La adquisición del tiempo-aspecto en español en L3 para los aprendices taiwaneses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-language development of the Spanish past tense by Taiwanese learners who learned Spanish as a second foreign language. The analysis of this study was based on the Lexical Aspect Hypothesis, which focuses on the inherent lexical aspect of verbs. We came to the following conclusions. (1) Taiwanese learners, whose first language was Mandarin Chinese, demonstrated more accurate uses of the Spanish preterite than the imperfect in written texts at their early stages of development. The acquisition of the lexical aspects of verbs in the preterite in terms of lexical aspect demonstrated the following order: achievement + accomplishment, activity and finally stative, whereas the acquisition of the imperfect showed the opposite sequence. (2) In the majority of the cases, the Taiwanese learners of Spanish demonstrated a similar pattern of acquisition of the Spanish past tense in terms of lexical aspect as that of English-speaking learner of Spanish. This paper will end with discussions on pedagogical implications of the findings and we hope this study will shed light on the current research on the second language acquisition of the Spanish tense/aspect.Este trabajo tiene como fin investigar el desarrollo de los tiempos pasados en la interlengua de los aprendices taiwaneses que aprenden español como segunda lengua extranjera. El análisis se basa en la Hipótesis de Aspecto Léxico que se centra en la importancia del aspecto léxico de los verbos. Llegamos a las siguientes conclusiones: (1) los aprendices taiwaneses de español cuya lengua materna es chino-mandarín manejan el pretérito mejor que el imperfecto en la producción escrita de los niveles iniciales de aprendizaje, el desarrollo de adquisición del pretérito indefinido es de acuerdo al siguiente orden: estado, actividad y realización+logro, mientras que para la adquisición del imperfecto los estudiantes siguen un orden contrario. (2) En la mayoría de los casos los aprendices taiwaneses de español siguen el mismo patrón de aprendizaje que los aprendices cuya lengua materna es el inglés en la adquisición del aspecto temporal. Por último, hacemos sugerencias pedagógicas correspondientes a las conclusiones deducidas para mejorar el resultado de aprendizaje. Con esto, esperamos que esta investigación represente una contribución al estudio relacionado con la adquisición del tiempo-aspecto en español

A Learner Corpus-Based Study of Copular Verbs

El presente trabajo se concentra en el estudio de los verbos copulativos SER/ ESTAR desde la perspectiva de la lengua aprendida por los estudiantes taiwaneses cuya lengua materna es chino. Llegamos a las siguientes conclusiones: (1) La incorrecta omisión decrece durante el proceso de desarrollo. (2) El uso de SER de los estudiantes de niveles más avanzados es más correcto que los iniciales. (3) SER se aprende más temprano y mejor que ESTAR. (4) El uso correcto de ESTAR en la estructura ESTAR+Adjetivo es relativamente difícil. Los taiwaneses se asemejan a los nativos ingleses como se propuso en los estudios anteriores.This study investigated the acquisition order of the Spanish copular verbs, SER/ESTAR, by students in Taiwan, whose first language is Mandarin Chinese. The findings suggested (1) the incorrect use of copular omission gradually decreased as learners’ proficiency levels increased; (2) The usage of SER by more advanced learners is more accurate than that of beginning-level learners; (3) SER is acquired before ESTAR; (4) the structure of ESTAR with adjective is more difficult to be acquired than other uses of copulas. The findings corroborate with previous studies on the acquisition order of the Spanish SER/ESTAR.El presente trabajo se basa en el proyecto de investigación apoyado por el National Science Council de Taiwán (NSC96-2411-H-006-028-MY2)

Two highly similar DEAD box proteins, OsRH2 and OsRH34, homologous to eukaryotic initiation factor 4AIII, play roles of the exon junction complex in regulating growth and development in rice

Accession numbers and proteins homologous to eIF4A. (DOCX 18 kb

Corpus-based study of L3 acquisition on Spanish past tense: evidence from learners’ oral production

