scholarly journals A cross-linguistic and bilingual evaluation of the interdependence between lexical and grammatical domains

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
GABRIELA SIMON-CEREIJIDO ◽  
VERA F. GUTIÉRREZ-CLELLEN
Keyword(s):  
Latino Children ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Bilingual Learners ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Semantic Development ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Different Levels

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to examine within- and across-language relationships between lexical and grammatical domains by focusing on measures of lexical diversity and grammatical complexity in Spanish and English. One hundred ninety-six preschool and school-aged Latino children with different levels of English and Spanish proficiencies and different language abilities produced narratives in Spanish, English, or both. Analyses revealed strong associations between lexical (number of different words and number of different verbs) and grammatical measures (mean length of utterances in words and use of ditransitive predicates), supporting the domain interdependence hypothesis within a language. Cross-linguistic comparisons indicate a greater diversity of verbs and ditransitive predicates in Spanish compared to English for this population. In the language samples of children who produced narratives in the two languages, there was no relationship between the two domains across languages. The lack of cross-language correlations may be related to other variables influencing lexical and semantic development in bilingual learners. Methodological issues to be considered in future studies with bilingual speakers are discussed.

Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS): Translation and Validation in Urdu Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-189
Author(s):  
Afifa Anjum ◽  
Naumana Amjad
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Structure Factors ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Translation And Validation

Values in Action is a classification of 24 character strengths grouped under six virtue categories. This classification is claimed to be universal across cultures and religions (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and its measure that is, Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) has been translated and validated in many languages. The present study aimed at its Urdu translation and validation on Pakistani adults taken from different educational institutes and workplaces. Study comprised two parts. Part I dealt with the translation and cross-language validation while in Part II, Construct validation on a sample of 542 adults and convergent validity on a sample of 210 adult participants were determined. Findings revealed satisfactory alpha coefficients for Urdu version. Significant positive correlations with positive affect and life satisfaction and negative correlations with negative affect were indicators of its convergent validity. Age was negatively associated with five strengths whereas significant gender differences were found on seven strengths. Social desirability effects were nonsignificant. Strength-to-virtue level factor structure exploration resulted in a theoretically meaningful four factor structure. Factors were named as Interpersonal, Cognitive, Vitality, and Transcendence and were comparable to factor structures proposed in studies on VIA-IS from a few other cultures. The study offers a valid Urdu translation for use in future studies with adult Urdu speaking population.

scholarly journals Efficacy and safety of urate-lowering therapy in people with kidney impairment: a GCAN-initiated literature review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamish Farquhar ◽  
Ana B Vargas-Santos ◽  
Huai Leng Pisaniello ◽  
Mark Fisher ◽  
Catherine Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renal Function ◽  
Renal Impairment ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Serum Urate ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Kidney Impairment ◽  
The Cochrane Library ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the efficacy, defined as achieving target serum urate <6.0 mg/dl, and safety of urate-lowering therapies (ULT) for people with gout and CKD stages 3–5. Methods PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and EMBASE, were searched from 1 January 1959 to 31 January 2018 for studies that enrolled people with gout, who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or creatinine clearance (CrCl) of < 60 mL/min, and exposure to allopurinol, febuxostat, probenecid, benzbromarone, lesinurad or pegloticase. All study designs other than case reports were included, except for people on dialysis, for which we did include case reports. Results There were 36 reports with an analysis of efficacy and/or safety based upon renal function – allopurinol (n = 12), febuxostat (n = 10), probenecid (n = 3), benzbromarone (n = 5), lesinurad (n = 5), and pegloticase (n = 1). There were 108 reports that involved people with gout and renal impairment but did not contain any analysis on efficacy and/or safety based upon renal function – allopurinol (n = 84), febuxostat (n = 14), benzbromarone (n = 1), lesinurad (n = 3), and pegloticase (n = 6). Most studies excluded people with more severe degrees of renal impairment (eGFR or CrCl of < 30mL/min). For allopurinol in particular, there was significant variability in the dose of drug used, and efficacy in terms of urate lowering, across all levels of renal impairment. Conclusion There is a lack of evidence regarding efficacy and/or safety of currently used ULT according to different levels of renal function. Future studies should include patients with CKD and should report study outcomes stratified by renal function.

