The Use of Empty it as a Subject in Unaccusative Constructions by Spanish ESL learners

In this paper, I present my study of the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE) –Spanish Subcorpus- in which I have analyzed the use of empty it as a subject in the English unaccusative constructions produced by Spanish ESL learners. As is well known, English only admits (generally) preverbal subjects; in contrast, Spanish admits both pre- and postverbal ones. That is the reason why Spanish ESL learners sometimes produce postverbal subjects when they use English. Within the context of this error, there are some ESL learners that include the pronoun it in the preverbal subject position, although it is not always the case and one never finds this phenomenon with certain verbs; for instance, it is rather normal to encounter examples like It disappeared a man but the opposite is true of cases like It sang a child, the normal erroneous version -if it occursbeing Sang a child. I analyze the ICLE corpus (Spanish subcorpus) in order to identify the structures where students use the empty it. Then, I separate the grammatical cases from the ungrammatical ones, and I focus my analysis on the ungrammatical constructions that contain it as a subject, using the distinction between unaccusative and unergative verbs. Finally, I apply Bolinger´s (1977:66-89) criteria about the meaningfulness of all types of it to the pronoun it that L2 speakers use with unaccusative verbs. The work is illustrated with examples taken from the main authors I use for each classification as well as by real examples of sentences taken from the Spanish ICLE subcorpus. Considering previous studies (e.g., Mendikoetxea & Lozano 2013, Bolinger 1977, among others) my initial hypothesis is as follows: (i) There will exist a wrong use of it as a subject with unaccusative verbs, but not with unergatives. (ii) The use of it is neither the unique result of any internal grammar that facilitates the acquisition of a language (Universal Grammar), nor L1 transference only or just the L2 input provided by the teacher. (iii) This it should have a meaning. The result of my analysis will show that (i) and (ii) are corroborated but (iii) is not.Universidad de Sevilla. Grado en Estudios Inglese

Insights into the Reaction Routes for H2 Formation in the Ethanol Steam Reforming on a Catalyst Derived from NiAl2O4 Spinel

[EN]This work describes the satisfactory performance of a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst derived from NiAl2O4 spinel in ethanol steam reforming and focuses on studying the prevailing reaction routes for H-2 formation in this system. NiAl2O4 spinel was synthesized using a coprecipitation method and reduced at 850 degrees C to obtain a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. The spinel structure and catalyst were characterized using XRD, TPR, N-2 physisorption, NH3 adsorption and TPD, TPO, SEM, and TEM. The experiments were carried out in a fluidized-bed reactor at 500 or 600 degrees C and different spacetime values, using pure ethanol, ethanol-water, pure ethylene, or ethylene-water feeds. The reaction takes place through two paired routes activated by each catalyst function (metal and acid sites) whose extent is limited by the selective catalyst deactivation. The results evidence that at the beginning of the reaction the main route for the formation of H-2 and carbon (nanotubes) is the dehydration of ethanol on acid sites followed by decomposition of ethylene on the Ni-Al2O3 interface. This route is favored at 500 degrees C. After the rapid deactivation of the catalyst for ethylene decomposition, the route of H-2 formation by steam reforming of ethanol and water gas shift reactions over Ni sites is favored. The morphology of the carbon deposits (nanotubes) allows the catalyst to maintain a notable activity for the latter pathways, with stable formation of H-2 (during 48 h in the experiments carried out). At 600 degrees C, the extent of the gasification reaction of carbon species lowers the carbon material formation. The high formation of carbon material is interesting for the coproduction of H-2 and carbon nanotubes with low CO2 emissions.This work was possible thanks to the financial support of the Department of Education, Universities and Investigation of the Basque Government (IT1218-19), the European Comisssion (HORIZON H2020-MSCA RISE 2018, contract 823745), and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government cofinanced with European Regional Development Funds (AEI/FEDER, UE) (Project RTI2018-100771-B-I00). S.I.-V. is thankful for his PhD grant (PRE-2019-090943) awarded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. The authors thank for technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU/ERDF, EU)

