L1-Korean L2-English Speakers’ Performance of Refusal Speech Acts in EFL and ELF contexts

Xiumin Liu,Nuan Liu,백순도 한국응용언어학회 2022 응용 언어학 Vol.38 No.4

Refusal speech acts have received much attention in the L2 pragmatics literature due to their complexity and learning difficulty. However, most of previous research studies were conducted with English-learning students with focus on situations in which English was used as a foreign language (EFL) in interaction with a native speaker of English, making it difficult to generalize their findings to professionals using English as a lingua franca (ELF) in interaction with non-native speakers of English. To address this research gap, the present study investigated refusal speech acts performed in EFL and ELF contexts by participants whose working language was English. Data were obtained using the Discourse Completion Task. Thirty-four L1-Korean L2-English speakers' response in English in both EFL and ELF contexts provided L2 data, while 36 L1-Korean and 35 L1-English speakers' response in their native languages provided L1-baseline data. L1-Korean L2-English speakers showed both L1 transfer and target-like performance in terms of frequencies of different refusal strategies and content of expressions used to perform refusal strategies, with L1 transfer effects being clearer in content of expressions. Possible reasons for the complex pattern of L1 transfer and potential roles of characteristics of participants and contexts were discussed.

The Use of ‘Delexical Verb + Noun’ Collocations by the Korean and Chinese EFL Learners : A Corpus-Based Study

Nuan Liu,Xiumin Liu,Soondo Baek 이화여자대학교 사범대학 교과교육연구소 2022 교과교육학연구 Vol.26 No.6

The acquisition of appropriate combinations of delexical verbs and their object nouns (e.g., make a mistake vs. *do/have a mistake) is known to be difficult for L2 learners of English largely due to arbitrariness in association between the verbs and the object nouns. The researchers aimed to deepen our understanding of the nature of this learning difficulty by analyzing Korean and Chinese learners written corpora in regard to the frequency and error patterns of delexical verb + noun collocations for the six typical light verbs (do, get, give, have, make, and take). A native written corpus was used to establish the target norm for the use of the target constructions. The overall results show that both Chinese and Korean EFL learners, as compared with English L1 writers, used a limited number of target constructions repeatedly, revealing a lack of collocational knowledge as to delexical verbs. More specific analyses on individual verbs present both similarities and differences across the individual verbs and the three groups of writers, suggesting that the degree of difficulty in acquiring delexical verb + noun collocations could be modulated by the frequency with which they appear in the input and how their meanings are lexically represented in the learners’ L1.

Increased Expression of TGF-β1 in Correlation with Liver Fibrosis during Echinococcus granulosus Infection in Mice

Yumei Liu,Gulizhaer Abudounnasier,Taochun Zhang,Xuelei Liu,Qian Wang,Yi Yan,Jianbing Ding,Hao Wen,Delixiati Yimiti,Xiumin Ma 대한기생충학열대의학회 2016 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.54 No.4

The Associations of Family Functioning, General Well-Being, and Exercise with Mental Health among End-Stage Renal Disease Patients

Qi Wang,Hongjian Liu,Zheng Ren,Wenjing Xiong,Minfu He,Nan Li,Xinwen Fan,Xia Guo,Xiangrong Li,Hong Shi,Shuang Zha,Xiumin Zhang 대한신경정신의학회 2020 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.17 No.4

Objective This study aims to explore the relationships of family functioning, general well-being, and exercise with psychological distress. Furthermore, we investigated the special roles of general well-being and exercise on the association between family functioning and psychological distress. Methods Of 769 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients participated in the cross-sectional study which consisted of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the Family APGAR Scales, and the General Well-Being Schedule. The collected data were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis and path analysis. Results The prevalence of psychological distress was 72.3%. Family functioning, general well-being and exercise were associated factors of psychological distress (p<0.05). The indirect effect of family functioning on psychological distress was partially mediated by general well-being (Effect=-0.08, 95% CI=-0.11, -0.04). In addition, the effect of family functioning on general well-being was moderated by exercise (Index=-0.092, SE=0.033, 95% CI=-0.159, -0.029). Conclusion The prevalence of psychological distress among ESRD patients was high. Family functioning, general well-being and exercise were associated with psychological distress. Family functioning could affect psychological distress partially by affecting general wellbeing. Furthermore, exercise had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between family functioning and general well-being.

Cisplatin-induced PANDAR-Chemo-EVs contribute to a more aggressive and chemoresistant ovarian cancer phenotype through the SRSF9-SIRT4/ SIRT6 axis

Hao Wang,Yinuo Liu,Yanan Wang,Xiumin Shang,Zhongxin Yan,Shengli Li,Wei Bao 대한부인종양학회 2024 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.35 No.2

