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Sample records for unknown compound nouns

  1. Unpacking Noun-Noun Compounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smith, Viktor; Barratt, Daniel; Zlatev, Jordan

    2014-01-01

    In two complementary experiments we took an integrated approach to a set of tightly interwoven, yet rarely combined questions concerning the spontaneous interpretation of novel (unfamiliar) noun-noun compounds (NNCs) when encountered in isolation, and possible (re)interpretations of novel as well...... concerning the relations between semantics and pragmatics, as well as system and usage, and psycholinguistic issues concerning the processing of NNCs. New insights and methodological tools are also provided for supporting future best practices in the field of food naming and labelling...

  2. Grammatical-gender effects in noun-noun compound production: Evidence from German.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenz, Antje; Mädebach, Andreas; Jescheniak, Jörg D

    2018-05-01

    We examined how noun-noun compounds and their syntactic properties are lexically stored and processed in speech production. Using gender-marked determiner primes ( der masc , die fem , das neut [the]) in a picture naming task, we tested for specific effects from determiners congruent with either the modifier or the head of the compound target (e.g., Tee masc kanne fem [teapot]) to examine whether the constituents are processed independently at the syntactic level. Experiment 1 assessed effects of auditory gender-marked determiner primes in bare noun picture naming, and Experiment 2 assessed effects of visual gender-marked determiner primes in determiner-noun picture naming. Three prime conditions were implemented: (a) head-congruent determiner (e.g., die fem ), (b) modifier-congruent determiner (e.g., der masc ), and (c) incongruent determiner (e.g., das neuter ). We observed a facilitation effect of head congruency but no effect of modifier congruency. In Experiment 3, participants produced novel noun-noun compounds in response to two pictures, demanding independent processing of head and modifier at the syntactic level. Now, head and modifier congruency effects were obtained, demonstrating the general sensitivity of our task. Our data support the notion of a single-lemma representation of lexically stored compound nouns in the German production lexicon.

  3. Translation of Japanese Noun Compounds at Super-Function Based MT System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xin; Ren, Fuji; Kuroiwa, Shingo

    Noun compounds are frequently encountered construction in nature language processing (NLP), consisting of a sequence of two or more nouns which functions syntactically as one noun. The translation of noun compounds has become a major issue in Machine Translation (MT) due to their frequency of occurrence and high productivity. In our previous studies on Super-Function Based Machine Translation (SFBMT), we have found that noun compounds are very frequently used and difficult to be translated correctly, the overgeneration of noun compounds can be dangerous as it may introduce ambiguity in the translation. In this paper, we discuss the challenges in handling Japanese noun compounds in an SFBMT system, we present a shallow method for translating noun compounds by using a word level translation dictionary and target language monolingual corpus.

  4. Rule-based Approach on Extraction of Malay Compound Nouns in Standard Malay Document

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    Abu Bakar, Zamri; Kamal Ismail, Normaly; Rawi, Mohd Izani Mohamed

    2017-08-01

    Malay compound noun is defined as a form of words that exists when two or more words are combined into a single syntax and it gives a specific meaning. Compound noun acts as one unit and it is spelled separately unless an established compound noun is written closely from two words. The basic characteristics of compound noun can be seen in the Malay sentences which are the frequency of that word in the text itself. Thus, this extraction of compound nouns is significant for the following research which is text summarization, grammar checker, sentiments analysis, machine translation and word categorization. There are many research efforts that have been proposed in extracting Malay compound noun using linguistic approaches. Most of the existing methods were done on the extraction of bi-gram noun+noun compound. However, the result still produces some problems as to give a better result. This paper explores a linguistic method for extracting compound Noun from stand Malay corpus. A standard dataset are used to provide a common platform for evaluating research on the recognition of compound Nouns in Malay sentences. Therefore, an improvement for the effectiveness of the compound noun extraction is needed because the result can be compromised. Thus, this study proposed a modification of linguistic approach in order to enhance the extraction of compound nouns processing. Several pre-processing steps are involved including normalization, tokenization and tagging. The first step that uses the linguistic approach in this study is Part-of-Speech (POS) tagging. Finally, we describe several rules-based and modify the rules to get the most relevant relation between the first word and the second word in order to assist us in solving of the problems. The effectiveness of the relations used in our study can be measured using recall, precision and F1-score techniques. The comparison of the baseline values is very essential because it can provide whether there has been an improvement

  5. Count Nouns - Mass Nouns, Neat Nouns - Mess Nouns

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    Fred Landman

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I propose and formalize a theory of the mass-count distinction in which the denotations of count nouns are built from non-overlapping generators, while the denotations of mass nouns are built from overlapping generators. Counting is counting of generators, and it will follow that counting is only correct on count denotations. I will show that the theory allows two kinds of mass nouns: mess mass nouns with denotations built from overlapping minimal generators, and neat mass nouns with denotations built from overlapping generators, where the overlap is not located in the minimal generators. Prototypical mass nouns like meat and mud are of the first kind. I will argue that mass nouns like furniture and kitchenware are of the second type. I will discuss several phenomena—all involving one way or the other explicitly or implicitly individual classifiers like stuks in Dutch—that show that both distinctions mass/count and mess/neat are linguistically robust. I will show in particular that nouns like kitchenware pattern in various ways like count nouns, and not like mess mass nouns, and that these ways naturally involve the neat structure of their denotation. I will also show that they are real mass nouns: they can involve measures in the way mess mass nouns can and count nouns cannot. I will discuss grinding interpretations of count nouns, here rebaptized fission interpretations, and argue that these interpretations differ in crucial ways from the interpretations of lexical mass nouns. The paper will end with a foundational problem raised by fission interpretations, and in the course of this, atomless interpretation domains will re-enter the scene through the back door.ReferencesBarner, D. & Snedeker, J. 2005. ‘Quantity judgements and individuation: evidence that mass nouns count’. Cognition 97: 41–66.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2004.06.009PMid:16139586Bunt, H. 1985. Mass Terms and Model Theoretic Semantics. Cambridge

  6. Noun combination in interlanguage typology effects in complex determiner phrases

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    Bongartz, Christiane

    2002-01-01

    This study examines effects of L1 typology on the interlanguage of L2 learners of English. Czech learners use phrasal constructs (the song about love) significantly more often than Chinese learners, who prefer noun+noun compounds (the love song). Determiner properties and the process of noun incorporation systematically relate both options.

  7. Noun Countability; Count Nouns and Non-count Nouns, What are the Syntactic Differences Between them?

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    Azhar A. Alkazwini

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Words that function as the subjects of verbs, objects of verbs or prepositions and which can have a plural form and possessive ending are known as nouns. They are described as referring to persons, places, things, states, or qualities and might also be used as an attributive modifier. In this paper, classes and subclasses of nouns shall be presented, then, noun countability branching into count and non-count nous shall be discussed. A number of present examples illustrating differences between count and non-count nouns and this includes determiner-head-co-occurrence restrictions of number, subject-verb agreement, in addition to some exceptions to this agreement rule shall be discussed. Also, the lexically inherent number in nouns and how inherently plural nouns are classified in terms of (+/- count are illustrated. This research will discuss partitive construction of count and non-count nouns, nouns as attributive modifier and, finally, conclude with the fact that there are syntactic difference between count and non-count in the English Language.

  8. Are French -ité Suffixed Nouns Property Nouns?

    OpenAIRE

    Koehl, Aurore

    2008-01-01

    International audience; The aim of this paper is to analyse French deadjectival –ité nouns construction (AitéN), from a lexematic point of view. –ité nouns are the most frequent deadjectival nouns stored in French dictionaries. Most of the time, these nouns are analysed as denoting properties. The present analysis will show that it is not always the case. We propose here a study conducted on 499 AitéN coined on denominal adjectives. We will make use of both syntactic and semantic adjectival p...

  9. OVERGENERALIZATION IN SINGULAR/PLURAL NOUNS AND SUFFIXED NOUNS OF IELTS COURSE STUDENTS

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    Gharizi Matiini

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to investigate the morphological overgeneralization of IELTS students. It focuses on the singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns that are overgeneralized by those students. Three students are chosen as the participants of the study by collecting their writing exercises. Three writing texts are gathered taken from several weeks and materials. The writings are analyzed by sorting the nouns they produced and categorizing them according to the singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns. The results reveal that the students over extended the rules of singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns. However, recovery occurs very varied in both singular/plural nouns and suffixed nouns. They tend to be better in mentioning singular/plural nouns, yet they are being selective and careful in writing suffixed nouns. In conclusion, even though the language learners can mark their overgeneralization, it is still difficult for them to recover their errors. It is recommended here that longitudinal study that has more time to examine students recovery from overgeneralization can be conducted for the further study to give more detail evidence in students’ overgeneralizations. Keywords: overgeneralization, singular/plural nouns, suffixed nouns

  10. Nouns in apposition : Portuguese data

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    Graça Rio-Torto

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The nature of N1N2 constructions, or nouns in apposition, is controversial: depending on the theoretical framework, they can be considered as compounds or as syntactic constructions. Indeed, nouns in apposition function as a hybrid category, in a double way: (i the same lexical structure in apposition is viewed either as a coordinative construction, as a subordinative or as an attributive construction. (ii N2 functions as a modifier or as an attributive item of N1; in Portuguese, when plural is syntactically mandatory, N1 (the head is systematically pluralized; N2 either rejects inflection or behaves as a predicator, allowing inflectional marks. We claim that Romance NN behave as a specific type of compounds. This assumption is grounded on their behaviour by contrast with phrasal properties. Portuguese compounds are characterized by a narrow relationship between internal structure, headness and inflectional patterns. In Portuguese, by default, the head of compound is inflected. NN related by an attributive semantic link are nowadays particularly unstable and problematic regarding inflection. Inflectional variation — widely attested — helps in determining the status of NN in apposition: as two inflectional patterns are available, we must verify if they correspond to two different constructions or to one structure with two readings. The analysis addressed is supported by empirical data of contemporary Portuguese language extracted from Brazilian and European databases, and requires the theoretical articulation of a double predicative class of N2 (holistic and partitive with inflectional fluctuation of attributive N2 in the second situation: performing a continuum, double inflection is close to holistic predication and single inflection (of N1 is close to partitive predication; systematic double inflection is close to coordination and inflectional oscillation is close to attribution. The predicative power of nouns in apposition supports their

  11. Investigating differences between proper and common nouns using novel word learning

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    Anastasiya Romanova

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Empirical studies have shown higher rates of tip-of-the-tongue states for proper nouns, in comparison to common nouns, in non-brain-damaged speakers (e.g., Valentine & Moore, 1995, and higher retrieval failure rates for proper nouns relative to common nouns in people with aphasia (e.g., Semenza, 2009. Some authors suggest the source of these differences lies in logical properties (e.g., Semenza, 2009. That is, common nouns refer to a category of beings or objects that share certain semantic properties, while proper nouns designate specific individual beings or objects with unique features. Other authors attribute the distinction in processing to a number of statistical properties that differ across common and proper nouns (Kay, Hanley, & Miles, 2001. The aims of the present study were: 1 to dissociate the effects of logical and statistical properties by using novel words with equal statistical properties; 2 to determine whether people with aphasia show disproportionate impairments in learning proper nouns relative to common nouns, compared to aged-matched subjects. Methods We tested young (n=16 and elderly (n=14 adult non-brain-damaged participants and people with aphasia (n=2. Items-to-be-learnt were given as representatives of an unknown species (n=10 in the common noun condition, or as individual creatures (n=10 in the proper noun condition. The experiment consisted of 5 sessions. Each session included a learning phase and a test phase with naming and word-picture verification tasks. Results and Discussion Preliminary analysis showed learning of both common and proper nouns for both younger (F(4=140.68, p<.01 and elderly (F(4=34.87, p<.01 non-brain-damaged participants, with learning being significantly better for the younger group (F(4=6.5, p<.01. Contrary to expectations, performance on proper nouns was better than that for common nouns for both young and elderly subjects (F(1=6.47, p=.02 and F(1=9.75, p<.01, respectively, possibly due to

  12. NOUN CLASSIFICATION IN ESAHIE

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The present work deals with noun classification in Esahie (Kwa, Niger ... phonological information influences the noun (form) class system of Esahie. ... between noun classes and (grammatical) Gender is interrogated (in the light of ..... the (A) argument6 precedes the verb and the (P) argument7 follows the verb in a simple.

  13. Recently learned foreign abstract and concrete nouns are represented in distinct cortical networks similar to the native language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, Katja M; Macedonia, Manuela; von Kriegstein, Katharina

    2017-09-01

    In the native language, abstract and concrete nouns are represented in distinct areas of the cerebral cortex. Currently, it is unknown whether this is also the case for abstract and concrete nouns of a foreign language. Here, we taught adult native speakers of German 45 abstract and 45 concrete nouns of a foreign language. After learning the nouns for 5 days, participants performed a vocabulary translation task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Translating abstract nouns in contrast to concrete nouns elicited responses in regions that are also responsive to abstract nouns in the native language: the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left middle and superior temporal gyri. Concrete nouns elicited larger responses in the angular gyri bilaterally and the left parahippocampal gyrus than abstract nouns. The cluster in the left angular gyrus showed psychophysiological interaction (PPI) with the left lingual gyrus. The left parahippocampal gyrus showed PPI with the posterior cingulate cortex. Similar regions have been previously found for concrete nouns in the native language. The results reveal similarities in the cortical representation of foreign language nouns with the representation of native language nouns that already occur after 5 days of vocabulary learning. Furthermore, we showed that verbal and enriched learning methods were equally suitable to teach foreign abstract and concrete nouns. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4398-4412, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. On flexible and rigid nouns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rijkhoff, Jan

    2008-01-01

    Studies in Language 32-3 (2008), 727-752. Special issue: Parts of Speech: Descriptive tools, theoretical constructs Jan Rijkhoff - On flexible and rigid nouns This article argues that in addition to the flexible lexical categories in Hengeveld’s classification of parts-of-speech systems (Contentive......, Non-Verb, Modifier), there are also flexible word classes within the rigid lexical category Noun (Set Noun, Sort Noun, General Noun). Members of flexible word classes are characterized by their vague semantics, which in the case of nouns means that values for the semantic features Shape...... and Homogeneity are either left undetermined or they are specified in such a way that they do not quite match the properties of the kind of entity denoted by the flexible item in the external world. I will then argue that flexible word classes constitute a proper category (i.e. they are not the result of a merger...

  15. On flexible and rigid nouns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rijkhoff, Jan

    2010-01-01

    classes. Finally this article wants to claim that the distinction between rigid and flexible noun categories (a) adds a new dimension to current classifications of parts of speech systems, (b) correlates with certain grammatical phenomena (e.g. so-called number discord), and (c) helps to explain the parts......This article argues that in addition to the major flexible lexical categories in Hengeveld’s classification of parts of speech systems (Contentive, Non-Verb, Modifier), there are also flexible word classes within the rigid lexical category Noun (Set Noun, Sort Noun, General Noun). Members...... by the flexible item in the external world. I will then argue that flexible word classes constitute a proper category (i.e. they are not the result of a merger of some rigid word classes) in that members of flexible word categories display the same properties regarding category membership as members of rigid word...

  16. THE COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS BETWEEN ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH

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    Shkelqim Millaku

    2017-01-01

    The noun in Albanian language classified as common and proper. The common nouns in turn divide into countable and uncountable. Collective nouns and substance nouns are subclasses of the other classes. The structure of noun formation between Albanian and English on the general aspect of morphology and syntax still didn’t study in the way of comparative, contrast and generative. Those fields are our object of study. In Albanian and English we find some concepts of studies for noun for exam...

  17. Noun complement clauses as referential modifiers

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    Carlos de Cuba

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A number of recent analyses propose that so-called noun complement clauses should be analyzed as a type of relative clause. In this paper, I present a number of complications for any analysis that equates noun complement clauses to relative clauses, and conclude that this type of analysis is on the wrong track. I present cross-linguistic evidence showing that the syntactic behavior of noun complement clauses does not pattern with relative clauses. Patterns of complementizer choice and complementizer drop as well as patterns involving main clause phenomena and extraction differ in the two constructions, which I argue is unexpected under a relative clause analysis that involves operator movement. Instead I present an alternative analysis in which I propose that the referentiality of a noun complement clause is linked to its syntactic behavior. Following recent work, I claim that referential clauses have a syntactically truncated left-periphery, and this truncation can account for the lack of main clause phenomena in noun complement clauses. I argue that the truncation analysis is also able to accommodate complementizer data patterns more easily than relative clause analyses that appeal to operator movement.

  18. Semantic and syntactic forces in noun phrase production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vigliocco, G.; Lauer, M.; Damian, M.F.; Levelt, W.J.M.

    2002-01-01

    Three experiments investigated semantic and syntactic effects in the production of phrases in Dutch. Bilingual participants were presented with English nouns and were asked to produce an adjective + noun phrase in Dutch including the translation of the noun. In 2 experiments, the authors blocked

  19. Layers of root nouns in Germanic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Bjarne Simmelkjær Sandgaard

    2017-01-01

    The root-noun declension became productive in early Germanic, containing (I) inherited root nouns, (IIa) original substrate or loan words, and transitions from other declensions in (IIb) Proto-Germanic and (III) North Germanic. As ablaut was abolished, the inherited type would display ablaut grades...

  20. Matrix- and tensor-based recommender systems for the discovery of currently unknown inorganic compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seko, Atsuto; Hayashi, Hiroyuki; Kashima, Hisashi; Tanaka, Isao

    2018-01-01

    Chemically relevant compositions (CRCs) and atomic arrangements of inorganic compounds have been collected as inorganic crystal structure databases. Machine learning is a unique approach to search for currently unknown CRCs from vast candidates. Herein we propose matrix- and tensor-based recommender system approaches to predict currently unknown CRCs from database entries of CRCs. Firstly, the performance of the recommender system approaches to discover currently unknown CRCs is examined. A Tucker decomposition recommender system shows the best discovery rate of CRCs as the majority of the top 100 recommended ternary and quaternary compositions correspond to CRCs. Secondly, systematic density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed to investigate the phase stability of the recommended compositions. The phase stability of the 27 compositions reveals that 23 currently unknown compounds are newly found to be stable. These results indicate that the recommender system has great potential to accelerate the discovery of new compounds.

  1. Analysis of the Word-Initial Segment with Reference to Lemmatising Zulu Nasal Nouns

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    M.H. Mpungose

    2012-09-01

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    The process of lemmatising nasal nouns in the Zulu lexicon is problematic. The traditional method is to lemmatise a Zulu lexical noun by etymological noun-stem. This practice creates difficulties in harmonising lexical nouns with their syntactic application. Most authors and dictionary-makers are inconsistent in identifying the word-initial segment which determines the letter of the alphabet under which the lexical noun should be included. Consequently, dictionary users do not find Zulu dictionaries user-friendly. This article therefore proposes the principle of "a noun without initial vowel" as a method for lemmatising Zulu nasal nouns. It concludes that it is not necessary to delve into the derivational history of a lexical noun, but rather to focus on the product of the operation of morphophonological rules. The article also suggests the need to identify the distinctiveness of the segments of a syllable and to acknowledge that identical forms of a segment do occur at different segmental positions (initial, medial and final. Finally it is argued that the Zulu nasal noun class prefix is constructed according to an open syllable pattern defined by a general CV-formula based on a VCV noun prefix open syllable pattern.

    Keywords: adjoined letter; compound; composite; consonant; element; etymological; evolutionary; homorganic; initial; intravowel; lemma; lemmatise; lexical; morphophonological; nasal; noun class prefix; segment; syllable; vowel

     

    Die proses van lemmatisering van nasale naamwoorde in die Zoeloeleksikon is problematies. Die tradisionele metode is om leksikale selfstandige naamwoorde in Zoeloe volgens die etimologiese naamwoordstam te lemmatiseer. Hierdie gebruik veroorsaak moeilikhede by die harmonisering van leksikale selfstandige naamwoorde met hul sintaktiese toepassing. Die meeste outeurs en leksikograwe is inkonsekwent in die identifisering van die woordinisiële segment wat die letter van die alfabet bepaal

  2. Learning to categorize verbs and nouns : studies on Dutch

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    Erkelens, M.A.

    2009-01-01

    Verbs and nouns are elementary notions in linguistics, so the question how children learn to categorize verbs and nouns in their first language is an intriguing one. Children not only have to learn to identify verbs and nouns as belonging to different categories based on perception, they also have

  3. Problem of the Classification of Quantitative Noun in the German Language

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    Elvira L. Shubina

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This work is dedicated to the semantic classification of quantitative noun on the basis of a structural study (Nquant + (Adj +N (ein Glas frisches Wasser, since this model reveals the greatest variety of grammatical formulation. These word combinations can form by the genitive government eine Tasse starken Kaffees by the grammatical agreement ein Eimer kaltes Wasser, or by the adjunction mit einem Korb reife Apfel. The suggested classification of the noun performing the function of the first components is based on the form of the noun acting as the first component. Types of the first components fall into three groups: 1. The nouns, which specify quantitative characteristics of objects and substances. Two subgroups are also distingshed: word combinations with a noun in a singular form Nquant1a as the second component and word combinations with a noun in a plural form as the second component Nquant1b; 2. The nouns defining a group of living beings and objects Nquant2; 3. The nouns which formation is grounded on quantitative nouns Nquant3. Normative recommendations on the choice of subordinate connection type should be connected at least at the present stage of existence of German literary language, exactly with the semantics of the nouns which are the first components in these word combinations. The article illustrates that all types of constructions (organizes whether on the basis of government, agreement and or adjunction are connected with the completely specific semantic characteristics of the name, i.e., these nouns belong to one of three groups of noun - first components.

  4. Noun-Verb Ambiguity in Chronic Undifferentiated Schizophrenia

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    Goldfarb, Robert; Bekker, Natalie

    2009-01-01

    This study investigated noun-verb retrieval patterns of 30 adults with chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia and 67 typical adults, to determine if schizophrenia affected nouns (associated with temporal lobe function) differently from verbs (associated with frontal lobe function). Stimuli were homophonic homographic homonyms, balanced according…

  5. Explaining word order in the noun phrase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rijkhoff, Jan

    1990-01-01

    This article argues that word order in the noun phrase is largely determined by three iconic principles of constituent ordering. The patterns that these principles predict for simple noun phrases are tested against data from various existing samples. It appears that the predicted patterns are all...

  6. Iceberg Semantics For Count Nouns And Mass Nouns: Classifiers, measures and portions

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    Fred Landman

    2016-12-01

    It is the analysis of complex NPs and their mass-count properties that is the focus of the second part of this paper. There I develop an analysis of English and Dutch pseudo- partitives, in particular, measure phrases like three liters of wine and classifier phrases like three glasses of wine. We will study measure interpretations and classifier interpretations of measures and classifiers, and different types of classifier interpretations: container interpretations, contents interpretations, and - indeed - portion interpretations. Rothstein 2011 argues that classifier interpretations (including portion interpretations of pseudo partitives pattern with count nouns, but that measure interpretations pattern with mass nouns. I will show that this distinction follows from the very basic architecture of Iceberg semantics.

  7. An Analysis of Noun Definition in Cantonese

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    To, Carol Kit Sum; Stokes, Stephanie; Man, Yonnie; T'Sou, Benjamin

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the noun definitions given by Cantonese speakers at different ages. Definitional responses on six concrete nouns from 1075 children aged 4;10 to 12;01 and 15 adults were analyzed with reference to the semantic content and the syntactic form. Results showed that conventional definitions produced by Cantonese adult speakers…

  8. Old Romanian pluralized mass and abstract nouns

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    Gabriela Pană Dindelegan

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of a rich old Romanian corpus shows that the ‘pluralization’ of mass and abstract nouns is extremely frequent in old Romanian. The semantic effects of pluralization are similar for mass and abstract nouns, consisting in the creation of denotative and/or connotative semantic variants. Of the plural endings, –uri is specialized for the pluralization of mass nouns in Daco-Romanian. The evolution of the ending –uri illustrates the specific process by which a grammatical (plural morpheme is converted into a lexical morpheme (the so-called ‘lexical plurals’. ‘Lexical plurals’ have isolated occurrences in other Romance languages, but they have not reached the spread and regularity they display in Romanian.

  9. The Treatment of Borrowed Nouns in Isichazamazwi SesiNdebele and Isichazamazwi SezoMculo

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    Eventhough Ndlovu

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This article focuses on the lemmatisation of vowel-commencing borrowed nouns and the allo-cation of borrowed nouns to noun class prefixes in Isichazamazwi SesiNdebele, the first monolingual general-purpose Ndebele dictionary, and Isichazamazwi SezoMculo, the first specialised Ndebele dictionary of musical terms. It adopts a comparative approach, also highlighting the controversies surrounding the status of the initial vowel of the prefix or the pre-prefix in Ndebele and other Nguni languages. It further looks at the challenges and limitations of lemmatising the noun using either the initial vowel of the prefix or the initial letter of the noun stem. It is found that there are some inconsistencies in the lemmatisation of vowel-com-mencing borrowed nouns and the allocation of borrowed nouns to noun class prefixes in the two dictionar-ies. These inconsistencies impact negatively on the standardisation and treatment of borrowed nouns.

  10. Noun morphophonemics and noun class restructuring: The case of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The article seeks to address the plural forms of class 11/10 nouns in Meru dialects. These are Bantu dialects spoken in the eastern province of Kenya. The dialects build the plural forms in this class in various ways. Sometimes the entire word is treated as a root and in other cases the word is considered to have two parts: a ...

  11. Noun and verb processing in aphasia: Behavioural profiles and neural correlates

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    Reem S.W. Alyahya

    Full Text Available The behavioural and neural processes underpinning different word classes, particularly nouns and verbs, have been a long-standing area of interest in psycholinguistic, neuropsychology and aphasiology research. This topic has theoretical implications concerning the organisation of the language system, as well as clinical consequences related to the management of patients with language deficits. Research findings, however, have diverged widely, which might, in part, reflect methodological differences, particularly related to controlling the psycholinguistic variations between nouns and verbs. The first aim of this study, therefore, was to develop a set of neuropsychological tests that assessed single-word production and comprehension with a matched set of nouns and verbs. Secondly, the behavioural profiles and neural correlates of noun and verb processing were explored, based on these novel tests, in a relatively large cohort of 48 patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia. A data-driven approach, principal component analysis (PCA, was also used to determine how noun and verb production and comprehension were related to the patients' underlying fundamental language domains. The results revealed no performance differences between noun and verb production and comprehension once matched on multiple psycholinguistic features including, most critically, imageability. Interestingly, the noun-verb differences found in previous studies were replicated in this study once un-matched materials were used. Lesion-symptom mapping revealed overlapping neural correlates of noun and verb processing along left temporal and parietal regions. These findings support the view that the neural representation of noun and verb processing at single-word level are jointly-supported by distributed cortical regions. The PCA generated five fundamental language and cognitive components of aphasia: phonological production, phonological recognition, semantics, fluency, and

  12. Verb-Noun Collocation Proficiency and Academic Years

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    Fatemeh Ebrahimi-Bazzaz

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Generally vocabulary and collocations in particular have significant roles in language proficiency. A collocation includes two words that are frequently joined concurrently in the memory of native speakers. There have been many linguistic studies trying to define, to describe, and to categorise English collocations. It contains grammatical collocations and lexical collocations which include nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverb. In the context of a foreign language environment such as Iran, collocational proficiency can be useful because it helps the students improve their language proficiency. This paper investigates the possible relationship between verb-noun collocation proficiency among students from one academic year to the next. To reach this goal, a test of verb-noun collocations was administered to Iranian learners. The participants in the study were 212 Iranian students in an Iranian university. They were selected from the second term of freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years. The students’ age ranged from 18 to 35.The results of ANOVA showed there was variability in the verb-noun collocations proficiency within each academic year and between the four academic years. The results of a post hoc multiple comparison tests demonstrated that the means are significantly different between the first year and the third and fourth years, and between the third and the fourth academic year; however, students require at least two years to show significant development in verb-noun collocation proficiency. These findings provided a vital implication that lexical collocations are learnt and developed through four academic years of university, but requires at least two years showing significant development in the language proficiency.

  13. THE COMPOUND NOUNS BETWEEN ENGLISH AND ALBANIAN LANGUAGE

    OpenAIRE

    Shkelqim Millaku; Xhevahire Topanica

    2016-01-01

    The compound words are all the words that are compound from two or more words and both of them creative the new words with the new meaning. In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word) that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word-formation that creates compound lexemes (the other word-formation process being derivation). Compounding or Word-compounding refers to the faculty and device of language to form new words by combining or putting toget...

  14. Shell Nouns as Cohesive Devices in Published and ESL Student Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktas, Rahime Nur; Cortes, Viviana

    2008-01-01

    This paper analyzes the use of a special type of unspecific noun, called "shell nouns" [Hunston, S., & Francis, G. (1999). "Pattern grammar". Amsterdam: Benjamins; Schmid, H. (2000). "English abstract nouns as conceptual shells: From corpus to cognition". Berlin: Walter de Gruyter], which are frequently used as cohesive devices, in the written…

  15. Categorical Structure among Shared Features in Networks of Early-Learned Nouns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, Thomas T.; Maouene, Mounir; Maouene, Josita; Sheya, Adam; Smith, Linda

    2009-01-01

    The shared features that characterize the noun categories that young children learn first are a formative basis of the human category system. To investigate the potential categorical information contained in the features of early-learned nouns, we examine the graph-theoretic properties of noun-feature networks. The networks are built from the…

  16. Broohm: Noun Classification in Esahie | Broohm | Ghana Journal of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tano, Kwa, Niger-Congo). It contends that, though the noun class system of Esahie per se is morpho-syntactically vestigial, hence differing from other African languages (e.g. most Bantu languages) where noun classes can be assimilated with ...

  17. Exploring Noun Bias in Filipino-English Bilingual Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Rochelle Irene G.; Bernardo, Allan B. I.

    2008-01-01

    Researchers have suggested that there is a noun bias in children's early vocabularies brought about by features of adults' child-directed utterances, which may vary across languages (E. V. Bates et al., 1994; D. Gentner, 1982). In the present study, the authors explored noun bias in 60 Filipino-English bilingual children whose 2 languages differed…

  18. Verb-Noun Collocations in Written Discourse of Iranian EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Ebrahimi-Bazzaz

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available When native speakers of English write, they employ both grammatical rules and collocations. Collocations are words that are present in the memory of native speakers as ready-made prefabricated chunks. Non-native speakers who wish to acquire native-like fluency should give appropriate attention to collocations in writing in order not to produce sentences that native speakers may consider odd. The present study tries to explore the use of verb-noun collocations in written discourse of English as foreign language (EFL among Iranian EFL learners from one academic year to the next in Iran. To measure the use of verb-noun collocations in written discourse, there was a 60-minute task of writing story  based on a series of six pictures whereby for each picture, three verb-noun collocations were measured, and nouns were provided to limit the choice of collocations. The results of the statistical analysis of ANOVA for the research question indicated that there was a significant difference in the use of lexical verb-noun collocations in written discourse both between and within the four academic years. The results of a post hoc multiple comparison tests confirmed that the means are significantly different between the first year and the third and fourth years, between the second and the fourth, and between the third and the fourth academic year which indicate substantial development in verb-noun collocation proficiency.  The vital implication is that the learners could use verb-noun collocations in productive skill of writing.

  19. A Common Mechanism in Verb and Noun Naming Deficits in Alzheimer's Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almor, Amit; Aronoff, Justin M.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.; Gonnerman, Laura M.; Kempler, Daniel; Hintiryan, Houri; Hayes, UnJa L.; Arunachalam, Sudha; Andersen, Elaine S.

    2009-01-01

    We tested the ability of Alzheimer's patients and elderly controls to name living and non-living nouns, and manner and instrument verbs. Patients' error patterns and relative performance with different categories showed evidence of graceful degradation for both nouns and verbs, with particular domain-specific impairments for living nouns and…

  20. Morpho-semantic properties of Serbian nouns: Animacy and gender pairs

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    Radanović Jelena

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study we investigated whether and how the cognitive system uses morphological markedness of animacy and gender pairs. In the Serbian language masculine nouns are marked for animacy (i.e., genitive-accusative syncretism, while for feminine nouns the animacy distinction is purely semantic. Thus, in Experiment 1 we used this natural, linguistic differentiation to test whether morphological markedness of animacy influences lexical processing. In the same experiment, we tested whether the cognitive system is sensitive to the fact that some animate nouns have a sibling in the other gender (e.g., dečak /”boy”/ - devojčica /”girl”/, while others do not have it (e.g., vojnik /”soldier”/ or žirafa /”giraffe”/. We labeled this indicator sibling presence. The analysis did not confirm the effect of animacy, neither between nor within genders. However, animate nouns with a sibling were processed faster than those without a sibling. Since the majority of sibling nouns are morphologically related (like konobar /”waiter”/ - konobarica /”waitress”/, while the rest are not (e.g., petao /”rooster”/ - kokoška /”hen”/, in Experiment 2 we tested whether morphological relatedness contributed to the effect of sibling presence. Results showed that this is not the case: morphologically related and unrelated masculine-feminine pairs of nouns (siblings were processed equally fast. Furthermore, an interaction between the target’s frequency and the frequency of its sibling was observed: nouns with a more frequent sibling benefited more from their own frequency than those with a less frequent sibling. We argue that sibling support is realized through semantic, not morphological relations. Taken together, our findings suggest that morphological markedness is not used in lexical processing, which is in line with an amorphous approach to lexical processing.

  1. Comparison of single-word and adjective-noun phrase production using event-related brain potentials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lange, Violaine Michel

    2015-01-01

    stimuli varying in complexity -black and white line drawings, coloured line drawings, and arrays of drawings-in participants producing single nouns. Whilst naming latencies were similar for single noun production between visual stimuli conditions, ERPs differed between drawing arrays and single drawings...... in a time-window extending beyond early visual analysis. In a second experiment, different participants were asked to produce either single noun or adjective-noun dual-word phrases to black-and-white and coloured line drawings, respectively. Adjective-noun phrase production (2W) resulted in naming latencies...

  2. Emotional noun processing: an ERP study with rapid serial visual presentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Shengnan; He, Weiqi; Zhan, Lei; Qi, Zhengyang; Zhu, Chuanlin; Luo, Wenbo; Li, Hong

    2015-01-01

    Reading is an important part of our daily life, and rapid responses to emotional words have received a great deal of research interest. Our study employed rapid serial visual presentation to detect the time course of emotional noun processing using event-related potentials. We performed a dual-task experiment, where subjects were required to judge whether a given number was odd or even, and the category into which each emotional noun fit. In terms of P1, we found that there was no negativity bias for emotional nouns. However, emotional nouns elicited larger amplitudes in the N170 component in the left hemisphere than did neutral nouns. This finding indicated that in later processing stages, emotional words can be discriminated from neutral words. Furthermore, positive, negative, and neutral words were different from each other in the late positive complex, indicating that in the third stage, even different emotions can be discerned. Thus, our results indicate that in a three-stage model the latter two stages are more stable and universal.

  3. Emotional noun processing: an ERP study with rapid serial visual presentation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shengnan Yi

    Full Text Available Reading is an important part of our daily life, and rapid responses to emotional words have received a great deal of research interest. Our study employed rapid serial visual presentation to detect the time course of emotional noun processing using event-related potentials. We performed a dual-task experiment, where subjects were required to judge whether a given number was odd or even, and the category into which each emotional noun fit. In terms of P1, we found that there was no negativity bias for emotional nouns. However, emotional nouns elicited larger amplitudes in the N170 component in the left hemisphere than did neutral nouns. This finding indicated that in later processing stages, emotional words can be discriminated from neutral words. Furthermore, positive, negative, and neutral words were different from each other in the late positive complex, indicating that in the third stage, even different emotions can be discerned. Thus, our results indicate that in a three-stage model the latter two stages are more stable and universal.

  4. Heavy noun phrase constructions in the Afrikaans novel 'n Ander ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Heavy noun phrase constructions in the Afrikaans novel 'n Ander Land: a cognitive account of a stylistic feature. Luna Beard. Abstract. This article focusses on one grammatical construction, namely heavy noun phrase (NP) constructions in Afrikaans, and more specifically on those instances encountered in the Afrikaans ...

  5. Nouns referring to tools and natural objects differentially modulate the motor system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gough, Patricia M; Riggio, Lucia; Chersi, Fabian; Sato, Marc; Fogassi, Leonardo; Buccino, Giovanni

    2012-01-01

    While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, the focus of previous work has been on the linguistic category of verbs. Here we tested whether nouns are effective in modulating the motor system and further whether different kinds of nouns - those referring to artifacts or natural items, and items that are graspable or ungraspable - would differentially modulate the system. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) study was carried out to compare modulation of the motor system when subjects read nouns referring to objects which are Artificial or Natural and which are Graspable or Ungraspable. TMS was applied to the primary motor cortex representation of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of the right hand at 150 ms after noun presentation. Analyses of Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) revealed that across the duration of the task, nouns referring to graspable artifacts (tools) were associated with significantly greater MEP areas. Analyses of the initial presentation of items revealed a main effect of graspability. The findings are in line with an embodied view of nouns, with MEP measures modulated according to whether nouns referred to natural objects or artifacts (tools), confirming tools as a special class of items in motor terms. Additionally our data support a difference for graspable versus non graspable objects, an effect which for natural objects is restricted to initial presentation of items. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. How are 'Barack Obama' and 'President Elect' differentially stored in the brain? An ERP investigation on the processing of proper and common noun pairs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proverbio, Alice Mado; Mariani, Serena; Zani, Alberto; Adorni, Roberta

    2009-09-23

    One of the most debated issues in the cognitive neuroscience of language is whether distinct semantic domains are differentially represented in the brain. Clinical studies described several anomic dissociations with no clear neuroanatomical correlate. Neuroimaging studies have shown that memory retrieval is more demanding for proper than common nouns in that the former are purely arbitrary referential expressions. In this study a semantic relatedness paradigm was devised to investigate neural processing of proper and common nouns. 780 words (arranged in pairs of Italian nouns/adjectives and the first/last names of well known persons) were presented. Half pairs were semantically related ("Woody Allen" or "social security"), while the others were not ("Sigmund Parodi" or "judicial cream"). All items were balanced for length, frequency, familiarity and semantic relatedness. Participants were to decide about the semantic relatedness of the two items in a pair. RTs and N400 data suggest that the task was more demanding for common nouns. The LORETA neural generators for the related-unrelated contrast (for proper names) included the left fusiform gyrus, right medial temporal gyrus, limbic and parahippocampal regions, inferior parietal and inferior frontal areas, which are thought to be involved in the conjoined processing a familiar face with the relevant episodic information. Person name was more emotional and sensory vivid than common noun semantic access. When memory retrieval is not required, proper name access (conspecifics knowledge) is not more demanding. The neural generators of N400 to unrelated items (unknown persons and things) did not differ as a function of lexical class, thus suggesting that proper and common nouns are not treated differently as belonging to different grammatical classes.

  7. Designing a noun guesser for part of speech tagging in Northern ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE (AJOL) · Journals · Advanced Search · USING ... used to recognize nouns that are not contained in the noun lexicon of the system. ... Our implementation is a symbolic, voting-based process: together, all tests ...

  8. Nouns and verbs in the vocabulary acquisition of Italian children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Odorico, Laura; Fasolo, Mirco

    2007-11-01

    The vocabulary development of 24 Italian children aged between 1;4 and 1;6 at the beginning of the study was longitudinally monitored on a monthly basis using the Italian version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory drawn up by their mothers. This study analyzes data from children for whom two sampling stages were available; the first corresponding to a vocabulary size as close as possible to 200 words (mean 217, range 167-281), the second to a vocabulary size ranging from 400 to 650 words (mean 518, range 416-648). The children's vocabulary composition was analyzed by calculating, for each sampling stage, the percentage of common nouns, verbs and closed-class words. The increase in percentage points of the various lexical items between the first and second sampling stages was also analyzed. Data confirmed the predominance of nouns over verbs and closed-class words at both sampling stages, while verbs and closed-class words showed a higher percentage increase than nouns. The results provide evidence that children who reached the first sampling point at an earlier age had a higher percentage of nouns than children who reached the same stage at an older age. However, in the passage from the first to the second sampling point no relationship emerged between a style of acquisition based on the acquisition of nouns and an increase in the rate of vocabulary growth.

  9. Affixation and compounding in Hakka

    OpenAIRE

    Ungsitipoonporn, Siriopen

    2014-01-01

    This paper aims to present the internal structures of words in the Hakka language. Similar to other languages, affixation and compounding are outstanding in Hakka. In general, prefixes and suffixes are bound morphemes which do not occur independently, but in Hakka they sometimes appear as independent forms. Apart from single words, identifying compound words is of particular interest. Compound nouns can be made up of two or three words (characters) which ...

  10. Noun and verb differences in picture naming: past studies and new evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mätzig, Simone; Druks, Judit; Masterson, Jackie; Vigliocco, Gabriella

    2009-06-01

    We re-examine the double dissociation view of noun-verb differences by critically reviewing past lesion studies reporting selective noun or verb deficits in picture naming, and reporting the results of a new picture naming study carried out with aphasic patients and comparison participants. Since there are theoretical arguments and empirical evidence that verb processing is more demanding than noun processing, in the review we distinguished between cases that presented with large and small differences between nouns and verbs. We argued that the latter cases may be accounted for in terms of greater difficulty in processing verbs than nouns. For the cases reporting large differences between nouns and verbs we assessed consistency in lesion localization and consistency in diagnostic classification. More variability both in terms of diagnostic category and lesion sites was found among the verb impaired than the noun impaired patients. In the experimental study, nine aphasic patients and nine age matched neurologically unimpaired individuals carried out a picture naming study that used a large set of materials matched for age of acquisition and in addition to accuracy measures, latencies were also recorded. Despite the patients' variable language deficits, diagnostic category and the matched materials, all patients performed faster and more accurately in naming the object than the action pictures. The comparison participants performed similarly. We also carried out a qualitative analysis of the errors patients made and showed that different types of errors were made in response to object and action pictures. We concluded that action naming places more and different demands on the language processor than object naming. The conclusions of the literature review and the results of the experimental study are discussed in relation to claims previous studies have made on the basis of the double dissociation found between nouns and verbs. We argue that these claims are only

  11. Towards the study of color naming in Portuguese: structure and meaning of constructed nouns and adjectives

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    Margarita Correia

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Color naming is a central study subject in Lexicology, although its systematic morphological description in Portuguese is still lacking. In this study we describe the morphological and semantic aspects of complex nouns and adjectives constructed on the basis of the basic color terms from the Portuguese language. We focus on a description of the internal structure of these complex words, as well as on aspects concerning the productivity of the morphological processes, and attempt to associate those aspects with the referential capacities of the studied words. Lexicographical data were used, collected from the Vocabulário Ortográfico do Português, and the theoretical framework of this research is SILEX’s constructional model of Morphology. We verified that suffixation is the most productive process, followed by composition. Prefixation is rather unproductive. There are differences in the way that derived nouns and adjectives, on the one hand, and compounds, on the other, may name color tones and degrees of saturation. Derived words give rise to the naming of tones in a very imprecise manner, while compounds are much more effective and precise in the way they may name them, and composition is the most efficient resource available to denote degrees of brightness.

  12. High-frequency collocations of nouns in research articles across eight disciplines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Peacock

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a corpus-based analysis of the distribution of the high-frequency collocates of abstract nouns in 320 research articles across eight disciplines: Chemistry, Computer Science, Materials Science, Neuroscience, Economics, Language and Linguistics, Management, and Psychology. Disciplinary variation was also examined – very little previous research seems to have investigated this. The corpus was analysed using WordSmith Tools. The 16 highest-frequency nouns across all eight disciplines were identified, followed by the highest-frequency collocates for each noun. Five disciplines showed over 50% variance from the overall results. Conclusions are that the differing patterns revealed are disciplinary norms and represent standard terminology within the disciplines arising from the topics discussed, research methods, and content of discussions. It is also concluded that the collocations are an important part of the meanings and functions of the nouns, and that this evidence of sharp discipline differences underlines the importance of discipline-specific collocation research.

  13. A three-dimensional approach to the gender/sex of nouns in Biblical Hebrew

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    J. H. Kroeze

    1994-05-01

    Full Text Available The phenomenon of the gender/sex of nouns is normally handled two-dimensionally. Two levels are distinguished: (grammatical gender and sex. Gender refers to the morphological and syntactic features of the noun, sex to the extralingual reality. This use of the term gender rests on the assumption that the morphological and syntactic features o f a noun are normally consistent. This assumption is tested and the results show that a three-dimensional approach would he better. In the relevant literature, there are indications of such a three-dimensional differentiation, where gender is used to indicate only the syntactic features of a noun. In this article it is proposed that morphological gender, syntactic gender and semantic gender (sex should be distinguished consistently. A list of 23 different combinations were found among nouns occurring most frequently. These combinations are illustrated with examples. Morphological, syntactic and semantic statistics are also given which illustrate the unique characteristics of the three levels.

  14. Dissociable intrinsic functional networks support noun-object and verb-action processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Huichao; Lin, Qixiang; Han, Zaizhu; Li, Hongyu; Song, Luping; Chen, Lingjuan; He, Yong; Bi, Yanchao

    2017-12-01

    The processing mechanism of verbs-actions and nouns-objects is a central topic of language research, with robust evidence for behavioral dissociation. The neural basis for these two major word and/or conceptual classes, however, remains controversial. Two experiments were conducted to study this question from the network perspective. Experiment 1 found that nodes of the same class, obtained through task-evoked brain imaging meta-analyses, were more strongly connected with each other than nodes of different classes during resting-state, forming segregated network modules. Experiment 2 examined the behavioral relevance of these intrinsic networks using data from 88 brain-damaged patients, finding that across patients the relative strength of functional connectivity of the two networks significantly correlated with the noun-object vs. verb-action relative behavioral performances. In summary, we found that verbs-actions and nouns-objects are supported by separable intrinsic functional networks and that the integrity of such networks accounts for the relative noun-object- and verb-action-selective deficits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. An analysis of Pitch Patterns of English Adjective + Noun Pharases in Model Reading and Some Educational Implications

    OpenAIRE

    Iwai, Mie; Yamada, Jun

    2009-01-01

    A basic English accent rule for a noun phrase consisting of an adjective and a noun is that the head,o r noun,is accented unless the adjective is contrastively focused in the context. A question of interest for Japanese learners of English is to what extent this basic principle is observed in model reading to which the learners may be exposed in their English classrooms. This study measured F0 values of adjectives and nouns in noun phrases which appeared in model English reading on commercial...

  16. How Are ‘Barack Obama’ and ‘President Elect’ Differentially Stored in the Brain? An ERP Investigation on the Processing of Proper and Common Noun Pairs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proverbio, Alice Mado; Mariani, Serena; Zani, Alberto; Adorni, Roberta

    2009-01-01

    Background One of the most debated issues in the cognitive neuroscience of language is whether distinct semantic domains are differentially represented in the brain. Clinical studies described several anomic dissociations with no clear neuroanatomical correlate. Neuroimaging studies have shown that memory retrieval is more demanding for proper than common nouns in that the former are purely arbitrary referential expressions. In this study a semantic relatedness paradigm was devised to investigate neural processing of proper and common nouns. Methodology/Principal Findings 780 words (arranged in pairs of Italian nouns/adjectives and the first/last names of well known persons) were presented. Half pairs were semantically related (“Woody Allen” or “social security”), while the others were not (“Sigmund Parodi” or “judicial cream”). All items were balanced for length, frequency, familiarity and semantic relatedness. Participants were to decide about the semantic relatedness of the two items in a pair. RTs and N400 data suggest that the task was more demanding for common nouns. The LORETA neural generators for the related-unrelated contrast (for proper names) included the left fusiform gyrus, right medial temporal gyrus, limbic and parahippocampal regions, inferior parietal and inferior frontal areas, which are thought to be involved in the conjoined processing a familiar face with the relevant episodic information. Person name was more emotional and sensory vivid than common noun semantic access. Conclusions/Significance When memory retrieval is not required, proper name access (conspecifics knowledge) is not more demanding. The neural generators of N400 to unrelated items (unknown persons and things) did not differ as a function of lexical class, thus suggesting that proper and common nouns are not treated differently as belonging to different grammatical classes. PMID:19774070

  17. Descriptive and discourse-referential modifiers in a layered model of the noun phrase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rijkhoff, Jan

    2008-01-01

    This article argues that adnominal modifiers in a layered model of the noun phrase can be divided into two major subcategories: descriptive modifiers and discourse-referential modifiers. Whereas descriptive modifiers can be subdivided into classifying, qualifying, quantifying and localizing...... modifiers (section 2), discourse-referential modifiers in the noun phrase are concerned with the status of entities as referents in the world of discourse (section 3). I will pay particular attention to three issues: (i) formal reflections of the layered, semantic structure of the noun phrase (section 4...

  18. Viewing photos and reading nouns of natural graspable objects similarly modulate motor responses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara FM Marino

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that the observation of graspable objects recruits the same motor representations involved in their actual manipulation. Recent evidence suggests that the presentation of nouns referring to graspable objects may exert similar effects. So far, however, it is not clear to what extent the modulation of the motor system during object observation overlaps with that related to noun processing. To address this issue, 2 behavioral experiments were carried out using a go-no go paradigm. Healthy participants were presented with photos and nouns of graspable and non-graspable natural objects. Also scrambled images and pseudowords obtained from the original stimuli were used. At a go-signal onset (150 ms after stimulus presentation participants had to press a key when the stimulus referred to a real object, using their right (Experiment 1 or left (Experiment 2 hand, and refrain from responding when a scrambled image or a pseudoword was presented. Slower responses were found for both photos and nouns of graspable objects as compared to non-graspable objects, independent of the responding hand. These findings suggest that processing seen graspable objects and written nouns referring to graspable objects similarly modulates the motor system.

  19. Concreteness and relational effects on recall of adjective-noun pairs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paivio, A; Khan, M; Begg, I

    2000-09-01

    Extending previous research on the problem, we studied the effects of concreteness and relatedness of adjective-noun pairs on free recall, cued recall, and memory integration. Two experiments varied the attributes in paired associates lists or sentences. Consistent with predictions from dual coding theory and prior results with noun-noun pairs, both experiments showed that the effects of concreteness were strong and independent of relatedness in free recall and cued recall. The generally positive effects of relatedness were absent in the case of free recall of sentences. The two attributes also had independent (additive) effects on integrative memory as measured by conditionalized free recall of pairs. Integration as measured by the increment from free to cued recall occurred consistently only when pairs were high in both concreteness and relatedness. Explanations focused on dual coding and relational-distinctiveness processing theories as well as task variables that affect integration measures.

  20. Nicht-referentielle Nominalphrasen (Non-Referential Noun Phrases)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leys, Odo

    1973-01-01

    Appeared as Working Report No. 21 of the Linguistic Institute of the University of Cologne; critical observations on S. Kuno's Some Properties of Non-Refential Noun Phrases,'' in Studies in General and Oriental Linguistics, 1970. (RS)

  1. Onondaga Noun Incorporation: Some Notes on the Interdependence of Syntax and Semantics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodbury, Hanni

    1975-01-01

    In Onondaga and all northern Iroquoian languages, nouns can be incorporated into verbs. The function of this is semantic as well as syntactic. It is semantic in that the sense of an incorporated noun will be narrower than its unincorporated counterpart regardless of modifiers. Incorporation changes the transformational structure of the sentence.…

  2. Order in the noun phrase of the languages of Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rijkhoff, Jan

    1998-01-01

    The current investigation of the word order characteristics of the constituents of the noun phrase (NP) differs from other typological investigations of the issue in two major respects. First of all, it does not take for granted the existence of NPs or of the various NP-internal categories...... that it also has noun phrases: it may use a string of appositives rather than a proper, integral NP. The existence of NPs and the presence of various NP-internal categories is not an issue that has received considerable attention in typological word order studies. Yet how can we hope to establish the cross...... in a representative sample of European languages (Appendix 1), we first need to devote some attention to such basic questions as: Do all European languages have nouns? Do all European languages have proper NPs? Which NP-internal modifiers are attested in the European languages, and which are absent? These issues...

  3. Infants use known verbs to learn novel nouns: evidence from 15- and 19-month-olds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferguson, Brock; Graf, Eileen; Waxman, Sandra R

    2014-04-01

    Fluent speakers' representations of verbs include semantic knowledge about the nouns that can serve as their arguments. These "selectional restrictions" of a verb can in principle be recruited to learn the meaning of a novel noun. For example, the sentence He ate the carambola licenses the inference that carambola refers to something edible. We ask whether 15- and 19-month-old infants can recruit their nascent verb lexicon to identify the referents of novel nouns that appear as the verbs' subjects. We compared infants' interpretation of a novel noun (e.g., the dax) in two conditions: one in which dax is presented as the subject of animate-selecting construction (e.g., The dax is crying), and the other in which dax is the subject of an animacy-neutral construction (e.g., The dax is right here). Results indicate that by 19months, infants use their representations of known verbs to inform the meaning of a novel noun that appears as its argument. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Subsequent to suppression: Downstream comprehension consequences of noun/verb ambiguity in natural reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stites, Mallory C.; Federmeier, Kara D.

