Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Interpretation of Elliptical Predicate Constructions in Mandarin: Semantic Underspecification and Pragmatic Enrichment

This paper attempts to present a unitary account of a range of elliptical predicate constructions in Mandarin, such as Null Object Constructions, English-like VP ellipsis constructions, and gapping constructions. It is argued that (i) from an interpretative perspective, the ellipsis site in the above-mentioned elliptical constructions can be uniformly analyzed as a pro-form with underspecified content; (ii) the interpretation of both syntactically and semantically underspecified constructions as such is crucially dependent on context. Within the framework of Dynamic Syntax (Kempson et al. 2001; Cann et al. 2005), the null object in Null Object Constructions, the null verb phrase in English-like VP ellipsis constructions and the null verb in gapping constructions are consistently analyzed as projecting a metavariable whose semantic value is pragmatically enriched from context by means of “substitution”/“re-use”. It is thus shown that syntactic and pragmatic processes interact to determine the underspecified content of elliptical predicate constructions in Mandarin. The dynamic analysis proposed provides a formal and unitary characterization of a variety of elliptical constructions without any stipulations.
Delayed help seeking behavior in dementia care: preliminary findings from the Clinical Pathway for Alzheimer's Disease in China (CPAD) study

ABSTRACT Background: The prevalence and factors associated with delays in help seeking for people with dementia in China are unknown. Methods: Within 1,010 consecutively registered participants in the Clinical Pathway for Alzheimer's Disease in China (CPAD) study (NCT01779310), 576 persons with dementia (PWDs) and their informants reported the estimated time from symptom onset to first medical visit seeking diagnosis. Univariate analysis of general linear model was used to examine the potential factors associated with the delayed diagnosis seeking. Results: The median duration from the first noticeable symptom to the first visit seeking diagnosis or treatment was 1.77 years. Individuals with a positive family history of dementia had longer duration (p = 0.05). Compared with other types of dementia, people with vascular dementia (VaD) were referred for diagnosis earliest, and the sequence for such delays was: VaD < Alzheimer's disease (AD) < frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (p < 0.001). Subtypes of dementia (p < 0.001), family history (p = 0.01), and education level (p = 0.03) were associated with the increased delay in help seeking. Conclusions: In China, seeking diagnosis for PWDs is delayed for approximately 2 years, even in well-established memory clinics. Clinical features, family history, and less education may impede help seeking in dementia care.
Mapping genetic elements of Epstein-Barr virus that facilitate extrachromosomal persistence of Epstein-Barr virus-derived plasmids in human cells

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome becomes established as a multicopy plasmid in the nucleus of infected B lymphocytes. A cis-acting DNA sequence previously described within the BamHI-C fragment of the EBV genome (J. Yates, N. Warren, D. Reisman, and B. Sugden, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81:3806-3810, 1984) allows stable extrachromosomal plasmid maintenance in latently infected cells, but not in EBV-negative cells. In agreement with the findings of Yates et al., deletion analysis permitted the assignment of this function to a 2,208-base-pair region (nucleotides 7315 to 9517 of the B95-8 strain of EBV) of the BamHI-C fragment that contained a striking repetitive sequence and an extended region of dyad symmetry. A recombinant vector, p410+, was constructed which carried the BamHI-K fragment (nucleotides 107565 to 112625 of the B95-8 strain, encoding the EBV-associated nuclear antigen EBNA-1), the cis-acting sequence from the BamHI-C fragment, and a dominant selectable marker gene encoding G-418 resistance in animal cells. After being transfected into HeLa cells, this plasmid persisted extrachromosomally at a low copy number, with no detectable rearrangements or deletions. Two mutations in the BamHI-K-derived portion of p410+, a large in-frame deletion and a linker insertion frameshift mutation, both of which alter the carboxy-terminal portion of EBNA-1, destroyed the ability of the plasmid to persist extrachromosomally in HeLa cells. A small in-frame deletion and linker insertion mutation in the region encoding the carboxy-terminal portion of EBNA-1, which replaced 19 amino acid codons with 2, had no effect on the maintenance of p410+ in HeLa cells. These observations indicate that EBNA-1, in combination with a cis-acting sequence in the BamHI-C fragment, is in part responsible for extrachromosomal EBV-derived plasmid maintenance in HeLa cells. Two additional activities have been localized to the BamHI-C DNA fragment: (i) a DNA sequence that could functionally substitute for the simian virus 40 enhancer and promoter elements controlling the expression of G-418 resistance and (ii) a DNA sequence which, although not sufficient to allow extrachromosomal plasmid maintenance, enhanced the frequency of transformation to G-418 resistance in EBV-positive (but not EBV-negative) cells. These findings suggest that the BamHI-C fragment contains a lymphoid-specific or EBV-inducible promoter or enhancer element or both.
Biodegradation of di-n-butyl phthalate in a soil microcosm

