DOUBLE-NUMBER MARKING MATTERS FOR BOTH L1 AND L2 PROCESSING OF NONLOCAL AGREEMENT SIMILARLY

The present study uses event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine nonlocal agreement processing between native (L1) English speakers and Chinese–English second language (L2) learners, whose L1 lacks number agreement. We manipulated number marking with determiners (the vs. that/these) to see how determiner-specification influences both native and nonnative processing downstream for verbal number agreement. Behavioral and ERP results suggest both groups detected nonlocal agreement violations, indexed by a P600 effect. Moreover, the manipulation of determiner-number specification revealed a facilitation effect across the board in both grammaticality judgment and ERP responses for both groups: increased judgment accuracy and a larger P600 effect amplitude for sentences containing violations with demonstratives rather than bare determiners. Contrary to some claims regarding the potential for nonnative processing, the present data suggest that L1 and L2 speakers show similar ERP responses when processing agreement, even when the L1 lacks the relevant distinction.

Model of Flexibility in the Conceptual Evolution of Multiplicative Comparison

Background: Proportionality is a paramount topic in students' mathematical literacy. In this topic, it is fundamental to understand the multiplicative comparison and the flexible use of the concepts of ratio and proportion. Objectives: To analyse the articulation between concepts, resolution strategies, and representations used by students, supported by numerical relationships and properties of operations to characterise a model of the conceptual evolution of multiplicative comparison. Design: Research based design. Setting and participants: Two mathematics teachers teaching 6th grade (11-12-year-old students) and their 38 (18 + 20) students during the lessons in which five assignments were explored. Data collection and analysis: The data includes the transcription of the video recordings of the classes and the students' written productions. The data were successively revisited and condensed to identify and illustrate the aspects that make up the model of the conceptual evolution of multiplicative comparison. Results: The construction of the concept of multiplicative comparison prevails in the work in two spaces of measurement and in the exploration of the multiplicative relationship between the corresponding quantities within each one. Resolution strategies are first non-quantitative and become quantitative, initially with additive and then multiplicative characteristics. The representations are based on the ratio as a fraction, on the double number line, and on the table of ratios, being supported by numerical relationships and properties of operations. Conclusions: The results elucidate, adjust, and illustrate a theoretical model related to the evolution of the multiplicative comparison in two spaces of measurement.

Is COVID-19 Another Case of Obesity Paradox? - Results from An International Ecological Study on behalf of the REPROGRAM Consortium Obesity

IntroductionObesity has emerged as one of the major risk factors of severe morbidity and cause-specific mortality among severe acute respiratory syndromes coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected individuals. Patients with obesity also have overlapping cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which make them increasingly vulnerable. This novel ecological study examines the impact of obesity and/or body mass index (BMI) on rates of population-adjusted cases and deaths due to coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19).Material and methodsPublicly available datasets were used to obtain relevant data on COVID-19, obesity and ecological variables. Group-wise comparisons and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to compute the area under the curve.ResultsWe demonstrate that male BMI is an independent predictor of cause-specific (COVID-19) mortality, and not of the caseload per million population. Countries with obesity rates of 20-30% had a significantly higher (approximately double) number of deaths per million population to both those in <20% and >30% slabs. We postulate that there may be a U-shaped paradoxical relationship between obesity and COVID-19 with cause-specific mortality burden more pronounced in the countries with 20-30% obesity rates. These findings are novel along with the methodological approach of doing ecological analyses on country-wide data from publicly available sources.ConclusionsWe anticipate, in light of our findings, that appropriate targeted public health approaches or campaigns could be developed to minimize risk and cause-specific morbidity burden due to COVID-19 in countries with nationwide obesity rates of 20-30%.

