Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discrepancies between Projection and Selection : Split Coordination and Raising to Object in Passamaquoddy ∗

Chomsky (1993) suggests that the Projection Principle of Chomsky (1981) and much subsequent work can be subsumed under a more general Principle of Full Interpretation, which says simply that every element present in the syntax must be interpretable at the interfaces. The relevant interface here is the semantic interface, where all arguments, and all predicates, must compose and be interpreted. The original Projection Principle stipulated one specific requirement which is no longer present in the Principle of Full Interpretation: it stipulated that only selected arguments can appear as sister to a verb, and selected arguments must appear as sister to a verb. This was modified subsequent to Chomsky (1981) to allow for selected arguments to appear as specifiers; see, for instance, Larson (1988), where the requirement is simply that selected arguments must appear in the projection headed by the selecting verb (Principle P1, p. 382 of Larson 1988). The purpose of this paper is to show that the less restrictive Principle of Full Interpretation is more likely to be correct than either the original Projection Principle or subsequent modifications like that of Larson (1988). I illustrate two phenomena in Passamaquoddy where selection and projection do not match. In the first, what I call split coordination, an NP is projected in the canonical object position, as sister to the verb, but it is not interpreted there; instead it is interpreted via Agree (Chomsky 2000) as a subject. In the second, raising to object, a verb selects an NP object and a property as its arguments, but what is actually projected in the syntax is only an embedded CP. Consequently, an NP within the lower CP must move, abstracting over the CP to create a property; this property composes with the selecting verb, and then the moved NP composes with the verb, again via Agree. Neither analysis here would be allowed by the Projection Principle, but they are allowed by a Principle of Full Interpretation, which requires only that everything combine in the semantics. I adopt a type-driven semantic composition in the syntax, like that of Heim and Kratzer (1998), but make one modification with important implications. This is that Function Application can take place via Agree in addition to direct composition under sisterhood. This has important implications for our understanding of various phenomena. In addition, if the analysis presented here is correct, syntactic operations can be driven by the need to compose elements semantically. This is the case in Heim and Kratzer (1998), as well (for instance, in driving Quantifier Raising), but I use it to account for mismatches between projection and selection in these two phenomena, and suggest that it might be at work in Exceptional Case Marking (ECM) and raising to subject in English and other languages as well. Since these two constructions have figured prominently in generative theorizing, this approach has potential ramifications throughout the theory.
Endocannabinoid-Dependent Long-Term Depression of Ventral Tegmental Area GABA Neurons

Endocannabinoid-Dependent Long-Term Depression of Ventral Tegmental Area GABA Neurons Jared Mark Weed Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, BYU Master of Science GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area of the midbrain are important components in the brain's reward circuit. Long term changes in this circuit occur through the process of synaptic plasticity. It has been shown that high frequency stimulation, as well as treatment with endocannabinoids, can cause GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area to undergo long term depression, a form of synaptic plasticity that decreases excitability of cells. The present study elaborates on the mechanism whereby high frequency stimulation can result in long term depression of ventral tegmental area GABA neurons. Using the whole cell patch clamp technique in acute brain slices, we recorded excitatory currents from ventral tegmental area GABA neurons in GAD-GFP expressing CD1 mice and observed how the excitatory currents changed in response to different treatments. We confirm that high frequency stimulation causes long term depression, and the cannabinoid type 1 receptor antagonist AM-251 blocks this effect. Long term depression is also elicited by treatment with the cannabinoid type 1 receptor agonist 2arachidonylglycerol. It is inconclusive whether treatment with 2-arachidonylglycerol occludes further long term depression by high frequency stimulation. We also demonstrate that activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors by DHPG produces long term depression. These results support the model that at these excitatory synapses, high frequency stimulation causes the release of glutamate from presynaptic terminals, activating group I metabotropic glutamate receptors, causing production of 2-arachidonylglycerol. 2-arachidonylglycerol in turn acts on presynaptic cannabinoid type 1 receptors to decrease release of glutamate onto GABA neurons. This model can be tested by further research, which should include cannabinoid type 1 receptor knockout mice. This study provides more insight into how drugs of abuse such as tetrahydrocannabinol, the active component of marijuana that activate cannabinoid type I receptors, can corrupt the natural reward mechanisms of the brain.
Parallel P-adic Method for Solving Linear Systems of Equations

We present a parallel algorithm for exact solution of an integer linear system of equations using the single modulus p-adic expansion technique. More speciically, we parallelize an algorithm of Dixon, and present our implementation results on a distributed-memory multiprocessor. The parallel algorithm presented here can be used together with the multiple moduli algorithms and parallel Chinese remainder algorithms for fast computation of the exact solution of a system of linear equations with integer entries.
A Genome Wide Meta-Analysis Study for Identification of Common Variation Associated with Breast Cancer Prognosis

