bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Randomized clinical trial comparing a polypropylene with a poliglecaprone and polypropylene composite mesh for inguinal hernioplasty
Authors:   Polish Hernia Study Group, Śmietański M
Published: November 2008

Background

The aim was to assess whether a partially absorbable monofilament mesh could influence postoperative pain and time to return to normal activity after Lichtenstein hernioplasty.

Methods

The study randomized patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair in 15 centres into two groups according to mesh type: lightweight (poliglecaprone–polypropylene composite) and heavyweight (polypropylene). A modified suture technique was used in the lightweight group. Follow-up on day 7 and at 3, 6 and 12 months evaluated the incidence of early and late complications, recurrence rate, quality of life, postoperative pain and return to physical activity.

Results

A total of 600 patients were randomized and, after monitoring visits (leading to the exclusion of seven hospitals), 392 qualified for assessment. At 12 months, the recurrence rate did not differ (1·9 versus 0·6 per cent; P = 0·493). The lightweight group reported less pain on day 7 (55·2 versus 36·2 per cent; P < 0·001) and at 3 months (17·1 versus 9·8 per cent; P = 0·033) but pain was similar for both groups at 1 year. General health and physical activity according to Short Form 36 scores increased in both groups.

Conclusion

Use of partially absorbable mesh reduced postoperative pain in the short term. No difference in pain or recurrence rates were observed at 12 months. Registration number: CCT-NAPN-17412 (http://www.controlled-trials.com)
Evolution of transcatheter closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defects in a single centre
Authors: Kenny Damien , Morgan Gareth , Bajwa Aneeka , Farrow Claire , Parry Andrew , Caputo Massimo , Tometzki Andrew , Martin Robin
Published: November 2008

Objectives: To describe the evolution of transcatheter closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defects (PMVSD) using either the Amplatzer membranous or muscular occluders in a single centre. Methods: Retrospective analysis of all patients referred for transcatheter PMVSD closure from December 2003 to December 2007. All patients met unit criteria for surgical closure. Results: There were 27 procedures on 25 patients (11 male) with a preprocedure diagnosis of a PMVSD. Median age was 9.6 years (1.8–32.8). Median weight was 28 kg (10.2–86). Defect size on TOE ranged from 5 to 12 mm. Median Qp:Qs was 1.6:1. A muscular occluder was used in six patients. Median procedure time was 93.5 min (51–214). Implantation was ultimately successful in 23 patients (92%). Acute aortic incompetence resulting in occluder removal occurred in two cases, one requiring surgical removal. Another patient had an aborted attempt but had subsequent successful closure in another unit. Median follow‐up is 19.5 months (1–42). Five patients (22%) have trivial/mild residual leak across the occluder at their latest assessment, the majority of which had an aneurysmal perimembranous septum (n = 4). Two patients (8%) developed new trivial to mild aortic incompetence. To date, none of the patients in our group have developed complete heart block. Conclusions: Transcatheter closure of PMVSD is evolving and should be considered an acceptable alternative to surgery in selected subgroups. Avoidance of oversized occluders and use of muscular occluders in those with aneurysmal defects may help to avoid heart block and aortic regurgitation. Muscular occluders may however interfere with tricuspid valve function. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dieldrin Contamination of the Groundwater in a Former US Military Base (Clark Air Base, Philippines)
Authors: Mandocdoc Mariz , Primo David Carlos
Published: November 2008

A comprehensive monitoring program was undertaken for the groundwater wells at Clark Air Base, a former United States military facility in the Philippines that operated until 1991. It was established that the pesticide dieldrin continued to exceed drinking water standards (<0.03 μg/L) in several wells even after 16 years since the chemical was last used. Historical dieldrin readings exhibit episodic high and low values throughout the year, indicating that values are primarily controlled by seasonal variations in rainfall. June typically registers the highest dieldrin concentration (0.27 μg/L), which then tapers off during the rest of the rainy season due to continued dilution. Surface sediment sampling at the sites, which in 1997 showed extremely high dieldrin concentrations (11 mg/kg) are not detected in more recent monitoring studies. This is interpreted as being partly due to the degradation of the compound, but more probably due to dieldrin's percolation into the deeper underlying sediments, which is then flushed into the aquifer during every rainfall event. All wells that have shown contamination have been decommissioned. However, monitoring continues in all water producing wells to ensure that water of suitable quality is supplied to all current end‐users. Finally, all previous studies on contamination at Clark Air Base are unpublished, and, therefore, this research is one of the first significant documentations of contamination in a military facility in the country.
Does the Surface Matter? Hydrogen‐Bonded Chain Formation of an Oxalic Amide Derivative in a Two‐ and Three‐Dimensional Environment
Authors: Klappenberger Florian , Cañas‐Ventura Marta E. , Clair Sylvain , Pons Stéphane , Schlickum Uta , Qu Zhi‐Rong , Strunskus Thomas , Comisso Alessio , Wöll Christof , Brune Harald , Kern Klaus , De Vita Alessandro , Ruben Mario , Barth Johannes V.
Published: November 2008

