Block-tridiagonal linear systems and branched continued fractions

Mathematics

The contribution of the Spanish language in Flanders to the lexicon of general Spanish at the end of the 16th and during the 17th century

El examen exhaustivo de un corpus de manuscritos e impresos (1,5 millón de registros) redactados por miembros del personal político, militar y religioso español que sirvió en los Estados de Flandes (1567-1706) permite observar el uso de neologismos completamente desconocidos en el español de la Península (por ej. drosarte, liarte, marrazo ‘tierra pantanosa’) o que no aparecerán allí sino medio siglo más tarde (por ej. recluta y tren). Casi todos estos neologismos se tomaron de las variedades románicas de los Estados de Flandes (picardo y valón), además del francés estándar, que no solo se hablaba en la parte meridional del país, sino que lo practicaban también las clases altas (aristocracia, comerciantes, etc.) de la parte septentrional del país, donde el pueblo hablaba el neerlandés o uno de susdialectos. El uso de estos (y otros más) neologismos peculiares en la lengua española de Flandes tiene como consecuencia que el español de Flandes merece tratarse en adelante, por lo menos desde el punto de vista lexicológico, como una variante peculiar del español áureo.El examen exhaustivo de un corpus de manuscritos e impresos (1,5 millón de registros) redactados por miembros del personal político, militar y religioso español que sirvió en los Estados de Flandes (1567-1706) permite observar el uso de neologismos completamente desconocidos en el español de la Península (por ej. drosarte, liarte, marrazo ‘tierra pantanosa’) o que no aparecerán allí sino medio siglo más tarde (por ej. recluta y tren). Casi todos estos neologismos se tomaron de las variedades románicas de los Estados de Flandes (picardo y valón), además del francés estándar, que no solo se hablaba en la parte meridional del país, sino que lo practicaban también las clases altas (aristocracia, comerciantes, etc.) de la parte septentrional del país, donde el pueblo hablaba el neerlandés o uno de susdialectos. El uso de estos (y otros más) neologismos peculiares en la lengua española de Flandes tiene como consecuencia que el español de Flandes merece tratarse en adelante, por lo menos desde el punto de vista lexicológico, como una variante peculiar del español áureo.El examen exhaustivo de un corpus de manuscritos e impresos (1,5 millón de registros) redactados por miembros del personal político, militar y religioso español que sirvió en los Estados de Flandes (1567-1706) permite observar el uso de neologismos completamente desconocidos en el español de la Península (por ej. drosarte, liarte, marrazo ‘tierra pantanosa’) o que no aparecerán allí sino medio siglo más tarde (por ej. recluta y tren). Casi todos estos neologismos se tomaron de las variedades románicas de los Estados de Flandes (picardo y valón), además del francés estándar, que no solo se hablaba en la parte meridional del país, sino que lo practicaban también las clases altas (aristocracia, comerciantes, etc.) de la parte septentrional del país, donde el pueblo hablaba el neerlandés o uno de susdialectos. El uso de estos (y otros más) neologismos peculiares en la lengua española de Flandes tiene como consecuencia que el español de Flandes merece tratarse en adelante, por lo menos desde el punto de vista lexicológico, como una variante peculiar del español áureo.The exhaustive analysis of a corpus of manuscripts and books (1,5 million of records) redacted by Spanish members of the politic, military and religious staff being on duty in Flanders (1567-1706) allows us to observe the use of neologisms which were completely unknown in the Spanish language of the Peninsula (for ex. drosarte, liarte, marrazo ‘swamp’) or which will not appear there until half a century later (for ex. Recluta y tren). Nearly all these neologisms were borrowed from the Romanic varieties of Flanders (Picard and Walloon), besides standard French, which was not only the main language of the southern part, but was also used by the higher classes of the northernpart of the country, where people spoke Dutch or one of its dialects. The consequence of the use of these (and others) neologisms peculiar to the Spanish language of Flanders is that henceforward the Spanish language of this area merits the treatment, at least from a lexical point of view, as a peculiar variant of the Spanish of the Golden Age

