The Complexities of Learning Prepositions: Spanish to English

This study explores reasons for the improper use of English pronouns by Spanish speaking ESL students, as evidenced in the Free Writing Placement Tests given at The Adult Learning Center in Virginia Beach and Old Dominion University. The database includes 84 examples of prepositional errors (Appendix B) that were translated into Spanish for comparison and analysis. Some errors can be attributed to first language interference (Chapter 2, Contrastive Analysis). Some can be attributed to interlanguage (Chapter 3, Error Analysis). Other chapters show additional complications such as variation in native speaker preposition use and the effects of some prepositional contexts. Although the study started with the goal of developing an effective way to teach prepositions, the discussion here shows that the problem is highly complex. Included, also, is a study of current pedagogy with summaries and a grammar book bibliography which can be used as a source of materials for teaching or supplementing preposition lessons

Maternal Folate Intake and Risk of Childhood Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Many epidemiological studies have investigated the effect of maternal diet and prenatal multivitamin supplementation on pediatric cancer risk. Childhood brain and spinal cord tumors (CBSCT) have been attributed to different possible risk factors. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on maternal folate intake before and during pregnancy and the risk of CBSCT. We systematically reviewed publications obtained by searching the Insitute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge and PubMed literature databases. We extracted the risk estimate of the highest and the lowest reported categories of intake from each study and conducted a meta-analysis using a random-effects model. Results: The results of the pooled analysis of all 10 studies, 1 cohort and 9 case-control studies, indicated that maternal folate intake was inversely associated with CBSCT risk (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.67–0.88, p < 0.001; I2 = 51.22%, p = 0.001). Separate analyses on the basis of the source of folate (folic acid supplementation, dietary folate) and in relation to the timing of exposure (before pregnancy, during pregnancy) found that folic acid supplementation was associated with an approximately 23% reduction in ­CBSCT risk (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.66–0.90, p = 0.001; I2 = 53.18%, p = 0.001) and consumption during pregnancy was associated with an approximately 20% reduction in CBSCT risk (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.67–0.97, p = 0.020; I2 = 62.48%, p < 0·001). Conclusions: Maternal consumption of folic acid is associated with a reduced risk of CBSCT. Further investigations are necessary to increase the reliability of the results and estimate the relationship between dose-response and the best outcome

Preterm Birth: analysis of longitudinal Data on siblings Based on random-effects logit Models

INTRODUCTION: The literature about the determinants of a preterm birth is still controversial. We approach the analysis of these determinants distinguishing between woman’s observable characteristics, which may change over time, and unobservable woman’s characteristics, which are time invariant and explain the dependence between the typology (normal or preterm) of consecutive births. METHODS: We rely on a longitudinal dataset about 28,603 women who delivered for the first time in the period 2005–2013 in the Umbria Region (Italy). We consider singleton physiological pregnancies originating from natural conceptions with birthweight of at least 500 g and gestational age between 24 and 42 weeks; the overall number of deliveries is 34,224. The dataset is based on the Standard Certificates of Life Birth collected in the region in the same period. We estimate two types of logit model for the event that the birth is preterm. The first model is pooled and accounts for the information about possible previous preterm deliveries, including the lagged response among the covariates. The second model takes explicitly into account the longitudinal structure of data through the introduction of a random effect that summarizes all the (time invariant) unobservable characteristics of a woman affecting the probability of a preterm birth. RESULTS: The estimated models provide evidence that the probability of a preterm birth depends on certain woman’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, other than on the previous history in terms of miscarriages and the baby’s gender. Besides, as the random-effects model fits significantly better than the pooled model with lagged response, we conclude for a spurious state dependence between repeated preterm deliveries. CONCLUSION: The proposed analysis represents a useful tool to detect profiles of women with a high risk of preterm delivery. Such profiles are detected taking into account observable woman’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as unobservable and time-constant characteristics, possibly related to the woman’s genetic makeup. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable

Innovation in farming: An engaging and rewarding business model to foster digitalization

Over the last few years, innovation has been heavily driven by digitalization. This is due to the huge developments in the field of data analysis, enabled by the introduction of new technologies. Several fields have witnessed a smooth integration of digital tools along the whole value chain, unlike legacy sectors, which still face a spread mistrust towards innovative digital solutions. This paper proposes an engaging and rewarding model, taking into account the causes hindering innovation in the animal farming sector, complemented by the validation of the motivations behind its features and the obtained results

