In this article, two accounts of the variable use of inflection in adult second language (L2) acquisition are examined. The Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis (MSIH) proposes that L2 learners have unconscious knowledge of the functional projections and features underlying tense and agreement. However, learners sometimes have a problem with realization of surface morphology, such that they resort to non-finite forms (e.g. Haznedar and Schwartz, 1997; Prévost and White, 1999). The Impaired Representation Hypothesis (IRH) claims that L2 inflection is essentially impaired, due to lack of functional categories, features or feature strength (e.g. Eubank, 1993/94; Meisel, 1997). These views make different predictions for adult L2 acquisition. Spontaneous production data from two adult learners of French and two adult learners of German are examined. The data show that finite forms do not occur in non-finite contexts, that learners exhibit syntactic reflexes of finiteness and that inflected forms largely show accurate agreement. These results suggest that adult L2 learners represent finiteness and agreement at an abstract level, rather than being impaired in this domain, supporting the MSIH.

These results indicate that campylobacter and immunoproliferative small intestinal disease are associated and that C. jejuni should be added to the growing list of human pathogens responsible for immunoproliferative states.

Accounting for more than half of the European Union's (EU) territory, agriculture ensures food production, manages important natural resources and supports socio-economic development of rural areas. Moreover, it is estimated that 50% of all plant and animal species (including some of that are listed in the EU Habitat Directive) depend on agricultural practices. The continuation of appropriate agricultural land management is essential to ensure these primary functions. Avoidance of farmland abandonment is therefore an important rationale for the EU's Common Agricultural Policy which requires improved knowledge of this phenomenon at the European level. This study assesses the risk of farmland abandonment in the 27 EU Member States. It summarizes the work performed by an expert panel of European scientists and national representatives which aimed to identify the main drivers of farmland abandonment in Europe, to define indicators for assessing its risk of occurrence and to test the value of European-wide data sources to achieve these aims. Drivers were identified under two rationales: low farm stability and viability, and negative regional context. Indicators were defined using recent socio-economic farm data and geospatial datasets. Some indicators were then combined to make a composite risk indicator. Regions with higher risk of farmland abandonment are located in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Ireland. This paper demonstrates the challenges of performing a European-wide assessment of a phenomenon influenced by drivers whose effects vary at local levels. Other problems encountered are data heterogeneity in terms of spatial resolution and quality, as well as access to micro-data (local level data). High spatial resolution European datasets measuring farmland abandonment are needed to validate the defined indicators as well as to benchmark the methodology. Furthermore, such data could be used to establish a weighting system for the drivers

The measurement of esophageal pressure during maximal sniffs (sniff Pes) has been shown useful to assess inspiratory muscle strength. The aim of this study was to validate a noninvasive method for estimating sniff Pes. The sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) was measured through a plug occluding one nostril during sniffs performed through the contralateral nostril. Sniff Pes was simultaneously measured with an esophageal balloon. Ten normal subjects performed 338 sniffs of variable intensity. The correlation coefficient of SNIP and sniff Pes was 0.99 +/- 0.01 (p < 0.001). The ratio SNIP/sniff Pes was 0.91 (range, 0.82 to 0.99) and the mean difference between the two measures (SNIP - sniff Pes) was -4.56 cm H2O (-1.2 to -8.6 cm H2O). Twelve patients with neuromuscular or skeletal disorders performed 181 maximal sniffs. The correlation coefficient of SNIP and sniff Pes was 0.96 +/- 0.04 (p < 0.001). The ratio SNIP/sniff Pes was 0.93 (0.77 to 1.07) and the mean difference (SNIP - sniff Pes) was -4.66 cm H2O (+0.47 to -14.26 cm H2O). Nasal mucosal congestion was induced by nebulization of increasing doses of histamine in four normal subjects. The ratio SNIP/sniff Pes was 0.93 (0.72 to 1.02) when nasal peak flow was > 100 L/min, and 0.49 (0.36 to 0.57 L/min) when nasal peak flow fell below 100 L/min. We conclude that SNIP provides a reliable and noninvasive estimation of sniff Pes in normal subjects and in patients with neuromuscular or skeletal disorders. The validity of this method may by impaired by severe nasal congestion.

Our experience with supracricoid partial laryngectomy with either CHP or CHEP suggests that this technique is a valuable alternative to radiotherapy for T2-T4 glottosupraglottic carcinomas, particularly those with extension and invasion of the anterior commissure. It allows for preservation of a good laryngeal function without altering the long-term survival, keeping total laryngectomy as a salvage procedure.