    2015-01-01

    We used eye-tracking to investigate the downstream processing consequences of encountering noun/verb (NV) homographs (i.e., park) in semantically neutral but syntactically constraining contexts. Target words were followed by a prepositional phrase containing a noun that was plausible for only one meaning of the homograph. Replicating previous work, we found increased first fixation durations on NV homographs compared to unambiguous words, which persisted into the next sentence region. At the downstream noun, we found plausibility effects following ambiguous words that were correlated with the size of a reader's first fixation effect, suggesting that this effect reflects the recruitment of processing resources necessary to suppress the homograph's context-inappropriate meaning. Using these same stimuli, Lee and Federmeier (2012) found a sustained frontal negativity to the NV homographs, and, on the downstream noun, found a plausibility effect that was also positively correlated with the size of a reader's ambiguity effect. Together, these findings suggest that when only syntactic constraints are available, meaning selection recruits inhibitory mechanisms that can be measured in both first fixation slowdown and ERP ambiguity effects. PMID:25961358

  5. Simultaneous Processing of Noun Cue and to-be-Produced Verb in Verb Generation Task: Electromagnetic Evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna V. Butorina

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available A long-standing but implicit assumption is that words strongly associated with a presented cue are automatically activated in the memory through rapid spread of activation within brain semantic networks. The current study was aimed to provide direct evidence of such rapid access to words’ semantic representations and to investigate its neural sources using magnetoencephalography (MEG and distributed source localization technique. Thirty-three neurotypical subjects underwent the MEG recording during verb generation task, which was to produce verbs related to the presented noun cues. Brain responses evoked by the noun cues were examined while manipulating the strength of association between the noun and the potential verb responses. The strong vs. weak noun-verb association led to a greater noun-related neural response at 250–400 ms after cue onset, and faster verb production. The cortical sources of the differential response were localized in left temporal pole, previously implicated in semantic access, and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC, thought to subserve controlled semantic retrieval. The strength of the left VLPFC’s response to the nouns with strong verb associates was positively correlated to the speed of verbs production. Our findings empirically validate the theoretical expectation that in case of a strongly connected noun-verb pair, successful access to target verb representation may occur already at the stage of lexico-semantic analysis of the presented noun. Moreover, the MEG results suggest that contrary to the previous conclusion derived from fMRI studies left VLPFC supports selection of the target verb representations, even if they were retrieved from semantic memory rapidly and effortlessly. The discordance between MEG and fMRI findings in verb generation task may stem from different modes of neural activation captured by phase-locked activity in MEG and slow changes of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD signal

  6. A chromatographic objective function to characterise chromatograms with unknown compounds or without standards available.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarez-Segura, T; Gómez-Díaz, A; Ortiz-Bolsico, C; Torres-Lapasió, J R; García-Alvarez-Coque, M C

    2015-08-28

    Getting useful chemical information from samples containing many compounds is still a challenge to analysts in liquid chromatography. The highest complexity corresponds to samples for which there is no prior knowledge about their chemical composition. Computer-based methodologies are currently considered as the most efficient tools to optimise the chromatographic resolution, and further finding the optimal separation conditions. However, most chromatographic objective functions (COFs) described in the literature to measure the resolution are based on mathematical models fitted with the information obtained from standards, and cannot be applied to samples with unknown compounds. In this work, a new COF based on the automatic measurement of the protruding part of the chromatographic peaks (or peak prominences) that indicates the number of perceptible peaks and global resolution, without the need of standards, is developed. The proposed COF was found satisfactory with regard to the peak purity criterion when applied to artificial peaks and simulated chromatograms of mixtures built using the information of standards. The approach was applied to mixtures of drugs containing unknown impurities and degradation products and to extracts of medicinal herbs, eluted with acetonitrile-water mixtures using isocratic and gradient elution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Distributional structure in language: contributions to noun-verb difficulty differences in infant word recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willits, Jon A; Seidenberg, Mark S; Saffran, Jenny R

    2014-09-01

    What makes some words easy for infants to recognize, and other words difficult? We addressed this issue in the context of prior results suggesting that infants have difficulty recognizing verbs relative to nouns. In this work, we highlight the role played by the distributional contexts in which nouns and verbs occur. Distributional statistics predict that English nouns should generally be easier to recognize than verbs in fluent speech. However, there are situations in which distributional statistics provide similar support for verbs. The statistics for verbs that occur with the English morpheme -ing, for example, should facilitate verb recognition. In two experiments with 7.5- and 9.5-month-old infants, we tested the importance of distributional statistics for word recognition by varying the frequency of the contextual frames in which verbs occur. The results support the conclusion that distributional statistics are utilized by infant language learners and contribute to noun-verb differences in word recognition. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  8. EEG source reconstruction evidence for the noun-verb neural dissociation along semantic dimensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Bin; Dang, Jianwu; Zhang, Gaoyan

    2017-09-17

    One of the long-standing issues in neurolinguistic research is about the neural basis of word representation, concerning whether grammatical classification or semantic difference causes the neural dissociation of brain activity patterns when processing different word categories, especially nouns and verbs. To disentangle this puzzle, four orthogonalized word categories in Chinese: unambiguous nouns (UN), unambiguous verbs (UV), ambiguous words with noun-biased semantics (AN), and ambiguous words with verb-biased semantics (AV) were adopted in an auditory task for recording electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from 128 electrodes on the scalps of twenty-two subjects. With the advanced current density reconstruction (CDR) algorithm and the constraint of standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography, the spatiotemporal brain dynamics of word processing were explored with the results that in multiple time periods including P1 (60-90ms), N1 (100-140ms), P200 (150-250ms) and N400 (350-450ms), noun-verb dissociation over the parietal-occipital and frontal-central cortices appeared not only between the UN-UV grammatical classes but also between the grammatically identical but semantically different AN-AV pairs. The apparent semantic dissociation within one grammatical class strongly suggests that the semantic difference rather than grammatical classification could be interpreted as the origin of the noun-verb neural dissociation. Our results also revealed that semantic dissociation occurs from an early stage and repeats in multiple phases, thus supporting a functionally hierarchical word processing mechanism. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Lexical development of noun and predicate comprehension and production in isiZulu.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolas, Ramona Kunene; Ahmed, Saaliha

    2016-07-28

    This study seeks to investigate the development of noun and predicate comprehension and production in isiZulu-speaking children between the ages of 25 and 36 months. It compares lexical comprehension and production in isiZulu, using an Italian developed and validated vocabulary assessment tool: The Picture Naming Game (PiNG) developed by Bello, Giannantoni, Pettenati, Stefanini and Caselli (2012). The PiNG tool includes four subtests, one each for subnoun comprehension (NC), noun production (NP), predicate comprehension (PC), and predicate production (PP). Children are shown these lexical items and then asked to show comprehension and produce certain lexical items. After adaptation into the South African context, the adapted version of PiNG was used to directly assess the lexical development of isiZulu with the three main objectives to (1) test the efficiency of the adaptation of a vocabulary tool to measure isiZulu comprehension and production development, (2) test previous findings done in many cross-linguistic comparisons that have found that both comprehension and production performance increase with age for a lesser-studied language, and (3) present our findings around the comprehension and production of the linguistic categories of nouns and predicates. An analysis of the results reported in this study show an age effect throughout the entire sample. Across all the age groups, the comprehension of the noun and predicate subtests was better performed than the production of noun and predicate subtests. With regard to lexical items, the responses of children showed an influence of various factors, including the late acquisition of items, possible problems with stimuli presented to them, and the possible input received by the children from their home environment.

  10. Lexical development of noun and predicate comprehension and production in isiZulu

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramona Kunene Nicolas

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This study seeks to investigate the development of noun and predicate comprehension and production in isiZulu-speaking children between the ages of 25 and 36 months. It compares lexical comprehension and production in isiZulu, using an Italian developed and validated vocabulary assessment tool: The Picture Naming Game (PiNG developed by Bello, Giannantoni, Pettenati, Stefanini and Caselli (2012. The PiNG tool includes four subtests, one each for subnoun comprehension (NC, noun production (NP, predicate comprehension (PC, and predicate production (PP. Children are shown these lexical items and then asked to show comprehension and produce certain lexical items. After adaptation into the South African context, the adapted version of PiNG was used to directly assess the lexical development of isiZulu with the three main objectives to (1 test the efficiency of the adaptation of a vocabulary tool to measure isiZulu comprehension and production development, (2 test previous findings done in many cross-linguistic comparisons that have found that both comprehension and production performance increase with age for a lesser-studied language, and (3 present our findings around the comprehension and production of the linguistic categories of nouns and predicates. An analysis of the results reported in this study show an age effect throughout the entire sample. Across all the age groups, the comprehension of the noun and predicate subtests was better performed than the production of noun and predicate subtests. With regard to lexical items, the responses of children showed an influence of various factors, including the late acquisition of items, possible problems with stimuli presented to them, and the possible input received by the children from their home environment.

  11. The Intonation of Noun Phrase Subjects and Clause- Modifying ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    FIRST LADY

    Oladipupo, Rotimi O. - Centre for Foundation Education, Bells University of. Technology ... native Englishes, especially at the level of phonology, this study investigates ... Keywords: Intonation tunes, Nigerian English, Noun Phrase Subjects,.

  12. Acquisition of noun derivation in Estonian and Russian L1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reili Argus

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Acquisition of derivation is not a well-studied area in first language research and a comparative approach to the acquisition of derivation in different languages doesn’t exist. There is no information on how a child acquires derivation in a language with a rich and regular system of derivational patterns, or in a language where derivation is productive, but the system of derivational patterns is opaque. According to general ideas of complexity in a language, the child should start to use simplex stems first and, only after that, complex ones, that is, complexity should increase in the course of acquisition. Our paper is intended to address these issues, based on longitudinal child data from typologically different languages, Estonian and Russian. The results revealed significant differences in the acquisition of noun derivation in the two languages under observation. The system of noun derivation is acquired at a faster pace in Russian, while Estonian children have far fewer noun derivatives in their speech and they use different derivation suffixes with less regularity. Even so, the so-called building block model may be applied for both languages only partially.

  13. Merger of noun classes 3 and 1: A case study with bilingual isiXhosa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Class reduction (the loss of a noun class) in Southern Bantu languages is an acknowledged but under-researched phenomenon. A recent study of isiXhosa concords suggests an incipient merger of noun classes 11 and 5, but no research to date has examined other possible concord mergers or concord flux in the ...

  14. Lemmatisation of Vowel Commencing Borrowed Nouns and the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Riette Ruthven

    its noun class prefixes, the presence of the initial vowel or pre-prefix, or the augment, as ..... Grammatical information has to be as accurate as the defini- ... achieve a semantic ordering of entries gives the impression that language con- sists of ...

  15. Switching Between Noun and Verb Agreement Rules Comes at a Cost: Cross-Sectional and Interventional Studies in a Developmental Sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Van Reybroeck Marie

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This study clarifies the impact of switching context between noun and verb number agreement rules in written language production. In Experiment 1, children from grade 3 to 6 were asked to fill in sentences with nouns and verbs in either a switching condition (noun followed by verb or a repeating condition (noun followed by noun. The results showed that third- and fourth-grade children produced more erroneous agreements in the switching condition than in the repeating condition, showing that switching between rules comes at a cost, whereas fifth- and sixth-grade participants’ performance was not affected by the switching context. Based on these findings, Experiment 2 aimed to assess whether a switching treatment offers a greater opportunity to improve the acquisition of grammatical agreement production, as compared to a simple treatment. Teachers from grade 3 gave either a switching treatment (mixed noun and verb exercises or a simple treatment (noun exercises followed by verb exercises. The results show that children learned better from the switching treatment than from the simple treatment. These findings highlight the cost of switching between noun and verb agreement rules during the acquisition of grammatical number agreement and also how grammatical spelling acquisition can be improved at school.

  16. A combined Fisher and Laplacian score for feature selection in QSAR based drug design using compounds with known and unknown activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valizade Hasanloei, Mohammad Amin; Sheikhpour, Razieh; Sarram, Mehdi Agha; Sheikhpour, Elnaz; Sharifi, Hamdollah

    2018-02-01

    Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is an effective computational technique for drug design that relates the chemical structures of compounds to their biological activities. Feature selection is an important step in QSAR based drug design to select the most relevant descriptors. One of the most popular feature selection methods for classification problems is Fisher score which aim is to minimize the within-class distance and maximize the between-class distance. In this study, the properties of Fisher criterion were extended for QSAR models to define the new distance metrics based on the continuous activity values of compounds with known activities. Then, a semi-supervised feature selection method was proposed based on the combination of Fisher and Laplacian criteria which exploits both compounds with known and unknown activities to select the relevant descriptors. To demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed semi-supervised feature selection method in selecting the relevant descriptors, we applied the method and other feature selection methods on three QSAR data sets such as serine/threonine-protein kinase PLK3 inhibitors, ROCK inhibitors and phenol compounds. The results demonstrated that the QSAR models built on the selected descriptors by the proposed semi-supervised method have better performance than other models. This indicates the efficiency of the proposed method in selecting the relevant descriptors using the compounds with known and unknown activities. The results of this study showed that the compounds with known and unknown activities can be helpful to improve the performance of the combined Fisher and Laplacian based feature selection methods.

  17. Nouns, verbs, objects, actions, and abstractions: local fMRI activity indexes semantics, not lexical categories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moseley, Rachel L; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2014-05-01

    Noun/verb dissociations in the literature defy interpretation due to the confound between lexical category and semantic meaning; nouns and verbs typically describe concrete objects and actions. Abstract words, pertaining to neither, are a critical test case: dissociations along lexical-grammatical lines would support models purporting lexical category as the principle governing brain organisation, whilst semantic models predict dissociation between concrete words but not abstract items. During fMRI scanning, participants read orthogonalised word categories of nouns and verbs, with or without concrete, sensorimotor meaning. Analysis of inferior frontal/insula, precentral and central areas revealed an interaction between lexical class and semantic factors with clear category differences between concrete nouns and verbs but not abstract ones. Though the brain stores the combinatorial and lexical-grammatical properties of words, our data show that topographical differences in brain activation, especially in the motor system and inferior frontal cortex, are driven by semantics and not by lexical class. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Isolation and Structural Elucidation of an Unknown compound from Murraya alternans (Kurz)Swingle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mya Aye; Hla Myoe Min; Sein Htun

    2002-02-01

    A new taxon of a species, Murraya alternans (Kurz) Swingle (Myanmar name, Naganaing) the series of Murraya belonging to the family Rutaceae had been recognized by Peter G. Waterman in 1986. However, this species has not been undertaken in botanical, medical, and chemical aspects. In this paper, scientific study on this taxon was chemically carried out for the first time. One of the unknown compounds was isolated from this species by column and high performance liquid chromatographic methods. It's partial structure could also be elucidated by spectral analysis such as IR, MS, H NMR(400MHz), C NMR (100MHz) spectrometry respectively. (author)

  19. Danish children's acquisition of noun plurals: the role of methodology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærbæk, Laila; Basbøll, Hans

    In an earlier study we investigated the development of noun plurals in Danish children aged 0-10 years using a multi method research approach comparing five different data types: 1) lexical data; 2) reported data; 3) naturalistic spontaneous child language input and output; 4) semi-naturalistic/s......In an earlier study we investigated the development of noun plurals in Danish children aged 0-10 years using a multi method research approach comparing five different data types: 1) lexical data; 2) reported data; 3) naturalistic spontaneous child language input and output; 4) semi...... the experimental data and we therefore predict a lower percentage of incorrectly produced PL forms in the semi-naturalistic/semi-experimental than in the experimental data. 3) In the experimental data the children are to produce the PL form of nouns given by the investigator. We expect children to produce a large...... amount of sg. instead of PL forms, either as a repetition of the sg. form given by the investigator or as a PL error form irreguralizing the “Ø” PL marker (pure zero, e.g. sg. mus ‘mouse’ – PL mus ‘mice’). 4) The experimental data is based on a fixed number of specific pre-selected items and we therefore...

  20. Processing graspable object images and their nouns is impaired in Parkinson's disease patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buccino, Giovanni; Dalla Volta, Riccardo; Arabia, Gennarina; Morelli, Maurizio; Chiriaco, Carmelina; Lupo, Angela; Silipo, Franco; Quattrone, Aldo

    2018-03-01

    According to embodiment, the recruitment of the motor system is necessary to process language material expressing a motor content. Coherently, an impairment of the motor system should affect the capacity to process language items with a motor content. The aim of the present study was to assess the capacity to process graspable objects and their nouns in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and healthy controls. Participants saw photos and nouns depicting graspable and non-graspable objects. Scrambled images and pseudo-words served as control stimuli. At 150 msec after stimulus presentation, they had to respond when the stimulus referred to a real object, and refrain from responding when it was meaningless (go-no go paradigm). In the control group, participants gave slower motor responses for stimuli (both photos and nouns) related to graspable objects as compared to non-graspable ones. This in keeping with data obtained in a previous study with young healthy participants. In the PD group, motor responses were similar for both graspable and non-graspable items. Moreover, error number was significantly greater than in controls. These findings support the notion that when the motor circuits are lesioned, like in PD, patients do not show the typical modulation of motor responses and have troubles in processing graspable objects and their nouns. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Differential Impairment of Noun and Verb Consequent to LH Lesions in Persian Aphasic Patients

    OpenAIRE

    Dr. Reza Nilipour; Rabeeh Ariaei; Dr. Hassan Ashayeri

    2003-01-01

    The major focus of this research is on the differential disruption of language abilities subsequent to brain damages as they relate to site and size of lesion, especially left hemisphere lesions which disrupt the production and processing of "Nouns" vs. "Verbs" as two functionally different lexical categories. Several clinical as well as experimental studies reported on different language have shown that nouns and verbs can be independently disrupted due to brain damage. A prevalent impairmen...

  2. National open university of Nigeria (noun) students' perception of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper studied the perception and challenges of students of open and distance learning (ODL) mode. ODL is a welcome development in Nigeria educational system. Participants in this study were 500 NOUN students that were randomly selected from Abuja study center. A well structured and validated questionnaire ...

  3. Exploring Atypical Verb+Noun Combinations in Learner Technical Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luzon Marco, Maria Jose

    2011-01-01

    Professional and academic discourse is characterised by a specific phraseology, which usually poses problems for students. This paper investigates atypical verb+noun collocations in a corpus of English technical writing of Spanish students. I focus on the type of verbs that most frequently occurred in these awkward or questionable combinations and…

  4. Why Are Verbs so Hard to Remember? Effects of Semantic Context on Memory for Verbs and Nouns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earles, Julie L.; Kersten, Alan W.

    2017-01-01

    Three experiments test the theory that verb meanings are more malleable than noun meanings in different semantic contexts, making a previously seen verb difficult to remember when it appears in a new semantic context. Experiment 1 revealed that changing the direct object noun in a transitive sentence reduced recognition of a previously seen verb,…

  5. The Contrastive Study of Igbo and English Denominal Nouns ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The teaching of nominalization has not been all smooth for an Igbo second language learner of English language. That is why this study is set to contrast English and Igbo Denominal nouns. The objective is to find out the similarities and differences between the nominalization process in Igbo and that of the English ...

  6. Nouns cut slices: Effects of linguistic forms on intergroup bias

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Graf, Sylvie; Bilewicz, M.; Finell, E.; Geschke, D.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 32, č. 1 (2013), s. 46-61 ISSN 0261-927X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-25656S Institutional support: RVO:68081740 Keywords : nouns * adjectives * intergroup bias * intergroup attitudes Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 0.872, year: 2013

  7. Symbolic Play and Novel Noun Learning in Deaf and Hearing Children: Longitudinal Effects of Access to Sound on Early Precursors of Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quittner, Alexandra L.; Cejas, Ivette; Wang, Nae-Yuh; Niparko, John K.; Barker, David H.

    2016-01-01

    In the largest, longitudinal study of young, deaf children before and three years after cochlear implantation, we compared symbolic play and novel noun learning to age-matched hearing peers. Participants were 180 children from six cochlear implant centers and 96 hearing children. Symbolic play was measured during five minutes of videotaped, structured solitary play. Play was coded as "symbolic" if the child used substitution (e.g., a wooden block as a bed). Novel noun learning was measured in 10 trials using a novel object and a distractor. Cochlear implant vs. normal hearing children were delayed in their use of symbolic play, however, those implanted before vs. after age two performed significantly better. Children with cochlear implants were also delayed in novel noun learning (median delay 1.54 years), with minimal evidence of catch-up growth. Quality of parent-child interactions was positively related to performance on the novel noun learning, but not symbolic play task. Early implantation was beneficial for both achievement of symbolic play and novel noun learning. Further, maternal sensitivity and linguistic stimulation by parents positively affected noun learning skills, although children with cochlear implants still lagged in comparison to hearing peers. PMID:27228032

  8. Symbolic Play and Novel Noun Learning in Deaf and Hearing Children: Longitudinal Effects of Access to Sound on Early Precursors of Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quittner, Alexandra L; Cejas, Ivette; Wang, Nae-Yuh; Niparko, John K; Barker, David H

    2016-01-01

    In the largest, longitudinal study of young, deaf children before and three years after cochlear implantation, we compared symbolic play and novel noun learning to age-matched hearing peers. Participants were 180 children from six cochlear implant centers and 96 hearing children. Symbolic play was measured during five minutes of videotaped, structured solitary play. Play was coded as "symbolic" if the child used substitution (e.g., a wooden block as a bed). Novel noun learning was measured in 10 trials using a novel object and a distractor. Cochlear implant vs. normal hearing children were delayed in their use of symbolic play, however, those implanted before vs. after age two performed significantly better. Children with cochlear implants were also delayed in novel noun learning (median delay 1.54 years), with minimal evidence of catch-up growth. Quality of parent-child interactions was positively related to performance on the novel noun learning, but not symbolic play task. Early implantation was beneficial for both achievement of symbolic play and novel noun learning. Further, maternal sensitivity and linguistic stimulation by parents positively affected noun learning skills, although children with cochlear implants still lagged in comparison to hearing peers.

  9. Streamlined structure elucidation of an unknown compound in a pigment formulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yüce, Imanuel; Morlock, Gertrud E

    2016-10-21

    A fast and reliable quality control is important for ink manufacturers to ensure a constant production grade of mixtures and chemical formulations, and unknown components attract their attention. Structure elucidating techniques seem time-consuming in combination with column-based methods, but especially the low solubility of pigment formulations is challenging the analysis. In contrast, layer chromatography is more tolerant with regard to pigment particles. One PLC plate for NMR and FTIR analyses and one HPTLC plate for recording of high resolution mass spectra, MS/MS spectra and for gathering information on polarity and spectral properties were needed to characterize a structure, exemplarily shown for an unknown component in pigment Red 57:1 to be 3-hydroxy-2-naphtoic acid. A preparative layer chromatography (PLC) workflow was developed that used an Automated Multiple Development 2 (AMD 2) system. The 0.5-mm PLC plate could still be operated in the AMD 2 system and allowed a smooth switch from the analytical to the preparative gradient separation. Through automated gradient development and the resulting focusing of bands, the sharpness of the PLC bands was improved. For NMR, the necessary high load of the target compound on the PLC plate was achieved via a selective solvent extraction that discriminated the polar sample matrix and thus increased the application volume of the extract that could maximally be applied without overloading. By doing so, the yield for NMR analysis was improved by a factor of 9. The effectivity gain through a simple, but thoroughly chosen extraction solvent is often overlooked, and for educational purpose, it was clearly illustrated and demonstrated by an extended solvent screening. Thus, PLC using an automated gradient development after a selective extraction was proven to be a new powerful combination for structural elucidation by NMR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Usage-Based Account of the Acquisition of Liaison: Evidence from Sensitivity to the Singular/Plural Orientation of Nouns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dugua, Celine; Spinelli, Elsa; Chevrot, Jean-Pierre; Fayol, Michel

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates whether children's production and recognition of obligatory liaison sequences in French depend on the singular/plural orientation of nouns. Certain nouns occur more frequently in the plural (e.g., "arbre" "tree"), whereas others are found more often in the singular (e.g., "arc-en-ciel" "rainbow"). In the input, children…

  11. The Role of Sustained Attention in the Production of Conjoined Noun Phrases: An Individual Differences Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jongman, Suzanne R; Meyer, Antje S; Roelofs, Ardi

    2015-01-01

    It has previously been shown that language production, performed simultaneously with a nonlinguistic task, involves sustained attention. Sustained attention concerns the ability to maintain alertness over time. Here, we aimed to replicate the previous finding by showing that individuals call upon sustained attention when they plan single noun phrases (e.g., "the carrot") and perform a manual arrow categorization task. In addition, we investigated whether speakers also recruit sustained attention when they produce conjoined noun phrases (e.g., "the carrot and the bucket") describing two pictures, that is, when both the first and second task are linguistic. We found that sustained attention correlated with the proportion of abnormally slow phrase-production responses. Individuals with poor sustained attention displayed a greater number of very slow responses than individuals with better sustained attention. Importantly, this relationship was obtained both for the production of single phrases while performing a nonlinguistic manual task, and the production of noun phrase conjunctions in referring to two spatially separated objects. Inhibition and updating abilities were also measured. These scores did not correlate with our measure of sustained attention, suggesting that sustained attention and executive control are distinct. Overall, the results suggest that planning conjoined noun phrases involves sustained attention, and that language production happens less automatically than has often been assumed.

  12. ABSTRACT NOUNS IN THE SPEECH OF THE EMGLISHMEN (BASED ON FICTION WORKS AND BRITISH NATIONAL CORPUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Veniaminovna Khokhlova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The research aimed at studying the use of abstract nouns in the Englishmen’s speech from the standpoint of sociolinguistics. The article introduces a new, sociolinguistic, approach to research of abstract nouns; it is also the first time they are studied in a language corpus. The first stage of the research was based on fiction literary works: abstract nouns were extracted of analysis from the statements of the characters belonging to the opposite social classes. Later, these data was compared with the results of the original corpus research based on the British national corpus: sentences with nouns were selected out of the conversational subcorpus of BNC and were further sorted into abstract, concrete and words denoting people. Then, their frequency and vocabulary was studied with regards to speakers’ age, gender and social standing. The results revealed that abstract words are used more often that concrete ones regardless of the speaker’s social characteristics, however, the size and content of vocabulary is different (it is generally more substantial in the speech of women and representatives of higher social classes. The results of this research can be used in elaborating a course of the English language or in teaching general linguistics, sociolinguistics and country studies. 

  13. Stereotype or grammar? The representation of gender when two-year-old and three-year-old French-speaking toddlers listen to role nouns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lévy, Arik; Gygax, Pascal; Gabriel, Ute; Zesiger, Pascal

    2016-11-01

    Using a preferential looking paradigm, the current study examined the role that grammatical gender plays when preschool French-speaking toddlers process role nouns in the masculine form (e.g., chanteurs masculine 'singers'). While being auditorily prompted with "Look at the 'a role noun'!", two- and three-year-olds were presented with two pictures of two characters ('boy-boy' versus 'girl-boy') with attributes of the given role noun (e.g., singers with microphone and music notes). All role nouns were presented in the masculine plural form, which, despite its use to refer to mixed-gender groups, can be interpreted as referring to men. We expected toddlers to be biased by stereotypes, yet when non-stereotypical role nouns were presented, toddlers were not influenced by grammatical gender, but by their own sex (even more so for three-year-old toddlers). The absence of sensitivity to grammatical cues for either age group is discussed in terms of the developmental awareness of grammatical gender.

  14. Prosodic Disambiguation of Noun/Verb Homophones in Child-Directed Speech

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conwell, Erin

    2017-01-01

    One strategy that children might use to sort words into grammatical categories such as noun and verb is distributional bootstrapping, in which local co-occurrence information is used to distinguish between categories. Words that can be used in more than one grammatical category could be problematic for this approach. Using naturalistic corpus…

  15. Collocations of High Frequency Noun Keywords in Prescribed Science Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Sujatha; Mukundan, Jayakaran

    2012-01-01

    This paper analyses the discourse of science through the study of collocational patterns of high frequency noun keywords in science textbooks used by upper secondary students in Malaysia. Research has shown that one of the areas of difficulty in science discourse concerns lexis, especially that of collocations. This paper describes a corpus-based…

  16. Differential Impairment of Noun and Verb Consequent to LH Lesions in Persian Aphasic Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Reza Nilipour

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available The major focus of this research is on the differential disruption of language abilities subsequent to brain damages as they relate to site and size of lesion, especially left hemisphere lesions which disrupt the production and processing of "Nouns" vs. "Verbs" as two functionally different lexical categories. Several clinical as well as experimental studies reported on different language have shown that nouns and verbs can be independently disrupted due to brain damage. A prevalent impairment in naming actions (Producing verbs is reported in non-fluent aphasic patients, with lesions involving left frontal lobe, whereas a selective in naming objects (Producing nouns has been observed in amnesic patients, with lesions involving the temporal lobe and the temporal lobe and the posterior association aresas. This research is a theoretical and fundamental based on descriptive and analytical method. The aphasic data in this research were obtained by assessing each patient's aphasic symptoms using a standard Persian aphasia test (Paradis, Nilipoure, Paribakht, 1989 as well as post-test analysis of each patient' connected descriptive speech. The subjects were selected form among aphasics who referred to speech therapy centers in Tehran during a pe5iod of one year since autumn 1999. The subjects selected in the study were a homogenous group with left hemisphere lesions due to CVA. They were educated adult right handed. Speakers of Persian without any risk factor such as nicotine, alcohol or any addiction and diabetes with no gross depression or anxiety problems or face and oral paralysis and hemiaopsia. The subjects in this study comprised to adults ranging between 33 and 76 years of age. The results indicated that there are significant correlation between: 1 The production of nouns and left hemisphere lesion. 2 The production of verbs and left hemisphere lesion. 3 Brain lesion and language deficits. 4 The site of lesion and language abilities

  17. Adaptation of Proper Nouns in Czech-American Periodicals at the End of the 19th Century

    OpenAIRE

    Burdová, Kateřina

    2016-01-01

    The bachelor's thesis focuses on the process of adaptation of proper nouns in chosen periodicals of the end of the 19th century that were published in the USA by Czech immigrants. Based on the analysis of periodicals collected from the Library of the Naprstek Museum of Prague there originated a list of proper nouns that has been studied from various points of view, namely the phonetics and phonology, morphology including the word-class competition (Cedar Rapidský - Cedar Rapids), translatedan...

  18. Using fragmentation trees and mass spectral trees for identifying unknown compounds in metabolomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaniya, Arpana; Fiehn, Oliver

    2015-06-01

    Identification of unknown metabolites is the bottleneck in advancing metabolomics, leaving interpretation of metabolomics results ambiguous. The chemical diversity of metabolism is vast, making structure identification arduous and time consuming. Currently, comprehensive analysis of mass spectra in metabolomics is limited to library matching, but tandem mass spectral libraries are small compared to the large number of compounds found in the biosphere, including xenobiotics. Resolving this bottleneck requires richer data acquisition and better computational tools. Multi-stage mass spectrometry (MSn) trees show promise to aid in this regard. Fragmentation trees explore the fragmentation process, generate fragmentation rules and aid in sub-structure identification, while mass spectral trees delineate the dependencies in multi-stage MS of collision-induced dissociations. This review covers advancements over the past 10 years as a tool for metabolite identification, including algorithms, software and databases used to build and to implement fragmentation trees and mass spectral annotations.

  19. How Do Children Ascribe Gender to Nouns? A Study of Spanish-Speaking Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Raquel T.; Lockowitz, Alison

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation was to identify how Spanish-speaking preschool children with and without specific language impairment (SLI) use the various cues available for ascribing a noun's inherent gender in the language. Via an invented word task, four types of cues were isolated and presented to each child: (1) two types of noun-internal…

  20. Tracking the time course of multi-word noun phrase production with ERPs or on when (and why) cat is faster than the big cat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bürki, Audrey; Laganaro, Marina

    2014-01-01

    Words are rarely produced in isolation. Yet, our understanding of multi-word production, and especially its time course, is still rather poor. In this research, we use event-related potentials to examine the production of multi-word noun phrases in the context of overt picture naming. We track the processing costs associated with the production of these noun phrases as compared with the production of bare nouns, from picture onset to articulation. Behavioral results revealed longer naming latencies for French noun phrases with determiners and pre-nominal adjectives (D-A-N, the big cat) than for noun phrases with a determiner (D-N, the cat), or bare nouns (N, cat). The spatio-temporal analysis of the ERPs revealed differences in the duration of stable global electrophysiological patterns as a function of utterance format in two time windows, from ~190 to 300 ms after picture onset, and from ~530 ms after picture onset to 100 ms before articulation. These findings can be accommodated in the following model. During grammatical encoding (here from ~190 to 300 ms), the noun and adjective lemmas are accessed in parallel, followed by the selection of the gender-agreeing determiner. Phonological encoding (after ~530 ms) operates sequentially. As a consequence, the phonological encoding process is longer for longer utterances. In addition, when determiners are repeated across trials, their phonological encoding can be anticipated or primed, resulting in a shortened encoding process.

  1. Tracking the time course of multi-word noun phrase production with ERPs or on when (and why cat is faster than the big cat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Audrey eBürki

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Words are rarely produced in isolation. Yet, our understanding of multi-word production, and especially its time course, is still rather poor. In this research, we use event-related potentials to examine the production of multi-word noun phrases in the context of overt picture naming. We track the processing costs associated with the production of these noun phrases as compared with the production of bare nouns, from picture onset to articulation. Behavioral results revealed longer naming latencies for French noun phrases with determiners and pre-nominal adjectives (D-A-N, the big cat than for noun phrases with a determiner (D-N, the cat or bare nouns (N, cat. The spatio-temporal analysis of the ERPs revealed differences in the duration of stable global electrophysiological patterns as a function of utterance format in two time windows, from ~190 ms to 300 ms after picture onset, and from ~530 ms after picture onset to 100 ms before articulation. These findings can be accommodated in the following model. During grammatical encoding (here from ~190 ms to 300 ms, the noun and adjective lemmas are accessed in parallel, followed by the selection of the gender-agreeing determiner. Phonological encoding (after ~530 ms operates sequentially. As a consequence, the phonological encoding process is longer for longer utterances. In addition, when determiners are repeated across trials, their phonological encoding can be anticipated or primed, resulting in a shortened encoding process.

  2. Cascaded processing in written compound word production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond eBertram

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study we investigated the intricate interplay between central linguistic processing and peripheral motor processes during typewriting. Participants had to typewrite two-constituent (noun-noun Finnish compounds in response to picture presentation while their typing behavior was registered. As dependent measures we used writing onset time to assess what processes were completed before writing and inter-key intervals to assess what processes were going on during writing. It was found that writing onset time was determined by whole word frequency rather than constituent frequencies, indicating that compound words are retrieved as whole orthographic units before writing is initiated. In addition, we found that the length of the first syllable also affects writing onset time, indicating that the first syllable is fully prepared before writing commences. The inter-key interval results showed that linguistic planning is not fully ready before writing, but cascades into the motor execution phase. More specifically, inter-key intervals were largest at syllable and morpheme boundaries, supporting the view that additional linguistic planning takes place at these boundaries. Bigram and trigram frequency also affected inter-key intervals with shorter intervals corresponding to higher frequencies. This can be explained by stronger memory traces for frequently co-occurring letter sequences in the motor memory for typewriting. These frequency effects were even larger in the second than in the first constituent, indicating that low-level motor memory starts to become more important during the course of writing compound words. We discuss our results in the light of current models of morphological processing and written word production.

  3. Cascaded processing in written compound word production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertram, Raymond; Tønnessen, Finn Egil; Strömqvist, Sven; Hyönä, Jukka; Niemi, Pekka

    2015-01-01

    In this study we investigated the intricate interplay between central linguistic processing and peripheral motor processes during typewriting. Participants had to typewrite two-constituent (noun-noun) Finnish compounds in response to picture presentation while their typing behavior was registered. As dependent measures we used writing onset time to assess what processes were completed before writing and inter-key intervals to assess what processes were going on during writing. It was found that writing onset time was determined by whole word frequency rather than constituent frequencies, indicating that compound words are retrieved as whole orthographic units before writing is initiated. In addition, we found that the length of the first syllable also affects writing onset time, indicating that the first syllable is fully prepared before writing commences. The inter-key interval results showed that linguistic planning is not fully ready before writing, but cascades into the motor execution phase. More specifically, inter-key intervals were largest at syllable and morpheme boundaries, supporting the view that additional linguistic planning takes place at these boundaries. Bigram and trigram frequency also affected inter-key intervals with shorter intervals corresponding to higher frequencies. This can be explained by stronger memory traces for frequently co-occurring letter sequences in the motor memory for typewriting. These frequency effects were even larger in the second than in the first constituent, indicating that low-level motor memory starts to become more important during the course of writing compound words. We discuss our results in the light of current models of morphological processing and written word production.

  4. Machine translation of noun phrases from English to Igala using the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Due to the structural differences between English and Igala, noun phrases coupled with the non- availability of large amount of parallel aligned corpus for English and Igala language, the rule based technology was adopted to develop the model. The model was implemented using VB.net programming language as front ...

  5. Pickpocket compounds from Latin to Romance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Whitehead, Benedicte Nielsen

    This thesis discusses the development in Proto–Indo–European, Latin and Romance of a word–formation pattern which the most adequate terminology in use dubs ‘verbal government compounds with a governing first member’; I use the shorthand ‘pickpocket compounds’. The first member of such compounds...... derives from a verb, while the second mostly represents its direct object: thus English pickpocket. Most English examples are functionally agent–nouns, referring to the agent of the implied verbal act. Nevertheless, they lack a suffix indicating this. By contrast, the more prolific type of compound agent....... It contains a cursory discussion of Homeric Greek, Indo–Iranian and Germanic representatives. This comparative perspective on the morphology of the type is continued in chapters 3–5 on Latin and Romance. An important conclusion, and an answer to one of the most–discussed questions in the debate...

  6. The roles of word-form frequency and phonological neighbourhood density in the acquisition of Lithuanian noun morphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savičiūtė, Eglė; Ambridge, Ben; Pine, Julian M

    2018-05-01

    Four- and five-year-old children took part in an elicited familiar and novel Lithuanian noun production task to test predictions of input-based accounts of the acquisition of inflectional morphology. Two major findings emerged. First, as predicted by input-based accounts, correct production rates were correlated with the input frequency of the target form, and with the phonological neighbourhood density of the noun. Second, the error patterns were not compatible with the systematic substitution of target forms by either (a) the most frequent form of that noun or (b) a single morphosyntactic default form, as might be predicted by naive versions of a constructivist and generativist account, respectively. Rather, most errors reflected near-miss substitutions of singular for plural, masculine for feminine, or nominative/accusative for a less frequent case. Together, these findings provide support for an input-based approach to morphological acquisition, but are not adequately explained by any single account in its current form.

  7. Children's grammatical categories of verb and noun: a comparative look at children with specific language impairment (SLI) and normal language (NL).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skipp, Amy; Windfuhr, Kirsten L; Conti-Ramsden, Gina

    2002-01-01

    The study investigated the development of grammatical categories (noun and verb) in young language learners. Twenty-eight children with specific language impairment (SLI) with a mean language age of 35 months and 28 children with normal language (NL) with a mean language age of 34 months were exposed to four novel verbs and four novel nouns during 10 experimental child-directed play sessions. The lexical items were modelled with four experimentally controlled argument structures. Both groups of children showed little productivity with syntactic marking of arguments in the novel verb conditions. Thus, both groups of children mostly followed the surface structure of the model presented to them, regardless of the argument they were trying to express. Therefore, there was little evidence of verb-general processes. In contrast, both groups used nouns in semantic roles that had not been modelled for them. Importantly, however, children with SLI still appeared to be more input dependent than NL children. This suggests that children with NL were working with a robust noun schema, whereas children with SLI were not. Taken together, the findings suggest that neither group of children had a grammatical category of verb, but demonstrated a general knowledge of the grammatical category of noun. These findings are discussed in relation to current theories of normal and impaired language development.

  8. THE GENDER OF COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

    OpenAIRE

    Shkelqim Millaku; Xhevahire Topanica

    2016-01-01

    In Albanian and English we have three kinds of gender: masculine, feminine and neuter. In Albanian language we have this concept for gender: “Gjinia është një nga kategoritë gramatikore më karakteristikë për emrat në gjuhën shqipe. Nga natyra e saj, ajo dallohet nga kategoritë e tjera të emrit, nga numri, rasa dhe nga kategoritë e shquarsisë dhe të pashquarsisë, sepse i kundërvihet mashkullore-femërore dhe asnjanëse...”[1], it’s same and with English: “a grouping of nouns and pronouns into c...

  9. Problems in the acquisition of Noun Class 11 among Xhosa children ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    While there has been research on the partial or complete merger of Noun Classes 5 and 11 in a number of Bantu languages, no study has focused specifically on the acquisition of Cl. 11 by Xhosa-speaking children. In this paper we test our hypothesis that Xhosa-speaking children in both urban and rural areas no longer, ...

  10. An analysis of the status of the secondary noun prefixes in Ndebele ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The article probes into the nature of secondary noun class prefixes in the morphology of some Nguni languages and Ndebele in particular. The secondary prefixes are known as commentary prefixes mainly because they carry overtones of sarcasm, criticism and caricature among other elements, through loading an implied ...

  11. Semantic markup of nouns and adjectives for the Electronic corpus of texts in Tuvan language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bajlak Ch. Oorzhak

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the progress of semantic markup of the Electronic corpus of texts in Tuvan language (ECTTL, which is another stage of adding Tuvan texts to the database and marking up the corpus. ECTTL is a collaborative project by researchers from Tuvan State University (Research and Education Center of Turkic Studies and Department of Information Technologies. Semantic markup of Tuvan lexis will come as a search engine and reference system which will help users find text snippets containing words with desired meanings in ECTTL. The first stage of this process is setting up databases of basic lexemes of Tuvan language. All meaningful lexemes were classified into the following semantic groups: humans, animals, objects, natural objects and phenomena, and abstract concepts. All Tuvan object nouns, as well as both descriptive and relative adjectives, were assigned to one of these lexico-semantic classes. Each class, sub-class and descriptor is tagged in Tuvan, Russian and English; these tags, in turn, will help automatize searching. The databases of meaningful lexemes of Tuvan language will also outline their lexical combinations. The automatized system will contain information on semantic combinations of adjectives with nouns, adverbs with verbs, nouns with verbs, as well as on the combinations which are semantically incompatible.

  12. Early Acquisition of Gender Agreement in the Spanish Noun Phrase: Starting Small

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariscal, Sonia

    2009-01-01

    Nativist and constructivist accounts differ in their characterization of children's knowledge of grammatical categories. In this paper we present research on the process of acquisition of a particular grammatical system, gender agreement in the Spanish noun phrase, in children under three years of age. The design of the longitudinal study employed…

  13. Vantage Theory and the Use of English Demonstrative Determiners with Proper Nouns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riddle, Elizabeth M.

    2010-01-01

    This article discusses some apparently paradoxical behavior of the English demonstratives "this/these" and "that/those" as determiners of proper nouns and as metaphorical signals of epistemic and affective stance within the proximal-distal opposition. It is argued that the apparent paradoxes are actually cases of shifting perspectives or points of…

  14. Compounds in different aphasia categories: a study on picture naming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semenza, Carlo; De Pellegrin, Serena; Battel, Irene; Garzon, Martina; Meneghello, Francesca; Chiarelli, Valentina

    2011-12-01

    This study investigated the production of compounds in Italian-speaking patients affected by different aphasia categories (i.e., Broca's, Wernicke's, and anomic aphasia) in a confrontation naming task. Questions of theoretical interest concerning the processing of compounds within the framework of the "lemma theory" as well as the role of morphological productivity in compound processing are addressed. Results indicate that all persons with aphasia retain knowledge of the morphological status of words, even when they fail to retrieve the corresponding phonological form (the "compound effect"). A difference was found among aphasia categories in the type of errors produced (omission vs. substitution) and in the position (first or second) of these errors within the compound words. In Broca's aphasia, the first component is omitted more frequently than the second one, but only in verb-noun compounds. Anomic and Wernicke's aphasia, unlike in Broca's aphasia, seem to retain sensitivity to morphological productivity.

  15. A proposal of methodology for automatic indexation using noun phrases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renato Rocha Souza

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available It can be noticed that the indexing and representation strategies nowadays seems to be near the exhaustion, and it is worth to investigate new approaches to the indexing and information retrieving systems. Among these, a branch tries to consider the intrinsic semantics of the textual documents using noun phrases as descriptors instead of single keywords. We present in this article a methodology that was developed in the scope of a doctorate research.

  16. Les oasis de l'Oued Noun : dégradation du milieu naturel et perspectives de développement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    EL MAHJOUB CHMOURK

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The oases of Oued Noun: degradation of the natural environment and perspectives of development. An oasis is considered as a vital space and a fundamental natural resource in the Oued Noun area. Irrigation water scarcity, desertification, terminal illnesses of different civilizations, space division and tininess of farms are all natural and economic constraints providing the oasis area from growing and developing. Officials have to be aware of those constraints and they need to urgently recommend solutions in the process of updating the local territory and in its potentialities valorisation.

  17. Use of nouns and verbs in the oral narrative of individuals with hearing impairment and normal hearing between 5 and 11 years of age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erica Endo Amemiya

    Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Nouns and verbs indicate actions in oral communication. However, hearing impairment can compromise the acquisition of oral language to such an extent that appropriate use of these can be challenging. The objective of this study was to compare the use of nouns and verbs in the oral narrative of hearing-impaired and hearing children. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analytical cross-sectional study at the Department of Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. METHODS: Twenty-one children with moderate to profound bilateral neurosensory hearing impairment and twenty-one with normal hearing (controls were matched according to sex, school year and school type. A board showing pictures was presented to each child, to elicit a narrative and measure their performance in producing nouns and verbs. RESULTS: Twenty-two (52.4% of the subjects were males. The mean age was 8 years (standard deviation, SD = 1.5. Comparing averages between the groups of boys and girls, we did not find any significant difference in their use of nouns, but among verbs, there was a significant difference regarding use of the imperative (P = 0.041: more frequent among boys (mean = 2.91. There was no significant difference in the use of nouns and verbs between deaf children and hearers, in relation to school type. Regarding use of the indicative, there was a nearly significant trend (P = 0.058. CONCLUSION: Among oralized hearing-impaired children who underwent speech therapy, their performance regarding verbs and noun use was similar to that of their hearing counterparts.

  18. Translating Proper Nouns: A Case Study on English Translation of Hafez's Lyrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirinzadeh, Seyed Alireza; Mahadi, Tengku Sepora Tengku

    2014-01-01

    Proper nouns are regarded so simple that they might be taken for granted in translation explorations. Some may believe that they should not be translated in transmitting source texts to target texts. But, it is not the case; if one looks at present translations, he will notice that different strategies might be applied for translating proper…

  19. Does Lexical Stress Influence 17-Month-Olds' Mapping of Verbs and Nouns?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Jennifer; Mihalicz, Patrick; Thiessen, Erik; Curtin, Suzanne

    2018-01-01

    English-learning infants attend to lexical stress when learning new words. Attention to lexical stress might be beneficial for word learning by providing an indication of the grammatical class of that word. English disyllabic nouns commonly have trochaic (strong-weak) stress, whereas English disyllabic verbs commonly have iambic (weak-strong)…

  20. The production and processing of determiner-noun agreement in child L2 Dutch

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blom, E.; Vasić, N.

    2011-01-01

    Recent research has shown that children who learn Dutch as their second language (L2) have difficulties with Dutch grammatical gender. This study shows that six to nine year old L2 Dutch children whose first language (L1) is Turkish noticed incorrect gender agreement between determiner and noun only

  1. ZHE: [Noun] Undefined--An Interview with Performers Antonia Kemi Coker and Tonderai Munyevu

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaskan, Victoria

    2013-01-01

    In February 2012, London-based theatre company Collective Artistes previewed "ZHE: [noun] Undefined," a new play created by director Chuck Mike and performers Tonderai Munyevu and Antonia Kemi Coker. The play follows the true life stories of the two performers, both British Africans, living at the intersections of culture, nationality, gender and…

  2. A Scandinavian Island in a Slavonic Linguistic Environment. The Dialect of Gammalsvenskby: Nouns (Paper 2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander E. Mankov

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper continues the series of publications on the morphology of the dialect of Staroshvedskoye (Sw. Gammalsvenskby, which is the only surviving Scandinavian dialect in the territory of the former Soviet Union. The village of Staroshvedskoye is located in the Kherson region, Ukraine. Its Swedish dialect historically belongs to the group of Swedish dialects of Estonia and goes back to the dialect of the island of Dagö (Hiiumaa. The dialect of Gammalsvenskby is of interest to slavists as an example of a language island in the Slavonic environment. From around the 1950s, the main spoken language of all village residents, including dialect speakers, has been surzhik. Due to the complete lack of studies of the present-day dialect and because of the severe endangerment in which the dialect is currently situated, the most urgent task is to collect, classify, and publish the factual material. This paper introduces comprehensive material on nouns in the conservative variety of the present-day dialect. It lists all masculine nouns of types 1b, c, d, and e together with their cognates from Estonian Swedish dialects; comments on the history of the forms are given as well. The sources for the material presented here are interviews with speakers of the conservative variety of the dialect recorded by the author during fieldwork in the village from 2004 to 2013. We plan to publish nouns of other types in later articles.

  3. The Noun Phrase in Functional Discourse Grammar

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    reintroduce Dik’s idea of Dynamic Term Construction and extend the current ontology of entities. The result would be a more cogent treatment of scope and NP syntax, which does not force the theory to abandon any of its fundamental methodological principles. Evelien Keizer (University of Amsterdam...... can account for NP-internal agreement phenomena, including speech errors, as attested in a large corpus of spoken German. Daniel García Velasco (University of Oviedo) examines the so-called Complex Noun Phrase Constraint within the context of FDG. The existence of restrictions on the displacement......, with regard to both form and content. Daniel García Velasco also wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the Dept. of Anglogermanic and French Studies and the Research Vice-Rectorate of the University of Oviedo....

  4. Inflection of modern Icelandic nouns, adjectives and adverbs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janez Orešnik

    1976-12-01

    Full Text Available The present paper is a list of Modern Icelandic nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, analysed into their respective stems and endings; the declension of the suffixed definite article is also included. Under each item it is stated which rules, if any, apply in the derivation of its grammatical forms. The following items of the list should be consulted for new phonological rules: (3, (11, (12, and (133. A grammatical innovation has been implemented in the list, namely the so-called REPLACING ENDINGS. These are not added after the last segment of the stem, as endings usually are, but replace the last segment(s of the stem. More is said on replacing endings in the Introduction.

  5. A developmental analysis of generic nouns in Southern Peruvian Quechua.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannheim, Bruce; Gelman, Susan A; Escalante, Carmen; Huayhua, Margarita; Puma, Rosalía

    2010-01-01

    Generic noun phrases (e.g., "Cats like to drink milk") are a primary means by which adults express generalizations to children, yet they pose a challenging induction puzzle for learners. Although prior research has established that English speakers understand and produce generic noun phrases by preschool age, little is known regarding the cross-cultural generality of generic acquisition. Southern Peruvian Quechua provides a valuable comparison because, unlike English, it is a highly inflected language in which generics are marked by the absence rather than the presence of any linguistic markers. Moreover, Quechua is spoken in a cultural context that differs markedly from the highly educated, middle-class contexts within which earlier research on generics was conducted. We presented participants from 5 age groups (3-6, 7-9, 10-12, 14-35, and 36-90 years of age) with two tasks that examined the ability to distinguish generic from non-generic utterances. In Study 1, even the youngest children understood generics as applying broadly to a category (like "all") and distinct from indefinite reference ("some"). However, there was a developmental lag before children understood that generics, unlike "all", can include exceptions. Study 2 revealed that generic interpretations are more frequent for utterances that (a) lack specifying markers and (b) are animate. Altogether, generic interpretations are found among the youngest participants, and may be a default mode of quantification. These data demonstrate the cross-cultural importance of generic information in linguistic expression.

  6. Difference between Written and Spoken Czech: The Case of Verbal Nouns Denoting an Action

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kolářová, V.; Kolář, Jan; Mikulová, M.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 107, č. 1 (2017), s. 19-38 ISSN 0032-6585 Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : written Czech * spoken Czech * verbal nouns Subject RIV: AI - Linguistics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/pralin.2017.107.issue-1/pralin-2017-0002/pralin-2017-0002.xml

  7. Difference between Written and Spoken Czech: The Case of Verbal Nouns Denoting an Action

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kolářová, V.; Kolář, Jan; Mikulová, M.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 107, č. 1 (2017), s. 19-38 ISSN 0032-6585 Institutional support: RVO:67985840 Keywords : written Czech * spoken Czech * verbal nouns Subject RIV: AI - Linguistics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/pralin.2017.107.issue-1/pralin-2017-0002/pralin-2017-0002. xml

  8. A Study on Noun Suffixes: Accounting for the Vernacularisation of English in Late Medieval Medical Texts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Begoña Crespo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper seeks to contribute to the study of the vernacularisation process in late Middle English by measuring up to what an extent concrete and abstract noun suffixes (in line with Dalton-Puffer 1996 attach to either Germanic or Romance bases in the medical texts extracted from the MEMT (Middle English Medical Texts corpus. The findings obtained have been further described according to text type or genre and to target audience/readership. The description of these suffixes in relation to all the parameters already mentioned has confirmed the predominance of abstract suffixes of Romance origin although Germanic abstract suffixes are also abundant. More hybrid formations have been found with Germanic noun suffixes than with Romance ones which might be indicative of their versatility towards vernacularisation.

  9. Acute cortisol effects on immediate free recall and recognition of nouns depend on stimulus valence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tops, M.; van der Pompe, G.; Baas, D; Mulder, L.J.M.; Den Boer, J.A.; Meijman, T.F.; Korf, J

    The present study investigated the acute effects of cortisol administration in normal healthy male volunteers on immediate free recall and recognition of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral nouns using a between-subjects double-blind design. Two hours after cortisol (10 mg) or placebo administration,

  10. Decomposition into Multiple Morphemes during Lexical Access: A Masked Priming Study of Russian Nouns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazanina, Nina; Dukova-Zheleva, Galina; Geber, Dana; Kharlamov, Viktor; Tonciulescu, Keren

    2008-01-01

    The study reports the results of a masked priming experiment with morphologically complex Russian nouns. Participants performed a lexical decision task to a visual target that differed from its prime in one consonant. Three conditions were included: (1) "transparent," in which the prime was morphologically related to the target and contained the…

  11. Nouns and verbs in Chintang: children's usage and surrounding adult speech

    OpenAIRE

    Stoll, Sabine; Bickel, Balthasar; Lieven, Elena; Banjade, Goma; Bhatta, Toya Nath; Gaenszle, Martin; Paudyal, Netra P; Pettigrew, Judith; Rai, Ichchha Purna; Rai, Manoj; Rai, Novel Kishore

    2012-01-01

    peer-reviewed Analyzing the development of the noun-to-verb ratio in a longitudinal corpus of four Chintang (Sino-Tibetan) children, we find that up to about age four, children have a significantly higher ratio than adults. Previous cross-linguistic research rules out an explanation of this in [*] This research was made by possible by Grant Nos. BI 799/1-2 and II/81 961 from the Volkswagen Foundation (DoBeS program). Author contributions: Stoll designed the study; Bickel ...

  12. A multiple-dimension liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry data strategy for the rapid discovery and identification of unknown compounds from a Chinese herbal formula (Er-xian decoction).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Caihong; Zhang, Jinlan; Wu, Caisheng; Wang, Zhe

    2017-10-06

    It is very important to rapidly discover and identify the multiple components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula. High performance liquid chromatography with high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS/MS) has been widely used to analyze TCM formula and contains multiple-dimension data including retention time (RT), high resolution mass (HRMS), multiple-stage mass spectrometric (MS n ), and isotope intensity distribution (IID) data. So it is very necessary to exploit a useful strategy to utilize multiple-dimension data to rapidly probe structural information and identify chemical compounds. In this study, a new strategy to initiatively use the multiple-dimension LC-MS data has been developed to discover and identify unknown compounds of TCM in many styles. The strategy guarantees the fast discovery of candidate structural information and provides efficient structure clues for identification. The strategy contains four steps in sequence: (1) to discover potential compounds and obtain sub-structure information by the mass spectral tree similarity filter (MTSF) technique, based on HRMS and MS n data; (2) to classify potential compounds into known chemical classes by discriminant analysis (DA) on the basis of RT and HRMS data; (3) to hit the candidate structural information of compounds by intersection sub-structure between MTSF and DA (M,D-INSS); (4) to annotate and confirm candidate structures by IID data. This strategy allowed for the high exclusion efficiency (greater than 41%) of irrelevant ions in er-xian decoction (EXD) while providing accurate structural information of 553 potential compounds and identifying 66 candidates, therefore accelerating and simplifying the discovery and identification of unknown compounds in TCM formula. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Student Assessment of Quality of Access at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliet Obhajajie Inegbedion

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a study conducted by Inegbedion, Adu and Ofulue from the National Open University of Nigeria. The study focused on the quality of access (admission and registration at NOUN from a student perspective. A survey design was used for the study while a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample size. All the 78,555 registered students in all the 61 Study Centres of the University at the time of the study formed the population; out of which 3,060 students were sampled. The questionnaire instrument is the Institutional Internal QA Tools and Instrument developed by the African Council for Distance Education (ACDE as a regulatory mechanism. The data collected were analyzed using simple statistics. The result showed that 66% of the students confirmed that NOUN has published clear policies on the admission and registration of students. About 29.1% of the students were not satisfied with the transparency of the admission process. In conclusion, the study revealed high quality of access and some deficiencies in website and Internet connectivity.

  14. Non-Adherence to Study Time Management Strategies among NOUN Students and Implications for Academic Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okopi, Fidel O.

    2011-01-01

    The study was designed to investigate the NOUN students' non-adherence to their time management strategies (TMS) during the course of their studies. The researcher also wanted to find out whether their gender, age, marital and employment statuses have influence on their adherence/non-adherence to the plan or not. The researcher also examined the…

  15. Noun or Verb? Adult Readers' Sensitivity to Spelling Cues to Grammatical Category in Word Endings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemp, Nenagh; Nilsson, Jodi; Arciuli, Joanne

    2009-01-01

    The spelling of many disyllabic English word endings holds cues to their grammatical category, beyond obvious inflectional endings such as "-ing" for verbs. For example, some letter sequences are clearly associated with nouns (e.g., "-oon") and others with verbs (e.g., "-erge"). This study extended recent research by Arciuli and Cupples (2006),…

  16. Compounds in food packaging materials - toxicological profiling of knowns and unknowns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rosenmai, Anna Kjerstine

    compounds present in these materials. Specific focus was placed on in vitroendpoints assessing endocrine activity. BPA, five BPA analogues, and 19 fluorinated substances including fluorochemical containing technical mixtures (TMs) were investigated. The in vitro assays included the androgen receptor (AR....... It is recommended to test more FCMs of paper and board with the strategy to obtain information on other potentially problematic compounds present in these materials. The presented data overall suggest that some compounds present in FCMs or suspected of being used can exert endocrine activities in vitro, though......Food contact materials (FCMs) are sources of food contamination and human chemical exposure. Some chemicals in these materials are known to cause adverse effects, but many are poorly characterized for their potential toxicological hazards making risk assessment a challenge. The aim of the project...

  17. COGNITIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF NON-ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS ON NOUN STRUCTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shierly Novalita Yappy

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Learning English for non-English department students is not as easy as it seems. Besides, as much as it is necessary to know how successful learners learn, not less important is to know how less successful learners learn. Using think aloud method, this study aims at finding out the cognitive strategies used by the engineering department students in answering incorrectly problems on TOEFL noun structure-the grammar point in which students made the most errors. Findings uncover the students' strategies and reasoning upon which pedagogical implications can be put forth so that more effective and fruitful instruction can be tailored.