ALBUMIN VERSUS FRESH FROZEN PLASMA IN MANAGING DIURETIC RESISTANT EDEMA IN CHILDREN WITH IDIOPATHIC NEPHROTIC SYNDROME

Background: This study was carried out to compare the efficacy and outcome of albumin with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) in the treatment of diuretic resistant edema in nephrotic syndrome Methods: Sixty patients with idiopathic NS were enrolled in this prospective analytic study. Patients with moderate to severe edema with serum albumin <1.5 gm/dl were given albumin and FFP dividing into two groups. Group-A, received intravenous albumin- 1 gm/kg/day and Group-B intravenous FFP 15ml/kg/day. Total number of albumin and FFP infusion were determined by edema reduction. Results: Diagnosis of NS and biochemical parameters were same in both groups. Dry weight was achieved in Group-A in 6.62± 3.15 days and in Group-B 6.65 ± 3.18 days. In GroupA the number of albumin infusion required was 1.42±0.62 and Group-B FFP infusion required was 3.11± 1.05 (p=0.0001). No significant complications were observed in both the groups. Conclusion: FFP cost half than albumin and same duration required to reduce edema but with double number of infusion and it is safe in pediatric patients with NS presenting with moderate to severe edema. Keywords: NS, Oedema, FFP, Albumin

In Vitro Decoated Seed Germination and Seedling Development for Propagation of Wild Mandrake (Mandragora autumnalis Bertol.)

The establishment of an efficient in vitro propagation system for the conservation of the Mediterranean Mandragora autumnalis is highly desirable due to its scarcity, besides its potential medicinal and pharmacological properties. In a separate unpublished study, this species has proved to be resistant to laboratory plant regeneration from vegetative tissue cultures; therefore, an alternative decoated seed (i.e., endosperm enclosed the zygotic embryo) germination approach was conducted in this study. Pre-cold treatment of M. autumnalis seeds, removal of seed coats, and exogenous application of gibberellic acid (GA3) promoted in vitro seed germination and seedling emergence. In two separate experiments, approximately 10–27% of the germinated decoated seeds developed healthy seedlings within two weeks, compared to the non-germinated intact seeds of the potting soil controls. After 72 days, the highest rates of healthy seedlings development (67.4 and 69.4%) achieved in the in vitro decoated seed cultures supplemented with 60 and 100 mg/L GA3, respectively, compared to only 25% seedlings emergence rate of the in vitro cultures devoid of GA3, and 44.2% of the soil controls. The in vitro developed plants were healthy, survived transplantation conditions, and, significantly, grew faster, formed on average more than the double number of true leaves and shoot fresh weight (p ≤ 0.05), 90% more fresh weight of root system (p ≤ 0.05), and ultimately more than the double gross fresh weight (p ≤ 0.05) than that of the in vivo developed plants of the soil controls. Such in vitro seed germination approaches would be favorable due to the higher capacity of uniform seedling establishment year-round under lab-controlled conditions, facilitating proliferation and conservation of rare and threatened species, and providing fresh and axenic plant materials required for downstream studies such as those associated with leaf-derived protoplasts and genetic transformations.

A species continuum exists between Pseudomallada prasinus and P. abdominalis (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae)

It has recently been determined that Pseudomallada prasinus (Burmeister, 1839) is part of a complex of prasinoid species (Duelli & Obrist, 2019). Apart from P. prasinus s.s. and P. abdominalis s.s., each at the opposite end of the prasinoid spectrum, some populations in Switzerland and surrounding countries show consistently differing morphological and biological traits, while nevertheless living in the same habitats. To test whether they constitute reproductively isolated species, seven strains of three morphologically distinctive prasinoid morphs (Pp1, Pp2, Pp3) were reared and the virgin offspring (F1) paired with single partners of each of the six other strains. The four strains of morph Pp3 were unable to produce any viable offspring when paired with the two other morphs, suggesting that Pp3 is a distinct species. The Mediterranean morph Pp1 produced some offspring with the two strains of morph Pp2, but the crossed offspring (F2) of the hybrids yielded less than 2% viable larvae. Furthermore, in a cage experiment with free choice of partners between Pp1 and Pp2, all females produced offspring of their own morph; there were no hybrids. We conclude that north and south of the Alps there are at least three reproductively isolated prasinoid species in addition to P. prasinus and P. abdominalis. Their distinctiveness is principally based on live color traits, but also on the presence or absence of the “furwing” phenotype in males (double number of setae on wing veins). Therefore, many old museum specimens, especially females, cannot be identified with confidence. Because most of the dozens of synonymized type specimens of prasinoid species and varieties in museums are females, and all have lost their color, it is presently not possible to assign valid names to the three “new” species. We call them Pseudomallada prasinoid 1 (Pp1), P. prasinoid 2 (Pp2), and P. prasinoid 3 (Pp3). Using the distinctive traits given here, most specimens that have retained their original colors (live, recently pinned, or deep frozen) can be identified.