Arabic learner corpus (ALC) v2: a new written and spoken corpus of Arabic learners

Arabic learner corpora have not received enough attention, particularly for learning Arabic as a second language (in Arabic speaking countries). Based on the literature, there are a few projects are developing Arabic learner corpora, of which most are not freely available for users or researchers. In addition to that they are intended to assist in the language acquisition of Arabic as a foreign language (collected from learners studying Arabic in non-Arabic speaking countries). The present paper aims to introduce the Arabic Learner Corpus. It is being developed at Leeds University, and comprises of 282,732 words, collected from learners of Arabic in Saudi Arabia. The corpus includes written and spoken data produced by 942 students, from 67 different nationalities studying at pre-university and university levels. The paper focuses on two angles of this corpus; the design criteria and the content. The design criteria of the ALC discuss the target language, the participants, the corpus size, the materials included, the method of data collection, the metadata of the corpus materials and contributors, and text distribution. The second part, ALC content, is illustrated based on 26 elements representing the corpus metadata. The goal of the ALC is to provide an open-source of data for some linguistic research areas related to Arabic language learning and teaching. So, the corpus data is available for download in TXT and XML formats, hand-written sheets which are in PDF format as well as the audio recordings which are available in MP3 format

Comparative Pharmacokinetic Study for Linezolid and Two Novel Antibacterial Oxazolidinone Derivatives in Rabbits: Can Differences in the Pharmacokinetic Properties Explain the Discrepancies between Their In Vivo and In Vitro Antibacterial Activities?

This is a comparative pharmacokinetics study of linezolid (Lzd), and two novel oxazolidinone antibacterial agents—PH027 and PH051—in rabbits to determine if the discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo activities of the novel compounds is due to pharmacokinetic factors. The pharmacokinetics after IV and oral administration, plasma protein binding and tissue distribution for the three compounds were compared. The elimination half-lives were 52.4 ± 6.3, 68.7 ± 12.1 and 175 ± 46.1 min for Lzd, PH027 and PH051, respectively. The oral bioavailability for Lzd, PH027 and PH051 administered as suspension were 38.7%, 22.1% and 4.73%, which increased significantly when administered as microemulsion to 51.7%, 72.9% and 13.9%. The plasma protein binding were 32–34%, 37–38% and 90–91% for Lzd, PH027 and PH051. The tissue distribution for PH027 and PH051 in all investigated tissues were higher than that for Lzd. It can be concluded that the lower bioavailability of PH027 and PH051 compared to Lzd when administered as suspension is the main cause of their lower in vivo activity, despite their comparable in vitro activity. Differences in the other pharmacokinetic characteristics cannot explain the lower in vivo activity. The in vivo activity of the novel compounds should be re-evaluated using formulations with good oral bioavailability

Physiological and Anatomical Mechanisms in Wheat to Cope with Salt Stress Induced by Seawater

© 2020 by the authors.Two pot experiments were conducted in a greenhouse to examine 14C fixation and its distribution in biochemical leaf components, as well as the physiological and anatomical adaptability responses of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown with seawater diluted to 0.2, 3.0, 6.0, and 12.0 dS m−1. The results showed significant reductions in chlorophyll content, 14C fixation (photosynthesis), plant height, main stem diameter, total leaf area per plant, and total dry weight at 3.0, 6.0, and 12.0 dS m−1 seawater salt stress. The 14C loss was very high at 12.0 ds m−1 after 120 h. 14C in lipids (ether extract) showed significant changes at 12.0 dS m−1 at 96 and 120 h. The findings indicated the leaf and stem anatomical feature change of wheat plants resulting from adaptation to salinity stress. A reduction in the anatomical traits of stem and leaf diameter, wall thickness, diameter of the hollow pith cavity, total number of vascular bundles, number of large and small vascular bundles, bundle length and width, thickness of phloem tissue, and diameter of the metaxylem vessel of wheat plants was found. In conclusion, salt stress induces both anatomical and physiological changes in the stem and leaf cells of wheat, as well as the tissues and organs, and these changes in turn make it possible for the plants to adapt successfully to a saline environment.This work was part of research project No.: 245159, “SIRRIMED-Sustainable use of irrigation water in the Mediterranean region”, and supported by EU-FP7-KBBE-2009-3. This work was also partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland.Peer reviewe