  18. THE DISCUSSION OF NOUN COMPLEMENTS WITH NO SUFFIXES AND THE RELATION BETWEEN WORD CLASSES AND PHRASES TAKISIZ AD TAMLAMASI TARTIŞMASI VE TÜR – ÖBEK İLİŞKİSİ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caner KERİMOĞLU

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The discussion of compound nouns with no suffixes has an important place in Turkish grammar writing. Recently, it is seen that this discussion has come to an end and the constructions like tahta kaşık “wooden spoon”, altın kolye “golden necklace” are accepted as adjective complements. In this study, firstly these discussions are evaluated and then the roles of word classes in phrases are discussed with regard to nouns and adjectives. Takısız ad tamlaması tartışması Türkçe dil bilgisi yazımında önemli bir yere sahiptir. Son yıllarda bu konuyla ilgili tartışmaların azaldığı ve akademik yayınların çoğunda tahta kaşık, altın kolye dizilişindeki yapıların sıfat tamlaması kabul edildiği görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada takısız ad tamlaması tartışmaları değerlendirildikten sonra, kelime türlerinin öbek kurmadaki rolleri sıfat ve ad türleri temelinde tartışılmaktadır.

  19. The Time-Course of Morphological Constraints: Evidence from Eye-Movements during Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunnings, Ian; Clahsen, Harald

    2007-01-01

    Lexical compounds in English are constrained in that the non-head noun can be an irregular but not a regular plural (e.g. mice eater vs. *rats eater), a contrast that has been argued to derive from a morphological constraint on modifiers inside compounds. In addition, bare nouns are preferred over plural forms inside compounds (e.g. mouse eater…

  20. ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFICATION SPIKING CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS RELATED TO CHEMICAL WEAPON CONVENTION IN UNKNOWN WATER SAMPLES USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY AND GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY ELECTRON IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harry Budiman

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The identification and analysis of chemical warfare agents and their degradation products is one of important component for the implementation of the convention. Nowadays, the analytical method for determination chemical warfare agent and their degradation products has been developing and improving. In order to get the sufficient analytical data as recommended by OPCW especially in Proficiency Testing, the spiking chemical compounds related to Chemical Weapon Convention in unknown water sample were determined using two different techniques such as gas chromatography and gas chromatography electron-impact ionization mass spectrometry. Neutral organic extraction, pH 11 organic extraction, cation exchanged-methylation, triethylamine/methanol-silylation were performed to extract the chemical warfare agents from the sample, before analyzing with gas chromatography. The identification of chemical warfare agents was carried out by comparing the mass spectrum of chemicals with mass spectrum reference from the OPCW Central Analytical Database (OCAD library while the retention indices calculation obtained from gas chromatography analysis was used to get the confirmation and supported data of  the chemical warfare agents. Diisopropyl methylphosphonate, 2,2-diphenyl-2-hydroacetic acid and 3-quinuclidinol were found in unknown water sample. Those chemicals were classified in schedule 2 as precursor or reactant of chemical weapons compound in schedule list of Chemical Weapon Convention.   Keywords: gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, retention indices, OCAD library, chemical warfare agents

  1. Research Notes ~ Combating HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Nigeria: Responses from National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terhemba Nom Ambe-Uva

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Universities have come under serious attack because of their lackluster response to HIV/AIDS. This article examines the response of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN and its strategic responses in combating HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is achieved by examining NOUN’s basic structures that position the University to respond to the epidemic; and second, by assessing HIV/AIDS strategies and policy framework the University has put in place. An interpretative epistemological stance was used for this study, and a qualitative research involving focus group discussion (FGD and analysis of secondary data was carried out. Results showed that NOUN has identified the impact the epidemic has on the university, although it has yet to institutionalize an HIV/AIDS policy. NOUN’s Draft Service Charter, however, has identified the fight against HIV/AIDS as a core mandate of the University, and the introduction of HIV/AIDS certification programs can be viewed as proactive policies in response to the epidemic. Results of this study are discussed in terms of their relevance to future research and the impact such policy frameworks may have on combating the epidemic, both within the University and the wider community.

  2. Mgbakoigba, Journal of African Studies. Vol.5 No.2. June 2016 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    MRS ADAOBl

    2016-06-02

    Jun 2, 2016 ... blending theory can account for the Etulo noun-noun compound words. Furthermore, there is ..... house black d.únyì àjó 'court' ..... For the compound word ìkp ndù 'lip', the mouth is likened to a hole or an aperture that has the ...

  3. On metaphorical designation of humans, animals, plants and things in Serbian and English language

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    Rakić Stanimir

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I examine compound names of plants, animals, human beings and other things in which at least one nominal component designates a part of the body or clothes, or some basic elements of houshold in Serbian and English. The object of my analysis are complex derivatives of the type (adjective noun + suffix in Serbian and componds of the type noun's + noun, noun + noun and adjective + noun in English. I try to show that there is a difference in metaphorical designation of human beings and other living creatures and things by such compound nouns. My thesis is that the metathorical designation of human beings by such compounds is based on the symbolic meaning of some words and expressions while the designation of other things and beings relies on noticed similarity. In Serbian language such designation is provided by comples derivatives praznoglavac 'empty-headed person', tupoglavac 'dullard' debolokoiac 'callos person', golobradac 'young, inexperienced person' žutokljunac 'tledling' (fig, in English chicken liver, beetle brain birdbrain, bonehead, butterfingers, bigwig, blackleg, blue blood bluestocking, eat's paw, deadhead,fat-guts,fathead, goldbrick (kol hardhat, hardhead, greenhorn, redcoat (ist, redneck (sl, thickhead, etc. Polisemous compounds like eat's paw lend support for this thesis because their designation of human beings is based on symbolic meaning of some words or expressions. I hypothesize that the direction and extend of the possible metaphorization of names may be accounted for by the following hierarchy (11 people - animals - plants - meterial things. Such hierarchy is well supported by the observations of Lakoff (1987 and Taylor (1995 about the role of human body in early experience and perception ofthe reality. Different restrictions which may be imposed in the hierarchy (11 should be the matter of further study, some of which have been noted on this paper. The compounds of this type denoting people have

  4. Mothers' Talk to Children with Down Syndrome, Language Impairment, or Typical Development about Familiar and Unfamiliar Nouns and Verbs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bird, Elizabeth Kay-Raining; Cleave, Patricia

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated how forty-six mothers modified their talk about familiar and unfamiliar nouns and verbs when interacting with their children with Down Syndrome (DS), language impairment (LI), or typical development (TD). Children (MLUs < 2·7) were group-matched on expressive vocabulary size. Mother-child dyads were recorded playing with…

  5. Organic Spectroscopy Laboratory: Utilizing IR and NMR in the Identification of an Unknown Substance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glagovich, Neil M.; Shine, Timothy D.

    2005-01-01

    A laboratory experiment that emphasizes the interpretation of both infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra in the elucidation of the structure of an unknown compound was developed. The method helps students determine [to the first power]H- and [to the thirteenth power]C-NMR spectra from the structures of compounds and to…

  6. A SUFFIX USED TO FORM COLLECTIVE/FAMILY NOUN IN THE SOME DIALECTS OF TURKISH: +ēNi/+îNi / BAZI TÜRKIYE TÜRKÇESI AĞIZLARINDA TOPLULUK/AILE ADI YAPAN BIR EK: +ēNi / +îNi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Serpil ERSÖZ

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available There are two suffixes used to form collective/family nouns: +giland +lAr. These suffixes which also indicates plurality in nouns are used inalmost all dialects of Turkish. This essay’s topic is suffix +ēNi+/+îNi whichis used to form collective/family nouns as +gil and +lAr in some dialects ofTurkish. In this essay, we extrapolate that the form of the suffix +îN(i withclose unrounded vowel is used in dialect of immigrants whereas the form ofthe suffix +ēNi with open unrounded vowel is used in dialects of noimmigrants, of yoruk and some Oguz tribes.

  7. Noun and verb knowledge in monolingual preschool children across 17 languages: Data from Cross-linguistic Lexical Tasks (LITMUS-CLT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haman, Ewa; Łuniewska, Magdalena; Hansen, Pernille; Simonsen, Hanne Gram; Chiat, Shula; Bjekić, Jovana; Blažienė, Agnė; Chyl, Katarzyna; Dabašinskienė, Ineta; Engel de Abreu, Pascale; Gagarina, Natalia; Gavarró, Anna; Håkansson, Gisela; Harel, Efrat; Holm, Elisabeth; Kapalková, Svetlana; Kunnari, Sari; Levorato, Chiara; Lindgren, Josefin; Mieszkowska, Karolina; Montes Salarich, Laia; Potgieter, Anneke; Ribu, Ingeborg; Ringblom, Natalia; Rinker, Tanja; Roch, Maja; Slančová, Daniela; Southwood, Frenette; Tedeschi, Roberta; Tuncer, Aylin Müge; Ünal-Logacev, Özlem; Vuksanović, Jasmina; Armon-Lotem, Sharon

    2017-01-01

    This article investigates the cross-linguistic comparability of the newly developed lexical assessment tool Cross-linguistic Lexical Tasks (LITMUS-CLT). LITMUS-CLT is a part the Language Impairment Testing in Multilingual Settings (LITMUS) battery (Armon-Lotem, de Jong & Meir, 2015). Here we analyse results on receptive and expressive word knowledge tasks for nouns and verbs across 17 languages from eight different language families: Baltic (Lithuanian), Bantu (isiXhosa), Finnic (Finnish), Germanic (Afrikaans, British English, South African English, German, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, Swedish), Romance (Catalan, Italian), Semitic (Hebrew), Slavic (Polish, Serbian, Slovak) and Turkic (Turkish). The participants were 639 monolingual children aged 3;0-6;11 living in 15 different countries. Differences in vocabulary size were small between 16 of the languages; but isiXhosa-speaking children knew significantly fewer words than speakers of the other languages. There was a robust effect of word class: accuracy was higher for nouns than verbs. Furthermore, comprehension was more advanced than production. Results are discussed in the context of cross-linguistic comparisons of lexical development in monolingual and bilingual populations.

  8. Study on search of unknown materials. 1; Michi busshitsu no tansaku ni kansuru kenkyu. 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-11-28

    This is No.92 report of National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials, concerning search of unknown materials. Purposes of this study are to construct new chemical bond and reaction theory, to systematize the existing compounds, and to search and create the unknown materials, systematically. Structure prediction of electronic state was investigated by means of molecular dynamic method, to determine the electronic state and structure of multi-systems. For the magnetic semiconductors, interactions were investigated between the magnetic spin and electron or hole which is a carrier. The in-solid bond theory aims at clarifying the bond state of materials in which transition metal compounds and inter-electronic interactions are significant. Prediction of the electronic structure of unknown materials can suggest the design of new materials. In the fields of synthesis, design and synthesis of new inorganic ion exchanger and ionic conductor are investigated using Bi oxides and its related materials. There are a lot of compounds having various crystal forms for rare earth element oxides and transition metal oxides. To establish the system of material design, thermodynamics, phase equilibrium diagram, crystal structure, and physical properties of new materials were discussed. 168 refs., 127 figs., 44 tabs.

  9. Isolation and identification of some unknown substances in disposable nitrile-butadiene rubber gloves used for food handling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutsuga, M; Wakui, C; Kawamura, Y; Maitani, T

    2002-11-01

    In Japan, disposable gloves made from nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) are frequently used in contact with foods. In a previous paper, we investigated substances migrating from various gloves made of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, natural rubber and NBR. Zinc di-n-butyldithiocarbamate (ZDBC), diethyldithiocarbamate (ZDEC) used as vulcanization accelerators, di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) used as a plasticizer and many unknown compounds that migrated from NBR gloves into n-heptane were detected by GC/MS. In this paper, six unknown compounds were obtained from one kind of NBR glove by n-hexane extraction and each was isolated by silica gel chromatography. From the results of NMR and mass spectral analysis of the six unknown compounds, their structures are proposed as 1,4-dione-2,5-bis(1,1-dimethylpropyl)cyclohexadiene (1), 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-(1,1,3,3-tetra methylbutyl)phenol (2), 2,6-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol (3), 2,4-bis(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol (4), 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)4,6-bis(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol (5) and 2,4,6-tris(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol (6). Compound 1 was observed in five of the seven kinds of NBR gloves, and compounds 2-4 and 6, which are not listed in Chemical Abstract (CA), were present in four kinds of gloves.

  10. Normative data for Chinese compound remote associate problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ching-Lin; Chen, Hsueh-Chih

    2017-12-01

    The Remote Associates Test (RAT) is a well-known measure of creativity, with each item on the RAT is composed of three unrelated stimulus words. The participant's task is to find an answer in the form of a word that could combine with each of the stimulus words, thus forming three new actual nouns. Researchers have modified the RAT to develop compound remote associate problems that emphasize combining vocabulary to form compound words. In the field of creativity research for Mandarin speakers, the Chinese RAT has been widely applied for over 10 years. The original RAT, compound remote associate problems, and Chinese RAT have various common advantages, such as being convenient to use and having objective scoring; additionally, the development of items for certain tests is easy and satisfies the requirements of psychological assessments in terms of the quantity of items. Currently, many language editions of the RAT and compound remote associate problems already exist. In particular, the English and Italian versions of these tests already have derived normative data. Because approximately 20% of the world's population are native Mandarin speakers, and because increasing numbers of people are choosing Mandarin as a second language, the need to increase Mandarin-language resources is growing; however, normative data for the Chinese RAT still do not exist. To address this issue, in the present study we developed Chinese compound remote associate problems and analyzed the passing rates by items, problem solving times, and various normative data, using the responses of 253 subjects in three experiments.

  11. The prosody of Swedish underived nouns: No lexical tones required

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruce Morén-Duolljá

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a detailed representational analysis of the morpho-prosodic system of underived nouns in a dialect of Swedish.  It shows that the morphology, stress and tonal patterns are not as complex as they first appear once the data are looked at in sufficient detail.  Further, it shows that the renowned Swedish "lexical pitch accent" is not the result of lexical tones/tonemes.  Rather, Swedish is like all other languages and uses tones to mark the edges of prosodic constituents on the surface. "Accent 2" occurs when tones mark the edge of a structural uneven trochee (i.e. recursive foot and "accent 1" occurs elsewhere. This analysis is counter all other treatments of North Germanic tones and denies the almost unquestioned assumption that there is an underlying tone specification on roots and/or affixes in many North Germanic varieties. At the same time, it unifies the intuitions behind the three previous approaches found in the literature.

  12. Clustering, Hierarchical Organization, and the Topography of Abstract and Concrete Nouns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua eTroche

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The empirical study of language has historically relied heavily upon concrete word stimuli. By definition, concrete words evoke salient perceptual associations that fit well within feature-based, sensorimotor models of word meaning. In contrast, many theorists argue that abstract words are disembodied in that their meaning is mediated through language. We investigated word meaning as distributed in multidimensional space using hierarchical cluster analysis. Participants (N=365 rated target words (n=400 English nouns across 12 cognitive dimensions (e.g., polarity, ease of teaching, emotional valence. Factor reduction revealed three latent factors, corresponding roughly to perceptual salience, affective association, and magnitude. We plotted the original 400 words for the three latent factors. Abstract and concrete words showed overlap in their topography but also differentiated themselves in semantic space. This topographic approach to word meaning offers a unique perspective to word concreteness.

  13. Clustering, hierarchical organization, and the topography of abstract and concrete nouns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troche, Joshua; Crutch, Sebastian; Reilly, Jamie

    2014-01-01

    The empirical study of language has historically relied heavily upon concrete word stimuli. By definition, concrete words evoke salient perceptual associations that fit well within feature-based, sensorimotor models of word meaning. In contrast, many theorists argue that abstract words are "disembodied" in that their meaning is mediated through language. We investigated word meaning as distributed in multidimensional space using hierarchical cluster analysis. Participants (N = 365) rated target words (n = 400 English nouns) across 12 cognitive dimensions (e.g., polarity, ease of teaching, emotional valence). Factor reduction revealed three latent factors, corresponding roughly to perceptual salience, affective association, and magnitude. We plotted the original 400 words for the three latent factors. Abstract and concrete words showed overlap in their topography but also differentiated themselves in semantic space. This topographic approach to word meaning offers a unique perspective to word concreteness.

  14. The Morphosyntactic Structure of the Noun and Verb Phrases in Dholuo/Kiswahili Code Switching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jael Anyango Ojanga

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Code switching, the use of any two or more languages or dialects interchangeably in a single communication context, is a common linguistic practice owing to the trend of multilingualism in the world today. In many situations of language in contact, constituents of one language can be found within the constituents of another language in a number of linguistic phenomenon namely lexical borrowing, transferring, interference, code switching and diffusion (Annamalai, 1989. Codeswitching is one of the linguistic phenomenon claimed to be the most prevalent and common mode of interaction among multilingual speakers. Brock and Eastman (1971 suggest that topic discussed influences the choice of the language. Nouns and verbs have been found to be the most code switched elements in bilingual exchange. The study took a qualitative approach with the descriptive research design. It was guided by the Matrix Language Frame Model which was formulated by Myers-Scotton in1993. This model expounds on the realization and structure of the major word classes as used in code switching. Data was collected in Nyangeta Zone, Winam Division of Kisumu East District. Winam Division is mostly inhabited by elite Dholuo L1 speakers. A sample of twenty four teachers was purposively selected to provide data needed for the study. Focus group discussion was used to collect a corpus of Dholuo/Kiswahili data which was recorded through audio taping. The recorded data was then analyzed morphosyntactaically using the Matrix Language Frame Model. The data revealed that the noun and verb phrases were realized under three categories: Matrix Language Island constituent (ML Island ML+EL and Embedded Language Island (EL Island. Keywords: Code switching, multilingualism, morphosyntactic

  15. Functional categories in the noun phrase: on jacks-of-all-trades and one-trick-ponies in Danish, Dutch and German

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rijkhoff, Jan

    2010-01-01

    This paper deals with functionally defined modifier categories of the noun phrase in some Germanic languages, in particular Danish, Dutch and German. It is argued that functional categories, unlike semantic or form-based categories, are the only categories that can be applied within and across...... in German: attitudinal arm (e.g. Der arme Junge! ‘The poor boy!’)....

  16. Cognitive categories and noun classification. Romance neuter: from [passivity] to [indifference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria M. Manoliu

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The present contribution aims to reveal the ways in which the evolution of the grammatical category of gender from Latin to Romance reflects the dramatic changes undergone by its semantic domains. Arguments for the hypothesis that Latin gender oppositions were determined by the important role played by activeness (and not animacy in the interpretation of the state of affairs are brought into the picture in order to explain the subcategorization of nouns in both Latin and in Romance. The term activeness is to be understood as a reflection of the ‘capacity of referents for influencing human life in positive or negative ways’. The changes undergone by grammatical gender in Romance languages were triggered not only by a morpho-syntactic reorganization of case and number, but also by social and pragmatic factors that triggered a reorganization of cognitive categories and their linguistic encoding

  17. Health promoting compounds in vegetables and fruits:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandt, K.; Christensen, L.P.; Hansen-Møller, J.

    2004-01-01

    Vegetables contain unknown compounds with important health promoting effect. The described project defined and tested a two-step screening procedure for identification of such compounds. Step 1 is initial screening according to three criteria: 1.1, chemically reactive functional groups; 1...

  18. الاسماء المربكة في اللغة الانكليزية: تحليل الاخطاء Confusing Nouns in English: An Error Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabeeha Hamza Dehham Al- Jobouri أ.م. صبيحة حمزة دحام

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The present study is an attempt to identify the errors made by Iraqi EFL learners in the Department of English / College of Basic Education, University of Babylon in using confusing nouns .The Classification of English Nouns is as diverse and varied as English Grammar. The researcher in the paper under review has sought to examine in details how nouns are a source of confusion for EFL learners. This study aims at (1 investigating the difficulties faced Iraqi EFL university learners in using confusing nouns and (2 identifying the errors made by EFL learners in using confusing nouns . To achieve the two goals mentioned above, the study hypothesizes that Iraqi EFL University Learners committed errors in using confusing nouns because of their intralingual transference. The Hypothesis has been verified through adopted a diagnostic test of two questions .The test has been applied to a sample of 100 Iraqi EFL university learners at their fourth year from Department of English, College of Basic Education, University of Babylon during the academic year 2014-2015. Errors have been pointed and results have been analyzed statistically. The analysis gives the following results: (1 EFL University learners face difficulties in recognizing and producing confusing nouns . This is indicated by their low performance in the test as the, rate. of their correct responses (782, 39.1% is lower significantly than that of their incorrect ones (1218, 60.9 %. (2 The subjects' performance in the test has also revealed that EFL university learners encounter more difficulties in using confusing nouns at the production level than at the recognition one. This is due to the fact that the total number and the percentage of the correct responses at the production level (349, 34.9 % is lower than the total the total number and the percentage of the correct responses at the recognition level which are equal (433, 43.3 % and (3 Some of errors are due to the student's lack knowledge

  19. Inter-subject variability modulates phonological advance planning in the production of adjective-noun phrases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michel Lange, Violaine; Laganaro, Marina

    2014-01-01

    The literature on advance phonological planning in adjective-noun phrases (NPs) presents diverging results: while many experimental studies suggest that the entire NP is encoded before articulation, other results favor a span of encoding limited to the first word. Although cross-linguistic differences in the structure of adjective-NPs may account for some of these contrasting results, divergences have been reported even among similar languages and syntactic structures. Here we examined whether inter-individual differences account for variability in the span of phonological planning in the production of French NPs, where previous results indicated encoding limited to the first word. The span of phonological encoding is tested with the picture-word interference (PWI) paradigm using phonological distractors related to the noun or to the adjective of the NPs. In Experiment 1, phonological priming effects were limited to the first word in adjective NPs whichever the position of the adjective (pre-nominal or post-nominal). Crucially, phonological priming effects on the second word interacted with speakers' production speed suggesting different encoding strategies for participants. In Experiment 2, we tested this hypothesis further with a larger group of participants. Results clearly showed that slow and fast initializing participants presented different phonological priming patterns on the last element of adjective-NPs: while the first word was primed by a distractor for all speakers, only the slow speaker group presented a priming effect on the second element of the NP. These results show that the span of phonological encoding is modulated by inter-individual strategies: in experimental paradigms some speakers plan word by word whereas others encode beyond the initial word. We suggest that the diverging results reported in the literature on advance phonological planning may partly be reconciled in light of the present results.

  20. AHP 1:A RESPONSE TO WAYS AND THE SYNTAX OF NOUN PHRASES IN QĪNGHĂI CHINESE DIALECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keith Dede

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available In the course of offering a review of Zhāng Chéngcái's Ways, this paper describes the syntax of noun phrases in the Chinese dialect of Huángshuĭ, in Qīnghăi Province. Unlike other Chinese dialects, this dialect employs several postpositions for indicating syntactic nominal relationships. The origin of this phenomenon in contact with non-Sinitic languages in the region and its significance are also explored.

  1. THE FUNCTION OF SIMPLE SENTENCE BETWEEN ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH

    OpenAIRE

    Shkelqim Millaku

    2017-01-01

    In Albanian and English we have same kind of sentences (simple, compound or complex sentence). The major of elements or constituents that can be found in clauses are subject, predicate, object, complement etc. For Albanian and English most linguists agree on the needs to recognize at least the following word classes: noun, verb, adjective, preposition, adverb, determinative and conjunction. Each of these words classes is illustrated in the sentence below. The noun or noun phrase can be subjec...

  2. A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ARABIC AND ENGLISH NOUN PLURAL MARKERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aliyatul Himmah

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is attempting to explore the plural markers in both Arabic and English. The data collected qualitatively are sorted to meet the scope of this paper. Through contrastive analysis, it is discovered that there are numerous significant differences rather than similarities in terms of syllable count start, patterns of plural nouns in relation to gender, regularity, regular vs irregular plural and internal vowel change. Moreover, Arabic has some uniqueness in its plural marking system. Being well informed on all of these might pave the way for second or foreign language learners to comprehensively understand the plural marking system in Arabic and English.   Tulisan ini mencoba untuk mengeksplorasi penanda jamak dalam bahasa Arab dan bahasa Inggris. Data yang dikumpulkan secara kualitatif diurutkan untuk memenuhi cakupan makalah ini. Melalui analisis kontrastif, ditemukan banyak perbedaan yang signifikan daripada kesamaan dalam segi jumlah awal suku kata, pola kata benda jamak dalam kaitannya dengan gender, keteraturan dan ketidakteraturan jamak, serta perubahan vokal. Selain itu, bahasa Arab memiliki beberapa keunikan dalam sistem menandai jamaknya. Memahami informasi hal tersebut dengan baik mungkin memudahkan pembelajar bahasa kedua atau asing untuk memahami secara komprehensif sistem penanda jamak dalam bahasa Arab dan Inggris

  3. Thin-layer chromatography of polyphosphoinositides from platelet extracts: interference by an unknown phospholipid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tysnes, O.B.; Aarbakke, G.M.; Verhoeven, A.J.; Holmsen, H.

    1985-01-01

    Different ratios of radioactive polyphosphoinositides in platelets pulse-labelled with 32p-orthophosphate have been reported by various laboratories. We studied whether these differences originate from differences in methodology. Extracts of 32p-Pi labelled human platelets were prepared at various times after gel-filtration and phosphatidylinositol (PI)-, mono (PIP)- and bisphosphate (PIP2) were separated by thin-layer chromatography using four different solvent systems. The 32p-levels in PIP and PIP2 remained constant during one hour after gel-filtration, whereas 32p-PI increased continuously and more than doubled within the first h. In two of the systems PIP co-chromatographed with a radioactive compound which separated well from PIP in the two other systems. This unknown compound was also labelled with 3H-glycerol, 3H-inositol and 3H-arachidonic acid, but it was metabolically and functionally different from the polyphosphoinositides. Both the co-chromatography of this unknown phospholipid and the increase in 32p-PI in gel-filtered platelets can explain the difference in 32p-labelling in phosphoinositides reported in the literature

  4. PHRASAL COMPOUNDS IN AFRIKAANS: A GENERATIVE ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    phrase may be generated by a rule/rules similar to that/ those required to generate .... is adjoined to a noun exists on the level of syntactic surface struc- ture. ...... cat and lOOuse games. "cat and .... aI, derivational and syntactic processes. [70J.

  5. Compound odontoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica Yadav

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Odontomas have been extensively reported in the dental literature, and the term refers to tumors of odontogenic origin. Though the exact etiology is still unknown, the postulated causes include: local trauma, infection, inheritance and genetic mutation. The majority of the lesions are asymptomatic; however, may be accompanied with pain and swelling as secondary complaints in some cases. Here, we report a case of a compound odontome in a 14 year old patient.

  6. The Study of the Effect of Syntactic Complexity of Noun and Verb Phrase Structure on the Occurrence of Stuttering in 4-6 Year Pre-School Stuttering Persian Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Ali Ahangar

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of the present research was to investigate the effect of syntactic complexity of noun phrase and verb phrase on the occurrence of stuttering in 4-6 year Persian speaking children with stuttering. Materials & Methods: This descriptive-analytic research was done on 15 stuttering children, consisting of 12 boys and 3 girls, 4 to 6 years old monolingual Persian speaking who referred to Javad-Ol-Aemmeh speech therapy clinic in Mashhad city. The sampling approach was simple (available sampling method. To do this research, sampling was carried out in a quiet home of speech therapy where there were just the speech therapist, the parent, the child and the researcher. While speaking, the speech of the children was recorded by an MP3 with Creative brand. Finally, a 30-minute spontaneous speech sample was gathered from each of the given stuttering children. The children produced around 60 utterances during a verbal interaction with the speech therapist, parents (mother or father or the researcher. Then the produced spontaneous speech sample by any of these stuttering children was transcribed on paper. The data were analyzed only as groups and not individually. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and Paired T-test method. Results: The group analyses showed significant differences between fluent and stuttered utterances in terms of syntactic complexity of noun and verb phrase structures. Also, the results confirm that at phrasal level, in noun phrases, based on their three functions as subject, direct object and object of preposition, there is a meaningful relationship between the number of subject (P<0.001 and object of preposition (P=0.050 with the stuttering frequency. In verb phrases, based on the presence of the auxiliary verb, copula verb, and negative prefix, just there is a meaningful relationship between the presence of the auxiliary verb and the stuttering frequency (P=0.010. Conclusion: The research findings indicate

  7. Een voorbeeld van gecamoufleerde taalbeïnvloeding: samenstellingsvormen van sjwasubstantieven in het Fries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slofstra, B.; Hoekstra, E.; Versloot, A.

    2009-01-01

    Frisian nouns ending in schwa (henceforth: schwa nouns) like brêge (‘bridge’) show unpredictable behaviour when used as a fi rst member of a nominal compound. In some cases the schwa is retained (e.g. brêgeman ‘bridge man’), in other cases the schwa can or must be dropped (e.g. bûsjild ‘pocket

  8. Identifying bioaccumulative halogenated organic compounds using a nontargeted analytical approach: seabirds as sentinels.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher J Millow

    Full Text Available Persistent organic pollutants (POPs are typically monitored via targeted mass spectrometry, which potentially identifies only a fraction of the contaminants actually present in environmental samples. With new anthropogenic compounds continuously introduced to the environment, novel and proactive approaches that provide a comprehensive alternative to targeted methods are needed in order to more completely characterize the diversity of known and unknown compounds likely to cause adverse effects. Nontargeted mass spectrometry attempts to extensively screen for compounds, providing a feasible approach for identifying contaminants that warrant future monitoring. We employed a nontargeted analytical method using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC/TOF-MS to characterize halogenated organic compounds (HOCs in California Black skimmer (Rynchops niger eggs. Our study identified 111 HOCs; 84 of these compounds were regularly detected via targeted approaches, while 27 were classified as typically unmonitored or unknown. Typically unmonitored compounds of note in bird eggs included tris(4-chlorophenylmethane (TCPM, tris(4-chlorophenylmethanol (TCPMOH, triclosan, permethrin, heptachloro-1'-methyl-1,2'-bipyrrole (MBP, as well as four halogenated unknown compounds that could not be identified through database searching or the literature. The presence of these compounds in Black skimmer eggs suggests they are persistent, bioaccumulative, potentially biomagnifying, and maternally transferring. Our results highlight the utility and importance of employing nontargeted analytical tools to assess true contaminant burdens in organisms, as well as to demonstrate the value in using environmental sentinels to proactively identify novel contaminants.

  9. Patterns and Meanings of English Words through Word Formation Processes of Acronyms, Clipping, Compound and Blending Found in Internet-Based Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rio Rini Diah Moehkardi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to explore the word-formation process in English new words found in the internet-based media through acronym, compound,  clipping and blending and their meanings. This study applies Plag’s (2002 framework of acronym and compound; Jamet’s (2009 framework of clipping, and Algeo’s framework (1977 in Hosseinzadeh  (2014 for blending. Despite the  formula established in each respective framework,  there could be occurrences  of novelty and modification on how words are formed and  how meaning developed in  the newly formed words. The research shows that well accepted acronyms can become real words by taking lower case and affixation. Some acronyms initialized non-lexical words, used non initial letters, and used letters and numbers that pronounced the same with the words they represent. Compounding also includes numbers as the element member of the compound. The nominal nouns are likely to have metaphorical and idiomatic meanings. Some compounds evolve to new and more specific meaning. The study also finds that back-clipping is the most dominant clipping. In blending, the sub-category clipping of blending, the study finds out that when clipping takes place, the non-head element is back-clipped and the head is fore-clipped.

  10. Prediction signatures in the brain: Semantic pre-activation during language comprehension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burkhard Maess

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available There is broad agreement that context-based predictions facilitate lexical-semantic processing. A robust index of semantic prediction during language comprehension is an evoked response, known as the N400, whose amplitude is modulated as a function of semantic context. However, the underlying neural mechanisms that utilize relations of the prior context and the embedded word within it are largely unknown. We measured magnetoencephalography (MEG data while participants were listening to simple German sentences in which the verbs were either highly predictive for the occurrence of a particular noun (i.e., provided context or not. The identical set of nouns was presented in both conditions. Hence, differences for the evoked responses of the nouns can only be due to differences in the earlier context. We observed a reduction of the N400 response for highly predicted nouns. Interestingly, the opposite pattern was observed for the preceding verbs: Highly predictive (that is more informative verbs yielded stronger neural magnitude compared to less predictive verbs. A negative correlation between the N400 effect of the verb and that of the noun was found in a distributed brain network, indicating an integral relation between the predictive power of the verb and the processing of the subsequent noun. This network consisted of left hemispheric superior and middle temporal areas and a subcortical area; the parahippocampus. Enhanced activity for highly predictive relative to less predictive verbs, likely reflects establishing semantic features associated with the expected nouns, that is a pre-activation of the expected nouns.

  11. Software Tools and Approaches for Compound Identification of LC-MS/MS Data in Metabolomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Blaženović

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The annotation of small molecules remains a major challenge in untargeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. We here critically discuss structured elucidation approaches and software that are designed to help during the annotation of unknown compounds. Only by elucidating unknown metabolites first is it possible to biologically interpret complex systems, to map compounds to pathways and to create reliable predictive metabolic models for translational and clinical research. These strategies include the construction and quality of tandem mass spectral databases such as the coalition of MassBank repositories and investigations of MS/MS matching confidence. We present in silico fragmentation tools such as MS-FINDER, CFM-ID, MetFrag, ChemDistiller and CSI:FingerID that can annotate compounds from existing structure databases and that have been used in the CASMI (critical assessment of small molecule identification contests. Furthermore, the use of retention time models from liquid chromatography and the utility of collision cross-section modelling from ion mobility experiments are covered. Workflows and published examples of successfully annotated unknown compounds are included.

  12. Allocating monitoring effort in the face of unknown unknowns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wintle, B.A.; Runge, M.C.; Bekessy, S.A.

    2010-01-01

    There is a growing view that to make efficient use of resources, ecological monitoring should be hypothesis-driven and targeted to address specific management questions. 'Targeted' monitoring has been contrasted with other approaches in which a range of quantities are monitored in case they exhibit an alarming trend or provide ad hoc ecological insights. The second form of monitoring, described as surveillance, has been criticized because it does not usually aim to discern between competing hypotheses, and its benefits are harder to identify a priori. The alternative view is that the existence of surveillance data may enable rapid corroboration of emerging hypotheses or help to detect important 'unknown unknowns' that, if undetected, could lead to catastrophic outcomes or missed opportunities. We derive a model to evaluate and compare the efficiency of investments in surveillance and targeted monitoring. We find that a decision to invest in surveillance monitoring may be defensible if: (1) the surveillance design is more likely to discover or corroborate previously unknown phenomena than a targeted design and (2) the expected benefits (or avoided costs) arising from discovery are substantially higher than those arising from a well-planned targeted design. Our examination highlights the importance of being explicit about the objectives, costs and expected benefits of monitoring in a decision analytic framework. ?? 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

  13. Financial Development and Economic Growth: Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, and Unknown Unknowns

    OpenAIRE

    Ugo Panizza

    2014-01-01

    This paper summarizes the main findings of the literature on the relationship between financial and economic development (the known knowns), points to directions for future research (the known unknowns), and then speculates on the third Rumsfeldian category. The known knowns section organizes the empirical literature on finance and growth into three strands: (i) the traditional literature which established the link between finance and growth; (ii) the new literature which qualified some of th...

  14. Using noun phrases for navigating biomedical literature on Pubmed: how many updates are we losing track of?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srikrishna, Devabhaktuni; Coram, Marc A

    2011-01-01

    Author-supplied citations are a fraction of the related literature for a paper. The "related citations" on PubMed is typically dozens or hundreds of results long, and does not offer hints why these results are related. Using noun phrases derived from the sentences of the paper, we show it is possible to more transparently navigate to PubMed updates through search terms that can associate a paper with its citations. The algorithm to generate these search terms involved automatically extracting noun phrases from the paper using natural language processing tools, and ranking them by the number of occurrences in the paper compared to the number of occurrences on the web. We define search queries having at least one instance of overlap between the author-supplied citations of the paper and the top 20 search results as citation validated (CV). When the overlapping citations were written by same authors as the paper itself, we define it as CV-S and different authors is defined as CV-D. For a systematic sample of 883 papers on PubMed Central, at least one of the search terms for 86% of the papers is CV-D versus 65% for the top 20 PubMed "related citations." We hypothesize these quantities computed for the 20 million papers on PubMed to differ within 5% of these percentages. Averaged across all 883 papers, 5 search terms are CV-D, and 10 search terms are CV-S, and 6 unique citations validate these searches. Potentially related literature uncovered by citation-validated searches (either CV-S or CV-D) are on the order of ten per paper--many more if the remaining searches that are not citation-validated are taken into account. The significance and relationship of each search result to the paper can only be vetted and explained by a researcher with knowledge of or interest in that paper.

  15. Designing towards the unknown

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wilde, Danielle; Underwood, Jenny

    2018-01-01

    the research potential to far-ranging possibilities. In this article we unpack the motivations driving the PKI project. We present our mixed-methodology, which entangles textile crafts, design interactions and materiality to shape an embodied enquiry. Our research outcomes are procedural and methodological......New materials with new capabilities demand new ways of approaching design. Destabilising existing methods is crucial to develop new methods. Yet, radical destabilisation—where outcomes remain unknown long enough that new discoveries become possible—is not easy in technology design where complex......, to design towards unknown outcomes, using unknown materials. The impossibility of this task is proving as useful as it is disruptive. At its most potent, it is destabilising expectations, aesthetics and processes. Keeping the researchers, collaborators and participants in a state of unknowing, is opening...

  16. Recension: Mao - The Unknown Story

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Søren

    2005-01-01

    Anmeldelse - kritisk! - til Sveriges førende Kinatidsskrift af Jung Chang & Jon Halliday's sensationelle "Mao - the Unknown Story".......Anmeldelse - kritisk! - til Sveriges førende Kinatidsskrift af Jung Chang & Jon Halliday's sensationelle "Mao - the Unknown Story"....

  17. Deriving ontological semantic relations between Arabic compound nouns concepts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imen Bouaziz Mezghanni

    2017-04-01

    Experiments carried out on Arabic legal dataset showed that the proposed approach reached encouraging performance through achieving high precision and recall scores. This performance affects positively the retrieval results of legal documents based on a powerful ontology, which presents our main objective.

  18. 184 Compounding in Igala: Defining Criteria, Forms and Functions ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ike Odimegwu

    West Benue-Congo language spoken in north central Nigeria. Defining ..... argues, in Ígálà, ọ́ma 'child', for instance, can stand in for the noun phrase 'ọ́ma óko' 'Oko's .... e.g. 'in Pawnee it is mainly body part words which are incorporated' (c.f. ...

  19. SEM-EDX analysis of an unknown "known" white powder found in a shipping container from Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albright, Douglas C.

    2009-05-01

    In 2008, an unknown white powder was discovered spilled inside of a shipping container of whole kernel corn during an inspection by federal inspectors in the port of Baltimore, Maryland. The container was detained and quarantined while a sample of the powder was collected and sent to a federal laboratory where it was screened using chromatography for the presence of specific poisons and pesticides with negative results. Samples of the corn kernels and the white powder were forwarded to the Food and Drug Administration, Forensic Chemistry Center for further analysis. Stereoscopic Light Microscopy (SLM), Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (SEM/EDX), and Polarized Light Microscopy/Infrared Spectroscopy (PLM-IR) were used in the analysis of the kernels and the unknown powder. Based on the unique particle analysis by SLM and SEM as well as the detection of the presence of aluminum and phosphorous by EDX, the unknown was determined to be consistent with reacted aluminum phosphide (AlP). While commonly known in the agricultural industry, aluminum phosphide is relatively unknown in the forensic community. A history of the use and acute toxicity of this compound along with some very unique SEM/EDX analysis characteristics of aluminum phosphide will be discussed.

  20. Product ion isotopologue pattern: A tool to improve the reliability of elemental composition elucidations of unknown compounds in complex matrices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufmann, A; Walker, S; Mol, G

    2016-04-15

    Elucidation of the elemental compositions of unknown compounds (e.g., in metabolomics) generally relies on the availability of accurate masses and isotopic ratios. This study focuses on the information provided by the abundance ratio within a product ion pair (monoisotopic versus the first isotopic peak) when isolating and fragmenting the first isotopic ion (first isotopic mass spectrum) of the precursor. This process relies on the capability of the quadrupole within the Q Orbitrap instrument to isolate a very narrow mass window. Selecting only the first isotopic peak (first isotopic mass spectrum) leads to the observation of a unique product ion pair. The lighter ion within such an isotopologue pair is monoisotopic, while the heavier ion contains a single carbon isotope. The observed abundance ratio is governed by the percentage of carbon atoms lost during the fragmentation and can be described by a hypergeometric distribution. The observed carbon isotopologue abundance ratio (product ion isotopologue pattern) gives reliable information regarding the percentage of carbon atoms lost in the fragmentation process. It therefore facilitates the elucidation of the involved precursor and product ions. Unlike conventional isotopic abundances, the product ion isotopologue pattern is hardly affected by isobaric interferences. Furthermore, the appearance of these pairs greatly aids in cleaning up a 'matrix-contaminated' product ion spectrum. The product ion isotopologue pattern is a valuable tool for structural elucidation. It increases confidence in results and permits structural elucidations for heavier ions. This tool is also very useful in elucidating the elemental composition of product ions. Such information is highly valued in the field of multi-residue analysis, where the accurate mass of product ions is required for the confirmation process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. GENERATIVE WORDS OF ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH SENTENCE

    OpenAIRE

    Shkelqim Millaku

    2017-01-01

    This studies or the aim of the research is to deals the generative “morphems, words or “simple or compound[1]” sentence. The full congrast of Albanian and English language in this phenomena of generative is in morphology and in syntactic structure. This accepts of studies will comparted, contrasted and generated between two languages. This studies deals with noun (noun phrase), verb (verb phrase) of syntactic structure between Albanian and English language. In both of languages, most linguis...

  2. Tools for language: patterned iconicity in sign language nouns and verbs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padden, Carol; Hwang, So-One; Lepic, Ryan; Seegers, Sharon

    2015-01-01

    When naming certain hand-held, man-made tools, American Sign Language (ASL) signers exhibit either of two iconic strategies: a handling strategy, where the hands show holding or grasping an imagined object in action, or an instrument strategy, where the hands represent the shape or a dimension of the object in a typical action. The same strategies are also observed in the gestures of hearing nonsigners identifying pictures of the same set of tools. In this paper, we compare spontaneously created gestures from hearing nonsigning participants to commonly used lexical signs in ASL. Signers and gesturers were asked to respond to pictures of tools and to video vignettes of actions involving the same tools. Nonsigning gesturers overwhelmingly prefer the handling strategy for both the Picture and Video conditions. Nevertheless, they use more instrument forms when identifying tools in pictures, and more handling forms when identifying actions with tools. We found that ASL signers generally favor the instrument strategy when naming tools, but when describing tools being used by an actor, they are significantly more likely to use more handling forms. The finding that both gesturers and signers are more likely to alternate strategies when the stimuli are pictures or video suggests a common cognitive basis for differentiating objects from actions. Furthermore, the presence of a systematic handling/instrument iconic pattern in a sign language demonstrates that a conventionalized sign language exploits the distinction for grammatical purpose, to distinguish nouns and verbs related to tool use. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  3. The Dangling model in the construction of compound sentences with regard to verb tenses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoud Mehravaran

    2016-02-01

    the mistakes of some of the grammars. This research project has for the first time introduced constructive models of compound sentences in a comprehensive research taking in to account the tense of the verbs. The primary question in this research project is which kind of sentences can be considered as compound and what is the constructive of such a sentence? When defining a compound sentences, grammarians either shave the same beliefs or differ in their ideas. But all grammarians agree to the fact that a compound sentences has more than one verb. Different definitions are due to different criteria adapted in constructing a compound sentences. To construct a noun, and adjective, a verb and a sentence we should take similar and precise criteria to our consideration. In the grammatical units of noun, adjectives, and verbs construction means connecting two or more parts that can convey one similar meaning and its parts are dependent upon one another.  In the construction of compound sentences there must be the same criteria so that its applications can be truly recognized and identified just like the previously mentioned grammatical units. The first step to arrive at a criterion in defining and identifying compound sentences, is to separate this discussion from connective sentences that are relate to each other with connectives are called connective sentences. But sentences which are constructed with dependent making connectives and their parts are dependent upon one another are called compound sentences. Therefore the signs of compound sentences with regard to constructions and the meaning of criterion are as follows: 1 They have more than one verb. 2 The consistence of two or more dependent phrases. 3 Phrases construct a complete sentences all together and convey one similar message. 4 One of the phrases is the main clause and the other one is the subordinate one. 5 The phrases or subordinate clauses can be related to one of the major parts and they can take a

  4. Exploring atypical verb+noun combinations in learner technical writing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María José Luzón Marco

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Professional and academic discourse is characterised by a specific phraseology, which usually poses problems for students. This paper investigates atypical verb+noun collocations in a corpus of English technical writing of Spanish students. I focus on the type of verbs that most frequently occurred in these awkward or questionable combinations and attempt to explore the reasons why the learners deviate from NS's norms. The analysis indicates that these learners tend to have problems with a set of sub-technical and high-frequency verbs. Deviant combinations involving these verbs are frequently the result of a deficient knowledge of the phraseology of academic and technical discourse. The unawareness of collocations that are typical of this discourse often leads students to create V+N combinations by relying on the “Open Choice Principle” (Sinclair, 1991 or by using patterns from their mother tongue.El discurso profesional y académico se caracteriza por una fraseología específica, que suele plantear problemas a los estudiantes. Este artículo investiga colocaciones de verbo+nombre atípicas en un corpus de textos técnicos en inglés escritos por estudiantes españoles. El estudio se centra en los verbos que más frecuentemente aparecen en estas combinaciones atípicas y explora las razones por las que los estudiantes se desvían de la norma. El análisis indica que estos estudiantes suelen tener problemas con un grupo de verbos sub-técnicos y verbos de alta frecuencia. Las combinaciones atípicas en las que estos verbos aparecen son frecuentemente el resultado de un conocimiento deficiente de la fraseología del discurso académico y técnico. El desconocimiento de colocaciones que son típicas de este discurso a menudo lleva a los estudiantes a crear combinaciones basándose en el “principio de opción abierta” (Sinclair, 1991 o a usar colocaciones prestadas de su lengua materna.

  5. Automated procedure for candidate compound selection in GCMS metabolomics based on prediction of Kovats retention index

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mihaleva, V.V.; Verhoeven, H.A.; Vos, de C.H.; Hall, R.D.; Ham, van R.C.H.J.

    2009-01-01

    Motivation: Matching both the retention index (RI) and the mass spectrum of an unknown compound against a mass spectral reference library provides strong evidence for a correct identification of that compound. Data on retention indices are, however, available for only a small fraction of the

  6. Known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns in prokaryotic transposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siguier, Patricia; Gourbeyre, Edith; Chandler, Michael

    2017-08-01

    Although the phenomenon of transposition has been known for over 60 years, its overarching importance in modifying and streamlining genomes took some time to recognize. In spite of a robust understanding of transposition of some TE, there remain a number of important TE groups with potential high genome impact and unknown transposition mechanisms and yet others, only recently identified by bioinformatics, yet to be formally confirmed as mobile. Here, we point to some areas of limited understanding concerning well established important TE groups with DDE Tpases, to address central gaps in our knowledge of characterised Tn with other types of Tpases and finally, to highlight new potentially mobile DNA species. It is not exhaustive. Examples have been chosen to provide encouragement in the continued exploration of the considerable prokaryotic mobilome especially in light of the current threat to public health posed by the spread of multiple Ab R . Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Quantum circuits cannot control unknown operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araújo, Mateus; Feix, Adrien; Costa, Fabio; Brukner, Časlav

    2014-01-01

    One of the essential building blocks of classical computer programs is the ‘if’ clause, which executes a subroutine depending on the value of a control variable. Similarly, several quantum algorithms rely on applying a unitary operation conditioned on the state of a control system. Here we show that this control cannot be performed by a quantum circuit if the unitary is completely unknown. The task remains impossible even if we allow the control to be done modulo a global phase. However, this no-go theorem does not prevent implementing quantum control of unknown unitaries in practice, as any physical implementation of an unknown unitary provides additional information that makes the control possible. We then argue that one should extend the quantum circuit formalism to capture this possibility in a straightforward way. This is done by allowing unknown unitaries to be applied to subspaces and not only to subsystems. (paper)

  8. High-Throughput and Rapid Screening of Low-Mass Hazardous Compounds in Complex Samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jing; Liu, Qian; Gao, Yan; Wang, Yawei; Guo, Liangqia; Jiang, Guibin

    2015-07-07

    Rapid screening and identification of hazardous chemicals in complex samples is of extreme importance for public safety and environmental health studies. In this work, we report a new method for high-throughput, sensitive, and rapid screening of low-mass hazardous compounds in complex media without complicated sample preparation procedures. This method is achieved based on size-selective enrichment on ordered mesoporous carbon followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis with graphene as a matrix. The ordered mesoporous carbon CMK-8 can exclude interferences from large molecules in complex samples (e.g., human serum, urine, and environmental water samples) and efficiently enrich a wide variety of low-mass hazardous compounds. The method can work at very low concentrations down to part per trillion (ppt) levels, and it is much faster and more facile than conventional methods. It was successfully applied to rapidly screen and identify unknown toxic substances such as perfluorochemicals in human serum samples from athletes and workers. Therefore, this method not only can sensitively detect target compounds but also can identify unknown hazardous compounds in complex media.

  9. The fundamentals behind solving for unknown molecular structures using computer-assisted structure elucidation: a free software package at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moser, Arvin; Pautler, Brent G

    2016-05-15

    The successful elucidation of an unknown compound's molecular structure often requires an analyst with profound knowledge and experience of advanced spectroscopic techniques, such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The implementation of Computer-Assisted Structure Elucidation (CASE) software in solving for unknown structures, such as isolated natural products and/or reaction impurities, can serve both as elucidation and teaching tools. As such, the introduction of CASE software with 112 exercises to train students in conjunction with the traditional pen and paper approach will strengthen their overall understanding of solving unknowns and explore of various structural end points to determine the validity of the results quickly. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Arsenic compounds in a marine food chain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goessler, W.; Irgolic, K.J.; Kuehnelt, D.; Schlagenhaufen, C. [Institute for Analytical Chemistry, Karl-Franzens-Universitaet Graz, Universitaetsplatz 1, A-8010 Graz (Austria); Maher, W. [CRC for Freshwater Ecology, University of Canberra, PO Box 1, Belconnen ACT. 2616 (Australia); Kaise, T. [Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, School of Life Science, University of Pharmacy and Life Science, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachijoji, Tokyo 192-03 (Japan)

    1997-10-01

    A three-organism food chain within a rock pool at Rosedale, NSW, Australia, was investigated with respect to arsenic compounds by high performance liquid chromatography - hydraulic high pressure nebulization - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-HHPN-ICP-MS). Total arsenic concentration was determined in the seaweed Hormosira banksii (27.2 {mu}g/g dry mass), in the gastropod Austrocochlea constricta (74.4 {mu}g/g dry mass), which consumes the seaweed, and in the gastropod Morula marginalba (233 {mu}g/g dry mass), which eats Austrocochlea constricta. The major arsenic compounds in the seaweed were (2`R)-dimethyl[1-O-(2`,3`-dihydroxypropyl)-5-deoxy-{beta}-d-ribofuranos-5-yl]arsine oxide and an unidentified compound. The herbivorous gastropod Austrocochlea constricta transformed most of the arsenic taken up with the seaweed to arsenobetaine. Traces of arsenite, arsenate, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenocholine, the tetramethylarsonium cation, and several unknown arsenic compounds were detected. Arsenobetaine accounted for 95% of the arsenic in the carnivorous gastropod Morula marginalba. In Morula marginalba the concentration of arsenocholine was higher, and the concentrations of the minor arsenic compounds lower than in the herbivorous gastropod Austrocochlea constricta. (orig.) With 4 figs., 1 tab., 13 refs.

  11. Key Aroma Compounds in Lippia dulcis (Dushi Button).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Rainer; Cappi, Michael; Pollner, Gwendola; Greger, Veronika

    2018-03-14

    An aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) applied on aroma extracts prepared from the edible flower Dushi Button ( Lippia dulcis) resulted in the detection of 34 odor-active compounds. The highest flavor dilution (FD) factors were determined for methyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, 4-mercapto-4-methyl-2-pentanone, an unknown caramel-like compound, and vanillin. Quantitative measurements performed by application of stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA), followed by a calculation of odor activity values (OAVs), resulted in the revelation of 4-mercapto-4-methyl-2-pentanone, linalool, myrcene, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, methyl 2-methylbutanoate, and ( Z)-3-hexenal as important contributors to the flavor of Dushi Buttons.

  12. A STUDY IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE HINDI VERB.

    Science.gov (United States)

    BAHL, KALI C.

    A CONSTITUENT STRUCTURE OF HINDI WAS FORMULATED TO ACCOUNT FOR THE PHENOMENA OF COMPOUND AND CONJUNCT VERBS IN THE LANGUAGE. THE TRADITIONAL CLASS OF CONJUNCT VERBS OR THE COMPOUND VERBS, CONSISTING OF NOUN OR ADJECTIVE PLUS VERB, WAS REINTERPRETED IN THIS ANALYSIS. THE FOUR SECTIONS OF THE TEXT DEALT WITH (1) THE SUBJECT-PREDICATE KERNEL…

  13. Chinese Unknown Word Recognition for PCFG-LA Parsing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiuping Huang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the recognition of unknown words in Chinese parsing. Two methods are proposed to handle this problem. One is the modification of a character-based model. We model the emission probability of an unknown word using the first and last characters in the word. It aims to reduce the POS tag ambiguities of unknown words to improve the parsing performance. In addition, a novel method, using graph-based semisupervised learning (SSL, is proposed to improve the syntax parsing of unknown words. Its goal is to discover additional lexical knowledge from a large amount of unlabeled data to help the syntax parsing. The method is mainly to propagate lexical emission probabilities to unknown words by building the similarity graphs over the words of labeled and unlabeled data. The derived distributions are incorporated into the parsing process. The proposed methods are effective in dealing with the unknown words to improve the parsing. Empirical results for Penn Chinese Treebank and TCT Treebank revealed its effectiveness.

  14. A significant abiotic pathway for the formation of unknown nitrogen in nature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jokic, A.; Schulten, H.-R.; Cutler, J. N.; Schnitzer, M.; Huang, P. M.

    2004-03-01

    The global nitrogen cycle is of prime importance in natural ecosystems. However, the origin and nature of up to one-half of total soil N remains obscure despite all attempts at elucidation. Our data provide, for the first time, unequivocal evidence that the promoting action of Mn (IV) oxide on the Maillard reaction (sugar-amino acid condensation) under ambient conditions results in the abiotic formation of heterocyclic N compounds, which are often referred to as unknown nitrogen, and of amides which are apparently the dominant N moieties in nature. The information presented is of fundamental significance in understanding the role of mineral colloids in abiotic transformations of organic N moieties, the incorporation of N in the organic matrix of fossil fuels, and the global N cycle.