We report on a multi‐technique investigation of the supramolecular organisation of N,N‐diphenyl oxalic amide under differently dimensioned environments, namely three‐dimensional (3D) in the bulk crystal, and in two dimensions on the Ag(111) surface as well as on the reconstructed Au(111) surface. With the help of X‐ray structure analysis and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) we find that the molecules organize in hydrogen‐bonded chains with the bonding motif qualitatively changed by the surface confinement. In two dimensions, the chains exhibit enantiomorphic order even though they consist of a racemic mixture of chiral entities. By a combination of the STM data with near‐edge X‐ray absorption fine‐structure spectroscopy, we show that the conformation of the molecule adapts such that the local registry of the functional group with the substrate is optimized while avoiding steric hindrance of the phenyl groups. In the low coverage case, the length of the chains is limited by the Au(111) reconstruction lines restricting the molecules into fcc stacked areas. A kinetic Monte Carlo simulated annealing is used to explain the selective assembly in the fcc stacked regions.
Growth and characterization of glycine doped bis thiourea cadmium chloride single crystal
Authors: Dhumane N. R. , Hussaini S. S. , Dongre V. G. , Karmuse P. P. , Shirsat M. D.
Published: November 2008

Single crystal of 2 mol% glycine doped Bis Thiourea Cadmium Chloride, a semi organic nonlinear optical material has been grown by slow evaporation technique. Good quality single crystal with dimension 14 × 12 × 5 mm3 was harvested after 35 days. The influence of amino acid glycine was studied for 1, 2 and 3 mol% glycine doped Bis Thiourea Cadmium Chloride by Kurtz and Perry powder second harmonic generation test and compared with pure Bis Thiourea Cadmium Chloride which confirms the enhancement of second harmonic generation property of glycine doped Bis Thiourea Cadmium Chloride. The large enhancement was found for 2 mol% glycine doping. The grown crystal was characterized by various characterizations viz. single crystal X‐ray diffraction, energy dispersive X‐ray (EDAX), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, UV‐visible absorption, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Integrating tumor‐initiating cells into the paradigm for melanoma targeted therapy
Authors: Smalley Keiran S.M. , Herlyn Meenhard
Published: November 2008

There is growing evidence to suggest that not all cancer cells have similar levels of malignant potential and that tumor progression may be driven by specialized sub‐sets of “tumor initiating” cells. It is likely that as tumor initiating cells have lower proliferation rates and enhanced survival mechanisms they may also drive drug resistance. Melanoma is known to be an exceptionally therapy resistant tumor, with no treatment yet identified to alter the natural progression of the disseminated disease. In the current review, we discuss evidence for the existence of melanoma initiating cells and described possible therapeutic strategies to eradicate this population via the targeting of specific cell‐surface markers or through the disruption of the interaction of the melanoma initiating cells with their local microenvironment. It is hoped that the targeting of melanoma initiating cells may be one approach to overcome the incredible therapy resistance of this tumor. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On the shape of the fringe of various types of random trees
Authors: Drmota Michael , Gittenberger Bernhard , Panholzer Alois , Prodinger Helmut , Ward Mark Daniel
Published: November 2008

We analyze a fringe tree parameter w in a variety of settings, utilizing a variety of methods from the analysis of algorithms and data structures.

Given a tree t and one of its leaves a, the w(t, a) parameter denotes the number of internal nodes in the subtree rooted at a's father. The closely related w̄(t, a) parameter denotes the number of leaves, excluding a, in the subtree rooted at a's father. We define the cumulative w parameter as W(t) = Σaw(t, a), i.e. as the sum of w(t, a) over all leaves a of t. The w parameter not only plays an important rôle in the analysis of the Lempel–Ziv '77 data compression algorithm, but it is captivating from a combinatorial viewpoint too.

In this report, we determine the asymptotic behavior of the w and W parameters on a variety of types of trees. In particular, we analyze simply generated trees, recursive trees, binary search trees, digital search trees, tries and Patricia tries.

The final section of this report briefly summarizes and improves the previously known results about the w̄ parameter's behavior on tries and suffix trees, originally published in one author's thesis (see Analysis of the multiplicity matching parameter in suffix trees. Ph.D. Thesis, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, U.S.A., May 2005; Discrete Math. Theoret. Comput. Sci. 2005; AD:307–322; IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory 2007; 53:1799–1813).

