Refining the Methodology for Investigating the Relationship Between Fluency and the Use of Formulaic Language in Learner Speech

This study is a cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between productive fluency and the use of formulaic sequences in the speech of highly proficient L2 learners. Two samples of learner speech were randomly drawn and analysed. Formulaic sequences were identified on the basis of two distinct procedures: a frequency-based, distributional approach which returned a set of recurrent sequences (n-grams) and an intuition and criterion-based, linguistic procedure which returned a set of phrasemes. Formulaic material was then removed from the data. Breakdown and speed fluency measures were obtained for the following types of speech: baseline (pre-removal), formulaic, non-formulaic (post-removal). The results show significant differences between baseline and post-removal fluency scores for both learners. Also, formulaic speech is produced more fluently than non-formulaic speech. However, the comparison of the fluency scores of n-grams and phrasemes returned inconsistent results with significant differences reported only for one of the samples

Comparison of the Determination of Some Antihypertensive Drugs in Clinical Human Plasma Samples by Solvent Front Position Extraction and Precipitation Modes

The determination of the selected antihypertensive drugs in human plasma samples with the novel solvent front position extraction (SFPE) technique is presented. The SFPE procedure combined with LC-MS/MS analysis was used for the first time to prepare a clinical sample containing the drugs mentioned above from different therapeutic groups. The effectiveness of our approach was compared with the precipitation method. The latter technique is usually used to prepare biological samples in routine laboratories. During the experiments, the substances of interest and the internal standard were separated from other matrix components using a prototype horizontal chamber for thin-layer chromatography/high-performance thin-layer chromatography (TLC/HPTLC) with a moving pipette powered by a 3D mechanism, which distributed the solvent on the adsorbent layer. Detection of the six antihypertensive drugs was performed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Results obtained by SFPE were very satisfactory (linearity R2 ≥ 0.981; %RSD ≤ 6%; LOD and LOQ were in the range of 0.06–9.78 ng/mL and 0.17–29.64 ng/mL, respectively). The recovery was in the range of 79.88–120.36%. Intra-day and inter-day precision had a percentage coefficient of variation (CV) in the range of 1.10–9.74%. The procedure is simple and highly effective. It includes the automation of TLC chromatogram development, which significantly reduced the number of manual operations performed, the time of sample preparation and solvent consumption

Projekt tłumaczeniowy: rozdział z „Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence” autorstwa Laurence’a Steinberga

Celem niniejszej pracy magisterskiej jest ukazanie problemów jakie towarzyszyły tłumaczeniu tekstu popularno-naukowego na język polski, oraz możliwych sposobów na radzenie sobie z nimi. Praca sama w sobie składa się z dwóch elementów – pierwszy, to tłumaczenie fragmentu tekstu Age of Opportunity, Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence z języka angielskiego na język polski, a drugi to dokładna analiza przeprowadzonego tłumaczenia, wraz z przedstawieniem literatury z dziedziny tłumaczenia. W analitycznej części pracy można znaleźć omówienie sposobów tłumaczenia tego rodzaju tekstów, oraz sposoby na tłumaczenie terminologii, która w tekstach popularno-naukowych często okazuje się problematyczna. Zostały również przedstawione i opracowane zasadnicze różnice pomiędzy strategiami i metodami tłumaczeniowymi, a technikami i procedurami. Te pierwsze odwołują się do strategii opracowanych przez Piotrowską, te drugie zaś zostały wybrane spośród wielu prac i pochodzą od Hejwowskiego i Vinay’a i Darbelnet’a. Została również przedstawiona niekonsystencja obecna w dziełach dotyczących technik translatorskich i dla celu analizy tłumaczenia zostały wybrane poszczególne techniki z dzieł wyżej wymienionych badaczy. W analizie znajdują się również wybrane fragmenty tłumaczenia wraz z ich wersjami w języku źródłowym, które towarzyszą dokładnej analizie technik translatorskich użytych przez tłumacza.The aim of this master's thesis is to present the challenges inherent in the translation of popular science texts into the Polish language, along with the potential solutions for managing them. The thesis comprises two primary components: the first involves the translation of the fragment of the text Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence from English into Polish, while the second entails a meticulous analysis of the conducted translation, coupled with an exposition of literature within the field of translation studies. Within the analytical section, there is a comprehensive examination of the approaches to translating texts of this nature, as well as methods for translating terminology, which frequently proves problematic in popular science texts. Furthermore, fundamental distinctions between translation strategies and methods on one hand, and techniques and procedures on the other, are delineated. The former are drawn from the strategies formulated by Piotrowska, while the latter are selected from the works of Hejwowski and Vinay and Darbelnet. Additionally, an exploration of the inconsistency found in works concerning translation techniques is presented. For the purposes of the translation analysis, specific techniques from the abovementioned researchers have been chosen. The analysis also encompasses selected excerpts of the translation alongside their source language versions, which accompany the detailed analysis of the translation techniques employed by the translator

Solvent Front Position Extraction with Semi-Automatic Device as a Powerful Sample Preparation Procedure Prior to Quantitative Instrumental Analysis

The new prototype device is applied to the Solvent Front Position Extraction (SFPE) sample preparation procedure. The mobile phase is deposited onto the chromatographic plate adsorbent layer by the pipette, which is moved, according to programmed movement path, by a 3D printer mechanism. The application of the prototype device to SFPE procedure leads to the increased repeatability of the results and significant reduction of the analysis time in comparison to the classical procedure of chromatogram development. Additionally, the new equipment allows use procedures that are not possible to run using the classic chromatogram development. In this paper, the results of manual and semi-automatic sample preparation with SFPE are compared and the possible application of this prototype device is discussed

Preparation of Antihypertensive Drugs in Biological Matrix with Solvent Front Position Extraction for LC–MS/MS Analysis

Solvent front position extraction procedure was used to prepare biological samples containing selected antihypertensive drugs (ramipril, lercanidipine, indapamide, valsartan, hydrochlorothiazide, perindopril, and nebivolol). Substances separated from the biological matrix components (bovine serum albumin) were quantified by means of liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Sample preparation process was performed with the use of a prototype horizontal chamber with a moving pipette driven by a 3D printer mechanism enabling a controlled eluent flow velocity. Application of this device was advantageous for simultaneous preparation of several samples for further quantitative analysis, with a synchronized reduction of manual operations and solvent consumption. Quantitative results obtained for the majority of the investigated antihypertensive drugs in a complex biological matrix were satisfactory. The values of the %RSD were around 5% for six of the seven substances (with the exception of indapamide). The method exhibits a suitable accuracy (the relative error percentage was below 10% for most drugs). The values of LOD and LOQ were in the range of 1.19 µg/L–8.53 µg/L and 3.61 µg/L–25.8 µg/L, respectively