Negation in rGyalrong

This paper outlines the morphological system of negation and related morphosyntactic phenomena in the Bola dialect of rGyalrong. rGyalrong is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province, China. This language has long attracted the attention of scholars because it has strikingly similar, even identical, shapes to some lexical items of Written Tibetan. On the basis of this fact, some scholars regarded rGyalrong as representing a substratum of Old Tibetan. It is true that rGyalrong area and people have been under the strong influence of Tibet historically and culturally. However, Wolfenden and consequent researches revealed that the language has no direct genetic relation with Tibetan linguistically and that it shares common features with the Qiangic languages. On the other hand, however, rGyalrong shares some characteristics with several subgroups of the Tibeto-Burman family and thus is considered as one of the link languages which connect languages that have genetic relations among them. In this sense, a further approach to its typological features is indispensable. Among the syntactic features of rGyalrong, its complex structure of verb phrase attracted scholars' attention for a long time. This is the reason why many Tibetologists tended to recognize the parallelism of rGyalrong's system to the prefixes of verb roots of Written Tibetan. Some people asserted that it is a reflex of Proto-Tibeto-Burman morphosyntax, and some others thought that it is a later development. Concretely, the verb phrase structure of this language can be generalized as: VPfinal → P1- P2 - P3 - P4 - P5 - ROOT - (s) - S1 Negation is specified at the P1 position. P1 is the mood marker, which represents the speaker's attitude toward and judgment of the state and/or the other party. It may contain question, order, negation, supposition and optative. In the previous works of this language, the negation marker was constantly mV-shaped. For instance, Lin (1993), the first comprehensive grammar of lCogtse dialect, describes two negation markers, ma (mɐ) and mə, explaining their distribution and functions. All the recent descriptions have followed Lin. However, I found ǰa- and ǰi-, beside ma-. This paper gropes for their synchronic usage and historical origin

Effect of obesity on intraoperative bleeding volume in open gastrectomy with D2 lymph-node dissection for gastric cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate the effect of obesity on open gastrectomy with D2 lymph-node dissection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between January 2005 and March 2007, 100 patients with preoperatively diagnosed gastric cancer who underwent open gastrectomy with D2 lymph-node dissection were enrolled in this study. Of these, 61 patients underwent open distal gastrectomy (ODG) and 39 patients underwent open total gastrectomy (OTG). Patients were classified as having a high body-mass index (BMI; ≥ 25.0 kg/m²; <it>n </it>= 21) or a normal BMI (<25.0 kg/m²; <it>n </it>= 79). The visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA) were assessed as identifiers of obesity using FatScan software. Patients were classified as having a high VFA (≥ 100 cm²; <it>n </it>= 34) or a normal VFA (<100 cm²; <it>n </it>= 66). The relationship between obesity and short-term patient outcomes after open gastrectomy was evaluated. Patients were classified as having high intraoperative blood loss (IBL; ≥ 300 ml; <it>n </it>= 42) or low IBL (<300 ml; <it>n </it>= 58). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify predictive factors for high IBL.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significantly increased IBL was seen in the following: patients with high BMI versus normal BMI; patients with gastric cancer in the upper third of the stomach versus gastric cancer in the middle or lower third of the stomach; patients who underwent OTG versus ODG; patients who underwent splenectomy versus no splenectomy; and patients with high VFA versus low VFA. BMI and VFA were significantly greater in the high IBL group than in the low IBL group. There was no significant difference in morbidity between the high IBL group and the low IBL group. Multivariate analysis revealed that patient age, OTG and high BMI or high VFA independently predicted high IBL.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It is necessary to perform operative manipulations with particular care in patients with high BMI or high VFA in order to reduce the IBL during D2 gastrectomy.</p

Upper abdominal body shape is the risk factor for postoperative pancreatic fistula after splenectomy for advanced gastric cancer: A retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Postoperative pancreas fistula (POPF) is a major complication after total gastrectomy with splenectomy. We retrospectively studied the effects of upper abdominal shape on the development of POPF after gastrectomy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty patients who underwent total gastrectomy with splenectomy were studied. The maximum vertical distance measured by computed tomography (CT) between the anterior abdominal skin and the back skin (U-APD) and the maximum horizontal distance of a plane at a right angle to U-APD (U-TD) were measured at the umbilicus. The distance between the anterior abdominal skin and the root of the celiac artery (CAD) and the distance of a horizontal plane at a right angle to CAD (CATD) were measured at the root of the celiac artery. The CA depth ratio (CAD/CATD) was calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>POPF occurred in 7 patients (14.0%) and was associated with a higher BMI, longer CAD, and higher CA depth ratio. However, CATD, U-APD, and U-TD did not differ significantly between patients with and those without POPF. Logistic-regression analysis revealed that a high BMI (≥25) and a high CA depth ratio (≥0.370) independently predicted the occurrence of POPF (odds ratio = 19.007, p = 0.002; odds ratio = 13.656, p = 0.038, respectively).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Surgical procedures such as total gastrectomy with splenectomy should be very carefully executed in obese patients or patients with a deep abdominal cavity to decrease the risk of postoperative pancreatic fistula. BMI and body shape can predict the risk of POPF simply by CT.</p