Objective Genome wide association studies (GWAs) of breast cancer mortality have identified few potential associations. The concordance between these studies is unclear. In this study, we used a meta-analysis of two prognostic GWAs and a replication cohort to identify the strongest associations and to evaluate the loci suggested in previous studies. We attempt to identify those SNPs which could impact overall survival irrespective of the age of onset. Methods To facilitate the meta-analysis and to refine the association signals, SNPs were imputed using data from the 1000 genomes project. Cox-proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) in 536 patients from the POSH cohort (Prospective study of Outcomes in Sporadic versus Hereditary breast cancer) and 805 patients from the HEBCS cohort (Helsinki Breast Cancer Study). These hazard ratios were combined using a Mantel-Haenszel fixed effects meta-analysis and a p-value threshold of 5×10−8 was used to determine significance. Replication was performed in 1523 additional patients from the POSH study. Results Although no SNPs achieved genome wide significance, three SNPs have significant association in the replication cohort and combined p-values less than 5.6×10−6. These SNPs are; rs421379 which is 556 kb upstream of ARRDC3 (HR = 1.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.27–1.75, P = 1.1×10−6), rs12358475 which is between ECHDC3 and PROSER2 (HR = 0.75, CI = 0.67–0.85, P = 1.8×10−6), and rs1728400 which is between LINC00917 and FOXF1. Conclusions In a genome wide meta-analysis of two independent cohorts from UK and Finland, we identified potential associations at three distinct loci. Phenotypic heterogeneity and relatively small sample sizes may explain the lack of genome wide significant findings. However, the replication at three SNPs in the validation cohort shows promise for future studies in larger cohorts. We did not find strong evidence for concordance between the few associations highlighted by previous GWAs of breast cancer survival and this study.
In Whom We Trust: The Role of Certification Agencies in Online Drug Markets

Abstract This article uses an audit sample and a consumer survey to study the intriguing market of online prescription drugs facing US customers and assesses the role that certification agencies play in online drug markets. On the supply side, we acquire samples of five popular brand-name prescription drugs from three types of online pharmacies: tier 1 are US-based and certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) or LegitScript.com, tier 2 are certified by PharmacyChecker.com or the Canadian International Pharmacy Association but not by NABP or LegitScript, and tier 3 are not certified by any of the four agencies. Most tier-2 and tier-3 websites are foreign. We find that 37 of the 365 delivered samples are different from the products we ordered and, therefore, non-testable. Conditional on testable samples, Raman spectrometry test finds no failure of authenticity except for eight Viagra samples from tier-3 websites. After controlling for testability and authenticity, tier-2 websites are 49.2% cheaper (p<0.01) and tier-3 websites are 54.8% cheaper (p < 0.01) than tier-1 sites. These differences are driven by non-Viagra drugs. For Viagra, failing samples are cheaper, but there is no significant price difference across tiers once we condition on testability and authenticity. To study the demand side, we designed a survey that was distributed by RxRights. Among the 2,522 respondents who have purchased prescription medication and are concerned about the price of US pharmaceuticals, results show that 61.54% purchase drugs online and mostly from foreign websites, citing cost saving as the leading reason. Conditional on shopping online, 41.11% check with a credentialing agency. Both samples convey a consistent message that certification agencies deliver useful information for foreign websites and online consumers. Further, while these findings confirm the Food and Drug Administration warning against rogue websites, they do suggest that a blanket ban against all foreign websites may deny consumers substantial savings from certified tier-2 websites.
First occurrence of a word among the elements of a finite dictionary in random sequences of letters

In this paper we study a classical model concerning occurrence of words in a random sequence of letters from an alphabet. The problem can be studied as a game among $(m+1)$ words: the winning word in this game is the one that occurs first. We prove that the knowledge of the first $m$ words results in an advantage in the construction of the last word, as it has been shown in the literature for the cases $m=1$ and $m=2$ [CZ1,CZ2]. The last word can in fact be constructed so that its probability of winning is strictly larger than $1/(m+1)$. For the latter probability we will give an explicit lower bound. Our method is based on rather general probabilistic arguments that allow us to consider an arbitrary cardinality for the alphabet, an arbitrary value for $m$ and different mechanisms generating the random sequence of letters.
Modeling Synaptic Plasticity in Conjunction with the Timing of Pre- and Postsynaptic Action Potentials