scholarly journals Economic Determinants of Industrial Water Demand: A Review of the Applied Research Literature

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Pilar Gracia-de-Rentería ◽  
Ramón Barberán
Keyword(s):  
Water Demand ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Industrial Water ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Know How ◽  
Level Of Activity ◽  
Industrial Water Demand ◽  
Available Information

This paper surveys the empirical, economic literature focused on the determinants of industrial water demand. Both the methodological issues and the outcomes of the previous studies are presented and discussed. Attention is given to key methodological issues, such as the available information, the type of data used, the specification of the variables, the choice of the estimated function, its functional form, and the estimation techniques used, highlighting the issues that require greater attention in future studies. Regarding the results, we focus on the estimated elasticities in order to know how the price of water, the level of activity, and the prices of the other inputs influence the demand for water.

scholarly journals Integration of various scales for measurement of insomnia

2021 ◽  
pp. 263208432110100
Author(s):  
Satyendra Nath Chakrabartty
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Weighted Sum ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Normal Probability ◽  
Equivalent Test ◽  
Item Scores ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Different Levels

Background Scales for evaluating insomnia differ in number of items, response format, and result in different scores distributions and score ranges and may not facilitate meaningful comparisons. Objectives Transform ordinal item-scores of three scales of insomnia to continuous, equidistant, monotonic, normally distributed scores, avoiding limitations of summative scoring of Likert scales. Methods Equidistant item-scores by weighted sum using data-driven weights to different levels of different items, considering cell frequencies of Item-Levels matrix, followed by normalization and conversion to [1, 10]. Equivalent test-scores (as sum of transformed item- scores) for a pair of scales were found by Normal Probability curves. Empirical illustration given. Results Transformed test-scores are continuous, monotonic and followed Normal distribution with no outliers and tied scores. Such test-scores facilitate ranking, better classification and meaningful comparison of scales of different lengths and formats and finding equivalent score combinations of two scales. For a given value of transformed test-score of a scale, easy alternate method avoiding integration proposed to find equivalent scores of another scales. Equivalent scores of scales help to relate various cut-off scores of different scales and uniformity in interpretations. Integration of various scales of insomnia is achieved by finding one-to-one correspondence among the equivalent score of various scales with correlation over 0.99 Conclusion Resultant test-scores facilitated undertaking analysis in parametric set up. Considering the theoretical advantages including meaningfulness of operations, better comparison, use of such method of transforming scores of Likert items/test is recommended test and items, Future studies were suggested.

Thermal stresses in multilevel interconnections: Aluminum lines at different levels

1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2219-2222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y-L. Shen
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element Analysis ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Thermal Stresses ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Level Lines ◽  
The Finite Element Analysis ◽  
Staggered Arrangement ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Different Levels

Numerical results on the evolution of thermal stresses in multilevel interconnects are presented. Two levels of aluminum lines with an aspect ratio of unity, aligned vertically or arranged in a staggered manner, are considered by recourse to the finite element analysis. The stresses are found to be significantly higher in the lower-level lines than in the upper-level lines, for both the aligned and staggered arrangements. The stress magnitudes are generally smaller in lines of staggered arrangement, compared to the case of aligned lines. Implications of the present findings are discussed, with directions of future studies highlighted.

