Commentary: Microbial Small Talk: Volatiles in Fungal–Bacterial Interactions

Small talk in medical visits has received ample attention; however, small talk that occurs at the close of a medical visit has not been explored. Small talk, with its focus on relational work, is an important aspect of medical care, particularly so considering the current focus in the US on the patient-centered approach and the desire to construct positive provider– patient relationships, which have been shown to contribute to higher patient satisfaction and better health outcomes. Therefore, even small talk that is unrelated to the transactional aspect of the medical visit in fact serves an important function. In this article, I analyze small talk exchanges between nurse practitioners (NPs) and their patients which occur after the transactional work of the visit is completed. I focus on two exchanges which highlight different interactional goals. I argue that these examples illustrate a willingness on the part of all participants to extend the visit solely for the purpose of constructing positive provider–patient relationships. Furthermore, because exchanges occur after the ‘work’ of the visit has been completed, they have the potential to construct positive relationships that extend beyond the individual visit.

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How much Artistic Freedom is permitted when it comes to Language? - Analysis of a Crime Novel

European Journal of Social Sciences Education and Research ◽

10.2478/ejser-2018-0033 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 50-60

Author(s):

Manuela Svoboda ◽

Petra Zagar-Sostaric

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

German Language ◽

Direct Speech ◽

Small Talk ◽

Language Analysis ◽

Crime Novel ◽

Blood Relative ◽

German Origin ◽

Artistic Freedom ◽

The One

Abstract In this article a closer look will be taken at the issue of inaccurately using a foreign language, i.e. German in this particular case, in a crime novel or thriller. Of course, in fiction the author has complete artistic freedom to invent and present things as he/she intends and it doesn`t necessarily have to be realistic or legitimate. But what happens when it comes to an existing language being quoted in fiction? For this purpose David Thomas’ thriller “Blood Relative - How well do you know the one you love?” is analysed regarding parts in which German quotes are used. As the plot is located partly in England and partly in former East Germany (GDR) and the protagonist’s wife is of German origin, direct speech, titles and names are used in German. Subsequently, they are translated into English by the author in order to be understood by the English reader. However, there are many grammar, spelling and semantic mistakes in these German expressions and common small talk quotes. This begs the question, is it justified to disregard linguistic correctness with regards to artistic freedom given the fact that we are dealing with a fictional thriller, or is it nevertheless necessary to be precise concerning foreign language usage? How far may one “test” their artistic freedom in this particular case? In order to answer these questions a detailed analysis of the thriller is performed, concerning artistic freedom and modern literature/light fiction as well as the German language used in quotes and direct speech.

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Bond Strengthening in Oral Bacterial Adhesion to Salivary Conditioning Films

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.01119-08 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 74 (17) ◽

pp. 5511-5515 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Henny C. van der Mei ◽

Minie Rustema-Abbing ◽

Joop de Vries ◽

Henk J. Busscher

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Adhesion ◽

Biofilm Formation ◽

Specific Interactions ◽

Adhesion Forces ◽

Bacterial Strains ◽

Bacterial Interactions ◽

Initial Adhesion ◽

Conditioning Film ◽

Interacting Surfaces ◽

Conditioning Films

ABSTRACT Transition from reversible to irreversible bacterial adhesion is a highly relevant but poorly understood step in initial biofilm formation. We hypothesize that in oral biofilm formation, irreversible adhesion is caused by bond strengthening due to specific bacterial interactions with salivary conditioning films. Here, we compared the initial adhesion of six oral bacterial strains to salivary conditioning films with their adhesion to a bovine serum albumin (BSA) coating and related their adhesion to the strengthening of the binding forces measured with bacteria-coated atomic force microscopy cantilevers. All strains adhered in higher numbers to salivary conditioning films than to BSA coatings, and specific bacterial interactions with salivary conditioning films were accompanied by stronger initial adhesion forces. Bond strengthening occurred on a time scale of several tens of seconds and was slower for actinomyces than for streptococci. Nonspecific interactions between bacteria and BSA coatings strengthened twofold faster than their specific interactions with salivary conditioning films, likely because specific interactions require a closer approach of interacting surfaces with the removal of interfacial water and a more extensive rearrangement of surface structures. After bond strengthening, bacterial adhesion forces with a salivary conditioning film remained stronger than those with BSA coatings.

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Small Talk Is “Big Talk” in Clinical Discourse

Topics in Language Disorders ◽

10.1097/00011363-200701000-00004 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 24-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Irene P. Walsh

Keyword(s):

Small Talk

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Nasopharyngeal Bacterial Interactions in Children

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

10.3201/eid2002.131701 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 339-340

Author(s):

Anthony Almudevar

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Interactions

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Helicobacter pylori infection and the pathogenesis of gastric cancer: A paradigm for host–bacterial interactions

Digestive and Liver Disease ◽

10.1016/j.dld.2008.02.031 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 40 (7) ◽

pp. 504-509 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

D. McNamara ◽

E. El-Omar

Keyword(s):

Gastric Cancer ◽

Helicobacter Pylori ◽

Helicobacter Pylori Infection ◽

Bacterial Interactions

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STRATEGIES AND TACTICS OF SMALL TALK AS COMPONENTS OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

BULLETIN Series of Philological Sciences ◽

10.51889/2021-3.1728-7804.10 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 77-85

Author(s):

M.A. Khavronskaya ◽

◽

I.P. Marunova ◽

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Social Skill ◽

Business Communication ◽

Point Of View ◽

Communicative Skills ◽

Small Talk ◽

The Social ◽

Phatic Communication ◽

Linguistic Means

The article examines the problem of business communication and inclusion of phatic communication in the form of small talk while developing communicative skills of university students when studying Business Communication in English. Strategies and tactics of the English phatic genre of small talk are structurally analyzed from the point of view of linguistic means. The authors conclude that an adequate choice of strategies and tactics for small talk aimed at successful conduct of intercultural business communication is the social skill necessary for university students.

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