19 research outputs found
RHETORICAL VARIATION IN ENGLISH AND ITALIAN LAW RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACTS: A CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
No full textThe study of academic discourse has become an area of great interest over the last two decades, especially from a genre perspective (e.g. Swales 1990, 2004; Bhatia 1993, 2004). Research in the field has mainly focused on highly conventionalised written academic genres, such as research articles, abstracts, and textbooks, often combining linguistic and rhetorical analysis. Although not as widely studied as the research article itself or the textbook, the abstract has drawn the attention of a number of genre researchers (Salager-Meyer 1990; Bhatia 1993; Kaplan et al. 1994; Santos 1996; Bondi 1997, 2001; Hyland 2000; Martín-Martín 2003; Dahl 2004; Lorés-Sanz 2004, 2009; Samraj 2005; Pho 2008; Bondi and Cavalieri 2012; Bondi and Lorés-Sanz 2014).
Genre-based studies on research article (RA) abstracts have received quite a lot of scholarly attention in English (e.g. Graetz 1985; Berkenkotter and Huckin 1995; Santos 1996; Hyland 2000; Lorés-Sanz 2004; Cross and Oppenheim 2006; Swales and Feak 2009), across different disciplinary fields (Harvey and Horsella 1988; Salager-Meyer 1990; Tibbo 1992; Lindeberg 1996; Anderson and Maclean 1997; Hartley and Benjamin 1998; Samraj 2005; Busch-Lauer 2014; Cavalieri 2014), and across cultures. There are studies comparing English with Spanish (Martín-Martín 2003, 2005; Lorés-Sanz 2009), French (Crosnier 1993; Van Bonn and Swales 2007; Alonso-Almeida 2014; Hatzitheodorou 2014), Portuguese (Johns 1992), German (Busch-Lauer 1995), Swedish (Melander et al. 1997), and Arabic (Alharbi and Swales 2011). One notable exception to date is lack of attention to abstracts written in Italian.
The context of this work is provided by a previous study (Diani 2014) which looked at the rhetorical structure of English and Italian RA abstracts in the field of linguistics. The aim of the present study is to extend previous observations to the field of law, with the intent of investigating the rhetorical preferences that characterize the members of the international and Italian scientific communities in this disciplinary field.
Within this field, extensive research has been conducted on the analysis of non-academic texts (e.g. Bhatia 1993, 2008; Gotti and Williams 2010; Bhatia et al. 2012). To the best of our knowledge, however, little attention has been paid to the analysis of academic legal texts such as RAs (Feak et al. 2000; Tessuto 2008; Peacock 2011; Sala 2012, 2014; Tessuto 2015), and RA abstracts in particular: in fact, only few studies are known to us (Frey and Kaplan 2010; Tessuto 2012; Hatzitheodorou 2014; Sala 2014; Cavalieri and Preite forthcoming). This paper seeks to fill the gap by providing insights into variation across the two cultures emerged from the linguistic realisations of the rhetorical moves characterizing the abstract genre in the discipline of criminal law
Rhetorical Variation in English and Italian Law Research Article Abstracts: A Cross-Linguistic Analysis
No full textThe study of academic discourse has become an area of great interest over the last two decades, especially from a genre perspective (e.g. Swales 1990, 2004; Bhatia 1993, 2004). Research in the field has mainly focused on highly conventionalised written academic genres, such as research articles, abstracts, and textbooks, often combining linguistic and rhetorical analysis. Although not as widely studied as the research article itself or the textbook, the abstract has drawn the attention of a number of genre researchers (Salager-Meyer 1990; Bhatia 1993; Kaplan et al. 1994; Santos 1996; Bondi 1997, 2001; Hyland 2000; Martín-Martín 2003; Dahl 2004; Lorés-Sanz 2004, 2009; Samraj 2005; Pho 2008; Bondi and Cavalieri 2012; Bondi and Lorés-Sanz 2014).
Genre-based studies on research article (RA) abstracts have received quite a lot of scholarly attention in English (e.g. Graetz 1985; Berkenkotter and Huckin 1995; Santos 1996; Hyland 2000; Lorés-Sanz 2004; Cross and Oppenheim 2006; Swales and Feak 2009), across different disciplinary fields (Harvey and Horsella 1988; Salager-Meyer 1990; Tibbo 1992; Lindeberg 1996; Anderson and Maclean 1997; Hartley and Benjamin 1998; Samraj 2005; Busch-Lauer 2014; Cavalieri 2014), and across cultures. There are studies comparing English with Spanish (Martín-Martín 2003, 2005; Lorés-Sanz 2009), French (Crosnier 1993; Van Bonn and Swales 2007; Alonso-Almeida 2014; Hatzitheodorou 2014), Portuguese (Johns 1992), German (Busch-Lauer 1995), Swedish (Melander et al. 1997), and Arabic (Alharbi and Swales 2011). One notable exception to date is lack of attention to abstracts written in Italian.