Reconstruction of Personal Constructs following Predictive Failure: Influences of Stereotypy in Thinking and Invalidation Level

1980 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 839-846
Author(s):  
Lynn S. Johnson ◽  
Robert C. Bennion
Keyword(s):  
Replication Study ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Personal Constructs ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Predictive Failure

Two social predictions based individually on the personal constructs of 23 adults were subjected to different levels of invalidation in a replication study. The nonreplication suggests that high invalidation does not effect more change in stereotyped than independent constructs; the meaning of the steretotype may make it either more or less open to reconstructions. Methodological issues relating to the replication attempt are discussed.

scholarly journals Asymmetrical cross-language phonetic interaction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Representation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Two acoustic studies were carried out with L1 Polish learners of English. One study examined L1 phonetic drift, comparing learners of L2 English who were undergoing intensive L2 phonetic training with quasi-monolingual Polish speakers. The other study looked at L2 acquisition, comparing learners at two different levels of proficiency. Unlike most previous studies of Polish-English bilinguals, VOT data of both voiced and voiceless consonants were analyzed. In both experiments, an asymmetry was observed by which voiced stops were more susceptible to cross-language phonetic influence (CLI) than voiceless stops. These results build on evidence of a similar asymmetry observed in a number of other L1–L2 pairings. Predictions of competing phonological models are evaluated with regard to equivalence classification and phonetic CLI. It is shown that both traditional approaches to the phonological representation of voice contrasts fail to predict the observed asymmetry. An alternative theory, which predicts the asymmetry, is discussed.

scholarly journals Unveiling the Feeding Behavior of Tibraca limbativentris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) on Rice Using an Electropenetrography Waveform Library

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
André Cirilo de S Almeida ◽  
Flávio Gonçalves de Jesus ◽  
José Alexandre F Barrigossi
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Input Resistance ◽  
Deep Penetration ◽  
Stink Bug ◽  
Plant Surface ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Rice Pests ◽  
Parenchyma Cells ◽  
Rice Stalks ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract The rice stalk stink bug, Tibraca limbativentris Stål, damages plant stalks while feeding, making it one of the most important rice pests in South America. Because the feeding behavior of T. limbativentris has not yet been studied in rice, we investigated T. limbativentris stylet penetration (probing) in rice stalks. A waveform library was created using the new AC-DC EPG monitor with different levels of input resistance (Ri). Six different waveforms were recorded and correlated via histological studies and grouped into three phases: non-probing waveforms (Z and Np), pathway waveforms (Tl1), and ingestion waveforms (Tl2 and Tl3). The Z waveform was observed when the stink bug was standing still on the plant surface, Np when the stink bug was walking on plant surface, Tl1 was associated with stylet insertion and deep penetration into the plant tissue, and Tl2 when the stink bug was feeding on xylem vessels. The Tl3 waveform was associated with the rupture of stalk cells and was divided into two subtypes (Tl3a and Tl3b). The Tl3a waveform probably represents cell laceration with combined enzymatic maceration of stalk tissues, while Tl3b represents a short ingestion period of macerated tissues. Tibraca limbativentris uses two strategies to feed on rice stalks: a salivary sheath for feeding on xylem vessels and cell rupture (laceration and maceration) for feeding on parenchyma cells. Our study provides crucial benchmark definitions of waveforms. Future studies can now compare effects of treatments on stink bug feeding, to ultimately improve management of this pest in rice.

scholarly journals Improving the Measurement of Functional Somatic Symptoms With Item Response Theory

Assessment ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 107319112094715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélica Acevedo-Mesa ◽  
Jorge Nunes Tendeiro ◽  
Annelieke Roest ◽  
Judith G. M. Rosmalen ◽  
Rei Monden
Keyword(s):  
Item Response Theory ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Somatic Symptoms ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Symptom Checklist ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Severity Levels ◽  
Different Levels

More than 40 questionnaires have been developed to assess functional somatic symptoms (FSS), but there are several methodological issues regarding the measurement of FSS. We aimed to identify which items of the somatization subscale of the Symptom Checklist–90 (SCL-90) are more informative and discriminative between persons at different levels of severity of FSS. To this end, item response theory was applied to the somatization scale of the SCL-90, collected from a sample of 82,740 adult participants without somatic conditions in the Lifelines Cohort Study. Sensitivity analyses were performed with all the participants who completed the somatization scale. Both analyses showed that Items 11 “feeling weak physically” and 12 “heavy feelings in arms or legs” were the most discriminative and informative to measure severity levels of FSS, regardless of somatic conditions. Clinicians and researchers may pay extra attention to these symptoms to augment the assessment of FSS.

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