We present a spiking neuron model that allows for an analytic calculation of the correlations between pre- and postsynaptic spikes. The neuron model is a generalization of the integrate-and-fire model and equipped with a probabilistic spike-triggering mechanism. We show that under certain biologically plausible conditions, pre- and postsynaptic spike trains can be described simultaneously as an inhomogeneous Poisson process. Inspired by experimental findings, we develop a model for synaptic long-term plasticity that relies on the relative timing of pre- and post-synaptic action potentials. Being given an input statistics, we compute the stationary synaptic weights that result from the temporal correlations between the pre- and postsynaptic spikes. By means of both analytic calculations and computer simulations, we show that such a mechanism of synaptic plasticity is able to strengthen those input synapses that convey precisely timed spikes at the expense of synapses that deliver spikes with a broad temporal distribution. This may be of vital importance for any kind of information processing based on spiking neurons and temporal coding.
Simsync: A Time Synchronization Simulator for Sensor Networks 1

Time synchronization is a critical middleware service of wireless sensor networks. Researchers have already proposed some time synchronization algorithms. However, due to the demands for various synchronization precision, existing time synchronization algorithms often need to be adapted. So it is necessary to evaluate these adapted algorithms before use. Software simulation is a valid way to do it quickly. In this paper, we present a time synchronization simulator, Simsync, for wireless sensor networks. We decompose the packet delay into 6 delay components and model them separately. The frequency of crystal oscillator is modeled as Gaussian. To testify its effectiveness, we simulate the reference broadcast synchronization algorithm(RBS) and the timing-sync synchronization algorithm(TPSN) on Simsync. Simulated results are also presented and analyzed.
Output-based Aid: Lessons Learned and Best Practices

Governments in developing countries and members of the development aid community are acutely aware of the need to find more effective ways to improve basic living conditions for the poor. Traditional approaches to delivering public support have not always led to the results intended. Results-based financing instruments are now recognized as one important piece of the aid-delivery puzzle. Results-based financing (RBF) is an umbrella term that includes output-based aid, provider payment incentives, performance-based interfiscal transfers, and conditional cash transfers. What these mechanisms have in common is that a principal entity provides a financial or in-kind reward, conditional on the recipient of that reward undertaking a set of predetermined actions or achieving a predetermined performance goal. The ultimate aim is to increase the effectiveness of scarce public resources for the provision of basic services. This book is structured as follows: part one includes chapter one, which defines output-based aid (OBA) and puts it in the context of traditional aid-delivery mechanisms and RBF instruments. Chapter two provides an overview of where OBA approaches are being implemented as well as a description of the various applications of OBA: one-off, transitional, or ongoing subsidies. Part two consists of six chapters comprising the specific sector reviews: information and communication technology (ICT), roads (transportation), energy, water and sanitation, health, and education. Part three starts with chapter nine, which summarizes the lessons learned from the specific sectors, focusing on cross-cutting issues. Chapter ten concludes the review and considers where OBA is heading and what can be done to make OBA more effective and widespread, where applicable, to help improve access to basic services for the poor. The appendix presents a table of all OBA projects identified in the World Bank Group to date.
Risk Response in Agriculture

Crop production is subject to supply shocks, and both expected and realized outputs as well as output prices are unknown when inputs are chosen. The process by which producers form expectations is difficult to model, especially when working with aggregate data. We present a necessary and sufficient condition on cost and technology to allow variable input demand equations to be specified as functions of input prices, quasi-fixed inputs, and total variable cost. These all are observable when inputs are committed to production, so that ex ante demands can be estimated with observable data. A flexible, exactly aggregable, and economically regular model of variable input demands is derived and applied to aggregate U.S. agricultural data for the period 1960-1999. We use the empirical results of this model to aid in the specification of a dynamic life-cycle model for agricultural producers facing output and output price risk, with investment in an off-farm, conditionally risk free asset, risky financial assets, savings, consumption, and agricultural production opportunities. This framework admits a coherent, structural, econometric model of input use, output production, savings, investment, and consumption for agricul-ture. We apply this model to U.S. data for the period 1960-1999. Ongoing work focuses on updating the data set to the 21st century and applying both components of the model at the state-level.
"All versus nothing" inseparability for two observers.

A recent proof of Bell's theorem without inequalities [A. Cabello, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1911 (2001)] is formulated as a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-type proof involving just two observers. On one hand, this new approach allows us to derive an experimentally testable Bell inequality which is violated by quantum mechanics. On the other hand, it leads to a new state-independent proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem and provides a wider perspective on the relations between the major proofs of no hidden variables.
Convective activity in Mato Grosso state (Brazil) from microwave satellite observations: Comparisons between AMSU and TRMM datasets

