Reference tracking mechanisms and automatic annotation based on Ob-Ugric information structure

The following paper is concerned with information structure in the Ob-Ugric languages and its manifestation in reference tracking and its mechanisms. We will show how both knowledge on information structure and on reference tracking mechanisms can be used to develop a system for a (semi-)automatic annotation of syntactic, semantic and pragmatic functions. We assume that the principles of information structure, i.e., the balancing of the content of an utterance, are indicated by the use of anaphoric devices to mark participants in an on-going discourse. This process in which participants are encoded by the speaker and decoded by the hearer is called reference tracking. Our model distinguishes four important factors that play a role in reference tracking: inherent (linguistic) features of a referent, information structure, referential devices and referential strategies. The interaction between these factors we call reference tracking mechanisms. Here, the passive voice and the dative shift are used to exemplify this complex interaction system. Drawing conclusions from this, rules are developed to annotate both syntactic, semantic and pragmatic roles of discourse participants (semi-)automatically

Effect of the excitation energy, type, and amount of defects

We present a detailed Raman study of defective graphene samples containing specific types of defects. In particular, we compared sp3 sites, vacancies, and substitutional Boron atoms. We find that the ratio between the D and G peak intensities, I(D)/I(G), does not depend on the geometry of the defect (within the Raman spectrometer resolution). In contrast, in the limit of low defect concentration, the ratio between the D′ and G peak intensities is higher for vacancies than sp3 sites. By using the local activation model, we attribute this difference to the term CS,x, representing the Raman cross section of I(x)/I(G) associated with the distortion of the crystal lattice after defect introduction per unit of damaged area, where x = D or D′. We observed that CS,D=0 for all the defects analyzed, while CS,D′ of vacancies is 2.5 times larger than CS,D′ of sp3 sites. This makes I(D)/I(D′) strongly sensitive to the nature of the defect. We also show that the exact dependence of I(D)/I(D′) on the excitation energy may be affected by the nature of the defect. These results can be used to obtain further insights into the Raman scattering process (in particular for the D′ peak) in order to improve our understanding and modeling of defects in graphene

High-Yield Production and Transfer of Graphene Flakes Obtained by Anodic Bonding

We report large-yield production of graphene flakes on glass by anodic bonding. Under optimum conditions, we counted several tens of flakes with lateral size around 20-30 {\mu}m and few tens of flakes with larger size. 60-70% of the flakes have negligible D peak. We show that it is possible to easily transfer the flakes by wedging technique. The transfer on silicon does not damage graphene and lowers the doping. The charge mobility of the transferred flakes on silicon is of the order of 6000 cm^2/V s (at carrier concentration of 10^12 cm^-2), which is typical for devices prepared on this substrate with exfoliated graphene.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures; ACS Nano 201

Personalized medicine with IgGAM compared with standard of care for treatment of peritonitis after infectious source control (the PEPPER trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Peritonitis is responsible for thousands of deaths annually in Germany alone. Even source control (SC) and antibiotic treatment often fail to prevent severe sepsis or septic shock, and this situation has hardly improved in the past two decades. Most experimental immunomodulatory therapeutics for sepsis have been aimed at blocking or dampening a specific pro-inflammatory immunological mediator. However, the patient collective is large and heterogeneous. There are therefore grounds for investigating the possibility of developing personalized therapies by classifying patients into groups according to biomarkers. This study aims to combine an assessment of the efficacy of treatment with a preparation of human immunoglobulins G, A, and M (IgGAM) with individual status of various biomarkers (immunoglobulin level, procalcitonin, interleukin 6, antigen D-related human leucocyte antigen (HLA-DR), transcription factor NF-κB1, adrenomedullin, and pathogen spectrum). Methods/design: A total of 200 patients with sepsis or septic shock will receive standard-of-care treatment (SoC). Of these, 133 patients (selected by 1:2 randomization) will in addition receive infusions of IgGAM for 5 days. All patients will be followed for approximately 90 days and assessed by the multiple-organ failure (MOF) score, by the EQ QLQ 5D quality-of-life scale, and by measurement of vital signs, biomarkers (as above), and survival. Discussion: This study is intended to provide further information on the efficacy and safety of treatment with IgGAM and to offer the possibility of correlating these with the biomarkers to be studied. Specifically, it will test (at a descriptive level) the hypothesis that patients receiving IgGAM who have higher inflammation status (IL-6) and poorer immune status (low HLA-DR, low immunoglobulin levels) have a better outcome than patients who do not receive IgGAM. It is expected to provide information that will help to close the knowledge gap concerning the association between the effect of IgGAM and the presence of various biomarkers, thus possibly opening the way to a personalized medicine. Trial registration: EudraCT, 2016–001788-34; ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03334006. Registered on 17 Nov 2017. Trial sponsor: RWTH Aachen University, represented by the Center for Translational & Clinical Research Aachen (contact Dr. S. Isfort)