[EN] This paper focuses on a corpus-based study on the acquisition of L3 Spanish past tense in oral production through a learners’ corpus. The main findings were: (1) Chinese-speaking learners in Taiwan demonstrated more accurate uses of the Spanish preterit than the imperfect in oral productions, same as the findings in their written productions and those in Englishnative speakers of Spanish; (2) These learners used telic verbs more correctly than those of activity and state in preterit form in both oral and written productions; (3) The developmental pattern of the Spanish past tense in the oral production of Chinesespeakinglearners was similar to that of English-speaking learners of Spanish.We are grateful for the grant for the project “Corpus-based study of the L3 acquisition on Spanish past tense” (MOST 101-2410-H-006-088-MY2) provided by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan.Lu, H.; Cheng, AC.; Hung, SY. (2019). Corpus-based study of L3 acquisition on Spanish past tense: evidence from learners’ oral production. Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas. 14:105-115. https://doi.org/10.4995/rlyla.2019.10744SWORD1051151

Epidemiology and outcomes of anal abscess in patients on chronic dialysis: a 14-year retrospective study

OBJECTIVES: We conducted this retrospective study to elucidate the clinical presentation and outcomes of anal abscess in chronic dialysis patients. METHODS: We performed a chart review of patients who were hospitalized for anal abscess from Jan. 2002 to Dec. 2015. A total of 3,074 episodes of anal abscess were identified. Of these, 43 chronic dialysis patients with first-time anal abscess were enrolled. Patients were divided into a surgical group and a nonsurgical group according to the treatment received during hospitalization. The baseline characteristics, clinical findings, treatments and outcomes were obtained and analyzed. The endpoints of this study were in-hospital mortality, one-year mortality and one-year recurrence. RESULTS: Of the 43 patients, 27 (62.7%) received surgical treatment, and 16 (37.2%) received antibiotic treatment alone. There was no significant difference in age, sex, body mass index, smoking habits, comorbidities, or dialysis characteristics between the two groups. Perianal abscess was the most common type of anal abscess, and 39.5% of patients experienced fistula formation. Most patients had mixed aerobic and anaerobic flora. Our data demonstrate that there was no significant difference in hospital stay, one-year survival or recurrence rate between the surgical group and nonsurgical group. However, there was a trend toward better in-hospital survival in patients who received surgical treatment (p=0.082). CONCLUSION: In chronic dialysis patients with anal abscess, there was no statistically significant difference in clinical presentation and outcomes between the surgical and nonsurgical groups, although the surgical group had a trend of better in-hospital survival

A 9 bp cis-element in the promoters of class I small heat shock protein genes on chromosome 3 in rice mediates L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid and heat shock responses

In rice, the class I small heat shock protein (sHSP-CI) genes were found to be selectively induced by L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (AZC) on chromosome 3 but not chromosome 1. Here it is shown that a novel cis-responsive element contributed to the differential regulation. By serial deletion and computational analysis, a 9 bp putative AZC-responsive element (AZRE), GTCCTGGAC, located between nucleotides –186 and –178 relative to the transcription initiation site of Oshsp17.3 was revealed. Deletion of this putative AZRE from the promoter abolished its ability to be induced by AZC. Moreover, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) revealed that the AZRE interacted specifically with nuclear proteins from AZC-treated rice seedlings. Two AZRE–protein complexes were detected by EMSA, one of which could be competed out by a canonical heat shock element (HSE). Deletion of the AZRE also affected the HS response. Furthermore, transient co-expression of the heat shock factor OsHsfA4b with the AZRE in the promoter of Oshsp17.3 was effective. The requirement for the putative AZRE for AZC and HS responses in transgenic Arabidopsis was also shown. Thus, AZRE represents an alternative form of heat HSE, and its interaction with canonical HSEs through heat shock factors may be required to respond to HS and AZC

Triggering Apoptotic Death of Human Malignant Melanoma A375.S2 Cells by Bufalin: Involvement of Caspase Cascade-Dependent and Independent Mitochondrial Signaling Pathways

