The syntax and prosody of Focus: the Bantu-Italian connection

This paper provides an overview of the literature on the syntax and prosody of focus in some of the Bantu languages (Kimatuumbi, Chimwiini, Chichewa) and in Italian, and it argues that, despite their typological distance, they share much in common with respect to both the syntax and prosody of focus: 1) both language types have an active low Focus position (Belletti 2004, Aboh 2007); and 2) the Focus position triggers the insertion of a strong prosodic boundary, which gives rise to a ‚ripple effect‛ in that phrases to the right of Foc are similarly flanked by a comparable prosodic boundary. The view outlined here argues in favor of a stronger syntax-prosody connection than is generally recognized in current approaches.Este artículo analiza los principales trabajos sobre la sintaxis y prosodia del foco en lenguas bantúes (Kimatuumbi, Chimwiini, Chichewa) y en italiano, proponiendo que, a pesar de la distancia tipológica, ambos tipos de lengua comparten muchas de las propiedades que caracterizan a la sintaxis y prosodia del foco: 1) Comparten la existencia de una posición inferior de Foco activa (Belletti 2004, Aboh 2007); y 2) esta posición de Foco requiere la inserción de una marca prosódica fuerte, que causa un ‚efecto onda‛ de manera que los constituyentes situados a la derecha de Foc estarán igualmente flanqueados por una marca prosódica similar. El análisis presentado aquí apoya la existencia de una conexión entre la sintaxis y la prosodia mucho más estrecha de lo que generalmente se asume en los estudios relevantes.Este artigo apresenta uma visão geral da literatura sobre a sintaxe e prosódia de Foco em algumas línguas bantas (Kimatuumbi, Chimwiini, Chichewa) e no italiano, e defende que, apesar da sua distância tipológica, estas partilham aspectos no que diz respeito à sintaxe e à prosódia de foco: 1) ambos os tipos de línguas têm uma posição de Foco baixa activa (Belletti 2004, Aboh 2007); 2) a posição de foco desencadeia a inserção de uma fronteira prosódica forte, que d{ origem a um ‚efeito onda‛ no qual os sintagmas à direita do Foco são igualmente acompanhados por uma fronteira prosódica comparável. A visão aqui exposta argumenta a favor de uma conexão sintaxe-prosódia mais forte do que aquela geralmente reconhecida em abordagens correntes

Methodology of a Large Multicenter Observational Study of Patients with COVID-19 in Spanish Intensive Care Units.

The COVID-19 pandemic created tremendous challenges for health-care systems. Intensive care units (ICU) were hit with a large volume of patients requiring ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and other organ support with very high mortality. The Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red-Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), a network of Spanish researchers to investigate in respiratory disease, commissioned the current proposal in response to the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) call. CIBERESUCICOVID is a multicenter, observational, prospective/retrospective cohort study of patients with COVID-19 admitted to Spanish ICUs. Several work packages were created, including study population and ICU data collection, follow-up, biomarkers and miRNAs, data management and quality. This study included 6102 consecutive patients admitted to 55 ICUs homogeneously distributed throughout Spain and the collection of blood samples from more than 1000 patients. We enrolled a large population of COVID-19 ICU-admitted patients including baseline characteristics, ICU and MV data, treatments complications, and outcomes. The in-hospital mortality was 31%, and 76% of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation. A 3-6 month and 1 year follow-up was performed. Few deaths after 1 year discharge were registered. Low anti-SARS-CoV-2 S antibody levels predict mortality in critical COVID-19. These antibodies contribute to prevent systemic dissemination of SARS-CoV-2. The severity of COVID-19 impacts the circulating miRNA profile. Plasma miRNA profiling emerges as a useful tool for risk-based patient stratification in critically ill COVID-19 patients. We present the methodology used in a large multicenter study sponsored by ISCIII to determine the short- and long-term outcomes in patients with COVID-19 admitted to more than 50 Spanish ICUs