| 1. |
- Batmanian, Natalie, et al.
(författare)
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Inclusion of auxiliaries: Competence and performance differences in early learners
- 2008
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Ingår i: EUROSLA Yearbook. - : John Benjamins Publishing Company. - 1568-1491 .- 1569-9749. ; 8:1, s. 215-234
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Researchers argue that variable use of inflectional morphology demonstrates a lack of underlying syntactic representation in second language learners. Others disagree and argue for a full syntactic representation: stating that variable use of morphology during early the stages of learning is due to the difficulty of mapping an underlying representation onto surface form. Twelve beginning L2 learners, whose L1 was Japanese or Korean (East Asians), and nine L2 learners, whose L1 was various Indo-European languages (Non Asians) participated in an elicited imitation experiment, and additional twelve East Asians participated in a grammaticality judgment experiment. The targets included mono-clausal declarative sentences and wh-questions with the auxiliaries be, can, and do. In imitation, the prevalent error was auxiliary omission. Learners fronted whwords successfully. They also inverted auxiliaries successfully when they included them. Along with imitation, the results of grammaticality judgment support the argument that beginning L2 learners have difficulty producing the surface forms of the auxiliaries and tense morphology, not with forming the correct syntactic representation for questions.
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| 2. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 3. |
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EUROSLA Yearbook 12 (2012)
- 2012
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Ingår i: EUROSLA Yearbook. - Amsterdam : John Benjamins Publishing Company. - 1568-1491.
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)
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| 4. |
- Forde, Brian M., et al.
(författare)
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Discovery of mcr-1-Mediated Colistin Resistance in a Highly Virulent Escherichia coli Lineage
- 2018
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Ingår i: mSphere. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 2379-5042. ; 3:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resistance to last-line polymyxins mediated by the plasmid-borne mobile colistin resistance gene (mcr-1) represents a new threat to global human health. Here we present the complete genome sequence of an mcr-1-positive multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli strain (MS8345). We show that MS8345 belongs to serotype O2:K1:H4, has a large 241,164-bp IncHI2 plasmid that carries 15 other antibiotic resistance genes (including the extended-spectrum β-lactamase blaCTX-M-1) and 3 putative multidrug efflux systems, and contains 14 chromosomally encoded antibiotic resistance genes. MS8345 also carries a large ColV-like virulence plasmid that has been associated with E. coli bacteremia. Whole-genome phylogeny revealed that MS8345 clusters within a discrete clade in the sequence type 95 (ST95) lineage, and MS8345 is very closely related to the highly virulent O45:K1:H4 clone associated with neonatal meningitis. Overall, the acquisition of a plasmid carrying resistance to colistin and multiple other antibiotics in this virulent E. coli lineage is concerning and might herald an era where the empirical treatment of ST95 infections becomes increasingly more difficult.Importance: Escherichia coli ST95 is a globally disseminated clone frequently associated with bloodstream infections and neonatal meningitis. However, the ST95 lineage is defined by low levels of drug resistance amongst clinical isolates, which normally provides for uncomplicated treatment options. Here, we provide the first detailed genomic analysis of an E. coli ST95 isolate that has both high virulence potential and resistance to multiple antibiotics. Using the genome, we predicted its virulence and antibiotic resistance mechanisms, which include resistance to last-line antibiotics mediated by the plasmid-borne mcr-1 gene. Finding an ST95 isolate resistant to nearly all antibiotics that also has a high virulence potential is of major clinical importance and underscores the need to monitor new and emerging trends in antibiotic resistance development in this important global lineage.
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| 5. |
- Gullberg, Marianne, et al.
(författare)
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Adult language learning after minimal exposure to an unknown natural language
- 2010
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Ingår i: Language Learning. - : Wiley. - 0023-8333. ; 60:S2, s. 5-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite the literatures on the role of input in adult second language (L2) acquisition, and on artificial and statistical language learning, surprisingly little is known about how adults break into a new language in the wild. This paper reports on a series of behavioral and neuroimaging studies that examine what linguistic information adults can extract from naturalistic but controlled audio-visual input in an unknown and typologically distant L2 after minimal exposure (7 - 14 minutes) without instruction or training. We tested the step-wise development of segmental, phonotactic and lexical knowledge in Dutch adults after minimal exposure to Mandarin Chinese, and the role of item frequency, speech-associated gestures, and word length at the earliest stages of learning. In an exploratory neural connectivity study we further examined the neural correlates of word recognition in a new language, identifying brain regions whose connectivity was related to performance both before and after learning. While emphasizing the complexity of the learning task, the results suggest that the adult learning mechanism is more powerful than is normally assumed when faced with small amounts of complex, continuous audio-visual language input.