Objective: We previously elucidated that long non-coding RNA Promoter of CDKN1A AntisenseDNA damage Activated RNA (PANDAR) as a p53-dependent oncogene to promote cisplatinresistance in ovarian cancer (OC). Intriguingly, high level of p53-independent PANDAR wasfound in cisplatin-resistant patients with p53 mutation. Here, our study probed the new rolesand the underlying mechanisms of PANDAR in p53-mutant OC cisplatin-resistance. Methods: A2780 and A2780-DDP cells were ser ved as OC cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant cells. HO-8910PM cells were subjected to construct chemotherapy-inducedextracellular vesicles (Chemo-EVs). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticletracking analysis were employed to evaluate Chemo-EVs. Cell viability was assessed using cellcounting kit-8 and colony formation assays. Cell apoptosis was assessed using Annexin V andpropidium iodide staining. The relationships between PANDAR, serine and arginine-rich pre-mRNA splicing factor 9 (SRSF9) were verified by RNA immunoprecipitation and fluorescencein situ hybridization. Tumor xenograft experiment was employed to evaluate the effects ofPANDAR-Chemo-EVs on OC cisplatin-resistance in vivo. Immunofluorescent staining andimmunohistochemistr y were performed in tumor tissue. Results: PANDAR level increased in OC patients with p53-mutation. PANDAR efflux enactedvia exosomes under cisplatin conditions. Additionally, exosomes from OC cell lines carriedPANDAR, which significantly increased cell sur vival and chemoresistance in vitro and tumorprogression and metastasis in vivo. During cisplatin-induced stress, SRSF9 was recruited tonuclear bodies by increased PANDAR and muted apoptosis in response to cisplatin. Besides,SRSF9 significantly increased the ratio of SIRT4/SIRT6 mRNA in OC. Conclusion: Cisplatin-induced exosomes transfer PANDAR and lead to a rapid adaptation ofOC cell sur vival through accumulating SRSF9 following cisplatin stress exposure.

Left Ventricular Remodeling in Patients with Primary Aldosteronism: A Prospective Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Wu Tao,Ren Yan,Wang Wei,Cheng Wei,Zhou Fangli,He Shuai,Liu Xiumin,Li Lei,Tang Lu,Deng Qiao,Zhou Xiaoyue,Chen Yucheng,Sun Jiayu 대한영상의학회 2021 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.22 No.10

Objective: This study used cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to compare the characteristics of left ventricular remodeling in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) with those of patients with essential hypertension (EH) and healthy controls (HCs). Materials and Methods: This prospective study enrolled 35 patients with PA, in addition to 35 age- and sex-matched patients with EH, and 35 age- and sex-matched HCs, all of whom underwent comprehensive clinical and cardiac MRI examinations. The analysis of variance was used to detect the differences in the characteristics of left ventricular remodeling among the three groups. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to determine the relationships between left ventricular remodeling and the physiological variables. Results: The left ventricular end-diastolic volume index (EDVi) (mean ± standard deviation [SD]: 85.1 ± 13.0 mL/m2 for PA, 75.9 ± 14.3 mL/m2 for EH, and 77.3 ± 12.8 mL/m2 for HC; p = 0.010), left ventricular end-systolic volume index (ESVi) (mean ± SD: 35.2 ± 9.8 mL/m2 for PA, 30.7 ± 8.1 mL/m2 for EH, and 29.5 ± 7.0 mL/m2 for HC; p = 0.013), left ventricular mass index (mean ± SD: 65.8 ± 16.5 g/m2 for PA, 56.9 ± 12.1 g/m2 for EH, and 44.1 ± 8.9 g/m2 for HC; p < 0.001), and native T1 (mean ± SD: 1224 ± 39 ms for PA, 1201 ± 47 ms for EH, and 1200 ± 44 ms for HC; p = 0.041) values were higher in the PA group compared to the EH and HC groups. Multivariable linear regression demonstrated that log (plasma aldosteroneto- renin ratio) was independently correlated with EDVi and ESVi. Plasma aldosterone was independently correlated with native T1. Conclusion: Patients with PA showed a greater degree of ventricular hypertrophy and enlargement, as well as myocardial fibrosis, compared to those with EH. Cardiac MRI T1 mapping can detect left ventricular myocardial fibrosis in patients with PA.

Accelerated Time-of-Flight Magnetic Resonance Angiography with Sparse Undersampling and Iterative Reconstruction for the Evaluation of Intracranial Arteries

Hehan Tang,Na Hu,Yuan Yuan,Chunchao Xia,Xiumin Liu,Panli Zuo,Aurelien F. Stalder,Michaela Schmidt,Xiaoyue Zhou,Bin Song,Jiayu Sun 대한영상의학회 2019 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.20 No.2

Objective: To compare the image quality of three-dimensional time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with sparse undersampling and iterative reconstruction (sparse TOF) with that of conventional TOF MRA. Materials and Methods: This study included 56 patients who had undergone sparse TOF MRA for intracranial artery evaluation on a 3T MR scanner. Conventional TOF MRA scans were also acquired from 29 patients with matched acquisition times and another 27 patients with matched scanning parameters. The image quality was scored using a five-point scale based on the delineation of arterial vessel segments, artifacts, overall vessel visualization, and overall image quality by two radiologists independently, and the data were analyzed using the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Contrast ratios (CRs) of vessels were compared using the paired t test. Interobserver agreement was calculated using the kappa test. Results: Compared with conventional TOF at the same spatial resolution, sparse TOF with an acceleration factor of 3.5 could reduce acquisition time by 40% and showed comparable image quality. In addition, when compared with conventional TOF with the same acquisition time, sparse TOF with an acceleration factor of 5 could also achieve higher spatial resolution, better delineation of vessel segments, fewer artifacts, higher image quality, and a higher CR (p < 0.05). Good-to-excellent interobserver agreement (к: 0.65–1.00) was obtained between the two radiologists. Conclusion: Compared with conventional TOF, sparse TOF can achieve equivalent image quality in a reduced duration. Furthermore, using the same acquisition time, sparse TOF could improve the delineation of vessels and decrease image artifacts.