  15. Effectively identifying compound-protein interactions by learning from positive and unlabeled examples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Zhanzhan; Zhou, Shuigeng; Wang, Yang; Liu, Hui; Guan, Jihong; Chen, Yi-Ping Phoebe

    2016-05-18

    Prediction of compound-protein interactions (CPIs) is to find new compound-protein pairs where a protein is targeted by at least a compound, which is a crucial step in new drug design. Currently, a number of machine learning based methods have been developed to predict new CPIs in the literature. However, as there is not yet any publicly available set of validated negative CPIs, most existing machine learning based approaches use the unknown interactions (not validated CPIs) selected randomly as the negative examples to train classifiers for predicting new CPIs. Obviously, this is not quite reasonable and unavoidably impacts the CPI prediction performance. In this paper, we simply take the unknown CPIs as unlabeled examples, and propose a new method called PUCPI (the abbreviation of PU learning for Compound-Protein Interaction identification) that employs biased-SVM (Support Vector Machine) to predict CPIs using only positive and unlabeled examples. PU learning is a class of learning methods that leans from positive and unlabeled (PU) samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that identifies CPIs using only positive and unlabeled examples. We first collect known CPIs as positive examples and then randomly select compound-protein pairs not in the positive set as unlabeled examples. For each CPI/compound-protein pair, we extract protein domains as protein features and compound substructures as chemical features, then take the tensor product of the corresponding compound features and protein features as the feature vector of the CPI/compound-protein pair. After that, biased-SVM is employed to train classifiers on different datasets of CPIs and compound-protein pairs. Experiments over various datasets show that our method outperforms six typical classifiers, including random forest, L1- and L2-regularized logistic regression, naive Bayes, SVM and k-nearest neighbor (kNN), and three types of existing CPI prediction models. Source code, datasets and

  16. The Dangling model in the construction of compound sentences with regard to verb tenses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoud Mehravaran

    2016-01-01

    the mistakes of some of the grammars. This research project has for the first time introduced constructive models of compound sentences in a comprehensive research taking in to account the tense of the verbs. The primary question in this research project is which kind of sentences can be considered as compound and what is the constructive of such a sentence? When defining a compound sentences, grammarians either shave the same beliefs or differ in their ideas. But all grammarians agree to the fact that a compound sentences has more than one verb. Different definitions are due to different criteria adapted in constructing a compound sentences. To construct a noun, and adjective, a verb and a sentence we should take similar and precise criteria to our consideration. In the grammatical units of noun, adjectives, and verbs construction means connecting two or more parts that can convey one similar meaning and its parts are dependent upon one another.  In the construction of compound sentences there must be the same criteria so that its applications can be truly recognized and identified just like the previously mentioned grammatical units. The first step to arrive at a criterion in defining and identifying compound sentences, is to separate this discussion from connective sentences that are relate to each other with connectives are called connective sentences. But sentences which are constructed with dependent making connectives and their parts are dependent upon one another are called compound sentences. Therefore the signs of compound sentences with regard to constructions and the meaning of criterion are as follows: 1 They have more than one verb. 2 The consistence of two or more dependent phrases. 3 Phrases construct a complete sentences all together and convey one similar message. 4 One of the phrases is the main clause and the other one is the subordinate one. 5 The phrases or subordinate clauses can be related to one of the major parts and they can take a

  17. Mixing positive and negative valence: Affective-semantic integration of bivalent words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhlmann, Michael; Hofmann, Markus J; Briesemeister, Benny B; Jacobs, Arthur M

    2016-08-05

    Single words have affective and aesthetic properties that influence their processing. Here we investigated the processing of a special case of word stimuli that are extremely difficult to evaluate, bivalent noun-noun-compounds (NNCs), i.e. novel words that mix a positive and negative noun, e.g. 'Bombensex' (bomb-sex). In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment we compared their processing with easier-to-evaluate non-bivalent NNCs in a valence decision task (VDT). Bivalent NNCs produced longer reaction times and elicited greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) than non-bivalent words, especially in contrast to words of negative valence. We attribute this effect to a LIFG-grounded process of semantic integration that requires greater effort for processing converse information, supporting the notion of a valence representation based on associations in semantic networks.

  18. Current status and bioanalytical challenges in the detection of unknown anabolic androgenic steroids in doping control analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pozo, Oscar J; De Brabanter, Nik; Fabregat, Andreu; Segura, Jordi; Ventura, Rosa; Van Eenoo, Peter; Deventer, Koen

    2013-11-01

    Androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) are prohibited in sports due to their anabolic effects. Doping control laboratories usually face the screening of AAS misuse by target methods based on MS detection. Although these methods allow for the sensitive and specific detection of targeted compounds and metabolites, the rest remain undetectable. This fact opens a door for cheaters, since different AAS can be synthesized in order to evade doping control tests. This situation was evidenced in 2003 with the discovery of the designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone. One decade after this discovery, the detection of unknown AAS still remains one of the main analytical challenges in the doping control field. In this manuscript, the current situation in the detection of unknown AAS is reviewed. Although important steps have been made in order to minimize this analytical problem and different analytical strategies have been proposed, there are still some drawbacks related to each approach.

  19. Known Unknowns in Judgment and Choice

    OpenAIRE

    Walters, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation investigates how people make inferences about missing information. Whereas most prior literature focuses on how people process known information, I show that the extent to which people make inferences about missing information impacts judgments and choices. Specifically, I investigate how (1) awareness of known unknowns affects overconfidence in judgment in Chapter 1, (2) beliefs about the knowability of unknowns impacts investment strategies in Chapter 2, and (3) inferences...

  20. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for molecular analysis of organic compounds in medicines, tea, and coffee

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Renqi; Bao, Kai; Croue, Jean-Philippe; Ng, Siuchoon

    2013-01-01

    Natural occurring organic compounds from food, natural organic matter, as well as metabolic products have received intense attention in current chemical and biological studies. Examination of unknown compounds in complex sample matrices is hampered

  1. Mobile assistant for unknown caller identification

    OpenAIRE

    Hribernik, Andraž

    2012-01-01

    The main motivation of this diploma thesis is a development of Android application, which helps user of application to find out who is the owner of unknown phone number. Data source for finding unknown phone number are free available web sources. Through the development of prototype, data from different web sources were integrated. Result of this integration is shown in Android application. Data integration includes access to semi-structured data on web portal of Phone Directory of Slovenia, ...

  2. Early sensitivity of left perisylvian cortex to relationality in nouns and verbs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Adina; Reddigari, Samir; Pylkkänen, Liina

    2017-06-01

    The ability to track the relationality of concepts, i.e., their capacity to encode a relationship between entities, is one of the core semantic abilities humans possess. In language processing, we systematically leverage this ability when computing verbal argument structure, in order to link participants to the events they participate in. Previous work has converged on a large region of left posterior perisylvian cortex as a locus for such processing, but the wide range of experimental stimuli and manipulations has yielded an unclear picture of the region's exact role(s). Importantly, there is a tendency for effects of relationality in single-word studies to localize to posterior temporo-parietal cortex, while argument structure effects in sentences appear in left superior temporal cortex. To characterize these sensitivities, we designed two MEG experiments that cross the factors relationality and eventivity. The first used minimal noun phrases and tested for an effect of semantic composition, while the second employed full sentences and a manipulation of grammatical category. The former identified a region of the left inferior parietal lobe sensitive to relationality, but not eventivity or combination, beginning at 170ms. The latter revealed a similarly-timed effect of relationality in left mid-superior temporal cortex, independent of eventivity and category. The results suggest that i) multiple sub-regions of perisylvian cortex are sensitive to the relationality carried by concepts even in the absence of arguments, ii) linguistic context modulates the locus of this sensitivity, consistent with prior studies, and iii) relationality information is accessed early - before 200ms - regardless of the concept's event status or syntactic category. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. InSourcerer: a high-throughput method to search for unknown metabolite modifications by mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mrzic, Aida; Lermyte, Frederik; Vu, Trung Nghia; Valkenborg, Dirk; Laukens, Kris

    2017-09-15

    Using mass spectrometry, the analysis of known metabolite structures has become feasible in a systematic high-throughput fashion. Nevertheless, the identification of previously unknown structures remains challenging, partially because many unidentified variants originate from known molecules that underwent unexpected modifications. Here, we present a method for the discovery of unknown metabolite modifications and conjugate metabolite isoforms in a high-throughput fashion. The method is based on user-controlled in-source fragmentation which is used to induce loss of weakly bound modifications. This is followed by the comparison of product ions from in-source fragmentation and collision-induced dissociation (CID). Diagonal MS 2 -MS 3 matching allows the detection of unknown metabolite modifications, as well as substructure similarities. As the method relies heavily on the advantages of in-source fragmentation and its ability to 'magically' elucidate unknown modification, we have named it inSourcerer as a portmanteau of in-source and sorcerer. The method was evaluated using a set of 15 different cytokinin standards. Product ions from in-source fragmentation and CID were compared. Hierarchical clustering revealed that good matches are due to the presence of common substructures. Plant leaf extract, spiked with a mix of all 15 standards, was used to demonstrate the method's ability to detect these standards in a complex mixture, as well as confidently identify compounds already present in the plant material. Here we present a method that incorporates a classic liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) workflow with fragmentation models and computational algorithms. The assumptions upon which the concept of the method was built were shown to be valid and the method showed that in-source fragmentation can be used to pinpoint structural similarities and indicate the occurrence of a modification. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Characterization of aroma-active compounds in raw and cooked pine-mushrooms (Tricholoma matsutake Sing.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, In Hee; Kim, Se Young; Choi, Hyung-Kyoon; Kim, Young-Suk

    2006-08-23

    The characteristic aroma-active compounds in raw and cooked pine-mushrooms (Tricholoma matsutake Sing.) were investigated by gas chromatography-olfactometry using aroma extract dilution analysis. 1-Octen-3-one (mushroom-like) was the major aroma-active compound in raw pine-mushrooms; this compound had the highest flavor dilution factor, followed by ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (floral and sweet), linalool (citrus-like), methional (boiled potato-like), 3-octanol (mushroom-like and buttery), 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom-like), (E)-2-octen-1-ol (mushroom-like), and 3-octanone (mushroom-like and buttery). By contrast, methional, 2-acetylthiazole (roasted), an unknown compound (chocolate-like), 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (buttery), and phenylacetaldehyde (floral and sweet), which could be formed by diverse thermal reactions during the cooking process, together with C8 compounds, were identified as the major aroma-active compounds in cooked pine-mushrooms.

  5. MoCha: Molecular Characterization of Unknown Pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobo, Daniel; Hammelman, Jennifer; Levin, Michael

    2016-04-01

    Automated methods for the reverse-engineering of complex regulatory networks are paving the way for the inference of mechanistic comprehensive models directly from experimental data. These novel methods can infer not only the relations and parameters of the known molecules defined in their input datasets, but also unknown components and pathways identified as necessary by the automated algorithms. Identifying the molecular nature of these unknown components is a crucial step for making testable predictions and experimentally validating the models, yet no specific and efficient tools exist to aid in this process. To this end, we present here MoCha (Molecular Characterization), a tool optimized for the search of unknown proteins and their pathways from a given set of known interacting proteins. MoCha uses the comprehensive dataset of protein-protein interactions provided by the STRING database, which currently includes more than a billion interactions from over 2,000 organisms. MoCha is highly optimized, performing typical searches within seconds. We demonstrate the use of MoCha with the characterization of unknown components from reverse-engineered models from the literature. MoCha is useful for working on network models by hand or as a downstream step of a model inference engine workflow and represents a valuable and efficient tool for the characterization of unknown pathways using known data from thousands of organisms. MoCha and its source code are freely available online under the GPLv3 license.

  6. In vitro biomonitoring in polar extracts of solid phase matrices reveals the presence of unknown compounds with estrogenic activity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Legler, J.; Leonards, P.E.G.; Spenkelink, A.; Murk, A.J.

    2003-01-01

    Determination of estrogenic activity has so far mainly concentrated on the assessment of compounds in surface water and effluent. This study is one of the first to biomonitor (xeno-)estrogens in sediment, suspended particulate matter and aquatic organisms. The relatively polar acetone extracts from

  7. Compound words prompt arbitrary semantic associations in conceptual memory

    OpenAIRE

    Boutonnet, Bastien; McClain, Rhonda; Thierry, Guillaume

    2014-01-01

    Linguistic relativity theory has received empirical support in domains such as colour perception and object categorisation. It is unknown however, whether relations between words idiosyncratic to language impact nonverbal representations and conceptualisations. For instance, would one consider the concepts of horse and sea as related were it not for the existence of the compound seahorse? Here, we investigated such arbitrary conceptual relationships using a non-linguistic picture relatedness ...

  8. Metagenomic screening for aromatic compound-responsive transcriptional regulators.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taku Uchiyama

    Full Text Available We applied a metagenomics approach to screen for transcriptional regulators that sense aromatic compounds. The library was constructed by cloning environmental DNA fragments into a promoter-less vector containing green fluorescence protein. Fluorescence-based screening was then performed in the presence of various aromatic compounds. A total of 12 clones were isolated that fluoresced in response to salicylate, 3-methyl catechol, 4-chlorocatechol and chlorohydroquinone. Sequence analysis revealed at least 1 putative transcriptional regulator, excluding 1 clone (CHLO8F. Deletion analysis identified compound-specific transcriptional regulators; namely, 8 LysR-types, 2 two-component-types and 1 AraC-type. Of these, 9 representative clones were selected and their reaction specificities to 18 aromatic compounds were investigated. Overall, our transcriptional regulators were functionally diverse in terms of both specificity and induction rates. LysR- and AraC- type regulators had relatively narrow specificities with high induction rates (5-50 fold, whereas two-component-types had wide specificities with low induction rates (3 fold. Numerous transcriptional regulators have been deposited in sequence databases, but their functions remain largely unknown. Thus, our results add valuable information regarding the sequence-function relationship of transcriptional regulators.

  9. Determination of the origin of unknown irradiated nuclear fuel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolaou, G

    2006-01-01

    An isotopic fingerprinting method is presented to determine the origin of unknown nuclear material with forensic importance. Spent nuclear fuel of known origin has been considered as the 'unknown' nuclear material in order to demonstrate the method and verify its prediction capabilities. The method compares, using factor analysis, the measured U, Pu isotopic compositions of the 'unknown' material with U, Pu isotopic compositions simulating well known spent fuels from a range of commercial nuclear power stations. Then, the 'unknown' fuel has the same origin as the commercial fuel with which it exhibits the highest similarity in U, Pu compositions.

  10. Determination of the origin of unknown irradiated nuclear fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicolaou, G.

    2006-01-01

    An isotopic fingerprinting method is presented to determine the origin of unknown nuclear material with forensic importance. Spent nuclear fuel of known origin has been considered as the 'unknown' nuclear material in order to demonstrate the method and verify its prediction capabilities. The method compares, using factor analysis, the measured U, Pu isotopic compositions of the 'unknown' material with U, Pu isotopic compositions simulating well known spent fuels from a range of commercial nuclear power stations. Then, the 'unknown' fuel has the same origin as the commercial fuel with which it exhibits the highest similarity in U, Pu compositions

  11. Function analysis of unknown genes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rogowska-Wrzesinska, A.

    2002-01-01

      This thesis entitled "Function analysis of unknown genes" presents the use of proteome analysis for the characterisation of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) genes and their products (proteins especially those of unknown function). This study illustrates that proteome analysis can be used...... to describe different aspects of molecular biology of the cell, to study changes that occur in the cell due to overexpression or deletion of a gene and to identify various protein modifications. The biological questions and the results of the described studies show the diversity of the information that can...... genes and proteins. It reports the first global proteome database collecting 36 yeast single gene deletion mutants and selecting over 650 differences between analysed mutants and the wild type strain. The obtained results show that two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry based proteome...

  12. Elucidating semantic disorganisation from a word comprehension task: do patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder show differential processing of nouns, verbs and adjectives?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossell, Susan L; Batty, Rachel A

    2008-07-01

    Memory deficits have been reported in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. However, the precise impact of semantic memory deficits on word comprehension, particularly across grammatical categories, has not been adequately investigated in these disorders. Furthermore, previous studies examining semantic memory have predominantly been designed so that most healthy controls perform at ceiling, questioning the validity of observed differences between patient and control groups. A new word definition task examined word comprehension across grammatical categories, i.e. nouns, verbs and adjectives, and was designed to overcome the ceiling effect. It was administered to 32 schizophrenia patients, 28 bipolar disorder patients and 32 matched healthy controls. Schizophrenia patients had a global impairment on the task but bipolar patients were only impaired on a recognition memory component. Word comprehension, however, across grammatical categories was comparable across groups.

  13. Prediction of human population responses to toxic compounds by a collaborative competition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eduati, Federica; Mangravite, Lara M; Wang, Tao; Tang, Hao; Bare, J Christopher; Huang, Ruili; Norman, Thea; Kellen, Mike; Menden, Michael P; Yang, Jichen; Zhan, Xiaowei; Zhong, Rui; Xiao, Guanghua; Xia, Menghang; Abdo, Nour; Kosyk, Oksana; Friend, Stephen; Dearry, Allen; Simeonov, Anton; Tice, Raymond R; Rusyn, Ivan; Wright, Fred A; Stolovitzky, Gustavo; Xie, Yang; Saez-Rodriguez, Julio

    2015-09-01

    The ability to computationally predict the effects of toxic compounds on humans could help address the deficiencies of current chemical safety testing. Here, we report the results from a community-based DREAM challenge to predict toxicities of environmental compounds with potential adverse health effects for human populations. We measured the cytotoxicity of 156 compounds in 884 lymphoblastoid cell lines for which genotype and transcriptional data are available as part of the Tox21 1000 Genomes Project. The challenge participants developed algorithms to predict interindividual variability of toxic response from genomic profiles and population-level cytotoxicity data from structural attributes of the compounds. 179 submitted predictions were evaluated against an experimental data set to which participants were blinded. Individual cytotoxicity predictions were better than random, with modest correlations (Pearson's r < 0.28), consistent with complex trait genomic prediction. In contrast, predictions of population-level response to different compounds were higher (r < 0.66). The results highlight the possibility of predicting health risks associated with unknown compounds, although risk estimation accuracy remains suboptimal.

  14. Organizational Conditions for Dealing with The Unknown Unknown Illustrated by how a Dutch water management authority is preparing for climate change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Termeer, Catrien J. A. M.; van den Brink, Margo A.

    2013-01-01

    The central question of this article is the extent to which organizations, governmental authorities in particular, are able to deal with the unknown unknown. Drawing on Weick's work on sensemaking, we introduce seven organizational conditions that can facilitate organizations to be reliable under

  15. Investigations of the nuclear magnetic resonance of phosphorus compounds. XXXII. Borontrifluoride adducts of some methylenephosphoranes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fluck, E; Bayha, H; Heckmann, G [Stuttgart Univ. (TH) (Germany F.R.). Inst. fuer Anorganische Chemie

    1976-03-01

    The synthesis of the hitherto unknown BF/sub 3/ adducts of trimethyl- and triethyl-methylenephosphorane is described. The /sup 31/P-, /sup 11/B-, /sup 19/F- and /sup 1/H-nmr spectra of these compounds are reported and interpreted.

  16. Unknown foundation determination for scour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-01

    Unknown foundations affect about 9,000 bridges in Texas. For bridges over rivers, this creates a problem : regarding scour decisions as the calculated scour depth cannot be compared to the foundation depth, and a : very conservative costly approach m...

  17. Compound words prompt arbitrary semantic associations in conceptual memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bastien eBoutonnet

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Linguistic relativity theory has received empirical support in domains such as colour perception and object categorisation. It is unknown however, whether relations between words idiosyncratic to language impact nonverbal representations and conceptualisations. For instance, would one consider the concepts of horse and sea as related were it not for the existence of the compound seahorse? Here, we investigated such arbitrary conceptual relationships using a non-linguistic picture relatedness task in participants undergoing event-related brain potential recordings. Picture pairs arbitrarily related because of a compound and presented in the compound order elicited N400 amplitudes similar to unrelated pairs. Surprisingly, however, pictures presented in the reverse order (as in the sequence horse – sea reduced N400 amplitudes significantly, demonstrating the existence of a link in memory between these two concepts otherwise unrelated. These results break new ground in the domain of linguistic relativity by revealing predicted semantic associations driven by lexical relations intrinsic to language.

  18. Organizational conditions for dealing with the unknown unknown : illustrated by how a Dutch water management authority is preparing for climate change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Termeer, C.J.A.M.; Brink, van den M.A.

    2013-01-01

    The central question of this article is the extent to which organizations, governmental authorities in particular, are able to deal with the unknown unknown. Drawing on Weick’s work on sensemaking, we introduce seven organizational conditions that can facilitate organizations to be reliable under

  19. Determination of volatile compounds by gas liquid chromatography in tropical fruit, guava (psidium guajav L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, A.; Zeb-un-Nisa; Asi, M. R.; Ahmad, R.; Iqbal, Z.; Maqbool, A. B.

    2002-01-01

    Volatile flavor components from both white and pink guava fruits were collected using Likens-Nickerson concurrent Distillation Extraction method and were analyzed by GC/FID. In the essence collected by using likens-Nickerson concurrent distillation extraction apparatus, 23 compounds were present in white guava fruit, of which 11 compounds (furfural, alpha-pinene, trans-2-hexene-1-ol, 2-heptanone, benzaldehyde, hexyl acetate Beta-ionone, limonene, 2-nonanone, cinamyl acetate and octyl acetate) were identified. Similarly for pink guava fruit, 13 compounds out of 29 compounds were identified by comparing retention times of unknown with that of standard compounds and sniffing at the odour port. These were hexanal, furfural, 2-heptanone, benzaldehyde, methyl furfural hexyl acetate, beta-ionone, alpha-pinene, 2-nonanone, limonene, cinnamyl acetate, ethyl undecanoate and octyl acetate. (author)

  20. Frequency and Severity of Neutropenia Associated with Food and Drug Administration Approved and Compounded Formulations of Lomustine in Dogs with Cancer

    OpenAIRE

    Burton, J.H.; Stanley, S.D.; Knych, H.K.; Rodriguez, C.O.; Skorupski, K.A.; Rebhun, R.B.

    2015-01-01

    Background Compounded lomustine is used commonly in veterinary patients. However, the potential variability in these formulations is unknown and concern exists that compounded formulations of drugs may differ in potency from Food and Drug Administration (FDA)?approved products. Hypothesis/Objectives The initial objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency and severity of neutropenia in dogs treated with compounded or FDA?approved formulations of lomustine. Subsequent analyses aimed t...

  1. A new standardless quantitative electron probe microanalysis technique applied to III-V compound semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zangalis, K.P.; Christou, A.

    1982-01-01

    The present paper introduces a new standardless quantitative scheme for off-line electron microprobe analysis applications. The analysis is based on standard equations of the type Isub(i)=Csub(i)fsub(ZAF)βsub(i) and is specifically suitable for compound semiconductors. The roots to the resultant nth-degree polynomial are the unknown concentrations. Methods for computing Csub(i) when coefficients βsub(i) are unknown are also outlined. Applications of standardless analysis to GaAs and InP specimens are compared with results obtained by Auger electron spectroscopy and quantitative electron probe analysis with standards. (Auth.)

  2. Imidazopyridine Compounds Inhibit Mycobacterial Growth by Depleting ATP Levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Malley, Theresa; Alling, Torey; Early, Julie V; Wescott, Heather A; Kumar, Anuradha; Moraski, Garrett C; Miller, Marvin J; Masquelin, Thierry; Hipskind, Philip A; Parish, Tanya

    2018-06-01

    The imidazopyridines are a promising new class of antitubercular agents with potent activity in vitro and in vivo We isolated mutants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to a representative imidazopyridine; the mutants had large shifts (>20-fold) in MIC. Whole-genome sequencing revealed mutations in Rv1339, a hypothetical protein of unknown function. We isolated mutants resistant to three further compounds from the series; resistant mutants isolated from two of the compounds had single nucleotide polymorphisms in Rv1339 and resistant mutants isolated from the third compound had single nucleotide polymorphisms in QcrB, the proposed target for the series. All the strains were resistant to two compounds, regardless of the mutation, and a strain carrying the QcrB T313I mutation was resistant to all of the imidazopyridine derivatives tested, confirming cross-resistance. By monitoring pH homeostasis and ATP generation, we confirmed that compounds from the series were targeting QcrB; imidazopyridines disrupted pH homeostasis and depleted ATP, providing further evidence of an effect on the electron transport chain. A representative compound was bacteriostatic against replicating bacteria, consistent with a mode of action against QcrB. The series had a narrow inhibitory spectrum, with no activity against other bacterial species. No synergy or antagonism was seen with other antituberculosis drugs under development. In conclusion, our data support the hypothesis that the imidazopyridine series functions by reducing ATP generation via inhibition of QcrB. Copyright © 2018 O'Malley et al.

  3. One-nucleon pickup reactions and compound-nuclear decays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escher, J. E.; Burke, J. T.; Casperson, R. J.; Hughes, R. O.; Scielzo, N. D.

    2018-05-01

    One-nucleon transfer reactions, long used as a tool to study the structure of nuclei, are potentially valuable for determining reaction cross sections indirectly. This is significant, as many reactions of interest to astrophysics and other applications involve short-lived isotopes and cannot be measured directly. We describe a procedure for obtaining constraints for calculations of neutron capture cross sections using observables from experiments with transfer reactions. As a first step toward demonstrating the method, we outline the theory developments used to properly describe the production of the compound nucleus 88Y* via the one-nucleon pickup reaction 89Y(p,d)88Y* and test the description with data from a recent experiment. We indicate how this development can be used to extract the unknown 87Y(n,γ) cross section from 89Y(p,dγ) data. The example illustrates a more generally applicable method for determining unknown cross sections via a combination of theory and transfer (or inelastic scattering) experiments.

  4. Flavoring Compounds Dominate Toxic Aldehyde Production during E-Cigarette Vaping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khlystov, Andrey; Samburova, Vera

    2016-12-06

    The growing popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) raises concerns about the possibility of adverse health effects to primary users and people exposed to e-cigarette vapors. E-Cigarettes offer a very wide variety of flavors, which is one of the main factors that attract new, especially young, users. How flavoring compounds in e-cigarette liquids affect the chemical composition and toxicity of e-cigarette vapors is practically unknown. Although e-cigarettes are marketed as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes, several studies have demonstrated formation of toxic aldehydes in e-cigarette vapors during vaping. So far, aldehyde formation has been attributed to thermal decomposition of the main components of e-cigarette e-liquids (propylene glycol and glycerol), while the role of flavoring compounds has been ignored. In this study, we have measured several toxic aldehydes produced by three popular brands of e-cigarettes with flavored and unflavored e-liquids. We show that, within the tested e-cigarette brands, thermal decomposition of flavoring compounds dominates formation of aldehydes during vaping, producing levels that exceed occupational safety standards. Production of aldehydes was found to be exponentially dependent on concentration of flavoring compounds. These findings stress the need for a further, thorough investigation of the effect of flavoring compounds on the toxicity of e-cigarettes.

  5. [Application of precursor ion scanning method in rapid screening of illegally added phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors and their unknown derivatives in Chinese traditional patent medicines and health foods].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jing; Cao, Ling; Feng, Youlong; Tan, Li

    2014-11-01

    The compounds with similar structure often have similar pharmacological activities. So it is a trend for illegal addition that new derivatives of effective drugs are synthesized to avoid the statutory test. This bring challenges to crack down on illegal addition behavior, however, modified derivatives usually have similar product ions, which allow for precursor ion scanning. In this work, precursor ion scanning mode of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer was first applied to screen illegally added drugs in complex matrix such as Chinese traditional patent medicines and healthy foods. Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors were used as experimental examples. Through the analysis of the structure and mass spectrum characteristics of the compounds, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors were classified, and their common product ions were screened by full scan of product ions of typical compounds. Then high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method with precursor ion scanning mode was established based on the optimization of MS parameters. The effect of mass parameters and the choice of fragment ions were also studied. The method was applied to determine actual samples and further refined. The results demonstrated that this method can meet the need of rapid screening of unknown derivatives of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors in complex matrix, and prevent unknown derivatives undetected. This method shows advantages in sensitivity, specificity and efficiency, and is worth to be further investigated.

  6. Classification of Unknown Thermocouple Types Using Similarity Factor Measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seshu K. DAMARLA

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In contrast to classification using PCA method, a new methodology is proposed for type identification of unknown thermocouple. The new methodology is based on calculating the degree of similarity between two multivariate datasets using two types of similarity factors. One similarity factor is based on principle component analysis and the angles between the principle component subspaces while the other is based on the Mahalanobis distance between the datasets. Datasets containing thermo-emfs against given temperature ranges are formed for each type of thermocouple (e.g. J, K, S, T, R, E, B and N type by experimentation are considered as reference datasets. Datasets corresponding to unknown type are captured. Similarity factor between the datasets one of which being the unknown type and the other being each known type are compared. When maximum similarity factor occurs, then the class of unknown type is allocated to that of known type.

  7. Co-cultivation of Streptomyces californicus and Stachybotrys chartarum stimulates the production of cytostatic compound(s) with immunotoxic properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penttinen, Piia; Pelkonen, Jukka; Huttunen, Kati; Hirvonen, Maija-Riitta

    2006-01-01

    We have recently shown that the actinobacterium Streptomyces californicus and the fungus Stachybotrys chartarum originating from moisture damaged buildings possess both immunotoxic and immunostimulatory characteristics, which are synergistically potentiated by microbial interaction. In the search for the causative agent(s) behind the immunotoxicity, the cytostatic effects of the co-cultivated spores of S. californicus and S. chartarum were compared to those caused by widely used cytostatic agents produced by streptomycetes. The RAW264.7 macrophages were exposed to four doses of doxorubicin (DOX), actinomycin D (AMD), mitomycin C (MMC) or phleomycin (PHLEO) for 24 h. Kinetics of the spores of the co-cultivated and the separately cultivated microbes (1 x 10 6 spores/ml) was compared to DOX (0.15 μM). Apoptotic responses were analyzed by measuring DNA content and mitochondria membrane depolarization with flow cytometer, and by the fluorometric caspase-3 assay. The present data indicate that interactions during co-cultivation of S. californicus and S. chartarum stimulate the production of an unidentified cytostatic compound(s) capable of inducing mitochondria mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at S-G 2 /M. The spores of co-cultivated microbes caused a 4-fold collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential and an almost 6-fold caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation when compared to control. Similar responses were induced by DNA cleaving compounds, especially DOX and AMD, at the relatively low concentrations, but not the spores of the same microbes when they were grown separately. These data suggest that when growing in the same habitat, interactions between S. californicus and S. chartarum stimulates the production of an unknown cytostatic compound(s) which evoke immunotoxic effects similar to those by chemotherapeutic drugs

  8. Fungal volatile compounds induce production of the secondary metabolite Sodorifen in Serratia plymuthica PRI-2C

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schmidt, R.L.; de Jager, V.C.L.; Zühlke, D.; Wolff, C.; Bernhardt, J.; Cankar, Katarina; Beekwilder, J.; van Ijcken, W.; Sleutels, Frank; De Boer, W.; Riedel, K.; Garbeva, P.V.

    2017-01-01

    The ability of bacteria and fungi to communicate with each other is a remarkable aspect of the microbial world. It is recognized that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) act as communication signals, however the molecular responses by bacteria to fungal VOCs remain unknown. Here we perform

  9. A qualitative study of amlodipine and its related compounds by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbons, John; Pugh, Jonathan; Dimopoulos-Italiano, Gina; Pike, Richard

    2006-01-01

    A comprehensive structural analysis of amlodipine and certain related compounds was performed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Triple quadrupole and quadrupole time-of-flight instruments were used to provide collision-induced dissociation and accurate mass measurement for selected product and second-generation product ions. A unique ion rearrangement was observed, which was found to be characteristic of certain dihydropyridines. This study provides a fundamental understanding of the fragmentation of these compounds. The structural elucidation of an unknown impurity is presented as an example. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. The prey’s scent – Volatile organic compound mediated interactions between soil bacteria and their protist predators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schulz, K.B.; Geisen, Stefan; Wubs, E.R.J.; Song, C.; Boer, de W.; Garbeva, Paolina

    2017-01-01

    Protists are major predators of bacteria in soils. However, it remains unknown how protists sense their prey in this highly complex environment. Here, we investigated whether volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of six phylogenetic distinct soil bacteria affect the performance of three different soil

  11. Fungal volatile compounds induce production of the secondary metabolite Sodorifen in Serratia plymuthica PRI-2C

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schmidt, R. (Ruth); V. de Jager (Victor); Zühlke, D. (Daniela); Wolff, C. (Christian); J. Bernhardt (Jörg); Cankar, K. (Katarina); Beekwilder, J. (Jules); W.F.J. van IJcken (Wilfred); F. Sleutels (Frank); De Boer, W. (Wietse); Riedel, K. (Katharina); Garbeva, P. (Paolina)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractThe ability of bacteria and fungi to communicate with each other is a remarkable aspect of the microbial world. It is recognized that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) act as communication signals, however the molecular responses by bacteria to fungal VOCs remain unknown. Here we perform

  12. Multifocal, chronic osteomyelitis of unknown etiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlowski, K.; Beluffi, G.; Feltham, C.; James, M.; Nespoli, L.; Tamaela, L.; Pavia Univ.; Municipal Hospital, Nelson; Medical School, Jakarta

    1985-01-01

    Four cases of multifocal osteomyelitis of unknown origin in childhood are reported. The variable clinical and radiographic appearances of the disease are illustrated and the diagnostic difficulties in the early stages of the disease are stressed. (orig.) [de

  13. Direct current induced short-term modulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while learning auditory presented nouns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meyer Martin

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the contribution of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS to the exploration of memory functions. The aim of the present study was to examine the behavioural effects of right or left-hemisphere frontal direct current delivery while committing to memory auditory presented nouns on short-term learning and subsequent long-term retrieval. Methods Twenty subjects, divided into two groups, performed an episodic verbal memory task during anodal, cathodal and sham current application on the right or left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC. Results Our results imply that only cathodal tDCS elicits behavioural effects on verbal memory performance. In particular, left-sided application of cathodal tDCS impaired short-term verbal learning when compared to the baseline. We did not observe tDCS effects on long-term retrieval. Conclusion Our results imply that the left DLPFC is a crucial area involved in short-term verbal learning mechanisms. However, we found further support that direct current delivery with an intensity of 1.5 mA to the DLPFC during short-term learning does not disrupt longer lasting consolidation processes that are mainly known to be related to mesial temporal lobe areas. In the present study, we have shown that the tDCS technique has the potential to modulate short-term verbal learning mechanism.

  14. Protocol for counterfactually transporting an unknown qubit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hatim eSalih

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Quantum teleportation circumvents the uncertainty principle using dual channels: a quantum one consisting of previously-shared entanglement, and a classical one, together allowing the disembodied transport of an unknown quantum state over distance. It has recently been shown that a classical bit can be counterfactually communicated between two parties in empty space, Alice and Bob. Here, by using our dual version of the chained quantum Zeno effect to achieve a counterfactual CNOT gate, we propose a protocol for transporting an unknown qubit counterfactually, that is without any physical particles travelling between Alice and Bob—no classical channel and no previously-shared entanglement.

  15. Fever of unknown origin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Misaki, Takashi; Matsui, Akira; Tanaka, Fumiko; Okuno, Yoshishige; Mitsumori, Michihide; Torizuka, Tatsurou; Dokoh, Shigeharu; Hayakawa, Katsumi; Shimbo, Shin-ichirou

    1990-01-01

    Gallium-67 scintigraphy is a commonly performed imaging modality in deteting pyrogenic lesions in cases of long-standing inexplainable fever. To re-evaluate the significance of gallium imaging in such cases, a retrospective review was made of 56 scans performed in febrile patients in whom sufficient clinical and laboratory findings were obtained. Gallium scans were true positive in 30 patients, false positive in 3, true negative in 19, and false negative in 4. In the group of true positive, local inflammatory lesions were detected in 23 patients with a final diagnosis of lung tuberculosis, urinary tract infection, and inflammatory joint disease. Abnormal gallium accumulation, as shown in the other 7 patients, provided clues to the diagnosis of generalized disorders, such as hematological malignancies (n=3), systemic autoimmune diseases (n=3), and severe infectious mononucleosis (n=one). In the group of false positive, gallium imaging revealed intestinal excretion of gallium in 2 patients and physiological pulmonary hilar accumulation in one. In the true negative group of 19 patients, fever of unknown origin was resolved spontaneously in 12 patients, and with antibiotics and corticosteroids in 2 and 5 patients, respectively. Four patients having false negative scans were finally diagnosed as having urinary tract infection (n=2), bacterial meningitis (n=one), and polyarteritis (n=one). Gallium imaging would remain the technique of choice in searching for origin of unknown fever. It may also be useful for early diagnosis of systemic disease, as well as focal inflammation. (N.K.)

  16. Using multiple criteria for fingerprinting unknown oil samples having very similar chemical composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Z.; Fingas, M.F.; Sigouin, L.

    2002-01-01

    A study was conducted in which 3 mystery oil samples from Quebec were fingerprinted using a multi-criterion approach. The three objectives of the study were to determine the nature and the type of product, to obtain the detailed hydrocarbon composition of the samples, and to determine if the samples came from the same source. The product type was first determined by identifying the hydrocarbon distribution patterns. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) profiles were then compared and then the conclusions were verified by quantifying biomarkers and by determining several diagnostic ratios of source-specific marker compounds. Additives in the oil were also identified. The samples were analyzed using gas chromatography combined with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), and by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It was determined that the 3 oils were probably hydraulic-fluid type oil. They were very pure, and composed mostly of saturated hydrocarbons with the total aromatics being 4 to 10 per cent of the total petroleum hydrocarbon. Although it was determined that the oils were mixtures of 2 different hydraulic fluids, there was no clear indication if they had been weathered. The PAH concentration was very low, while the biomarker concentration was very high. Three unknown compounds (antioxidants) were positively identified. Two of the samples came from the same source. One of the samples had similar group hydrocarbon composition but it was not identical in chemical composition and did not come from the same source. 34 refs., 3 tabs., 6 figs

  17. Identification of a New Antibacterial Sulfur Compound from Raphanus sativus Seeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeries Jadoun

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Raphanus sativus L. (radish, a member of Brassicaceae, is widely used in traditional medicine in various cultures for treatment of several diseases and disorders associated with microbial infections. The antibacterial activity of the different plant parts has been mainly attributed to several isothiocyanate (ITC compounds. However, the low correlation between the ITC content and antibacterial activity suggests the involvement of other unknown compounds. The objective of this study was to investigate the antibacterial potential of red radish seeds and identify the active compounds. A crude ethanol seed extract was prepared and its antibacterial activity was tested against five medically important bacteria. The ethanol extract significantly inhibited the growth of all tested strains. However, the inhibitory effect was more pronounced against Streptococcus pyogenes and Escherichia coli. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the ethanol extract followed by HPLC, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 15N-NMR, and HMBC analysis revealed that the active fraction consisted of a single new compound identified as [5-methylsulfinyl-1-(4-methylsulfinyl-but-3-enyl-pent-4-enylidene]-sulfamic acid, which consisted of two identical sulfur side chains similar to those found in ITCs. The minimal inhibitory concentration values of the isolated compound were in the range of 0.5–1 mg/mL. These results further highlight the role of radish as a rich source of antibacterial compounds.

  18. Identifying anthropogenic uranium compounds using soft X-ray near-edge absorption spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, Jesse D.; Bowden, Mark; Tom Resch, C.; Eiden, Gregory C.; Pemmaraju, C. D.; Prendergast, David; Duffin, Andrew M.

    2017-01-01

    Uranium ores mined for industrial use are typically acid-leached to produce yellowcake and then converted into uranium halides for enrichment and purification. These anthropogenic chemical forms of uranium are distinct from their mineral counterparts. The purpose of this study is to use soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy to characterize several common anthropogenic uranium compounds important to the nuclear fuel cycle. Non-destructive chemical analyses of these compounds is important for process and environmental monitoring and X-ray absorption techniques have several advantages in this regard, including element-specificity, chemical sensitivity, and high spectral resolution. Oxygen K-edge spectra were collected for uranyl nitrate, uranyl fluoride, and uranyl chloride, and fluorine K-edge spectra were collected for uranyl fluoride and uranium tetrafluoride. Interpretation of the data is aided by comparisons to calculated spectra. These compounds have unique spectral signatures that can be used to identify unknown samples.

  19. HFE C282Y/H63D Compound Heterozygotes Are at Low Risk of Hemochromatosis-Related Morbidity

    OpenAIRE

    Gurrin, Lyle C.; Bertalli, Nadine A.; Dalton, Gregory W.; Osborne, Nicholas J.; Constantine, Clare C.; McLaren, Christine E.; English, Dallas R.; Gertig, Dorota M.; Delatycki, Martin B.; Nicoll, Amanda J.; Southey, Melissa C.; Hopper, John L.; Giles, Graham G.; Anderson, Gregory J.; Olynyk, John K.

    2009-01-01

    The risk of hemochromatosis-related morbidity is unknown among HFE compound heterozygotes (C282Y/H63D). We used a prospective population-based cohort study to estimate the prevalence of elevated iron indices and hemochromatosis-related morbidity for compound heterozygotes. In all, 31,192 subjects of northern European descent were genotyped for HFE C282Y and H63D. An HFE-genotype stratified random sample of 1,438 subjects, followed for an average of 12 years to a mean age of 65 years, complete...

  20. Quantum jointly assisted cloning of an unknown three-dimensional equatorial state

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Peng-Cheng; Chen, Gui-Bin; Li, Xiao-Wei; Zhan, You-Bang

    2018-02-01

    We present two schemes for perfectly cloning an unknown single-qutrit equatorial state with assistance from two and N state preparers, respectively. In the first scheme, the sender wishes to teleport an unknown single-qutrit equatorial state from two state preparers to a remote receiver, and then to create a perfect copy of the unknown state at her location. The scheme consists of two stages. The first stage of the scheme requires the usual teleportation. In the second stage, to help the sender realize the quantum cloning, two state preparers perform single-qutrit projective measurements on their own qutrits from the sender, then the sender can acquire a perfect copy of the unknown state. It is shown that, only if the two state preparers collaborate with each other, the sender can create a copy of the unknown state by means of some appropriate unitary operations. In the second scheme, we generalized the jointly assisted cloning in the first scheme to the case of N state prepares. In the present schemes, the total probability of success for assisted cloning of a perfect copy of the unknown state can reach 1.

  1. Iterative Selection of Unknown Weights in Direct Weight Optimization Identification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao Xuan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available To the direct weight optimization identification of the nonlinear system, we add some linear terms about input sequences in the former linear affine function so as to approximate the nonlinear property. To choose the two classes of unknown weights in the more linear terms, this paper derives the detailed process on how to choose these unknown weights from theoretical analysis and engineering practice, respectively, and makes sure of their key roles between the unknown weights. From the theoretical analysis, the added unknown weights’ auxiliary role can be known in the whole process of approximating the nonlinear system. From the practical analysis, we learn how to transform one complex optimization problem to its corresponding common quadratic program problem. Then, the common quadratic program problem can be solved by the basic interior point method. Finally, the efficiency and possibility of the proposed strategies can be confirmed by the simulation results.

  2. Chaos Synchronization Based on Unknown Input Proportional Multiple-Integral Fuzzy Observer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Youssef

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an unknown input Proportional Multiple-Integral Observer (PIO for synchronization of chaotic systems based on Takagi-Sugeno (TS fuzzy chaotic models subject to unmeasurable decision variables and unknown input. In a secure communication configuration, this unknown input is regarded as a message encoded in the chaotic system and recovered by the proposed PIO. Both states and outputs of the fuzzy chaotic models are subject to polynomial unknown input with kth derivative zero. Using Lyapunov stability theory, sufficient design conditions for synchronization are proposed. The PIO gains matrices are obtained by resolving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs constraints. Simulation results show through two TS fuzzy chaotic models the validity of the proposed method.

  3. Characterizing unknown systematics in large scale structure surveys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, Nishant; Ho, Shirley; Myers, Adam D.; Seo, Hee-Jong; Ross, Ashley J.; Bahcall, Neta; Brinkmann, Jonathan; Eisenstein, Daniel J.; Muna, Demitri; Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie; Yèche, Christophe; Pâris, Isabelle; Petitjean, Patrick; Schneider, Donald P.; Streblyanska, Alina; Weaver, Benjamin A.

    2014-01-01

    Photometric large scale structure (LSS) surveys probe the largest volumes in the Universe, but are inevitably limited by systematic uncertainties. Imperfect photometric calibration leads to biases in our measurements of the density fields of LSS tracers such as galaxies and quasars, and as a result in cosmological parameter estimation. Earlier studies have proposed using cross-correlations between different redshift slices or cross-correlations between different surveys to reduce the effects of such systematics. In this paper we develop a method to characterize unknown systematics. We demonstrate that while we do not have sufficient information to correct for unknown systematics in the data, we can obtain an estimate of their magnitude. We define a parameter to estimate contamination from unknown systematics using cross-correlations between different redshift slices and propose discarding bins in the angular power spectrum that lie outside a certain contamination tolerance level. We show that this method improves estimates of the bias using simulated data and further apply it to photometric luminous red galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as a case study

  4. Characterizing unknown systematics in large scale structure surveys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agarwal, Nishant; Ho, Shirley [McWilliams Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (United States); Myers, Adam D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 (United States); Seo, Hee-Jong [Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, LBL and Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Ross, Ashley J. [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX (United Kingdom); Bahcall, Neta [Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Brinkmann, Jonathan [Apache Point Observatory, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM 88349 (United States); Eisenstein, Daniel J. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Muna, Demitri [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie; Yèche, Christophe [CEA, Centre de Saclay, Irfu/SPP, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Pâris, Isabelle [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago (Chile); Petitjean, Patrick [Université Paris 6 et CNRS, Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis blvd. Arago, 75014 Paris (France); Schneider, Donald P. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Streblyanska, Alina [Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Weaver, Benjamin A., E-mail: nishanta@andrew.cmu.edu [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003 (United States)

    2014-04-01

    Photometric large scale structure (LSS) surveys probe the largest volumes in the Universe, but are inevitably limited by systematic uncertainties. Imperfect photometric calibration leads to biases in our measurements of the density fields of LSS tracers such as galaxies and quasars, and as a result in cosmological parameter estimation. Earlier studies have proposed using cross-correlations between different redshift slices or cross-correlations between different surveys to reduce the effects of such systematics. In this paper we develop a method to characterize unknown systematics. We demonstrate that while we do not have sufficient information to correct for unknown systematics in the data, we can obtain an estimate of their magnitude. We define a parameter to estimate contamination from unknown systematics using cross-correlations between different redshift slices and propose discarding bins in the angular power spectrum that lie outside a certain contamination tolerance level. We show that this method improves estimates of the bias using simulated data and further apply it to photometric luminous red galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey as a case study.

  5. Bioactive Compounds of Blueberries: Post-Harvest Factors Influencing the Nutritional Value of Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalska, Anna; Łysiak, Grzegorz

    2015-08-10

    Blueberries, besides having commonly-recognized taste properties, are also a valuable source of health-promoting bioactive compounds. For several decades, blueberries have gained in popularity all over the world, and recent years have seen not only an increase in fresh consumption, but also in the importance of blueberries for the processing industry. Blueberry processing mostly consists of freezing and juicing. Recently, more attention has been drawn to dewatering and drying, which are promising areas for developing novel blueberry products. Processing affects each biologically-active compound in a different way, and it is still unknown what changes those compounds undergo at the molecular level after the application of different processing technologies. This work presents the most recent state of knowledge about the pre-treatment and processing methods applied to blueberries and their influence on the content of biologically-active compounds. The presentation of methods is preceded by a brief overview of the characteristics of the blueberry species, a description of the chemical composition of the fruit and a short note about the main growing areas, production volumes and the management of fruit crops.

  6. Lenses matching of compound eye for target positioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Fang; Zheng, Yan Pei; Wang, Keyi

    2012-10-01

    Compound eye, as a new imaging method with multi-lens for a large field of view, could complete target positioning and detection fastly, especially at close range. Therefore it could be applicated in the fields of military and medical treatment and aviation with vast market potential and development prospect. Yet the compound eye imaging method designed use three layer construction of multiple lens array arranged in a curved surface and refractive lens and imaging sensor of CMOS. In order to simplify process structure and increase the imaging area of every sub-eye, the imaging area of every eye is coved with the whole CMOS. Therefore, for several imaging point of one target, the corresponding lens of every imaging point is unkonown, and thus to identify. So an algorithm was put forward. Firstly, according to the Regular Geometry relationship of several adjacent lenses, data organization of seven lenses with a main lens was built. Subsequently, by the data organization, when one target was caught by several unknown lenses, we search every combined type of the received lenses. And for every combined type, two lenses were selected to combine and were used to calculate one three-dimensional (3D) coordinate of the target. If the 3D coordinates are same to the some combine type of the lenses numbers, in theory, the lenses and the imaging points are matched. So according to error of the 3D coordinates is calculated by the different seven lenses numbers combines, the unknown lenses could be distinguished. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm is feasible and can complete matching task for imaging points and corresponding lenses.

  7. Robust Fault Detection for Switched Fuzzy Systems With Unknown Input.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jian; Zhang, Huaguang; Wang, Yingchun; Sun, Xun

    2017-10-03

    This paper investigates the fault detection problem for a class of switched nonlinear systems in the T-S fuzzy framework. The unknown input is considered in the systems. A novel fault detection unknown input observer design method is proposed. Based on the proposed observer, the unknown input can be removed from the fault detection residual. The weighted H∞ performance level is considered to ensure the robustness. In addition, the weighted H₋ performance level is introduced, which can increase the sensibility of the proposed detection method. To verify the proposed scheme, a numerical simulation example and an electromechanical system simulation example are provided at the end of this paper.

  8. Off-Policy Actor-Critic Structure for Optimal Control of Unknown Systems With Disturbances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Ruizhuo; Lewis, Frank L; Wei, Qinglai; Zhang, Huaguang

    2016-05-01

    An optimal control method is developed for unknown continuous-time systems with unknown disturbances in this paper. The integral reinforcement learning (IRL) algorithm is presented to obtain the iterative control. Off-policy learning is used to allow the dynamics to be completely unknown. Neural networks are used to construct critic and action networks. It is shown that if there are unknown disturbances, off-policy IRL may not converge or may be biased. For reducing the influence of unknown disturbances, a disturbances compensation controller is added. It is proven that the weight errors are uniformly ultimately bounded based on Lyapunov techniques. Convergence of the Hamiltonian function is also proven. The simulation study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed optimal control method for unknown systems with disturbances.

  9. [Badminton--unknown sport].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zekan-Petrinović, Lidija

    2007-01-01

    For a long time, badminton was considered to be only a slow and light game for children, a game that is played outdoors and is structurally undemanding.Today, it is not an unknown and unrecognised sport, especially after it was included into the Olympics Games in 1992. Badminton is one of the oldest sports in the world. It is suitable for all ages (for children and elderly equally), women and men and even handicapped persons. Beginners can start playing badminton matches early because the basics are learned quickly. As a recreational activity, badminton is very popular in Zagreb. In the last 10 years, a number of halls specialized for badminton or offering badminton as one of available sports activities have been opened in Zagreb. At present, there are over 70 professional playgrounds for training of top contestants but also for the citizens who can play recreational badminton.

  10. Detection of viral sequence fragments of HIV-1 subfamilies yet unknown

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanke Mario

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Methods of determining whether or not any particular HIV-1 sequence stems - completely or in part - from some unknown HIV-1 subtype are important for the design of vaccines and molecular detection systems, as well as for epidemiological monitoring. Nevertheless, a single algorithm only, the Branching Index (BI, has been developed for this task so far. Moving along the genome of a query sequence in a sliding window, the BI computes a ratio quantifying how closely the query sequence clusters with a subtype clade. In its current version, however, the BI does not provide predicted boundaries of unknown fragments. Results We have developed Unknown Subtype Finder (USF, an algorithm based on a probabilistic model, which automatically determines which parts of an input sequence originate from a subtype yet unknown. The underlying model is based on a simple profile hidden Markov model (pHMM for each known subtype and an additional pHMM for an unknown subtype. The emission probabilities of the latter are estimated using the emission frequencies of the known subtypes by means of a (position-wise probabilistic model for the emergence of new subtypes. We have applied USF to SIV and HIV-1 sequences formerly classified as having emerged from an unknown subtype. Moreover, we have evaluated its performance on artificial HIV-1 recombinants and non-recombinant HIV-1 sequences. The results have been compared with the corresponding results of the BI. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that USF is suitable for detecting segments in HIV-1 sequences stemming from yet unknown subtypes. Comparing USF with the BI shows that our algorithm performs as good as the BI or better.

  11. Psychological profile: the problem of modeling the unknown criminal personality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Г. М. Гетьман

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the problem of modeling an unknown person in the preparation of criminal psychological profile. Some approaches to the concept of "psychological profile" and "psychological portrait", in particular the proposed delineation of these terms. We consider the system steps in the development of the psychological profile of an unknown perpetrator.

  12. Multifocal chronic osteomyelitis of unknown etiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlowski, K.; Masel, J.; Harbison, S.; Yu, J.; Royal Brisbane Children Hospital; Regional Hospital Bowral

    1983-01-01

    Five cases of chronic, inflammatory, multifocal bone lesions of unknown etiology are reported. Although bone biopsy confirmed osteomyelitis in each case in none of them were organisms found inspite of an extensive work up. Different clinical course of the disease reflects different aetiology in respective cases. These cases present changing aspects of osteomyelitis emerging since introduction of antibiotics. (orig.)

  13. Bayesian source term determination with unknown covariance of measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belal, Alkomiet; Tichý, Ondřej; Šmídl, Václav

    2017-04-01

    Determination of a source term of release of a hazardous material into the atmosphere is a very important task for emergency response. We are concerned with the problem of estimation of the source term in the conventional linear inverse problem, y = Mx, where the relationship between the vector of observations y is described using the source-receptor-sensitivity (SRS) matrix M and the unknown source term x. Since the system is typically ill-conditioned, the problem is recast as an optimization problem minR,B(y - Mx)TR-1(y - Mx) + xTB-1x. The first term minimizes the error of the measurements with covariance matrix R, and the second term is a regularization of the source term. There are different types of regularization arising for different choices of matrices R and B, for example, Tikhonov regularization assumes covariance matrix B as the identity matrix multiplied by scalar parameter. In this contribution, we adopt a Bayesian approach to make inference on the unknown source term x as well as unknown R and B. We assume prior on x to be a Gaussian with zero mean and unknown diagonal covariance matrix B. The covariance matrix of the likelihood R is also unknown. We consider two potential choices of the structure of the matrix R. First is the diagonal matrix and the second is a locally correlated structure using information on topology of the measuring network. Since the inference of the model is intractable, iterative variational Bayes algorithm is used for simultaneous estimation of all model parameters. The practical usefulness of our contribution is demonstrated on an application of the resulting algorithm to real data from the European Tracer Experiment (ETEX). This research is supported by EEA/Norwegian Financial Mechanism under project MSMT-28477/2014 Source-Term Determination of Radionuclide Releases by Inverse Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling (STRADI).

  14. Celiac Disease Presenting as Fever of Unknown Origin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan J. Cooney

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Celiac disease (CD is a common autoimmune enteropathy that occurs, in affected individuals, with exposure to gluten in the diet and improves with removal of dietary gluten. Although CD is readily considered in patients with classical presentations of the disease, atypical manifestations may be the only presenting symptoms. We present a case of CD in a 16-year-old female presenting as fever of unknown origin, which has not been reported previously. The postulated mechanism for fever in CD and the importance of clinicians having a low threshold for considering CD in the differential diagnosis of fever of unknown origin and other enigmatic clinical presentations is discussed.

  15. Fast grasping of unknown objects using principal component analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Qujiang; Chen, Guangming; Wisse, Martijn

    2017-09-01

    Fast grasping of unknown objects has crucial impact on the efficiency of robot manipulation especially subjected to unfamiliar environments. In order to accelerate grasping speed of unknown objects, principal component analysis is utilized to direct the grasping process. In particular, a single-view partial point cloud is constructed and grasp candidates are allocated along the principal axis. Force balance optimization is employed to analyze possible graspable areas. The obtained graspable area with the minimal resultant force is the best zone for the final grasping execution. It is shown that an unknown object can be more quickly grasped provided that the component analysis principle axis is determined using single-view partial point cloud. To cope with the grasp uncertainty, robot motion is assisted to obtain a new viewpoint. Virtual exploration and experimental tests are carried out to verify this fast gasping algorithm. Both simulation and experimental tests demonstrated excellent performances based on the results of grasping a series of unknown objects. To minimize the grasping uncertainty, the merits of the robot hardware with two 3D cameras can be utilized to suffice the partial point cloud. As a result of utilizing the robot hardware, the grasping reliance is highly enhanced. Therefore, this research demonstrates practical significance for increasing grasping speed and thus increasing robot efficiency under unpredictable environments.

  16. Quantum key distribution with an unknown and untrusted source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yi; Qi, Bing; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

    2009-03-01

    The security of a standard bi-directional ``plug & play'' quantum key distribution (QKD) system has been an open question for a long time. This is mainly because its source is equivalently controlled by an eavesdropper, which means the source is unknown and untrusted. Qualitative discussion on this subject has been made previously. In this paper, we present the first quantitative security analysis on a general class of QKD protocols whose sources are unknown and untrusted. The securities of standard BB84 protocol, weak+vacuum decoy state protocol, and one-decoy decoy state protocol, with unknown and untrusted sources are rigorously proved. We derive rigorous lower bounds to the secure key generation rates of the above three protocols. Our numerical simulation results show that QKD with an untrusted source gives a key generation rate that is close to that with a trusted source. Our work is published in [1]. [4pt] [1] Y. Zhao, B. Qi, and H.-K. Lo, Phys. Rev. A, 77:052327 (2008).

  17. Grasping Unknown Objects in an Early Cognitive Vision System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Popovic, Mila

    2011-01-01

    Grasping of unknown objects presents an important and challenging part of robot manipulation. The growing area of service robotics depends upon the ability of robots to autonomously grasp and manipulate a wide range of objects in everyday environments. Simple, non task-specific grasps of unknown ...... and comparing vision-based grasping methods, and the creation of algorithms for bootstrapping a process of acquiring world understanding for artificial cognitive agents....... presents a system for robotic grasping of unknown objects us- ing stereo vision. Grasps are defined based on contour and surface information provided by the Early Cognitive Vision System, that organizes visual informa- tion into a biologically motivated hierarchical representation. The contributions...... of the thesis are: the extension of the Early Cognitive Vision representation with a new type of feature hierarchy in the texture domain, the definition and evaluation of contour based grasping methods, the definition and evaluation of surface based grasping methods, the definition of a benchmark for testing...