This survey of new results about the w parameter is very instructive since a variety of different combinatorial methods are used in tandem to carry out the analysis. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Well‐posed problem of a pollutant model of the Kazhikhov–Smagulov type
Authors: Fang Daoyuan , Fang Lin
Published: November 2008

In this paper, we consider a well‐posed problem of a pollutant model of the Kazhikhov–Smagulov type, which is derived by Bresch et al. (J. Math. Fluid Mech. 2007; 9:377–397). For proper smooth data, existence and uniqueness are stated on a time interval, which become independent of the diffusion coefficient λ when λ goes to zero. A blow‐up criterion involving the norm of the gradient of the velocity in L1(0, T; L∞) is also proved. Besides, we show that if the density‐dependent Euler system has a smooth solution on a given time interval [0, T0] , then the pollutant model of the Kazhikhov–Smagulov type with the same data and small diffusion coefficient has a smooth solution on [0, T0] . The diffusion solution tends to the Euler solution when the diffusion coefficient λ goes to zero. The rate of the convergence in L2 is of order λ . Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improved NMR methods for the direct 13C‐satellite‐selective excitation in overlapped 1H‐NMR spectra
Authors: Nolis Pau , Gil Sergio , Espinosa Juan Félix , Parella Teodor
Published: November 2008

Improved pulsed‐field gradient echo methods are presented and discussed for the direct selective excitation of the 13C‐satellite lines in overcrowded 1H NMR spectra of small molecules. Sensitivity enhancements in 13C spin‐state selection can be achieved by combining multiple‐proton‐frequency excitation and Hadamard phase encoding. Several satellite‐selective (SATSEL) NMR experiments are proposed and exemplified by measuring the sign and the magnitude of small, long‐range proton–carbon coupling constants for 1H resonances showing several levels of signal overlapping. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A comparative proteomic analysis for capsaicin‐induced apoptosis between human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) and human neuroblastoma (SK‐N‐SH) cells
Authors: Baek Yu Mi , Hwang Hye Jin , Kim Sang Woo , Hwang Hee Sun , Lee Sung Hak , Kim Jung Ae , Yun Jong Won
Published: November 2008

The endogenous ROS levels were increased during HepG2 apoptosis, whereas they were decreased during SK‐N‐SH apoptosis in response to capsaicin treatments. We used 2‐DE‐based proteomics to analyze the altered protein levels in both cells, with special attention on oxidative stress proteins before and after capsaicin treatments. The 2‐DE analysis demonstrated that 23 proteins were increased and 26 proteins were decreased significantly (fold change>1.4) in capsaicin‐treated apoptotic HepG2 and SK‐N‐SH cells, respectively. The distinct effect of capsaicin‐induced apoptosis on the expression pattern of HepG2 proteins includes the downregulation of some antioxidant enzymes including aldose reductase (AR), catalase, enolase 1, peroxiredoxin 1, but upregulation of peroxiredoxin 6, cytochrome c oxidase, and SOD2. In contrast, most antioxidant enzymes were increased in SK‐N‐SH cells in response to capsaicin, where catalase might play a pivotal role in maintenance of low ROS levels in the course of apoptosis. The global gene expression for oxidative stress and antioxidant defense genes revealed that 84 gene expressions were not significantly different in HepG2 cells between control and capsaicin‐treated cells. In contrast, a number of oxidative genes were downregulated in SK‐N‐SH cells, supporting the evidence of low ROS environment in apoptotic SK‐N‐SH cells after capsaicin treatment. It was concluded that the different relationship between endogenous ROS levels and apoptosis of two cancer cells presumably resulted from complicated expression patterns of many oxidative stress and antioxidant genes, rather than the individual role of some classical antioxidant enzymes such as SOD and catalase.
The alchemy of jargon: Etymologies of urologic neologisms. Number 2: Basic biochemical nomenclature
Authors: Shelfer Lochlan
Published: November 2008

Background

As the scientific community is increasingly severed from the study of linguistics, once an imperative for all scholars, the underlying significance of their common technical words is becoming blurred. This series of notes will focus on the etymologies of a series of technical scientific terms pertinent to the biomedical sciences in general and to Urology in particular.

Methods

These notes will give a detailed background of the history of each technical term, including how it came into being, whence it was derived, and how it impacted the scientific community through the ages.

Results

In this installment, the following terms will by analyzed: Biology, Biochemistry, Hormone, Protein, Lipid, Carbohydrate, Enzyme, Metabolism, and finally Chemistry.

Conclusions

This analysis of the history and significance of scientific terms common to the urological community works toward a fortification of their power by offering a reminder of their origins. Prostate 69:231–233, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Long Exception: Rethinking the Place of the New Deal in American History
Authors: Cowie Jefferson , Salvatore Nick
Published: November 2008

“The Long Exception” examines the period from Franklin Roosevelt to the end of the twentieth century and argues that the New Deal was more of an historical aberration—a byproduct of the massive crisis of the Great Depression—than the linear triumph of the welfare state. The depth of the Depression undoubtedly forced the realignment of American politics and class relations for decades, but, it is argued, there is more continuity in American politics between the periods before the New Deal order and those after its decline than there is between the postwar era and the rest of American history. Indeed, by the early seventies the arc of American history had fallen back upon itself. While liberals of the seventies and eighties waited for a return to what they regarded as the normality of the New Deal order, they were actually living in the final days of what Paul Krugman later called the “interregnum between Gilded Ages.” The article examines four central themes in building this argument: race, religion, class, and individualism.
“Nothing Special to Offer the Negro”: Revisiting the “‘Debsian View’ of the Negro Question”
Authors: Jones William P.
Published: November 2008

