Case Mis-matching as Kase Stranding

Depending on whether and how argumental Free Relatives (FRs) resolve instances of case conflict between the requirements of the External (i.e., the matrix) and the Internal (i.e., the relative) Predicate, they can be classified into three main categories: (i) Strictly Matching FRs (e.g., Polish), where the FR pronoun has to comply in morphological case with both predicates (Citko 2000), (ii) I(nternal)-Matching FRs (e.g. German), where the FR pronoun has to comply in morphological case with the Internal Predicate, but not necessarily with the External one (Grosu 1994), and (iii) E(xternal)-Matching FR (e.g., Greek), where the FR pronoun has to comply in morphological case with the External Predicate, but not necessarily with the Internal one ((Stavrou & Philippaki 1987; Horrocks & Stavrou 1987; Chila-Markopoulou 1991; Philippaki & Spyropoulos 1997; Alexiadou & Varlokosta 2007; Vogel 2001; Agouraki 2005; Daskalaki 2008; Spyropoulos 2007). In this paper, I use the Greek pattern as my starting point, and I develop a formal account of the observed cross-linguistic variation, which builds on the KP hypothesis (Lamontagne & Travis 1987)

The application of metabolomic profiling to the effects of physical activity

Physical activity and exercise are potent lifestyle interventions for the reduction of several psychosomatic risks, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mild-to-moderate depression. The current review describes the studies which have utilised a metabolomics/ metabolite profiling approach in combination with exercise in the period between 1999-2014 in predominantly healthy subjects (N:64) and in a smaller subset of patient cohorts (N:10) between 2011-2014. A broad range of intervention types were used in both healthy and patient cohorts with varying exercise regimes with or without supplement use. Effects on purine metabolism, which have been known for over 40 years, were by far the most well-cited and persistent finding. Other reported effects included observations of: glucocorticoid and androgen metabolism, glycolysis and Krebs cycle, gluconeogenesis, fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid oxidation and pantothenic acid, amino acid oxidation, tryptophan metabolism and effects on microbiome metabolites. The discussion section draws observations from the very disparate studies together and links them to the general aspects of human metabolism

A study of the effects of exercise on the urinary metabolome using normalisation to individual metabolic output

Aerobic exercise, in spite of its multi-organ benefit and potent effect on the metabolome, has yet to be investigated comprehensively via an untargeted metabolomics technology. We conducted an exploratory untargeted liquid chromatography mass spectrometry study to investigate the effects of a one-h aerobic exercise session in the urine of three physically active males. Individual urine samples were collected over a 37-h protocol (two pre-exercise and eight post-exercise). Raw data were subjected to a variety of normalization techniques, with the most effective measure dividing each metabolite by the sum response of that metabolite for each individual across the 37-h protocol expressed as a percentage. This allowed the metabolite responses to be plotted on a normalised scale. Our results highlight significant metabolites located in the following systems: purine pathway, tryptophan metabolism, carnitine metabolism, cortisol metabolism, androgen metabolism, amino acid oxidation, as well as metabolites from the gastrointestinal microbiome. Many of the significant changes observed in our pilot investigation mirror previous research studies, of various methodological designs, published within the last 15 years, although they have never been reported at the same time in a single study

Heritage language use in the country of residence matters for language maintenance, but short visits to the homeland can boost heritage language outcomes

This study examined how heritage children's experiences with the heritage language (HL) in the country of residence (e.g., children's generation, their HL use and richness) and the country of origin (e.g., visits to and from the homeland) may change as a function of the migration generation heritage children belong to, and how this may in turn differentially influence HL outcomes. Fifty-eight Greek-English-speaking bilingual children of Greek heritage residing in Western Canada and New York City participated in the study. They belonged to three different generations of migration: a group of second-generation heritage speakers, which were children of first-generation parents; a group of mixed-generation heritage children of first- and second-generation parents; and of third-generation heritage children with second-generation parents. They were tested on a picture-naming task targeting HL vocabulary and on an elicitation task targeting syntax- and discourse-conditioned subject placement. Children's performance on both tasks was predicted by their generation status, with the third generation having significantly lower accuracy than the second and the mixed generations. HL use significantly predicted language outcomes across generations. However, visits to and from the country of origin also mattered. This study shows that HL use in the country of residence is important for HL development, but that it changes as a function of the child's generation. At the same time, the finding that the most vulnerable domains (vocabulary and discourse-conditioned subject placement) benefited from visits to the country of origin highlights the importance of both diversity of and exposure to a variety spoken by more speakers and in different contexts for HL maintenance

Two ways of encoding location in Greek: Locative applicatives and prepositions

Cross-linguistically, oblique theta roles such as location can be encoded by both adpositions and applicative morphemes. In this paper we argue that Standard Modern Greek (SMG), a language that encodes location primarily with prepositions, has a set of morphologically complex predicates that consist of an intransitive verbal root and a locative prefix, and behave like locative applicative constructions. We argue that this prefix is a low applicative head, licensing the addition of a locative DP argument to the intransitive verbal root. Specifically, this applicative head: (i) case-and theta-licenses the added argument, but being void of phi-features, it blocks its cliticization; (ii) is distinct from a homophonous free standing P semantically and syntactically; (iii) is undergoing grammaticalization, as evidenced by the emergence of a novel configuration, in which the locative predicates combine with locative PPs that retrieve semantic and syntactic information of the locative prefix. Our findings show that applicatives may come in various flavors, that a language may use both analytic and synthetic devices to encode location which are not derivationally related, and that lexical/inherent case does not necessarily reduce to a PP structure

Interdependence between L1 and L2: the case of Syrian children with refugee backgrounds in Canada and the Netherlands

Children who are refugees become bilingual in circumstances that are often challenging and that can vary across national contexts. We investigated the second language (L2) syntactic skills of Syrian children aged 6-12 living in Canada (n = 56) and the Netherlands (n = 47). Our goal was to establish the impact of the first language (L1 = Syrian Arabic) skills on L2 (English, Dutch) outcomes and whether L1–L2 interdependence is influenced by the length of L2 exposure. To measure L1 and L2 syntactic skills, cross-linguistic Litmus Sentence Repetition Tasks (Litmus-SRTs) were used. Results showed evidence of L1–L2 interdependence, but interdependence may only surface after sufficient L2 exposure. Maternal education level and refugee camp experiences differed between the two samples. Both variables impacted L2 outcomes in the Canadian but not in the Dutch sample, demonstrating the importance to examine refugee children’s bilingual language development in different national contexts

A study of the effects of exercise on the urinary metabolome using normalisation to individual metabolic output

Aerobic exercise, in spite of its multi-organ benefit and potent effect on the metabolome, has yet to be investigated comprehensively via an untargeted metabolomics technology. We conducted an exploratory untargeted liquid chromatography mass spectrometry study to investigate the effects of a one-h aerobic exercise session in the urine of three physically active males. Individual urine samples were collected over a 37-h protocol (two pre-exercise and eight post-exercise). Raw data were subjected to a variety of normalization techniques, with the most effective measure dividing each metabolite by the sum response of that metabolite for each individual across the 37-h protocol expressed as a percentage. This allowed the metabolite responses to be plotted on a normalised scale. Our results highlight significant metabolites located in the following systems: purine pathway, tryptophan metabolism, carnitine metabolism, cortisol metabolism, androgen metabolism, amino acid oxidation, as well as metabolites from the gastrointestinal microbiome. Many of the significant changes observed in our pilot investigation mirror previous research studies, of various methodological designs, published within the last 15 years, although they have never been reported at the same time in a single study