This study investigated the effects of various culture treatments on di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) degradation and the survival conditions of DBP-degrading bacterial strains in a soil microcosm. In the previous study, a DBP-degrading strain was isolated from activated sludge and identified by 16S rRNA as Deinococcus radiodurans. In this study, we added D. radiodurans into a soil microcosm and analyzed the structure of the whole bacterial community of the soil using a polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique. Meanwhile, the optimal conditions for DBP degradation were assessed by varying the temperature and initial pH of the culture, and by adding yeast extract and surfactants. The results show that the optimal conditions for DBP degradation in soil are a temperature of 35°C, a pH of 7, and the addition of Triton X-100 and yeast extract. Furthermore, the addition of D. radiodurans can also enhance DBP degradation in soil. The PCR-DGGE analysis showed that D. radiodurans could survive in the soil microcosm through 24 days of incubation. We hope that these findings may provide some useful information about the remediation of DBP in our environment.
New kid on the block: a strategic archetypes approach to understanding the Blockchain

Emerging Blockchain technologies have received considerable attention in the financial services domain. This is due to the potential of those technologies to radically disrupt existing financial systems by introducing new types of assets and new ways of managing transactions. Yet many of these technologies are so new and seemingly complex that strategic decision-makers may not fully understand the alternative Blockchain technologies on offer, let alone the costs and benefits associated with specific instantiations. This paper reviews the Blockchain literature and identifies eight key system design characteristics. From this, four Blockchain archetypes emerge, each of which is presented using a recognizable existing system to allow tangible discussion of similarities and differences across archetypes. The identification of these archetypes provides an important foundation for future research, enabling in-depth research to be conducted that will outline the costs, benefits, risks, and issues associated with each archetype.
Effects of metformin and ethinyl estradiol-cyproterone acetate on clinical, endocrine and metabolic factors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a major endocrine abnormality that affects women of reproductive age. Oral contraceptive pills are usually the first choice of treatment for PCOS when fertility is not desired. Metformin, an insulin-sensitizing drug, has been shown to improve such metabolic abnormality. Aim. To compare the effects of a contraceptive pill in combination with metformin on the clinical, endocrine and metabolic parameters in obese and non-obese patients with PCOS. Methods. Sixty PCOS patients (25 obese, 35 non-obese) were enrolled in this prospective clinical study. PCOS was defined according to the Rotterdam criteria. Patients were randomized to oral treatment with Diane35® (35 μg ethinyl estradiol plus 2 mg cyproterone acetate), metformin or a combination of Diane35/metformin for 3 months. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), Ferriman–Gallwey (FG) score, leuteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, fasting insulin and glucose/insulin ratio were measured at baseline and at the end of treatment. Results. Diane35 resulted in a higher reduction of FG score in both obese and non-obese PCOS patients compared with metformin. Menstrual regularity was restored in all PCOS patients treated with Diane35 compared with only 28% of those receiving metformin. Metformin significantly decreased BMI and WHR in obese patients (p < 0.05). Testosterone levels decreased in all three groups. LH levels and LH/FSH ratio decreased with Diane35 and Diane35/metformin in both obese and non-obese patients. Metformin significantly decreased fasting insulin concentrations (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01) and increased the insulin sensitivity (p < 0.05) in both obese and non-obese PCOS patients, while no significant changes were observed in the Diane35 group. In addition, insulin levels also decreased (p < 0.05) in the Diane35/metformin group. Conclusions. Our data show that a combination of metformin and contraceptive pill may be more effective in suppressing the hyperandrogenemia of obese and non-obese PCOS patients than metformin alone and may reduce insulin levels more than contraceptive pill alone. Hence, combined treatment may become a more effective therapeutic option for PCOS.
UNT TRECvid: A Brighton Image Searcher Application