Since the early twentieth century Eugene V. Debs and his essay “The Negro in the Class Struggle” have been cited repeatedly as examples of an alleged indifference among white radicals to African Americans and the historical significance of racism in the United States. A close reading of the essay reveals just the opposite. Not only did Debs support African Americans' struggle for equality, he believed that it was critical to the realization of America's democratic promise. That position alienated him from other white Socialists, but it won the admiration of African American radicals including W.E.B. Du Bois and A. Philip Randolph. This essay examines how Debs's essay came to be interpreted as a capitulation to racism and, over time, alleged indifference to African Americans and the significance of racism in the history of the United States.
Translated English and universals of translation
Authors: Yajun Jiang , Zaixin Ren
Published: November 2008

This paper investigates the notion of ‘translated English’, in contrast to ‘non-translated English’. Its focal point is that translated English texts differ from comparable non-translated texts in English, the target language (TL), in the sense that they have specific properties that cannot be found in the latter. Translated English, therefore, is a distinct variety of English. What makes it distinct is that, on the one hand, translated English texts, regardless of the source language (SL), have been found to share significant lexical, syntactic, and textual features and, on the other hand, they are inevitably SL-specific, exhibiting unique characteristics due to, among other factors, features of the source language and the translation tradition involved.
Burial and secondary dispersal of small seeds in a tropical forest
Authors: Marthews Toby R. , Mullins Christopher E. , Dalling James W. , Burslem David F. R. P.
Published: November 2008

Secondary dispersal is an important stage in the life cycle of tree species, determining the fate of a high proportion of all seeds. For small-seeded species both physical and biological processes may influence the secondary fate of seeds, however the relative importance of these processes is not well known. Seeds of the pioneer tree speciesCecropia insignis(seed mass 0.5 mg),Trema micrantha(2.5 mg) andApeiba aspera(14.2 mg) and five types of artificial seed were sown in understorey, treefall-gap and large-gap sites on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, during the wet season of 2005. Sowing areas were excavated after periods up to 26 d and cores divided into depths of 0–5, 5–10, 10–20 and 20–50 mm to allow high-resolution estimation of the rate and amount of burial and displacement of seeds. Over 26 d, 2.8% of artificial seeds were buried to a mean depth of 10.5 mm below the soil surface and 43.9% of unburied seeds displaced laterally >5 cm. Significantly more (87.9% and 80.9%) seeds ofCecropia insignisandTrema micranthawere displaced than artificial seeds of similar mass, size and density. A generalised linear model suggested that burial mostly occurred within 15 d, while displacement occurred continuously up to 26 d. The dominant cause of displacement and burial was probably rainfall, while seed removal by ants may also have contributed to displacement.
Methods of Morpheme Quantification: Their Effect on the Interpretation of Second Language Data
Authors: Pica Teresa
Published: November 2008

Production of English grammatical morphemes has provided a fruitful data base for language acquisition research. However, questions have been raised as to how these data can best be analyzed to represent subjects' actual use of morphemes (Andersen 1977, Hakuta 1976, Hatch and Wagner-Gough 1976, Lightbown, Spada, and Wallace 1980, Stauble 1981). In the following study, application of different methods of morpheme quantification to the spontaneous speech data of 18 adults acquiring English as a second language led to conflicting interpretations regarding their morpheme production.

Application of two alternative methods of morpheme quantification—one by suppliance in obligatory contexts, the other by target-like use—resulted in substantially different percentages of accuracy for subjects' production of the morphemes progressive -ing, progressive auxiliary, and past irregular. Another set of methods, used to analyze plural -s—quantification by noun tokens and by noun types—yielded contradictory findings regarding subjects' production of this morpheme.

Results of this study demonstrate that data can be described in various ways depending on how morphemes are quantified. As a consequence of applying different analyses to the same data base, conflicting interpretations about subjects' interlanguage can occur.
Perspective and Proficiency in L2 Referential Communication
Authors: Bongaerts Theo , Kellerman Eric , Bentlage Andy
Published: November 2008

In this paper we examine some aspects of second language referential communication in an experimental setting. The research method employed is an adapted version of a dyadic communication task originally devised by Krauss and Weinheimer (1964) and subsequently used in a long series of first language studies with anglophone children and adults. The task requires subjects, who are visually separated but allowed to converse freely, to reach agreement on the ordering of a set of abstract, non-conventional shapes over a number of trials. The learners appear to behave like native speakers in many ways: They can carry out the task successfully, they shorten references on repeated use, they need less time in subsequent trials, and most importantly, they tend to prefer to describe the shapes from an analogical perspective rather than from a literal one. The differences between learners and anglophone native speakers are mainly quantitative in nature. For instance, the learners need more time and more words for the task. Also, their final references tend to be longer and structurally more complex. However, the same was true for a comparable group of Dutch native speakers. Furthermore, one learner group showed behavior that was aberrant and could not be related to proficiency level.
Le Faire et le Dire dans la grammaire de l'anglais
Authors: Adamczewski Henri
Published: November 2008

