Freedom from the Press: Journalism and State Power in Singapore

Cherian GeorgeNUS PressNational University of Singapore 2012 pp.xiii+272

Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar (Fourth Edition)

Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar (Fourth Edition)M.A.K. HallidayRevised by Christian M.I.M MatthiessenRoutledge: London and New York 2014.i-xvii pp.78

Translation Quality Assessment: Past and Present

Book ReviewJuliane HouseRoutledge: London and New York 2015 pp. 160The author of this book is probably one of the most important figures in the world of translation today and the book provides a highly readable overview of interdisciplinary research on translation, acknowledging the importance of the socio-cultural and situational contexts in which texts are embedded.This is a newly revised model of translation quality assessment which relies on detailed textual and culturally informed analysis and comparison. The chapters move from the basic question of ‘What is translation?’ through the various approaches that people have taken to translation; the original model proposed by House and its various modifications over as period of nearly 40 years and finally a more integrative model. Basically what House proposes is a two step approach to translation: firstly analysis, description and explanation; secondly, judgment of value, socio-cultural relevance and appropriateness.For readers acquainted with Baker’s work (2006, 2010), will find the approach of systemic functional linguistic theory (Halliday (2015) very familiar. In fact this revised model moves even more towards such an approach with added discussions on contrastive pragmatics, intercultural communication as well as cognitive aspects

TEACHING TO WRITE RIGHT : LOOKING AT THE "PROCESS"

This study investigated the language choices in the writing of freshmen students at anEnglish medium university in Thailand in response to visual stimuli. The study involved identifyingthe genres and the lexico-grammatical features associated with such genres.600 samples of writing were collected but only 72 were randomly selected from 12students in order to compare their progress over a period of 14 weeks (one semester).The framework for the analysis of the students’ writing was based on a detailedapproach to these texts as semantic units. But since meanings are realized through the lexicogrammaticalsystem, it was felt that this was the most effective way of making an explicitinterpretation of the texts that had some objectivity. This study focuses on the first part of atwo part project involving first of all the ùprocessû, then a later study dealt with the ùproductû.The paper will discuss the development of the Nominal Group (NG) in the studentsû writingin THEME position as this was felt to be a major issue in the dominantly Descriptive, Recountand Narrative genres which it was hoped they would produce.The resulting analysis showed that the students had a limited knowledge of the differentgenres and used an equally limited range of lexico-grammatical choices. No discernibleimprovement was observed over the period of study. Possible reasons for this were, firstly thelack of awareness of the role and importance that genres play in their academic studies andsecondly, an approach to teaching which did not include a grammar that was functionallybased. Possible alternative ways of teaching are suggested.Key words Writing, lexico-grammatical choices, genres, visual, stimuli

Tumor-Associated Macrophages Suppress the Cytotoxic Activity of Antimitotic Agents.

Antimitotic agents, including Taxol, disrupt microtubule dynamics and cause a protracted mitotic arrest and subsequent cell death. Despite the broad utility of these drugs in breast cancer and other tumor types, clinical response remains variable. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) suppress the duration of Taxol-induced mitotic arrest in breast cancer cells and promote earlier mitotic slippage. This correlates with a decrease in the phosphorylated form of histone H2AX (γH2AX), decreased p53 activation, and reduced cancer cell death in interphase. TAMs promote cancer cell viability following mitotic slippage in a manner sensitive to MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibition. Acute depletion of major histocompatibility complex class II low (MHCIIlo) TAMs increased Taxol-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in cancer cells, leading to greater efficacy in intervention trials. MEK inhibition blocked the protective capacity of TAMs and phenocopied the effects of TAM depletion on Taxol treatment. TAMs suppress the cytotoxic effects of Taxol, in part through cell non-autonomous modulation of mitotic arrest in cancer cells, and targeting TAM-cancer cell interactions potentiates Taxol efficacy

Computer-based estimation system for land productivity

International Science and Education Researcher Association (ISER); Gireida Education Co. Ltd; Wuhan University of Science and Technology; VIP Information Conference Center<span class="MedBlackText">Land productivity generally refers to the overall productivity related to various combinations of the natural characteristics of the land and socioeconomic factors. Structural change and pattern succession in land systems undoubtedly leads to changes in the suitability and quality of different kinds of land types and directly influences agricultural productivity. In this paper we describe the processes, parameters needed and methods of data preparation, which will improve the ability of readers to use this model and provide a foundation for its wide application.</span

Unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory in a finite volume: scalar meson sector

We develop a scheme for the extraction of the properties of the scalar mesons f0(600), f0(980), and a0(980) from lattice QCD data. This scheme is based on a two-channel chiral unitary approach with fully relativistic propagators in a finite volume. In order to discuss the feasibility of finding the mass and width of the scalar resonances, we analyze synthetic lattice data with a fixed error assigned, and show that the framework can be indeed used for an accurate determination of resonance pole positions in the multi-channel scattering.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figure

Measuring the Impact of Oesophagectomy on Physical Functioning and Physical Activity Participation: a Prospective Study

Background: Oesophagectomy remains the only curative intervention for oesophageal cancer, with defined nutritional and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) consequences. It follows therefore that there is a significant risk of decline in physical wellbeing with oesophagectomy however this has been inadequately quantified. This study prospectively examines change in physical functioning and habitual physical activity participation, from presurgery through 6-months post-oesophagectomy. Methods: Patients scheduled for oesophagectomy with curative intent were recruited. Key domains of physical functioning including exercise tolerance (six-minute walk test (6MWT)) and muscle strength (hand-grip strength), and habitual physical activity participation, including sedentary behaviour (accelerometry) were measured presurgery (T0) and repeated at 1-month (T1) and 6-months (T2) post-surgery. HR-QOL was measured using the EORTC-QOL C30. Results: Thirty-six participants were studied (mean age 62.4 (8.8) years, n = 26 male, n = 26 transthoracic oesophagectomy). Mean 6MWT distance decreased significantly from T0 to T1 (p = 0.006) and returned to T0 levels between T1 and T2 (p \u3c 0.001). Percentage time spent sedentary increased throughout recovery (p \u3c 0.001) and remained significantly higher at T2 in comparison to T0 (p = 0.003). In contrast, percentage time spent engaged in either light or moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity, all reduced significantly (p \u3c 0.001 for both) and remained significantly lower at T2 in comparison to T0 (p = 0.009 and p = 0.01 respectively). Patients reported deficits in multiple domains of HR-QOL during recovery including global health status (p = 0.04), physical functioning (p \u3c 0.001) and role functioning (p \u3c 0.001). Role functioning remained a clinically important 33-points lower than preoperative values at T2. Conclusion: Habitual physical activity participation remains significantly impaired at 6-months postoesophagectomy. Physical activity is a measurable and modifiable target for physical rehabilitation, which is closely aligned with patient-reported deficits in role functioning. Rehabilitation aimed at optimising physical health in oesophageal cancer survivorship is warranted

Dynamical properties of liquid Al near melting. An orbital-free molecular dynamics study

The static and dynamic structure of liquid Al is studied using the orbital free ab-initio molecular dynamics method. Two thermodynamic states along the coexistence line are considered, namely T = 943 K and 1323 K for which X-ray and neutron scattering data are available. A new kinetic energy functional, which fulfills a number of physically relevant conditions is employed, along with a local first principles pseudopotential. In addition to a comparison with experiment, we also compare our ab-initio results with those obtained from conventional molecular dynamics simulations using effective interionic pair potentials derived from second order pseudopotential perturbation theory.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables, submitted to PR