Clinical characterization of data-driven diabetes subgroups in Mexicans using a reproducible machine learning approach

Introduction Previous reports in European populations demonstrated the existence of five data-driven adult-onset diabetes subgroups. Here, we use self-normalizing neural networks (SNNN) to improve reproducibility of these data-driven diabetes subgroups in Mexican cohorts to extend its application to more diverse settings.Research design and methods We trained SNNN and compared it with k-means clustering to classify diabetes subgroups in a multiethnic and representative population-based National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets with all available measures (training sample: NHANES-III, n=1132; validation sample: NHANES 1999–2006, n=626). SNNN models were then applied to four Mexican cohorts (SIGMA-UIEM, n=1521; Metabolic Syndrome cohort, n=6144; ENSANUT 2016, n=614 and CAIPaDi, n=1608) to characterize diabetes subgroups in Mexicans according to treatment response, risk for chronic complications and risk factors for the incidence of each subgroup.Results SNNN yielded four reproducible clinical profiles (obesity related, insulin deficient, insulin resistant, age related) in NHANES and Mexican cohorts even without C-peptide measurements. We observed in a population-based survey a high prevalence of the insulin-deficient form (41.25%, 95% CI 41.02% to 41.48%), followed by obesity-related (33.60%, 95% CI 33.40% to 33.79%), age-related (14.72%, 95% CI 14.63% to 14.82%) and severe insulin-resistant groups. A significant association was found between the SLC16A11 diabetes risk variant and the obesity-related subgroup (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.83, p=0.008). Among incident cases, we observed a greater incidence of mild obesity-related diabetes (n=149, 45.0%). In a diabetes outpatient clinic cohort, we observed increased 1-year risk (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.51) and 2-year risk (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.31) for incident retinopathy in the insulin-deficient group and decreased 2-year diabetic retinopathy risk for the obesity-related subgroup (HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.89).Conclusions Diabetes subgroup phenotypes are reproducible using SNNN; our algorithm is available as web-based tool. Application of these models allowed for better characterization of diabetes subgroups and risk factors in Mexicans that could have clinical applications

Prospective observational cohort study on grading the severity of postoperative complications in global surgery research

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally

The surgical safety checklist and patient outcomes after surgery: a prospective observational cohort study, systematic review and meta-analysis

© 2017 British Journal of Anaesthesia Background: The surgical safety checklist is widely used to improve the quality of perioperative care. However, clinicians continue to debate the clinical effectiveness of this tool. Methods: Prospective analysis of data from the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), an international observational study of elective in-patient surgery, accompanied by a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature. The exposure was surgical safety checklist use. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcome was postoperative complications. In the ISOS cohort, a multivariable multi-level generalized linear model was used to test associations. To further contextualise these findings, we included the results from the ISOS cohort in a meta-analysis. Results are reported as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: We included 44 814 patients from 497 hospitals in 27 countries in the ISOS analysis. There were 40 245 (89.8%) patients exposed to the checklist, whilst 7508 (16.8%) sustained ≥1 postoperative complications and 207 (0.5%) died before hospital discharge. Checklist exposure was associated with reduced mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.49 (0.32–0.77); P\u3c0.01], but no difference in complication rates [OR 1.02 (0.88–1.19); P=0.75]. In a systematic review, we screened 3732 records and identified 11 eligible studies of 453 292 patients including the ISOS cohort. Checklist exposure was associated with both reduced postoperative mortality [OR 0.75 (0.62–0.92); P\u3c0.01; I2=87%] and reduced complication rates [OR 0.73 (0.61–0.88); P\u3c0.01; I2=89%). Conclusions: Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine

Critical care admission following elective surgery was not associated with survival benefit: prospective analysis of data from 27 countries

This was an investigator initiated study funded by Nestle Health Sciences through an unrestricted research grant, and by a National Institute for Health Research (UK) Professorship held by RP. The study was sponsored by Queen Mary University of London