Entrenchment inhibition:Constructional change and repetitive behaviour can be in competition with large-scale “recompositional” creativity

This paper addresses creativity as inhibition of repetitive behaviour. We argue that entrenchment and constructional change can be in competition with large-scale creative attempts of recomposition of constructions’ internal constituency. After undergoing chunking, the recurrent usage of a construction may be significantly counterbalanced with new attempts of entrenchment inhibition (viz. inhibition of entrenchment). These are cases where speakers opt for more compositional and less predictable ways to express a similar meaning of a conventionalised form. We focus on the constructionalisation of noun–participle compounds (e.g. snow-covered) in the Historical Corpus of American English. During the second part of the twentieth century, speakers increasingly inhibit the usage of conventionalised noun phrase–past participle forms in favour of more compositional strategies involving the same internal constituents. This entails that constructional change not only affects the meaning of the chunk that undergoes constructionalisation but also the way speakers creatively rediscover its internal constituency. These results additionally aim to inform research in cognitive architectures and artificial intelligence, where creativity is often merely considered as a problem-solving mechanism rather than a potential process of inhibition of automatised behaviour

Polyphenolic extracts from the olive mill wastewater as a source of biopesticides and their effects on the life cycle of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera, Tephriditae)

AbstractThe Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera, Tephriditae) is an important pest in the Mediterranean region causing severe economic losses. Currently, pyrethroids are the most common insecticides used in the control of the Medfly. However, the demand for biopesticides is growing due to the necessity to limit the use of hazardous chemical pesticides in the context of the integrated pest management. In this context, a valid alternative is the use of plant derived pesticides with a selective action against target pests and a shorter persistence in ecosystems.Among plant products, olive tree phenolic and polyphenolic compounds show potent bioactive properties as insecticides and growth regulators. The olive mill wastewater is an important source of these compounds.We are reporting here that the polyphenolic fractions of the olive mill wastewater, show ovicidal effects in terms of reduction of the hatching rate, whereas the larval development is not affected by the treatments.On the adults, we show that selected fractions induce a complete block of the fecundity of the females probably due to an induced disruption of the oogenesis.These results suggest that the polyphenolic fractions derived from the olive mill wastewater can be used as a strong natural chemosterilant against the Mediterranean Fruit fly and can be considered as a putative ovicidal agent

Promozione del sistema dei poli di innovazione nello spazio web: analisi dei contenuti e delle reti di relazioni virtuali

Nel progetto di analisi e modellizzazione del sistema regionale dei poli di innovazione in Toscana (www.poliinnovazione.unimore.it), abbiamo esaminato in modo sistematico le informazioni disponibili nei siti web dei poli con due obiettivi: (i) analizzare la varietà di linguaggio e di contenuti che caratterizzano i poli nella loro attività on line; (ii) verificare in che misura i poli facciano riferimento agli stessi enti, imprese, organizzazioni, progetti e, tra questi, alle organizzazioni/o attività direttamente collegate al polo (come ad esempio i soggetti gestori dei poli laboratori, gli incubatori, gli aderenti). Questo articolo presenta nella prima parte l'analisi linguistica dei siti web prodotti dai poli di innovazione ed ha lo scopo di fornire un insieme di variabili per la valutazione delle loro strategie di promozione. Il metro di valutazione principale è l'individuazione della fonte dei materiali pubblicati online dai singoli poli (materiali originali vs. materiali prodotti da terzi), che è stato usato come indicatore del livello di partecipazione di ogni singolo polo nelle strategie di promozione delle proprie attività. Si è quindi cercato di quantificare il livello di coinvolgimento che ogni polo ha espresso – nel proprio sito web – attraverso la pubblicazione di testi. L'analisi è stata condotta utilizzando la metodologia di linguistica dei corpora al fine di svolgere un'indagine sia quantitativa sia qualitativa (simile alla metodologia nota come CADS), ed è stata effettuata prendendo in esame 24 termini relativi ai concetti di innovazione e sviluppo, all'interno dei contenuti web pubblicati dai poli di innovazione (azienda, aziende, centri, collaborazione, conoscenze, finanziamenti, gestione, gestore, impresa, imprese, industriale, innovazione, poli, polo, processi, progetti, progetto, ricerca, servizi, servizio, sviluppo, tecnologia, tecnologie, territorio). Attraverso la valutazione dell'utilizzo dei 24 termini all'interno dei testi web, l'analisi ha evidenziato come le nozioni di innovazione e sviluppo vengano costruite dai singoli poli in termini sia di significato, sia di connotazione. Oltre all'analisi linguistica, l'analisi dei testi web ha consentito anche di individuare in maniera puntuale i domini principali e i link completi citati nei siti web dei poli. Adottando una prospettiva di analisi delle reti di relazioni, con queste informazioni sulle reti virtuali abbiamo analizzato due questioni rilevanti per la modellizzazione del sistema dei poli di innovazione: attraverso le citazioni dei domini principali mettiamo in evidenza in che misura i siti web i poli hanno comunicato le connessioni tra di loro e con i soggetti attivi nel trasferimento tecnologico; attraverso l'analisi dei link completi presenti nei siti web dei singoli poli possiamo individuare in che misura i poli fanno riferimento allo stesso spazio di informazioni. La presentazione è strutturata come segue: nella sezione 1 vengono presentati i dati, gli strumenti e la metodologia utilizzata nell'analisi linguistica; nella sezione 2 viene presentata l'analisi linguistica dei 24 termini selezionati ; nella sezione 3 sono analizzate le reti di relazioni virtuali, la sezione 4 conclude. L'appendice 1 presenta i dettagli tecnici sulla raccolta e successiva pulizia dei dati; l'appendice 2 contiene la lista dei principali link completi presenti all'interno dei siti dei poli presi in esame

