861 research outputs found
Computer-Assisted Language Learning and the Revolution in Computational Linguistics
For a long period, Computational Linguistics (CL) and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) have developed almost entirely independently of each other. A brief historical survey shows that the main reason for this state of affairs was the long preoccupation in CL with the general problem of Natural Language Understanding (NLU). As a consequence, much effort was directed to fields such as Machine Translation (MT), which were perceived as incorporating and testing NLU. CALL does not fit this model very well so that it was hardly considered worth pursuing in CL. In the 1990s the realization that products could not live up to expectations, even in the domain of MT, led to a crisis. After this crisis the dominant approach to CL has become much more problem-oriented. From this perspective, many of the earlier differences disadvantaging CALL with respect to MT have now disappeared. Therefore the revolution in CL offers promising perspectives for CALL
Diminutives and plurals of Dutch nouns
In Dutch dictionaries, nouns appear with their plural and their diminutive.This reflects the intuition among native speakers that a noun normally has thesetwo related forms. Traditionally, the plural is considered inflectional whereasthe diminutive belongs to word formation. In his Parallel Architecture (PA),Jackendoff (2002) does not distinguish word formation and inflection. Here Iargue that the Dutch contrast does not support this view. I first present pluraland diminutive as categories, then briefly introduce PA, before proposinganalyses of the plural and diminutive in Dutch
Asian-European Cultural Mediation in the Works of Galsan Tschinag
This paper explores the sources of Galsan Tschinag's reception as a cultural mediator, based on post-colonial readings of his German-language writings and statements. Tschinag's status as shaman, healer and chief within his own people merges with the fact of his literary voice in German. While exoticism might explain part of his appeal, I will show literary and philosophical elements that help to subvert stereotypes and promote cultural understanding
Lexicographic and logical definitions for terms
Definitions are a central concept in terminology. The original idea of definition stems from logic. Logical definitions are based on a set of necessary and sufficient conditions which determine a precise borderline of a concept. However, natural meanings are prototype-based, so that they do not have natural borderlines. In dictionaries, we find definitions that characterize the prototype. Therefore, they are generally not adequate as logical definitions. In terminology, this creates a tension. Dictionaries cannot be seen as a description of the vocabulary of a language, but should be interpreted as a source of information about the use of words. Logical definitions only have a role when they are supported by an authority. In domains in which rules have to be enforced, terms that determine the interpretation of a rule should have a logical definition supported by the domain-specific authority. In domains relating to empirical science, terms that are used in the evaluation of theories and theoretical claims should also have logical definitions. To what extent a generally accepted logical definition is achievable in such domains depends on the existence of a body that is generally accepted as the authority in the relevant domain
The Legend of Saint Aūr and the monastery of Naqlūn : the Copto-Arabic texts
The legend of St. Aūr contained in
the Naqlūn homily deals with the foundation history of the church of
the archangel Gabriel at the monastery of Naqlūn in the province of
Fayyum in Egypt. The origins of this still existing monastery date back
to the fifth century. After its composition in the eleventh century, the
text remained in use till the present and spread all over Egypt and
Ethiopia. Apart from the central date, 26 Ba’ūna, the text contains a
number of other dates which reflect the liturgical calendar in use at
Naqlūn. Moreover, four other homiletic texts and a hymn were identified,
each related to the monastery of Naqlūn in a different way, forming
evidence of the rich literary tradition that developed at this site from
the eleventh century onwards. The texts recall into memory the great
saints from earlier periods, such as St. Antony, the father of
monasticism, and Samuel of Qalamūn, and link Naqlūn with several other
monastic sites in the neighbourhood, giving Naqlūn a place in the
history of Egyptian monasticism. The Middle Arabic language of all five
texts, its style and its contents, are characteristic of Copto-Arabic
hagiographic literature of the Middle Ages.Middle Eastern Studie
Low levels of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor-activation inhibitors in serum and follicular fluid from normal controls and anovulatory patients with or without polycystic ovary syndrome
In patients with normogonadotropic anovulation, either with or without
polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), factors interfering with FSH action may
be involved in arrested follicle development. The aim of this study is to
assess whether factors inhibiting FSH receptor activation are elevated in
serum or follicular fluid from anovulatory patients, as compared with
regularly cycling women. For this purpose, a Chinese hamster ovary cell
line, stably transfected with the human FSH receptor, has been applied.
