British National Research Articles

Happy birthday dear BNOC, happy birthday to you

Abstract This year marks what would have been the 50th birthday of the British National Oil Corporation (BNOC), which came into existence through the enactment of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipelines Act 1975. This article considers why BNOC came into being, why BNOC ceased to function after a relatively short period of time, and whether any lessons could be learned from BNOC’s past that could be helpful in shaping future energy regulatory policies.

Everything-cleft constructions in spoken British English

Abstract Within the framework of Construction Grammar, this study examines constructions with a cleft form containing everything, e.g., that’s everything that’s happened, in spoken British English, using the London-Lund Corpora and the British National Corpora. We trace the development of everything-clefts in recent history and make comparisons with all-clefts since both all and everything express totality. Our aim is to determine the form-meaning properties of everything-clefts, to examine whether everything-clefts too express the smallness and exhaustiveness readings associated with all-clefts, and whether everything-clefts are also dialogically contractive. The frequency per million words of everything-clefts, however, is 3.3, which is lower than for all-clefts. Also, based on the distinction between regular predicational, reverse predicational and reverse specificational everything-clefts, we find that most everything-clefts are predicational and express quality and that only a small number of reverse specificational everything-clefts express exhaustiveness and are dialogically contractive. Moreover, an even smaller number of everything-clefts also express smallness. We argue that exhaustiveness in everything-clefts stems from a metonymic link to the boundary involved in the totality meaning of everything in analogy with reverse all-clefts. The reverse exhaustive specificational everything-clefts are similar to all-clefts and clearly deserve a place in the constructional network of English specificational cleft constructions.

Antidepressants and risk of postural hypotension: a self-controlled case series study.

Background Antidepressants are associated with postural hypotension (PH), but it is not typically recognised as a common adverse effect. PH is linked with serious complications in older adults (e.g. falls, stroke, cognitive decline). Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) examining antidepressants often exclude older people and do not focus on adverse effects. Aim To examine risk of PH associated with antidepressants in adults aged ≥60 in UK primary care. Design & setting Self-controlled case series using routinely collected primary care data from the IQVIA Medical Research Database (IMRD). Method We obtained data from >41,000 adults aged ≥60 in IMRD between 1 Jan 2000 to 31 Dec 2018. Antidepressant prescriptions were determined using code lists based on British National Formulary classification. Risk of PH was examined during four risk-periods (90-days pre-prescription; day 1-28, 29-56, 57+) compared with periods outside these risk windows. Results Amongst 41,005 people with incident PH in the study period, 8,313 were prescribed a selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI); 8,899 were prescribed a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA); and 4,656 were prescribed an "Other antidepressant". We observed a consistent increased risk of PH in day 1-28 in all antidepressants, that reduced thereafter. Risk of PH was highest with SSRIs (IRR 4.22, 95% CI: 3.76-4.74), followed by "Other antidepressants" (IRR 2.17 (95% CI: 1.76- 2.68), TCAs (IRR 2.12, 95% CI: 1.79-2.50). Conclusion A striking increased risk of PH was observed with all antidepressants in the first month, particularly SSRIs. Prescribers should be aware of this risk and may consider PH monitoring when initiating antidepressants.

Creating Alter-Nation through De-territorialization in Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners

This paper will explore the concept of de-territiorialization and its contribution to the re-imagining of the borderline concept of a nation into an alter-nation in Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners (1956). In a post-WWII British context, Britain’s territorial space opened up as an opportunity for the influx of migrants even as it grappled with changes in policy-making, including the “British Nationality Act of 1948”. It allowed the migrants to frequently challenge the unity of Englishness against the backdrop of multiculturalism. Selvon’s novel focuses on the lives and the newly found ways of Caribbean migrants to adapt to post-WWII Britain. This paper will explore how de-territorialization as an idea prompted the English to re-conceptualize a nation as an alter-nation in Selvon’s novel. Spectrum, Volume 18, June 2023: 80-88

A Comparative Analysis of Think Over and Consider Through BNC, COCA, and ChatGPT

This article aims to provide an in-depth comparative analysis of think over and consider through the British National Corpus (BNC), the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and ChatGPT. It is important to note that consider and think over exhibit identical patterns only in the magazine genre and the miscellaneous genre of the BNC, whereas they share the same pattern only in the newspaper genre of the COCA. This can be taken as confirming evidence that in the BNC, think over and consider are 28.57% the same, whereas in the COCA, they are 14.28% the same. Simply put, think over and consider exhibit a low similarity in the BNC and the COCA. A further point to note is that consider is most similar to think over in the newspaper genre of the BNC, whereas the former is the closest to the latter in the TV/movie genre of the COCA. This, in turn, implies that in the newspaper genre of the BNC and the TV/movie genre of the COCA, think over and consider exhibit the highest degree of similarity. It is also worth noting that the standard deviation of think over and consider clearly shows American speakers’ preferences. Most importantly, 18 of 30 collocations of think over and consider are the same, which suggests that consider and think over share 60% of their collocations.