La aportación de la lengua española de Flandes al léxico del español general a finales del siglo XVI y durante el siglo XVII

El examen exhaustivo de un corpus de manuscritos e impresos (1,5 millón de registros) redactados por miembros del personal político, militar y religioso español que sirvió en los Estados de Flandes (1567-1706) permite observar el uso de neologismos completamente desconocidos en el español de la Península (por ej. drosarte, liarte, marrazo 'tierra pantanosa') o que no aparecerán allí sino medio siglo más tarde (por ej. recluta y tren). Casi todos estos neologismos se tomaron de las variedades románicas de los Estados de Flandes (picardo y valón), además del francés estándar, que no solo se hablaba en la parte meridional del país, sino que lo practicaban también las clases altas (aristocracia, comerciantes, etc.) de la parte septentrional del país, donde el pueblo hablaba el neerlandés o uno de susdialectos. El uso de estos (y otros más) neologismos peculiares en la lengua española de Flandes tiene como consecuencia que el español de Flandes merece tratarse en adelante, por lo menos desde el punto de vista lexicológico, como una variante peculiar del español áureo.The exhaustive analysis of a corpus of manuscripts and books (1,5 million of records) redacted by Spanish members of the politic, military and religious staff being on duty in Flanders (1567-1706) allows us to observe the use of neologisms which were completely unknown in the Spanish language of the Peninsula (for ex. drosarte, liarte, marrazo 'swamp') or which will not appear there until half a century later (for ex. Recluta y tren). Nearly all these neologisms were borrowed from the Romanic varieties of Flanders (Picard and Walloon), besides standard French, which was not only the main language of the southern part, but was also used by the higher classes of the northernpart of the country, where people spoke Dutch or one of its dialects. The consequence of the use of these (and others) neologisms peculiar to the Spanish language of Flanders is that henceforward the Spanish language of this area merits the treatment, at least from a lexical point of view, as a peculiar variant of the Spanish of the Golden Age

Te digo (de venir); me pide (de) salir. A propósito del uso erróneo del infinitivo en las sustantivas de régimen directo

Se analiza el uso erróneo del infinitivo en las sustantivas de régimen directo por parte de los alumnos de E/ LE. Como la mayor parte de los manuales recientes de E/ LE no aborda el problema de la dicotomía subjuntivo/ infinitivo, o no aporta una solución satisfactoria, se ha analizado un amplio corpus de teatro actual, para determinar concretamente esta cuestión

Improvement in hypercapnia does not predict survival in COPD patients on chronic noninvasive ventilation

Purpose: It has recently been shown that chronic noninvasive ventilation (NIV) improves a number of outcomes including survival, in patients with stable hypercapnic COPD. However, the mechanisms responsible for these improved outcomes are still unknown. The aim of the present study was to identify parameters associated with: 1) an improved arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) and 2) survival, in a cohort of hypercapnic COPD patients treated with chronic NIV. Patients and methods: Data from 240 COPD patients treated with chronic NIV were analyzed. Predictors for the change in PaCO2 and survival were investigated using multivariate linear and Cox regression models, respectively. Results: A higher level of bicarbonate before NIV initiation, the use of higher inspiratory ventilator pressures, the presence of anxiety symptoms, and NIV initiated following an exacerbation compared to NIV initiated in stable disease were associated with a larger reduction in PaCO2. A higher body mass index, a higher FEV1, a lower bicarbonate before NIV initiation, and younger age and NIV initiation in stable condition were independently associated with better survival. The change in PaCO2 was not associated with survival, neither in a subgroup of patients with a PaCO2 >7.0 kPa before the initiation of NIV. Conclusion: Patients with anxiety symptoms and a high bicarbonate level at NIV initiation are potentially good responders in terms of an improvement in hypercapnia. Also, higher inspiratory ventilator pressures are associated with a larger reduction in PaCO2. However, the improvement in hypercapnia does not seem to be associated with an improved survival and emphasizes the need to look beyond PaCO2 when considering NIV initiation