C'est un truisme que de dire que la grammaire descriptive traditionelle repose sur des notions vagues et floues. L'absence de concepts dignes de ce nom fait que ce type de grammaire (le plus répandu encore aujourd'hui hélas!) ne peut décrire que ce que l'on voit -- à savoir l'énoncé linéaire de surface (c'est ce que Chomsky appelle “le niveau observationnel”). C'est ainsi par exemple que le sujet grammatical d'un énoncé, à cause de la place privilégiée qu'il occupe dans la chaîne linéaire, se voit attribuer implicitement ou explicitement, le rôle de locomotive de la phrase (“c'est le sujet qui fait l'action”). Mais le sujet grammatical n'est pas seul à ne pas avoir de statut précis dans la grammaire scolaire. Si on regarde du côté du verbe, on constate que ce dernier reçoit des labels tels que “dynamique” ou “statique” selon qu'il exprime “une action” ou “un état.” Il est permis de se demander ce que des labels de ce genr- peuvent bien apporter à la compréhension des phénomènes GRAMMATICAUX étant donné qu'ils renvoient purement et simplement à l'extralinguistique! Toujours en relation avec le verbe, la grammaire scolaire de l'anglais parle “D'ACTION EN COURS” lorsqu'on se trouve en présence de la forme dite “progressive” (BE + ING). Implicitement une action en cours renvoie à un acteur, à un agent responsable: nous retrouvons ici la “locomotive de la phrase” et la croyance naïve, toujours implicite, que la grammaire d'une langue colle à la réalité extralinguistique, qu'elle en est le calque fidèle et qu'en conséquence le seul problème pour une grammaire est d'établir ce type de correspondance biunivoque entre discours et réalité, entre les mots et les choses. On retrouve le slogan “c'est le sujet qui fait l'action” jusque dans la façon dont sont traités et définis les verbes dits “défectifs,” à propos desquels on dira qu'ils ne prennent pas d's a la troisième personne du singulier -- ce qui trahit une conception linéaire de l'énoncé -- et aussi, ajoutons-le, un manque total d'ouverture sur le problème de la structuration des énoncés.
Language and the Brain
Authors: Ellegard Alvar
Published: November 2008

The last few years have seen a tremendous increase in studies concerning psycholinguistics. The increase is clearly due to many factors. The chief impetus was probably the revolution in linguistic thinking effected by generative grammar (Levelt 1974, I, Preface). Another was a change in the climate of opinion within psychology, away from behaviorism towards a more mentalistic outlook. A third factor are developments within computer science that have led to the establishment of a new field of research called artificial intelligence.
Easifying second language learning
Authors: Cohen Andrew D. , Aphek Edna
Published: November 2008

Recent research has focused increasingly on the good language learner (Rubin 1975; Naiman, Frohlich, and Stern 1978; Wesche 1977; Hosenfeld, 1976; Bialystok and Frohlich 1977a, 1977b; Cohen and Robbins 1976; Cohen 1977). A distinction that has gained currency is that between acquiring a second language and the conscious learning of the language through what Krashen (1977) refers to as “monitoring.” The studies reported in this paper concentrate on the identification of successful learning strategies—strategies that could actually be taught to language learners to help them maximize the benefits of conscious language learning. It is not very clear which behaviors actually promote success. Learners themselves may not pay conscious attention to what they do. In order to identify strategies, therefore, we must focus our attention on basic aspects of the language learning process and also on the interaction between the learner and the teacher.
Language acquisition research and the language teacher
Authors: Gadalla Barbara J.
Published: November 2008

Selected language acquisition research findings are examined in light of the language teacher's daily needs. Research results are reported that provide an empirical basis for selecting and grading materials, determining skills to be taught and their order of presentation, deciding on classroom presentation and procedures, and formulating evaluation instruments. Acquisition ordering relationships are shown to have a bearing on teaching sequence; that such a sequence should provide for a number of grammatical, semantic, and length constraints and a skills order constraint. In addition, the research provides support for a developmental model of learning, stressing the need for a variety of approaches and supporting a cognitively-based orientation for older children and adults. Other age-related variables are considered and their pedagogical consequences are reviewed.
Speaking and Self-Order: A Critique of Orthodox L2 Research
Authors: Frawley William , Lantolf James P.
Published: November 2008

While the recent explosion of work on L2 discourse has provided researchers with a mass of data on the development of communicative abilities, we find that most of this work is predicated on a single (perhaps even curious) assumption: that all discourse, of which L2 discourse is taken as a subcategory, is intended by its speakers to be informative to some interlocutor (i.e., transmits a message via an acoustic or graphic conduit) and that the production of discourse entails the formulation of strategies on the part of speakers in order to maximize this transmission of data. That discourse is not communicative (i.e., sending and receiving information) by nature has, in fact, been long known, but overlooked, especially in L2 research. Malinowski pointed out as early as 1935 that:

Language is an activity the function of which is not an expression of thought or communication of ideas … the neglect of the obvious has often been fatal to the development of scientific thought. The false conception of language as a means of transferring ideas from the head of the speaker to that of the listener has, in my opinion, largely vitiated the philological approach to language (Malinowski, 1935, 9).
Psychological Constraints on the Teachability of Languages
Authors: Pienemann Manfred
Published: November 2008

This paper reports on the influence of formal instruction on L2 acquisition in an instructional experiment with child learners. The main tendency of the findings is that a structure can only be learned under instruction if the learner's interlanguage has already reached a stage one step prior to the acquisition of the structure to be taught.