  18. Strong compound-risk factors: efficient discovery through emerging patterns and contrast sets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinyan; Yang, Qiang

    2007-09-01

    Odds ratio (OR), relative risk (RR) (risk ratio), and absolute risk reduction (ARR) (risk difference) are biostatistics measurements that are widely used for identifying significant risk factors in dichotomous groups of subjects. In the past, they have often been used to assess simple risk factors. In this paper, we introduce the concept of compound-risk factors to broaden the applicability of these statistical tests for assessing factor interplays. We observe that compound-risk factors with a high risk ratio or a big risk difference have an one-to-one correspondence to strong emerging patterns or strong contrast sets-two types of patterns that have been extensively studied in the data mining field. Such a relationship has been unknown to researchers in the past, and efficient algorithms for discovering strong compound-risk factors have been lacking. In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework and a new algorithm that unify the discovery of compound-risk factors that have a strong OR, risk ratio, or a risk difference. Our method guarantees that all patterns meeting a certain test threshold can be efficiently discovered. Our contribution thus represents the first of its kind in linking the risk ratios and ORs to pattern mining algorithms, making it possible to find compound-risk factors in large-scale data sets. In addition, we show that using compound-risk factors can improve classification accuracy in probabilistic learning algorithms on several disease data sets, because these compound-risk factors capture the interdependency between important data attributes.

  19. 18F-FDG-PET/CT in fever of unknown origin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Middelbo Buch-Olsen, Karen; Andersen, Rikke V; Hess, Søren

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Fever of unknown origin continues to be a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. The aim of this study was to confirm whether (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG)-PET/computed tomography (CT) is a helpful tool in patients suffering from this condition. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty......-seven patients with fever of unknown origin were examined with (18)F-FDG-PET/CT as part of their diagnostic workup at the clinicians' discretion. The medical records were read retrospectively to establish the final diagnosis and evaluate the degree to which PET/CT contributed to the diagnosis. RESULTS......-FDG-PET/CT is a useful tool in the investigation of fever of unknown origin; it can reduce patient inconvenience and possibly costs to society if used earlier in the diagnostic process....

  20. Archaisms and innovations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Bjarne Simmelkjær Sandgaard

    He dived or he dove. He dreamed or he dreamt. Most of us can probably come to think of a word that may be declined in more than one way or that used to be declined in one way but is now declined differently; undoubtedly many people also have an opinion about that phenomenon. But considerably fewer...... Sandgaard Hansen advances a range of criteria as to how one can tell apart archaic word forms from more recent ones only by analysing the shape of different types of nouns; in other words, how one can distinguish between forms that can be traced more than 5,000 years back in time to the Indo-European proto...... of two hitherto unknown patterns of regular sound change, i.e. soundlaws, that happened in the developmental process from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic and that support the methods mentioned above of evaluating the originality of certain types of nouns based on their shape and appearance....

  1. Metabolomes of Potato Root Exudates: Compounds That Stimulate Resting Spore Germination of the Soil-Borne Pathogen Spongospora subterranea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balendres, Mark A; Nichols, David S; Tegg, Robert S; Wilson, Calum R

    2016-10-12

    Root exudation has importance in soil chemical ecology influencing rhizosphere microbiota. Prior studies reported root exudates from host and nonhost plants stimulated resting spore germination of Spongospora subterranea, the powdery scab pathogen of potato, but the identities of stimulatory compounds were unknown. This study showed that potato root exudates stimulated S. subterranea resting spore germination, releasing more zoospores at an earlier time than the control. We detected 24 low molecular weight organic compounds within potato root exudates and identified specific amino acids, sugars, organic acids, and other compounds that were stimulatory to S. subterranea resting spore germination. Given that several stimulatory compounds are commonly found in exudates of diverse plant species, we support observations of nonhost-specific stimulation. We provide knowledge of S. subterranea resting spore biology and chemical ecology that may be useful in formulating new disease management strategies.

  2. 中国人日本語学習者によく見られるアクセントの問題点

    OpenAIRE

    尤, 東旭; YOU, Dongxu

    2002-01-01

    When Chinese study Japanese, they have various problems in the accent because their native language influences. To evaluate this problem a seven items questionnaire was applied to Chinese students. The contents of this guestionnaire compared how the accent of articles, verbs and compound nouns differentiates. The possible causes of these accent differences were evaluated and possible teaching methods are proposed.

  3. Intraabdominal abscessus of unknown etiology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Čolović Radoje

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Intraabdominal abscesses are in 98-99% cases the result of secondary and only in 1-2% of primary peritonitis. They are easy and successfully diagnosed. Abdominal abscesses of unknown cause are extremely rare. Case Outline. The authors present a 68-year-old man, without significant data in past history, who suddenly developed epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting and leukocytosis which was treated with antibiotics resulting in the alleviation of complaints and reduction of white blood cells count. After five days ultrasonography showed incapsulated collection of dense fluid in the epigastrium confirmed by CT scan two days later. Upper endoscopy excluded ulcer and/or perforation of the stomach and duodenum. Under local anesthesia, through the upper part of the left rectal muscle, puncture followed by incision was done, and about 50 ml of dense pus was removed. Finger exploration of the cavity showed no foreign body within the cavity. Using drainage, the recovery was quick and uneventful. By preoperative and postoperative abdominal investigations no cause of the abscess was found. Two and a half years after surgery the patient remained symptom-free with normal clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic findings. Conclusion. The authors presented an intraabdominal abscess of unknown cause that was successfully treated with antibiotics, percutaneous puncture and drainage under local anaesthesia. In spite of all diagnostic methods the cause of the abscess could not be found. Thus, such a possibility, although being rare, should be taken into account.

  4. Experimental determination of the empirical formula and energy content of unknown organics in waste streams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shizas, I. [Univ. of Toronto, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Kosmatos, A. [Ontario Power Generation, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Bagley, D.M. [Univ. of Toronto, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

    2002-06-15

    Two experimental methods are described in this paper: one for determining the empirical formula, and one for determining the energy content of unknown organics in waste streams. The empirical formula method requires volatile solids (VS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) to be measured for the waste; the formula can then be calculated from these values. To determine the energy content of the organic waste, bomb calorimetry was used with benzoic acid as a combustion aid. The results for standard compounds (glucose, propionic acid, L-arginine, and benzoic acid) were relatively good. The energy content measurement for wastewater and sludges had good reproducibility (i.e. 1.0 to 3.2% relative standard deviation for triplicate samples). Trouble encountered in the measurement of the empirical formulae of the waste samples was possibly due to difficulties with the TOC test; further analysis of this is required. (author)

  5. Experimental determination of the empirical formula and energy content of unknown organics in waste streams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shizas, I.; Kosmatos, A.; Bagley, D.M.

    2002-01-01

    Two experimental methods are described in this paper: one for determining the empirical formula, and one for determining the energy content of unknown organics in waste streams. The empirical formula method requires volatile solids (VS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) to be measured for the waste; the formula can then be calculated from these values. To determine the energy content of the organic waste, bomb calorimetry was used with benzoic acid as a combustion aid. The results for standard compounds (glucose, propionic acid, L-arginine, and benzoic acid) were relatively good. The energy content measurement for wastewater and sludges had good reproducibility (i.e. 1.0 to 3.2% relative standard deviation for triplicate samples). Trouble encountered in the measurement of the empirical formulae of the waste samples was possibly due to difficulties with the TOC test; further analysis of this is required. (author)

  6. Scheme for teleportation of unknown states of trapped ion

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Chen Mei-Feng; Ma Song-She

    2008-01-01

    A scheme is presented for teleporting an unknown state in a trapped ion system.The scheme only requires a single laser beam.It allows the trap to be in any state with a few phonons,e.g.a thermal motion.Furthermore,it works in the regime,where the Rabi frequency of the laser is on the order of the trap frequency.Thus,the teleportation speed is greatly increased,which is important for decreasing the decoherence effect.This idea can also be used to teleport an unknown ionic entangled state.

  7. Bioactive Compounds of Blueberries: Post-Harvest Factors Influencing the Nutritional Value of Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Michalska

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Blueberries, besides having commonly-recognized taste properties, are also a valuable source of health-promoting bioactive compounds. For several decades, blueberries have gained in popularity all over the world, and recent years have seen not only an increase in fresh consumption, but also in the importance of blueberries for the processing industry. Blueberry processing mostly consists of freezing and juicing. Recently, more attention has been drawn to dewatering and drying, which are promising areas for developing novel blueberry products. Processing affects each biologically-active compound in a different way, and it is still unknown what changes those compounds undergo at the molecular level after the application of different processing technologies. This work presents the most recent state of knowledge about the pre-treatment and processing methods applied to blueberries and their influence on the content of biologically-active compounds. The presentation of methods is preceded by a brief overview of the characteristics of the blueberry species, a description of the chemical composition of the fruit and a short note about the main growing areas, production volumes and the management of fruit crops.

  8. Bioactive Compounds of Blueberries: Post-Harvest Factors Influencing the Nutritional Value of Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalska, Anna; Łysiak, Grzegorz

    2015-01-01

    Blueberries, besides having commonly-recognized taste properties, are also a valuable source of health-promoting bioactive compounds. For several decades, blueberries have gained in popularity all over the world, and recent years have seen not only an increase in fresh consumption, but also in the importance of blueberries for the processing industry. Blueberry processing mostly consists of freezing and juicing. Recently, more attention has been drawn to dewatering and drying, which are promising areas for developing novel blueberry products. Processing affects each biologically-active compound in a different way, and it is still unknown what changes those compounds undergo at the molecular level after the application of different processing technologies. This work presents the most recent state of knowledge about the pre-treatment and processing methods applied to blueberries and their influence on the content of biologically-active compounds. The presentation of methods is preceded by a brief overview of the characteristics of the blueberry species, a description of the chemical composition of the fruit and a short note about the main growing areas, production volumes and the management of fruit crops. PMID:26266408

  9. Prevalence and Impact of Unknown Diabetes in the ICU.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, David L; Gregg, Sara R; Xu, Kejun; Buchman, Timothy G; Coopersmith, Craig M

    2015-12-01

    Many patients with diabetes and their care providers are unaware of the presence of the disease. Dysglycemia encompassing hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and glucose variability is common in the ICU in patients with and without diabetes. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of unknown diabetes on glycemic control in the ICU. Prospective observational study. Nine ICUs in an academic, tertiary hospital and a hybrid academic/community hospital. Hemoglobin A1c levels were ordered at all ICU admissions from March 1, 2011 to September 30, 2013. Electronic medical records were examined for a history of antihyperglycemic medications or International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition diagnosis of diabetes. Patients were categorized as having unknown diabetes (hemoglobin A1c > 6.5%, without history of diabetes), no diabetes (hemoglobin A1c 6.5%, with documented history of diabetes). None. A total of 15,737 patients had an hemoglobin A1c and medical record evaluable for the history of diabetes, and 5,635 patients had diabetes diagnosed by either medical history or an elevated hemoglobin A1c in the ICU. Of these, 1,460 patients had unknown diabetes, accounting for 26.0% of all patients with diabetes. This represented 41.0% of patients with an hemoglobin A1c > 6.5% and 9.3% of all ICU patients. Compared with patients without diabetes, patients with unknown diabetes had a higher likelihood of requiring an insulin infusion (44.3% vs 29.3%; p 180 mg/dL; p < 0.0001) and hypoglycemia (8.9% vs 2.5%; blood glucose < 70 mg/dL; p < 0.0001), higher glycemic variability (55.6 vs 28.8, average of patient SD of glucose; p < 0.0001), and increased mortality (13.8% vs 11.4%; p = 0.01). Patients with unknown diabetes represent a significant percentage of ICU admissions. Measurement of hemoglobin A1c at admission can prospectively identify a population that are not known to have diabetes but have significant challenges in glycemic control in the ICU.

  10. Decentralised output feedback control of Markovian jump interconnected systems with unknown interconnections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Li-Wei; Yang, Guang-Hong

    2017-07-01

    The problem of decentralised output feedback control is addressed for Markovian jump interconnected systems with unknown interconnections and general transition rates (TRs) allowed to be unknown or known with uncertainties. A class of decentralised dynamic output feedback controllers are constructed, and a cyclic-small-gain condition is exploited to dispose the unknown interconnections so that the resultant closed-loop system is stochastically stable and satisfies an H∞ performance. With slack matrices to cope with the nonlinearities incurred by unknown and uncertain TRs in control synthesis, a novel controller design condition is developed in linear matrix inequality formalism. Compared with the existing works, the proposed approach leads to less conservatism. Finally, two examples are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the new results.

  11. Renal disease masquerading as pyrexia of unknown origin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D Korivi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Pyrexia of unknown origin is a challenging clinical problem. Infections, malignancies, and connective tissue diseases form the major etiologies for this condition. We report a case of a 57-year-old diabetic male who presented with fever of unknown origin for several months. The course of investigations led to a kidney biopsy which clinched the cause of his fever as well as the underlying diagnosis. The light microscopy findings of expansile storiform fibrosis with a dense inflammatory infiltrate suggested the diagnosis which was confirmed by positive staining of Immunoglobulin G4, the dense lympho-plasmacytic infiltrate and elevated serum IgG4 concentrations. A course of steroids followed by mycophenolate mofetil as maintenance immunosuppression rendered the patient afebrile with improvement of renal function.

  12. Autonomous Flight in Unknown Indoor Environments

    OpenAIRE

    Bachrach, Abraham Galton; He, Ruijie; Roy, Nicholas

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents our solution for enabling a quadrotor helicopter, equipped with a laser rangefinder sensor, to autonomously explore and map unstructured and unknown indoor environments. While these capabilities are already commodities on ground vehicles, air vehicles seeking the same performance face unique challenges. In this paper, we describe the difficulties in achieving fully autonomous helicopter flight, highlighting the differences between ground and helicopter robots that make it ...

  13. Designing towards the Unknown: Engaging with Material and Aesthetic Uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Wilde

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available New materials with new capabilities demand new ways of approaching design. Destabilising existing methods is crucial to develop new methods. Yet, radical destabilisation—where outcomes remain unknown long enough that new discoveries become possible—is not easy in technology design where complex interdisciplinary teams with time and resource constraints need to deliver concrete outcomes on schedule. The Poetic Kinaesthetic Interface project (PKI engages with this problematic directly. In PKI we use unfolding processes—informed by participatory, speculative and critical design—in emergent actions, to design towards unknown outcomes, using unknown materials. The impossibility of this task is proving as useful as it is disruptive. At its most potent, it is destabilising expectations, aesthetics and processes. Keeping the researchers, collaborators and participants in a state of unknowing, is opening the research potential to far-ranging possibilities. In this article we unpack the motivations driving the PKI project. We present our mixed-methodology, which entangles textile crafts, design interactions and materiality to shape an embodied enquiry. Our research outcomes are procedural and methodological. PKI brings together diverse human, non-human, known and unknown actors to discover where the emergent assemblages might lead. Our approach is re-invigorating—as it demands re-envisioning of—the design process.

  14. Value of Bone marrow Examination in Pyrexia of unknown origin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Jha

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Pyrexia of unknown origin is a common diagnostic dilemma. Series of diagnostic modalities are required to arrive at diagnosis. Bone marrow examination is one of the common tests implicated in the diagnosis in combination with other diagnostic modalities. Present study has attempted to explore the causes of pyrexia of unknown origin based on bone marrow morphological study. Materials and Methods: In a one year prospective study conducted at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal; bone marrow aspiration and biopsy was performed and evaluated morphologically, in 57 patients fulfilling the criteria of classic pyrexia of unknown origin. Results: In 42% cases; specific diagnosis could be made and hematological neoplasm was the most common finding followed by megaloblastic anemia, hypoplastic anemia and one case each of hemophagocytosis, malaria and tuberculosis. Acute leukemia was the most frequently encountered hematological malignancy followed by multiple myeloma, chronic myeloid leukemia, essential thrombocythemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. Conclusion: Morphological examination of bone marrow has important role in diagnosis of pyrexia of unknown origin. However, yield of diagnosis can be increased if it is combined with other diagnostic modalities including radiological, microbiological and serological tests. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v3i6.8991 Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2013 Vol. 3, 447-451

  15. Chemometric Analysis of the Volatile Compounds Generated by Aspergillus carbonarius Strains Isolated from Grapes and Dried Vine Fruits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhan Cheng

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Ochratoxin A (OTA contamination in grape production is an important problem worldwide. Microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs have been demonstrated as useful tools to identify different toxigenic strains. In this study, Aspergillus carbonarius strains were classified into two groups, moderate toxigenic strains (MT and high toxigenic strains (HT, according to OTA-forming ability. The MVOCs were analyzed by GC-MS and the data processing was based on untargeted profiling using XCMS Online software. Orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA was performed using extract ion chromatogram GC-MS datasets. For contrast, quantitative analysis was also performed. Results demonstrated that the performance of the OPLS-DA model of untargeted profiling was better than the quantitative method. Potential markers were successfully discovered by variable importance on projection (VIP and t-test. (E-2-octen-1-ol, octanal, 1-octen-3-one, styrene, limonene, methyl-2-phenylacetate and 3 unknown compounds were selected as potential markers for the MT group. Cuparene, (Z-thujopsene, methyl octanoate and 1 unknown compound were identified as potential markers for the HT groups. Finally, the selected markers were used to construct a supported vector machine classification (SVM-C model to check classification ability. The models showed good performance with the accuracy of cross-validation and test prediction of 87.93% and 92.00%, respectively.

  16. Identification of novel synthetic organic compounds with supersonic gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fialkov, Alexander B; Amirav, Aviv

    2004-11-26

    Several novel synthetic organic compounds were successfully analyzed with a unique type of GC-MS titled Supersonic GC-MS following a failure in their analysis with standard GC-MS. Supersonic GC-MS is based on interfacing GC and MS with a supersonic molecular beam (SMB) and on electron ionization of sample compounds as vibrationally cold molecules while in the SMB, or by cluster chemical ionization. The analyses of novel synthetic organic compounds significantly benefited from the extended range of compounds amenable to analyses with the Supersonic GC-MS. The Supersonic GC-MS enabled the analysis of thermally labile compounds that usually degrade in the GC injector, column and/or ion source. Due to the high carrier gas flow rate at the injector liner and column these compounds eluted without degradation at significantly lower elution temperatures and the use of fly-through EI ion source eliminated any sample degradation at the ion source. The cold EI feature of providing trustworthy enhanced molecular ion (M+), complemented by its optional further confirmation with cluster CI was highly valued by the synthetic organic chemists that were served by the Supersonic GC-MS. Furthermore, the provision of extended mass spectral structural, isomer and isotope information combined with short (a few minutes) GC-MS analysis times also proved beneficial for the analysis of unknown synthetic organic compounds. As a result, the synthetic organic chemists were provided with both qualitative and quantitative data on the composition of their synthetic mixture, and could better follow the path of their synthetic chemistry. Ten cases of such analyses are demonstrated in figures and discussed.

  17. Towards high-speed autonomous navigation of unknown environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Charles; Roy, Nicholas

    2015-05-01

    In this paper, we summarize recent research enabling high-speed navigation in unknown environments for dynamic robots that perceive the world through onboard sensors. Many existing solutions to this problem guarantee safety by making the conservative assumption that any unknown portion of the map may contain an obstacle, and therefore constrain planned motions to lie entirely within known free space. In this work, we observe that safety constraints may significantly limit performance and that faster navigation is possible if the planner reasons about collision with unobserved obstacles probabilistically. Our overall approach is to use machine learning to approximate the expected costs of collision using the current state of the map and the planned trajectory. Our contribution is to demonstrate fast but safe planning using a learned function to predict future collision probabilities.

  18. Elimination of some unknown parameters and its effect on outlier detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serif Hekimoglu

    Full Text Available Outliers in observation set badly affect all the estimated unknown parameters and residuals, that is because outlier detection has a great importance for reliable estimation results. Tests for outliers (e.g. Baarda's and Pope's tests are frequently used to detect outliers in geodetic applications. In order to reduce the computational time, sometimes elimination of some unknown parameters, which are not of interest, is performed. In this case, although the estimated unknown parameters and residuals do not change, the cofactor matrix of the residuals and the redundancies of the observations change. In this study, the effects of the elimination of the unknown parameters on tests for outliers have been investigated. We have proved that the redundancies in initial functional model (IFM are smaller than the ones in reduced functional model (RFM where elimination is performed. To show this situation, a horizontal control network was simulated and then many experiences were performed. According to simulation results, tests for outlier in IFM are more reliable than the ones in RFM.

  19. Terence's animus: An Analysis of Its Semantic Field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janja Žmavc

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available Terence's plays are distinguished by their psychologically convincing and insightful portrayals of character, which result from the author's investigation into human mentality. Mentality in its broadest sense is referred to in Latin by the noun animus, which holds a very important place in Terence's Andria. The frequency and variety of its occurrences are evidently due to the author's effort to show the attitudes and frames of mind of his characters as clearly as possible, the emphasis being on characters in love. The lexical meaning of the noun animus can be divided in to three semantic subfields, which denote three different mental capacities: the capacity for thought, emotion, and will. An analysis of its occurrences reveals that the actual value of the noun is determined by its sentential role and contextual complements, which provide an insight in to its characteristics. Terence's concept of human mentality can thus be explored and defined merely by means of grammatical interpretation, the core of this mentality being represented by the noun animus as the centre of consciousness and emotion. It represents a spatial concept, namely a kind of space in a human being, which, although inactive by itself, is the source of all mental and emotional processes, by which every conscious or unconscious action is determined. Everything that Terence's characters think, feel or want is born in their animus. They are undoubtedly aware of this fact, since their endeavours to influence their own emotions or thoughts are always directed towards the spot where they originate. In this light should be understood also Terence's concept of love, which displays no characteristics of an unknown outside force, but is merely a particular frame of mind, a feeling, one of many that are born in the animus. (This is new version of the summary that was published in Keria 5/1/2003

  20. Organic compounds in produced waters from coalbed natural gas wells in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orem, W.H.; Tatu, C.A.; Lerch, H.E.; Rice, C.A.; Bartos, T.T.; Bates, A.L.; Tewalt, S.; Corum, M.D.

    2007-01-01

    The organic composition of produced water samples from coalbed natural gas (CBNG) wells in the Powder River Basin, WY, sampled in 2001 and 2002 are reported as part of a larger study of the potential health and environmental effects of organic compounds derived from coal. The quality of CBNG produced waters is a potential environmental concern and disposal problem for CBNG producers, and no previous studies of organic compounds in CBNG produced water have been published. Organic compounds identified in the produced water samples included: phenols, biphenyls, N-, O-, and S-containing heterocyclic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), aromatic amines, various non-aromatic compounds, and phthalates. Many of the identified organic compounds (phenols, heterocyclic compounds, PAHs) are probably coal-derived. PAHs represented the group of organic compounds most commonly observed. Concentrations of total PAHs ranged up to 23 ??g/L. Concentrations of individual compounds ranged from about 18 to compound concentrations was documented, as two wells with relatively high organic compound contents in produced water in 2001 had much lower concentrations in 2002. In many areas, including the PRB, coal strata provide aquifers for drinking water wells. Organic compounds observed in produced water are also likely present in drinking water supplied from wells in the coal. Some of the organic compounds identified in the produced water samples are potentially toxic, but at the levels measured in these samples are unlikely to have acute health effects. The human health effects of low-level, chronic exposure to coal-derived organic compounds in drinking water are currently unknown. Continuing studies will evaluate possible toxic effects from low level, chronic exposure to coal-derived organic compounds in drinking water supplies.

  1. Rendezvous with connectivity preservation for multi-robot systems with an unknown leader

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Yi

    2018-02-01

    This paper studies the leader-following rendezvous problem with connectivity preservation for multi-agent systems composed of uncertain multi-robot systems subject to external disturbances and an unknown leader, both of which are generated by a so-called exosystem with parametric uncertainty. By combining internal model design, potential function technique and adaptive control, two distributed control strategies are proposed to maintain the connectivity of the communication network, to achieve the asymptotic tracking of all the followers to the output of the unknown leader system, as well as to reject unknown external disturbances. It is also worth to mention that the uncertain parameters in the multi-robot systems and exosystem are further allowed to belong to unknown and unbounded sets when applying the second fully distributed control law containing a dynamic gain inspired by high-gain adaptive control or self-tuning regulator.

  2. Separation and Identification of Four New Compounds with Antibacterial Activity from Portulaca oleracea L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xia Lei

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The Portulaca oleracea L. (P. oleracea has been used to treat bacillary dysentery for thousands of years in China. Pharmacology studies on P. oleracea have also showed its significant antibacterial effects on the enteropathogenic bacteria, which might reveal the treatment of P. oleracea in cases of bacillary dysentery to some extent. To date, however, the therapeutic basis of P. oleracea treating on bacillary dysentery remains unknown. We determined the antibacterial effective fraction of P. oleracea in a previous study. The current study, which is based on our previous study, was first designed to isolate, identify and screen antibacterial active constituents from P. oleracea. As a result, four new compounds (1–4, portulacerebroside B (1, portulacerebroside C (2, portulacerebroside D (3 and portulaceramide A (4 along with five known compounds (5–9 were isolated, and structures were established by their physico-chemical constants and spectroscopic analysis. The antibacterial activities against common enteropathogenic bacteria were evaluated for all compounds and the new compounds 1–4 showed significant antibacterial effect on enteropathogenic bacteria in vitro, which might contribute to revealing the treatment of P. oleracea in cases of bacillary dysentery.

  3. Separation and Identification of Four New Compounds with Antibacterial Activity from Portulaca oleracea L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Xia; Li, Jianmin; Liu, Bin; Zhang, Ning; Liu, Haiyang

    2015-09-10

    The Portulaca oleracea L. (P. oleracea) has been used to treat bacillary dysentery for thousands of years in China. Pharmacology studies on P. oleracea have also showed its significant antibacterial effects on the enteropathogenic bacteria, which might reveal the treatment of P. oleracea in cases of bacillary dysentery to some extent. To date, however, the therapeutic basis of P. oleracea treating on bacillary dysentery remains unknown. We determined the antibacterial effective fraction of P. oleracea in a previous study. The current study, which is based on our previous study, was first designed to isolate, identify and screen antibacterial active constituents from P. oleracea. As a result, four new compounds (1-4), portulacerebroside B (1), portulacerebroside C (2), portulacerebroside D (3) and portulaceramide A (4) along with five known compounds (5-9) were isolated, and structures were established by their physico-chemical constants and spectroscopic analysis. The antibacterial activities against common enteropathogenic bacteria were evaluated for all compounds and the new compounds 1-4 showed significant antibacterial effect on enteropathogenic bacteria in vitro, which might contribute to revealing the treatment of P. oleracea in cases of bacillary dysentery.

  4. Exponence, allomorphy and haplology in the number and State morphology of Modern Hebrew

    OpenAIRE

    Faust, Noam

    2018-01-01

    This paper provides an account of the regularities of plural exponence in Modern Hebrew. There are two genders in Modern Hebrew, each with its specific plural marker. Nouns can appear in the Construct or Free states, and the State of a noun also has an effect on the plural marking, though only in the case of masculine nouns. Finally, in nouns with possessive suffixes and in newly-formed dual nouns, plural number seems to be marked twice in the feminine noun, but only once in the masculine nou...

  5. Lod score curves for phase-unknown matings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulbert-Shearon, T; Boehnke, M; Lange, K

    1996-01-01

    For a phase-unknown nuclear family, we show that the likelihood and lod score are unimodal, and we describe conditions under which the maximum occurs at recombination fraction theta = 0, theta = 1/2, and 0 < theta < 1/2. These simply stated necessary and sufficient conditions seem to have escaped the notice of previous statistical geneticists.

  6. Adaptive Incentive Controls for Stackelberg Games with Unknown Cost Functionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    APR EZT:: F I AN 73S e OsL:-: UNCLASSI?:-- Q4~.’~- .A.., 6, *~*i i~~*~~*.- U ADAPTIVE INCENTIVE CONTROLS FOR STACKELBERG GAMES WITH UNKNOWN COST...AD-A161 885 ADAPTIVE INCENTIVE CONTROLS FOR STACKELBERG GAMES WITH i/1 UNKNOWN COST FUNCTIONALSCU) ILLINOIS UNIV AT URBANA DECISION AND CONTROL LAB T...ORGANIZATION 6b. OFFICE SYMBOL 7.. NAME OF MONITORING ORGANIZATION CoriaeLcenef~pda~ Joint Services Electronics Program Laboratory, Univ. of Illinois N/A

  7. M-MRAC Backstepping for Systems with Unknown Virtual Control Coefficients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepanyan, Vahram; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje

    2015-01-01

    The paper presents an over-parametrization free certainty equivalence state feedback backstepping adaptive control design method for systems of any relative degree with unmatched uncertainties and unknown virtual control coefficients. It uses a fast prediction model to estimate the unknown parameters, which is independent of the control design. It is shown that the system's input and output tracking errors can be systematically decreased by the proper choice of the design parameters. The benefits of the approach are demonstrated in numerical simulations.

  8. X detection in heavy ion induced reactions. Application to the lifetime measurement of a compound nucleus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liatard, E.

    1984-01-01

    The ionization of inner electronic shells can be used to determine the lifetime of a compound nucleus formed in a nuclear reaction. The principle of the measure is based on the comparison between the unknown lifetime of the nuclear process and the known lifetime of a K-shell vacancy created during the collision. Besides testing this method, which we call the ''atomic-clok'' method with the compound nucleus 112 Te formed by the reaction 20 Ne (205 MeV) + 92 Mo, the work in this thesis basically consists of a description and a study of the problems presented by the use of X-ray spectroscopy in nuclear-decay-time measurements and Z-identification of heavy nuclear products [fr

  9. A Theoretical Study of the Mechanism of the Alkylation of Guanine by N- Nitroso Compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-01-01

    these chemical agents alkylate DNA, but, as yet, the precise mechanism is unknown. What is known is that the result is a DNA-mutagen adduct with an alkyl ... nitrosoureas , Singer et. al. found that about 25% of the alkylation caused by MNU was on the DNA phospate backbone while, for ENU, phosphate...sites. 1.3 Mutagenicity of N-Nitroso Compounds In early experimental work with agents which alkylate DNA, comparisons of ultraviolet absorption

  10. Characterisation of free and glycosidically bound odourant compounds of Aragonez clonal musts by GC-O.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botelho, Goreti; Mendes-Faia, Arlete; Clímaco, Maria Cristina

    2010-01-11

    To evaluate the potential aroma of Aragonez clonal red musts, several free and glycosidically bound odourant compounds were extracted. Then, the gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) posterior intensity method was used to evaluate their odour intensity and the compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A group of eight sniffers evaluated free and bound fractions of Aragonez musts and perceived forty-three and twenty-two odourant peaks respectively. Furaneol (burnt sugar, candy-cotton) and vanillin (vanilla, sweet) were identified in both free and bound fractions of Aragonez musts, indicating their grape-derived origin. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the posterior intensity method data and a relationship between the different odourant compound variables and the free fractions was established. Two principal components (PCs) were found which together explained 100% of the total variance. A large number of potentially important but yet unknown odourants was detected by the GC-O analysis.

  11. A Stable, Magnetic, and Metallic Li3O4 Compound as a Discharge Product in a Li-Air Battery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Guochun; Wang, Yanchao; Ma, Yanming

    2014-08-07

    The Li-air battery with the specific energy exceeding that of a Li ion battery has been aimed as the next-generation battery. The improvement of the performance of the Li-air battery needs a full resolution of the actual discharge products. Li2O2 has been long recognized as the main discharge product, with which, however, there are obvious failures on the understanding of various experimental observations (e.g., magnetism, oxygen K-edge spectrum, etc.) on discharge products. There is a possibility of the existence of other Li-O compounds unknown thus far. Here, a hitherto unknown Li3O4 compound as a discharge product of the Li-air battery was predicted through first-principles swarm structure searching calculations. The new compound has a unique structure featuring the mixture of superoxide O2(-) and peroxide O2(2-), the first such example in the Li-O system. The existence of superoxide O2(-) creates magnetism and hole-doped metallicity. Findings of Li3O4 gave rise to direct explanations of the unresolved experimental magnetism, triple peaks of oxygen K-edge spectra, and the Raman peak at 1125 cm(-1) of the discharge products. Our work enables an opportunity for the performance of capacity, charge overpotential, and round-trip efficiency of the Li-air battery.

  12. Speeding up transmissions of unknown quantum information along Ising-type quantum channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo W J; Wei L F

    2017-01-01

    Quantum teleportation with entanglement channels and a series of two-qubit SWAP gates between the nearest-neighbor qubits are usually utilized to achieve the transfers of unknown quantum state from the sender to the distant receiver. In this paper, by simplifying the usual SWAP gates we propose an approach to speed up the transmissions of unknown quantum information, specifically including the single-qubit unknown state and two-qubit unknown entangled ones, by a series of entangling and disentangling operations between the remote qubits with distant interactions. The generic proposal is demonstrated specifically with experimentally-existing Ising-type quantum channels without transverse interaction; liquid NMR-molecules driven by global radio frequency electromagnetic pulses and capacitively-coupled Josephson circuits driven by local microwave pulses. The proposal should be particularly useful to set up the connections between the distant qubits in a chip of quantum computing. (paper)

  13. Robust Control for the Segway with Unknown Control Coefficient and Model Uncertainties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byung Woo Kim

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The Segway, which is a popular vehicle nowadays, is an uncertain nonlinear system and has an unknown time-varying control coefficient. Thus, we should consider the unknown time-varying control coefficient and model uncertainties to design the controller. Motivated by this observation, we propose a robust control for the Segway with unknown control coefficient and model uncertainties. To deal with the time-varying unknown control coefficient, we employ the Nussbaum gain technique. We introduce an auxiliary variable to solve the underactuated problem. Due to the prescribed performance control technique, the proposed controller does not require the adaptive technique, neural network, and fuzzy logic to compensate the uncertainties. Therefore, it can be simple. From the Lyapunov stability theory, we prove that all signals in the closed-loop system are bounded. Finally, we provide the simulation results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

  14. Biosynthesis of polybrominated aromatic organic compounds by marine bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Vinayak; El Gamal, Abrahim A.; Yamanaka, Kazuya; Poth, Dennis; Kersten, Roland D.; Schorn, Michelle; Allen, Eric E.; Moore, Bradley S.

    2014-01-01

    Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated bipyrroles are natural products that bioaccumulate in the marine food chain. PBDEs have attracted widespread attention due to their persistence in the environment and potential toxicity to humans. However, the natural origins of PBDE biosynthesis are not known. Here we report marine bacteria as producers of PBDEs and establish a genetic and molecular foundation for their production that unifies paradigms for the elaboration of bromophenols and bromopyrroles abundant in marine biota. We provide biochemical evidence of marine brominase enzymes revealing decarboxylative-halogenation enzymology previously unknown among halogenating enzymes. Biosynthetic motifs discovered in our study were used to mine sequence databases to discover unrealized marine bacterial producers of organobromine compounds. PMID:24974229

  15. Identification of fractional-order systems with unknown initial values and structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du, Wei, E-mail: duwei0203@gmail.com [Key Laboratory of Advanced Control and Optimization for Chemical Processes, Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Miao, Qingying, E-mail: qymiao@sjtu.edu.cn [School of Continuing Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030 (China); Tong, Le, E-mail: tongle0328@gmail.com [Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong (China); Tang, Yang [Key Laboratory of Advanced Control and Optimization for Chemical Processes, Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China)

    2017-06-21

    In this paper, the identification problem of fractional-order chaotic systems is proposed and investigated via an evolutionary optimization approach. Different with other studies to date, this research focuses on the identification of fractional-order chaotic systems with not only unknown orders and parameters, but also unknown initial values and structure. A group of fractional-order chaotic systems, i.e., Lorenz, Lü, Chen, Rössler, Arneodo and Volta chaotic systems, are set as the system candidate pool. The identification problem of fractional-order chaotic systems in this research belongs to mixed integer nonlinear optimization in essence. A powerful evolutionary algorithm called composite differential evolution (CoDE) is introduced for the identification problem presented in this paper. Extensive experiments are carried out to show that the fractional-order chaotic systems with unknown initial values and structure can be successfully identified by means of CoDE. - Highlights: • Unknown initial values and structure are introduced in the identification of fractional-order chaotic systems; • Only a series of output is utilized in the identification of fractional-order chaotic systems; • CoDE is used for the identification problem and the results are satisfactory when compared with other DE variants.

  16. Formation of radical anions of radiosensitizers and related model compounds via electrospray ionization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feketeová, Linda; Albright, Abigail L; Sørensen, Brita Singers

    2014-01-01

    Radiosensitizers are used in radiotherapy to enhance tumour control of radioresistant hypoxic tumours. While the detailed mechanism of radiosensitization is still unknown, the formation of radical anions is believed to be a key step. Thus understanding the ionization reactions of radiosensitizers......, misonidazole and related compounds using a hybrid linear ion trap – Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance mass spectrometer (Finnigan-LTQ-FT). A key finding is that negative electrospray ionization of these radiosensitizers leads to the formation of radical anions, allowing their fragmentation reactions...

  17. Morphological structure mediates the notional meaning of gender marking: Evidence from the gender-congruency effect in Hebrew speech production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Avital; Dank, Maya

    2018-02-01

    This study investigated the gender-congruency effect of animate nouns in Hebrew. The Picture-Word Interference paradigm was used to manipulate gender congruency between target pictures and spoken distractors. Naming latency revealed an inhibitory gender-congruency effect, as naming the pictures took longer in the presence of a gender-congruent distractor than with a distractor from a different gender category. The inhibitory effect was demonstrated for feminine (morphologically marked) nouns, across two stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) (Experiments 1a and 1b), and masculine (morphologically unmarked) nouns (Experiment 2). The same pattern was observed when participants had to produce bare nouns (Experiment 1) or gender-marked noun phrases (Experiment 3). The inhibitory pattern of the effect resembles previous findings of bare nouns in a subset of Romance languages, including Italian and Spanish. These findings add to previous research which investigated the gender-congruency effect of inanimate nouns, where no effect of gender-congruent words was found. The results are discussed in relation to the null effect previously found for inanimate nouns. The comparison of the present and previous studies is motivated by a common linguistic distinction between animate and inanimate nouns in Hebrew, which ascribes grammatical gender specifications to derivational structures (for inanimate nouns) versus inflectional structures (for animate nouns). Given the difference in the notional meaning of gender specification for animate and inanimate nouns, the case of Hebrew exemplifies how language-specific characteristics, such as rich morphological structures, can be used by the linguistic system to express conceptual distinctions at the form-word level.

  18. Multidimensional procurement auctions with unknown weights

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Greve, Thomas

    This paper studies the consequences of holding a procurement auction when the principal chooses not to show its preferences. My paper extends the procurement auction model of Che (1993) to a situation where both the principal and the agents have private information. Thus, unknown parameters of bo...... gives rise to an analysis of a principal that can not fully commit to the outcome induced by the scoring rule. Therefore, my result apply to contract theory and it’s problems with imperfect commitment....

  19. Clostridium difficile: A healthcare-associated infection of unknown ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Clostridium difficile: A healthcare-associated infection of unknown significance in adults in sub-Saharan Africa. ... Abstract. Background: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) causes a high burden of disease in high-resource healthcare systems, with significant morbidity, mortality, and financial implications. CDI is a ...

  20. Severe scratcher-reaction: an unknown health hazard?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carsten Sauer Mikkelsen

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Tattoos are well known to cause skin problems and the number of reported adverse reactions after tattooing has increased. Illegally imported tattoo ink is unrestrained and can contain unknown ingredients and contamination thereby posing a serious health hazard. We present a case illustrating the risk of pronounced phototoxic allergic reaction and other severe complications after using home kit tattoo ink.

  1. Approaches towards the automated interpretation and prediction of electrospray tandem mass spectra of non-peptidic combinatorial compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klagkou, Katerina; Pullen, Frank; Harrison, Mark; Organ, Andy; Firth, Alistair; Langley, G John

    2003-01-01

    Combinatorial chemistry is widely used within the pharmaceutical industry as a means of rapid identification of potential drugs. With the growth of combinatorial libraries, mass spectrometry (MS) became the key analytical technique because of its speed of analysis, sensitivity, accuracy and ability to be coupled with other analytical techniques. In the majority of cases, electrospray mass spectrometry (ES-MS) has become the default ionisation technique. However, due to the absence of fragment ions in the resulting spectra, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is required to provide structural information for the identification of an unknown analyte. This work discusses the first steps of an investigation into the fragmentation pathways taking place in electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The ultimate goal for this project is to set general fragmentation rules for non-peptidic, pharmaceutical, combinatorial compounds. As an aid, an artificial intelligence (AI) software package is used to facilitate interpretation of the spectra. This initial study has focused on determining the fragmentation rules for some classes of compound types that fit the remit as outlined above. Based on studies carried out on several combinatorial libraries of these compounds, it was established that different classes of drug molecules follow unique fragmentation pathways. In addition to these general observations, the specific ionisation processes and the fragmentation pathways involved in the electrospray mass spectra of these systems were explored. The ultimate goal will be to incorporate our findings into the computer program and allow identification of an unknown, non-peptidic compound following insertion of its ES-MS/MS spectrum into the AI package. The work herein demonstrates the potential benefit of such an approach in addressing the issue of high-throughput, automated MS/MS data interpretation. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Previously unknown species of Aspergillus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautier, M; Normand, A-C; Ranque, S

    2016-08-01

    The use of multi-locus DNA sequence analysis has led to the description of previously unknown 'cryptic' Aspergillus species, whereas classical morphology-based identification of Aspergillus remains limited to the section or species-complex level. The current literature highlights two main features concerning these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species. First, the prevalence of such species in clinical samples is relatively high compared with emergent filamentous fungal taxa such as Mucorales, Scedosporium or Fusarium. Second, it is clearly important to identify these species in the clinical laboratory because of the high frequency of antifungal drug-resistant isolates of such Aspergillus species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been shown to enable the identification of filamentous fungi with an accuracy similar to that of DNA sequence-based methods. As MALDI-TOF MS is well suited to the routine clinical laboratory workflow, it facilitates the identification of these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species at the routine mycology bench. The rapid establishment of enhanced filamentous fungi identification facilities will lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology and clinical importance of these emerging Aspergillus species. Based on routine MALDI-TOF MS-based identification results, we provide original insights into the key interpretation issues of a positive Aspergillus culture from a clinical sample. Which ubiquitous species that are frequently isolated from air samples are rarely involved in human invasive disease? Can both the species and the type of biological sample indicate Aspergillus carriage, colonization or infection in a patient? Highly accurate routine filamentous fungi identification is central to enhance the understanding of these previously unknown Aspergillus species, with a vital impact on further improved patient care. Copyright © 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and

  3. Complexity Matters: On Gender Agreement in Heritage Scandinavian

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johannessen, Janne Bondi; Larsson, Ida

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates aspects of the noun phrase from a Scandinavian heritage language perspective, with an emphasis on noun phrase-internal gender agreement and noun declension. Our results are somewhat surprising compared with earlier research: We find that noun phrase-internal agreement for the most part is rather stable. To the extent that we find attrition, it affects agreement in the noun phrase, but not the declension of the noun. We discuss whether this means that gender is lost and has been reduced to a pure declension class, or whether gender is retained. We argue that gender is actually retained in these heritage speakers. One argument for this is that the speakers who lack agreement in complex noun phrases, have agreement intact in simpler phrases. We have thus found that the complexity of the noun phrase is crucial for some speakers. However, among the heritage speakers we also find considerable inter-individual variation, and different speakers can have partly different systems. PMID:26733114

  4. Row Reduced Echelon Form for Solving Fully Fuzzy System with Unknown Coefficients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghassan Malkawi

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This study proposes a new method for finding a feasible fuzzy solution in positive Fully Fuzzy Linear System (FFLS, where the coefficients are unknown. The fully fuzzy system is transferred to linear system in order to obtain the solution using row reduced echelon form, thereafter; the crisp solution is restricted in obtaining the positive fuzzy solution. The fuzzy solution of FFLS is included crisp intervals, to assign alternative values of unknown entries of fuzzy numbers. To illustrate the proposed method, numerical examples are solved, where the entries of coefficients are unknown in right or left hand side, to demonstrate the contributions in this study.

  5. Vision-based autonomous grasping of unknown piled objects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.K.

    1994-01-01

    Computer vision techniques have been used to develop a vision-based grasping capability for autonomously picking and placing unknown piled objects. This work is currently being applied to the problem of hazardous waste sorting in support of the Department of Energy's Mixed Waste Operations Program

  6. 48 CFR 52.222-49 - Service Contract Act-Place of Performance Unknown.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Service Contract Act-Place... Provisions and Clauses 52.222-49 Service Contract Act—Place of Performance Unknown. As prescribed in 22.1006(f), insert the following clause: Service Contract Act—Place of Performance Unknown (MAY 1989) (a...

  7. Comprehensive and Facile Synthesis of Some Functionalized Bis-Heterocyclic Compounds Containing a Thieno[2,3-b]thiophene Motif

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mabkhot, Yahia N.; Barakat, Assem; Al-Majid, Abdullah M.; Alshahrani, Saeed A.

    2012-01-01

    A comprehensive and facile method for the synthesis of new functionalized bis-heterocyclic compounds containing a thieno[2,3-b]thiophene motif is described. The hitherto unknown bis-pyrazolothieno[2,3-b]thiophene derivatives 2a–c, bis-pyridazin othieno[2,3-b]thiophene derivatives 4, bis-pyridinothieno[2,3-b]thiophene derivatives 6a,b, and to an analogous bis-pyridinothieno[2,3-b]thiophene nitrile derivatives 7 are obtained. Additionally, the novel bis-pyradazinonothieno[2,3-b]thiophene derivatives 9, and nicotinic acid derivatives 10, 11 are obtained via bis-dienamide 8. The structures of all newly synthesized compounds have been elucidated by 1H, 13C NMR, GCMS, and IR spectrometry. These compounds represent a new class of sulfur and Nitrogen containing heterocycles that should also be of interest as new materials. PMID:22408452

  8. Effects of Methyl Jasmonate on the Composition of Volatile Compounds in Pyropia yezoensis

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Lihong; Wang, Liang; Wang, Linfang; Shen, Songdong

    2018-04-01

    Volatile organic compounds in marine algae have been reported to comprise characteristic flavor of algae and play an important role in their growth, development and defensive response. Yet their biogeneration remain largely unknown. Here we studied the composition of volatile compouds in Pyropia yezoensis and their variations in response to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and diethyldithiocarbamic acid (DIECA) treatment using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 44 compounds belonging to the following chemical classes (n) were identified, including aldehydes (11), alcohols (8), acids and esters (6), alkanes (5), ketones (5), alkenes (3), and S- or N-containing miscellaneous compounds (6). External treatment with plant hormone MeJA increased the content of 1-dodecanol, 4-heptenal, and 2-propenoic acid-2-methyl dodecylester, but decreased the content of phytol, 3-heptadecene, 2-pentadecanone, and isophytol. When pretreated with DIECA, an inhibitor of the octadecanoid pathway leading to the biosynthesis of endogeneous jasmonates and some secondary metabolites, phytol and isophytol were increased, while 4-heptenal, 1-dodecanol, and 2-propenoic acid-2-methyl dodecylester were decreased, both of which were negatively correlated with their variations under MeJA treatment. Collectively, these results suggest that MeJA does affect the volatile composition of P. yezoensis, and the octadecanoid pathway together with endogenous jasmonate pathway may be involved in the biosynthesis of volatile compounds, thereby providing some preliminary envision on the composition and biogeneration of volatile compounds in P. yezoensis.

  9. Terminology of the public relations field: corpus — automatic term recognition — terminology database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataša Logar Berginc

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The article describes an analysis of automatic term recognition results performed for single- and multi-word terms with the LUIZ term extraction system. The target application of the results is a terminology database of Public Relations and the main resource the KoRP Public Relations Corpus. Our analysis is focused on two segments: (a single-word noun term candidates, which we compare with the frequency list of nouns from KoRP and evaluate termhood on the basis of the judgements of two domain experts, and (b multi-word term candidates with verb and noun as headword. In order to better assess the performance of the system and the soundness of our approach we also performed an analysis of recall. Our results show that the terminological relevance of extracted nouns is indeed higher than that of merely frequent nouns, and that verbal phrases only rarely count as proper terms. The most productive patterns of multi-word terms with noun as a headword have the following structure: [adjective + noun], [adjective + and + adjective + noun] and [adjective + adjective + noun]. The analysis of recall shows low inter-annotator agreement, but nevertheless very satisfactory recall levels.

  10. Genetic toxicology of metal compounds. II. Enhancement of ultraviolet light-induced mutagenesis in Escherichia coli WP2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rossman, T.G.; Molina, M.

    1986-01-01

    Salts of metals which are carcinogenic, noncarcinogenic, or of unknown carcinogenicity were assayed for their abilities to modulate ultraviolet (UV)-induced mutagenesis in Escherichia coli WP2. In addition to the previously reported comutagenic effect of arsenite, salts of three other compounds were found to enhance UV mutagenesis. CuCl 2 , MnCl 2 (and a small effect by KMnO 4 ), and NaMoO 4 acted as comutagens in E coli WP2, which has wild-type DNA repair capability, but were much less comutagenic in the repair deficient strain WP2/sub s/ (uvrA). The survival of irradiated or unirradiated cells was not affected by these compounds. No effects on UV mutagenesis were seen for 16 other metal compounds. We suggest that the comutagenic effects might occur either via metal-induced decreases in the fidelity of repair replication or via metal-induced depurination

  11. Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Treatment (PDQ®)—Patient Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP), treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy. Get detailed information about the diagnosis and treatment of CUP in this expert-reviewed summary.

  12. Screening of pharmacologically active small molecule compounds identifies antifungal agents against Candida biofilms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takao eWatamoto

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Candida species have emerged as important and common opportunistic human pathogens, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. The current antifungal therapies either have toxic side effects or are insufficiently effect. The aim of this study is develop new small-molecule antifungal compounds by library screening methods using C. albicans, and to evaluate their antifungal effects on Candida biofilms and cytotoxic effects on human cells. Wild-type C. albicans strain SC5314 was used in library screening. To identify antifungal compounds, we screened a small-molecule library of 1,280 pharmacologically active compounds (LOPAC1280TM using an antifungal susceptibility test (AST. To investigate the antifungal effects of the hit compounds, ASTs were conducted using Candida strains in various growth modes, including biofilms. We tested the cytotoxicity of the hit compounds using human gingival fibroblast (hGF cells to evaluate their clinical safety. Only 35 compounds were identified by screening, which inhibited the metabolic activity of C. albicans by >50%. Of these, 26 compounds had fungistatic effects and 9 compounds had fungicidal effects on C. albicans. Five compounds, BAY11-7082, BAY11-7085, sanguinarine chloride hydrate, ellipticine and CV-3988, had strong fungicidal effects and could inhibit the metabolic activity of Candida biofilms. However, BAY11-7082, BAY11-7085, sanguinarine chloride hydrate and ellipticine were cytotoxic to hGF cells at low concentrations. CV-3988 showed no cytotoxicity at a fungicidal concentration.Four of the compounds identified, BAY11-7082, BAY11-7085, sanguinarine chloride hydrate and ellipticine, had toxic effects on Candida strains and hGF cells. In contrast, CV-3988 had fungicidal effects on Candida strains, but low cytotoxic effects on hGF cells. Therefore, this screening reveals agent, CV-3988 that was previously unknown to be antifungal agent, which could be a novel therapies for superficial mucosal

  13. Melanoma of unknown origin: a case series.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Kelly, J

    2010-12-01

    The natural history of metastatic melanoma involving lymph nodes, in the absence of a known primary site (cutaneous, ocular or mucosal) has, to date, been poorly defined; and the optimal management of this rare subtype of disease is therefore unclear. Melanomas of unknown primary site (MUP) are estimated to comprise between 3.7 and 6% of all melanomas (Anbari et al. in Cancer 79:1861-1821, 1997).

  14. Asparagus decline: Autotoxicity and autotoxic compounds in asparagus rhizomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato-Noguchi, Hisashi; Nakamura, Keisuke; Ohno, Osamu; Suenaga, Kiyotake; Okuda, Nobuyuki

    2017-06-01

    Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a perennial vegetable, but its crop productivity and quality decrease gradually. One possible reason for "asparagus decline" is thought to be the autotoxicity of asparagus. However, the autotoxic property of asparagus rhizomes remains unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the potential role of rhizomes in the autotoxicity of asparagus. An aqueous methanol extract of asparagus rhizomes inhibited the growth of asparagus seedlings and six other test plants in a concentration-dependent manners: garden cress (Lepidum sativum L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.). These results suggest that asparagus rhizomes contain autotoxic compounds. The extract was purified through several chromatographic steps with monitoring the autotoxic activity, and p-coumaric acid and iso-agatharesinol were isolated. These compounds inhibited the shoot and root growth of asparagus and two other test plants, garden cress and ryegrass, at concentrations higher than 0.1mM. The concentrations required for 50% inhibition of the root and shoot growth of these test plants ranged from 0.36 to 0.85mM and 0.41-1.22mM for p-coumaric acid and iso-agatharesinol, respectively. Therefore, these compounds may contribute to the autotoxicity caused by asparagus rhizomes and may be involved in "asparagus decline". Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  15. Symmetric and Asymmetric Patterns of Attraction Errors in Producing Subject-Predicate Agreement in Hebrew: An Issue of Morphological Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Avital; Dank, Maya

    2011-01-01

    A common characteristic of subject-predicate agreement errors (usually termed attraction errors) in complex noun phrases is an asymmetrical pattern of error distribution, depending on the inflectional state of the nouns comprising the complex noun phrase. That is, attraction is most likely to occur when the head noun is the morphologically…

  16. Atmospheric turbulence profiling with unknown power spectral density

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helin, Tapio; Kindermann, Stefan; Lehtonen, Jonatan; Ramlau, Ronny

    2018-04-01

    Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology in modern ground-based optical telescopes to compensate for the wavefront distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence. One method that allows to retrieve information about the atmosphere from telescope data is so-called SLODAR, where the atmospheric turbulence profile is estimated based on correlation data of Shack-Hartmann wavefront measurements. This approach relies on a layered Kolmogorov turbulence model. In this article, we propose a novel extension of the SLODAR concept by including a general non-Kolmogorov turbulence layer close to the ground with an unknown power spectral density. We prove that the joint estimation problem of the turbulence profile above ground simultaneously with the unknown power spectral density at the ground is ill-posed and propose three numerical reconstruction methods. We demonstrate by numerical simulations that our methods lead to substantial improvements in the turbulence profile reconstruction compared to the standard SLODAR-type approach. Also, our methods can accurately locate local perturbations in non-Kolmogorov power spectral densities.

  17. Neurological Autoantibody Prevalence in Epilepsy of Unknown Etiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubey, Divyanshu; Alqallaf, Abdulradha; Hays, Ryan; Freeman, Matthew; Chen, Kevin; Ding, Kan; Agostini, Mark; Vernino, Steven

    2017-04-01

    Autoimmune epilepsy is an underrecognized condition, and its true incidence is unknown. Identifying patients with an underlying autoimmune origin is critical because these patients' condition may remain refractory to conventional antiseizure medications but may respond to immunotherapy. To determine the prevalence of neurological autoantibodies (Abs) among adult patients with epilepsy of unknown etiology. Consecutive patients presenting to neurology services with new-onset epilepsy or established epilepsy of unknown etiology were identified. Serum samples were tested for autoimmune encephalitis Abs as well as thyroperoxidase (TPO) and glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) Abs. An antibody prevalence in epilepsy (APE) score based on clinical characteristics was assigned prospectively. Data were collected from June 1, 2015, to June 1, 2016. Presence of neurological Abs. A score based on clinical characteristics was assigned to estimate the probability of seropositivity prior to antibody test results. Good seizure outcome was estimated on the basis of significant reduction of seizure frequency at the first follow-up or seizure freedom. Of the 127 patients (68 males and 59 females) enrolled in the study, 15 were subsequently excluded after identification of an alternative diagnosis. Serum Abs suggesting a potential autoimmune etiology were detected in 39 (34.8%) cases. More than 1 Ab was detected in 7 patients (6.3%): 3 (2.7%) had TPO-Ab and voltage-gated potassium channel complex (VGKCc) Ab, 2 (1.8%) had GAD65-Ab and VGKCc-Ab, 1 had TPO-Ab and GAD65-Ab, and 1 had anti-Hu Ab and GAD65-Ab. Thirty-two patients (28.6%) had a single Ab marker. Among 112 patients included in the study, 15 (13.4%) had TPO-Ab, 14 (12.5%) had GAD65-Ab, 12 (10.7%) had VGKCc (4 of whom were positive for leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 [LGI1] Ab), and 4 (3.6%) had N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) Ab. Even after excluding TPO-Ab and low-titer GAD65-Ab, Abs strongly suggesting an

  18. Technology transfer and application of SERS continuous monitor for trace organic compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swindle, D.W. Jr.; Vo-Dinh, T.; Yalcintas, M.G.

