenter trial 2 failed 3 or more medications in the current trial (second-stratum group). In fact, 41.5% of the patients failed 3 or more medications in the current episode. 2 Third, in the same section, the article compares the H-coil second-stratum group to Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) steps/levels 3 and 4, while in fact only level 4 is comparable to the H1-coil second-stratum group (patients in both failed 3 or more medications in the current episode). Moreover, the 28.9% remission rate in the second-stratum group with the H1-coil occurred in the context of a double-blind antidepressant-free study, while the 13% remission rate for STAR*D step 4 was in an open-label study, a design in which patients typically have higher response and remission rates. 3 Fourth, there is no evidence for any role of a physical examination component to evaluate the medical safety of rTMS. Every clinical trial for TMS included a physical examination component at baseline and endpoint, and none reported any significant findings. While our colleagues in primary care are eliminating more and more screening physical examination components that lack evidence, we should not add physical examinations to the treatment of depression patients.Fifth, informed consent is a process and not a form, and the process should not differ between pharmacologic or TMS treatments. The potential for serious side effects from medications is much greater than from TMS, and there is no need for a consent form for medications or TMS separate from a general consent for treatment. Rather, there should be documentation of a risk-benefit conversation with the individual patient. There are advantages to an informed consent form, in that it simplifies the documentation, but there is no advantage to signing a consent form a second time for a second treatment course.Sixth, confirmation or redetermination of the motor threshold (MT) in patients on medications should probably be done by the operators on a daily basis. The most likely cause of a TMS-induced seizure is a change in cortical excitability, measured as the resting MT. The most likely culprit for MT changes is medication (a change in intake, absorption, or metabolism).Seventh, patients with implanted vagal nerve stimulation devices (or other conductive metal in the neck) can be treated with rTMS...

No abstract

Los trabajos de grado y posgrado y las tesis de doctorado tienen un rol fundamental en la cultura académica, al diseminar resultados de investigación y fortalecer la comunicación científica. En estudios de Odontología hispanoamericana y española, se deben presentar para obtener el título de odontólogo,  dentista, máster o doctor. Debido a esto, existen propuestas para enseñar a escribir este género a esta comunidad. Generalmente, predominan instructivos y cursos prescriptivos que no se basan en evidencia científica de la cultura disciplinar. Desde el análisis del discurso, se han realizado numerosos estudios sobre el género “tesis” en distintas modalidades, disciplinas y lenguas, pero no hay publicaciones sobre tesisy trabajos de grado en Odontología en español. De aquí que, utilizando el modelo swalesiano de análisis de género, este estudio mixto analiza la estructura retórica de 272 trabajos de grado y tesis presentados en universidades hispanoamericanas y españolas, y publicados en la web entre 2000 y 2018. Los resultados muestran que no existe un formato estándar. Esto es, hay variaciones relevantes en las seccionesincluidas y en su organización. Estas variaciones podrían estar asociadas, entre otros factores, a la ausencia de programas de escritura académica que estén basados en la práctica real de la comunidad discursiva de Odontología. Por ello, se sugiere que en estos programas se formalice la enseñanza de la escritura académica basada en evidencia científica.