FSH-stimulated cAMP secretion in culture medium was measured in the
presence of serum or follicular fluid. Chinese hamster ovary cells were
stimulated with a fixed concentration of FSH (3 or 6 mIU/mL) to mimic FSH
levels in serum or follicular fluid. Samples were added in concentrations
ranging from 3-90% vol/vol to approach protein concentrations occurring in
serum or follicular fluid. In the presence of 10% vol/vol serum from
regularly cycling women (n = 8), FSH-stimulated cAMP production was
inhibited to 42 +/- 2% (mean +/- SEM of 2 experiments, each performed in
duplicate) of cAMP production in the absence of serum, whereas a similar
cAMP level (up to 38 +/- 4% of the serum-free level) was observed at
higher concentrations of serum (30-90% vol/vol). The inhibition of
FSH-stimulated cAMP production in the presence of serum samples from
normogonadotropic anovulatory patients, without (n = 13) or with (n = 16)
PCOS, was similar to controls. Follicular fluid samples (n = 57) obtained
during the follicular phase in 25 regularly cycling women and follicular
fluid samples (n = 25) from 5 PCOS patients were tested in a slightly
modified assay system. In the presence of 10 or 30% (vol/vol) follicular
fluid, FSH-stimulated cAMP levels were decreased to 68 +/- 2% and 55 +/-
2% (mean +/- SEM of a single experiment in triplicate) of the cAMP levels
in the absence of follicular fluid, respectively. There was no correlation
between the degree of cAMP inhibition and follicle size, steroid content
(androstenedione or estradiol concentrations), or menstrual cycle phase.
Furthermore, no differences in inhibition were found, comparing PCOS
follicles with size- and steroid content-matched follicles obtained during
the normal follicular phase. It is concluded that inhibition of FSH
receptor activation by proteins present in serum or follicular fluid is
constant (60 and 40%, respectively) and independent from the developmental
stage of the follicle, either during the normal follicular phase or in
patients with normogonadotropic anovulation. Inhibition of FSH recepto
Association of current smoking with airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asymptomatic smokers
BACKGROUND: Inflammation in the airways and lung parenchyma underlies fixed airway obstruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The exact role of smoking as promoting factor of inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not clear, partly because studies often do not distinguish between current and ex-smokers. METHODS: We investigated airway inflammation in sputum and bronchial biopsies of 34 smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (9 Global initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage 0, 9 stage I, 10 stage II and 6 stage III) and 26 asymptomatic smokers, and its relationship with past and present smoking habits and airway obstruction. RESULTS: Neutrophil percentage, interleukin-8 and eosinophilic-cationic-protein levels in sputum were higher in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (stage I-III) than asymptomatic smokers. Inflammatory cell numbers in bronchial biopsies were similar in both groups. Current smoking correlated positively with macrophages: in bronchial biopsies in both groups, and in sputum in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pack-years smoking correlated positively with biopsy macrophages only in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CONCLUSION: Inflammatory effects of current smoking may mask the underlying ongoing inflammatory process pertinent to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This may have implications for future studies, which should avoid including mixed populations of smokers and ex-smokers
From 'scientific revolution' to 'unscientific revolution': an analysis of approaches to the history of generative linguistics
This paper is devoted to the challenge that generative linguistics poses for linguistic historiography. As a first step, it presents a systematic overview of 19 approaches to the history of generative linguistics. Second, it analyzes the approaches overviewed by asking and answering the following questions: (a) To what extent and how are the views at issue biased? (b) What central topics do the approaches discuss, how successfully do they tackle them, and how do the various standpoints converge and diverge? (c) How do the approaches relate to
general trends in the philosophy and history of science? The concluding step summarizes our findings with respect to Chomsky’s impact on linguistic historiography
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