Acquisition of Genitive Case by Bilingual Guilaki-Persian English Learners

The present study focuses on recognition and production of the English genitive cases with similar structure in Guilaki (i.e., possessive determiners and possessive relations) or Persian (i.e., non-possessive relations) at initial state of EFL acquisition. In this regard, the researcher selected the most proficient Guilaki and Persian speakers-beginner EFL learners who were comparably aware of the structures under study to establish L3 and L2 groups. Both groups equally comprised 30 female third-grade junior high school English learners. The statistical analyses on GJT and Translation tests of the L3 group suggested different levels of cross-linguistic influence, and hence partially supporting FT/FA hypothesis, L2 transfer hypothesis or CEM for each form of genitive case. Moreover, the findings indicated a possible association between the L3 group’s poor performance and their incomplete L1 acquisition due to the intense contact with the majority language (i.e., Persian as L2). Consequently, EFL teaching through learners’ language background can improve their English and preserve their background languages

Determination of the moisture transport coefficient from pore network simulations of spontaneous imbibition in capillary porous media

The Richards model for spontaneous imbibition of a wetting liquid into a porous medium is revisited. Two methods are presented to determine the effective parameter in the Richards equation, i.e. the saturation-dependent moisture transport coefficient D(S), from pore network simulations: The first method employs a quasi-static pore network model (QPNM), whereas the second method uses a dynamic pore network model (DPNM) to estimate D(S) in an inverse approach. The DPNM simulation results serve as a reference to assess the quality of these two parameter estimation methods. It is found that the solution of the Richards equation is very sensitive to D(S), especially when the porous medium is close to fully saturated. While the saturation levels over time obtained from solving the Richards equation with D(S) calculated from the inverse method match well with those from the DPNM, some discrepancy is observed when the QPNM is used to estimate D(S) instead

Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Funding: F Carvalho and E Fernandes acknowledge support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), in the scope of the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy i4HB; FCT/MCTES through the project UIDB/50006/2020. J Conde acknowledges the European Research Council Starting Grant (ERC-StG-2019-848325). V M Costa acknowledges the grant SFRH/BHD/110001/2015, received by Portuguese national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), IP, under the Norma Transitória DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006.proofepub_ahead_of_prin

Use of Global Consistency Checking for Exploring and Refining Relationships between Distributed Models : A Case Study

Context. Software systems, becoming larger and more complex day-by-day, have resulted in software development processes to become more complex to understand and manage. Many companies have started to adapt distributed software engineering practices that would allow them to work in distributed teams at different organizations and/or geographical locations. For example, model-driven engineering methods are being used in such global software engineering projects. Among the activities in model-based software development, consistency checking is one of the widely known ones. Consistency checking is concerned with consistent models; in particular, having a consistent group of multiple models for a whole system, e.g., multiple models produced by distributed teams. Objectives. This thesis aims to find out how ‘Global Consistency Checking (GCC)’ can be utilized for exploring inconsistency problems between distributed models; particularly among UML class diagram relationships (in terms of consistency), as well as how GCC can be scaled with large number of models and relationships. Thereby, these inconsistencies are also aimed to incrementally resolve in our approach. Methods. We made a review in distributed software development domain and model management, in particular, methods of consistency checking between ‘Distributed Models (DM)’. Next, we conducted two case studies in two problem domains in order to apply our ‘consistency checking methodology’. We concurrently constructed and implemented new consistency rules, most of which are gathered from literatures and brainstorming with our coordinators. Generally, the method contains implementing different models of the case studies with a tool support and trying to figure out overlaps, merging models and checking the merged model against the consistency rules, and evaluating the results of GCC. We mainly addressed issues focused on consistency checking of individual models and the mapping between them e.g., pair-wise consistency checking (PCC), which are incapable of fully addressing problems against any consistency rules encountered in distributed environments. Results. We have identified seven types of inconsistency, which are divided in two groups named ‘Global inconsistency’ and ‘Pair-wise inconsistency’. In the first case study, we have 94 global inconsistencies and 73 pair-wise. In the second one, 14 global and 25 pair-wise inconsistencies are resulted. During ‘Resolution approach’, we followed six steps as a ‘systematic procedure’ for resolving these inconsistencies and constructed new merged model in each iteration. The initial merged model (inconsistent model) as an input for the first step has 1267 elements, and the consistent merged model (the output) from the sixth step has 686 elements. ‘time duration’ and ‘required effort’ for checking consistency against each ‘consistency rule’ were recorded, analyzed and illustrated in Sections 4.1.5 and 4.2.4. Conclusions. We concluded that GCC enables us to explore the inconsistencies, inclusive of resolving them and therefore, refining the relationships between different models, which are difficult to detect by e.g., a pair-wise method. The most important issues are: The number of model comparisons conducted by PCC, The inability of PCC for identifying some inconsistencies, Model relationships refinement and classification based on PCC approach will not lead to a final consistent DM, whereas, GCC guarantees it. Consistency rules application, inconsistency identification and resolving them could be generalized to any UML class diagram model representing a problem domain within the fields of consistency checking in software engineering.0046760850792, 004673774975