We present a characterization of convective activity at sub-regional scale from two sets of satellite-based microwave observations: the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and the combined Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) microwave imager and precipitation radar data, for the period 2001 to 2011. We focus on the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, located at the southern edge of the so-called "Legal Amazon" which has undergone intense land cover transformation in the last 4 decades. The annual cycle of mean convective activity described by AMSU and TRMM are in good agreement, with a correlation close to 0.80. The mean amplitude of convective activity is maximal early in the rainy season, except for AMSU deep convective area, which presents a maximum in January. The diurnal cycle of convection was examined for the period 2003 to 2007, and it was found that convection is maximal near 1500 local time (LT) and minimal around 0700 LT. Unlike the amplitude, the phase shows little intra-seasonal and interannual variability. A slight decrease in convective activity in the studied period was found possibly indicating an extension of the dry season. Comparisons of convective activity between deforested and forested areas showed no significant differences in the phase of the diurnal cycle, but our analysis shows a tendency for increase (decrease) in convection in deforested (forested) areas for the period considered. A longer time series is however necessary in order to strengthen the robustness of our results.
Audio Watermarking Detection Resistant to Time and Pitch Scale Modification

In this paper, an efficient audio watermarking detection is developed to revive a watermark attacked by hazardous synchronization attacks, such as time-scale and pitch-scale modifications (TSM and PSM). It outperforms the robustness of our previously implemented audio watermarking scheme by resisting excessive distortion of up to ±10%. The key idea of the method is adaptively aligning the frequency spectra that have been scaled by the attack, so that the synchronization positions can be retrieved for recovering the embedded watermark. Without resorting to the host audio signal, the detection procedure will automatically find a matched state and obtain the highest detection accuracy. Experimental results of robustness tests have proved that the proposed detection method can efficiently handle the severe TSM and PSM attacks and successfully extract the watermark.
Determinants of Real Long-Term Interest Rates in Europe: 'Is it a Fiscal Phenomenon?'

Several studies investigate the relationship between government debt/deficit ratios and the real long-term interest rates, but the empirical evidence is not conclusive enough for consensus building. Evidence for statistically weak or mixed association is as much as the evidence for a strong positive relationship, which means rising debt/deficit ratios are estimated to increase real yields. My research extends the existing literature by using a large panel of European countries covering the years 1990 and 2012. I find a very strong positive relationship between the debt to GDP ratio and real long-term interest rates in linear specifications. Quadratic specifications yield a U-curve structure in explaining the association between debt ratios and the real long-term yields, supporting evidence for a positive association once the debt ratio surpasses a threshold in the range of 49-54%.
The Characterization of Escherichia coli CpdB as a Recombinant Protein Reveals that, besides Having the Expected 3´-Nucleotidase and 2´,3´-Cyclic Mononucleotide Phosphodiesterase Activities, It Is Also Active as Cyclic Dinucleotide Phosphodiesterase

Endogenous cyclic diadenylate phosphodiesterase activity was accidentally detected in lysates of Escherichia coli BL21. Since this kind of activity is uncommon in Gram-negative bacteria, its identification was undertaken. After partial purification and analysis by denaturing gel electrophoresis, renatured activity correlated with a protein identified by fingerprinting as CpdB (cpdB gene product), which is annotated as 3´-nucleotidase / 2´,3´-cyclic-mononucleotide phosphodiesterase, and it is synthesized as a precursor protein with a signal sequence removable upon export to the periplasm. It has never been studied as a recombinant protein. The coding sequence of mature CpdB was cloned and expressed as a GST fusion protein. The study of the purified recombinant protein, separated from GST, confirmed CpdB annotation. The assay of catalytic efficiencies (kcat/Km) for a large substrate set revealed novel CpdB features, including very high efficiencies for 3´-AMP and 2´,3´-cyclic mononucleotides, and previously unknown activities on cyclic and linear dinucleotides. The catalytic efficiencies of the latter activities, though low in relative terms when compared to the major ones, are far from negligible. Actually, they are perfectly comparable to those of the ‘average’ enzyme and the known, bona fide cyclic dinucleotide phosphodiesterases. On the other hand, CpdB differs from these enzymes in its extracytoplasmic location and in the absence of EAL, HD and DHH domains. Instead, it contains the domains of the 5´-nucleotidase family pertaining to the metallophosphoesterase superfamily, although CpdB lacks 5´-nucleotidase activity. The possibility that the extracytoplasmic activity of CpdB on cyclic dinucleotides could have physiological meaning is discussed.
Joint image registration and super-resolution reconstruction based on regularized total least norm

Accurate registration of the low resolution (LR) images is a critical step in image super resolution reconstruction (SRR). Conventional algorithms always use invariable motion parameters derived from registration algorithms, and carry on SRR without considering the registration errors in the disjointed method. In this paper we propose a new method that performs joint image registration and SRR based on regularized total least norm (RTLN), updating the motion parameters and HR image simultaneously. Not only translation but also rotation motion are considered, which makes the motion model more universal. Experimental results have shown that our approach is more effective and efficient than traditional ones.