Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar

Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) is a constraint-based or declarative approach to linguistic knowledge, which analyses all descriptive levels (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) with feature value pairs, structure sharing, and relational constraints. In syntax it assumes that expressions have a single relatively simple constituent structure. This volume provides a state-of-the-art introduction to the framework. Various chapters discuss basic assumptions and formal foundations, describe the evolution of the framework, and go into the details of the main syntactic phenomena. Further chapters are devoted to non-syntactic levels of description. The book also considers related fields and research areas (gesture, sign languages, computational linguistics) and includes chapters comparing HPSG with other frameworks (Lexical Functional Grammar, Categorial Grammar, Construction Grammar, Dependency Grammar, and Minimalism)

Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar

Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) is a constraint-based or declarative approach to linguistic knowledge, which analyses all descriptive levels (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) with feature value pairs, structure sharing, and relational constraints. In syntax it assumes that expressions have a single relatively simple constituent structure. This volume provides a state-of-the-art introduction to the framework. Various chapters discuss basic assumptions and formal foundations, describe the evolution of the framework, and go into the details of the main syntactic phenomena. Further chapters are devoted to non-syntactic levels of description. The book also considers related fields and research areas (gesture, sign languages, computational linguistics) and includes chapters comparing HPSG with other frameworks (Lexical Functional Grammar, Categorial Grammar, Construction Grammar, Dependency Grammar, and Minimalism)

Design revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 1: Change, Voices, Open

In September 2019 Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University was honoured to host the bi-annual conference of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) under the unifying theme of DESIGN REVOLUTIONS. This was the first time the conference had been held in the UK. Through key research themes across nine conference tracks – Change, Learning, Living, Making, People, Technology, Thinking, Value and Voices – the conference opened up compelling, meaningful and radical dialogue of the role of design in addressing societal and organisational challenges. This Volume 1 includes papers from Change, Voices and Open tracks of the conference

Spacelab Science Results Study

Beginning with OSTA-1 in November 1981 and ending with Neurolab in March 1998, a total of 36 Shuttle missions carried various Spacelab components such as the Spacelab module, pallet, instrument pointing system, or mission peculiar experiment support structure. The experiments carried out during these flights included astrophysics, solar physics, plasma physics, atmospheric science, Earth observations, and a wide range of microgravity experiments in life sciences, biotechnology, materials science, and fluid physics which includes combustion and critical point phenomena. In all, some 764 experiments were conducted by investigators from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The purpose of this Spacelab Science Results Study is to document the contributions made in each of the major research areas by giving a brief synopsis of the more significant experiments and an extensive list of the publications that were produced. We have also endeavored to show how these results impacted the existing body of knowledge, where they have spawned new fields, and if appropriate, where the knowledge they produced has been applied

Feeling the Heat: Investigating the dual assault of Zymoseptoria tritici and Heat Stress on Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

As a result of climate change, field conditions are increasingly challenging for crops. Research has shown how elevated temperatures affect crop performance, yet the impact of temperature on host-pathogen relationships remains unknown. Understanding the effects of combined abiotic and biotic stresses on crop plants and the plant-microbial interaction is crucial in developing strategies to improve crop stress tolerance and manage diseases effectively. Lipids sense, signal, and mitigate temperature elevation effects, and lipid remodelling plays a key role in the plant and fungal response to heat stress. Our study uses a systems approach to examine the Z. tritici wheat model system, combining transcriptomics, lipidomics, and phenotyping to decipher the impact of high-temperature stress on the plant-pathogen interaction. Microscopy in vivo and RNA-Seq analyses confirmed that Z. tritici responds to high-temperature treatments with morphological and transcriptomic changes. Temperature-related configuration of the transcriptome was associated with the accessory chromosomes and expression of ‘accessory’ pan-genome-derived genes. Metabolism-related gene expression predominated, indicated by GO enrichment and analysis of KOG classes, and large-scale lipid remodelling was likely given the proportion of lipid transport and metabolism-related expression changes in response to temperature. Changes in lipid content and composition were then validated by LC-MS analysis. Heat-responsive fungal genes and pathways, including scramblase family genes, are being tested by reverse genetics to ascertain their importance for fungal adaption to elevated temperatures. Elevated temperature schemes were applied to wheat to study the impact of combined stress on the plant-pathogen interaction, based on long-term climate data from Rothamsted Research, using transcriptomic, lipidomic and phenotypic analyses. Comparing non-infected and infected wheat plants under typical and elevated temperatures. Our initial analysis of the transcriptomic data indicates a delay in the development of Z. tritici, followed by its adaptation to the warmer environment. Once the infection was established, the fungus exhibited resilience to the impact of higher external temperatures. Our results indicate that temperature elevations associated with climate change directly impact plant-pathogen interactions. Furthermore, the study demonstrates a need for further detailed understanding to sustain crop resilience

Smoking and Second Hand Smoking in Adolescents with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Report from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) Cohort Study

