Third language acquisition and its consequences for foreign language didactics : the case of Italian in Flanders

The present study examines crosslinguistic influence (CLI) from L1 and L2s in two groups of multilingual learners of L3 Italian. The two groups share their L1, which is Dutch, and an elementary proficiency in French and German, but they differ regarding other L2s: one group has high proficiency in English and Spanish, while the other group has low intermediate proficiency in English and no knowledge of Spanish. Earlier research has shown that typological proximity and proficiency level are the most important factors explaining the source of CLI, together with the L2 status factor. The results of our study confirm that learners with the same L1 can behave in a substantially divergent way, when learning an L3, if their linguistic background is different. This is especially true when typologically close L2s in which learners have a high proficiency level, such as Spanish in the present study, are involved. In this paper we will discuss the outcomes of our experiment and highlight didactic consequencesEen colloquium over universitair taalvaardigheidsonderwijs Universiteit Leiden, 2 december 2016, the complete issue can be found at http://hdl.handle.net/1887/57204Wetensch. publicati

The influence of bypass procedures and other anatomical changes in the gastrointestinal tract on the oral bioavailability of drugs

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract plays an important role in the absorption of orally administered drugs. However, in some cases the anatomy of the GI tract is changed due to GI surgery, which has the potential of influencing drug bioavailability. In this review, we aim to compile, review, and comment the existing but sometimes fragmented scientific data regarding the impact of GI surgery on the oral bioavailability of drugs. Relevant reports were gathered through the PubMed database from database inception through January 2012. Drugs for which at least one trial or case report suggested a change in oral bioavailability or absorption caused by GI surgery are discussed in detail. Major methodological differences, such as study design, number of subjects and choice of reference group, were observed in the reported studies. Predicting the impact of GI surgery on the oral bioavailability was therefore difficult to perform, even the most sophisticated classification systems could not be used for predicting purposes

Disulfiram inhibition of cyanide formation after acetonitrile poisoning

Context: Cyanide poisoning may be caused by acetonitrile, a common industrial organic solvent and laboratory agent. Objective: To describe the potential use of disulfiram in treating acetonitrile poisoning in a human clinical case and to further study its effect in human liver microsomes in vitro. Case details: A 30-year-old man initially presented with a cholinergic toxic syndrome following ingestion of aldicarb. Toxicological analysis revealed coingestion of ethanol. He subsequently developed severe metabolic acidosis caused by the cyanogenic compound acetonitrile which was erroneously interpreted as acetone in the chromatogram. After three treatments with hydroxocobalamin (5 g i.v.) and sodium thiosulfate (12.5 g i.v.) on days 2, 3, and 5, he had transient improvement but recurrent lactic acidosis. Treatment with disulfiram was associated on day 7 with resolution of metabolic acidosis and slowing of the decrease in acetonitrile concentration. He recovered from acetonitrile toxicity completely. The time course of acetonitrile, thiocyanate, and cyanide concentrations suggested that disulfiram inhibited cyanide formation. Results: In vitro experiments with human liver microsomes showed the cyanide concentration was significantly lower after incubation with acetonitrile and disulfiram than acetonitrile alone (a mean 60% reduction in cyanide level). Discussion: Although disulfiram was given late in the course of the poisoning it is possible that it contributed to the recovery

Vascular transcription factors guide plant epidermal responses to limiting phosphate conditions

Optimal plant growth is hampered by deficiency of the essential macronutrient phosphate in most soils. Plant roots can, however, increase their root hair density to efficiently forage the soil for this immobile nutrient. By generating and exploiting a high-resolution single-cell gene expression atlas of Arabidopsis roots, we show an enrichment of TARGET OF MONOPTEROS 5 / LONESOME HIGHWAY (TMO5/LHW) target gene responses in root hair cells. The TMO5/LHW heterodimer triggers biosynthesis of mobile cytokinin in vascular cells and increases root hair density during low phosphate conditions by modifying both the length and cell fate of epidermal cells. Moreover, root hair responses in phosphate deprived conditions are TMO5 and cytokinin dependent. In conclusion, cytokinin signaling links root hair responses in the epidermis to perception of phosphate depletion in vascular cells