The results, architecture and processing steps used by the University of North Texas team in the 2001 TRECvid video retrieval trials are described. Only a limited number of questions were selected by the team due to resource limitations described in the paper. However, the average precision of the team results over thirteen questions from the General search category were reasonable at 0.59
Efficacy and tolerability of ziprasidone in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia

This multicentre, parallel-group study compared the efficacy and tolerability of ziprasidone and chlorpromazine in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (at least three treatment periods of at least 6 weeks each with two or more antipsychotic agents during the past 5 years without significant response) that was unresponsive to 6 weeks of open-label haloperidol (≤30 mg/day). Haloperidol nonresponders were randomized to ziprasidone 80–160 mg/day (n=152) or chlorpromazine 200–1200 mg/day (n=154) for up to 12 weeks. The primary efficacy measures were the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRSd) total score derived from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), BPRSd core psychotic symptoms, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S). Secondary efficacy variables included PANSS total score, PANSS Negative Subscale, and the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Results were assessed at baseline and week 6 of haloperidol treatment (n=415) and at weeks 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 of randomized treatment (n=306). Improvements in efficacy variables were greater with ziprasidone at weeks 3 and 6, reaching statistical significance versus chlorpromazine (P<0.05) at week 6 for CGI-S and week 12 for PANSS Negative Subscale. Improvements in BPRSd total and core items and PANSS total scores were comparable at weeks 9 and 12. Ziprasidone was associated with a greater decrease in median prolactin levels and a lower incidence of clinically significant weight change. Neither agent caused any clinically important changes in QTc interval.
Discrete Dopant Fluctuations in 20-nm/15-nm-Gate Planar CMOS

We experimentally quantified, for the first time, the random dopant distribution (RDD)-induced threshold voltage standard deviation up to 40 mV for 20-nm-gate planar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) field-effect transistors. Discrete dopants have been statistically positioned in the 3-D channel region to examine the associated carrier transportation characteristics, concurrently capturing ldquodopant concentration variationrdquo and ldquodopant position fluctuation.rdquo As the gate length further scales down to 15 nm, the newly developed discrete dopant scheme features an effective solution to suppress the 3-sigma-edge single-digit dopant-induced variation by the gate work function modulation. The results of this paper may postpone the scaling limit projected for planar CMOS.
Screening for Depression in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with the British Columbia Major Depression Inventory

Accurate identification of depression in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is particularly complicated because the vegetative symptoms of depression also reflect core features of this autoimmune disease. Self-reported symptoms in patients with SLE (n = 103) and community control subjects (n = 136) were examined with the British Columbia Major Depression Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory–II. The patients with lupus obtained higher scores on most items of the former inventory. A logistic regression analysis assessed whether a subset of these items were uniquely related to group membership. Clinically significant fatigue was much more common in patients with lupus than in the control group. Two items relating to sleep disturbance also entered the equation as unique predictors. The three-variable model resulted in 85% of the control subjects and 66% of the patients being correctly classified. A subset of patients with depression, according to the Beck inventory (17 or higher), were selected (n = 41). Their most frequently endorsed symptoms on the British Columbia Inventory were fatigue (90.2%), trouble falling asleep (70.7%), cognitive difficulty (61%), and psychomotor slowing (58.5%). Only 29.3% reported significant sadness. 15% of these subjects were classified as not depressed, 46% as possibly depressed, and 39% as probably depressed on the British Columbia Inventory. It is advisable to assess whether patients are experiencing significant sadness or loss of interest before concluding that a high score on a screening test corresponds to probable depression.
Learning User Perceived Clusters with Feature-Level Supervision

