Lexical alignment in triadic communication

Lexical alignment refers to the adoption of one's interlocutor's lexical items. Accounts of the mechanisms underlying such lexical alignment differ (among other aspects) in the role assigned to addressee-centered behavior. In this study, we used a triadic communicative situation to test which factors may modulate the extent to which participants' lexical alignment reflects addressee-centered behavior. Pairs of naive participants played a picture matching game and received information about the order in which pictures were to be matched from a voice over headphones. On critical trials, participants did or did not hear a name for the picture to be matched next over headphones. Importantly, when the voice over headphones provided a name, it did not match the name that the interlocutor had previously used to describe the object. Participants overwhelmingly used the word that the voice over headphones provided.This result points to non-addressee-centered behavior and is discussed in terms of disrupting alignment with the interlocutor as well as in terms of establishing alignment with the voice over headphones. In addition, the type of picture (line drawing vs. tangram shape) independently modulated lexical alignment, such that participants showed more lexical alignment to their interlocutor for (more ambiguous) tangram shapes compared to line drawings. Overall, the results point to a rather large role for non-addressee-centered behavior during lexical alignment

On the Two q-Analogue Logarithmic Functions

There is a simple, multi-sheet Riemann surface associated with e_q(z)'s inverse function ln_q(w) for 0< q < 1. A principal sheet for ln_q(w) can be defined. However, the topology of the Riemann surface for ln_q(w) changes each time "q" increases above the collision point of a pair of the turning points of e_q(x). There is also a power series representation for ln_q(1+w). An infinite-product representation for e_q(z) is used to obtain the ordinary natural logarithm ln{e_q(z)} and the values of sum rules for the zeros "z_i" of e_q(z). For |z|<|z_1|, e_q(z)=exp{b(z)} where b(z) is a simple, explicit power series in terms of values of these sum rules. The values of the sum rules for the q-trigonometric functions, sin_q(z) and cos_q(z), are q-deformations of the usual Bernoulli numbers.Comment: This is the final version to appear in J.Phys.A: Math. & General. Some explict formulas added, and to update the reference

Clique-width : harnessing the power of atoms.

Many NP-complete graph problems are polynomial-time solvable on graph classes of bounded clique-width. Several of these problems are polynomial-time solvable on a hereditary graph class G if they are so on the atoms (graphs with no clique cut-set) of G . Hence, we initiate a systematic study into boundedness of clique-width of atoms of hereditary graph classes. A graph G is H-free if H is not an induced subgraph of G, and it is (H1,H2) -free if it is both H1 -free and H2 -free. A class of H-free graphs has bounded clique-width if and only if its atoms have this property. This is no longer true for (H1,H2) -free graphs, as evidenced by one known example. We prove the existence of another such pair (H1,H2) and classify the boundedness of clique-width on (H1,H2) -free atoms for all but 18 cases

On Structural Parameterizations of the Bounded-Degree Vertex Deletion Problem

We study the parameterized complexity of the Bounded-Degree Vertex Deletion problem (BDD), where the aim is to find a maximum induced subgraph whose maximum degree is below a given degree bound. Our focus lies on parameters that measure the structural properties of the input instance. We first show that the problem is W[1]-hard parameterized by a wide range of fairly restrictive structural parameters such as the feedback vertex set number, pathwidth, treedepth, and even the size of a minimum vertex deletion set into graphs of pathwidth and treedepth at most three. We thereby resolve an open question stated in Betzler, Bredereck, Niedermeier and Uhlmann (2012) concerning the complexity of BDD parameterized by the feedback vertex set number. On the positive side, we obtain fixed-parameter algorithms for the problem with respect to the decompositional parameter treecut width and a novel problem-specific parameter called the core fracture number

Health Impairments in Children and Adolescents After Hospitalization for Acute COVID-19 or MIS-C

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate risk factors for postdischarge sequelae in children and adolescents hospitalized for acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). METHODS: Multicenter prospective cohort study conducted in 25 United States pediatric hospitals. Patients <21-years-old, hospitalized May 2020 to May 2021 for acute COVID-19 or MIS-C with follow-up 2 to 4 months after admission. We assessed readmissions, persistent symptoms or activity impairment, and new morbidities. Multivariable regression was used to calculate adjusted risk ratios (aRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Of 358 eligible patients, 2 to 4 month survey data were available for 119 of 155 (76.8%) with acute COVID-19 and 160 of 203 (78.8%) with MIS-C. Thirteen (11%) patients with acute COVID-19 and 12 (8%) with MIS-C had a readmission. Thirty-two (26.9%) patients with acute COVID-19 had persistent symptoms (22.7%) or activity impairment (14.3%) and 48 (30.0%) with MIS-C had persistent symptoms (20.0%) or activity impairment (21.3%). For patients with acute COVID-19, persistent symptoms (aRR, 1.29 [95% CI, 1.04-1.59]) and activity impairment (aRR, 1.37 [95% CI, 1.06-1.78]) were associated with more organ systems involved. Patients with MIS-C and pre-existing respiratory conditions more frequently had persistent symptoms (aRR, 3.09 [95% CI, 1.55-6.14]) and those with obesity more frequently had activity impairment (aRR, 2.52 [95% CI, 1.35-4.69]). New morbidities were infrequent (9% COVID-19, 1% MIS-C). CONCLUSIONS: Over 1 in 4 children hospitalized with acute COVID-19 or MIS-C experienced persistent symptoms or activity impairment for at least 2 months. Patients with MIS-C and respiratory conditions or obesity are at higher risk of prolonged recovery