The context of this work is provided by a previous study (Diani 2014) which looked at the rhetorical structure of English and Italian RA abstracts in the field of linguistics. The aim of the present study is to extend previous observations to the field of law, with the intent of investigating the rhetorical preferences that characterize the members of the international and Italian scientific communities in this disciplinary field.
Within this field, extensive research has been conducted on the analysis of non-academic texts (e.g. Bhatia 1993, 2008; Gotti and Williams 2010; Bhatia et al. 2012). To the best of our knowledge, however, little attention has been paid to the analysis of academic legal texts such as RAs (Feak et al. 2000; Tessuto 2008; Peacock 2011; Sala 2012, 2014; Tessuto 2015), and RA abstracts in particular: in fact, only few studies are known to us (Frey and Kaplan 2010; Tessuto 2012; Hatzitheodorou 2014; Sala 2014; Cavalieri and Preite forthcoming). This paper seeks to fill the gap by providing insights into variation across the two cultures emerged from the linguistic realisations of the rhetorical moves characterizing the abstract genre in the discipline of criminal law
HIV/HBV co-infection and rate of antiretroviral treatment change after highly active antiretroviral treatment initiation in a cohort of HIV-infected patients in Greece
No full textThe current study investigated the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection on the rate of change of antiretroviral drugs after the initiation of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). The data on 1425 HIV-positive patients with recorded serology for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were retrospectively analysed. The estimated rate of treatment change was slightly higher in the HBsAg-positive group (0.57 per year) compared with the HBsAg-negative group (0.50 per year). Although this difference was insignificant in multivariable modelling, the confidence intervals of the estimates barely included unity. Antiretroviral drug family, calendar period, prior exposure to antiretrovirals and the diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were independently associated with the number of drug alterations. A slight impact of co-infection on the frequency of treatment change after the beginning of HAART cannot be excluded. However, the paucity of studies on this issue necessitates the conduct of further research
Impact of hepatitis B virus infection on the progression of AIDS and mortality in HIV-infected individuals: A cohort study and meta-analysis
No full textBackground. The effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on the natural history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease remains uncertain. Therefore, a retrospective cohort study was conducted to examine the influence of HIV-HBV coinfection on AIDS development and overall mortality. Moreover, our results were added to those of previous studies in a literature-based meta-analysis. Methods. Serum samples obtained from HIV-seropositive patients from 1984 through 2003 were retrospectively tested for hepatitis B surface antigen. Multivariable analyses were performed using Poisson and logistic regression models. For meta-analytic purposes, eligible articles were identified and relevant data were abstracted. Pooled estimates of effect were calculated applying fixed and random effects models. Results. The prevalence of chronic HBV infection (documented hepatitis B surface antigen seropositivity for >6 months) among 1729 HIV-positive patients was ∼6%. The multivariable analyses in our primary study revealed no significant impact of concomitant HIV-HBV infection on progression to AIDS and all-cause mortality. However, a meta-analysis performed on data from 12,382 patients enrolled in 11 studies revealed a significant effect of HIV- HBV coinfection on overall mortality (pooled effect estimate, 1.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-1.64). The increased rate of death among coinfected individuals was observed in the meta-analyses of studies conducted both before (pooled effect estimate, 1.60; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-2.39) and after (pooled effect estimate, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.60) commencement of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Conclusions. HIV-HBV coinfection seems to affect all-cause mortality, and strategies to reduce liver damage in patients coinfected with HIV and HBV are justified. © 2009 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved
Clinical evaluation of the arms RT-PCR for the quantitative detection of M204V variants in chronic HBV patients
No full textHIV/HBV co-infection and rate of antiretroviral treatment change after highly active antiretroviral treatment initiation in a cohort of HIV-infected patients in Greece
No full text The current study investigated the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection on the rate of change of antiretroviral drugs after the initiation of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART). The data on 1425 HIV-positive patients with recorded serology for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were retrospectively analysed. The estimated rate of treatment change was slightly higher in the HBsAg-positive group (0.57 per year) compared with the HBsAg-negative group (0.50 per year). Although this difference was insignificant in multivariable modelling, the confidence intervals of the estimates barely included unity. Antiretroviral drug family, calendar period, prior exposure to antiretrovirals and the diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were independently associated with the number of drug alterations. A slight impact of co-infection on the frequency of treatment change after the beginning of HAART cannot be excluded. However, the paucity of studies on this issue necessitates the conduct of further research. </jats:p
Maturity testing of lightweight self-compacting and vibrated concretes