My hypothesis for an explanation suggests that the teachability of L2 structures is constrained by the same processing restrictions that determine the developmental sequences of natural L2 acquisition: since the processing procedures of each stage build upon the procedures of the preceding stage there is no way to leave out a stage of the developmental sequence by the means of formal teaching. Following such a processing capacity approach I reject the assumption that the constraints on teachability can be explained on the basis of linguistic input.
Formulating a Theory of Second Language Learning
Authors: Spolsky Bernard
Published: November 2008

This article is intended to establish a framework for the formulation of a comprehensive theory of second language learning in which theories of first and second language learning may combine to form a unified theory. It proceeds through a critical assessment of currently one of the foremost theories, the monitor model (Krashen, 1982). Each of Krashen's five hypotheses is considered, and counteropinions, fortified with the results of research, are presented. The article concludes with a call for a more comprehensive theory that accounts for the diverse ways in which people develop their ability to use a second language.
Interlangue Intonative et Fossilisation
Authors: Lepetit Daniel
Published: November 2008

Un bilan des recherches consacrées à l'apprentissage de l'intonation française montre que cet aspect est souvent négligé. Pourtant l'étude de l'interlangue intonative est intéressante à plus d'un titre. Suite à l'élaboration d'une procédure d'observation, on présente les premières données relatives à l'étude d'un corpus de 25 énoncés français lus par 3 groupes de 15 étudiants anglophones. Cette étude a permis de montrer l'existence d'un ordre d'acquisition des formes linguistiques étudiées ainsi qu'un processus de fossilisation de ces dernières.
Origins of Complex Syntax in Interlanguage Development
Authors: Sato Charlene J.
Published: November 2008

This study examines the emergence of complex syntax in interlanguage (IL) development through a functionalist analysis of longitudinal, conversational IL data from two Vietnamese learners of English. The study focuses on discourse-pragmatic factors in the learners′ production and acquisition of complex syntax, specifically on their reliance on collaboration by interlocutors in the production of complex syntactic structures. Its findings offer a test of the utility of Givón's functionalist approach in SLA studies, and of claims by Hatch and others to the effect that “syntax develops out of conversation.” The interdependence of different linguistic levels in IL development is demonstrated, and the use of a variety of analytical units is shown to be critical in characterizing prepositional encoding in IL speech.
Early Childhood Bilingualism
Authors: Schinke-Llano Linda
Published: November 2008

Although a number of researchers over the years have focused on the language development of bilingual children, we currently possess only a fragmentary picture of the total phenomenon. Further, what appears to be known about the processes involved may need reexamination in light of recent theoretical and empirical work. It is the purpose of this article to review recent research (i.e., that done within the last five to six years), as well as to discuss difficulties inherent in research on bilingual children. In addition, the article argues for a multidisciplinary approach to research in the area and outlines suggested avenues of inquiry within such a framework. Throughout, the focus is on children's bilingual acquisition in naturalistic settings (i.e., prior to school attendance).
Verb Lexis in the Written Compositions of Young L2 Learners
Authors: Harley Birgit , King Mary Lou
Published: November 2008

The L2 lexical proficiency of 69 grade 6 French immersion students is compared with that of 22 native French-speaking peers, based on verb use in five written compositions. Measures of lexical error, variety, specificity, and sophistication show clear differences between the two groups. The learners' patterns of use of verb vocabulary are considered in relation to frequency and utility in French, the degree of congruence between L2 and L1, and the morpho-syntactic complexity of some specific types of French verbs. Results are further discussed in relation to observational data from grade 6 immersion classrooms.
Functionalism in Second Language Acquisition
Authors: Tomlin Russell S.
Published: November 2008

This article examines the role played by functional approaches to linguistics in understanding second language acquisition (SLA). Central premises and tenets of functional approaches are described, and several key theoretical problems with functional efforts are detailed. The problem of referential management (the selection of nominal vs. pronominal NPs) in second language discourse production is examined. The general conclusions are drawn that (a) functional approaches to linguistics have a significant role to play in SLA studies, but (b) functional universals are insufficiently grounded theoretically and empirically at this point to contribute more than heuristic guidance to SLA theory.
The Use of L1 Reading Strategies in L2 Reading
Authors: Koda Keiko
Published: November 2008

