VegeDog: Formalism, vegetarian dogs, and partonomies in transition

The pragmatics of 'vegetarian' and 'carnivorous' exhibits an asymmetry that we put in evidence by analyzing a newspaper report about vegetarian dog-owners imposing a vegetarian diet on their pets. More fundamental is the problem of partonomy versus containment, for which we attempt a naive but formal analysis applied to ingestion and the food chain, an issue we derive from the same text analyzed. Our formal tools belong in commonsense modelling, a domain of artificial intelligence related to extra-linguistic knowledge and pragmatics. We first provide an interpretation of events analyzed, and express it graphically in a semantic-network related representation, and propose an alternative that we express in terms of a modal logic, avoiding the full representational power of Hayes's "ontology for liquids".

On treating the symptoms and not the cause: reflections on the Dangerous Dogs Act

The experience of saving a dog that later turned out to be a Pit Bull and therefore banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, made me investigate the Act and its implications. The Act is not built on evidence and by compiling results from different studies on dog bites and breed‐specific legislation in different countries the conclusion is that there is not much empirical support for breed bans either. ‘Dangerous breeds’ do not bite more frequently than German Shepherds and directing legislation towards certain breeds deemed as ‘dangerous’ cannot therefore be seen as justified. The strength of the label ‘dangerous dog’ seems to rule out policies that follow the facts and there is more treating of symptoms than causes. [From the Author]

When deterrence works - and when it doesn't: a comparison of Sweden's prostitution law and UK's Dangerous Dogs Act

Many pieces of legislation have been implemented with the anticipation - or justification - that they will have a deterrent effect. Deterrence was clearly argued in the debate preceding the Swedish prostitution law prohibiting the purchase of sexual services, but less so regarding the Dangerous Dogs Act, which was a very rapid response to a particular moral panic. As it turned out, the Swedish law has had a deterrent effect on street prostitution in that 'respectable' buyers were deterred. It will be argued that it is this very 'respectability' that makes deterrence work in this case. Regarding the Dangerous Dogs Act, the owners of Pit Bulls and other banned breeds are not considered 'respectable' and the banning might have had the reversed effect - increasing the attraction of these dogs, rather than deterring the ownership. Apart from deterrence and its consequences, the rendering invisible of key actors - buyers and owners respectively - and the use of symbolic legislation to promote moral messages will also be considered. [From the Author]

A cephalometric study of class II malocclusions treated with mandibular surgery

INTRODUCTION:

Class II malocclusion is often associated with retrognathic mandible. Some of these problems require surgical correction. The purposes of this study were to investigate treatment outcomes in patients with Class II malocclusions whose treatment included mandibular advancement surgery and to identify predictors of good outcomes.
METHODS:

Pretreatment and posttreatment cephalometric radiographs of 90 patients treated with mandibular advancement surgery by 57 consultant orthodontists in the United Kingdom before September 1998 were digitized, and cephalometric landmarks were identified. Paired samples t tests were used to compare the pretreatment and posttreatment cephalometric values for each patient. For each cephalometric variable, the proportion of patients falling within the ideal range was identified. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of achieving ideal range outcomes for the key skeletal (ANB and SNB angles), dental (overjet and overbite), and soft-tissue (Holdaway angle) measurements.
RESULTS:

An overjet within the ideal range of 1 to 4 mm was achieved in 72% of patients and was more likely with larger initial ANB angles. Horizontal correction of the incisor relationship was achieved by a combination of 75% skeletal movement and 25% dentoalveolar change. An ideal posttreatment ANB angle was achieved in 42% of patients and was more likely in females and those with larger pretreatment ANB angles. Ideal soft-tissue Holdaway angles (7 degrees to 14 degrees ) were achieved in 49% of patients and were more likely in females and those with smaller initial SNA angles. Mandibular incisor decompensation was incomplete in 28% of patients and was more likely in females and patients with greater pretreatment mandibular incisor proclination. Correction of increased overbite was generally successful, although anterior open bites were found in 16% of patients at the end of treatment. These patients were more likely to have had initial open bites.
CONCLUSIONS:

Mandibular surgery had a good success rate in normalizing the main dental and skeletal relationships. Less ideal soft-tissue profile outcomes were associated with larger pretreatment SNA-angle values, larger final mandibular incisor inclinations, and smaller final maxillary incisor inclinations. The use of mandibular surgery to correct anterior open bite was associated with poor outcomes.