In silico drug repurposing at the cytoplasmic surface of human aquaporin 1.

Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) is a key channel for water transport in peritoneal dialysis. Inhibition of AQP1 could therefore impair water transport during peritoneal dialysis. It is not known whether inhibition of AQP1 occurs unintentionally due to off-target interactions of administered medications. A high-throughput virtual screening study has been performed to investigate the possible binding of licensed medications to the water pore of human AQP1. A complete model of human AQP1 based on its canonical sequence was assembled using I-TASSER and MODELLER. The model was refined via the incorporation of pore water molecules from a high-resolution yeast aquaporin structure. Docking studies were conducted for the cytoplasmic domain of the AQP1 monomer against a library of all compounds listed in the British National Formulary (BNF), using the PLANTS software with the ChemPLP scoring function. The stability of the best docked conformations within the intrinsic water pore was assessed via short 15 nanosecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the GROMACS-on-Colab utility. Of the 1512 compounds tested, 1002 docking results were obtained, and 198 of these conformations occupied a position within the intrinsic water pore. 30 compounds with promising docking scores were assessed by MD. The docked conformations for dopamine, gabapentin, pregabalin, and methyldopa were stable in these short MD studies. For furosemide and pravastatin, the MD trajectory suggested a binding mode different to the docking result. A small set of compounds which could impede water transport through human AQP1 have been identified in this computational screening study.

The European Drug-Drug Interaction (EuroDDI) Study Protocol: A Cross-Country Comparison of Drug-Drug Interaction Prevalence in the Older Community-Dwelling Population.

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs), highly prevalent amongst the elderly, can lead to avoidable medication-related harm. Cardiovascular and central nervous system (CNS) drugs are commonly implicated. To date, there is no consensus on how to measure DDIs, making comparisons across countries challenging. To (i) establish a common data model (CDM) to measure DDI prevalence in the older (aged ≥ 70 years) community-dwelling population of three European countries and (ii) compare and describe cardiovascular and CNS DDI prevalence rates across these countries. This cross-country study will apply a harmonised method of DDI identification and analysis using the WHO ATC classification system and national pharmacy claims data from three European countries (Ireland, Italy, Spain). Patients aged ≥ 70 years dispensed ≥ 2 medications during 2016 will be identified from each country's national database. 'Severe' cardiovascular and CNS DDIs (i.e., may result in a life-threatening event/permanent detrimental effect) will be identified using the British National Formulary and Stockley's Drug Interactions. Two separate lists of 'severe' DDIs, per medications reimbursed, will be applied to each database: (i) DDIs relevant to each individual country and (ii) DDIs relevant to all three countries. DDIs will be defined as co-dispensed (same day) and concomitantly (±7 days) dispensed. Descriptive statistics, including DDI prevalence and 95% confidence intervals, will be reported for each country. Prevalence will be pooled and compared across countries using random effects models and meta-regression, where feasible. The EuroDDI study will develop a harmonised method to measure and compare DDI prevalence across health-related databases in Europe.

“Erm you know that thing over there…” A General Service List of Conversational English for ELT

This study proposes and analyses a General Service List of Conversational English based on the spoken British National Corpus 2014. Most general service lists are based on written data (Brezina & Gablasova, 2015), overlooking the inherently unique features of conversations. This paper addresses this gap by presenting a general service list of conversational British English. After compilation, the data has been sifted manually to eliminate stopwords, e.g., swear words and months. The aims of this research are threefold: 1) identifying and describing the core lexis of conversations; 2) identifying the heavy-duty vocabulary necessary for full comprehension; and 3) identifying the relation between the coverage of the core lexical and the core conversational vocabulary. This study suggests heavy-duty vocabulary and provides a description of it. In particular, the results suggest that conversational English uses a high degree of recycling of core vocabulary, which is simple in structure and operates at the phatic level of interaction. These findings are particularly interesting for EFL materials design and the teaching of conversational English, enhancing the authenticity of conversations in the EFL classroom. This paper concludes with implications for the selection of vocabulary items in EFL contexts, especially with a focus on listening activities in EFL teaching materials.