This study investigated first language (L1) orthographic influence on cognitive processing involved in second language (L2) reading. Using a fundamental unit of representation, three orthographic systems (i.e., alphabet, syllabary, and logography) can be categorized into two types: morphography and phonography. Previous L1 reading research has suggested that different strategies are used for phonological recoding by morphographic and phonographic readers. This study tested the possibility that these L1 recoding strategies are transferred and utilized in L2 reading. A cross-linguistic experiment involving adult L2 learners of English with contrasting L1 orthographic backgrounds (Arabic, Japanese, Spanish, and English—for native control) was conducted. The results indicate that reading among phonographic readers (Arabic, Spanish, and English) is seriously impaired when essential phonological information is inaccessible. Similar phonological inaccessibility, in contrast, apparently does not affect the reading performance of Japanese, or morphographic, readers. Further, the study demonstrated, first, that phonological inaccessibility exerts differential effects on the reading processes of phonographic and morphographic readers and, second, that L2 readers from different L1 orthographic backgrounds utilize their L1 strategies in reading English as an L2. Hence, the findings of the study verify cognitive strategy transfer during L2 reading.
The Issue of Grammaticalization in Early German Second Language
Authors: Pfaff Carol W.
Published: November 2008

This paper treats the development of the expression of grammatical categories in German in the early second language acquisition of Turkish and German children attending a bilingual day-care center in a multilingual speech community in Berlin. We examine case and gender marking on noun phrases and pronouns and tense/aspect and agreement marking on verb phrases. These are examined in light of the following general issues: (a) Do grammatical markers develop from independent lexical items in child language as well as in diachronic development? (b) Do the markers initially mark pragmatic categories before being grammaticalized as syntactic functors? (c) Do grammaticalizations of the first language influence the development of the second language?

We find no evidence that pragmatic precede syntactic categories; however, some evidence indicates that grammatical markers develop first as independent words—for example, pronominal use preceding definite article use ofder, die, das, and main verb use preceding auxiliary use ofsein(‘be’) andhaben(‘have’). Some evidence that the categories of the first language (Turkish) play a role in the development of German second language is found in compound verb constructions.
Immigrant Children in Infant-Class Interactions
Authors: Damhuis Resi
Published: November 2008

This article reports on research aimed at identifying ways of improving the contribution of Dutch infant classes to the second language acquisition of nonnative children. Verbal interactions in 15 Dutch infant classes with immigrant children were investigated. Conversations were audiotaped during five types of activity: the pupil-centered conversation, the instructional exchange, the children's group, the small-group-with-teacher, and the special second-language group. Several input and production features, which are assumed to facilitate second language acquisition, were analyzed. Potentially, the special second language group offers the best opportunities for second language acquisition with respect to input and response production; the children's group is the most favorable activity with respect to self-initiated production. Regarding the actual contribution of the five activities to an average infant-class day, however, the children's group offers most of the beneficial interaction for second-language acquisition. Implications for the teaching of young multilingual children are presented.
To Simplify or Not to Simplify
Authors: Leow Ronald P.
Published: November 2008

This study investigates the effects of simplification, type of linguistic item, and second language experience on learners' intake of linguistic items contained in written input. Learners at two levels of language experience were exposed to one of the following four conditions: a simplified or unsimplified reading passage with the present perfect tense form or a simplified or unsimplified reading passage with the present subjunctive form. To measure learners' intake, a repeated-measures analysis of variance was performed on the raw scores obtained on a task consisting of a pre- and posttest. The tests were a multiple-choice recognition assessment task. Significant main effects were found for type of passage and language experience, and there was a significant interaction between type of passage and task. Results suggest that simplification does not have a facilitating effect on learners' intake and that learners at different levels demonstrate a different pattern of performance while internalizing written input. Implications for pedagogical written materials and future research are also discussed.
Systematic and Nonsystematic Variability in Advanced Language Learning
Authors: Towell Richard , Hawkins Roger , Bazergui Nives
Published: November 2008

Variability, both systematic and nonsystematic, has been the subject of much debate in recent years in the study of learner interlanguage. This article presents empirical evidence from a longitudinal study of a small group of advanced learners of French. Variability is noticeable throughout the period of learning of a particular structure in French. Nonsystematicity observed in individual learners' performance is explained in the light of developmental stages such as those put forward in Gatbonton's diffusion model. When looked at in terms of developmental processes, nonsystematic variability becomes an essential element of progress. Patterns of development are observed across the subjects, and learning can thus be seen to follow a systematic route.
The Role of Mental Translation in Second Language Reading
Authors: Kern Richard G.
Published: November 2008

Reading in a second language (L2) can produce inefficient processing in otherwise proficient readers. This paper argues that mental translation during L2 reading may facilitate the generation and conservation of meaning by allowing the reader to represent portions of L2 text that exceed cognitive limits in a familiar, memory-efficient form. Fifty-one intermediate-level French students, in high, middle, and low reading ability groups, participated in think-aloud interviews while reading French texts. The relative frequency of translation use among these groups is compared at the beginning and end of a semester and is found to decrease with level of reading ability. The specific contexts in which students relied on translation are identified, and functional benefits and strategic uses of translation are discussed. Finally, hypotheses and questions are developed for future research.
Introduction: Interlanguage Pragmatics in SLA
Authors: Kasper Gabriele
Published: November 2008