Bufalin was obtained from the skin and parotid venom glands of toad and has been shown to induce cytotoxic effects in various types of cancer cell lines, but there is no report to show that whether bufalin affects human skin cancer cells. The aim of this investigation was to study the effects of bufalin on human malignant melanoma A375.S2 cells and to elucidate possible mechanisms involved in induction of apoptosis. A375.S2 cells were treated with different concentrations of bufalin for a specific time period and investigated for effects on apoptotic analyses. Our results indicated that cells after exposure to bufalin significantly decreased cell viability, and induced cell morphological changes and chromatin condensation in a concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometric assays indicated that bufalin promoted ROS productions, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), intracellular Ca2+ release, and nitric oxide (NO) formations in A375.S2 cells. Additionally, the apoptotic induction of bufalin on A375.S2 cells resulted from mitochondrial dysfunction-related responses (disruption of the ΔΨm and releases of cytochrome c, AIF, and Endo G), and activations of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 expressions. Based on those observations, we suggest that bufalin-triggered apoptosis in A375.S2 cells is correlated with extrinsic- and mitochondria-mediated multiple signal pathways

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of acute bacterial meningitis in elderly patients over 65: a hospital-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To examine the clinical characteristics of bacterial meningitis in elderly patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>261 patients with adult bacterial meningitis (ABM), collected during a study period of 11 years (2000-2010), were included for study. Among them, 87 patients aged ≥ 65 years and were classified as the elderly group. The clinical and laboratory characteristics and prognostic factors were analyzed, and a clinical comparison with those of non-elderly ABM patients was also made.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 87 elderly ABM patients were composed of 53 males and 34 females, aged 65-87 years old (median = 71 years). Diabetes mellitus (DM) was the most common underlying condition (34%), followed by end stage renal disease (7%), alcoholism (4%) and malignancies (4%). Fever was the most common clinical manifestation (86%), followed by altered consciousness (62%), leukocytosis (53%), hydrocephalus (38%), seizure (30%), bacteremia (21%) and shock (11%). Thirty-nine of these 87 elderly ABM patients had spontaneous infection, while the other 48 had post-neurosurgical infection. Forty-four patients contracted ABM in a community-acquired state, while the other 43, a nosocomial state. The therapeutic results of the 87 elderly ABM patients were that 34 patients expired and 53 patients survived. The comparative results of the clinical and laboratory characteristics between the elderly and non-elderly ABM patients showed that only peripheral blood leukocytosis was significant. Presence of shock and seizure were significant prognostic factors of elderly ABM patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Elderly ABM patients accounted for 34.8% of the overall ABM cases, and this relatively high incidence rate may signify the future burden of ABM in the elderly population in Taiwan. The relative frequency of implicated pathogens of elderly ABM is similar to that of non-elderly ABM. Compared with non-elderly patients, the elderly ABM patients have a significantly lower incidence of peripheral blood leukocytosis. The mortality rate of elderly ABM remains high, and the presence of shock and seizures are important prognostic factors.</p

An automatic approach to weighted subject indexing – An empirical study in the biomedical domain

Subject indexing is an intellectually intensive process that has many inherent uncertainties. Existing manual subject indexing systems generally produce binary outcomes for whether or not to assign an indexing term. This does not sufficiently reflect the extent to which the indexing terms are associated with the documents. On the other hand, the idea of probabilistic or weighted indexing was proposed a long time ago and has seen success in capturing uncertainties in the automatic indexing process. One hurdle to overcome in implementing weighted indexing in manual subject indexing systems is the practical burden that could be added to the already intensive indexing process. This study proposes a method to infer automatically the associations between subject terms and documents through text mining. By uncovering the connections between MeSH descriptors and document text, we are able to derive the weights of MeSH descriptors manually assigned to documents. Our initial results suggest that the inference method is feasible and promising. The study has practical implications for improving subject indexing practice and providing better support for information retrieval.Ye