MoReThesisCorpus

The article discusses the on-going process for the creation of the MoReThesisCorpus, outlining its major characteristics and offering an account of the considerations and issues involved so far. The corpus, composed of the theses submitted to the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia between 2011 and 2020, is being developed as part of the project CAP (‘Comunicazione Accademica e Professionale;’ Academic and Professional Communication), and is meant to foster research into academic language in a cross-disciplinary discourse perspective, as well as to facilitate the production of educational materials aimed at university students. It aims at supporting the acquisition of discipline-related vocabularies and styles to improve the learning of academic writing through corpus tools and resources, following a data-driven learning approach. Technical details surrounding the acquisition and subsequent processing of the data are discussed, along with considerations on a number of issues pertaining both to computer science and linguistics, directly impinging on the capability of the corpus to correctly support an investigation of academic discourse across different languages and disciplines

Pre-emptive interaction in language change and ontogeny:the case of [there is no NP]

This study is centred on the pre-emptive dimension of interactional exchanges. Dialogues are not merely characterised by information transmission, they are also constantly informed by pre-emptive attempts to address potential reactions to what is being said. We argue that pre-emptive interaction intersects with intersubjectivity (i.a. Traugott, Elizabeth C. 2003. From subjectification to intersubjectification. In R. Hickey (ed.), Motives for language change, 124–139. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Schwenter, Scott A. & Richard Waltereit. 2010. Presupposition accommodation and language change. In K. Davidse & L. Vandelanotte (eds.), Subjectification, intersubjectification and grammaticalization, 75–102. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton; Tantucci, Vittorio. 2017a. From immediate to extended intersubjectification: A gradient approach to intersubjective awareness and semasiological change. Language and Cognition 9(1). 88–120; Tantucci, Vittorio. 2020. From co-actionality to extended intersubjectivity: Drawing on language change and ontogenetic development. Applied Linguistics 41(2). 185–214) and constitutes an important trigger of semantic-pragmatic reanalysis and constructional change. We provide a corpus-based study centred on the change of the [there is no NP] construction in Early Modern English dialogic interaction. During 16th century, the chunk is originally used in assertions, however it then progressively acquires a new function of pre-emptive refusal. Something similar is at stake throughout the child’s ontogeny. We provide corpus-based data from the CHILDES database of first language acquisition to show that children’s ability to use [there is no NP] to address potential reactions to what is being said occurs only around the fourth year of age, that is when a Theory of Mind (ToM) starts to become fully developed (i.a. Apperly, Ian. 2010. Mindreaders: The cognitive basis of theory of mind. New York: Psychology Press; Wellman, Henry M. 2014. Making minds: How theory of mind develops. Oxford: Oxford University Press). Pre-emptive interaction correlates diachronically and ontogentically with ToM and underpins a projected turn taking of a specific or generic interlocutor as a result of what is being currently said

Comparative genomics reveals a functional thyroid-specific element in the far upstream region of the PAX8 gene