The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of smoking and second hand smoking [SHS] in adolescents with CKD and their relationship to baseline parameters at enrollment in the CKiD, observational cohort study of 600 children (aged 1-16 yrs) with Schwartz estimated GFR of 30-90 ml/min/1.73m2. 239 adolescents had self-report survey data on smoking and SHS exposure: 21 [9%] subjects had “ever” smoked a cigarette. Among them, 4 were current and 17 were former smokers. Hypertension was more prevalent in those that had “ever” smoked a cigarette (42%) compared to non-smokers (9%), p\u3c0.01. Among 218 non-smokers, 130 (59%) were male, 142 (65%) were Caucasian; 60 (28%) reported SHS exposure compared to 158 (72%) with no exposure. Non-smoker adolescents with SHS exposure were compared to those without SHS exposure. There was no racial, age, or gender differences between both groups. Baseline creatinine, diastolic hypertension, C reactive protein, lipid profile, GFR and hemoglobin were not statistically different. Significantly higher protein to creatinine ratio (0.90 vs. 0.53, p\u3c0.01) was observed in those exposed to SHS compared to those not exposed. Exposed adolescents were heavier than non-exposed adolescents (85th percentile vs. 55th percentile for BMI, p\u3c 0.01). Uncontrolled casual systolic hypertension was twice as prevalent among those exposed to SHS (16%) compared to those not exposed to SHS (7%), though the difference was not statistically significant (p= 0.07). Adjusted multivariate regression analysis [OR (95% CI)] showed that increased protein to creatinine ratio [1.34 (1.03, 1.75)] and higher BMI [1.14 (1.02, 1.29)] were independently associated with exposure to SHS among non-smoker adolescents. These results reveal that among adolescents with CKD, cigarette use is low and SHS is highly prevalent. The association of smoking with hypertension and SHS with increased proteinuria suggests a possible role of these factors in CKD progression and cardiovascular outcomes

Allergic Diseases

The present Edition "Allergic diseases - highlights in the clinic, mechanisms and treatment" aims to present some recent aspects related to one of the most prevalent daily clinical expression disease. The effort of a group of outstanding experts from many countries reflects a set of scientific studies very promising for a better clinical care and also to the treatment and control of the allergy. This book provides a valuable reference text in several topics of the clinical allergy and basic issues related to the immune system response. The inflammatory reaction understanding in allergic disease is clearly evidenced, as well as new strategies for further researches

The role of thymosin beta 4 in renal podocyte function

Ten percent of the world have chronic kidney disease (CKD). In some patients, CKD can be catastrophic, leading to end stage kidney disease (ESKD), requiring lifelong dialysis or kidney transplant. Identification and analysis of molecules that can halt the progression of CKD to ESKD has the potential to save lives. The glomerulus is the site of the kidney, where the blood is filtered to produce urine. The glomerular filtration barrier consists of endothelial cells, a basement membrane and podocytes, epithelial cells with a unique shape maintained by the actin cytoskeleton. Damage to the structure of podocytes, is a significant contributing factor to CKD progression, and disorganisation of the podocyte cytoskeleton is a key factor associated with podocyte damage. Thymosin $\beta$4 (TB4) is the major G-actin sequestering molecule in mammalian cells and it regulates cell morphology, inflammation, and fibrosis. TB4 has beneficial effects in rodent models of kidney injury, including protection of the glomerulus, but the effect of exogenous TB4 on podocytes is currently unknown. The aim of this thesis was to examine the effect of exogenous TB4 in cytotoxic and immune mediated podocyte injury models. Podocyte injury induced by the toxin Adriamycin (ADR) resulted in downregulation of the mRNA transcript for TB4 in podocytes. Examination of the F-actin cytoskeleton in mouse immortalised podocytes by phalloidin staining demonstrated that exogenous TB4 completely prevented ADR-induced F-actin disorganisation in vitro, a key factor in glomerular filtration barrier damage in vivo. The effect of exogenous TB4 was then examined in ADR nephropathy and nephrotoxic serum (NTS) nephritis in mice. Systemic upregulation of TB4 was achieved by recombinant adeno associated virus (AAV) mediated gene delivery prior to disease induction. Exogenous TB4 prevented damage to the glomerular filtration barrier, shown by reduced urine levels of albumin, in ADR nephropathy and early NTS nephritis. This was most likely due to prevention of podocyte loss, protection of glomerular F-actin in ADR nephropathy, and suppression of inflammation in NTS nephritis, as determined by light and fluorescent microscopy. In summary, this thesis has provided strong evidence that exogenous TB4 is a beneficial molecule in the context of glomerular and podocyte injury. In the future, it is hoped that use of exogenous TB4 can translate to human physiology and be developed as a therapeutic strategy to alleviate the progression of CKD to ESKD

Life Sciences Program Tasks and Bibliography for FY 1996

This document includes information on all peer reviewed projects funded by the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications, Life Sciences Division during fiscal year 1996. This document will be published annually and made available to scientists in the space life sciences field both as a hard copy and as an interactive Internet web page