A phonotactic link between strong verbs and function words in English

Date of acceptance is 15.6.2006, for a December 2006 issue. Due to a hiatus in the editorship of the journal the issue was not published until 2014; with a 2006 imprint; the version published in 2014 is unchanged from the version accepted in 2006.In ‘Vowel + consonant and consonant + vowel sequences in the strong verbs of German and English’ (Cahiers Ferdinand de Saussure 1995–1996/49:139–63) I showed that the vowel + consonant sequences (VCs) and the consonant + vowel sequences (CVs) of the English strong verbs tend to occur only on the strong verbs, not on weak verbs, and hence serve as phonotactic markers of strong conjugation. In this paper I adduce data which show that the English strong verb VCs (though not the CVs) have an unexpectedly high rate of occurrence—72%—in monosyllabic function words such as prepositions and pronouns. Thus a formal, phonotactic link has been established between strong verbs and function words in English. The same tendency has been demonstrated for the strong verbs of German and the non-productive verbs of Russian. The pattern revealed points towards the possibility of finding rules for the formation of strong verbs and a separate meaning—perhaps aspectual—for them, different to that of the weak verbs.PostprintPeer reviewe

Discipline Variations

A comparison review of the discipline-specific surveys revealed that there is common ground in terms of a need for two way links between raw data repositories and academic publication repositories. Such links were considered useful by participants in the surveys and interviews across the disciplines and potential obstacles to sharing of data in such a way were also generally consistent. Noticeable variations in the way that data are gathered, formatted, allocated metadata and subsequently shared (both between disciplines and within disciplines) were noted, and this needs to be taken into consideration when establishing a Source to Output repository interface. It is likely that the discipline-specific requirements will result in a need for customisation of a generic Source to Output model. The disciplines investigated were Archaeology, Astronomy, Biochemistry, Biosciences, Chemistry, Physics and the Social Sciences

Exceptions and their correlations : a methodology for research in grammar

PostprintNon peer reviewe

Effect of soil conditions and landscape factors on macro-snail communities in newly created grasslands of restored landfill sites in the UK

Though restored landfill sites provide habitat for a number of taxa, their potential for land snail remains unexplored. In this study, large-sized land snails (> 5 mm) were surveyed using transect sampling on nine restored landfill sites and nine corresponding nature sites in the East Midlands region of the UK during 2008. The effect of restoration was investigated by examining land snail species composition, richness, and diversity (Shannon Weiner index) in relation to habitat and landscape structure. Thirteen macro-snail species were found in total and rarefied species richness and diversity on restored landfill sites was not found to be statistically different to that of reference sites. One third of the snail species, comprising 30% of total abundance, found in the restored landfill sites were non-native species introduced to the UK. Soil electrical conductivity was the strongest predictor for richness and diversity of land snails. Road density was found to have a positive influence on snail species diversity. Given the high percentage of introduced species detected further research is needed in terms of the management implications of restored landfill sites and the dynamics of native versus non-native species

Mechanism of Protection Induced by Group A Streptococcus Vaccine Candidate J8-DT: Contribution of B and T-Cells Towards Protection

Vaccination with J8-DT, a leading GAS vaccine candidate, results in protective immunity in mice. Analysis of immunologic correlates of protection indicated a role of J8-specific antibodies that were induced post-immunization. In the present study, several independent experimental approaches were employed to investigate the protective immunological mechanisms involved in J8-DT-mediated immunity. These approaches included the passive transfer of mouse or rabbit immune serum/antibodies in addition to selective depletion of T-cell subsets prior to bacterial challenge. Passive transfer of J8-DT antiserum/antibodies from mice and rabbits conferred significant resistance against challenge to mice. To exclude the possibility of involvement of other host immune factors, the studies were repeated in SCID mice, which highlighted the need for an ongoing immune response for long-lived protection. Depletion of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets confirmed that an active de novo immune response, involving CD4+ T-helper cells, is required for continued synthesis of antibodies resulting in protection against GAS infection. Taken together these results indicate an involvement of CD4+ T-cells in J8-DT-mediated protection possibly via an ability to maintain antibody levels. These results have considerable relevance to the development of a broad spectrum passive immunotherapy for GAS disease

Regulation of uric acid metabolism and excretion

AbstractPurines perform many important functions in the cell, being the formation of the monomeric precursors of nucleic acids DNA and RNA the most relevant one. Purines which also contribute to modulate energy metabolism and signal transduction, are structural components of some coenzymes and have been shown to play important roles in the physiology of platelets, muscles and neurotransmission. All cells require a balanced quantity of purines for growth, proliferation and survival. Under physiological conditions the enzymes involved in the purine metabolism maintain in the cell a balanced ratio between their synthesis and degradation. In humans the final compound of purines catabolism is uric acid. All other mammals possess the enzyme uricase that converts uric acid to allantoin that is easily eliminated through urine. Overproduction of uric acid, generated from the metabolism of purines, has been proven to play emerging roles in human disease. In fact the increase of serum uric acid is inversely associated with disease severity and especially with cardiovascular disease states. This review describes the enzymatic pathways involved in the degradation of purines, getting into their structure and biochemistry until the uric acid formation