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The molecular mechanisms leading to a fully differentiated thyrocite are still object of intense study even if it is well known that thyroglobulin, thyroperoxidase, NIS and TSHr are the marker genes of thyroid differentiation. It is also well known that Pax8, TTF-1, Foxe1 and Hhex are the thyroid-enriched transcription factors responsible for the expression of the above genes, thus are responsible for the differentiated thyroid phenotype. In particular, the role of Pax8 in the fully developed thyroid gland was studied in depth and it was established that it plays a key role in thyroid development and differentiation. However, to date the bases for the thyroid-enriched expression of this transcription factor have not been unraveled yet. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a functional thyroid-specific enhancer element located far upstream of the <it>Pax8 </it>gene.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We hypothesized that regulatory cis-acting elements are conserved among mammalian genes. Comparison of a genomic region extending for about 100 kb at the 5'-flanking region of the mouse and human <it>Pax8 </it>gene revealed several conserved regions that were tested for enhancer activity in thyroid and non-thyroid cells. Using this approach we identified one putative thyroid-specific regulatory element located 84.6 kb upstream of the <it>Pax8 </it>transcription start site. The <it>in silico </it>data were verified by promoter-reporter assays in thyroid and non-thyroid cells. Interestingly, the identified far upstream element manifested a very high transcriptional activity in the thyroid cell line PC Cl3, but showed no activity in HeLa cells. In addition, the data here reported indicate that the thyroid-enriched transcription factor TTF-1 is able to bind <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>the Pax8 far upstream element, and is capable to activate transcription from it.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Results of this study reveal the presence of a thyroid-specific regulatory element in the 5' upstream region of the <it>Pax8 </it>gene. The identification of this regulatory element represents the first step in the investigation of upstream regulatory mechanisms that control <it>Pax8 </it>transcription during thyroid differentiation and are relevant to further studies on <it>Pax8 </it>as a candidate gene for thyroid dysgenesis.</p

Blood group typing in five Afghan populations in the North Hindu-Kush region: implications for blood transfusion practice.

International audienceBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Blood incompatibility arises from individual and ethnic differences in red blood cell (RBC) antigen profiles. This underlines the importance of documenting RBC antigen variability in various ethnic groups. Central Asia is an area with a long and complex migratory history. The purpose of this article is to describe key antigen frequencies of Afghan ethnic groups in the Hindu-Kush region of Afghanistan as a basis for improving blood transfusion practices in that area. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The key ABO, Rh and Kell antigens were investigated in five Afghan populations. In order to depict accurately the blood group gene diversity in the area, DNA from eight additional Pakistani populations were included, and the entire sample set screened using two multiplex polymerase chain reactions sensitive for 17 alleles in 10 blood group genetic systems (MNS, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, Cartwright, Dombrock, Indian, Colton, Diego and Landsteiner-Wiener). RESULTS: Phenotype and allele frequencies fell within the ranges observed in Western European and East Asian populations. Occurrence of DI*01, IN*01, LW*07 and FY*02N.01 and prevalence of ABO*B were consistent with migratory history as well as with putative environmental adaptation in the subtropical environment Hindu-Kush region. CONCLUSION: These findings expand the current knowledge about key antigen frequencies. Regarding occurrence of viral markers, further blood transfusion in the region requires rigorous typing

Dynamic resonance and social reciprocity in language change:The case of Good morrow

Entrenchment (i.e. Langacker, 1987) does not necessarily lead to predictable behaviour. This study aims at complementing the usage-based model of language change by oper- ationalising the role of dialogic creativity as a mechanism that can be in competition with conventionalization and grammaticalization. We provide a distinctive collexeme analysis (i.e. Hilpert, 2006) focussing on the constructionalization of the dialogic pair [A: good morrow B e B: (good) morrow (A)] from the 15th up to the 18th century. After reaching the highest degree of entrenchment and automatisation, the dialogic pair will show an increasing tendency to be creatively re-modelled with ad-hoc meanings during online exchanges by means of dynamic resonance (Du Bois, 2014) and non-reciprocal behaviour. We define this creative process of large-scale alteration as entrenchment inhibition. From our data it will emerge that entrenchment inhibition is triggered by spontaneous attempts of producing a creative ‘surplus’ over the expected social reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960) of conventionalized exchanges. This tendency will be shown to be driven by marked attempts of polite and impolite behaviour