No full textA series of laboratory tests were carried out to investigate the effect of temperature on the early-age strength development of lightweight self-compacting and vibrated concrete mixtures. These had been developed at Queen’s University Belfast as part of a Technology Strategy Board funded project aimed at developing lightweight and low energy concretes. The new mixtures incorporated high volumes of pulverised fuel ash (PFA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), and limestone powder (LSP). Activator, i.e. sodium sulphate, was used to improve the early age strength development of vibrated concrete mixtures proportioned with PFA and GGBS. For each mixture, concrete cubes were manufactured and cured under isothermal (20 °C, 30 °C, 40 °C and 50 °C) as well as adiabatic conditions. The temperature rise under adiabatic curing conditions was also measured. The resulting isothermal strength data were analysed to determine the apparent activation energies of the binders/mixtures used. The suitability of maturity methods for predicting concrete strength development of these low energy lightweight self-compacting and vibrated concrete mixtures under non-isothermal, i.e. adiabatic, curing was assessed
The long-term effectiveness of efavirenz-based combination antiretroviral therapy, the impact of pharmacogenomics and pharmacokinetic interaction of artemisinin-based antimalarial therapy on efavirenz exposure among Ghanaian HIV-infected patients
No full textDr. Fred Stephen Sarfo, The long-term effectiveness of efavirenz-based combination antiretroviral therapy, the impact of pharmacogenomics and pharmacokinetic interaction of artemisinin-based antimalarial therapy on efavirenz exposure among Ghanaian HIV-infected patients. PhD dissertation, Durham University, January 2013.
Introduction: In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV treatment is initiated with combination of antiretroviral medications comprising of a backbone of either stavudine or zidovudine plus lamivudine with a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor of either efavirenz or nevirapine. Efavirenz is highly efficacious, durable and well tolerated. The risk for toxicity of efavirenz is determined by several factors including single nucleotide polymorphisms in the hepatic enzymes responsible for its metabolism and concurrently administered medications such as antimalarials, which share common metabolic pathways. The aims of this dissertation are to assess the long-term effectiveness of efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy and the impact of pharmogenomics and pharmacokinetic interactions of artemisinin-based antimalarial therapy on efavirenz exposure among Ghanaian HIV-infected patients.
Methods: The effectiveness of efavirenz- compared with nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy was assessed retrospectively in nearly 4000 patients starting treatment between 2004 and 2010. The main outcome measure was a composite of toxicity, disease progression and attrition, and CD4 count changes. A prospective pharmacokinetic study of artesunate and efavirenz was conducted among 22 HIV-infected and 21 controls. Plasma efavirenz and artesunate/ dihydroartemisinin concentrations were measured using validated and standardised methods. Genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms in CYP2B6 G516T, T983C; CYP2A6*9B, UGT2B7*735 and *802 as well as CAR rs2307424 were performed for 800 patients with real-time polymerase chain reaction with allelic discrimination.
Results: Antiretroviral therapy was associated with robust CD4 increases. Efavirenz was comparable with nevirapine in composite outcomes but better tolerated. Artesunate was well tolerated when administered to HIV-infected patients on efavirenz. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the CYP2B6 G516T and T983C were associated with increased plasma efavirenz concentrations.
Conclusions/Recommendation: Among this Ghanaian cohort, both efavirenz and nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy were effective. The better tolerability of efavirenz compared with nevirapine means it can be safely used as the preferred first line non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor in sub-Saharan Africa
Prevalence of resistance-associated mutations in newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients in Greece
No full textThe prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance mutations in native patients has been previously shown to differ greatly with the geographic origin. The purpose of this study was to prospectively estimate the prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance in Greece by analyzing a representative sample of newly HIV-1 diagnosed patients, as part of the SPREAD collaborative study. Protease (PR) and partial reverse transcriptase (RT) sequences were determined from 101 newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients, in Greece, during the period September 2002-August2003, representing one-third of the total newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients in the same time period. The prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance was estimated according to the IAS-USA mutation table taking into account a] I mutations in RT and only major mutations in PR region. The overall prevalence of resistance was 9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.2-16.2%]. The prevalence of mutations associated with resistance to NRTIs was 5% (95% Cl: 1.6-11.2%), for NNRTIs was 4% (95% CI: 1. 1-9.8%), while no major resistance mutations were found in PR. No multi-class resistance was detected in the study population. The prevalence of resistant mutations in the recent seroconverters was 22%. For two individuals, there was clear evidence for transmitted resistance based on epidemiological information for a known source of HIV-I transmission. The prevalence of the HIV-1 non-B subtypes and recombinants was 52%. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Prevalence of resistance-associated mutations in newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients in Greece
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