    1992-01-01

    An in situ-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) continuous monitoring system was developed for exciting and collecting SERS signals generated on silver-coated microparticles deposited on a continuously rotating filter-paper support. SERS measurements were successfully conducted for several organic compounds. An in situ SERS fiber-optic system was also developed for exciting and collecting SERS signals generated from a sensing tip having silver-coated microparticles deposited on a glass-plate support. These devices will be very useful in remote identification of unknown chemicals from hazardous waste sites. This patented technology has been licensed from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to an analytical instrumentation firm which is in the process of completing development and marketing these detectors. Advantages to using this technology range from increased safety and sensitivity for detecting hazardous compounds to better statistics and reliable results. During this presentation, efforts of the Environmental Restoration Program to evaluate and support development of this technology will be described

  19. Comparison of UV irradiation and p-fluorphenylaline as selective agents for production of aromatic compounds in plant cell culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quesnel, A.A.; Ellis, B.E.

    1989-01-01

    Resistance to UV irradiation, and to the toxicity of p-fluorophenylalanine, can both be mediateted in plants by enhanced synthesis of aromatic compounds. These selective agents were applied to cell cultures of Nicotiana tabacum, Anchusa officinalis and Catharanthus roseur, and the production of aromatic metabolites in the resulting resistant lines of each species was compared. While Nicotiana and Anchusa cultures responded to each selective agent ith an enhanced accumulation of aromatic compounds, the Catharanthus cultures acquired resistance through other, unknown, mechanisms. Some degree of cross-resistance was observed between cultures selected individually for resistance to each agent (author). 26 refs.; 2 figs.; 1 tab

  20. Sorption mechanisms of perfluorinated compounds on carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng Shubo; Zhang Qiaoying; Nie Yao; Wei Haoran; Wang Bin; Huang Jun; Yu Gang; Xing Baoshan

    2012-01-01

    Sorption of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is critical for understanding their subsequent transport and fate in aqueous environments, but the sorption mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, the sorption of six PFCs on CNTs increased with increasing C-F chain length when they had a same functional group, and the CNTs with hydroxyl and carboxyl groups had much lower adsorbed amount than the pristine CNTs, indicating that hydrophobic interaction dominated the sorption of PFCs on the CNTs. Electrostatic repulsion suppressed the sorption of PFCs on the CNTs, resulting in the lower sorption with increasing pH. Hydrogen bonding interaction was negligible. The hydrophobic C-F chains can be closely adsorbed on the CNTs surface in parallel to the axis or along the curvature, making it impossible to form micelles on the CNT surface, leading to the lower sorption than other adsorbents. Highlights: ► Sorption capacities of PFOA on different CNTs are less than that on activated carbon and resins. ► Hydrophobic interaction is principally involved in the sorption of PFCs on CNTs. ► Electrostatic repulsion suppresses the sorption of PFCs on CNTs. - Hydrophobic interaction dominated the sorption of perfluorinated compounds on carbon nanotubes, while electrostatic repulsion suppressed their sorption.

  1. In situ imaging and proteome profiling indicate andrographolide is a highly promiscuous compound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lin; Wijaya, Hadhi; Samanta, Sanjay; Lam, Yulin; Yao, Shao Q.

    2015-06-01

    Natural products represent an enormous source of pharmacologically useful compounds, and are often used as the starting point in modern drug discovery. Many biologically interesting natural products are however not being pursued as potential drug candidates, partly due to a lack of well-defined mechanism-of-action. Traditional in vitro methods for target identification of natural products based on affinity protein enrichment from crude cellular lysates cannot faithfully recapitulate protein-drug interactions in living cells. Reported herein are dual-purpose probes inspired by the natural product andrographolide, capable of both reaction-based, real-time bioimaging and in situ proteome profiling/target identification in live mammalian cells. Our results confirm that andrographolide is a highly promiscuous compound and engaged in covalent interactions with numerous previously unknown cellular targets in cell type-specific manner. We caution its potential therapeutic effects should be further investigated in detail.

  2. Carving up Word Meaning: Portioning and Grinding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisson, S.; Frazier, L.

    2005-01-01

    Two eye-tracking experiments investigated the processing of mass nouns used as count nouns and count nouns used as mass nouns. Following Copestake and Briscoe (1995), the basic or underived sense of a word was treated as the input to a derivational rule (''grinding'' or ''portioning'') which produced the derived sense as output. It was…

  3. Isotopically modified compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuruc, J.

    2009-01-01

    In this chapter the nomenclature of isotopically modified compounds in Slovak language is described. This chapter consists of following parts: (1) Isotopically substituted compounds; (2) Specifically isotopically labelled compounds; (3) Selectively isotopically labelled compounds; (4) Non-selectively isotopically labelled compounds; (5) Isotopically deficient compounds.

  4. Design of a DNA chip for detection of unknown genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nesvold, Håvard; Kristoffersen, Anja Bråthen; Holst-Jensen, Arne; Berdal, Knut G

    2005-05-01

    Unknown genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have not undergone a risk evaluation, and hence might pose a danger to health and environment. There are, today, no methods for detecting unknown GMOs. In this paper we propose a novel method intended as a first step in an approach for detecting unknown genetically modified (GM) material in a single plant. A model is designed where biological and combinatorial reduction rules are applied to a set of DNA chip probes containing all possible sequences of uniform length n, creating probes capable of detecting unknown GMOs. The model is theoretically tested for Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia, and the probabilities for detecting inserts and receiving false positives are assessed for various parameters for this organism. From a theoretical standpoint, the model looks very promising but should be tested further in the laboratory. The model and algorithms will be available upon request to the corresponding author.

  5. The Effect of Known-and-Unknown Word Combinations on Intentional Vocabulary Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasahara, Kiwamu

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine whether learning a known-and-unknown word combination is superior in terms of retention and retrieval of meaning to learning a single unknown word. The term "combination" in this study means a two-word collocation of a familiar word and a word that is new to the participants. Following the results of…

  6. High Precision Fast Projective Synchronization for Chaotic Systems with Unknown Parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nian, Fuzhong; Wang, Xingyuan; Lin, Da; Niu, Yujun

    2013-08-01

    A high precision fast projective synchronization method for chaotic systems with unknown parameters was proposed by introducing optimal matrix. Numerical simulations indicate that the precision be improved about three orders compared with other common methods under the same condition of software and hardware. Moreover, when average error is less than 10-3, the synchronization speed is 6500 times than common methods, the iteration needs only 4 times. The unknown parameters also were identified rapidly. The theoretical analysis and proof also were given.

  7. Syntactic versus Lexical Therapy for Anomia in Acquired Aphasia: Differential Effects on Narrative and Conversation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert, Ruth; Gregory, Emma; Best, Wendy

    2014-01-01

    Background: Previous studies of therapy for acquired anomia have treated nouns in isolation. The effect on nouns in connected speech remains unclear. In a recent study in 2012, we used a novel noun syntax therapy and found an increase in the number of determiner plus noun constructions in narrative after therapy. Aims: Two aims arose from the…

  8. THE SPECIFICITY OF CORRELATION CATEGORY REALIZATION IN THE MODERN GERMAN LANGUAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goryunova Yuliya Nikolaevna

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The article studies the German article in functional aspect taking into account the conception of the grammatical category of correlation / non-correlation, proposed by L.R. Zinder and T.V. Stroeva. The author describes the specificity of the correlation category realization with nouns of different semantic classes and explains the limitations of using article with definite classes of nouns. It is proved that the common nouns, realizing the five types of correlation, can be used with definite, indefinite and zero articles; abstract and material nouns, as a rule, correlate with the concept and are used with zero article, however, if their semantics is specified in the context, they pass into the class of common nouns, realizing the definite correlation and being used with definite article; proper names, correlating both with a concrete subject and a concept are used, as a rule, with zero or definite article; unique nouns correlate only with a single object and are used only with a definite article. The author reveals that if the abstract, material, unique and proper nouns are contextually specified in the context, they can be used with the indefinite article, which becomes the marker of nouns transposition from one semantic class to another, especially into the lexical and grammatical class of common nouns.

  9. Compounds from multilayer plastic bags cause reproductive failures in artificial insemination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nerin, C; Ubeda, J L; Alfaro, P; Dahmani, Y; Aznar, M; Canellas, E; Ausejo, R

    2014-05-09

    High levels of reproductive failure were detected in some Spanish sow farms in the Spring of 2010. Regular returns to estrus and variable reductions in litter size were observed. The problem started suddenly and did not appear to be related to the quality of the ejaculates, disease, alterations of body condition or any other apparent reasons. Subsequent studies determined that the problem was the origin of the plastic bags used for semen storage. Chemical analysis of the suspicious bags identified unexpected compounds such as BADGE, a cyclic lactone and an unknown phthalate that leached into the semen at concentrations of 0.2 to 2.5 mg/L. Spermatozoa preserved in these bags passed all of the routine quality control tests, and no differences were observed between storage in the control and suspicious bags (p > 0.05). In vitro fecundation tests and endocrine profiler panel analysis (EPP) did not show any alterations, whereas the in vivo tests confirmed the described failure. This is the first described relationship between reproductive failure and toxic compounds released from plastic bags.

  10. Compounds from multilayer plastic bags cause reproductive failures in artificial insemination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nerin, C.; Ubeda, J. L.; Alfaro, P.; Dahmani, Y.; Aznar, M.; Canellas, E.; Ausejo, R.

    2014-05-01

    High levels of reproductive failure were detected in some Spanish sow farms in the Spring of 2010. Regular returns to estrus and variable reductions in litter size were observed. The problem started suddenly and did not appear to be related to the quality of the ejaculates, disease, alterations of body condition or any other apparent reasons. Subsequent studies determined that the problem was the origin of the plastic bags used for semen storage. Chemical analysis of the suspicious bags identified unexpected compounds such as BADGE, a cyclic lactone and an unknown phthalate that leached into the semen at concentrations of 0.2 to 2.5 mg/L. Spermatozoa preserved in these bags passed all of the routine quality control tests, and no differences were observed between storage in the control and suspicious bags (p > 0.05). In vitro fecundation tests and endocrine profiler panel analysis (EPP) did not show any alterations, whereas the in vivo tests confirmed the described failure. This is the first described relationship between reproductive failure and toxic compounds released from plastic bags.

  11. Strawberry Achenes Are an Important Source of Bioactive Compounds for Human Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Teresa Ariza

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Strawberries are highly appreciated for their taste, nutritional value and antioxidant compounds, mainly phenolics. Fruit antioxidants derive from achenes and flesh, but achene contribution to the total fruit antioxidant capacity and to the bioaccessibility after intake is still unknown. In this work, the content of total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins and antioxidant capacity (TEAC, FRAP and DPPH of achenes and flesh were compared in non-digested as well as in gastric and intestinal extracts after in vitro digestion. Results showed that, despite strawberry achenes represent a small fraction of the fruit, their contribution to total fruit antioxidant content was more than 41% and accounted for 81% of antioxidant capacity (TEAC. Achenes have higher quantity and different quality of antioxidants in non-digested and digested extracts. Antioxidant release was higher in the in vitro gastric digested extracts, but digestion conditions did not only affect quantity but quality, resulting in differences in antioxidant capacity and highlighting the importance of simulating physiological-like extraction conditions for assessing fruit antioxidant properties on human health. These results give new insights into the use of strawberry achenes as a source of bioactive compounds to be considered in strawberry breeding programs for improving human health.

  12. Strawberry Achenes Are an Important Source of Bioactive Compounds for Human Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariza, María Teresa; Reboredo-Rodríguez, Patricia; Mazzoni, Luca; Forbes-Hernández, Tamara Yuliett; Giampieri, Francesca; Afrin, Sadia; Gasparrini, Massimiliano; Soria, Carmen; Martínez-Ferri, Elsa; Battino, Maurizio; Mezzetti, Bruno

    2016-01-01

    Strawberries are highly appreciated for their taste, nutritional value and antioxidant compounds, mainly phenolics. Fruit antioxidants derive from achenes and flesh, but achene contribution to the total fruit antioxidant capacity and to the bioaccessibility after intake is still unknown. In this work, the content of total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins and antioxidant capacity (TEAC, FRAP and DPPH) of achenes and flesh were compared in non-digested as well as in gastric and intestinal extracts after in vitro digestion. Results showed that, despite strawberry achenes represent a small fraction of the fruit, their contribution to total fruit antioxidant content was more than 41% and accounted for 81% of antioxidant capacity (TEAC). Achenes have higher quantity and different quality of antioxidants in non-digested and digested extracts. Antioxidant release was higher in the in vitro gastric digested extracts, but digestion conditions did not only affect quantity but quality, resulting in differences in antioxidant capacity and highlighting the importance of simulating physiological-like extraction conditions for assessing fruit antioxidant properties on human health. These results give new insights into the use of strawberry achenes as a source of bioactive compounds to be considered in strawberry breeding programs for improving human health. PMID:27409612

  13. A perspective on plant origin radiolabeled compounds, their biological affinities and interaction between plant extracts with radiopharmaceuticals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zumrut Biber Muftuler, F.; Ayfer Yurt Kilcar; Perihan Unak

    2015-01-01

    Plant origin products having anticancer properties come into prominence due to widespread of cancer. There is significant increase on the usage of plant origin products and their purification to investigate the potential use at the treatment and diagnosis. Plant origin radiolabeled compounds have been attracting more scientific attention since the achievement of earlier researches. Furthermore, plant extracts are consumed quite a lot with unknown side effects of their contents. Researchers focus on investigation of their interactions with radiopharmaceuticals. Current review is carried out to evaluate the contribution of plant extracts for the development of new plant origin radiolabeled ( 125 / 131 I, 99m Tc) compounds for imaging and/or therapy and to investigate the interaction of plant extracts with radiopharmaceuticals. (author)

  14. Unknown quantum states: The quantum de Finetti representation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caves, Carlton M.; Fuchs, Christopher A.; Schack, Ruediger

    2002-01-01

    We present an elementary proof of the quantum de Finetti representation theorem, a quantum analog of de Finetti's classical theorem on exchangeable probability assignments. This contrasts with the original proof of Hudson and Moody [Z. Wahrschein. verw. Geb. 33, 343 (1976)], which relies on advanced mathematics and does not share the same potential for generalization. The classical de Finetti theorem provides an operational definition of the concept of an unknown probability in Bayesian probability theory, where probabilities are taken to be degrees of belief instead of objective states of nature. The quantum de Finetti theorem, in a closely analogous fashion, deals with exchangeable density-operator assignments and provides an operational definition of the concept of an ''unknown quantum state'' in quantum-state tomography. This result is especially important for information-based interpretations of quantum mechanics, where quantum states, like probabilities, are taken to be states of knowledge rather than states of nature. We further demonstrate that the theorem fails for real Hilbert spaces and discuss the significance of this point

  15. Olive oil compounds inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 phosphorylation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamy, Sylvie; Ouanouki, Amira; Béliveau, Richard; Desrosiers, Richard R.

    2014-01-01

    Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) triggers crucial signaling processes that regulate tumor angiogenesis and, therefore, represents an attractive target for the development of novel anticancer therapeutics. Several epidemiological studies have confirmed that abundant consumption of foods from plant origin is associated with reduced risk of developing cancers. In the Mediterranean basin, the consumption of extra virgin olive oil is an important constituent of the diet. Compared to other vegetable oils, the presence of several phenolic antioxidants in olive oil is believed to prevent the occurrence of a variety of pathological processes, such as cancer. While the strong antioxidant potential of these molecules is well characterized, their antiangiogenic activities remain unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate whether tyrosol (Tyr), hydroxytyrosol (HT), taxifolin (Tax), oleuropein (OL) and oleic acid (OA), five compounds contained in extra virgin olive oil, can affect in vitro angiogenesis. We found that HT, Tax and OA were the most potent angiogenesis inhibitors through their inhibitory effect on specific autophosphorylation sites of VEGFR-2 (Tyr951, Tyr1059, Tyr1175 and Tyr1214) leading to the inhibition of endothelial cell (EC) signaling. Inhibition of VEGFR-2 by these olive oil compounds significantly reduced VEGF-induced EC proliferation and migration as well as their morphogenic differentiation into capillary-like tubular structures in Matrigel. Our study demonstrates that HT, Tax and OA are novel and potent inhibitors of the VEGFR-2 signaling pathway. These findings emphasize the chemopreventive properties of olive oil and highlight the importance of nutrition in cancer prevention. - Highlights: • We investigated five compounds contained in extra virgin olive oil on angiogenesis. • Hydroxytyrosol, taxifolin and oleic acid are the best angiogenesis inhibitors. • Olive oil compounds affect endothelial cell functions essential for

  16. Olive oil compounds inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 phosphorylation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lamy, Sylvie, E-mail: lamy.sylvie@uqam.ca; Ouanouki, Amira; Béliveau, Richard; Desrosiers, Richard R.

    2014-03-10

    Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) triggers crucial signaling processes that regulate tumor angiogenesis and, therefore, represents an attractive target for the development of novel anticancer therapeutics. Several epidemiological studies have confirmed that abundant consumption of foods from plant origin is associated with reduced risk of developing cancers. In the Mediterranean basin, the consumption of extra virgin olive oil is an important constituent of the diet. Compared to other vegetable oils, the presence of several phenolic antioxidants in olive oil is believed to prevent the occurrence of a variety of pathological processes, such as cancer. While the strong antioxidant potential of these molecules is well characterized, their antiangiogenic activities remain unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate whether tyrosol (Tyr), hydroxytyrosol (HT), taxifolin (Tax), oleuropein (OL) and oleic acid (OA), five compounds contained in extra virgin olive oil, can affect in vitro angiogenesis. We found that HT, Tax and OA were the most potent angiogenesis inhibitors through their inhibitory effect on specific autophosphorylation sites of VEGFR-2 (Tyr951, Tyr1059, Tyr1175 and Tyr1214) leading to the inhibition of endothelial cell (EC) signaling. Inhibition of VEGFR-2 by these olive oil compounds significantly reduced VEGF-induced EC proliferation and migration as well as their morphogenic differentiation into capillary-like tubular structures in Matrigel. Our study demonstrates that HT, Tax and OA are novel and potent inhibitors of the VEGFR-2 signaling pathway. These findings emphasize the chemopreventive properties of olive oil and highlight the importance of nutrition in cancer prevention. - Highlights: • We investigated five compounds contained in extra virgin olive oil on angiogenesis. • Hydroxytyrosol, taxifolin and oleic acid are the best angiogenesis inhibitors. • Olive oil compounds affect endothelial cell functions essential for

  17. Social Networking Sites (SNSs- Shifting Paradigm of English Language Usage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hetal K. Kachhia

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available English is the globally accepted language in various nations and professions in different varieties, but the English that has acquired a wider spectrum than all these Englishes is the English used in Social Networking Sites which has changed the scenario of English language usage due to the ease in its accessibility and the kind of flexibility of language usage. The English used in Social Networking Sites like Facebook and Twitter has changed the linguistic behaviour of the people by producing a number of acronyms like BFF, FB etc, creating new verb forms like ‘to tweet’ or nouns like ‘tweeple’ or producing many compound nouns such as ‘netiquette’, changing the meaning of traditional verbs and nouns by introducing new meanings to them, e.g. the word ‘friend’ is used to refer “someone to an online list of acquaintances”, and by making use of prefixes like ‘un’ for the purpose of conveying the meaning of negation as in ‘unlike a comment/update’ by ignoring its original prefix ‘dis’ for referring the antonym of ‘like’. By emphasizing on the aim of communication, grammar and vocabulary are put on the peripheral value in Social Networking Sites. Therefore, the focal point of this paper is to study the changes in the linguistic behaviour of the people caused by the SNSs.

  18. HE SCIENTIFIC CONTENT OF MANAGEMENT MARKETING AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT

    OpenAIRE

    PAPUC, Mihai; SMEDESCU, Ion

    2012-01-01

    In the last decenniums, economic literature has debated more and more vividly a new concept Management Marketing1. The rightful understanding of this compound noun has to take in consideration the complex content of the two sciences, the way in which their conceptual defining, methods and specific instruments appear in the common relation generated by processes and connections through which the companys activities are organically integrated in its economical and social environment. The presen...

  19. THE SCIENTIFIC CONTENT OF MANAGEMENT MARKETING AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT

    OpenAIRE

    Ion SMEDESCU (In memoriam); Mihai PAPUC

    2012-01-01

    Concept – Management Marketing. The rightful understanding of this compound noun has to take in consideration the complex content of the two sciences, the way in which their conceptual defining, methods and specific instruments appear in the common relation generated by processes and connections through which the company’s activities are organically integrated in its economical and social environment. The present paper brings into discussion some points of view that could contribute to the co...

  20. Perspectives on the relation between composition, compositionality and exocentricity

    OpenAIRE

    Scholz, Cosima

    2014-01-01

    This PhD Project deals with Romance Verb-Noun-Compounds (VNC), a productive exocentric word formation process in several Romance languages. Due to its special structural and semantic configuration, it gives rise to many questions that partly coincide with recent issues discussed in linguistic theory. The aim of this work is twofold: First, Romance VNC are embedded in recent developments concerning aspects of morphological theory, compositionality and thoughts about the decoding of structurall...

  1. Intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis in patients with symptomatic epilepsy and epilepsy of unknown etiology ('cryptogenic').

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauser, S; Soellner, C; Bien, C G; Tumani, H

    2017-09-01

    To compare the frequency of intrathecal immunoglobulin (Ig) synthesis in patients with symptomatic epilepsy and epilepsy of unknown etiology ('cryptogenic'). Patients with epileptic (n = 301) and non-epileptic (n = 10) seizures were retrospectively screened for autochthonous intrathecal Ig synthesis and oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in the cerebrospinal fluid. Intrathecal IgG/OCBs were detected in 8% of patients with epilepsies of unknown etiology, 5% of patients with first seizures of unknown cause and 0-4% of patients with epilepsy due to brain tumors, cerebrovascular disease or other etiologies. Intrathecal IgG/OCBs were not seen in patients with psychogenic seizures. Identical OCBs in serum and cerebrospinal fluid were more common in all patient groups (10-40% depending on underlying etiology). Intrathecal IgG synthesis/OCBs were observed slightly more frequently in patients with 'cryptogenic' epilepsy and with first seizures of unknown etiology than in other patient groups. However, this remained an infrequent finding and thus we could not confirm humoral immunity as a leading disease mechanism in patients with epilepsy in general or with unknown etiology in particular. © 2017 EAN.

  2. RBF neural network based H∞ synchronization for unknown chaotic ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    , 172 ... the effect of disturbance to an H∞ norm constraint. It is shown that ... unknown chaotic systems; linear matrix inequality (LMI); learning law. 1. Introduction .... (9) is RBFNN H∞ synchronized if the synchronization error e(t) satisfies. ∫ ∞.

  3. Using Graph Components Derived from an Associative Concept Dictionary to Predict fMRI Neural Activation Patterns that Represent the Meaning of Nouns.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroyuki Akama

    Full Text Available In this study, we introduce an original distance definition for graphs, called the Markov-inverse-F measure (MiF. This measure enables the integration of classical graph theory indices with new knowledge pertaining to structural feature extraction from semantic networks. MiF improves the conventional Jaccard and/or Simpson indices, and reconciles both the geodesic information (random walk and co-occurrence adjustment (degree balance and distribution. We measure the effectiveness of graph-based coefficients through the application of linguistic graph information for a neural activity recorded during conceptual processing in the human brain. Specifically, the MiF distance is computed between each of the nouns used in a previous neural experiment and each of the in-between words in a subgraph derived from the Edinburgh Word Association Thesaurus of English. From the MiF-based information matrix, a machine learning model can accurately obtain a scalar parameter that specifies the degree to which each voxel in (the MRI image of the brain is activated by each word or each principal component of the intermediate semantic features. Furthermore, correlating the voxel information with the MiF-based principal components, a new computational neurolinguistics model with a network connectivity paradigm is created. This allows two dimensions of context space to be incorporated with both semantic and neural distributional representations.

  4. Comparison of chemical compounds associated with sclerites from healthy and diseased sea fan corals (Gorgonia ventalina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Toledo-Hernández

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background The roles of gorgonian sclerites as structural components and predator deterrents have been widely studied. Yet their role as barriers against microbes has only recently been investigated, and even less is known about the diversity and roles of the chemical compounds associated with sclerites. Methods Here, we examine the semi-volatile organic compound fraction (SVOCs associated with sclerites from healthy and diseased Gorgonia ventalina sea fan corals to understand their possible role as a stress response or in defense of infection. We also measured the oxidative potential of compounds from diseased and healthy G. ventalina colonies. Results The results showed that sclerites harbor a great diversity of SVOCs. Overall, 70 compounds were identified, the majority of which are novel with unknown biological roles. The majority of SVOCs identified exhibit multiple immune-related roles including antimicrobial and radical scavenging functions. The free radical activity assays further confirmed the anti-oxidative potential of some these compounds. The anti-oxidative activity was, nonetheless, similar across sclerites regardless of the health condition of the colony, although sclerites from diseased sea fans display slightly higher anti-oxidative activity than the healthy ones. Discussion Sclerites harbor great SVOCs diversity, the majority of which are novel to sea fans or any other corals. Yet the scientific literature consulted showed that the roles of compounds found in sclerites vary from antioxidant to antimicrobial compounds. However, this study fell short in determine the origin of the SVOCs identified, undermining our capacity to determine the biological roles of the SVOCs on sclerites and sea fans.

  5. Content-Based Multimedia Retrieval in the Presence of Unknown User Preferences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beecks, Christian; Assent, Ira; Seidl, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    Content-based multimedia retrieval requires an appropriate similarity model which reflects user preferences. When these preferences are unknown or when the structure of the data collection is unclear, retrieving the most preferable objects the user has in mind is challenging, as the notion...... address the problem of content-based multimedia retrieval in the presence of unknown user preferences. Our idea consists in performing content-based retrieval by considering all possibilities in a family of similarity models simultaneously. To this end, we propose a novel content-based retrieval approach...

  6. Liability for Unknown Risks: A Law and Economics Perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.G. Faure (Michael); L.T. Visscher (Louis); F. Weber (Franziska)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractIn the law and economics literature liability is generally regarded as an instrument which provides potential tortfeasors with incentives for optimal care taking. The question, however, arises whether liability can still provide those incentives when risks are unknown. That is the

  7. Teleportation of Unknown Superpositions of Collective Atomic Coherent States

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHENG ShiBiao

    2001-01-01

    We propose a scheme to teleport an unknown superposition of two atomic coherent states with different phases. Our scheme is based on resonant and dispersive atom-field interaction. Our scheme provides a possibility of teleporting macroscopic superposition states of many atoms first time.``

  8. Aerobic Biofilms Grown from Athabasca Watershed Sediments Are Inhibited by Increasing Concentrations of Bituminous Compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, John R.; Sanschagrin, Sylvie; Roy, Julie L.; Swerhone, George D. W.; Korber, Darren R.; Greer, Charles W.

    2013-01-01

    Sediments from the Athabasca River and its tributaries naturally contain bitumen at various concentrations, but the impacts of this variation on the ecology of the river are unknown. Here, we used controlled rotating biofilm reactors in which we recirculated diluted sediments containing various concentrations of bituminous compounds taken from the Athabasca River and three tributaries. Biofilms exposed to sediments having low and high concentrations of bituminous compounds were compared. The latter were 29% thinner, had a different extracellular polysaccharide composition, 67% less bacterial biomass per μm2, 68% less cyanobacterial biomass per μm2, 64% less algal biomass per μm2, 13% fewer protozoa per cm2, were 21% less productive, and had a 33% reduced content in chlorophyll a per mm2 and a 20% reduction in the expression of photosynthetic genes, but they had a 23% increase in the expression of aromatic hydrocarbon degradation genes. Within the Bacteria, differences in community composition were also observed, with relatively more Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria and less Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes in biofilms exposed to high concentrations of bituminous compounds. Altogether, our results suggest that biofilms that develop in the presence of higher concentrations of bituminous compounds are less productive and have lower biomass, linked to a decrease in the activities and abundance of photosynthetic organisms likely due to inhibitory effects. However, within this general inhibition, some specific microbial taxa and functional genes are stimulated because they are less sensitive to the inhibitory effects of bituminous compounds or can degrade and utilize some bitumen-associated compounds. PMID:24056457

  9. Adresse inconnue / Address unknown / Suchwiin Bulmyeong

    OpenAIRE

    Serge Gruzinski

    2005-01-01

    Tous les films asiatiques parlent de métissage, même ceux qui se présentent comme de vastes fresques historiques perdues dans le temps. Les emprunts aux traditions hollywoodiennes et européennes n'ont cessé d'enrichir une cinématographie aussi ancienne que celle du monde occidental. Dans Adresse inconnue (Address unknown) le cinéaste coréen Kim Ki-duk explore l'expérience du métissage et le corps du métis à la frontière entre Corée du Nord et Corée du sud. Fils d'un GI américain et noir et d'...

  10. Adaptive Tracking and Obstacle Avoidance Control for Mobile Robots with Unknown Sliding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingyue Cui

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available An adaptive control approach is proposed for trajectory tracking and obstacle avoidance for mobile robots with consideration given to unknown sliding. A kinematic model of mobile robots is established in this paper, in which both longitudinal and lateral sliding are considered and processed as three time-varying parameters. A sliding model observer is introduced to estimate the sliding parameters online. A stable tracking control law for this nonholonomic system is proposed to compensate the unknown sliding effect. From Lyapunov-stability analysis, it is proved, regardless of unknown sliding, that tracking errors of the controlled closed-loop system are asymptotically stable, the tracking errors converge to zero outside the obstacle detection region and obstacle avoidance is guaranteed inside the obstacle detection region. The efficiency and robustness of the proposed control system are verified by simulation results.

  11. Compound odontoma associated with an unerupted mandibular primary canine: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seraj B

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Odontomas are benign tumors of odontogenic origin characterized by their slow growth. They are considered to be a common type of odontogenic tumor, but rarely occur in the primary dentition.The etiology of odontomas is unknown, although local trauma, infection and genetic factors have been suggested. Odontomas often cause disturbances in the eruption of teeth such as, impaction or delayed eruption, and retention of primary teeth and abnormalities in the position of teeth such as tipping or displacement of adjacent teeth. In this paper, a case of unerupted right mandibular primary cuspid in a 5 years old girl due to the presence of a compound odontoma is presented.

  12. subordination across ghanaian and british newspaper editorials

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    What functional motivation underlies the distribution of dependent clause patterns in newspaper .... The mode is as relevant to our understanding of newspaper editorials as the ..... Emotive nouns: nouns which express emotion. Attested nouns ...

  13. Multiple analysis of an unknown optical multilayer coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobrowolski, J.A.; Ho, F.C.; Waldorf, A.

    1985-01-01

    Results are given of the analysis at five different laboratories of an unknown optical multilayer coating. In all, eleven different analytical and laboratory techniques were applied to the problem. The multilayer nominally consisted of three dielectric and two metallic layers. It was demonstrated convincingly that with present day techniques it is possible to determine the basic structure of such a coating

  14. Distributed Optimization Design of Continuous-Time Multiagent Systems With Unknown-Frequency Disturbances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xinghu; Hong, Yiguang; Yi, Peng; Ji, Haibo; Kang, Yu

    2017-05-24

    In this paper, a distributed optimization problem is studied for continuous-time multiagent systems with unknown-frequency disturbances. A distributed gradient-based control is proposed for the agents to achieve the optimal consensus with estimating unknown frequencies and rejecting the bounded disturbance in the semi-global sense. Based on convex optimization analysis and adaptive internal model approach, the exact optimization solution can be obtained for the multiagent system disturbed by exogenous disturbances with uncertain parameters.

  15. Estimation of the false discovery proportion with unknown dependence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jianqing; Han, Xu

    2017-09-01

    Large-scale multiple testing with correlated test statistics arises frequently in many scientific research. Incorporating correlation information in approximating false discovery proportion has attracted increasing attention in recent years. When the covariance matrix of test statistics is known, Fan, Han & Gu (2012) provided an accurate approximation of False Discovery Proportion (FDP) under arbitrary dependence structure and some sparsity assumption. However, the covariance matrix is often unknown in many applications and such dependence information has to be estimated before approximating FDP. The estimation accuracy can greatly affect FDP approximation. In the current paper, we aim to theoretically study the impact of unknown dependence on the testing procedure and establish a general framework such that FDP can be well approximated. The impacts of unknown dependence on approximating FDP are in the following two major aspects: through estimating eigenvalues/eigenvectors and through estimating marginal variances. To address the challenges in these two aspects, we firstly develop general requirements on estimates of eigenvalues and eigenvectors for a good approximation of FDP. We then give conditions on the structures of covariance matrices that satisfy such requirements. Such dependence structures include banded/sparse covariance matrices and (conditional) sparse precision matrices. Within this framework, we also consider a special example to illustrate our method where data are sampled from an approximate factor model, which encompasses most practical situations. We provide a good approximation of FDP via exploiting this specific dependence structure. The results are further generalized to the situation where the multivariate normality assumption is relaxed. Our results are demonstrated by simulation studies and some real data applications.

  16. Numerical method of identification of an unknown source term in a heat equation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatullayev Afet Golayo?lu

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available A numerical procedure for an inverse problem of identification of an unknown source in a heat equation is presented. Approach of proposed method is to approximate unknown function by polygons linear pieces which are determined consecutively from the solution of minimization problem based on the overspecified data. Numerical examples are presented.

  17. Telluro amino acids-synthesis, characterization and properties of a new and potentially useful class of compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knapp, F.F. Jr.; Ambrose, K.R.; Callahan, A.P.

    1978-01-01

    The Te-123m nuclide emits 159 keV photons suggesting that agents labeled with this nuclide would be attractive candidates for tissue imaging. Amino acids labeled with Te-123m are of particular interest since some of these compounds would be isosteric with the sulfur analogs and might behave similarly in vivo. Such agents could possibly be useful for pancreatic imaging and for other biomedical applications. The goal of this investigation was to develop a general chemical method for the preparation of telluro amino acids. Attempts by other workers to prepare such compounds by microbiological methods have been unsuccessful. Since telluro amino acids were unknown prior to our studies we attempted the synthesis of a representative member of this class of compounds by several routes. Two general approaches were considered which involved either the introduction of an (organo telluro) reagent into a substrate that contained the protected -CH(NH 2 )COOH moiety or introduction of the reagent into a substrate that could subsequently be converted to the α-amino acid after the coupling step

  18. Cancer of unknown primitive metastatic. About two clinical cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cawen, L; Cordoba, A.

    2010-01-01

    This work is about the two clinical cases about the unknown primitive metastatic cancer. The main techniques used for the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of different s carcinomas are: Electronic microscope, molecular biology and genetics, especially histopathological study, topographic survey, ultrasound, radiography, chemotherapy, radiotherapy

  19. High-order sliding mode observer for fractional commensurate linear systems with unknown input

    KAUST Repository

    Belkhatir, Zehor; Laleg-Kirati, Taous-Meriem

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, a high-order sliding mode observer (HOSMO) is proposed for the joint estimation of the pseudo-state and the unknown input of fractional commensurate linear systems with single unknown input and a single output. The convergence of the proposed observer is proved using a Lyapunov-based approach. In addition, an enhanced variant of the proposed fractional-HOSMO is introduced to avoid the peaking phenomenon and thus to improve the estimation results in the transient phase. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed fractional observer in both noise-free and noisy cases. The effect of the observer’s gains on the estimated pseudo-state and unknown input is also discussed.

  20. High-order sliding mode observer for fractional commensurate linear systems with unknown input

    KAUST Repository

    Belkhatir, Zehor

    2017-05-20

    In this paper, a high-order sliding mode observer (HOSMO) is proposed for the joint estimation of the pseudo-state and the unknown input of fractional commensurate linear systems with single unknown input and a single output. The convergence of the proposed observer is proved using a Lyapunov-based approach. In addition, an enhanced variant of the proposed fractional-HOSMO is introduced to avoid the peaking phenomenon and thus to improve the estimation results in the transient phase. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed fractional observer in both noise-free and noisy cases. The effect of the observer’s gains on the estimated pseudo-state and unknown input is also discussed.

  1. On reconstruction of an unknown polygonal cavity in a linearized elasticity with one measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikehata, M; Itou, H

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we consider a reconstruction problem of an unknown polygonal cavity in a linearized elastic body. For this problem, an extraction formula of the convex hull of the unknown polygonal cavity is established by means of the enclosure method introduced by Ikehata. The advantages of our method are that it needs only a single set of boundary data and we do not require any a priori assumptions for the unknown polygonal cavity and any constraints on boundary data. The theoretical formula may have possibility of application in nondestructive evaluation.

  2. Learning Unknown Structure in CRFs via Adaptive Gradient Projection Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Xue

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available We study the problem of fitting probabilistic graphical models to the given data when the structure is not known. More specifically, we focus on learning unknown structure in conditional random fields, especially learning both the structure and parameters of a conditional random field model simultaneously. To do this, we first formulate the learning problem as a convex minimization problem by adding an l_2-regularization to the node parameters and a group l_1-regularization to the edge parameters, and then a gradient-based projection method is proposed to solve it which combines an adaptive stepsize selection strategy with a nonmonotone line search. Extensive simulation experiments are presented to show the performance of our approach in solving unknown structure learning problems.

  3. Extensive screening for primary tumor is redundant in melanoma of unknown primary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tos, Tina; Klyver, Helle; Drzewiecki, Krzysztof T

    2011-01-01

    For decades, patients in our institution with metastastic melanoma of unknown primary have been subjected to extensive examinations in search of the primary tumor. This retrospective study questions the results, and thus the feasibility of these examinations. Of 103 patients diagnosed with unknow......, for patients referred with metastastic melanoma of unknown primary, we recommend that a detailed history is obtained, and a standard physical examination performed, in addition to a histopathological review and CT/PET for staging....

  4. Teleportation of an Unknown Atomic State via Adiabatic Passage

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    We propose a scheme for teleporting an unknown atomic state via adiabatic passage. Taking advantage of adiabatic passage, the atom has no probability of being excited and thus the atomic spontaneous emission is suppressed.We also show that the fidelity can reach 1 under certain condition.

  5. Metastasis to neck from unknown primary tumor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jose, B.; Bosch, A.; Caldwell, W.L.; Frias, Z.

    1979-01-01

    The records of 54 consecutive patients who were irradiated for metastatic disease in the neck from an unknown primary tumor were reviewed. The overall survival results are comparable to those of other reported series. Patients with high or posterior cervical lymph node involvement were irradiated with fields including the nasopharynx and oropharynx. Patients with high neck nodes had a better survival rate than those with low neck nodes. The size of the neck tumors and the local control after treatment also have prognostic significance. (Auth.)

  6. Quadrotor Control in the Presence of Unknown Mass Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duivenvoorden, Rikky Ricardo Petrus Rufino

    Quadrotor UAVs are popular due to their mechanical simplicity, as well as their capability to hover and vertically take-off and land. As applications diversify, quadrotors are increasingly required to operate under unknown mass properties, for example as a multirole sensor platform or for package delivery operations. The work presented here consists of the derivation of a generalized quadrotor dynamic model without the typical simplifying assumptions on the first and second moments of mass. The maximum payload capacity of a quadrotor in hover, and the observability of the unknown mass properties are discussed. A brief introduction of L1 adaptive control is provided, and three different L 1 adaptive controllers were designed for the Parrot AR.Drone quadrotor. Their tracking and disturbance rejection performance was compared to the baseline nonlinear controller in experiments. Finally, the results of the combination of L1 adaptive control with iterative learning control are presented, showing high performance trajectory tracking under uncertainty.

  7. Self-reference modulates the processing of emotional stimuli in the absence of explicit self-referential appraisal instructions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauli, Paul; Herbert, Beate M.

    2011-01-01

    Self-referential evaluation of emotional stimuli has been shown to modify the way emotional stimuli are processed. This study aimed at a new approach by investigating whether self-reference alters emotion processing in the absence of explicit self-referential appraisal instructions. Event-related potentials were measured while subjects spontaneously viewed a series of emotional and neutral nouns. Nouns were preceded either by personal pronouns (‘my’) indicating self-reference or a definite article (‘the’) without self-reference. The early posterior negativity, a brain potential reflecting rapid attention capture by emotional stimuli was enhanced for unpleasant and pleasant nouns relative to neutral nouns irrespective of whether nouns were preceded by personal pronouns or articles. Later brain potentials such as the late positive potential were enhanced for unpleasant nouns only when preceded by personal pronouns. Unpleasant nouns were better remembered than pleasant or neutral nouns when paired with a personal pronoun. Correlation analysis showed that this bias in favor of self-related unpleasant concepts can be explained by participants’ depression scores. Our results demonstrate that self-reference acts as a first processing filter for emotional material to receive higher order processing after an initial rapid attention capture by emotional content has been completed. Mood-congruent processing may contribute to this effect. PMID:20855295

  8. The unknown-unknowns: Revealing the hidden insights in massive biomedical data using combined artificial intelligence and knowledge networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Yoo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Genomic data is estimated to be doubling every seven months with over 2 trillion bases from whole genome sequence studies deposited in Genbank in just the last 15 years alone. Recent advances in compute and storage have enabled the use of artificial intelligence techniques in areas such as feature recognition in digital pathology and chemical synthesis for drug development. To apply A.I. productively to multidimensional data such as cellular processes and their dysregulation, the data must be transformed into a structured format, using prior knowledge to create contextual relationships and hierarchies upon which computational analysis can be performed. Here we present the organization of complex data into hypergraphs that facilitate the application of A.I. We provide an example use case of a hypergraph containing hundreds of biological data values and the results of several classes of A.I. algorithms applied in a popular compute cloud. While multiple, biologically insightful correlations between disease states, behavior, and molecular features were identified, the insights of scientific import were revealed only when exploration of the data included visualization of subgraphs of represented knowledge. The results suggest that while machine learning can identify known correlations and suggest testable ones, the greater probability of discovering unexpected relationships between seemingly independent variables (unknown-unknowns requires a context-aware system – hypergraphs that impart biological meaning in nodes and edges. We discuss the implications of a combined hypergraph-A.I. analysis approach to multidimensional data and the pre-processing requirements for such a system.

  9. -gate 語の系譜の研究 : Watergate (1972) から Indogate (1996) まで

    OpenAIRE

    須永, 紫乃生; Shinobu, SUNAGA

    1997-01-01

    As an enthusiastic reader of the columns by Mr. William Safire, who says "...I, an avid -gate-combining-form fan, ...", I have long been collecting -gate words coined to reflect unfavorable behaviors of various important people in the political, industrial, cultural, and media worlds. This paper will explore new English words formed by combining a root with a word-forming element -gate. The combining form -gate was created by clipping the prepositive element of the compound noun "Watergate, "...

  10. Adresse inconnue / Address unknown / Suchwiin Bulmyeong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serge Gruzinski

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Tous les films asiatiques parlent de métissage, même ceux qui se présentent comme de vastes fresques historiques perdues dans le temps. Les emprunts aux traditions hollywoodiennes et européennes n'ont cessé d'enrichir une cinématographie aussi ancienne que celle du monde occidental. Dans Adresse inconnue (Address unknown le cinéaste coréen Kim Ki-duk explore l'expérience du métissage et le corps du métis à la frontière entre Corée du Nord et Corée du sud. Fils d'un GI américain et noir et d...

  11. Sanskrit Compound Processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Anil; Mittal, Vipul; Kulkarni, Amba

    Sanskrit is very rich in compound formation. Typically a compound does not code the relation between its components explicitly. To understand the meaning of a compound, it is necessary to identify its components, discover the relations between them and finally generate a paraphrase of the compound. In this paper, we discuss the automatic segmentation and type identification of a compound using simple statistics that results from the manually annotated data.

  12. Optimal conclusive teleportation of a d-dimensional two-particle unknown quantum state

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yang Yu-Guang; Wen Qiao-Yan; Zhu Fu-Chen

    2006-01-01

    A conclusive teleportation protocol of a d-dimensional two-particle unknown quantum state using three ddimensional particles in an arbitrary pure state is proposed. A sender teleports the unknown state conclusively to a receiver by using the positive operator valued measure(POVM) and introducing an ancillary qudit to perform the generalized Bell basis measurement. We calculate the optimal teleportation fidelity. We also discuss and analyse the reason why the information on the teleported state is lost in the course of the protocol.

  13. Identification of non-volatile compounds and their migration from hot melt adhesives used in food packaging materials characterized by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vera, Paula; Canellas, Elena; Nerín, Cristina

    2013-05-01

    The identification of unknown non-volatile migrant compounds from adhesives used in food contact materials is a very challenging task because of the number of possible compounds involved, given that adhesives are complex mixtures of chemicals. The use of ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/QTOF) is shown to be a successful tool for identifying non-targeted migrant compounds from two hot melt adhesives used in food packaging laminates. Out of the seven migrants identified and quantified, five were amides and one was a compound classified in Class II of the Cramer toxicity. None of the migration values exceeded the recommended Cramer exposure values.

  14. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for molecular analysis of organic compounds in medicines, tea, and coffee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ren-Qi; Bao, Kai; Croué, Jean-Philippe; Ng, Siu Choon

    2013-11-21

    Natural occurring organic compounds from food, natural organic matter, as well as metabolic products have received intense attention in current chemical and biological studies. Examination of unknown compounds in complex sample matrices is hampered by the limited choices for data readout and molecular elucidation. Herein, we report a generic method of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) coupled with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) for the rapid characterization of ingredients in pharmaceutical compounds, tea, and coffee. The analytes were first fractionated using a cationic HILIC column prior to MALDI-MS analyses. It was found that the retention times of a compound arising from different samples were consistent under the same conditions. Accordingly, molecules can be readily characterized by both the mass and chromatographic retention time. The retention behaviors of acidic and basic compounds on the cationic HILIC column were found to be significantly influenced by the pH of mobile phases, whereas neutral compounds depicted a constant retention time at different pH. The general HILIC-MALDI-MS method is feasible for fast screening of naturally occurring organic compounds. A series of homologs can be determined if they have the same retention behavior. Their structural features can be elucidated by considering their mass differences and hydrophilic properties as determined by HILIC chromatogram.

  15. Blind Identification of FIR Channels in the Presence of Unknown Noise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kon Max Wong

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Blind channel identification techniques based on second-order statistics (SOS of the received data have been a topic of active research in recent years. Among the most popular is the subspace method (SS proposed by Moulines et al. (1995. It has good performance when the channel output is corrupted by white noise. However, when the channel noise is correlated and unknown as is often encountered in practice, the performance of the SS method degrades severely. In this paper, we address the problem of estimating FIR channels in the presence of arbitrarily correlated noise whose covariance matrix is unknown. We propose several algorithms according to the different available system resources: (1 when only one receiving antenna is available, by upsampling the output, we develop the maximum a posteriori (MAP algorithm for which a simple criterion is obtained and an efficient implementation algorithm is developed; (2 when two receiving antennae are available, by upsampling both the outputs and utilizing canonical correlation decomposition (CCD to obtain the subspaces, we present two algorithms (CCD-SS and CCD-ML to blindly estimate the channels. Our algorithms perform well in unknown noise environment and outperform existing methods proposed for similar scenarios.

  16. A novel algorithm for fast grasping of unknown objects using C-shape configuration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Qujiang; Chen, Guangming; Meijer, Jonathan; Wisse, Martijn

    2018-02-01

    Increasing grasping efficiency is very important for the robots to grasp unknown objects especially subjected to unfamiliar environments. To achieve this, a new algorithm is proposed based on the C-shape configuration. Specifically, the geometric model of the used under-actuated gripper is approximated as a C-shape. To obtain an appropriate graspable position, this C-shape configuration is applied to fit geometric model of an unknown object. The geometric model of unknown object is constructed by using a single-view partial point cloud. To examine the algorithm using simulations, a comparison of the commonly used motion planners is made. The motion planner with the highest number of solved runs, lowest computing time and the shortest path length is chosen to execute grasps found by this grasping algorithm. The simulation results demonstrate that excellent grasping efficiency is achieved by adopting our algorithm. To validate this algorithm, experiment tests are carried out using a UR5 robot arm and an under-actuated gripper. The experimental results show that steady grasping actions are obtained. Hence, this research provides a novel algorithm for fast grasping of unknown objects.

  17. Theoretical Calculation of the Uv-Vis Spectral Band Locations of Pahs with Unknown Syntheses Procedures and Prospective Carcinogenic Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ona-Ruales, Jorge Oswaldo; Ruiz-Morales, Yosadara

    2017-06-01

    Annellation Theory and ZINDO/S semiempirical calculations have been used for the calculation of the locations of maximum absorbance (LMA) of the Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) of 31 C_{34}H_{16} PAHs (molecular mass 424 Da) with unknown protocols of synthesis. The presence of benzo[a]pyrene bay-like regions and dibenzo[a,l]pyrene fjord-like regions in several of the structures that could be linked to an enhancement of the biological behavior and carcinogenic activity stresses the importance of C_{34}H_{16} PAHs in fields like molecular biology and cancer research. In addition, the occurrence of large PAHs in oil asphaltenes exemplifies the importance of these calculations for the characterization of complex systems. The C_{34}H_{16} PAH group is the largest molecular mass group of organic compounds analyzed so far following the Annellation Theory and ZINDO/S methodology. Future analysis using the same approach will provide evidence regarding the LMA of other high molecular mass PAHs.

  18. A sensitivity analysis approach to control of manipulators with unknown load

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tzes, A.; Yurkovich, S.

    1987-01-01

    This paper presents a straightforward control strategy applied to an N-link manipulator holding an unknown load and driving its end effector along a prespecified trajectory. The control is constituted into two primary components. The non-adaptive component is derived from the inverse problem technique while the adaptive component is computed via the application of sensitivity analysis applied to the complete, centralized dynamic model of the manipulator. The result is a robust adaptive controller which tunes its parameters at specified time instants and can withstand all expected variations of the payload. The control synthesis is illustrated by simulations in a 2-link planar manipulator holding an unknown load

  19. Magnetic resonance appearance of monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance and multiple myeloma. The GRI Study Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellaïche, L; Laredo, J D; Lioté, F; Koeger, A C; Hamze, B; Ziza, J M; Pertuiset, E; Bardin, T; Tubiana, J M

    1997-11-01

    A prospective multicenter study. To evaluate the use of magnetic resonance imaging, in the differentiation between monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance and multiple myeloma. Although multiple myeloma has been studied extensively with magnetic resonance imaging, to the authors' knowledge, no study has evaluated the clinical interest of magnetic resonance imaging in the differentiation between monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance and multiple myeloma. The magnetic resonance examinations of the thoracolumbar spine in 24 patients with newly diagnosed monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance were compared with those performed in 44 patients with newly diagnosed nontreated multiple myeloma. All findings on magnetic resonance examination performed in patients with monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance were normal, whereas findings on 38 (86%) of the 44 magnetic resonance examinations performed in patients with multiple myeloma were abnormal. Magnetic resonance imaging can be considered as an additional diagnostic tool in differentiating between monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance and multiple myeloma, which may be helpful when routine criteria are not sufficient. An abnormal finding on magnetic resonance examination in a patient with monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance should suggest the diagnosis of multiple myeloma after other causes of marrow signal abnormalities are excluded. Magnetic resonance imaging also may be proposed in the long-term follow-up of monoclonal gammopathies of unknown significance when a new biologic or clinical event suggests the diagnosis of malignant monoclonal gammopathy.

  20. MUSIC-type imaging of small perfectly conducting cracks with an unknown frequency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Won-Kwang

    2015-01-01

    MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) is a famous non-iterative detection algorithm in inverse scattering problems. However, when the applied frequency is unknown, inaccurate locations are identified via MUSIC. This fact has been confirmed through numerical simulations. However, the reason behind this phenomenon has not been investigated theoretically. Motivated by this fact, we identify the structure of MUSIC-type imaging functionals with unknown frequency, by establishing a relationship with Bessel functions of order zero of the first kind. Through this, we can explain why inaccurate results appear. (paper)

  1. MUSIC-type imaging of small perfectly conducting cracks with an unknown frequency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Won-Kwang

    2015-09-01

    MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) is a famous non-iterative detection algorithm in inverse scattering problems. However, when the applied frequency is unknown, inaccurate locations are identified via MUSIC. This fact has been confirmed through numerical simulations. However, the reason behind this phenomenon has not been investigated theoretically. Motivated by this fact, we identify the structure of MUSIC-type imaging functionals with unknown frequency, by establishing a relationship with Bessel functions of order zero of the first kind. Through this, we can explain why inaccurate results appear.

  2. Editoria: EBOLA: Fear of the unknown | Comoro | Tanzania Journal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tanzania Journal of Health Research. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 3, No 2 (2001) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register. Editoria: EBOLA: Fear of the unknown. C. Comoro, J.

  3. [Focal myositis: An unknown disease].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallay, L; Streichenberger, N; Benveniste, O; Allenbach, Y

    2017-10-01

    Focal myositis are inflammatory muscle diseases of unknown origin. At the opposite from the other idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, they are restricted to a single muscle or to a muscle group. They are not associated with extramuscular manifestations, and they have a good prognosis without any treatment. They are characterized by a localized swelling affecting mostly lower limbs. The pseudo-tumor can be painful, but is not associated with a muscle weakness. Creatine kinase level is normal. Muscle MRI shows an inflammation restricted to a muscle or a muscle group. Muscle biopsy and pathological analysis remain necessary for the diagnosis, showing inflammatory infiltrates composed by macrophages and lymphocytes without any specific distribution within the muscle. Focal overexpression of HLA-1 by the muscle fibers is frequently observed. The muscle biopsy permits to rule out differential diagnosis such a malignancy (sarcoma). Spontaneous remission occurs within weeks or months after the first symptoms, relapse is unusual. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  4. Automated pathway and reaction prediction facilitates in silico identification of unknown metabolites in human cohort studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quell, Jan D; Römisch-Margl, Werner; Colombo, Marco; Krumsiek, Jan; Evans, Anne M; Mohney, Robert; Salomaa, Veikko; de Faire, Ulf; Groop, Leif C; Agakov, Felix; Looker, Helen C; McKeigue, Paul; Colhoun, Helen M; Kastenmüller, Gabi

    2017-12-15

    Identification of metabolites in non-targeted metabolomics continues to be a bottleneck in metabolomics studies in large human cohorts. Unidentified metabolites frequently emerge in the results of association studies linking metabolite levels to, for example, clinical phenotypes. For further analyses these unknown metabolites must be identified. Current approaches utilize chemical information, such as spectral details and fragmentation characteristics to determine components of unknown metabolites. Here, we propose a systems biology model exploiting the internal correlation structure of metabolite levels in combination with existing biochemical and genetic information to characterize properties of unknown molecules. Levels of 758 metabolites (439 known, 319 unknown) in human blood samples of 2279 subjects were measured using a non-targeted metabolomics platform (LC-MS and GC-MS). We reconstructed the structure of biochemical pathways that are imprinted in these metabolomics data by building an empirical network model based on 1040 significant partial correlations between metabolites. We further added associations of these metabolites to 134 genes from genome-wide association studies as well as reactions and functional relations to genes from the public database Recon 2 to the network model. From the local neighborhood in the network, we were able to predict the pathway annotation of 180 unknown metabolites. Furthermore, we classified 100 pairs of known and unknown and 45 pairs of unknown metabolites to 21 types of reactions based on their mass differences. As a proof of concept, we then looked further into the special case of predicted dehydrogenation reactions leading us to the selection of 39 candidate molecules for 5 unknown metabolites. Finally, we could verify 2 of those candidates by applying LC-MS analyses of commercially available candidate substances. The formerly unknown metabolites X-13891 and X-13069 were shown to be 2-dodecendioic acid and 9

  5. Navigation through unknown and dynamic open spaces using topological notions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miguel-Tomé, Sergio

    2018-04-01

    Until now, most algorithms used for navigation have had the purpose of directing system towards one point in space. However, humans communicate tasks by specifying spatial relations among elements or places. In addition, the environments in which humans develop their activities are extremely dynamic. The only option that allows for successful navigation in dynamic and unknown environments is making real-time decisions. Therefore, robots capable of collaborating closely with human beings must be able to make decisions based on the local information registered by the sensors and interpret and express spatial relations. Furthermore, when one person is asked to perform a task in an environment, this task is communicated given a category of goals so the person does not need to be supervised. Thus, two problems appear when one wants to create multifunctional robots: how to navigate in dynamic and unknown environments using spatial relations and how to accomplish this without supervision. In this article, a new architecture to address the two cited problems is presented, called the topological qualitative navigation architecture. In previous works, a qualitative heuristic called the heuristic of topological qualitative semantics (HTQS) has been developed to establish and identify spatial relations. However, that heuristic only allows for establishing one spatial relation with a specific object. In contrast, navigation requires a temporal sequence of goals with different objects. The new architecture attains continuous generation of goals and resolves them using HTQS. Thus, the new architecture achieves autonomous navigation in dynamic or unknown open environments.