Metaphor Diffusion in Online Health Communities: Infodemiology Study in a Stroke Online Health Community.

Online health communities (OHCs) enable patients to create social ties with people with similar health conditions outside their existing social networks. Harnessing mechanisms of information diffusion in OHCs has attracted attention for its ability to improve illness self-management without the use of health care resources. We aimed to analyze the novelty of a metaphor used for the first time in an OHC, assess how it can facilitate self-management of post-stroke symptoms, describe its appearance over time, and classify its diffusion mechanisms. We conducted a passive analysis of posts written by UK stroke survivors and their family members in an online stroke community between 2004 and 2011. Posts including the term "legacy of stroke" were identified. Information diffusion was classified according to self-promotion or viral spread mechanisms and diffusion depth (the number of users the information spreads out to). Linguistic analysis was performed through the British National Corpus and the Google search engine. Post-stroke symptoms were referred to as "legacy of stroke." This metaphor was novel and appeared for the first time in the OHC in the second out of a total of 3459 threads. The metaphor was written by user A, who attributed it to a stroke consultant explaining post-stroke fatigue. This user was a "superuser" (ie, a user with high posting activity) and self-promoted the metaphor throughout the years in response to posts written by other users, in 51 separate threads. In total, 7 users subsequently used the metaphor, contributing to its viral diffusion, of which 3 were superusers themselves. Superusers achieved the higher diffusion depths (maximum of 3). Of the 7 users, 3 had been part of threads where user A mentioned the metaphor, while 2 users had been part of discussion threads in unrelated conversations. In total, 2 users had not been part of threads with any of the other users, suggesting that the metaphor was acquired through prior lurking activity. Metaphors that are considered helpful by patients with stroke to come to terms with their symptoms can diffuse in OHCs through both self-promotion and social (or viral) spreading, with the main driver of diffusion being the superuser trait. Lurking activity (the most common behavior in OHCs) contributed to the diffusion of information. As an increasing number of patients with long-term conditions join OHCs to find others with similar health-related concerns, improving clinicians' and researchers' awareness of the diffusion of metaphors that facilitate self-management in health social media may be beneficial beyond the individual patient.

How Consistent are Anti-Infective Drug Dosing Recommendations Across Three European Paediatric Formularies?

Drug dosing recommendations in paediatrics are mainly based on the age and bodyweight of the child. Because of the limited amount of label information, several paediatric drug formularies have been developed. This study compares anti-infective drug dosing recommendations across three European formularies. Recommendations from three paediatric formularies (German Pediatric Formulary [GPF], SwissPedDose [SPD] and the British National Formulary for Children [BNF]) were collected. Using population growth curves, we simulated one child for each month from 1 month up to 18 years of age. The recommendations from each formulary were used to calculate doses for each simulated child. Equivalence and difference in calculated doses were analysed. In total, dosing recommendations for 34 anti-infective substances were collected with 74 corresponding indications, which resulted in 47,154 calculated doses. The mean (± standard deviation) proportion of equivalent doses (difference ≤10%) across all three formularies was 40% (±16), while for pairwise comparisons it was 53% (±19) for GPF versus BNF, 67% (±14) for GPF versus SPD and 52% (±19) for SPD versus BNF. The median [25th quantile, 75th quantile] differences in daily doses across all three formularies were 0%, [0, 26] while for pairwise comparisons it was 4% [0, 32] for GPF versus BNF, 0% [0, 17] for GPF versus SPD and 7% [0, 33] for SPD versus BNF. The majority of recommended anti-infective drug doses were consistent, with the highest equivalence found between GPF and SPD. Maintaining formularies is resource intensive; therefore, a common standard in Europe could prove beneficial when moving towards digitalisation of the healthcare systems.

Nutrition information and the menopause: An online survey of perimenopausal and menopausal women.

