Interpretation of Movie Posters from the Perspective of Multimodal Discourse Analysis

Given the remarkable development of multimediaand computer technology in the information age, the previousdominant role of language in mass media and communication ischallenged by other semiotic resources such as image, sound andaction. Accordingly, new grammars must be formulated to give acomprehensive account of the integrative meaning generated bythe interaction of different modalities in discourse. The theory ofmultimodal discourse analysis (MDA), which is theoreticallybased on Systemic-Functional Linguistics, solves the problem tomost degree. In the light of the grammar of visual design byKress and van Leeuwen, this paper intends to formulate a modelfor MDA of movie posters. A qualitative and interpretativeapproach is used to hold an in-depth discussion which helps totestify the feasibility of this model and also to point out the key tothe application of this model. The present study may not onlyenlarge the application area of Systemic-Functional Linguistics,but also fill in a gap in discourse analysis of movie posters

Parametric analysis and optimization for exergoeconomic performance of a combined system based on solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine and supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle

Fuel cell-gas turbine hybrid system is a potential field of investigation. This study establishes a modeling and optimization framework for a novel hybrid system consisting of a solid oxide fuel cell, a gas turbine and a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle. Based on the proposed thermodynamical model, a parametric analysis is investigated to determine the impacts of several key parameters on the system exergoeconomic performance. Meanwhile, bi-objective optimization is conducted for maximizing the exergy efficiency and minimizing the levelized cost of electricity via the Epsilon-constraint approach. The Linear Programming Techniques for Multidimensional Analysis of Preference decision-making approach is further employed to select the Pareto optimum solution from Pareto frontiers. The results show that several extreme values for the exergy efficiency and the levelized cost of electricity exist in a series of sensitivity curves, respectively. The Pareto frontiers indicates that with the increase of the exergy efficiency, the levelized cost of electricity shows a moderately increasing trend at first and increases rapidly afterward. Overall, at the Pareto optimum solution, the combined system can achieve an optimal exergy efficiency and levelized cost of electricity by 68% and 0.0575 $ kWh −1 , respectively

Wetland expansion on the continental shelf of the northern South China Sea during deglacial sea level rise

To identify environmental causes for past changes in vegetation in subtropical East Asia, we present carbon isotope compositions of plant-wax n-alkanes and provide estimates of the C4-plant contribution across the past four glacial terminations and interglacials, based on cores recovered from the northern South China Sea. Our results show a comparable C4-plant contribution between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Holocene. An increase of the C4-plant contribution by 15–20% is found for Terminations IV, II and I relative to subsequent interglacial peaks, coeval with an expansion of Cyperaceae and Poaceae. In contrast, Termination V reveals a lower C4-plant contribution than Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11c. The data exhibit a long-term trend, with a stepwise increase of the C4-plant contribution across interglacials MIS 11c, 9e, 7e and 1. We suggest that no substantial changes in humidity levels over glacial-interglacial cycles occurred facilitating a similar C3/C4-plant ratio for the LGM and the Holocene. Instead, deglacial sea-level rises caused an extensive development of floodplains and wetlands on the exposed continental shelf, providing habitats for the spread of C4 sedges and grasses. The progressive subsidence of Chinese coastal areas and the broadening of the continental shelf over the late Quaternary explains the nearly absence of C4 plant occurrence during Termination V and a gradual increase of the C4-plant contribution across interglacial peaks. Taken together, changes in coastal environments should be considered when interpreting marine-based vegetation reconstructions from subtropical Asia

Top-down effect of arthropod predator chinese mitten crab on freshwater nutrient cycling

Aquatic litter decomposition is highly dependent on contributions and interactions at different trophic levels. The invasion of alien aquatic organisms like the channeled apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) might lead to changes in the decomposition process through new species interactions in the invaded wetland. However, it is not clear how aquatic macroinvertebrate predators like the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) will affect the nutrient cycle in freshwater ecosystems in the face of new benthic invasion. We used the litter bag method to explore the top-down effect of crabs on the freshwater nutrient cycle with the help of soil zymography (a technology previously used in terrestrial ecosystems). The results showed significant feeding effects of crabs and snails on lotus leaf litter and cotton strips. Crabs significantly inhibited the intake of lotus litter and cotton strips and the ability to transform the environment of snails by predation. Crabs promoted the decomposition of various litter substrates by affecting the microbial community structure in the sediment. These results suggest that arthropod predators increase the complexity of detrital food webs through direct and indirect interactions, and consequently have an important impact on the material cycle and stability of freshwater ecosystems. This top-down effect makes macrobenthos play a key role in the biological control and engineering construction of freshwater ecosystems.Sincere thanks to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Agriculture (JBGS [2021]126), Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology (BE2019393), Jiangsu Forestry Science and Technology Innovation and Promotion project (LYKJ [2021]16), and Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through SFRH/BD/119957/2016 scholarship for supporting this study financially. Thanks also to the Jiangsu Provincial Platform for Conservation and Utilization of Agricultural Germplasm for supporting this study

Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing in the Diagnosis of HHV-1 Reactivation in a Critically Ill COVID-19 Patient: A Case Report

Background: Secondary infections pose tremendous challenges in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment and are associated with higher mortality rates. Clinicians face of the challenge of diagnosing viral infections because of low sensitivity of available laboratory tests. Case Presentation: A 66-year-old woman initially manifested fever and shortness of breath. She was diagnosed as critically ill with COVID-19 using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) and treated with antiviral therapy, ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). However, after the condition was relatively stabled for a few days, the patient deteriorated with fever, frequent cough, increased airway secretions, and increased exudative lesions in the lower right lung on chest X-rays, showing the possibility of a newly acquired infection, though sputum bacterial and fungal cultures and smears showed negative results. Using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), we identified a reactivation of latent human herpes virus type 1 (HHV-1) in the respiratory tract, blood and gastrointestinal tract, resulting in a worsened clinical course in a critically ill COVID-19 patient on ECMO. Anti-HHV-1 therapy guided by these sequencing results effectively decreased HHV-1 levels, and improved the patient\u27s clinical condition. After 49 days on ECMO and 67 days on the ventilator, the 66-year-old patient recovered and was discharged. Conclusions: This case report demonstrates the potential value of mNGS for evidence-based treatment, and suggests that potential reactivation of latent viruses should be considered in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Phenotypic expansion in DDX3X - a common cause of intellectual disability in females

De novo variants in DDX3X account for 1-3% of unexplained intellectual disability (ID) cases and are amongst the most common causes of ID especially in females. Forty-seven patients (44 females, 3 males) have been described. We identified 31 additional individuals carrying 29 unique DDX3X variants, including 30 postnatal individuals with complex clinical presentations of developmental delay or ID, and one fetus with abnormal ultrasound findings. Rare or novel phenotypes observed include respiratory problems, congenital heart disease, skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA depletion, and late-onset neurologic decline. Our findings expand the spectrum of DNA variants and phenotypes associated with DDX3X disorders

INVESTIGATING CORTICAL EFFECTS OF MOTOR PLANNING AND SENSORY STIMULATION IN MOTOR EXECUTION OF INTACT LIMB CONTROLS

Motor planning is a crucial step in motor movement that requires information integration and motor command processing to both intact-limb people and amputees, while integrating sensory information for amputees can be different from intact-limb people due to the absence of tactile sensations on lost parts. However, most of studies focus on advanced technology on sensory stimulation but less on how motor movement might be processed in a different way in amputees, thus it is necessary to understand how amputees execute a motor task with or without sensory stimulation to further enhance the prothesis control and embodiment. A review of noninvasive and invasive tactile feedback on recent studies shows that various tactile sensations were successfully elicited in upper-limb amputees and improved the motor performance compared to no stimulations. In our previous work, tactile feedback has been shown to increase functional connectivity during motor execution compared to visual feedback based on EEG information. To understand how brain regulates motor movement during motor planning, this study shows that increased communications between regions of default-mode network were observed during execution after motor planning. Two intact-limb subjects were recruited and provided with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation during motor planning and/or execution. Our experiment shows that, besides default-mode network, a general increase of out-of-network and within-network communications existed in other large-scale brain networks such as sensorimotor network, attention network, task-positive network, and visual network during motor execution after motor planning. Furthermore, a second part of the study was designed to investigate how sensory stimulation during motor planning might affect motor performance. Increased within-network communications in default-mode network was also seen during execution after motor planning with sensory stimulation. This might indicate that an instructed motor planning phase that is longer than ones in daily life might induce increased overall functional connectivity in the brain. Additionally, default-mode network, often considered as a task-negative network with decreased neural activities during task-positive situations, might play a significant role in integrating information from different sensory modalities as context to the ongoing task. This work provides evidence of significant cortical effect of motor planning, with or without sensory stimulation, on execution. A review on noninvasive and invasive tactile feedback on recent studies show various tactile sensations were successfully elicited in upper-limb amputees and improved the motor performance compared to no stimulations. In our previous work, tactile feedback has been shown to increase functional connectivity during motor execution compared to visual feedback based on EEG information. To \ understand how brain regulates motor movement during another phase, motor planning, this study shows that increased communications between regions of default-mode network were observed during execution after motor planning. Two intact-limb subjects were recruited and provided with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation during motor planning and/or execution. Our experiment shows that, besides default-mode network, a general increase of out-of-network and within-network communications existed in other large-scale brain networks such as sensorimotor network, attention network, task-positive network and visual network during execution after motor planning. Furthermore, a second part of the study was designed to investigate how sensory stimulation during motor planning might affect motor performance. Increased within-network communications in default-mode network was also seen during execution after motor planning with sensory stimulation. This might indicate that an instructed motor planning phase that is longer than ones in daily life might induce increased overall functional connectivity in the brain. Additionally, default-mode network, often considered as a task-negative network with decreased neural activities during task-positive situations, might play a significant role in integrating information from different sources as context to the ongoing task. This work provides evidence of significant cortical effect of motor planning, with or without sensory stimulation, on execution