  6. Carcinomatous Meningitis from Unknown Primary Carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Favier

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Carcinomatous meningitis (CM occurs in 3 to 8% of cancer patients. Patients present with a focal symptom, and multifocal signs are often found following neurological examination. The gold standard for diagnosis remains the demonstration of carcinomatous cells in the cerebrospinal fluid on cytopathological examination. Despite the poor prognosis, palliative treatment could improve quality of life and, in some cases, overall survival. We report on a patient who presented with vertigo, tinnitus and left-sided hearing loss followed by progressive diffuse facial nerve paralysis. Lumbar cerebrospinal fluid confirmed the diagnosis of CM. However, no primary tumor was discovered, even after multiple invasive investigations. This is the first reported case in the English-language medical literature of CM resulting from a carcinoma of unknown primary origin.

  7. Neurological autoantibodies in drug-resistant epilepsy of unknown cause.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tecellioglu, Mehmet; Kamisli, Ozden; Kamisli, Suat; Yucel, Fatma Ebru; Ozcan, Cemal

    2018-03-09

    Autoimmune epilepsy is a rarely diagnosed condition. Recognition of the underlying autoimmune condition is important, as these patients can be resistant to antiepileptic drugs. To determine the autoimmune and oncological antibodies in adult drug-resistant epilepsy of unknown cause and identify the clinical, radiological, and EEG findings associated with these antibodies according to data in the literature. Eighty-two patients with drug-resistant epilepsy of unknown cause were prospectively identified. Clinical features were recorded. The levels of anti-voltage-gated potassium channel complex (anti-VGKCc), anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO), anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD), anti-phospholipid IgG and IgM, anti-cardiolipin IgG and IgM, and onconeural antibodies were determined. Serum antibody positivity suggesting the potential role of autoimmunity in the aetiology was present in 17 patients with resistant epilepsy (22.0%). Multiple antibodies were found in two patients (2.6%). One of these patients (1.3%) had anti-VGKCc and ANA, whereas another (1.3%) had anti-VGKCc and anti-TPO. A single antibody was present in 15 patients (19.5%). Of the 77 patients finally included in the study, 4 had anti-TPO (5.2%), 1 had anti-GAD (1.3%), 4 had anti-VGKCc (5.2%) 8 had ANA (10.3%), and 2 had onconeural antibodies (2.6%) (1 patient had anti-Yo and 1 had anti-MA2/TA). The other antibodies investigated were not detected. EEG abnormality (focal), focal seizure incidence, and frequent seizures were more common in antibody-positive patients. Autoimmune factors may be aetiologically relevant in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy of unknown cause, especially if focal seizures are present together with focal EEG abnormality and frequent seizures.

  8. Three-dimensional cinematography with control object of unknown shape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dapena, J; Harman, E A; Miller, J A

    1982-01-01

    A technique for reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) motion which involves a simple filming procedure but allows the deduction of coordinates in large object volumes was developed. Internal camera parameters are calculated from measurements of the film images of two calibrated crosses while external camera parameters are calculated from the film images of points in a control object of unknown shape but at least one known length. The control object, which includes the volume in which the activity is to take place, is formed by a series of poles placed at unknown locations, each carrying two targets. From the internal and external camera parameters, and from locations of the images of point in the films of the two cameras, 3D coordinates of the point can be calculated. Root mean square errors of the three coordinates of points in a large object volume (5m x 5m x 1.5m) were 15 mm, 13 mm, 13 mm and 6 mm, and relative errors in lengths averaged 0.5%, 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

  9. Unknown loads affect force production capacity in early phases of bench press throws.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández Davó, J L; Sabido Solana, R; Sarabia Marínm, J M; Sánchez Martos, Á; Moya Ramón, M

    2015-10-01

    Explosive strength training aims to improve force generation in early phases of movement due to its importance in sport performance. The present study examined the influence of lack of knowledge about the load lifted in explosive parameters during bench press throws. Thirteen healthy young men (22.8±2.0 years) participated in the study. Participants performed bench press throws with three different loads (30, 50 and 70% of 1 repetition maximum) in two different conditions (known and unknown loads). In unknown condition, loads were changed within sets in each repetition and participants did not know the load, whereas in known condition the load did not change within sets and participants had knowledge about the load lifted. Results of repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that unknown conditions involves higher power in the first 30, 50, 100 and 150 ms with the three loads, higher values of ratio of force development in those first instants, and differences in time to reach maximal rate of force development with 50 and 70% of 1 repetition maximum. This study showed that unknown conditions elicit higher values of explosive parameters in early phases of bench press throws, thereby this kind of methodology could be considered in explosive strength training.

  10. Zero Distribution of System with Unknown Random Variables Case Study: Avoiding Collision Path

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parman Setyamartana

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the stochastic analysis of finding the feasible trajectories of robotics arm motion at obstacle surrounding. Unknown variables are coefficients of polynomials joint angle so that the collision-free motion is achieved. ãk is matrix consisting of these unknown feasible polynomial coefficients. The pattern of feasible polynomial in the obstacle environment shows as random. This paper proposes to model the pattern of this randomness values using random polynomial with unknown variables as coefficients. The behavior of the system will be obtained from zero distribution as the characteristic of such random polynomial. Results show that the pattern of random polynomial of avoiding collision can be constructed from zero distribution. Zero distribution is like building block of the system with obstacles as uncertainty factor. By scale factor k, which has range, the random coefficient pattern can be predicted.

  11. Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Treatment (PDQ®)—Health Professional Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) treatment depends on the best determination of the primary site, if possible. Treatment options may include surgery, radiation therapy, and systemic treatment. Get detailed information about diagnosis and treatment of CUP in this summary for clinicians.

  12. Running over unknown rough terrain with a one-legged planar robot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrews, Ben; Miller, Bruce; Clark, Jonathan E; Schmitt, John

    2011-01-01

    The ability to traverse unknown, rough terrain is an advantage that legged locomoters have over their wheeled counterparts. However, due to the complexity of multi-legged systems, research in legged robotics has not yet been able to reproduce the agility found in the animal kingdom. In an effort to reduce the complexity of the problem, researchers have developed single-legged models to gain insight into the fundamental dynamics of legged running. Inspired by studies of animal locomotion, researchers have proposed numerous control strategies to achieve stable, one-legged running over unknown, rough terrain. One such control strategy incorporates energy variations into the system during the stance phase by changing the force-free leg length as a sinusoidal function of time. In this research, a one-legged planar robot capable of implementing this and other state-of-the-art control strategies was designed and built. Both simulated and experimental results were used to determine and compare the stability of the proposed controllers as the robot was subjected to unknown drop and raised step perturbations equal to 25% of the nominal leg length. This study illustrates the relative advantages of utilizing a minimal-sensing, active energy removal control scheme to stabilize running over rough terrain.

  13. Iron overload patients with unknown etiology from national survey in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikuta, Katsuya; Hatayama, Mayumi; Addo, Lynda; Toki, Yasumichi; Sasaki, Katsunori; Tatsumi, Yasuaki; Hattori, Ai; Kato, Ayako; Kato, Koichi; Hayashi, Hisao; Suzuki, Takahiro; Kobune, Masayoshi; Tsutsui, Miyuki; Gotoh, Akihiko; Aota, Yasuo; Matsuura, Motoo; Hamada, Yuzuru; Tokuda, Takahiro; Komatsu, Norio; Kohgo, Yutaka

    2017-03-01

    Transfusion is believed to be the main cause of iron overload in Japan. A nationwide survey on post-transfusional iron overload subsequently led to the establishment of guidelines for iron chelation therapy in this country. To date, however, detailed clinical information on the entire iron overload population in Japan has not been fully investigated. In the present study, we obtained and studied detailed clinical information on the iron overload patient population in Japan. Of 1109 iron overload cases, 93.1% were considered to have occurred post-transfusion. There were, however, 76 cases of iron overload of unknown origin, which suggest that many clinicians in Japan may encounter some difficulty in correctly diagnosing and treating iron overload. Further clinical data were obtained for 32 cases of iron overload of unknown origin; median of serum ferritin was 1860.5 ng/mL. As occurs in post-transfusional iron overload, liver dysfunction was found to be as high as 95.7% when serum ferritin levels exceeded 1000 ng/mL in these patients. Gene mutation analysis of the iron metabolism-related genes in 27 cases of iron overload with unknown etiology revealed mutations in the gene coding hemojuvelin, transferrin receptor 2, and ferroportin; this indicates that although rare, hereditary hemochromatosis does occur in Japan.

  14. Approximate and Conditional Teleportation of an Unknown Atomic-Entangled State Without Bell-State Measurement

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    CHEN Chang-Yong; LI Shao-Hua

    2007-01-01

    A scheme for approximately and conditionally teleporting an unknown atomic-entangled state in cavity QED is proposed.It is the novel extension of the scheme of [Phys.Rev.A 69 (2004) 064302],where the state to be teleported is an unknown atomic state and where only a time point of system evolution and the corresponding fidelity implementing the teleportation are given.In fact,there exists multi-time points and the corresponding fidclities,which are shown in this paper and then are used to realize the approximate and conditional teleportation of the unknown atomic-entangled state.Naturally,our scheme does not involve the Bell-state measurement or an additional atom,which is required in the Bell-state measurement,only requiring one single-mode cavity.The scheme may be generalized to not only the teleportation of the cavity-mode-entangled-state by means of a single atom but also the teleportation of the unknown trapped-ion-entangled-state in a linear ion trap and the teleportation of the multi-atomic entangled states included in generalized GHZ states.

  15. HFE C282Y/H63D compound heterozygotes are at low risk of hemochromatosis-related morbidity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurrin, Lyle C; Bertalli, Nadine A; Dalton, Gregory W; Osborne, Nicholas J; Constantine, Clare C; McLaren, Christine E; English, Dallas R; Gertig, Dorota M; Delatycki, Martin B; Nicoll, Amanda J; Southey, Melissa C; Hopper, John L; Giles, Graham G; Anderson, Gregory J; Olynyk, John K; Powell, Lawrie W; Allen, Katrina J

    2009-07-01

    The risk of hemochromatosis-related morbidity is unknown among HFE compound heterozygotes (C282Y/H63D). We used a prospective population-based cohort study to estimate the prevalence of elevated iron indices and hemochromatosis-related morbidity for compound heterozygotes. In all, 31,192 subjects of northern European descent were genotyped for HFE C282Y and H63D. An HFE-genotype stratified random sample of 1,438 subjects, followed for an average of 12 years to a mean age of 65 years, completed questionnaires and gave blood. Clinical examinations were blinded to HFE genotype. A total of 180 (84 males) clinically examined C282Y/H63D participants were compared with 330 (149 males) controls with neither HFE mutation; 132 (65 males) and 270 (122 males), respectively, had serum iron measures at both timepoints. Mean serum ferritin (SF) and transferrin saturation (TS) were significantly greater for male and female compound heterozygotes than for wild-types at baseline and follow-up (all P females who were premenopausal at baseline, where SF was similar in both genotype groups. For subjects with serum measures from both baseline and follow-up, mean SF and TS levels did not change significantly for men or for postmenopausal women, but for premenopausal women SF levels increased from 43 to 109 microg/L for compound heterozygotes and from 35 to 64 microg/L for wild-types (both P female compound heterozygotes had a similar prevalence of hemochromatosis-related morbidity to wild-types. One of 82 males and zero of 95 females had documented iron overload-related disease. For male compound heterozygotes, mean iron indices do not change during middle age but for female compound heterozygotes menopause results in increased mean SF. Although compound heterozygotes might maintain elevated iron indices during middle age, documented iron overload-related disease is rare.

  16. Gene expression profiling in Ishikawa cells: A fingerprint for estrogen active compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehme, Kathleen; Simon, Stephanie; Mueller, Stefan O.

    2009-01-01

    Several anthropogenous and naturally occurring substances, referred to as estrogen active compounds (EACs), are able to interfere with hormone and in particular estrogen receptor signaling. EACs can either cause adverse health effects in humans and wildlife populations or have beneficial effects on estrogen-dependent diseases. The aim of this study was to examine global gene expression profiles in estrogen receptor (ER)-proficient Ishikawa plus and ER-deficient Ishikawa minus endometrial cancer cells treated with selected well-known EACs (Diethylstilbestrol, Genistein, Zearalenone, Resveratrol, Bisphenol A and o,p'-DDT). We also investigated the effect of the pure antiestrogen ICI 182,780 (ICI) on the expression patterns caused by these compounds. Transcript levels were quantified 24 h after compound treatment using Illumina BeadChip Arrays. We identified 87 genes with similar expression changes in response to all EAC treatments in Ishikawa plus. ICI lowered the magnitude or reversed the expression of these genes, indicating ER dependent regulation. Apart from estrogenic gene regulation, Bisphenol A, o,p'-DDT, Zearalenone, Genistein and Resveratrol displayed similarities to ICI in their expression patterns, suggesting mixed estrogenic/antiestrogenic properties. In particular, the predominant antiestrogenic expression response of Resveratrol could be clearly distinguished from the other test compounds, indicating a distinct mechanism of action. Divergent gene expression patterns of the phytoestrogens, as well as weaker estrogenic gene expression regulation determined for the anthropogenous chemicals Bisphenol A and o,p'-DDT, warrants a careful assessment of potential detrimental and/or beneficial effects of EACs. The characteristic expression fingerprints and the identified subset of putative marker genes can be used for screening chemicals with an unknown mode of action and for predicting their potential to exert endocrine disrupting effects

  17. Extracting Date/Time Expressions in Super-Function Based Japanese-English Machine Translation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasayama, Manabu; Kuroiwa, Shingo; Ren, Fuji

    Super-Function Based Machine Translation(SFBMT) which is a type of Example-Based Machine Translation has a feature which makes it possible to expand the coverage of examples by changing nouns into variables, however, there were problems extracting entire date/time expressions containing parts-of-speech other than nouns, because only nouns/numbers were changed into variables. We describe a method for extracting date/time expressions for SFBMT. SFBMT uses noun determination rules to extract nouns and a bilingual dictionary to obtain correspondence of the extracted nouns between the source and the target languages. In this method, we add a rule to extract date/time expressions and then extract date/time expressions from a Japanese-English bilingual corpus. The evaluation results shows that the precision of this method for Japanese sentences is 96.7%, with a recall of 98.2% and the precision for English sentences is 94.7%, with a recall of 92.7%.

  18. Diagnosis of the cancer of unknown primary origin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jurisova, S.; Poersoek, S.

    2013-01-01

    Cancer of unknown primary origin (CUP) is one of the ten most frequent cancers worldwide. It constitutes of 3-5% of all human malignancies. At time of diagnosis patients with CUP present with disseminated metastases without established primary origin. CUP manifests as heterogenous group of mainly epithelial cancers recognised by distinct clinico pathological entities. The diagnostic work-up includes extensive histopathology investigations and modern imaging technology. Nevertheless, the primary tumour remains undetected most of the time. (author)

  19. Metastatic meningioma presenting as cancer of unknown primary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinay Gupta

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available We describe a case of anaplastic meningioma presenting in an extracranial osseous location, initially diagnosed as cancer of unknown primary. Although anaplastic meningioma comprise 3% of all meningiomas, this subtype is more likely to be associated with metastases. The increased degree of dedifferentiation in anaplastic meningioma makes diagnosis difficult, especially if characteristic imaging findings of meningioma are not identified. Adequate tissue for diagnostic purposes and appropriate imaging studies may help in establishing a definitive diagnosis.

  20. Education Through Exploration: Evaluating the Unknown

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anbar, A. D.

    2015-12-01

    Mastery of the peculiar and powerful practices of science is increasingly important for the average citizen. With the rise of the Internet, most of human knowledge is at our fingertips. As content becomes a commodity, success and survival aren't about who knows the most, but who is better able to explore the unknown, actively applying and extending knowledge through critical thinking and hypothesis-driven problem-solving. This applies to the economic livelihoods of individuals and to society at large as we grapple with climate change and other science-infused challenges. Unfortunately, science is too often taught as an encyclopedic collection of settled facts to be mastered rather than as a process of exploration that embraces curiosity, inquiry, testing, and communication to reduce uncertainty about the unknown. This problem is exacerbated by the continued prevalence of teacher-centric pedagogy, which promotes learning-from-authority and passive learning. The initial wave of massively open online courses (MOOCs) generally mimic this teaching style in virtual form. It is hypothesized that emerging digital teaching technologies can help address this challenge at Internet scale in "next generation" MOOCs and flipped classroom experiences. Interactive simulations, immersive virtual field trips, gamified elements, rapid adaptive feedback, intelligent tutoring systems, and personalized pathways, should motivate and enhance learning. Through lab-like projects and tutorials, students should be able to construct knowledge from interactive experiences, modeling the authentic practice of science while mastering complex concepts. Freed from lecturing, teaching staff should be available for direct and intense student-teacher interactions. These claims are difficult to evaluate with traditional assessment instruments, but digital technologies provide powerful new ways to evaluate student learning and learn from student behaviors. We will describe ongoing experiences with such

  1. Sliding Mode Observer-Based Current Sensor Fault Reconstruction and Unknown Load Disturbance Estimation for PMSM Driven System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Kaihui; Li, Peng; Zhang, Changfan; Li, Xiangfei; He, Jing; Lin, Yuliang

    2017-12-06

    This paper proposes a new scheme of reconstructing current sensor faults and estimating unknown load disturbance for a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM)-driven system. First, the original PMSM system is transformed into two subsystems; the first subsystem has unknown system load disturbances, which are unrelated to sensor faults, and the second subsystem has sensor faults, but is free from unknown load disturbances. Introducing a new state variable, the augmented subsystem that has sensor faults can be transformed into having actuator faults. Second, two sliding mode observers (SMOs) are designed: the unknown load disturbance is estimated by the first SMO in the subsystem, which has unknown load disturbance, and the sensor faults can be reconstructed using the second SMO in the augmented subsystem, which has sensor faults. The gains of the proposed SMOs and their stability analysis are developed via the solution of linear matrix inequality (LMI). Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme was verified by simulations and experiments. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can reconstruct current sensor faults and estimate unknown load disturbance for the PMSM-driven system.

  2. AudioPairBank: Towards A Large-Scale Tag-Pair-Based Audio Content Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Sager, Sebastian; Elizalde, Benjamin; Borth, Damian; Schulze, Christian; Raj, Bhiksha; Lane, Ian

    2016-01-01

    Recently, sound recognition has been used to identify sounds, such as car and river. However, sounds have nuances that may be better described by adjective-noun pairs such as slow car, and verb-noun pairs such as flying insects, which are under explored. Therefore, in this work we investigate the relation between audio content and both adjective-noun pairs and verb-noun pairs. Due to the lack of datasets with these kinds of annotations, we collected and processed the AudioPairBank corpus cons...

  3. Accounting for unknown foster dams in the genetic evaluation of embryo transfer progeny.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suárez, M J; Munilla, S; Cantet, R J C

    2015-02-01

    Animals born by embryo transfer (ET) are usually not included in the genetic evaluation of beef cattle for preweaning growth if the recipient dam is unknown. This is primarily to avoid potential bias in the estimation of the unknown age of dam. We present a method that allows including records of calves with unknown age of dam. Assumptions are as follows: (i) foster cows belong to the same breed being evaluated, (ii) there is no correlation between the breeding value (BV) of the calf and the maternal BV of the recipient cow, and (iii) cows of all ages are used as recipients. We examine the issue of bias for the fixed level of unknown age of dam (AOD) and propose an estimator of the effect based on classical measurement error theory (MEM) and a Bayesian approach. Using stochastic simulation under random mating or selection, the MEM estimating equations were compared with BLUP in two situations as follows: (i) full information (FI); (ii) missing AOD information on some dams. Predictions of breeding value (PBV) from the FI situation had the smallest empirical average bias followed by PBV obtained without taking measurement error into account. In turn, MEM displayed the highest bias, although the differences were small. On the other hand, MEM showed the smallest MSEP, for either random mating or selection, followed by FI, whereas ignoring measurement error produced the largest MSEP. As a consequence from the smallest MSEP with a relatively small bias, empirical accuracies of PBV were larger for MEM than those for full information, which in turn showed larger accuracies than the situation ignoring measurement error. It is concluded that MEM equations are a useful alternative for analysing weaning weight data when recipient cows are unknown, as it mitigates the effects of bias in AOD by decreasing MSEP. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  4. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for molecular analysis of organic compounds in medicines, tea, and coffee

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Renqi

    2013-01-01

    Natural occurring organic compounds from food, natural organic matter, as well as metabolic products have received intense attention in current chemical and biological studies. Examination of unknown compounds in complex sample matrices is hampered by the limited choices for data readout and molecular elucidation. Herein, we report a generic method of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) coupled with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) for the rapid characterization of ingredients in pharmaceutical compounds, tea, and coffee. The analytes were first fractionated using a cationic HILIC column prior to MALDI-MS analyses. It was found that the retention times of a compound arising from different samples were consistent under the same conditions. Accordingly, molecules can be readily characterized by both the mass and chromatographic retention time. The retention behaviors of acidic and basic compounds on the cationic HILIC column were found to be significantly influenced by the pH of mobile phases, whereas neutral compounds depicted a constant retention time at different pH. The general HILIC-MALDI-MS method is feasible for fast screening of naturally occurring organic compounds. A series of homologs can be determined if they have the same retention behavior. Their structural features can be elucidated by considering their mass differences and hydrophilic properties as determined by HILIC chromatogram. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  5. Inventory control in case of unknown demand and control parameters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, E.

    2010-01-01

    This thesis deals with unknown demand and control parameters in inventory control. Inventory control involves decisions on what to order when and in what quantity. These decisions are based on information about the demand. Models are constructed using complete demand information; these models ensure

  6. Stochastic Online Learning in Dynamic Networks under Unknown Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-08-02

    The key is to develop online learning strategies at each individual node. Specifically, through local information exchange with its neighbors, each...infinitely repeated game with incomplete information and developed a dynamic pricing strategy referred to as Competitive and Cooperative Demand Learning...Stochastic Online Learning in Dynamic Networks under Unknown Models This research aims to develop fundamental theories and practical algorithms for

  7. A SAR and QSAR study of new artemisinin compounds with antimalarial activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Cleydson Breno R; Vieira, Josinete B; Lobato, Cleison C; Hage-Melim, Lorane I S; Souto, Raimundo N P; Lima, Clarissa S; Costa, Elizabeth V M; Brasil, Davi S B; Macêdo, Williams Jorge C; Carvalho, José Carlos T

    2013-12-30

    The Hartree-Fock method and the 6-31G** basis set were employed to calculate the molecular properties of artemisinin and 20 derivatives with antimalarial activity. Maps of molecular electrostatic potential (MEPs) and molecular docking were used to investigate the interaction between ligands and the receptor (heme). Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were employed to select the most important descriptors related to activity. The correlation between biological activity and molecular properties was obtained using the partial least squares and principal component regression methods. The regression PLS and PCR models built in this study were also used to predict the antimalarial activity of 30 new artemisinin compounds with unknown activity. The models obtained showed not only statistical significance but also predictive ability. The significant molecular descriptors related to the compounds with antimalarial activity were the hydration energy (HE), the charge on the O11 oxygen atom (QO11), the torsion angle O1-O2-Fe-N2 (D2) and the maximum rate of R/Sanderson Electronegativity (RTe+). These variables led to a physical and structural explanation of the molecular properties that should be selected for when designing new ligands to be used as antimalarial agents.

  8. Optimal unambiguous comparison of two unknown squeezed vacua

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olivares, Stefano; Paris, Matteo G. A.; Sedlak, Michal; Rapsan, Peter; Busek, Vladimir

    2011-01-01

    We propose a scheme for the unambiguous state comparison (USC) of two unknown squeezed vacuum states of the electromagnetic field. Our setup is based on linear optical elements and photon-number detectors, and it achieves optimal USC in an ideal case of unit quantum efficiency. In realistic conditions, i.e., for nonunit quantum efficiency of photodetectors, we evaluate the probability of getting an ambiguous result as well as the reliability of the scheme, thus showing its robustness in comparison to previous proposals.

  9. TOURISM PROMOTION FOR UNKNOWN AREAS IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fotache Lacramioara

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper is an effort to unknown areas identity affirmation, through collaborative development of advertising mix, with an emphasis on virtual platforms as admissible solution for increasing visibility. Based upon comparative effective analysis of categories of communication particularities, it is suggested a positioning strategic solution, via virtual advertising platform as unique, integrated, complex and very attractive tourism product promotion, fitted for the internal and international tourism circuit. The active promotion of the specified territorial identity will launch a brand with an impact among tourists by using marketing techniques and innovating technical means and prioritizing tourism as a principal vector of local and regional development.

  10. Fever of Unknown Origin: the Value of FDG-PET/CT

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kouijzer, I.J.E.; Mulders-Manders, C.M.; Bleeker-Rovers, C.P.; Oyen, W.J.G.

    2018-01-01

    Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is commonly defined as fever higher than 38.3 degrees C on several occasions during at least 3 weeks with uncertain diagnosis after a number of obligatory investigations. The differential diagnosis of FUO can be subdivided in four categories: infections, malignancies,

  11. Preparation and characterization of CBN ternary compounds with nano-structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiong, Y.H.; Yang, S.; Xiong, C.S.; Pi, H.L.; Zhang, J.; Ren, Z.M.; Mai, Y.T.; Xu, W.; Dai, G.H.; Song, S.J.; Xiong, J.; Zhang, L.; Xia, Z.C.; Yuan, S.L.

    2006-01-01

    CBN ternary compounds with nano-structure have been prepared directly by a mechanical alloying technique at room temperature. The characteristic and formation mechanism of CBN are discussed. The nano-sheets and nano-layered rods of CBN are observed according to the morphology of scanning electron microscopy. It is substantiated that the microstructure of CBN was closely related to the ball milling time and the ball milling condition according to the results of X-ray diffraction of CBN with different ball milling time. After ball milling for 60 and 90 h, some new diffraction peaks are observed, which implies that some unknown microstructure and phase separation are induced in the reactive ball milling of CBN. The results of XRD are in accordance with that of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of CBN before ball milling and after ball milling for 90 h

  12. Unknown facets of Well-Known Scientists Series - Part II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V S Dixit

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available 1st in the series of articles on “Unknown Facets of well-known Scientists” was about Sir Frederick Grant Banting, co-discoverer of Insulin, who also researched in Aviation and Diving Medicines, results of which brought extraordinary benefits for Flight crew during the World War II. The article was published in the previous issue of the Journal Unknown facets could be celebrated attributes, talents or otherwise, but it is necessary that we get to know fully about the “great mind". THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT DR WERNER THEODOR OTTO FORSSMANN, A CARDIOLOGIST, WHO BECAME A UROLOGIST! Does the name Dr Forssmann ring a bell? He shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with “Andre Cournand and Dickinson Richards". The trio was awarded for their “discoveries concerning heart catheterization and pathological changes in the circulatory system". Dr Forssmann was nominated for performing an experiment in which he introduced a catheter into a vein of his arm, further passing it onward into his heart It was risky. This was in the year 1929. Subject of this article is the self-experimentation he carried out and what happened later.

  13. Parameter identification of chaos system based on unknown parameter observer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Shaoming; Luo Haigeng; Yue Chaoyuan; Liao Xiaoxin

    2008-01-01

    Parameter identification of chaos system based on unknown parameter observer is discussed generally. Based on the work of Guan et al. [X.P. Guan, H.P. Peng, L.X. Li, et al., Acta Phys. Sinica 50 (2001) 26], the design of unknown parameter observer is improved. The application of the improved approach is extended greatly. The works in some literatures [X.P. Guan, H.P. Peng, L.X. Li, et al., Acta Phys. Sinica 50 (2001) 26; J.H. Lue, S.C. Zhang, Phys. Lett. A 286 (2001) 148; X.Q. Wu, J.A. Lu, Chaos Solitons Fractals 18 (2003) 721; J. Liu, S.H. Chen, J. Xie, Chaos Solitons Fractals 19 (2004) 533] are only the special cases of our Corollaries 1 and 2. Some observers for Lue system and a new chaos system are designed to test our improved method, and simulations results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the improved approach

  14. Widespread occurrence of mycosporine-like amino acid compounds in scleractinians from French Polynesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teai, T.; Drollet, J. H.; Bianchini, J.-P.; Cambon, A.; Martin, P. M. V.

    1997-07-01

    A survey of 23 species of scleractinians, belonging to seven families and 8 genera, collected from two different areas in French Polynesia, showed that all specimens possessed between four and seven UV-absorbing compounds, identified as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). In all, 11 different MAAs molecules were found, of which two were previously unknown. Palythine and mycosporine-glycine were the most abundant MAAs in the corals. With few exceptions, most specimens of each species possessed the same pattern of MAAs. Similarly, species from the same genus also had very similar qualitative composition of MAAs, although quantities of individuals MAAs varied from specimen to specimen. This suggests that MAAs are ancient and evolutionarily well conserved.

  15. Comparison of various structural damage tracking techniques with unknown excitations based on experimental data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Hongwei; Yang, Jann N.; Zhou, Li

    2009-03-01

    An early detection of structural damages is critical for the decision making of repair and replacement maintenance in order to guarantee a specified structural reliability. Consequently, the structural damage detection, based on vibration data measured from the structural health monitoring (SHM) system, has received considerable attention recently. The traditional time-domain analysis techniques, such as the least square estimation (LSE) method and the extended Kalman filter (EKF) approach, require that all the external excitations (inputs) be available, which may not be the case for some SHM systems. Recently, these two approaches have been extended to cover the general case where some of the external excitations (inputs) are not measured, referred to as the LSE with unknown inputs (LSE-UI) and the EKF with unknown inputs (EKF-UI). Also, new analysis methods, referred to as the sequential non-linear least-square estimation with unknown inputs and unknown outputs (SNLSE-UI-UO) and the quadratic sum-square error with unknown inputs (QSSE-UI), have been proposed for the damage tracking of structures when some of the acceleration responses are not measured and the external excitations are not available. In this paper, these newly proposed analysis methods will be compared in terms of accuracy, convergence and efficiency, for damage identification of structures based on experimental data obtained through a series of experimental tests using a small-scale 3-story building model with white noise excitation. The capability of the LSE-UI, EKF-UI, SNLSE-UI-UO and QSSE-UI approaches in tracking the structural damages will be demonstrated.

  16. Grammatical categories in the brain: the role of morphological structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longe, O; Randall, B; Stamatakis, E A; Tyler, L K

    2007-08-01

    The current study addresses the controversial issue of how different grammatical categories are neurally processed. Several lesion-deficit studies suggest that distinct neural substrates underlie the representation of nouns and verbs, with verb deficits associated with damage to left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and noun deficits with damage to left temporal cortex. However, this view is not universally shared by neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies. We have suggested that these inconsistencies may reflect interactions between the morphological structure of nouns and verbs and the processing implications of this, rather than differences in their neural representations (Tyler et al. 2004). We tested this hypothesis using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, to scan subjects performing a valence judgment on unambiguous nouns and verbs, presented as stems ('snail, hear') and inflected forms ('snails, hears'). We predicted that activations for noun and verb stems would not differ, whereas inflected verbs would generate more activation in left frontotemporal areas than inflected nouns. Our findings supported this hypothesis, with greater activation of this network for inflected verbs compared with inflected nouns. These results support the claim that form class is not a first-order organizing principle underlying the representation of words but rather interacts with the processes that operate over lexical representations.

  17. Effects of testing on subsequent re-encoding and long-term forgetting of action-relevant materials: On the influence of recall type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubik, Veit; Nilsson, Lars-Göran; Olofsson, Jonas K; Jönsson, Fredrik U

    2015-10-01

    Testing one's memory of previously studied information reduces the rate of forgetting, compared to restudy. However, little is known about how this direct testing effect applies to action phrases (e.g., "wash the car") - a learning material relevant to everyday memory. As action phrases consist of two different components, a verb (e.g., "wash") and a noun (e.g., "car"), testing can either be implemented as noun-cued recall of verbs or verb-cued recall of nouns, which may differently affect later memory performance. In the present study, we investigated the effect of testing for these two recall types, using verbally encoded action phrases as learning materials. Results showed that repeated study-test practice, compared to repeated study-restudy practice, decreased the forgetting rate across 1 week to a similar degree for both noun-cued and verb-cued recall types. However, noun-cued recall of verbs initiated more new subsequent learning during the first restudy, compared to verb-cued recall of nouns. The study provides evidence that testing has benefits on both subsequent restudy and long-term retention of action-relevant materials, but that these benefits are differently expressed with testing via noun-cued versus verb-cued recall. © 2015 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. The Adoption of Cloud Computing Technology for Library Services ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study investigated the rationales for the adoption of cloud computing technology for library services in NOUN Library. Issues related to the existing computer network available in NOUN library such as LAN, WAN, rationales for the adoption of cloud computing in NOUN library such as the need to disclose their collections ...

  19. Speeded Recognition of Ungrammaticality: Double Violations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Timothy E.; Biederman, Irving

    1979-01-01

    The speed at which sentences with various kinds of violations could be rejected was studied. Compatible with the sequential model was the finding that noun-verb and adjective-noun double violations did not result in shorter reaction times than noun-verb single violations, although double violations were judged less acceptable. (Author/RD)

  20. <<Unknown>> earthquakes: a growing contribution to the Catalogue of Strong Italian Earthquakes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Guidoboni

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available The particular structure of the research into historical seismology found in this catalogue has allowed a lot of information about unknown seismic events to be traced. This new contribution to seismologic knowledge mainly consists in: i the retrieval and organisation within a coherent framework of documentary evidence of earthquakes that took place between the Middle Ages and the sixteenth century; ii the improved knowledge of seismic events, even destructive events, which in the past had been "obscured" by large earthquakes; iii the identification of earthquakes in "silent" seismic areas. The complex elements to be taken into account when dealing with unknown seismic events have been outlined; much "new" information often falls into one of the following categories: simple chronological errors relative to other well-known events; descriptions of other natural phenomena, though defined in texts as "earthquakes" (landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.; unknown tremors belonging to known seismic periods; tremors that may be connected with events which have been catalogued under incorrect dates and with very approximate estimates of location and intensity. This proves that this was not a real seismic "silence" but a research vacuum.

  1. Compensating Unknown Time-Varying Delay in Opto-Electronic Platform Tracking Servo System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruihong Xie

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the problem of compensating miss-distance delay in opto-electronic platform tracking servo system. According to the characteristic of LOS (light-of-sight motion, we setup the Markovian process model and compensate this unknown time-varying delay by feed-forward forecasting controller based on robust H∞ control. Finally, simulation based on double closed-loop PI (Proportion Integration control system indicates that the proposed method is effective for compensating unknown time-varying delay. Tracking experiments on the opto-electronic platform indicate that RMS (root-mean-square error is 1.253 mrad when tracking 10° 0.2 Hz signal.

  2. Fault tolerant control of wind turbines using unknown input observers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odgaard, Peter Fogh; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a scheme for accommodating faults in the rotor and generator speed sensors in a wind turbine. These measured values are important both for the wind turbine controller as well as the supervisory control of the wind turbine. The scheme is based on unknown input observers, which...

  3. Analytical applications of oscillatory chemical reactions: determination of some pharmaceuticaly and biologically important compounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pejić Nataša D.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Novel analytical methods for quantitive determination of analytes based on perturbations of oscillatory chemical reactions realized under open reactor conditions (continuosly fed well stirred tank reactor, CSTR, have been developed in the past twenty years. The proposed kinetic methods are generally based on the ability of the analyzed substances to change the kinetics of the chemical reactions matrix. The unambiguous correlation of quantitative characteristics of perturbations, and the amount (concentration of analyte expressed as a regression equation, or its graphics (calibration curve, enable the determination of the unknown analyte concentration. Attention is given to the development of these methods because of their simple experimental procedures, broad range of linear regression ( 10-7 10-4 mol L-1 and low limits of detection of analytes ( 10-6 10-8 mol L1, in some cases even lower than 10-12 mol L-1. Therefore, their application is very convenient for routine analysis of various inorganic and organic compounds as well as gases. This review summarizes progress made in the past 5 years on quantitative determination of pharmaceutically and biologically important compounds.

  4. Solving differential equations with unknown constitutive relations as recurrent neural networks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hagge, Tobias J.; Stinis, Panagiotis; Yeung, Enoch H.; Tartakovsky, Alexandre M.

    2017-12-08

    We solve a system of ordinary differential equations with an unknown functional form of a sink (reaction rate) term. We assume that the measurements (time series) of state variables are partially available, and use a recurrent neural network to “learn” the reaction rate from this data. This is achieved by including discretized ordinary differential equations as part of a recurrent neural network training problem. We extend TensorFlow’s recurrent neural network architecture to create a simple but scalable and effective solver for the unknown functions, and apply it to a fedbatch bioreactor simulation problem. Use of techniques from recent deep learning literature enables training of functions with behavior manifesting over thousands of time steps. Our networks are structurally similar to recurrent neural networks, but differ in purpose, and require modified training strategies.

  5. Modeling of load lifting process with unknown center of gravity position

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamanin, Y. N.; Zhukov, M. I.; Panichkin, A. V.; Redelin, R. A.

    2018-03-01

    The article proposes a new type of lifting beams that allows one to lift loads where the position of the center of gravity is unknown beforehand. The benefit of implementing this type of traverse is confirmed by the high demand for this product from the industrial enterprises and lack of their availability on the market. In conducted studies, the main kinematic and dynamic dependencies of the load lifting process with an unknown position of the center of gravity were described allowing for design and verification calculations of the traverse with flexible slings and an adjustable bail to be carried out. The obtained results can be useful to engineers and employees of enterprises engaged in the design and manufacturing of the lifting equipment and scientists doing research in “Carrying and lifting machines”.

  6. Differences in serum concentrations of organochlorine compounds by occupational social class in pancreatic cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Porta, Miquel; Bosch de Basea, Magda; Benavides, Fernando G.; Lopez, Tomas; Fernandez, Esteve; Marco, Esther; Alguacil, Juan; Grimalt, Joan O.; Puigdomenech, Elisa

    2008-01-01

    Background: The relationships between social factors and body concentrations of environmental chemical agents are unknown in many human populations. Some chemical compounds may play an etiopathogenic role in pancreatic cancer. Objective: To analyze the relationships between occupational social class and serum concentrations of seven selected organochlorine compounds (OCs) in exocrine pancreatic cancer: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene (p,p'-DDE), 3 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene, and β-hexachlorocyclohexane. Methods: Incident cases of exocrine pancreatic cancer were prospectively identified, and interviewed face-to-face during hospital admission (n=135). Serum concentrations of OCs were analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography with electron-capture detection. Social class was classified according to occupation. Results: Multivariate-adjusted concentrations of all seven compounds were higher in occupational social classes IV-V (the less affluent) than in classes I-II; they were higher as well in class III than in classes I-II for four compounds. Concentrations of six OCs were higher in manual workers than in non-manual workers (p<0.05 for PCBs). Social class explained statistically between 3.7% and 5.7% of the variability in concentrations of PCBs, and 2% or less variability in the other OCs. Conclusions: Concentrations of most OCs were higher in the less affluent occupational social classes. In pancreatic cancer the putative causal role of these persistent organic pollutants may not be independent of social class. There is a need to integrate evidence on the contribution of different social processes and environmental chemical exposures to the etiology of pancreatic and other cancers

  7. Stability of Nonlinear Systems with Unknown Time-varying Feedback Delay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chunodkar, Apurva A.; Akella, Maruthi R.

    2013-12-01

    This paper considers the problem of stabilizing a class of nonlinear systems with unknown bounded delayed feedback wherein the time-varying delay is 1) piecewise constant 2) continuous with a bounded rate. We also consider application of these results to the stabilization of rigid-body attitude dynamics. In the first case, the time-delay in feedback is modeled specifically as a switch among an arbitrarily large set of unknown constant values with a known strict upper bound. The feedback is a linear function of the delayed states. In the case of linear systems with switched delay feedback, a new sufficiency condition for average dwell time result is presented using a complete type Lyapunov-Krasovskii (L-K) functional approach. Further, the corresponding switched system with nonlinear perturbations is proven to be exponentially stable inside a well characterized region of attraction for an appropriately chosen average dwell time. In the second case, the concept of the complete type L-K functional is extended to a class of nonlinear time-delay systems with unknown time-varying time-delay. This extension ensures stability robustness to time-delay in the control design for all values of time-delay less than the known upper bound. Model-transformation is used in order to partition the nonlinear system into a nominal linear part that is exponentially stable with a bounded perturbation. We obtain sufficient conditions which ensure exponential stability inside a region of attraction estimate. A constructive method to evaluate the sufficient conditions is presented together with comparison with the corresponding constant and piecewise constant delay. Numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the theoretical results of this paper.

  8. Eddy current analysis by BEM utilizing loop electric and surface magnetic currents as unknowns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishibashi, Kazuhisa

    2002-01-01

    The surface integral equations whose unknowns are the surface electric and magnetic currents are widely used in eddy current analysis. However, when the skin depth is thick, computational error is increased especially in obtaining electromagnetic fields near the edge of the conductor. In order to obtain the electromagnetic field accurately, we propose an approach to solve surface integral equations utilizing loop electric and surface magnetic currents as unknowns. (Author)

  9. A QSAR, Pharmacokinetic and Toxicological Study of New Artemisinin Compounds with Anticancer Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josinete B. Vieira

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The Density Functional Theory (DFT method and the 6-31G** basis set were employed to calculate the molecular properties of artemisinin and 20 derivatives with different degrees of cytotoxicity against the human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 line. Principal component analysis (PCA and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA were employed to select the most important descriptors related to anticancer activity. The significant molecular descriptors related to the compounds with anticancer activity were the ALOGPS_log, Mor29m, IC5 and GAP energy. The Pearson correlation between activity and most important descriptors were used for the regression partial least squares (PLS and principal component regression (PCR models built. The regression PLS and PCR were very close, with variation between PLS and PCR of R2 = ±0.0106, R2ajust = ±0.0125, s = ±0.0234, F(4,11 = ±12.7802, Q2 = ±0.0088, SEV = ±0.0132, PRESS = ±0.4808 and SPRESS = ±0.0057. These models were used to predict the anticancer activity of eight new artemisinin compounds (test set with unknown activity, and for these new compounds were predicted pharmacokinetic properties: human intestinal absorption (HIA, cellular permeability (PCaCO2, cell permeability Maden Darby Canine Kidney (PMDCK, skin permeability (PSkin, plasma protein binding (PPB and penetration of the blood-brain barrier (CBrain/Blood, and toxicological: mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. The test set showed for two new artemisinin compounds satisfactory results for anticancer activity and pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties. Consequently, further studies need be done to evaluate the different proposals as well as their actions, toxicity, and potential use for treatment of cancers.

  10. [Eye movement parameters in reading the sentences with syntactic ambiguity in Russian language].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anisimov, V A; Fedorova, O V; Latanov, A V

    2014-01-01

    We studied the eye movement parameters during reading of syntactically ambiguous sentences with feminine relative clause in Russian language. A priori difficulties of sentence structural analysis results in increase of time spent on reading as opposed to reading control sentences (unambiguous). Such a delay is caused by an increase of frequency of regressions (backward saccades) which are executed for rereading an ambiguous fragment ofsentence. This fact in turn leads to an increase in number of fixations and their duration. The total reading time for particular words composing the ambiguous fragment of sentence depended on disambiguation result (relative clause attachment, early/late closure). In case of early closure (when the subject attached relative clause to first noun) the total reading time for this noun exceeded one for second noun. In case of late closure (when the subject attached relative clause to second noun) the total reading time for both nouns didn't differ. Our results indicate that early closure domination in Russian language determines the greater total reading time for first noun of nominal group associated with relative clause.

  11. Approximate Teleportation of an Unknown Atomic-Entangled State with Dissipative Atom-Cavity Resonant Jaynes-Cummings Model

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LIU Zong-Liang; LI Shao-Hua; CHEN Chang-Yong

    2008-01-01

    We propose a scheme for approximately and conditionally teleporting an unknown atomic-entangled state in dissipative cavity QED.It is the further development of the scheme of [Phys.Rev.A 69 (2004) 064302],where the cavity mode decay has not been considered and the state teleportated is an unknown atomic state.In this paper,we investigate the influence of the decay on the approximate and conditional teleportation of the unknown atomic-entangled state,which is different from that teleportated in [Phys.Rev.A 69 (2004) 064302] and then give the fidelity of the teleportation,which depends on the cavity mode decay.The scheme may be generalized to not only the teleportation of the cavity-mode-entangled-state by means of a single atom but also the teleportation of the unknown trapped-ion-entangled-state in a linear ion trap.

  12. Organolanthanoid compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schumann, H.

    1984-01-01

    Up to little more than a decade ago organolanthanoid compounds were still a curiosity. Apart from the description of an isolated number of cyclopentadienyl and indenyl derivatives, very few significant contributions had been made to this interesting sector of organometallic chemistry. However, subsequent systematic studies using modern preparative and analytical techniques, together with X-ray single crystal structure determinations, enabled the isolation and characterization of a large number of very interesting homoleptic and heteroleptic compounds in which the lanthanoid is bound to hydrogen, to substituted or unsubstituted cyclopentadienyl groups, to allyl or alkynyl groups, or even to phosphorus ylides, trimethylsilyl, and carbonylmetal groups. These compounds, which are all extremely sensitive to oxygen and water, open up new possibilities in the field of catalysis and have great potential in organic synthesis - as recent studies with pentamethylcyclopentadienyl derivatives, organolanthanoid(II) compounds, and hexamethyllanthanoid complexes have already shown. (orig.) [de

  13. Searching for unknown transfusion-transmitted hepatitis viruses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edgren, G.; Hjalgrim, H.; Rostgaard, K.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Both hepatitis B and C viruses were transmitted through blood transfusion before implementation of donor screening. The existence of additional, yet unknown transfusion transmittable agents causing liver disease could have important public health implications. Methods: Analyses were...... 1992 to account for the effect of screening for hepatitis C virus. Results: A total of 1 482 922 transfused patients were included in the analyses. Analyses showed evidence of transfusion transmission of liver diseases before, but not after the implementation of hepatitis C virus screening in 1992...... for transfusion transmission of agents causing liver disease after the implementation of screening for hepatitis B and C, and suggest that if such transmission does occur, it is rare....

  14. Incipient merger of Cls 11 and 5 in Xhosa? | Gowlett | South African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In Xhosa, there appears to be an incipient merger between Noun Classes 5 and 11, as revealed by frequent mismatches between Cl. 11 nouns and various concordial elements, and even the replacement of the Cl. 11 noun prefix by that of Cl. 5. In this article we explore possible reasons for this putative merger, and present ...

  15. Input that Contradicts Young Children's Strategy for Mapping Novel Words Affects Their Phonological and Semantic Interpretation of Other Novel Words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarvis, Lorna Hernandez; Merriman, William E.; Barnett, Michelle; Hanba, Jessica; Van Haitsma, Kylee S.

    2004-01-01

    Children tend to choose an entity they cannot already label, rather than one they can, as the likely referent of a novel noun. The effect of input that contradicts this strategy on the interpretation of other novel nouns was investigated. In pre- and posttests, 4-year-olds were asked to judge whether novel nouns referred to "name-similar" familiar…

  16. Quantification of the Triazole Antifungal Compounds Voriconazole and Posaconazole in Human Serum or Plasma Using Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molinelli, Alejandro R; Rose, Charles H

    2016-01-01

    Voriconazole and posaconazole are triazole antifungal compounds used in the treatment of fungal infections. Therapeutic drug monitoring of both compounds is recommended in order to guide drug dosing to achieve optimal blood concentrations. In this chapter we describe an HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for the quantification of both compounds in human plasma or serum following a simple specimen preparation procedure. Specimen preparation consists of protein precipitation using methanol and acetonitrile followed by a cleanup step that involves filtration through a cellulose acetate membrane. The specimen is then injected into an HPLC-ESI-MS/MS equipped with a C18 column and separated over an acetonitrile gradient. Quantification of the drugs in the specimen is achieved by comparing the response of the unknown specimen to that of the calibrators in the standard curve using multiple reaction monitoring.

  17. Structure Elucidation of Unknown Metabolites in Metabolomics by Combined NMR and MS/MS Prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boiteau, Rene M; Hoyt, David W; Nicora, Carrie D; Kinmonth-Schultz, Hannah A; Ward, Joy K; Bingol, Kerem

    2018-01-17

    We introduce a cheminformatics approach that combines highly selective and orthogonal structure elucidation parameters; accurate mass, MS/MS (MS²), and NMR into a single analysis platform to accurately identify unknown metabolites in untargeted studies. The approach starts with an unknown LC-MS feature, and then combines the experimental MS/MS and NMR information of the unknown to effectively filter out the false positive candidate structures based on their predicted MS/MS and NMR spectra. We demonstrate the approach on a model mixture, and then we identify an uncatalogued secondary metabolite in Arabidopsis thaliana . The NMR/MS² approach is well suited to the discovery of new metabolites in plant extracts, microbes, soils, dissolved organic matter, food extracts, biofuels, and biomedical samples, facilitating the identification of metabolites that are not present in experimental NMR and MS metabolomics databases.

  18. Pragmatic application of the precautionary principle to deal with unknown safety challenges

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frappier, G.; Viktorov, A., E-mail: gerry.frappier@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca, E-mail: alex.viktorov@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca [Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    Nuclear power technology has matured over a number of decades to the point where our understanding of the technology under a wide variety of circumstances is quite high. Despite this high degree of maturity, discoveries of new challenges occasionally surface. These may arise from either unusual or unexpected operational conditions or new experimental findings from ongoing research. With the early realization that such discoveries could occur, a conscious effort was made to take precautions against their negative impacts. Principles such as defence-in-depth, designing for high reliability, incorporation of robust safety margins and use of justified conservatisms are key examples of established practices that are embedded in national regulatory regimes of most, if not all countries with nuclear programs. Because of these provisions the safety cases of the current generation of reactors proved to be quite resilient to discoveries of earlier unrecognized challenges. A fundamentally important element in the management of “unknown unknowns” is a healthy research programme. Such a programme is especially necessary as a precondition for understanding potential impacts from changes in operating conditions or implementation of novel design features. A research programme helps minimizing chances of stumbling on “unknown unknowns”, and allows resolution of emerging issues to by virtue of the accumulated understanding and capability to predict challenges to safety. In the few instances when discoveries occurred with recognized negative effects on safety, these spurred changes in operating conditions, maintenance or testing practices, design modifications, as well as required targeted research projects. This paper outlines several CANDU-specific “discoveries” in the field of thermalhydraulics, illustrating past “unknown unknowns” and the actions taken to address those. The main message, however, is to point out that both the industry and the regulator should

  19. Pragmatic application of the precautionary principle to deal with unknown safety challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frappier, G.; Viktorov, A.

    2011-01-01

    Nuclear power technology has matured over a number of decades to the point where our understanding of the technology under a wide variety of circumstances is quite high. Despite this high degree of maturity, discoveries of new challenges occasionally surface. These may arise from either unusual or unexpected operational conditions or new experimental findings from ongoing research. With the early realization that such discoveries could occur, a conscious effort was made to take precautions against their negative impacts. Principles such as defence-in-depth, designing for high reliability, incorporation of robust safety margins and use of justified conservatisms are key examples of established practices that are embedded in national regulatory regimes of most, if not all countries with nuclear programs. Because of these provisions the safety cases of the current generation of reactors proved to be quite resilient to discoveries of earlier unrecognized challenges. A fundamentally important element in the management of “unknown unknowns” is a healthy research programme. Such a programme is especially necessary as a precondition for understanding potential impacts from changes in operating conditions or implementation of novel design features. A research programme helps minimizing chances of stumbling on “unknown unknowns”, and allows resolution of emerging issues to by virtue of the accumulated understanding and capability to predict challenges to safety. In the few instances when discoveries occurred with recognized negative effects on safety, these spurred changes in operating conditions, maintenance or testing practices, design modifications, as well as required targeted research projects. This paper outlines several CANDU-specific “discoveries” in the field of thermalhydraulics, illustrating past “unknown unknowns” and the actions taken to address those. The main message, however, is to point out that both the industry and the regulator should

  20. A Size Exclusion Chromatography Laboratory with Unknowns for Introductory Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIntee, Edward J.; Graham, Kate J.; Colosky, Edward C.; Jakubowski, Henry V.

    2015-01-01

    Size exclusion chromatography is an important technique in the separation of biological and polymeric samples by molecular weight. While a number of laboratory experiments have been published that use this technique for the purification of large molecules, this is the first report of an experiment that focuses on purifying an unknown small…

  1. Glucosidase inhibitory activity and antioxidant activity of flavonoid compound and triterpenoid compound from Agrimonia Pilosa Ledeb.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xi; Zhu, Liancai; Tan, Jun; Zhou, Xuemei; Xiao, Ling; Yang, Xian; Wang, Bochu

    2014-01-10

    In Chinese traditional medicine, Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb (APL) exhibits great effect on treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), however its mechanism is still unknown. Considering that T2DM are correlated with postprandial hyperglycemia and oxidative stress, we investigated the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and the antioxidant activity of flavonoid compound (FC) and triterpenoid compound (TC) from APL. Entire plants of APL were extracted using 95% ethanol and 50% ethanol successively. The resulting extracts were partitioned and isolated by applying liquid chromatography using silica gel column and Sephadex LH 20 column to give FC and TC. The content of total flavonoids in FC and the content of total triterpenoids in TC were determined by using UV spectrophotometry. HPLC analysis was used to identify and quantify the monomeric compound in FC and TC. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activities were determined using the chromogenic method with p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside as substrate. Antioxidant activities were assessed through three kinds of radical scavenging assays (DPPH radical, ABTS radical and hydroxyl radical) & β-carotene-linoleic acid assay. The results indicate FC is abundant of quercitrin, and hyperoside, and TC is abundant of 1β, 2β, 3β, 19α-tetrahydroxy-12-en-28-oic acid (265.2 mg/g) and corosolic acid (100.9 mg/g). The FC & the TC have strong α-glucosidase inhibitory activities with IC50 of 8.72 μg/mL and 3.67 μg/mL, respectively. We find that FC show competitive inhibition against α-glucosidase, while the TC exhibits noncompetitive inhibition. Furthermore, The FC exhibits significant radical scavenging activity with the EC50 values of 7.73 μg/mL, 3.64 μg/mL and 5.90 μg/mL on DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical and ABTS radical, respectively. The FC also shows moderate anti-lipid peroxidation activity with the IC50 values of 41.77 μg/mL on inhibiting β-carotene bleaching. These results imply that the FC and the TC could be

  2. The formation of lithium diarylargentates from arylsilver compounds and the corresponding aryllithium compounds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blenkers, J.; Hofstee, H.K.; Boersma, J.; Kerk, G.J.M. van der

    1979-01-01

    Diarylsilverlithium compounds of the type Ar2AgLi are formed by treating arylsilver compounds with the corresponding aryllithium compounds. Cryoscopy in benzene shows that the Ar2AgLi compounds are associated into dimers. NMR spectroscopic data indicate that only one type of aryl group is present in

  3. Robust adaptive fuzzy neural tracking control for a class of unknown ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy neural controller (AFNC) for a class of unknown chaotic systems is ... The robust controller is used to guarantee the stability and to control the per- ..... From the above analysis we have the following theorem:.