This study aimed to explore where perimenopausal and menopausal women get their nutrition information from, and how reliable they perceive these sources to be. This was a cross-sectional study that used an online survey to collect data about nutrition information seeking habits. The survey was generated using the Qualtrics software and promoted via social media. The convenience sample included women over the age of 40 years living in the UK. Main outcome measures: Quantitative data. Two hundred and sixty-nine responses were analysed. The majority of respondents were over the age of 50, and from a white British background. Online sources were most commonly used by women to access nutrition information, namely official websites such as the British Menopause Society (BMS) and National Health Service (NHS) websites. The majority of participants believed that these, along with research papers, were the most reliable sources. However, receiving nutrition information from healthcare professionals was most likely to cause women to change their behaviour towards nutrition. The majority of women were interested in receiving targeted menopausal nutrition information, and this would ideally be from official websites or their healthcare professionals. Findings from this study suggest that women predominantly rely on online sources for information about nutrition, perceiving official websites as reliable sources. There is a demand among women for tailored nutritional guidance during the menopausal transition, emphasising the importance of providing accessible and targeted resources to support women's health needs during this life stage.

Treatment patterns and burden of uncomplicated urinary tract infection in England.

Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) are common bacterial infections. Evaluate the burden of uUTI in England for 1) potential determinants of disease progression; 2) extent and impact of antimicrobial prescribing non-concordant with treatment guidelines; and 3) economic burden and costs. Retrospective cohort study utilising patient data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) linked to English Hospital Episodes Statistics. Female patients aged≥12 years with a new uUTI between 2018-2019,≥14 months' continuous CPRD enrolment (≥12 months baseline,≥2 months follow-up), and≥1 oral antibiotic prescription±5 days of uUTI diagnosis were included. Baseline characteristics were described in patients with/without disease progression (hospitalisation for acute pyelonephritis/bacteraemia/sepsis). Treatment non-concordance with current English guidelines was assessed. Burden (all-cause and UTI-related healthcare resource use [HCRU] and costs) was evaluated in a 1:1 age-/comorbidity-matched uUTI-free cohort. Of 120,519 patients, 207 (0.2%) had disease progression requiring hospitalisation (during index uUTI episode); determinants included older age, index home consultation, prior hospitalisation and medications prescribed for comorbid conditions in the prior 12 months (British National Formulary classes: cardiovascular, eye, other). Non-concordant treatment was observed in 43.5% of patients. All-cause HCRU burden and costs were significantly higher in patients with uUTI versus age-/comorbidity-matched controls (P<0.001) at 28 days (£160.06 versus £37.63) and in the 12-month follow-up (£1206.77 versus £460.97). All-cause HCRU burden and costs were significantly higher in uUTI patients versus matched controls (P<0.001). Hospitalisation for acute pyelonephritis, bacteraemia, or sepsis following uUTI was uncommon.

A Corpus-based Analysis of Four Near-synonymous English Verbs

The differences that exist among near-synonyms seem to be a thorny issue for native and non-native speakers of English. This study aims to highlight the similarities and differences between four near-synonymous verbs: investigate, explore, scrutinize, and examine, with a focus on their dialectal variations, frequencies, genre distributions, and colligational patterns. Data were gathered from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and the British National Corpus (BNC). The findings reveal that while these verbs are often considered near-synonyms, they are not fully interchangeable across contexts. Explore and examine have scored the highest frequencies across both corpora, especially in academic genres in American English. In contrast, British English exhibits more variation, with investigate and explore appearing more frequently in non-academic texts. Conversely, scrutinize has scored the lowest in both dialects and is primarily confined to academic contexts. Additionally, these verbs are seldom found in spoken genres. The analysis of colligational behavior (i.e., grammatical patterns) demonstrates that these verbs share many grammatical patterns, though subtle differences in their usage prevent complete interchangeability. The COCA provides a wider range of grammatical patterns than those in the BNC. These findings underscore the complexity of near-synonymous verbs and the importance of context in their usage.

The Analysis of the Roles of Women in the Windrush Generation

After the British Nationality Act was enacted in 1948, the legislation expanded the pathway to immigration. In the same year, HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury with 1,027 Caribbean immigrants that were, later on, referred to as the Windrush generation. As the turning point of the UKs migration history, this specific historical period from 1948 to the 1970s had been studied thoroughly by scholars. However, only a limited proportion of them are about the 200 or more women on the Empire Windrush. Thus, this paper, through a method of literature review, explores and analyzes the roles played by women in the Windrush generation. The paper finds that Windrush women, firstly, often join the public phase and work as a paid workforce after immigrating to London through chain migration. By doing so, they not only provided additional income to their family but also contributed to the post-war recovery of the British Empire. Meanwhile, they served as community builders who not only managed chores but also bonded their family members and even the entire immigrant community. Moreover, the Windrush women became active advocates that voiced for racial and gender equality and social justice.