Semi-supervised clustering algorithms have been proposed to identify data clusters that align with user perceived ones via the aid of side information such as seeds or pairwise constrains. However, traditional side information is mostly at the instance level and subject to the sampling bias, where non-randomly sampled instances in the supervision can mislead the algorithms to wrong clusters. In this paper, we propose learning from the feature-level supervision. We show that this kind of supervision can be easily obtained in the form of perception vectors in many applications. Then we present novel algorithms, called Perception Embedded (PE) clustering, that exploit the perception vectors as well as traditional side information to find clusters perceived by the user. Extensive experiments are conducted on real datasets and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of PE empirically.
Inhibition of Histone Deacetylation Induces Constitutive Derepression of the Beta Interferon Promoter and Confers Antiviral Activity

ABSTRACT The induction of alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) genes constitutes one of the first responses of the cell to virus infection. The IFN-β gene is constitutively repressed in uninfected cells and is transiently activated after virus infection. In this work we demonstrate that histone deacetylation regulates the silent state of the murine IFN-β gene. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays, we show a direct in vivo correlation between the transcriptionally silent state and a state of hypoacetylation of histone H4 on the IFN-β promoter region. Trichostatin A (TSA), a specific inhibitor of histone deacetylases, induced strong, constitutive derepression of the murine IFN-β promoter stably integrated into a chromatin context, as well as the hyperacetylation of histone H4, without requiring de novo protein synthesis. We also show in this work that TSA treatment strongly enhances the endogenous IFN level and confers an antiviral state to murine fibroblastic L929 cells. Inhibition of histone deacetylation with TSA protected the cells against the lost of viability induced by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and inhibited VSV multiplication. Using antibodies neutralizing IFN-α/β, we show that the antiviral state induced by TSA is due to TSA-induced IFN production. The demonstration of the predominant role of histone deacetylation during the regulation of the constitutive repressed state of the IFN-β promoter constitutes an interesting advance on the understanding of the negative regulation of this gene and opens up the possibility of new therapeutic perspectives.
TGF-β1-Induced Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Therapeutic Intervention in Diabetic Nephropathy

Background/Aims: Epithelial-to-mesenchymal cell transformation (EMT) is the trans-differentiation of tubular epithelial cells into myofibroblasts, an event underlying progressive chronic kidney disease in diabetes, resulting in fibrosis. Mainly reported in proximal regions of the kidney, EMT is now recognized as a key contributor to the loss of renal function throughout the nephron in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Concomitant upregulation of TGF-β in diabetes makes this pro-fibrotic cytokine an obvious candidate in the development of these fibrotic complications. This article reviews recent findings clarifying our understanding of the role of TGF-β and associated sub-cellular proteins in EMT. Methods: To understand the pathology of EMT and the role of TGF-β, we reviewed the literature using PubMed for English language articles that contained key words related to EMT, TGF-β and DN. Results: EMT and phenotypic plasticity of epithelial cells throughout the nephron involves cytoskeletal reorganization and de novo acquisition of classic mesenchymal markers. Concurrent downregulation of epithelial adhesion molecules results in a loss of function and decreased cell coupling, contributing to a loss of epithelial integrity. TGF-β1 is pivotal in mediating these phenotypic changes. Conclusion: TGF-β-induced EMT is a key contributor to fibrotic scar formation as seen in DN, and novel routes for future therapeutic intervention are discussed.
Candecomp/Parafac: From Diverging Components to a Decomposition in Block Terms