Restless Legs Syndrome in Chronic Kidney Disease- a Systematic Review

ObjectivesThe objective of this review is to provide updated information on the epidemiology, correlating factors and treatment of chronic kidney disease associated restless legs syndrome (CKD-A-RLS) in both adult and pediatric population.Materials and methodsWe have reviewed the Medline search and Google Scholar search up to May 2022, using key words restless legs syndrome, chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis and kidney transplant. The reviewed articles were studied for epidemiology, correlating factors, as well as pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment options.ResultsOur search revealed 175 articles, 111 were clinical trials or cross- sectional studies and 64 were review articles. All 111 articles were retrieved and studied in detail. Of these, 105 focused on adults and 6 on children. A majority of studies on dialysis patients reported a prevalence between 15-30%, which is notably higher than prevalence of RLS in general population (5-10%). The correlation between presence of CKD-A-RLS with age, gender, abnormalities of hemogram, iron, ferritin, serum lipids, electrolytes and parathyroid hormones were also reviewed. The results were inconsistent and controversial. Limited studies have reported on the treatment of CKD-A-RLS. Non-pharmacological treatment focused on the effect(s) of exercise, acupuncture, massage with different oils and infra-red light whereas, pharmacologic treatment options include the effects of dopaminergic drugs, Alpha2-Delta ligands (gabapentin and pregabalin), vitamins E and C, and intravenous iron infusion.ConclusionThis updated review showed that RLS is two to three times more common in patients with CKD compared to the general population. More patients with CKD-A-RLS demonstrated increased mortality, increased incidence of cardiovascular accident, depression, insomnia and impaired quality of life than those with CKD without RLS. Dopaminergic drugs such as levodopa, ropinirole, pramipexole and rotigotine as well as calcium channel blockers (gabapentin and pregabalin) are helpful for treatment of RLS. High quality studies with these agents are currently underway and hopefully confirm the efficacy and practicality of using these drugs in CKD-A-RLS. Some studies have shown that aerobic exercise and massage with lavender oil can improve symptoms of CKD-A- RLS suggesting that these measures can be useful as adjunct therapy

An optimization model for traceable closed-loop supply chain networks

In this paper, a new non-linear mixed-integer mathematical programming problem is proposed to model a stochastic multi-product closed-loop supply chain (CLSC). The radio frequency identification (RFID) system is implemented in the supply chain to decrease product losses and the overall lead time of transportation while computing the profit derived from internet and conventional sales. The resulting traceable CLSC improves upon the existing literature by allowing us to: (1) boost the incorporation of traceability assumptions in mathematical programming problems so as to enhance the efficiency and visibility of a supply chain, (2) analyze the strategic effects that different internet sale formats have on customers’ evaluations and acquisition choices, and (3) account for the environmental and socio-economical dimension by explicitly formalizing employment-based incomes as part of the profit function. Two meta-heuristic algorithms are introduced to solve the proposed optimization problem, namely, the greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Twelve test problems of different sizes are generated and solved using these algorithms. The computational results show that GRASP outperforms PSO in terms of both profit and CPU time values. Finally, a case study in the network marketing industry is presented and managerial implications outlined to show the validity of the proposed model and shed more light on its practical implications