A Very Diplomatic Response: The British Government’s Reaction to the Killing Fields of Cambodia

ABSTRACT Drawing upon documents from the British National Archives, this article investigates how and why the British government formulated its response to the Khmer Rouge dictatorship in Cambodia. This regime was responsible for some of the worst mass killings in the twentieth century; indeed, in April 1978, President Jimmy Carter referred to it as the “worst violator of human rights in the world today.” 1 1 Statement by Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, on Cambodia, 21 April 1978, UK The National Archives (hereafter TNA), FCO 58/1406. The British have been portrayed, not least by themselves, as championing the international opposition to human rights abuses in Democratic Kampuchea. The fact that Britain was the first country publicly to condemn the violation of human rights by raising the issue at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) in 1978 cannot be denied. 2 2 In his April 1978 speech Jimmy Carter also acknowledged the British initiative in raising the matter at the UNHRC. However, a closer examination of the British reaction to the activities of the Khmer Rouge demonstrates the importance of considerations of Realpolitik both internally and externally. At the same time, this article highlights the fact that British responses were also shaped by other contextual factors, especially the important role played by the British public in pressurizing their government to act as the situation worsened in Democratic Kampuchea. Ultimately, the Vietnamese invasion brought the importance of Cold War geopolitics back to the fore. It was not until December 1979 that the British formally withdrew recognition of the Democratic Kampuchea, but by then the Khmer Rouge were out of power.

Prescribing Patterns and Off-Label Use of Gabapentinoid Agents at Dhulikhel Hospital, Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Gabapentinoids are mainly prescribed for neuropathic pain and certain seizure disorders, but their off-label use has increased significantly. This rise raises concerns about the insufficient evidence supporting some applications, as well as potential risks of misuse, dependence, and adverse effects. The study aims to examine the prescribing patterns and off-label use of gabapentinoids at Dhulikhel Hospital (DH), Nepal, focusing on understanding the extent of off-label practices and patient knowledge regarding their medications. A cross-sectional survey of 385 adult patients prescribed gabapentinoids was conducted at the outpatient pharmacy of DH. Data were collected via patient interviews and prescriptions. Off-label use was assessed according to the licensed indications of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK British National Formulary (BNF). Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 26. Among patients prescribed gabapentinoids, 73.0% received gabapentin while 27.0% were prescribed pregabalin. Most patients were middle-aged females with comorbid conditions, primarily orthopedic outpatients. Off-label use was prevalent, with 96.1% of prescriptions being off-label by FDA indications and 28.1% by BNF indications. Pregabalin was prescribed at a sub-therapeutic dose (75 mg/day) for neuropathic pain. Patient knowledge about gabapentinoids was found to be poor, particularly regarding side effects and drug interactions. This study highlights the extensive off-label and sub-therapeutic use of gabapentinoids at Dhulikhel Hospital and reveals significant gaps in patient knowledge. This emphasizes the need for stricter prescribing guidelines, improved healthcare provider education, and better patient information to optimize the use and minimize risks. The frequent prescription of low-dose pregabalin for neuropathic pain raises the possibility that it may be used for night-time sedation rather than for pain management, indicating the need for further investigation.

Developing Strategies to Improve Textbook Design Using Synergy of Native and Learner Corpora.

The research aims to enhance the handling of modal verbs (MVs) in EFL textbooks by leveraging perspectives from corpora that include both native speakers' language data and the language data of individuals who are learning the language. To assess the authenticity of language in textbooks, an analysis between the native corpus and a collection of language data compiled from textbook is conducted. The research delves into the developmental patterns of MV usage among learners through a stratified analysis of student essays (Grades 7, 8, 9). Comparisons between learner patterns and a graded textbook series are made to ascertain potential correlations. A novel aspect of the examination explores how the salience and complexity of L2 forms and functions shape the impact of EFL textbooks on learner production. Findings reveal significant differences in the use of MVs between EFL textbooks and the British National Corpus (BNC). Moreover, analysis of student essays indicates a substantial influence of textbooks on learners' MV usage. The study proposes strategies to enhance EFL textbook design, advocating for authenticity and learner-centric approaches. Utilizing native and learner corpora facilitates targeted instruction, addressing common errors and challenges. The incorporation of authentic language examples from the native corpus is recommended to expose learners to real-world language use. This research underscores the significance of integrating native and learner corpora insights in EFL textbook design, ultimately fostering more effective language learning outcomes.

