Language access and language selection in professional translators.

Two experiments were conducted measuring self-paced reading to study language access and language selection in professional translators and bilinguals when they understood sentences randomly presented in their first language (L1, Spanish) and second language (L2, English). These sentences contained a critical cognate word or a control matched word. The effect of cognate words was considered an index of between-language activation while the inhibition of the non-target language was examined with the asymmetrical switching cost. In Experiment 1, participants read and repeated sentences while in Experiment 2 participants read sentences without repeating them after reading. The results indicated that lexical processing depended on the experience of participants in professional translation and the demands imposed by the understanding task (reading and repeating or only reading).

Molecular characterisation of growth differentiation factor 9 (gdf9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (bmp15) and their patterns of gene expression during the ovarian reproductive cycle in the European sea bass.

Members of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), have crucial roles in primary follicle growth in mammals. To initiate investigations into their significance in teleost oogenesis, we set out to clone and characterise the cDNAs of gdf9 and bmp15 and analysed their patterns of gene expression during the ovarian reproductive cycle in the European sea bass (Dicentrachus labrax). Sea bass gdf9 and bmp15 cDNAs were 2200 and 2049 bp long, coding for 438 and 459 amino acids (aas), respectively, and were most similar to zebrafish gdf9 and bmp15 (64.4 and 56.1%, respectively). By Northern analysis, sea bass gdf9 and bmp15 mRNA transcripts were detected in the ovary only of the tissues analysed and their sizes were 2.2 and 2.1 kb, respectively. Dot-blot analysis revealed high levels of gdf9 and bmp15 expression in the ovary during primary oocyte growth and previtellogenesis (July to October), with a significant decline at the onset of vitellogenesis (November) and remaining low until the beginning of new oocyte growth (April/May). There was a highly significant positive correlation (r=0.939) between gdf9 and bmp15 gene expression in individual samples. The high levels of gdf9 and bmp15 mRNA transcripts in the ovary, especially during the previtellogenic growth period suggest an important role for these factors in early primary oocyte growth in the European sea bass.

Choroideremia, sensorineural deafness, and primary ovarian failure in a woman with a balanced X-4 translocation.

We present clinical and cytogenetic studies of a female patient affected with choroideremia, mild sensorineural deafness, and primary amenorrhea showing a balanced translocation between chromosomes X and 4. The breakpoint was precisely defined applying FISH techniques: 46,X,t(X;4)(q21.2;p16.3).ish t(X;4)(D4S96+, D4F26+; wcpX+). The X-chromosomal breakpoint was located within a region where both the choroideremia locus and a deafness locus (DFN3/POU3F4) have been mapped. The presence of X-linked disorders in this balanced carrier of X-autosomal translocations (XAT) can be explained either by the disruption of the structural coding or regulatory sequences of the gene(s) or by the submicroscopic deletion of this region leading to a contiguous gene deletion syndrome. The primary ovarian failure (POF) found in the present case has been already observed in XAT when the breakpoint is within a previously defined critical region (Xq13-26). A position effect is postulated as a possible explanation.

Results of orthotopic liver transplantation: a personal experience.

The authors report on their experience of 158 liver transplants performed on 135 patients. Nineteen underwent re-transplantation and four of these required a second re-transplantation; total number of re-transplantations: 23 (14.6%). Hepatic cirrhosis was the most common indication (50.6%), of which alcoholic cirrhosis was the most common type (32.5%). The authors briefly report on their operative techniques and the results of their procedures. The operative mortality (30 days) was 13.3% (18 out of 135 patients). Complications included nine cases of hepatic artery thrombosis (5.7%), four of arterial stenosis (2.5%), one case of portal venous stenosis (0.63%), four cases of post-operative portal venous thrombosis (2.5%), seven of biliary fistula (4.4%; five following choledochocholedochostomy and two following choledochojejunostomy), and two cases of common bile duct stenosis (1.3%). The actuarial survival rate at 48 months is 80%.

Results of transhiatal esophagectomy in cancer of the esophagus and other diseases.

We present the results we obtained during the last 12 years with transhiatal esophagectomy. Two hundred and eighty-three patients were operated on using this procedure; 171 of them underwent the operation for cancer of the esophagus, 73 for cancer of the cardia, and 11 for cancer of the hypopharynx. The tumor stage, the operative technique, and the type of esophageal replacement (stomach: 62.9%; colon: 37.1%) are described. Overall operative mortality was 5.6%, mainly as a result of respiratory insufficiency. Long-term survival was 11.9% at five years for cancer of the esophagus, much lower than the 48.3% for cancer of the cardia.