Interlanguage pragmatics—the study of nonnative speakers' use and acquisition of L2 pragmatic knowledge—has hovered on the fringes of SLA research thus far. In theories of 12 acquisition, pragmatics may figure as a constraint on syntactic knowledge, for instance, but pragmatics is not usually recognized as a knowledge component whose development deserves theoretical consideration in its own right. There is thus a tension between SLA as a theoretical (in the sense of “nonapplied”) discipline and the theory and practice of second or foreign language pedagogy. In theories of communicative competence in L2 teaching and testing, pragmatic competence figures prominently (e.g., Bachman, 1990). Curricula and materials for L2 teaching developed in recent years include strong pragmatic components or even adopt a pragmatic approach as their organizing principle.
On certain nets of plane curves
Authors: White F. P.
Published: November 2008

1. The plane quartic curves which pass through twelve fixed points g, of which no three lie on a straight line, no six on a conic and no ten on a cubic, form a net of quartics represented by the equation
The conics through fives of six points
Authors: White F. P.
Published: November 2008

The theorem, due to Miquel, that the foci of the five parabolas which touch fours of five straight lines lie on a circle, when generalised projectively and dualised becomes the theorem: If six arbitrary points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 be taken and the five conics passing respectively through the five points obtained by omitting in turn 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, then there exists a conic touching two arbitrary lines through the point 6 and triangularly inscribed to these five conics. It appears, however, that the relation is symmetrical and that the conic obtained is also triangularly inscribed to the conic passing through the points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. If the condition of touching the two arbitrary straight lines through the point 6 be omitted, we have a doubly infinite system of conics triangularly inscribed to the six conics passing through fives of six points. It does not immediately appear how this family of conics depends upon the two parameters involved, and the following direct analytical investigation of the general symmetrical figure was undertaken with a view to deciding this point.
Large cycles in large labelled graphs. II
Authors: Wright E. M.
Published: November 2008

1. This paper is a sequel to (2). The notation is the same and we assume the reader to be familiar with that paper. We there proved various theorems which established conditions under which ‘almost all’ labelled (n, q) graphs contained a k-cycle, i.e. under which the proportion of all labelled (n, q) graphs which contained a k-cycle tended to 1 as n → ∞. We here consider a different but related problem. If a graph contains a cycle of length k for every k such that 3 ≤ k ≤ k0, we say that the graph is pancyclic up to k0. We find conditions on k0, n and q such that almost all (n, q) graphs are pancyclic up to k0. If k0 = 0(1), the result follows trivially from Theorem 3a of (1) (Theorem 1 of (2)), but if k0 → ∞with n the matter is not so simple. We shall prove the following theorem.
Riesz spaces with the order-continuity property. I
Authors: Fremlin D. H.
Published: November 2008

A Riesz space E has the (sequential) order-continuity property if every positive linear map from E to an Archimedean Riesz space is (sequentially) order-continuous. This is the case if and only if the canonical maps from E to its Archimedean quotient spaces are all (sequentially) order-continuous. I relate these properties to others that have been described elsewhere.
Means and coefficients of functions which omit a sequence of values
Authors: Baernstein Albert , Rochberg Richard
Published: November 2008

Suppose that f is analytic in the unit disk D. If its range f(D) is contained in a simply connected proper subdomain of the plane, then the principle of subordination and the distortion theorem for univalent functions show that

where M(r, f) denotes the maximum modulus of f. Cartwright (2) studied functions which, instead of omitting all values on a continuum stretching to infinity, omit only a sequence of values. She assumed that the sequence {wn} satisfies

and

and proved that if f(D) contains none of the points {wn} thenm

for every ε > 0. Cartwright's proof was based on the Ahlfors Distortion Theorem, and is quite complicated. A much simpler proof was given by Pommerenke in (10). The key idea in his proof will also be used in the present paper.
Some determinantal quartic primals in four dimensions
Authors: Hartley E. M.
Published: November 2008

The determinantal quartic primal in [4], represented on [3] by quartic surfaces passing through a decimic curve of genus eleven, has already been the subject of a number of papers. The primal for which the base curve is a general curve C10 has twenty nodes, mapped by the twenty quadrisecant lines of the curve. If the C10 breaks up into a number of curves of lower order, the primal has, in addition, other nodes, mapped by the neighbourhoods of the intersections of two simple branches of the base curve. When the C10 consists of ten lines, having twenty mutual intersections to preserve the virtual genus eleven, the primal has forty nodes; the two primals of this type which contain no planes are the subject of a paper by Todd (3). Further specialization of the ten lines, giving more additional nodes, is possible; it has been shown in another paper (Todd (4)) that there is a quartic primal with forty-five nodes (the maximum number) which is determinantal. The figure in [3] formed by the base curve is described there; for a description of the configuration formed by the nodes in [4], and many other interesting properties of this primal, the reader is referred to two recent works (Baker (1) and Todd (5)). Further details about the general quartic primal, and references to a number of special cases, may be found in Room (2), chapters XV and XVI.