CRISIS OF BRITISH NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES AND THE REBELLIONS IN CANADA OF 1837-1838

The proposed article aims to prove that the rebellions of 1836-1837 were, mainly, not a struggle for democratization and liberalization of the colonial political system, but a clash of two versions of nationalism that were widespread in Canada at that time: the British version, represented by the Orangists, “constitutionalists”, colonial offi cials and people loyal to them, and, on the other side, the Canadian version, the adherents of which were the English-s peaking “reformers” and French-s peaking “patriots”. The fi rst version of nationalism was traditionally put at the basis of the worldview of all those who moved to Canada from the mother country, or, if born in America, were strongly infl uenced by the powerful English national intellectual tradition, rooted in the 16th century. The second was just beginning to take shape and was the characteristic of a small circle of intellectuals and politically active colonists who were ready to become not British, but Canadians. In this context the issue of democratizing the colonial governance system was not important per se but drew attention mainly as a symbol of the affi rmation and emancipation of the Canadian nation. However, due to the recent emergence of Canadian national identity, its infl uence on the events that took place was insuffi cient to lead to radical changes. According to sources, until the very last moment, rebellion was not a part of the plans of Canadian nationalists. This seems quite obvious, given how chaotic, contradictory and inconsistent their actions were when the violence began. Many important issues: independence or constitutional reform in Canada, the choice between a peaceful or armed form of struggle, the attitude towards the United States, its historical experience and the prospects of joining it - all this was decided literally on the fl y. The emerging project of the Canadian nation clearly needed time to take shape and then to win the hearts and minds of the people. However, the adherents of British nationalism were not going to tolerate such experiments in their country. Their aggressive actions, with the obvious connivance of the authorities, provoked a response and an armed confl ict in which the unprepared “patriots” were doomed to defeat.

The Ordering Distribution and Competing Motivation of Evidential and Logical Causal Clauses in English and Chinese

The ordering distribution of causal adverbial clauses in English and Chinese differs due to distinct factors, with English clauses tending to appear finally and Chinese clauses initially. This study aims to analyze the ordering distribution of logical and evidential causal clauses in English and Chinese using Diessel's competing motivation model, investigating the interplay of semantic forces, syntactic processing, and discourse pragmatics. A corpus-based analysis was conducted on 800 sentences from the British National Corpus and the Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese, focusing on four causal subordinators in each language. The results reveal a clear cross-linguistic distinction: In Chinese, evidential causal clauses occur initially at 82.5%, driven by iconicity and discourse coherence, while logical causal clauses show a lower initial occurrence rate of 67.3%. Conversely, English causal clauses tend to occur in final positions, with evidential clauses at 91.66% and logical clauses at 84.2%, due to the relative semantic independence, functioning as independent processing units. The ordering distribution reflects competing motivations: Chinese prioritizes iconicity and discourse coherence, while English emphasizes syntactic independence and processing ease. The study provides new insights into the interaction of semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic forces in shaping clause positioning across languages.

Associations of non-employment with common mental disorder subcomponents among working age population: analysis of national data from 1993, 2000, 2007 and 2014.

Associations between employment status and mental health are well-recognised and such associations may have multiple modifying factors which may also contribute to variations in results. We aimed to investigate associations between non-employment and CMD subcomponents and the extent of their variation across age groups using nationally representative data in Britain. We used a series of national mental health surveys of adults living in private households: the British National Surveys of Psychiatric Morbidity of 1993, 2000, 2007 and 2014. Employment status was the primary exposure of interest. Presence or absence of each fourteen symptoms of common mental disorder (CMD), as the primary outcome, was ascertained identically in all surveys from the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R). Odds ratio for the association between exposure and outcome and population attributional fractions (PAFs) for each association was calculated. Within the highest-risk 45 to 54 years age group, all odds ratios were statistically significant and strongest associations were observed with panic symptoms (OR = 2.33), followed by depressive symptoms (1.90), worry about physical health (1.84), depression (1.82), forgetfulness (1.82) and somatic symptoms (1.70). In the 55 to 64 years age group, highest population attributable fractions were observed for non-employment as a hypothetical risk factor for panic symptoms (51.7%), phobias (44.2%), forgetfulness (39.5%), depressive symptoms (38.5%), worries about physical health (37.9%) and somatic symptoms (36.0%). The particularly high impact in middle-aged, pre-retirement groups of non-employment on CMD suggests a policy focus on alleviating stressors and providing support for those made redundant and/or compelled to take unwanted early retirement.