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| 6. |
- Gyllstad, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Linguistic correlates to communicative proficiency levels of the CEFR: The case of syntactic complexity in written L2 English, L3 French and L4 Italian
- 2014
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Ingår i: EUROSLA Yearbook. - Amsterdam : John Benjamins Publishing Company. - 1569-9749 .- 1568-1491. - 9789027200082 ; 14, s. 1-30
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study is a contribution to the empirical underpinning of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and it aims to identify linguistic correlates to the proficiency levels defined by the CEFR. The study was conducted in a Swedish school setting, focusing on English, French and Italian, and examined the relationship between CEFR levels (A1-C2) assigned by experienced raters to learners’ written texts and three measures of syntactic complexity (based on length of t-unit, subclause ratio, and mean length of clause (cf. Norris & Ortega, 2009)). Data were elicited through two written tasks (a short letter and a narrative) completed by pupils of L2 English (N=54) in years four, nine and the final year of upper-secondary school, L3 French (N=38) in year nine and the final year of upper-secondary school, and L4 Italian (N=28) in the final year of upper-secondary school and first year of university. The results showed that, globally, there were weak to medium-strong correlations between assigned CEFR levels and the three measures of syntactic complexity in English, French and Italian. Furthermore, it was found that syntactic complexity was homogeneous across the three languages at CEFR level A, whereas syntactic complexity was different across languages at CEFR level B, especially in the data for English and French. Consequences for the empirical validity of the CEFR framework and the nature of the three measures of complexity are discussed.
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| 7. |
- Hampton, Stephanie E., et al.
(författare)
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Ecology under lake ice
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 20:1, s. 98-111
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Winter conditions are rapidly changing in temperate ecosystems, particularly for those that experience periods of snow and ice cover. Relatively little is known of winter ecology in these systems, due to a historical research focus on summer ‘growing seasons’. We executed the first global quantitative synthesis on under-ice lake ecology, including 36 abiotic and biotic variables from 42 research groups and 101 lakes, examining seasonal differences and connections as well as how seasonal differences vary with geophysical factors. Plankton were more abundant under ice than expected; mean winter values were 43.2% of summer values for chlorophyll a, 15.8% of summer phytoplankton biovolume and 25.3% of summer zooplankton density. Dissolved nitrogen concentrations were typically higher during winter, and these differences were exaggerated in smaller lakes. Lake size also influenced winter-summer patterns for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), with higher winter DOC in smaller lakes. At coarse levels of taxonomic aggregation, phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition showed few systematic differences between seasons, although literature suggests that seasonal differences are frequently lake-specific, species-specific, or occur at the level of functional group. Within the subset of lakes that had longer time series, winter influenced the subsequent summer for some nutrient variables and zooplankton biomass.
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| 8. |
- Ratcliffe, Julie, et al.
(författare)
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Valuing Child Health Utility 9D Health States with Young Adults : Insights from a Time Trade Off Study
- 2015
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Ingår i: Applied Health Economics and Health Policy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1175-5652 .- 1179-1896. ; 13:5, s. 485-492
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives In contrast to the proliferation of studies incorporating health state values from adults of all ages, relatively few studies have reported upon the application of the time trade off (TTO) approach to generate health state values from populations of younger adults. This study sought to employ a conventional TTO approach to obtain values for a selection of Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D) health states from a sample of young adults aged 18-29 years and to compare with the values generated from application of the original UK adult standard gamble scoring algorithm and the Australian adolescent scoring algorithm. Methods A convenience sample of Flinders University undergraduate students aged 18-29 years were invited to participate in an interviewer administered conventional TTO task to value a series of five CHU9D health impairment states using the widely used variant developed by the York EQ-5D team. Results A total of 152 students within the target age range were approached to participate in the study of whom n = 38 consented to participate, giving an overall participation rate of 25 %. With the exception of one health state, the mean TTO values were consistently lower than those generated from application of the original scoring algorithm for the CHU9D elicited with adults of all ages. A significant proportion of participants (n = 17, 45 %) considered the most severe CHU9D (PITS) state to be worse than death. Conclusions This study adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that the values attached to identical health states are typically lower for younger people in comparison with adults of all ages and dependent upon the elicitation method utilised. The values obtained are applicable for re-scaling raw CHU9D health state values obtained from younger adolescent samples using profile case best-worst scaling.
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| 9. |
- Serrander, Ulrika, 1976-
(författare)
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Bilingual lexical processing in single word production : Swedish learners of Spanish and the effects of L2 immersion
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Bilingual speakers cannot suppress activation from their dominant language while naming pictures in a foreign and less dominant language. Previous research has revealed that this cross-langauge activation is manifested through phonological facilitation, semantic interference and between language competition. However, this research is based exclusively on highly proficient bilinguals. The present study investigates cross-linguistic activation in Swedish learners of Spanish, grouped according to their length of Spanish immersion, and one of the groups is in its very inital stages of learning. Participants named pictures in Spanish in two picture-word interference experiments, one with only non-cognates, and one including cognates. This study addresses the following research questions; (1) do the two groups of participants differ significantly from one another in terms of cross-linguistic activation, (2) what does cross-language activation look like in initial stages of L2 acquisition, (3) how does cognate status affect cross-linguistic activation and does this differ between participants depending on length of immersion?The experiments show that cross-linguistic influence is dependent on length of immersion. The more immersed participants performed very similarly to what is usually the case in highly proficient bilinguals while the less immersed participants did not. The results of the less immersed participants are interpreted as manifestations of lexical processing in initial stages of L2 acquisition. Since this type of learner has never been tested before, there are no previous results to compare to. The results are discussed in relation to the large tradition of offline research which has shown that beginning learners predominantly process their L2 phonologically, and that conceptual processing is something requiring more L2 development.Furthermore, the cognate word induced longer naming latencies in all participants and it turned out that the cognate words were highly unfamiliar. Hence all participants are sensitive to word frequency effects, and this sensitive is greater in early stages of learning. Finally this study suggests that more research must be conducted to establish cross-linguistic influence between the many languages of multi-lingual subjects, even when these languages may not be present in the testing situation.
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