Fitting an R-component Candecomp/Parafac (CP) decomposition to a multiway array or higher-order tensor ${\cal Z}$ is equivalent to finding a best rank-R approximation of ${\cal Z}$. Such a best rank-R approximation may not exist due to the fact that the set of multiway arrays with rank at most R is not closed. In this case, trying to compute the approximation results in diverging CP components. We present an approach to avoid diverging components for real $I\times J\times K$ arrays with $R\le\min(I,J,K)$. We show that a CP decomposition $({\bf A},{\bf B},{\bf C})$ featuring diverging components can be rewritten as a decomposition in block terms, where each block term corresponds to a group of diverging components. Moreover, we show that if the diverging components occur in groups of two or three, then the limiting boundary point ${\cal X}$ (i.e., the limit of the sequence of CP updates) can be obtained by fitting an appropriate constrained Tucker3 model to ${\cal Z}$, using the block term decomposition of.
Wind farm interferences in Passive Coherent Location

Rapid growth in the number of wind farms may influence the performance of many radar systems. The radar echoes originating from wind turbine's blades and tower may mask existing objects or generate false plots. In the presented paper the authors analyze the influence of a wind turbine on Passive Coherent Location radars and discuss the effectiveness of simple methods used to overcome problems associated with it. The results of a simulation along with the recorded echoes of the wind turbine gathered by DVB-T based passive radar demonstrator are also shown in the paper.
Quantification of liver metastases from LS174T human colorectal cancer cells in nude rats by PCR.

Liver metastasis of colorectal cancer is a challenging problem and associated with poor prognosis. Appropriate experimental models based for example on xenografts of human colorectal cancer (HCRC) cells may help to find new therapeutic options. To establish an orthotopic liver metastasis model, 9 HCRC cell lines (HDC8, HDC63, HDC101, Isreco-1, Isreco-2, Isreco-3, SW480, SW620, LS174T) were tested for their appropriateness after subcutaneous (s.c.), intrasplenic, intrahepatic and intraportal injection into rnu-rats. The growth curve of the most appropriate cell line (LS174T) was established in a subsequent experiment. For early tumor detection, a quantitative nested PCR-assay using an internal standard was developed. The detection limit of the assay was 10 HCRC cells/mg liver tissue, which was 100-1000 fold more sensitive than histological examination. LS174T cells showed an exponential, but somewhat irregular growth in the liver of nude rats within the observation period of 6 weeks. The model will be useful for future therapeutic studies.
History of One Health and One Medicine

MAX Murray and his colleagues have well described the fulcrum role that Sir William Weipers played in ensuring the development of the concept of One Medicine ( VR , March 1, 2014, vol 174, p 227). In my long friendship with him it was always a matter about which he believed strongly. He often used as an example …
How children with autism extend new words.

PURPOSE How do children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) extend a noun to the category of objects it labels? Given their tendency to perceive locally, their extensions might be too narrow. Given their social-communicative deficits and a context in which the knowledge of a social-communicative partner promotes narrow extensions, their extensions might be too broad. METHOD We tested these predictions by comparing 25 high-functioning school-aged children with ASD to 29 age-matched peers with typical development (TD) in a task that required extraction of commonalities of object referents and use of social-communicative context to support the category inference. RESULTS The children with ASD readily extended a given noun to multiple exemplars, thereby demonstrating tacit knowledge that words label categories and the ability to override local perceptual biases they might have. However, unlike their peers with TD, those who had concomitant weaknesses in semantic and syntactic language ability formed broad categories when their social partner's behavior suggested narrow categories. CONCLUSIONS Some, but not all, people with ASD fail to use social context to support inferences about word extension. The direction of any causal relationship between failure to use social contextual cues and language deficits awaits determination.