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Characteristics and Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Admitted to U.S. ICUs

OBJECTIVES: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used successfully to support adults with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related cardiac or respiratory failure refractory to conventional therapies. Comprehensive reports of children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2-related ECMO support for conditions, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and acute COVID-19, are needed. Design: Case series of patients from the Overcoming COVID-19 public health surveillance registry. SETTING: Sixty-three hospitals in 32 U.S. states reporting to the registry between March 15, 2020, and December 31, 2021. PATIENTS: Patients less than 21 years admitted to the ICU meeting Centers for Disease Control criteria for MIS-C or acute COVID-19. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The final cohort included 2,733 patients with MIS-C (n = 1,530; 37 [2.4%] requiring ECMO) or acute COVID-19 (n = 1,203; 71 [5.9%] requiring ECMO). ECMO patients in both groups were older than those without ECMO support (MIS-C median 15.4 vs 9.9 yr; acute COVID-19 median 15.3 vs 13.6 yr). The body mass index percentile was similar in the MIS-C ECMO versus no ECMO groups (89.9 vs 85.8; p = 0.22) but higher in the COVID-19 ECMO versus no ECMO groups (98.3 vs 96.5; p = 0.03). Patients on ECMO with MIS-C versus COVID-19 were supported more often with venoarterial ECMO (92% vs 41%) for primary cardiac indications (87% vs 23%), had ECMO initiated earlier (median 1 vs 5 d from hospitalization), shorter ECMO courses (median 3.9 vs 14 d), shorter hospital length of stay (median 20 vs 52 d), lower in-hospital mortality (27% vs 37%), and less major morbidity at discharge in survivors (new tracheostomy, oxygen or mechanical ventilation need or neurologic deficit; 0% vs 11%, 0% vs 20%, and 8% vs 15%, respectively). Most patients with MIS-C requiring ECMO support (87%) were admitted during the pre-Delta (variant B.1.617.2) period, while most patients with acute COVID-19 requiring ECMO support (70%) were admitted during the Delta variant period. Conclusions: ECMO support for SARS-CoV-2-related critical illness was uncommon, but type, initiation, and duration of ECMO use in MIS-C and acute COVID-19 were markedly different. Like pre-pandemic pediatric ECMO cohorts, most patients survived to hospital discharge

Neurologic Involvement in Children and Adolescents Hospitalized in the United States for COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Importance Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects the nervous system in adult patients. The spectrum of neurologic involvement in children and adolescents is unclear. Objective To understand the range and severity of neurologic involvement among children and adolescents associated with COVID-19. Setting, Design, and Participants Case series of patients (age <21 years) hospitalized between March 15, 2020, and December 15, 2020, with positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test result (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and/or antibody) at 61 US hospitals in the Overcoming COVID-19 public health registry, including 616 (36%) meeting criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Patients with neurologic involvement had acute neurologic signs, symptoms, or diseases on presentation or during hospitalization. Life-threatening involvement was adjudicated by experts based on clinical and/or neuroradiologic features. Exposures Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Main Outcomes and Measures Type and severity of neurologic involvement, laboratory and imaging data, and outcomes (death or survival with new neurologic deficits) at hospital discharge. Results Of 1695 patients (909 [54%] male; median [interquartile range] age, 9.1 [2.4-15.3] years), 365 (22%) from 52 sites had documented neurologic involvement. Patients with neurologic involvement were more likely to have underlying neurologic disorders (81 of 365 [22%]) compared with those without (113 of 1330 [8%]), but a similar number were previously healthy (195 [53%] vs 723 [54%]) and met criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (126 [35%] vs 490 [37%]). Among those with neurologic involvement, 322 (88%) had transient symptoms and survived, and 43 (12%) developed life-threatening conditions clinically adjudicated to be associated with COVID-19, including severe encephalopathy (n = 15; 5 with splenial lesions), stroke (n = 12), central nervous system infection/demyelination (n = 8), Guillain-Barré syndrome/variants (n = 4), and acute fulminant cerebral edema (n = 4). Compared with those without life-threatening conditions (n = 322), those with life-threatening neurologic conditions had higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (median, 12.2 vs 4.4) and higher reported frequency of D-dimer greater than 3 μg/mL fibrinogen equivalent units (21 [49%] vs 72 [22%]). Of 43 patients who developed COVID-19–related life-threatening neurologic involvement, 17 survivors (40%) had new neurologic deficits at hospital discharge, and 11 patients (26%) died. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, many children and adolescents hospitalized for COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children had neurologic involvement, mostly transient symptoms. A range of life-threatening and fatal neurologic conditions associated with COVID-19 infrequently occurred. Effects on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes are unknown