  4. Validation of LC–TOF-MS Screening for Drugs, Metabolites, and Collateral Compounds in Forensic Toxicology Specimens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guale, Fessessework; Shahreza, Shahriar; Walterscheid, Jeffrey P.; Chen, Hsin-Hung; Arndt, Crystal; Kelly, Anna T.; Mozayani, Ashraf

    2013-01-01

    Liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–TOF-MS) analysis provides an expansive technique for identifying many known and unknown analytes. This study developed a screening method that utilizes automated solid-phase extraction to purify a wide array of analytes involving stimulants, benzodiazepines, opiates, muscle relaxants, hypnotics, antihistamines, antidepressants and newer synthetic “Spice/K2” cannabinoids and cathinone “bath salt” designer drugs. The extract was applied to LC–TOF-MS analysis, implementing a 13 min chromatography gradient with mobile phases of ammonium formate and methanol using positive mode electrospray. Several common drugs and metabolites can share the same mass and chemical formula among unrelated compounds, but they are structurally different. In this method, the LC–TOF-MS was able to resolve many isobaric compounds by accurate mass correlation within 15 ppm mass units and a narrow retention time interval of less than 10 s of separation. Drug recovery yields varied among spiked compounds, but resulted in overall robust area counts to deliver an average match score of 86 when compared to the retention time and mass of authentic standards. In summary, this method represents a rapid, enhanced screen for blood and urine specimens in postmortem, driving under the influence, and drug facilitated sexual assault forensic toxicology casework. PMID:23118149

  5. Validation of LC-TOF-MS screening for drugs, metabolites, and collateral compounds in forensic toxicology specimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guale, Fessessework; Shahreza, Shahriar; Walterscheid, Jeffrey P; Chen, Hsin-Hung; Arndt, Crystal; Kelly, Anna T; Mozayani, Ashraf

    2013-01-01

    Liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) analysis provides an expansive technique for identifying many known and unknown analytes. This study developed a screening method that utilizes automated solid-phase extraction to purify a wide array of analytes involving stimulants, benzodiazepines, opiates, muscle relaxants, hypnotics, antihistamines, antidepressants and newer synthetic "Spice/K2" cannabinoids and cathinone "bath salt" designer drugs. The extract was applied to LC-TOF-MS analysis, implementing a 13 min chromatography gradient with mobile phases of ammonium formate and methanol using positive mode electrospray. Several common drugs and metabolites can share the same mass and chemical formula among unrelated compounds, but they are structurally different. In this method, the LC-TOF-MS was able to resolve many isobaric compounds by accurate mass correlation within 15 ppm mass units and a narrow retention time interval of less than 10 s of separation. Drug recovery yields varied among spiked compounds, but resulted in overall robust area counts to deliver an average match score of 86 when compared to the retention time and mass of authentic standards. In summary, this method represents a rapid, enhanced screen for blood and urine specimens in postmortem, driving under the influence, and drug facilitated sexual assault forensic toxicology casework.

  6. Adaptive control of Parkinson's state based on a nonlinear computational model with unknown parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Fei; Wang, Jiang; Deng, Bin; Wei, Xi-Le; Chen, Ying-Yuan; Liu, Chen; Li, Hui-Yan

    2015-02-01

    The objective here is to explore the use of adaptive input-output feedback linearization method to achieve an improved deep brain stimulation (DBS) algorithm for closed-loop control of Parkinson's state. The control law is based on a highly nonlinear computational model of Parkinson's disease (PD) with unknown parameters. The restoration of thalamic relay reliability is formulated as the desired outcome of the adaptive control methodology, and the DBS waveform is the control input. The control input is adjusted in real time according to estimates of unknown parameters as well as the feedback signal. Simulation results show that the proposed adaptive control algorithm succeeds in restoring the relay reliability of the thalamus, and at the same time achieves accurate estimation of unknown parameters. Our findings point to the potential value of adaptive control approach that could be used to regulate DBS waveform in more effective treatment of PD.

  7. Building a RAPPOR with the Unknown: Privacy-Preserving Learning of Associations and Data Dictionaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fanti Giulia

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Techniques based on randomized response enable the collection of potentially sensitive data from clients in a privacy-preserving manner with strong local differential privacy guarantees. A recent such technology, RAPPOR [12], enables estimation of the marginal frequencies of a set of strings via privacy-preserving crowdsourcing. However, this original estimation process relies on a known dictionary of possible strings; in practice, this dictionary can be extremely large and/or unknown. In this paper, we propose a novel decoding algorithm for the RAPPOR mechanism that enables the estimation of “unknown unknowns,” i.e., strings we do not know we should be estimating. To enable learning without explicit dictionary knowledge, we develop methodology for estimating the joint distribution of multiple variables collected with RAPPOR. Our contributions are not RAPPOR-specific, and can be generalized to other local differential privacy mechanisms for learning distributions of string-valued random variables.

  8. Ratbot automatic navigation by electrical reward stimulation based on distance measurement in unknown environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Liqiang; Sun, Chao; Zhang, Chen; Zheng, Nenggan; Chen, Weidong; Zheng, Xiaoxiang

    2013-01-01

    Traditional automatic navigation methods for bio-robots are constrained to configured environments and thus can't be applied to tasks in unknown environments. With no consideration of bio-robot's own innate living ability and treating bio-robots in the same way as mechanical robots, those methods neglect the intelligence behavior of animals. This paper proposes a novel ratbot automatic navigation method in unknown environments using only reward stimulation and distance measurement. By utilizing rat's habit of thigmotaxis and its reward-seeking behavior, this method is able to incorporate rat's intrinsic intelligence of obstacle avoidance and path searching into navigation. Experiment results show that this method works robustly and can successfully navigate the ratbot to a target in the unknown environment. This work might put a solid base for application of ratbots and also has significant implication of automatic navigation for other bio-robots as well.

  9. The Syntactic Analysis of Pronoun Homofunction Considering Verb Structure and the Function of Connected Pronouns in Passive-Emotional Sentences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Irani

    2017-04-01

       All these sentences express a kind of passive and emotional reaction; hence, it must certainly be considered to get the meaning of such sentences. Khābash gereft, for example, means he fell asleep.In the other hand, paying attention to the meaning will notably be effective in determining the verb type in structure and the grammatical role of the words in such sentences. According to the authors of this research, unlike some ideas, the verb structure is not compounded in these sentences, but is a nominal/adjectival component before the homo-function, recognized to be a part of the compound verb by some grammarians and linguists, has a subject role; and the homo-function is also a simple verb completely agreeing in suffix with the subject. The role of the pronoun suffixes, also, must be determined paying special attention to their role in traditional grammar because we think sometimes proposing ideas on some grammatical points might not bring about acceptable results regardless of their background and historic relations. Since pronoun suffixes occur only as objects, complements and genitives, the joint pronouns in these sentences are not an exception and have the same roles. The accompanying noun or adjective is the subject. The disjoint initial noun or pronoun, the “pronoun homo-role”, can be replaced by the pronoun suffix in some sentences, but makes the sentence ungrammatical in most cases.

  10. LANGUAGE FORM AND FUNCTION OF CARETAKERS FOUND IN NANNY MCPHEE AND THE BIG BANG MOVIE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aditya Putri Kusuma Andani

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This study deals with the form and the function of caretaker speech which is found in caretaker’s utterance in Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang Movie. The objectives of this study are (1 to describe the type of language form of the caretaker and (2 to describe the type of language function of the caretaker found in Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang Movie. The type of this research is descriptive qualitative research. The data of this research are the utterance from the caretaker found in manuscript of Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang Movie. The data collection technique is documentation. The technique of analyzing data are descriptive qualitative. The writer uses the theories from Frank (1972 to analyze the type of language form, and M.A.K. Halliday (1977 to analyze the type of language function. The result of this study shows that (1 there are four types of word: noun, verb, adjective, and adverb; three types of phrase: noun phrase, verb phrase, and adverb phrase; and two types of sentence categorized into two. The first category is based on type, namely: declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentence; the second one by number of full predication, namely: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence. (2 The writer found 6 types of language function, they are: regulatory function, instrumental function, representational function, personal function, interactional function, and imaginative function.

  11. Semiconducting III-V compounds

    CERN Document Server

    Hilsum, C; Henisch, Heinz R

    1961-01-01

    Semiconducting III-V Compounds deals with the properties of III-V compounds as a family of semiconducting crystals and relates these compounds to the monatomic semiconductors silicon and germanium. Emphasis is placed on physical processes that are peculiar to III-V compounds, particularly those that combine boron, aluminum, gallium, and indium with phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony (for example, indium antimonide, indium arsenide, gallium antimonide, and gallium arsenide).Comprised of eight chapters, this book begins with an assessment of the crystal structure and binding of III-V compounds, f

  12. Discovery of Intermetallic Compounds from Traditional to Machine-Learning Approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliynyk, Anton O; Mar, Arthur

    2018-01-16

    probabilities. Major results include the discovery of RhCd, the first new binary AB compound to be found in over 15 years, with a CsCl-type structure; the connection between "ambiguous" prediction probabilities and the phenomenon of polymorphism, as illustrated in the case of TiFeP (with TiNiSi- and ZrNiAl-type structures); and the preparation of new predicted Heusler phases MRu 2 Ga and RuM 2 Ga (M = first-row transition metal) that are not obvious candidates. Second, how can the search for materials with desired properties be accelerated? One particular application of strong current interest is thermoelectric materials, which present a particular challenge because their optimum performance depends on achieving a balance of many interrelated physical properties. Making use of a recommendation engine developed by Citrine Informatics, we have identified new candidates for thermoelectric materials, including previously unknown compounds (e.g., TiRu 2 Ga with Heusler structure; Mn(Ru 0.4 Ge 0.6 ) with CsCl-type structure) and previously reported compounds but counterintuitive candidates (e.g., Gd 12 Co 5 Bi). An important lesson in these investigations is that the machine-learning models are only as good as the experimental data used to develop them. Thus, experimental work will continue to be necessary to improve the predictions made by machine learning.

  13. Vaginal symptoms of unknown etiology - a study in dutch general-practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dekker, Janny H.; Boeke, A. Joan P.; Janssens, J; van Eijk, J.Th.M.

    Vaginal symptoms are frequently presented by women to general practitioners. In many cases, the aetiology of these symptoms remains unknown. This study focused on the factors associated with microbiologically unexplained vaginal symptoms, the course of symptoms and signs in these cases, and factors

  14. Selenium-75-labelled foliate compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1974-01-01

    A saturation method to analyze a foliate is presented; it uses competitive reaction of the compound to be measured and of a radioactive-labelled version of this compound with a reagent specific to this compound present in insufficient quantity to combine with the whole of the compound and its labelled version, separation of the bound compound from its non-bound homologue and measurement of the radioactivity concentration in the bound compound, the non-bound compound or both. The radioactive isotope used in the labelled foliate is selenium 75 [fr

  15. Accessory papillary muscles and papillary muscle hypertrophy are associated with sudden cardiac arrest of unknown cause.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uhm, Jae-Sun; Youn, Jong-Chan; Lee, Hye-Jeong; Park, Junbeom; Park, Jin-Kyu; Shim, Chi Young; Hong, Geu-Ru; Joung, Boyoung; Pak, Hui-Nam; Lee, Moon-Hyoung

    2015-10-15

    The present study was performed for elucidating the associations between the morphology of the papillary muscles (PMs) and sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). We retrospectively reviewed history, laboratory data, electrocardiography, echocardiography, coronary angiography, and cardiac CT/MRI for 190 patients with SCA. The prevalence of accessory PMs and PM hypertrophy in patients with SCA of unknown cause was compared with that in patients with SCA of known causes and 98 age- and sex-matched patients without SCA. An accessory PM was defined as a PM with origins separated from the anterolateral and posteromedial PMs, or a PM that branched into two or three bellies at the base of the anterolateral or posteromedial PM. PM hypertrophy was defined as at least one of the two PMs having a diameter of ≥1.1cm. In 49 patients (age 49.9±15.9years; 38 men) the cause of SCA was unknown, whereas 141 (age 54.2±16.6years; 121 men) had a known cause. The prevalence of accessory PMs was significantly higher in the unknown-cause group than in the known-cause group (24.5% and 7.8%, respectively; p=0.002) or the no-SCA group (7.1%, p=0.003). The same was true for PM hypertrophy (unknown-cause 12.2%, known-cause 2.1%, p=0.010; no SCA group 1.0%, p=0.006). By logistic regression, accessory PM and PM hypertrophy were independently associated with sudden cardiac arrest of unknown cause. An accessory PM and PM hypertrophy are associated with SCA of unknown cause. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Object and Action Naming: A Study on Persian-Speaking Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Nilipour

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Nouns and verbs are the central conceptual linguistic units of language acquisition in all human languages. While the noun-bias hypothesis claims that nouns have a privilege in children’s lexical development across languages, studies on Mandarin and Korean and other languages have challenged this view. More recent cross-linguistic naming studies on children in German, Turkish, English and Korean demonstrate that all languages, including Korean show a noun advantage however the degree of this discrepancy differs between languages. The aim of this study wasto look at object and action naming in normal Persian children as a measure of conceptual developmentin preschool children and its possible use for screening and therapeutic procedures. Methods: In this analytical study, noun bias and processing dissociation of object and action naming in 64 three to six year old healthy monolingual Persian-speaking children was investigated. A black and white picture naming task, consisting of 36 nouns (natural and man-made, and 36 verbs (transitive and intransitive was designed using DMDX software to measure response accuracy and reaction time of the subjects. Results: The results indicate a significant noun advantage with regard to accuracy and naming latencies. The results also reveal that transitive verbs are named more accurately than intransitive ones in Persianspeaking children. Also,the data indicate that accuracy of object and action namingimprove with age (P=0.000. Discussion: Based on the resultswe recommended that a standardized Persian object and action naming battery be used. Such a tool would have the potential of screening lexical development delay and possible noun-verb performance gap in preschool children.

  17. Biomarkers for Ectopic Pregnancy and Pregnancy of Unknown Location

    OpenAIRE

    Senapati, Suneeta; Barnhart, Kurt T.

    2013-01-01

    Early pregnancy failure is the most common complication of pregnancy, and 1–2% of all pregnancies will be ectopic. As one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, diagnosing ectopic pregnancy and determining the fate of a pregnancy of unknown location are of great clinical concern. Several serum and plasma biomarkers for ectopic pregnancy have been investigated independently and in combination. The following is a review of the state of biomarker discovery and development for...

  18. A SAR and QSAR Study of New Artemisinin Compounds with Antimalarial Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cleydson Breno R. Santos

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The Hartree-Fock method and the 6-31G** basis set were employed to calculate the molecular properties of artemisinin and 20 derivatives with antimalarial activity. Maps of molecular electrostatic potential (MEPs and molecular docking were used to investigate the interaction between ligands and the receptor (heme. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were employed to select the most important descriptors related to activity. The correlation between biological activity and molecular properties was obtained using the partial least squares and principal component regression methods. The regression PLS and PCR models built in this study were also used to predict the antimalarial activity of 30 new artemisinin compounds with unknown activity. The models obtained showed not only statistical significance but also predictive ability. The significant molecular descriptors related to the compounds with antimalarial activity were the hydration energy (HE, the charge on the O11 oxygen atom (QO11, the torsion angle O1-O2-Fe-N2 (D2 and the maximum rate of R/Sanderson Electronegativity (RTe+. These variables led to a physical and structural explanation of the molecular properties that should be selected for when designing new ligands to be used as antimalarial agents.

  19. Doubled volatile organic compound emissions from subarctic tundra under simulated climate warming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faubert, Patrick; Tiiva, Päivi; Rinnan, Asmund; Michelsen, Anders; Holopainen, Jarmo K; Rinnan, Riikka

    2010-07-01

    *Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from arctic ecosystems are important in view of their role in global atmospheric chemistry and unknown feedbacks to global warming. These cold ecosystems are hotspots of climate warming, which will be more severe here than averaged over the globe. We assess the effects of climatic warming on non-methane BVOC emissions from a subarctic heath. *We performed ecosystem-based chamber measurements and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses of the BVOCs collected on adsorbent over two growing seasons at a wet subarctic tundra heath hosting a long-term warming and mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) litter addition experiment. *The relatively low emissions of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were doubled in response to an air temperature increment of only 1.9-2.5 degrees C, while litter addition had a minor influence. BVOC emissions were seasonal, and warming combined with litter addition triggered emissions of specific compounds. *The unexpectedly high rate of release of BVOCs measured in this conservative warming scenario is far above the estimates produced by the current models, which underlines the importance of a focus on BVOC emissions during climate change. The observed changes have implications for ecological interactions and feedback effects on climate change via impacts on aerosol formation and indirect greenhouse effects.

  20. Identification of compounds that selectively target highly chemotherapy refractory neuroblastoma cancer stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz-Carballo, David; Acikelli, Ali Haydar; Bardenheuer, Walter; Gustmann, Sebastian; Malak, Sascha; Stoll, Raphael; Kedziorski, Thorsten; Nazif, Mhd Ali; Jastrow, Holger; Wennemuth, Gunter; Dammann, Philip; Feigel, Martin; Strumberg, Dirk

    2014-09-01

    Relapse of cancer months or years after an apparently successful therapy is probably caused by cancer stem cells (CSCs) due to their intrinsic features like dormant periods, radiorefraction, and acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotypes, among other mechanisms of cellular drug evasiveness. Thus, the lack of currently efficacious interventions remains a major problem in the treatment of malignancies, together with the inability of existing drugs to destroy specifically CSCs. Neuroblastomas per se are highly chemotherapy-refractory extracranial tumors in infants with very low survival rates. So far, no effective cytostatics against this kind of tumors are clinically available. Therefore, we have put much effort into the development of agents to efficiently combat this malignancy. For this purpose, we tested several compounds isolated from Cuban propolis on induced CSCs (iCSC) derived from LAN-1 neuroblastoma cells which expressed several characteristics of tumor-initiating cells both in in-vitro and in-vivo models. Some small molecules such as flavonoids and polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAP) were isolated using successive RT-HPLC cycles and identified employing mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopic techniques. Their cytotoxicity was first screened in sensitive cell systems by MTT proliferation assays and afterwards studied in less sensitive neuroblastoma iCSC models. We found several compounds with considerable anti-iCSC activity, most of them belonging to the PPAP class. The majority of the compounds act in a pleiotropic manner on the molecular biology of tumors although their specific targets remain unclear. Nevertheless, two substances, one of them a flavonoid, induced a strong disruption of tubulin polymerization. In addition, an unknown compound strongly inhibited replicative enzymes like toposimerases I/II and DNA polymerase. Here, we report for the first time cytotoxic activities of small molecules isolated from Caribbean propolis

  1. Visual variability affects early verb learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twomey, Katherine E; Lush, Lauren; Pearce, Ruth; Horst, Jessica S

    2014-09-01

    Research demonstrates that within-category visual variability facilitates noun learning; however, the effect of visual variability on verb learning is unknown. We habituated 24-month-old children to a novel verb paired with an animated star-shaped actor. Across multiple trials, children saw either a single action from an action category (identical actions condition, for example, travelling while repeatedly changing into a circle shape) or multiple actions from that action category (variable actions condition, for example, travelling while changing into a circle shape, then a square shape, then a triangle shape). Four test trials followed habituation. One paired the habituated verb with a new action from the habituated category (e.g., 'dacking' + pentagon shape) and one with a completely novel action (e.g., 'dacking' + leg movement). The others paired a new verb with a new same-category action (e.g., 'keefing' + pentagon shape), or a completely novel category action (e.g., 'keefing' + leg movement). Although all children discriminated novel verb/action pairs, children in the identical actions condition discriminated trials that included the completely novel verb, while children in the variable actions condition discriminated the out-of-category action. These data suggest that - as in noun learning - visual variability affects verb learning and children's ability to form action categories. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

  2. Long Valley Caldera-Mammoth Mountain unrest: The knowns and unknowns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, David P.

    2017-01-01

    This perspective is based largely on my study of the Long Valley Caldera (California, USA) over the past 40 years. Here, I’ll examine the “knowns” and the “known unknowns” of the complex tectonic–magmatic system of the Long Valley Caldera volcanic complex. I will also offer a few brief thoughts on the “unknown unknowns” of this system.

  3. Metastatic Carcinoma of Unknown Primary Presenting as Jugular Venous Thrombosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prince Cheriyan Modayil

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Jugular venous thrombosis is unusual and is associated with central venous catheterisation, intravenous drug abuse and head and neck sepsis. It is rarely associated with malignancy. We report a case of metastatic carcinoma of unknown primary in a forty year old female which presented with jugular venous thrombosis. The discussion includes investigation and treatment options for this condition.

  4. Four Unknown Prison Poems by H. C. Bosman | MacKenzie ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Four Unknown Prison Poems by H. C. Bosman. C MacKenzie. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/eia.v40i2.1 · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors ...

  5. Assessment of multi-chemical pollution in aquatic ecosystems using toxic units: compound prioritization, mixture characterization and relationships with biological descriptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginebreda, Antoni; Kuzmanovic, Maja; Guasch, Helena; de Alda, Miren López; López-Doval, Julio C; Muñoz, Isabel; Ricart, Marta; Romaní, Anna M; Sabater, Sergi; Barceló, Damià

    2014-01-15

    Chemical pollution is typically characterized by exposure to multiple rather than to single or a limited number of compounds. Parent compounds, transformation products and other non-targeted compounds yield mixtures whose composition can only be partially identified by monitoring, while a substantial proportion remains unknown. In this context, risk assessment based on the application of additive ecotoxicity models, such as concentration addition (CA), is rendered somewhat misleading. Here, we show that ecotoxicity risk information can be better understood upon consideration of the probabilistic distribution of risk among the different compounds. Toxic units of the compounds identified in a sample fit a lognormal probability distribution. The parameters characterizing this distribution (mean and standard deviation) provide information which can be tentatively interpreted as a measure of the toxic load and its apportionment among the constituents in the mixture (here interpreted as mixture complexity). Furthermore, they provide information for compound prioritization tailored to each site and enable prediction of some of the functional and structural biological variables associated with the receiving ecosystem. The proposed approach was tested in the Llobregat River basin (NE Spain) using exposure and toxicity data (algae and Daphnia) corresponding to 29 pharmaceuticals and 22 pesticides, and 5 structural and functional biological descriptors related to benthic macroinvertebrates (diversity, biomass) and biofilm metrics (diatom quality, chlorophyll-a content and photosynthetic capacity). Aggregated toxic units based on Daphnia and algae bioassays provided a good indication of the pollution pattern of the Llobregat River basin. Relative contribution of pesticides and pharmaceuticals to total toxic load was variable and highly site dependent, the latter group tending to increase its contribution in urban areas. Contaminated sites' toxic load was typically dominated by

  6. Pop in a Popper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reading Teacher, 2011

    2011-01-01

    This article describes Pop in a Popper, an effective lesson for teaching students how to choose and use words to give their writing fluency and flair. Pop in a Popper introduces the appositive: a group of words inserted after a noun to modify that noun. In simplest terms, writers pop this group of words into a sentence to tell more about a noun.…

  7. Use of Medicines with Unknown Fetal Risk among Parturient Women from the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort (Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andréa Dâmaso Bertoldi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. To estimate the exposure to medicines with unknown fetal risk during pregnancy and to analyze the maternal characteristics associated with it. Methods. A questionnaire was administered to 4,189 mothers of children belonging to the 2004 Pelotas (Brazil birth cohort study about use of any medicine during gestation. We evaluated the associations between use of medicines with unknown fetal risk and the independent variables through logistic regression models. Unknown fetal risk was defined as medicines in which studies in animals have revealed adverse effects on the fetus, and no controlled studies in women, or studies in women and animals, are available. Results. Out of the 4,189 women, 52.5% used at least one medicine from unknown fetal risk. Use of these medicines was associated with white skin color, high schooling, high income, six or more antenatal care consultations, hospital admission during pregnancy, and morbidity during gestation. Conclusion. The use of unknown fetal risk medicines is high, suggesting that their use must be addressed with caution with the aim of restricting their use to cases in which the benefits are greater than the potential risks.

  8. Rubber compounding and processing

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    John, MJ

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This chapter presents an overview on the compounding and processing techniques of natural rubber compounds. The introductory portion deals with different types of rubbers and principles of rubber compounding. The primary and secondary fillers used...

  9. General methods for modified projective synchronization of hyperchaotic systems with known or unknown parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Yang; Fang, Jian-an

    2008-03-01

    This work is concerned with the general methods for modified projective synchronization of hyperchaotic systems. A systematic method of active control is developed to synchronize two hyperchaotic systems with known parameters. Moreover, by combining the adaptive control and linear feedback methods, general sufficient conditions for the modified projective synchronization of identical or different chaotic systems with fully unknown or partially unknown parameters are presented. Meanwhile, the speed of parameters identification can be regulated by adjusting adaptive gain matrix. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

  10. Multi-angle compound imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jespersen, Søren Kragh; Wilhjelm, Jens Erik; Sillesen, Henrik

    1998-01-01

    This paper reports on a scanning technique, denoted multi-angle compound imaging (MACI), using spatial compounding. The MACI method also contains elements of frequency compounding, as the transmit frequency is lowered for the highest beam angles in order to reduce grating lobes. Compared to conve......This paper reports on a scanning technique, denoted multi-angle compound imaging (MACI), using spatial compounding. The MACI method also contains elements of frequency compounding, as the transmit frequency is lowered for the highest beam angles in order to reduce grating lobes. Compared...... to conventional B-mode imaging MACI offers better defined tissue boundaries and lower variance of the speckle pattern, resulting in an image with reduced random variations. Design and implementation of a compound imaging system is described, images of rubber tubes and porcine aorta are shown and effects...... on visualization are discussed. The speckle reduction is analyzed numerically and the results are found to be in excellent agreement with existing theory. An investigation of detectability of low-contrast lesions shows significant improvements compared to conventional imaging. Finally, possibilities for improving...

  11. Correlations and adsorption mechanisms of aromatic compounds on a high heat temperature treated bamboo biochar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Kun; Yang, Jingjing; Jiang, Yuan; Wu, Wenhao; Lin, Daohui

    2016-01-01

    Adsorption of aromatic compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrobenzenes, phenols, and anilines, on a bamboo biochar produced at 700 °C (Ba700) was investigated with the mechanism discussion by isotherm fitting using the Polanyi-theory based Dubinin–Ashtakhov (DA) model. Correlations of adsorption capacity (Q 0 ) of organic compounds with their molecular sizes and melting points, as well as correlations of adsorption affinity (E) with their solvatochromic parameters (i.e., π* and α m ), on the biochar, were developed and indicating that adsorption is captured by the pore filling mechanism and derived from the hydrophobic effects of organic compounds and the forming of π-π electron donor-acceptor (EDA) interactions and hydrogen bonding interactions of organic molecules with surface sites of the biochar. The effects of organic molecular sizes and melting points on adsorption capacity are ascribed to the molecular sieving effect and the packing efficiency of the organic molecules in the biochar pores, respectively. These correlations can be used to quantitatively estimate the adsorption of organic compounds on biochars from their commonly physicochemical properties including solvatochromic parameters, melting points and molecular cross-sectional area. The prediction using these correlations is important for assessing the unknown adsorption behaviors of new organic compounds and also helpful to guide the surface modification of biochars and make targeted selection in the environmental applications of biochars as adsorbents. - Highlights: • Adsorption of organic chemicals on biochars are captured by pore filling mechanism. • Adsorption is derived from Van der Waals force, π-π EDA and H-bonding interactions. • Adsorption capacity is negatively correlated with organic molecular sizes/melting points. • Adsorption capacity is restricted by molecular sieving effect and packing efficiency. • Adsorption affinity has a LSER with chemical

  12. Hepatitis B immunisation in persons not previously exposed to hepatitis B or with unknown exposure status

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mathew, Joseph L; El Dib, Regina; Mathew, Preethy J

    2008-01-01

    The benefits and harms of hepatitis B vaccination in persons not previously exposed to hepatitis B infection or with unknown exposure status have not been established.......The benefits and harms of hepatitis B vaccination in persons not previously exposed to hepatitis B infection or with unknown exposure status have not been established....

  13. Multi-label classifier based on histogram of gradients for predicting the anatomical therapeutic chemical class/classes of a given compound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanni, Loris; Brahnam, Sheryl

    2017-09-15

    Given an unknown compound, is it possible to predict its Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical class/classes? This is a challenging yet important problem since such a prediction could be used to deduce not only a compound's possible active ingredients but also its therapeutic, pharmacological and chemical properties, thereby substantially expediting the pace of drug development. The problem is challenging because some drugs and compounds belong to two or more ATC classes, making machine learning extremely difficult. In this article a multi-label classifier system is proposed that incorporates information about a compound's chemical-chemical interaction and its structural and fingerprint similarities to other compounds belonging to the different ATC classes. The proposed system reshapes a 1D feature vector to obtain a 2D matrix representation of the compound. This matrix is then described by a histogram of gradients that is fed into a Multi-Label Learning with Label-Specific Features classifier. Rigorous cross-validations demonstrate the superior prediction quality of this method compared with other state-of-the-art approaches developed for this problem, a superiority that is reflected particularly in the absolute true rate, the most important and harshest metric for assessing multi-label systems. The MATLAB code for replicating the experiments presented in this article is available at https://www.dropbox.com/s/7v1mey48tl9bfgz/ToolPaperATC.rar?dl=0 . loris.nanni@unipd.it. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  14. Saliency-Guided Detection of Unknown Objects in RGB-D Indoor Scenes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Jiatong; Jia, Yunyi; Cheng, Yu; Xi, Ning

    2015-08-27

    This paper studies the problem of detecting unknown objects within indoor environments in an active and natural manner. The visual saliency scheme utilizing both color and depth cues is proposed to arouse the interests of the machine system for detecting unknown objects at salient positions in a 3D scene. The 3D points at the salient positions are selected as seed points for generating object hypotheses using the 3D shape. We perform multi-class labeling on a Markov random field (MRF) over the voxels of the 3D scene, combining cues from object hypotheses and 3D shape. The results from MRF are further refined by merging the labeled objects, which are spatially connected and have high correlation between color histograms. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations on two benchmark RGB-D datasets illustrate the advantages of the proposed method. The experiments of object detection and manipulation performed on a mobile manipulator validate its effectiveness and practicability in robotic applications.

  15. Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in a carcinoma with unknown primary: An autopsy study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gupta Kirti

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Kidney disease frequently complicates malignancy and its treatment. Although many solid and hematologic cancers may involve the renal parenchyma, clinical sequelae are usually not prominent. Published reports cite membranous nephropathy as the most common malignancy-associated glomerulopathy, occurring with many carcinomas and occasionally with leukemia and lymphoma followed by minimal change disease. Rarely membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN has been reported in patients with malignancy. The mechanism by which malignancy induces disease remains unproved, but may involve deposition of tumor antigen in the subepithelial space with in situ immune complex formation and subsequent complement activation. Treatment of the underlying malignancy may lead to resolution of nephrotic syndrome, lending indirect support to this theory. We report a rare autopsy case of a patient with metastatic carcinoma (with unknown primary associated with MPGN. The association between MPGN and metastatic carcinoma with unknown primary is uncommon and has not been previously reported in the literature.

  16. Performance study of LMS based adaptive algorithms for unknown system identification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Javed, Shazia; Ahmad, Noor Atinah [School of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang (Malaysia)

    2014-07-10

    Adaptive filtering techniques have gained much popularity in the modeling of unknown system identification problem. These techniques can be classified as either iterative or direct. Iterative techniques include stochastic descent method and its improved versions in affine space. In this paper we present a comparative study of the least mean square (LMS) algorithm and some improved versions of LMS, more precisely the normalized LMS (NLMS), LMS-Newton, transform domain LMS (TDLMS) and affine projection algorithm (APA). The performance evaluation of these algorithms is carried out using adaptive system identification (ASI) model with random input signals, in which the unknown (measured) signal is assumed to be contaminated by output noise. Simulation results are recorded to compare the performance in terms of convergence speed, robustness, misalignment, and their sensitivity to the spectral properties of input signals. Main objective of this comparative study is to observe the effects of fast convergence rate of improved versions of LMS algorithms on their robustness and misalignment.

  17. Performance study of LMS based adaptive algorithms for unknown system identification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, Shazia; Ahmad, Noor Atinah

    2014-01-01

    Adaptive filtering techniques have gained much popularity in the modeling of unknown system identification problem. These techniques can be classified as either iterative or direct. Iterative techniques include stochastic descent method and its improved versions in affine space. In this paper we present a comparative study of the least mean square (LMS) algorithm and some improved versions of LMS, more precisely the normalized LMS (NLMS), LMS-Newton, transform domain LMS (TDLMS) and affine projection algorithm (APA). The performance evaluation of these algorithms is carried out using adaptive system identification (ASI) model with random input signals, in which the unknown (measured) signal is assumed to be contaminated by output noise. Simulation results are recorded to compare the performance in terms of convergence speed, robustness, misalignment, and their sensitivity to the spectral properties of input signals. Main objective of this comparative study is to observe the effects of fast convergence rate of improved versions of LMS algorithms on their robustness and misalignment

  18. State, Parameter, and Unknown Input Estimation Problems in Active Automotive Safety Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phanomchoeng, Gridsada

    A variety of driver assistance systems such as traction control, electronic stability control (ESC), rollover prevention and lane departure avoidance systems are being developed by automotive manufacturers to reduce driver burden, partially automate normal driving operations, and reduce accidents. The effectiveness of these driver assistance systems can be significant enhanced if the real-time values of several vehicle parameters and state variables, namely tire-road friction coefficient, slip angle, roll angle, and rollover index, can be known. Since there are no inexpensive sensors available to measure these variables, it is necessary to estimate them. However, due to the significant nonlinear dynamics in a vehicle, due to unknown and changing plant parameters, and due to the presence of unknown input disturbances, the design of estimation algorithms for this application is challenging. This dissertation develops a new approach to observer design for nonlinear systems in which the nonlinearity has a globally (or locally) bounded Jacobian. The developed approach utilizes a modified version of the mean value theorem to express the nonlinearity in the estimation error dynamics as a convex combination of known matrices with time varying coefficients. The observer gains are then obtained by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). A number of illustrative examples are presented to show that the developed approach is less conservative and more useful than the standard Lipschitz assumption based nonlinear observer. The developed nonlinear observer is utilized for estimation of slip angle, longitudinal vehicle velocity, and vehicle roll angle. In order to predict and prevent vehicle rollovers in tripped situations, it is necessary to estimate the vertical tire forces in the presence of unknown road disturbance inputs. An approach to estimate unknown disturbance inputs in nonlinear systems using dynamic model inversion and a modified version of the mean value theorem is

  19. Group prioritisation with unknown expert weights in incomplete linguistic context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Dong; Cheng, Faxin; Zhou, Zhili; Wang, Juan

    2017-09-01

    In this paper, we study a group prioritisation problem in situations when the expert weights are completely unknown and their judgement preferences are linguistic and incomplete. Starting from the theory of relative entropy (RE) and multiplicative consistency, an optimisation model is provided for deriving an individual priority vector without estimating the missing value(s) of an incomplete linguistic preference relation. In order to address the unknown expert weights in the group aggregating process, we define two new kinds of expert weight indicators based on RE: proximity entropy weight and similarity entropy weight. Furthermore, a dynamic-adjusting algorithm (DAA) is proposed to obtain an objective expert weight vector and capture the dynamic properties involved in it. Unlike the extant literature of group prioritisation, the proposed RE approach does not require pre-allocation of expert weights and can solve incomplete preference relations. An interesting finding is that once all the experts express their preference relations, the final expert weight vector derived from the DAA is fixed irrespective of the initial settings of expert weights. Finally, an application example is conducted to validate the effectiveness and robustness of the RE approach.

  20. Reactive Path Planning Approach for Docking Robots in Unknown Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Cui

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Autonomous robots need to be recharged and exchange information with the host through docking in the long-distance tasks. Therefore, feasible path is required in the docking process to guide the robot and adjust its pose. However, when there are unknown obstacles in the work area, it becomes difficult to determine the feasible path for docking. This paper presents a reactive path planning approach named Dubins-APF (DAPF to solve the path planning problem for docking in unknown environment with obstacles. In this proposed approach the Dubins curves are combined with the designed obstacle avoidance potential field to plan the feasible path. Firstly, an initial path is planned and followed according to the configurations of the robot and the docking station. Then when the followed path is evaluated to be infeasible, the intermediate configuration is calculated as well as the replanned path based on the obstacle avoidance potential field. The robot will be navigated to the docking station with proper pose eventually via the DAPF approach. The proposed DAPF approach is efficient and does not require the prior knowledge about the environment. Simulation results are given to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed approach.

  1. Hyperfamiliarity for unknown faces after left lateral temporo-occipital venous infarction: a double dissociation with prosopagnosia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuilleumier, Patrik; Mohr, Christine; Valenza, Nathalie; Wetzel, Corinne; Landis, Theodor

    2003-04-01

    Right hemisphere dominance in face processing is well established and unilateral right inferior temporo-occipital damage can result in prosopagnosia. Here, we describe a 21-year-old right-handed woman with acute impairment in face recognition that selectively concerned unfamiliar faces, following a focal left lateral temporo-occipital venous infarct. She was severely impaired in discerning that unknown people seen in everyday life were unfamiliar, although she had no difficulty recognizing familiar people. Thus, she had no prosopagnosia, but abnormal 'hyperfamiliarity' for unknown faces. Her difficulty was not accompanied by delusions or deficits in discrimination, identification or memory for faces. Standard neuropsychological testing showed that her recognition of familiar faces was entirely normal. By contrast, her sense of personally knowing faces was severely impaired when unknown faces evoked weak signals of familiarity based on spurious cues, to the extent that she would misattribute fame to faces that were unknown but to which she had been incidentally exposed on a prior occasion. Priming experiments also revealed that, unlike normal subjects, she made familiarity judgements without accessing semantic identity representations. Moreover, in face recognition tests, she generally showed bias in that she relied more on right-hemisphere strategies to identify global traits and less on left-hemisphere processes compared with healthy subjects. This case provides novel evidence for a differential contribution of the two hemispheres to face recognition. Hyperfamiliarity for unknown faces might arise from an imbalance between reciprocal hemispheric functions in face recognition, with relative hypoactivation of left hemisphere processes but hyperactivation of right-hemisphere processes for retrieving stored associations about people, linking seen faces to representations of affective and personal relevance. Hence, abnormal bias in attributing some personal meaning to

  2. Separation and characterization of unknown impurities and isomers in flomoxef sodium by LC-IT-TOF MS and study of their negative-ion fragmentation regularities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xu; Wang, Fan; Li, Jiani; Shan, Weiguang; Zhu, Bingqi; Wang, Jian

    2017-06-05

    Thirteen unknown impurities in flomoxef sodium were separated and characterized by liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-IT-TOF MS)with positive and negative modes of electrospray ionization method for further improvement of official monographs in pharmacopoeias. The fragmentation patterns of impurities in flomoxef in the negative ion mode were studied in detail, and new negative-ion fragmentation regularities were discovered. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Kromasil C18 column (250mm×4.6mm, 5μm). The mobile phase consisted of (A) ammonium formate aqueous solution (10mM)-methanol (84:16, v/v) and (B) ammonium formate aqueous solution (10mM)-methanol (47:53, v/v). In order to determine the m/z values of the molecular ions and formulas of all detected impurities, full scan LC-MS in both positive and negative ion modes was firstly executed to obtain the m/z value of the molecules. Then LC-MS 2 and LC-MS 3 were carried out on target compounds to obtain as much structural information as possible. Complete fragmentation patterns of impurities were studied and used to obtain information about the structures of these impurities. Structures of thirteen unknown degradation products in flomoxef sodium were deduced based on the high resolution MS n data with both positive and negative modes. The forming mechanisms of degradation products in flomoxef sodium were also studied. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Field observations of volatile organic compound (VOC) exchange in red oaks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappellin, Luca; Algarra Alarcon, Alberto; Herdlinger-Blatt, Irina; Sanchez, Juaquin; Biasioli, Franco; Martin, Scot T.; Loreto, Francesco; McKinney, Karena A.

    2017-03-01

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by forests strongly affect the chemical composition of the atmosphere. While the emission of isoprenoids has been largely characterized, forests also exchange many oxygenated VOCs (oVOCs), including methanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and acetaldehyde, which are less well understood. We monitored total branch-level exchange of VOCs of a strong isoprene emitter (Quercus rubra L.) in a mixed forest in New England, where canopy-level fluxes of VOCs had been previously measured. We report daily exchange of several oVOCs and investigated unknown sources and sinks, finding several novel insights. In particular, we found that emission of MEK is linked to uptake of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), a product of isoprene oxidation. The link was confirmed by corollary experiments proving in vivo detoxification of MVK, which is harmful to plants. Comparison of MEK, MVK, and isoprene fluxes provided an indirect indication of within-plant isoprene oxidation. Furthermore, besides confirming bidirectional exchange of acetaldehyde, we also report for the first time direct evidence of benzaldehyde bidirectional exchange in forest plants. Net emission or deposition of benzaldehyde was found in different periods of measurements, indicating an unknown foliar sink that may influence atmospheric concentrations. Other VOCs, including methanol, acetone, and monoterpenes, showed clear daily emission trends but no deposition. Measured VOC emission and deposition rates were generally consistent with their ecosystem-scale flux measurements at a nearby site.

  4. Phenolic Molding Compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koizumi, Koji; Charles, Ted; de Keyser, Hendrik

    Phenolic Molding Compounds continue to exhibit well balanced properties such as heat resistance, chemical resistance, dimensional stability, and creep resistance. They are widely applied in electrical, appliance, small engine, commutator, and automotive applications. As the focus of the automotive industry is weight reduction for greater fuel efficiency, phenolic molding compounds become appealing alternatives to metals. Current market volumes and trends, formulation components and its impact on properties, and a review of common manufacturing methods are presented. Molding processes as well as unique advanced techniques such as high temperature molding, live sprue, and injection/compression technique provide additional benefits in improving the performance characterisitics of phenolic molding compounds. Of special interest are descriptions of some of the latest innovations in automotive components, such as the phenolic intake manifold and valve block for dual clutch transmissions. The chapter also characterizes the most recent developments in new materials, including long glass phenolic molding compounds and carbon fiber reinforced phenolic molding compounds exhibiting a 10-20-fold increase in Charpy impact strength when compared to short fiber filled materials. The role of fatigue testing and fatigue fracture behavior presents some insight into long-term reliability and durability of glass-filled phenolic molding compounds. A section on new technology outlines the important factors to consider in modeling phenolic parts by finite element analysis and flow simulation.

  5. Nomenclature on an inorganic compound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-10-01

    This book contains eleven chapters : which mention nomenclature of an inorganic compound with introduction and general principle on nomenclature of compound. It gives the description of grammar for nomenclature such as brackets, diagonal line, asterisk, and affix, element, atom and groups of atom, chemical formula, naming by stoichiometry, solid, neutral molecule compound, ion, a substituent, radical and name of salt, oxo acid and anion on introduction and definition of oxo acid, coordination compound like symbol of stereochemistry , boron and hydrogen compound and related compound.

  6. Phrase frequency effects in language production.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niels Janssen

    Full Text Available A classic debate in the psychology of language concerns the question of the grain-size of the linguistic information that is stored in memory. One view is that only morphologically simple forms are stored (e.g., 'car', 'red', and that more complex forms of language such as multi-word phrases (e.g., 'red car' are generated on-line from the simple forms. In two experiments we tested this view. In Experiment 1, participants produced noun+adjective and noun+noun phrases that were elicited by experimental displays consisting of colored line drawings and two superimposed line drawings. In Experiment 2, participants produced noun+adjective and determiner+noun+adjective utterances elicited by colored line drawings. In both experiments, naming latencies decreased with increasing frequency of the multi-word phrase, and were unaffected by the frequency of the object name in the utterance. These results suggest that the language system is sensitive to the distribution of linguistic information at grain-sizes beyond individual words.

  7. Active fault tolerance control of a wind turbine system using an unknown input observer with an actuator fault

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Shanzhi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a fault tolerant control scheme based on an unknown input observer for a wind turbine system subject to an actuator fault and disturbance. Firstly, an unknown input observer for state estimation and fault detection using a linear parameter varying model is developed. By solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs and linear matrix equalities (LMEs, the gains of the unknown input observer are obtained. The convergence of the unknown input observer is also analysed with Lyapunov theory. Secondly, using fault estimation, an active fault tolerant controller is applied to a wind turbine system. Finally, a simulation of a wind turbine benchmark with an actuator fault is tested for the proposed method. The simulation results indicate that the proposed FTC scheme is efficient.

  8. Reproductive endocrine patterns and volatile urinary compounds of Arctictis binturong: discovering why bearcats smell like popcorn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greene, Lydia K.; Wallen, Timothy W.; Moresco, Anneke; Goodwin, Thomas E.; Drea, Christine M.

    2016-06-01

    Members of the order Carnivora rely on urinary scent signaling, particularly for communicating about reproductive parameters. Here, we describe reproductive endocrine patterns in relation to urinary olfactory cues in a vulnerable and relatively unknown viverrid—the binturong ( Arctictis binturong). Female binturongs are larger than and dominate males, and both sexes engage in glandular and urinary scent marking. Using a large ( n = 33), captive population, we collected serum samples to measure circulating sex steroids via enzyme immunoassay and urine samples to assay volatile chemicals via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Male binturongs had expectedly greater androgen concentrations than did females but, more unusually, had equal estrogen concentrations, which may be linked to male deference. Males also expressed a significantly richer array of volatile chemical compounds than did females. A subset of these volatile chemicals resisted decay at ambient temperatures, potentially indicating their importance as long-lasting semiochemicals. Among these compounds was 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP), which is typically produced at high temperatures by the Maillard reaction and is likely to be responsible for the binturong's characteristic popcorn aroma. 2-AP, the only compound expressed by all of the subjects, was found in greater abundance in males than females and was significantly and positively related to circulating androstenedione concentrations in both sexes. This unusual compound may have a more significant role in mammalian semiochemistry than previously appreciated. Based on these novel data, we suggest that hormonal action and potentially complex chemical reactions mediate communication of the binturong's signature scent and convey information about sex and reproductive state.

  9. Algorithms for Rapidly Dispersing Robot Swarms in Unknown Environments

    OpenAIRE

    Hsiang, Tien-Ruey; Arkin, Esther M.; Bender, Michael; Fekete, Sandor P.; Mitchell, Joseph S. B.

    2002-01-01

    We develop and analyze algorithms for dispersing a swarm of primitive robots in an unknown environment, R. The primary objective is to minimize the makespan, that is, the time to fill the entire region. An environment is composed of pixels that form a connected subset of the integer grid. There is at most one robot per pixel and robots move horizontally or vertically at unit speed. Robots enter R by means of k>=1 door pixels Robots are primitive finite automata, only having local communicatio...

  10. Laser-induced thermal coagulation enhances skin uptake of topically applied compounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haak, C S; Hannibal, J; Paasch, U

    2017-01-01

    microchannels surrounded by CZ compared to channels with no CZ (CZ-20 and CZ-80>CZ-0).The thickness of CZ affected PEG distribution in skin. A thin CZ-20 favored significantly higher mean fluorescence intensities inside CZ areas compared to CZ-80 (PEG 350, 1,000, and 5,000; P ...BACKGROUND: Ablative fractional laser (AFL) generates microchannels in skin surrounded by a zone of thermally altered tissue, termed the coagulation zone (CZ). The thickness of CZ varies according to applied wavelength and laser settings. It is well-known that AFL channels facilitate uptake...... of topically applied compounds, but the importance of CZ is unknown. METHODS: Franz Cells were used to investigate skin uptake and permeation of fluorescent labeled polyethylene glycols (PEGs) with mean molecular weights (MW) of 350, 1,000, and 5,000 Da. Microchannels with CZ thicknesses ranging from 0 to 80...

  11. The energy equation with three unknowns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schifano, Fabio; Moriconi, Daniele

    2008-01-01

    This article discusses the alarming situation of energy in Italy as this country depends at 82 per cent on its imports (oil, natural gas and electricity), a dependence which could even increase. The authors first propose overviews of the situation regarding oil, natural gas and electric power (origins of imports, role of Italian companies, status of infrastructures), and also briefly of renewable energies. They recall the history of the use of nuclear energy: Italy has been one of the first country to use nuclear energy to produce electric power, but a referendum organised after Chernobyl resulted in phasing out nuclear. Then, the authors discuss perspectives associated with three main strategic unknowns: an increase of energy dependence with respect to hydrocarbons and to foreign nuclear power, a supply insecurity due to a dependence concentrated on a small number of countries (notably as far as natural gas is concerned), and an increasing interdependence between economic growth and sustainable development (the reduction of greenhouse emissions is a prevailing parameter for future energetic choices)

  12. Raman scattering in transition metal compounds: Titanium and compounds of titanium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jimenez, J.; Ederer, D.L.; Shu, T. [Tulane Univ., New Orleans, LA (United States)] [and others

    1997-04-01

    The transition metal compounds form a very interesting and important set of materials. The diversity arises from the many states of ionization the transition elements may take when forming compounds. This variety provides ample opportunity for a large class of materials to have a vast range of electronic and magnetic properties. The x-ray spectroscopy of the transition elements is especially interesting because they have unfilled d bands that are at the bottom of the conduction band with atomic like structure. This group embarked on the systematic study of transition metal sulfides and oxides. As an example of the type of spectra observed in some of these compounds they have chosen to showcase the L{sub II, III} emission and Raman scattering in some titanium compounds obtained by photon excitation.

  13. RSS-based localization of isotropically decaying source with unknown power and pathloss factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Shunyuan; Sun, Li; Ding, Zhiguo

    2016-01-01

    This paper addresses the localization of an isotropically decaying source based on the received signal strength (RSS) measurements that are collected from nearby active sensors that are position-known and wirelessly connected, and it propose a novel iterative algorithm for RSS-based source localization in order to improve the location accuracy and realize real-time location and automatic monitoring for hospital patients and medical equipment in the smart hospital. In particular, we consider the general case where the source power and pathloss factor are both unknown. For such a source localization problem, we propose an iterative algorithm, in which the unknown source position and two other unknown parameters (i.e. the source power and pathloss factor) are estimated in an alternating way based on each other, with our proposed sub-optimum initial estimate on source position obtained based on the RSS measurements that are collected from a few (closest) active sensors with largest RSS values. Analysis and simulation study show that our proposed iterative algorithm guarantees globally convergence to the least-squares (LS) solution, where for our suitably assumed independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) zero-mean Gaussian RSS measurement errors the converged localization performance achieves the optimum that corresponds to the Cramer–Rao lower bound (CRLB).

  14. Problems of determination of principle of psychological profile of unknown criminal person in investigational activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galina Getman

    2017-03-01

    By the author of the article of analysis different determinations of «psychological profile of unknown criminal person» were subjected. They are set positive lines and separate positions that in opinion of author are not expedient and important are subjected to criticism. That is why, the author points in conclusions the argued positions in relation to the necessity of the use of psychological profile of  unknown criminal person during investigation of criminal realizations in activity of investigator.

  15. Circuit realization, chaos synchronization and estimation of parameters of a hyperchaotic system with unknown parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Elsonbaty

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this article, the adaptive chaos synchronization technique is implemented by an electronic circuit and applied to the hyperchaotic system proposed by Chen et al. We consider the more realistic and practical case where all the parameters of the master system are unknowns. We propose and implement an electronic circuit that performs the estimation of the unknown parameters and the updating of the parameters of the slave system automatically, and hence it achieves the synchronization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to implement a circuit that estimates the values of the unknown parameters of chaotic system and achieves synchronization. The proposed circuit has a variety of suitable real applications related to chaos encryption and cryptography. The outputs of the implemented circuits and numerical simulation results are shown to view the performance of the synchronized system and the proposed circuit.

  16. An Evidence-Based Review Literature About Risk Indicators and Management of Unknown-Origin Xerostomia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farzaneh Agha-hosseini

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This evidence-based article reviews risk indicators and management of unknown-origin xerostomia. Xerostomia and hyposalivation refer to different aspects of dry mouth. Xerostomia is a subjective sensation of dry mouth, whilst hyposalivation is defined as an objective assessment of reduced salivary flow rate. About 30% of the elderly (65 years and older experience xerostomia and hyposalivation. Structural and functional factors, or both may lead to salivary gland dysfunction.Study Selection: The EBM literature search was conducted by using the medical literature database MEDLINE via PubMed and OvidMedline search engines. Results were limited to English language articles (1965 to present including clinical trials (CT, randomized controlled trials (RCT, systematic reviews and review articles. Case control or cohort studies were included for the etiology.Results: Neuropathic etiology such as localized oral alteration of thermal sensations, saliva composition change (for example higher levels of K, Cl, Ca, IgA, amylase, calcium, PTH and cortisol, lower levels of estrogen and progesterone, smaller salivary gland size, and illnesses such as lichen planus, are risk indicators for unknown-origin xerostomia. The management is palliative and preventative. Management of symptoms includes drug administration (systemic secretogogues, saliva substitutes and bile secretion-stimulator, night guard, diet and habit modifications. Other managements may be indicated to treat adverse effects.Conclusion: Neuropathic etiology, saliva composition change, smaller salivary gland size, and illnesses such as oral lichen planus can be suggestive causes for unknown-origin xerostomia. However, longitudinal studies will be important to elucidate the causes of unknown-origin xerostomia.

  17. Antioxidant Phenolic Compounds from Pu-erh Tea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu Shan Du

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Eight compounds were isolated from the water extract of Pu-erh tea and their structures were elucidated by NMR and MS as gallic acid (1, (+-catechin (2, (−-epicatechin (3, (−-epicatechin-3-O-gallate (4, (−-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (5, (−-epiafzelechin- 3-O-gallate (6, kaempferol (7, and quercetin (8. Their in vitro antioxidant activities were assessed by the DPPH and ABTS scavenging methods with microplate assays. The relative order of DPPH scavenging capacity for these compounds was compound 8 > compound 7 > compound 1 > compound 6 > compound 4 ≈ compound 5 > compound 2 > VC (reference > compound 3, and that of ABTS scavenging capacity was compound 1 > compound 2 > compound 7 ≈ compound 8 > compound 6 > compound 5 > compound 4 > VC (reference > compound 3. The results showed that these phenolic compounds contributed to the antioxidant activity of Pu-erh tea.

  18. Comparative study of methods for recognition of an unknown person's action from a video sequence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hori, Takayuki; Ohya, Jun; Kurumisawa, Jun

    2009-02-01

    This paper proposes a Tensor Decomposition Based method that can recognize an unknown person's action from a video sequence, where the unknown person is not included in the database (tensor) used for the recognition. The tensor consists of persons, actions and time-series image features. For the observed unknown person's action, one of the actions stored in the tensor is assumed. Using the motion signature obtained from the assumption, the unknown person's actions are synthesized. The actions of one of the persons in the tensor are replaced by the synthesized actions. Then, the core tensor for the replaced tensor is computed. This process is repeated for the actions and persons. For each iteration, the difference between the replaced and original core tensors is computed. The assumption that gives the minimal difference is the action recognition result. For the time-series image features to be stored in the tensor and to be extracted from the observed video sequence, the human body silhouette's contour shape based feature is used. To show the validity of our proposed method, our proposed method is experimentally compared with Nearest Neighbor rule and Principal Component analysis based method. Experiments using 33 persons' seven kinds of action show that our proposed method achieves better recognition accuracies for the seven actions than the other methods.

  19. Partial purification of endogenous digitalis-like compound(s) in cord blood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balzan, S.; Ghione, S.; Biver, P.; Gazzetti, P.; Montali, U. (C.N.R. Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa (Italy))

    1991-02-01

    Increasing evidence indicates the presence of endogenous digitalis-like compound(s) in human body fluids. In this preliminary report, we describe a study of the partial purification by HPLC of these compounds in the plasma of neonates (who have particularly high concentrations of this substance) and adults. Plasma samples from neonates (cord blood) and adults, lyophilized and extracted with methanol, were applied on a 300 x 3.9 mm C18 Nova Pak column and eluted with a mobile phase of acetonitrile/methanol/water (17/17/66 or 14/14/72 by vol) and, after 30 min, with 100% methanol. We assayed eluted fractions for inhibitory activity of 86Rb uptake and for digoxin-like immunoreactivity. The elution profile revealed a first peak of inhibitory activity of 86Rb uptake at the beginning of the chromatography; another peak was eluted with the 100% methanol. The two peaks also cross-reacted with antidigoxin antibodies. Because the second peak could possibly reflect the nonspecific interference of various lipophilic compounds, we focused our attention on the first peak. For these fractions dose-response curves for 86Rb uptake and for displacement of digoxin were parallel, respectively, to those of ouabain and digoxin, suggesting similarities of digoxin-like immunoreactive substance to cardiac glycosides. Similar chromatographic profiles were also obtained for plasma from adults, suggesting that the endogenous glycoside-like compound(s) in the neonate may be the same as those in the adult.

  20. Robust adaptive fuzzy neural tracking control for a class of unknown ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy neural controller (AFNC) for a class of unknown chaotic systems is proposed. The proposed AFNC is comprised of a fuzzy neural controller and a robust controller. The fuzzy neural controller including a fuzzy neural network identifier (FNNI) is the principal controller. The FNNI is used for ...