PPs without Disguises: Reply to Bruening

[EN]Bresnan and Nikitina (2009) and Rappaport Hovav and Levin (2008) show that, contrary to standard assumptions, fixed-theme idioms may appear in to-constructions under certain pragmatic circumstances. Bruening (2010a) contends that the cases they present are in fact R(ightward)-dative shifts, double object constructions with the object projected to the right. In this article, we argue that Bruening’s proposed theoretical apparatus is unnecessarily complex and ad hoc and falls short of explaining the main facts it is supposed to deal with, massively overgenerating. A regular PP structure is argued to be empirically more adequate and conceptually simpler, avoiding the main problems of the R-dative shift analysis. New empirical evidence concerning pairlist readings and scope freezing also suggests that the empirical facts about idioms should be reconsidered in completely different terms.

Sistema para la detección automática de pulso y respiración en la señal de aceleración.

ES]El proyecto descrito en este documento consiste en la investigación sobre la viabilidad de detección automática de pulso y respiración a partir de la señal de aceleración, medida mediante un acelerómetro posicionado bien en la carótida o en el pecho del paciente. El motivo de la utilización de la aceleración está principalmente en el bajo costo y por la tecnología sencilla de los acelerómetros. En este documento se explica cómo se ha montado una plataforma para la adquisición de las señales de aceleración y el electrocardiograma emitido por el corazón, en sujetos sanos. Con la base de señales adquirida se ha diseñado un método basado en el dominio de la frecuencia para detectar la presencia de pulso y respiración. Los resultados son prometedores y confirman la posibilidad de desarrollar estos detectores. Las herramientas desarrolladas podrán ser utilizadas para análisis futuros y para seguir avanzando en este estudio.

Predictive score for mortality in patients with COPD exacerbations attending hospital emergency departments

Background: Limited information is available about predictors of short-term outcomes in patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (eCOPD) attending an emergency department (ED). Such information could help stratify these patients and guide medical decision-making. The aim of this study was to develop a clinical prediction rule for short-term mortality during hospital admission or within a week after the index ED visit. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of patients with eCOPD attending the EDs of 16 participating hospitals. Recruitment started in June 2008 and ended in September 2010. Information on possible predictor variables was recorded during the time the patient was evaluated in the ED, at the time a decision was made to admit the patient to the hospital or discharge home, and during follow-up. Main short-term outcomes were death during hospital admission or within 1 week of discharge to home from the ED, as well as at death within 1 month of the index ED visit. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed in a derivation sample and validated in a validation sample. The score was compared with other published prediction rules for patients with stable COPD. Results: In total, 2,487 patients were included in the study. Predictors of death during hospital admission, or within 1 week of discharge to home from the ED were patient age, baseline dyspnea, previous need for long-term home oxygen therapy or non-invasive mechanical ventilation, altered mental status, and use of inspiratory accessory muscles or paradoxical breathing upon ED arrival (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.85). Addition of arterial blood gas parameters (oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressures (PO2 and PCO2)) and pH) did not improve the model. The same variables were predictors of death at 1 month (AUC = 0.85). Compared with other commonly used tools for predicting the severity of COPD in stable patients, our rule was significantly better. Conclusions: Five clinical predictors easily available in the ED, and also in the primary care setting, can be used to create a simple and easily obtained score that allows clinicians to stratify patients with eCOPD upon ED arrival and guide the medical decision-making process.

Detection of particles with a cloud chamber

Cloud chambers were essential devices in early nuclear and particle physics research. Superseded by more modern detectors in actual research, they still remain very interesting pedagogical apparatus. This thesis attempts to give a global view on this topic. To do so, a review of the physical foundations of the diffusion cloud chamber, in which an alcohol is supersaturated by cooling it with a thermal reservoir, is carried out. Its main results are then applied to analyse the working conditions inside the chamber. The analysis remarks the importance of using an appropriate alcohol, such as isopropanol, as well as a strong cooling system, which for isopropanol needs to reach −40ºC. That theoretical study is complemented with experimental tests that were performed with what is the usual design of a home-made cloud chamber. An effective setup is established, which highlights details such as a grazing illumination, a direct contact with the cooling reservoir through a wide metal plate, or the importance of avoiding vapour removal. Apart from that, video results of different phenomena that cloud chamber allow to observe are also presented. Overall, it is aimed to present a physical insight that pedagogical papers usually lack.

Study on the activation mechanism of BCL-2 related ovarian killer (BOK)

BCL-2 family proteins are key regulators of the mitochondrial apoptotic machinery, controlling the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) permeabilization (MOMP). BCL-2 related Ovarian Killer (BOK) is a poorly understood pro-apoptotic member of this protein family. It has been reported that BOK localizes predominantly (although not exclusively) at membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and of the Golgi apparatus. However, it is unclear whether BOK also operates at the MOM to promote apoptosis, as other pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family members do. Basing on the fact that the other two BAX-like pro-apoptotic members have been reported to oligomerize in order to induce MOMP, site-directed mutagenesis was used to generate two point mutations that predictably eliminated BOK’s oligomerization capacity. Then, the effect of such mutations on BOK’s membrane activity was examined using fluorescence spectroscopy.

Photosynthetic responses of trees in high-elevation forests: comparing evergreen species along an elevation gradient in the Central Andes

Plant growth at extremely high elevations is constrained by high daily thermal amplitude, strong solar radiation and water scarcity. These conditions are particularly harsh in the tropics, where the highest elevation treelines occur. In this environment, the maintenance of a positive carbon balance involves protecting the photosynthetic apparatus and taking advantage of any climatically favourable periods. To characterize photoprotective mechanisms at such high elevations, and particularly to address the question of whether these mechanisms are the same as those previously described in woody plants along extratropical treelines, we have studied photosynthetic responses in Polylepis tarapacana Philippi in the central Andes (18 degrees S) along an elevational gradient from 4300 to 4900 m. For comparative purposes, this gradient has been complemented with a lower elevation site (3700 m) where another Polylepis species (P. rugulosa Bitter) occurs. During the daily cycle, two periods of photosynthetic activity were observed: one during the morning when, despite low temperatures, assimilation was high; and the second starting at noon when the stomata closed because of a rise in the vapour pressure deficit and thermal dissipation is prevalent over photosynthesis. From dawn to noon there was a decrease in the content of antenna pigments (chlorophyll b and neoxanthin), together with an increase in the content of xanthophyll cycle carotenoids. These results could be caused by a reduction in the antenna size along with an increase in photoprotection. Additionally, photoprotection was enhanced by a partial overnight retention of de-epoxized xanthophylls. The unique combination of all of these mechanisms made possible the efficient use of the favourable conditions during the morning while still providing enough protection for the rest of the day. This strategy differs completely from that of extratropical mountain trees, which uncouple light-harvesting and energy-use during long periods of unfavourable, winter conditions.