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In this study, trans-consonantal vowel-to-vowel coarticulation in Chinese is analyzed. The target words are in the form of 'bV 1. ba', which are designed to occur on the sentence initial, medial and final positions, and the subjects are eight native speakers of standard Chinese. Vowel formants are examined at the onset, middle and offset points of the target vowel. Results show that trans-segmental coarticulation exists in Chinese, especially at the onset point of the target vowel. Coarticulation is more likely to occur on F 2 , and its effect is comparatively great on the sentence initial position.

Abstract-In this study, trans-consonantal vowel-to-vowel coarticulation in Chinese is investigated. The target words are in the form of 'bV 1. ba', and the subjects are eight native speakers of standard Chinese. Vowel formants are examined at the onset, middle and offset points of the target vowel. Results show that trans-segmental coarticulation exists in Chinese, especially at the onset point of the target vowel. Coarticulation is more likely to occur on F 2 , and in Chinese, coarticulatory effect does not extend to the offset point of the vowel.

BackgroundThe prognosis of severe COVID-19 patients is poor. Traditional Chinese Medicine had an advantage in keeping microenvironmental balance in treating SARS and COVID-19.MethodsThis prospective cohort study compared the efficacy and safety of integrative Chinese-Western medicine (ICWM) treatments with Western medicine (WM) treatments in severe or critically ill patients. The outcomes included: mortality, hospital stay in ICU, days with ventilator-assisted ventilation, etc.ResultsA total of 72 confirmed COVID-19 patients in ICU were included. The median age of patients was 66 years (IQR: 53-77.5), and there were 32 female patients (44.4%). There were no significant differences in laboratory tests and complications after treatments between groups. A total of 36 (50%) patients died during hospitalization, and the mortality in the ICWM group (28.6%) was significantly lower than that of the WM group (63.6%, adjusted P=0.011). And the time of assisted ventilation was shorter in the ICWM group (adjusted P=0.341). However, the median hospital stay was significantly longer in the ICWM group (18 vs. 14 days, adjusted P＜0.05).ConclusionsICWM treatments could significantly reduce mortality for severe or critically ill patients with COVID-19, and it was safe and cost-effective to add Chinese medicine.

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