Probing the Nature of Defects in Graphene by Raman Spectroscopy

Raman Spectroscopy is able to probe disorder in graphene through defect-activated peaks. It is of great interest to link these features to the nature of disorder. Here we present a detailed analysis of the Raman spectra of graphene containing different type of defects. We found that the intensity ratio of the D and D' peak is maximum (~ 13) for sp3-defects, it decreases for vacancy-like defects (~ 7) and reaches a minimum for boundaries in graphite (~3.5).Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

The Effects of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) on the Foraging Success of Eurasian Perch (Perca fluviatilis) and Ruffe(Gymnocephalus cernuus)

Complex habitat structures can influence the foraging success of fish.Competition for food between fish species can therefore depend on the competitors abilities to cope with structural complexity. In laboratory experiments, we comparatively assessed effects of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha PALL.) on the foraging success of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilisL.) and ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus(L.)). In single-species and mixed-species experiments, the fish were fed caddisfly larvae (Tinodes waeneri (L.)) over complex (mussel-covered stones) and less-complex (bare stones) substrates. With intraspecific competition, food consumption by perch and ruffe decreased significantly when the complex substrate was used. With interspecific competition, food consumption by perch and ruffe did not change with substrate complexity, but perch clearly out-competed ruffe on both substrates. Zebra mussel beds provide a refuge for macrozoobenthos against predation by ruffe and probably also by perch

Competition for food between Eurasian perch(Perca fluviatilis L.) and ruffe(Gymnocephaluscernuus [L.]) over different substrate types

Food consumption by Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and ruffe(Gymnocephalus cernuus [L.]) was studied in single and mixed species treatments in the laboratory, where alternative food resources, chironomids and zooplankton, were offered simultaneously. The effects of structural complexity, which was represented by substrate grain size, and of feeding level on food consumption were analysed. Across all experiments, the outcome of competition between perch and ruffe depended on food abundance and on the structural complexity of the environment. Perch and ruffe both changed their food consumption in the presence of a heterospecific competitor. With high food supply, perch consumed more benthic food than ruffe. With low food supply, the consumption of perch decreased strongly, while that of ruffe remained high on fine sediment. Under all conditions tested, the mechanism of competition appeared to be of interference rather than of exploitative nature. It is suggested that with decreasing lake productivity caused by re-oligotrophication, habitat shifts of both species will occur, which will alleviate interspecific competition. Ruffe will forage over fine sediment and perch over coarse sediment, whereby both species will achieve the highest foraging efficiency under conditions of low food supply

Kin-structured subpopulations in Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L.)

Based on ecological and behavioural studies it has been assumed that Eurasian perch (Perca Fluviatilis) within one lake may not represent one panmictic population, but that they are subdivided into subpopulations. In order to investigate the genetic substructuring of populations, we used gene frequencies of five microsatellite loci to compare perch from six different sites from Lake Constance, Germany, and as outgroups perch from the lake Grosser Vätersee, Berlin, and two Swiss lakes, Lake Zurich and Lake Walensee. We examined whether homing behaviour of subadults to the spawning sites of their parents occurs and whether philopatric behaviour of adults results in significant population genetic substructuring. The distribution of genetic variation revealed two major, genetically distinct populations in Lake Constance: one in the eastern part of the lake and another in the western part (GST=0.07). Within each of these two populations, no further genetic substructuring, nor any indication of inbreeding could be detected, either because genetic exchange was suffciently high or because the time since separation has been too short. Homing behaviour of subadults to parental spawning sites after having spent several weeks of their life cycle in the pelagic zone could not be detected. Instead, subadults stay within either the western or the eastern region of the lake. There is evidence that some shoals contain full- and half-sibs. Despite females spawning in close proximity to each other, some siblings stay together. This might suggest that perch possess kin preferences and kin recognition