511 research outputs found
Refusal speech act response: differences between South Koreans and North Korean refugees in inducing speech acts and directness
The majority of previous studies on North Korean Refugees (NKRs) focused on the
linguistic heterogeneity of pronunciation and vocabulary use. Only a handful of
studies examined differences between South Koreansâ (SKs) and NKRsâ language use
and they concluded that NKRs prefer direct refusal speech acts rather than indirect
ones. However, we hypothesized that NKRsâ preference on direct refusal speech acts
would vary depending on the types of inducing speech acts; speech acts that induces
refusal expressions. 47 SKs and 43 NKRs answered three questions after watching
video clips of short conversation in refusal situations. The results were statistically
analyzed with independent sample t-tests and multi response analyses, revealing that
NKRs preference on direct refusal speech acts varied depending on the types of
inducing speech act. In addition, multi response analyses indicated that the NKRs and
SKs evaluated the same rejecterâs personality differently and that this difference may
result in miscommunication. Lastly, NKRsâ evaluations on the refusal speech acts did
not change over time, as NKRs who stayed less than a year in South Korea and
those who stayed more than five years did not show significant difference in their
evaluation. This result suggests that explicit education on this may be required.
Additionally, it is worth to note that current research confirms that SKs and NKRs
react differently toward expressions used only in North Korea, and, therefore, not
only the refusal strategy, but also the refusal expression itself are both important for
successful communication. Additionally, the results showed that refusing with nonavoidable
and non-personal reasons were perceived more positively than personal
reasons. These findings suggest that for successful communication to happen between
two groups with different linguistic backgrounds, pragmatic awareness in language use
is helpful
Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of rice bran and green tea fermentation mixture on lipopolysaccharideinduced RAW 264.7 macrophages
Purpose: To investigate the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties of an enzyme bath of Oryza sativa (rice bran) and Camellia sinensis O. Kuntz (green tea) fermented with Bacillus subtilis (OCB). Methods: The anti-oxidant effects of OCB were assessed by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and flow cytometry. The anti-inflammatory effects of OCB were assessed by a nitric oxide (NO) assay. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to quantify expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The major compounds of OCB were identified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Results: OCB had no cytotoxic effect on LPS-stimulated macrophages or peripheral blood mononuclear cells up to 1 mg/mL. OCB displayed anti-oxidant effects comparable to those of ascorbic acid and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in target cells. OCB treatment of LPSstimulated mavrophages decreased nitric oxide (NO), NO synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and key pro-inflammatory cytokine expressions, suggesting that OCB acts as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent by reducing ROS levels and inhibiting pro-inflammatory mediators. The main effector compounds in OCB were epicatechin gallate, cathechin, synigrin acid, epicathechin, epigallocatechin gallate, rutin, and isoquercetin, which are known anti-oxidants. Conclusion: OCB fermentation product may be used as synergistic adjuvant therapy for inflammatory diseases. Keywords: Rice bran, Green tea, Bacillus subtilis, Enzyme bath, Anti-oxidant, Anti-inflammatio
The Timing of Anterior Communicating Artery Aneurysm Surgery: Comparison of Outcome in Early Versus Intermediate Surgery
The authors analyzed 47 cases of ruptured anterior communicating artery
aneurysms during the past three years that were clipped within 14 days after initial
hemorrhage, to study the influence of the timing of surgery on the development of
vasospasm-related complications. Twelve patients were operated within three days after
the onset of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (early group), and 35 patients were
operated 4-14 days after SAH (intermediate group). For the statistical analysis the
chi-square test with Yates' correction and Fisher's exact test were used. There were no
statistically significant differences between the early and the intermediate groups in (1)
the Hunt-Hess grade on admission and preoperatively, (2) the final outcome, (3) the
presence of associated diseases, or (4) the occurrence of angiographic vasospasm.
There was no difference in the preoperative medical management. The occurrence of
symptomatic vasospasm or infarct was not different in the early and intermediate
groups (p)0.10), nor was the occurrence of infarct in the anterior cerebral artery (ACA)
or non-ACA territory (p)0.10). Laterality of infarct was not related to laterality of surgical
approach in either the early or intermediate groups, nor in the whole group (p)
0.10). Hydrocephalus, rebleeding, and other complications were also not different in the
early and intermediate groups. The authors did not find any evidence that in patients
with ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysms, the timing of surgery affects
the development of vasospasm-related complications
Investigation of Enhanced Polygon Wall Boundary Model in PNU-MPS Method
With regard to demonstration of fluid flow, there are two descriptions which are Eulerian description and Lagrangian description. In the field of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), a number of studies relevant to grid method based on Eulerian description have been conducted generally. However, when the grid method is employed to simulate flow field, it is inevitable to give consideration to convection term which generates severe numerical diffusion and fluctuation. To obtain the accuracy of solution, a different type of method based on Lagrangian description is come to the fore. Numerical approaches following Lagrangian description have been called meshfree or particle method. Even though particle method does not accompany convection term and fully satisfies conservation of mass, its studies have not been carried out extensively because it is difficult to implement the boundary conditions correctly due to insufficient number of particles in the vicinity of boundary. It affects directly the stability of flow field and accuracy in computation. In MPS (Moving Particle Semi-implicit) method [1], fixed-type of dummy particles are placed inside wall boundary. By placing extra particles as the wall, it seems to be not easy to satisfy the boundary condition for sharp-edged or extremely thin body configuration. In this study, the enhanced polygon wall boundary model, which was suggested originally by Mitsume et al. [2], is employed to the PNU-MPS (Pusan-National-University-modified MPS) method [3] to improve and stabilize the analysis of fluid flow with arbitrary-shaped body including sharp-edged body configuration without any additional particles. The developed simulation method, called as PNU-MPS-POLY, is adopted to the Couette flow and the lid-driven cavity flow with various corner angles. The present simulation results are validated through comparison with the analytic solutions, the experiments [4], and other simulation results [5,6]
Unexpected difficulty in ventilating the lungs after tracheal intubation -A case report-
We experienced difficulty in ventilating the lungs of a patient after tracheal intubation. After intubation, an insufficient amount of tidal volume (VT) was delivered to the patient and the fiberoptic bronchoscopic examination identified partial abutment of the endotracheal tube (ETT) orifice against the tracheal wall. After various attempts to correctly place the ETT, a double-lumen endotracheal tube was placed to achieve a sufficient VT. It is important to notice that even an appropriately placed ETT may get obstructed due to the left sided bevel at its tip
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