Socio-demographic determinants and access to prenatal care in Italy

Background: Many governments have made commitments to examine inequalities in healthcare access based on studies assessing the association between several socio-demographic factors and late initiation or fewer prenatal examinations. This study addressed the question of whether socio-demographic determinants were significant in explaining differences in prenatal care in one administrative region of Italy, Umbria. Methods. Data were obtained from the administrative source of the regional Standard Certificate of Live Births between 2005 and 2010, and were merged with Census data to include a socio-economic deprivation index. Standard and multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze the magnitude of various individual-level maternal characteristics and socio-demographic indicators, such as nationality, employment status, education with respect to late access to the first examination, and low number of medical visits. Results: The study involved approximately 37,000 women. The heterogeneous effects of socio-demographic variables were documented on the prenatal care indicators analyzed. A multivariate model showed that women born outside Italy had a higher probability of making their first visit later than the 12th week of pregnancy and low numbers of prenatal medical visits; the estimated odds ratio for the analyzed indicators range from 2.25 to 3.05. Inadequate prenatal healthcare use was also observed in younger and pluriparous women and those with low education; in addition, having a job improved the use of services, possibly through transmission of information of negative consequences due to delayed or few prenatal visits. Interestingly, this study found a substantial reduction in the number of pregnant women who do not use prenatal healthcare services properly. Conclusions: The aim of this research is to provide more accurate knowledge about the inadequate use of prenatal healthcare in Italy. Results highlight the existence of differences in healthcare use during pregnancy, especially for women from less advantaged social classes (i.e., unemployed or poorly educated). Such inequalities should be examined in all areas of public policy and public services, to ensure equal opportunity for their use. \uc2\ua9 2014 Chiavarini et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Rapid effects of corticosterone on stress-related behaviors in an amphibian

In the wild, when an animal is exposed to predators or harsh conditions, the stress response is often associated with fleeing behaviors, which are seen as increased locomotor behavior. Handling-stress procedures and intracerebroventricular (icy) injection of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) have both been shown to cause an increase in locomotor activity in roughskin newts (Taricha granulosa). The present experiments were designed to determine if icv administration of corticosterone (CORT) prevents stress-induced locomotor increases in activity, if it prevents CRF-induced increases in locomotor activity, and if the time-course and pharmacological specificity of the CORT effects on locomotor activity fit the model for intracellular or membrane receptors. In experiment 1, newts which had been injected with CORT or dexamethasone (DEX) received a standardized handling-stress procedure. Corticosterone administration was able to suppress the increase in locomotor activity in newts exposed to handling-stress at 20 minutes after administration. This effect was transient (no longer present at 2 hours after the injection) and not mimicked by DEX, a synthetic glucocorticoid that binds to intracellular and not membrane receptors. In experiments 2 and 3, either CORT or DEX was administered in the same icy injection with CRF. CORT suppressed CRF-induced locomotor activity in some cases, but this action of CORT seems to be context dependent. Results for DEX-injected newts were confounded the failure of CRF to induced significant increases in locomotor activity. There was variability in the effect of CRF on locomotor activity across seasons. Based on time-course and specificity, it appears that CORT can modulate locomotor activity in newts through mechanisms involving the membrane receptor. Variability in the effects of CRF on locomotor activity in newts suggests there may be seasonal differences in responses to stress

Identificacion de certificacion de sustentabilidad de Biomasa para lograr incertarse en mercados internacionales

El objetivo principal es identificar los esquemas de certificación de sustentabilidad requeridos en mercados mundiales. Identificar las falencias y fortalezas dentro de la agroindustria argentina. Al mismo tiempo, se busca realizar un aporte técnico que permita contribuir a una mejor caracterización del mencionado sector productivo, con el objeto de ayudar al país a adaptarse a las nuevas exigencias de los mercados internacionales. Se identificaron requisitos actuales para la certificación de sustentabilidad de los biocombustibles, justo con los principales driver “históricos” de la sustentabilidad parado por las medidas anti dumping de la UE. U Es necesario la expansión y reconocimiento de los esquemas de certificación de sustentabilidad a otros mercados diferentes de los biocombustibles

The role of circumstances in explaining health and income related inequalities in European countries

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Chemical characterization and surface properties of a new bioemulsifier produced by Pedobacter sp. strain MCC-Z

A novel biopolymer was described in the form of an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) by Pedobacter sp.strain MCC-Z, a member of a bacterial genus not previously described as an emulsifier producer. Thenew biomolecule was extracted, purified and characterized, and its surface and emulsifying propertieswere evaluated. The purified bioemulsifier, named Pdb-Z, showed high emulsifying activity (E24% = 64%)and reduced the surface tension of water up to 41 mN/m with a critical micelle concentration value of2.6 mg/mL. The chemical characterization of Pdb-Z was performed using1H NMR, FT-IR, HPLC/MS/MS andGC/MS. Pdb-Z was found to contain 67% of carbohydrates, consisting mainly of galactose and minor quan-tities of talose, 30% of lipids, being pentadecanoic acid the major lipidic constituent, and 3% of proteins. Thebioemulsifier was a glycolipids-protein complex with an estimated molecular mass of 106Da. Further-more, Pdb-Z emulsified pure aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons as well as diesel more efficiently thancommercial synthetic surfactants, used for comparison. Our results suggest Pdb-Z has interesting prop-erties for applications in remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated environments and bioremediation processes