Form and Function in Spoken Discourse : An analysis of inconsistencies in language form and function

A large number of language functions cannot readily be predicted simply by a consideration of their forms. There are a relatively limited number of language forms that are utilized by an infinite number of complex communicative functions involved in human linguistic interaction. The gap that exists between language forms and functions is bridged by contextual factors including speaker/listener cooperation, shared knowledge, intonation, conventional social norms and others. These factors help speakers communicatively bridge the correspondence gap between form and function and help give otherwise ambiguous forms their functionally intended meaning. In the first section of this article the author has made a summary of the arguments of the various approaches to the analysis of discourse on the issue of linguistic form and function. In the final sections the author has chosen a sample of spoken text and commented on examples, which demonstrate that the functions are not predictable from linguistic forms used by the interlocutors

Additional file 4: of Low pyrrolizidine alkaloid levels in perennial ryegrass is associated with the absence of a homospermidine synthase gene

Genetic markers used for linkage mapping of the LpDHS, LpHSS1 and LpHSS2 genes in a F1 population of perennial ryegrass. (PDF 428 kb

Additional file 5: of Low pyrrolizidine alkaloid levels in perennial ryegrass is associated with the absence of a homospermidine synthase gene

Tall Fescue FaDHS and FaHSS1 translated protein sequences derived from ESTs retrieved from GenBank. (FASTA 1 kb

Additional file 8: of Low pyrrolizidine alkaloid levels in perennial ryegrass is associated with the absence of a homospermidine synthase gene

Statistical analysis of thesinine-rhamnoside traits in perennial ryegrass. A) Frequency distribution of untransformed thesinine-rhamnoside BLUP’s. B) Pearson correlation coefficients among levels of thesinine-rhamnoside PAs. (PDF 537 kb

Age and frailty are independently associated with increased COVID-19 mortality and increased care needs in survivors: results of an international multi-centre study

Introduction: Increased mortality has been demonstrated in older adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the effect of frailty has been unclear. Methods: This multi-centre cohort study involved patients aged 18 years and older hospitalised with COVID-19, using routinely collected data. We used Cox regression analysis to assess the impact of age, frailty and delirium on the risk of inpatient mortality, adjusting for sex, illness severity, inflammation and co-morbidities. We used ordinal logistic regression analysis to assess the impact of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and delirium on risk of increased care requirements on discharge, adjusting for the same variables. Results: Data from 5,711 patients from 55 hospitals in 12 countries were included (median age 74, interquartile range [IQR] 54–83; 55.2% male). The risk of death increased independently with increasing age (>80 versus 18–49: hazard ratio [HR] 3.57, confidence interval [CI] 2.54–5.02), frailty (CFS 8 versus 1–3: HR 3.03, CI 2.29–4.00) inflammation, renal disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer, but not delirium. Age, frailty (CFS 7 versus 1–3: odds ratio 7.00, CI 5.27–9.32), delirium, dementia and mental health diagnoses were all associated with increased risk of higher care needs on discharge. The likelihood of adverse outcomes increased across all grades of CFS from 4 to 9. Conclusion: Age and frailty are independently associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19. Risk of increased care needs was also increased in survivors of COVID-19 with frailty or older age.</p