Accuracy of magnetic resonance studies in the detection of chondral and labral lesions in femoroacetabular impingement : systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Several types of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are commonly used in imaging of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), however till now there are no clear protocols and recommendations for each type. The aim of this meta-analysis is to detect the accuracy of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI), direct magnetic resonance arthrography (dMRA) and indirect magnetic resonance arthrography (iMRA) in the diagnosis of chondral and labral lesions in femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Methods: A literature search was finalized on the 17th of May 2016 to collect all studies identifying the accuracy of cMRI, dMRA and iMRA in diagnosing chondral and labral lesions associated with FAI using surgical results (arthroscopic or open) as a reference test. Pooled sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence intervals using a random-effects meta-analysis for MRI, dMRA and iMRA were calculated also area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was retrieved whenever possible where AUC is equivocal to diagnostic accuracy. Results: The search yielded 192 publications which were reviewed according inclusion and exclusion criteria then 21 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria for the qualitative analysis with a total number of 828 cases, lastly 12 studies were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that as regard labral lesions the pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUC for cMRI were 0.864, 0.833 and 0.88 and for dMRA were 0.91, 0.58 and 0.92. While in chondral lesions the pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUC for cMRI were 0.76, 0.72 and 0.75 and for dMRA were 0.75, 0.79 and 0.83, while for iMRA were sensitivity of 0.722 and specificity of 0.917. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis showed that the diagnostic test accuracy was superior for dMRA when compared with cMRI for detection of labral and chondral lesions. The diagnostic test accuracy was superior for labral lesions when compared with chondral lesions in both cMRI and dMRA. Promising results are obtained concerning iMRA but further studies still needed to fully assess its diagnostic accuracy

“We are all so different that it is just … normal.”:Normalization practices in an academic hospital in the Netherlands

Internationally, academic hospitals are giving increasing attention to diversity management. This paper sheds light on the actual praxis of cultural diversity management by professionals in workplace interactions. An ethnographic study in a Dutch academic hospital showed that normalization practices were obscuring diversity issues and obstructing inclusion of cultural minority professionals. The normalization of professionalism-as-neutral and equality-as-sameness informed the unequal distribution of privilege and disadvantage among professionals and left no room to question this distribution. Majority and minority professionals disciplined themselves and each other in (re)producing an ideal worker norm, essentialized difference and sameness, and explained away the structural hierarchy involved. To create space for cultural diversity in healthcare organizations in the Netherlands and beyond, we need to challenge normalization practices

"As an ethnic minority, you just have to work twice as hard." Experiences and motivation of ethnic minority students in medical education

INTRODUCTION: Adequate representation of ethnic minority groups in the medical workforce is crucial for ensuring equitable healthcare to diverse patient groups. This requires recruiting ethnic minority medical students and taking measures that enable them to complete their medical studies successfully. Grounded in self-determination theory and intersectionality, this paper explores the experiences of ethnic minority medical students across intersections with gender and other categories of difference and how these relate to students’ motivation. METHODS: An explorative, qualitative study was designed. Six focus groups were conducted with 26 ethnic minority students between December 2016 and May 2017. Thematic analysis was performed to identify, analyse and report themes within the data. RESULTS: The findings were categorized into three main themes: the role of autonomy in the formation of motivation, including students’ own study choice and the role of their family; interactions/‘othering’ in the learning environment, including feelings of not belonging; and intersection of ethnic minority background and gender with being ‘the other’, based on ethnicity. DISCUSSION: Ethnic minority students generally do not have a prior medical network and need role models to whom they can relate. Ensuring or even appointing more ethnic minority role models throughout the medical educational continuum—for example, specialists from ethnic minorities in teaching and/or mentoring roles in the education—and making them more visible to students is recommended. Moreover, a culture needs to be created in the educational environment in which students and staff can discuss their ethnicity-related differences. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version of this article (10.1007/s40037-021-00679-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users