Corpus-Based Research on Chinese Language and Linguistics

This volume collects papers presenting corpus-based research on Chinese language and linguistics, from both a synchronic and a diachronic perspective. The contributions cover different fields of linguistics, including syntax and pragmatics, semantics, morphology and the lexicon, sociolinguistics, and corpus building. There is now considerable emphasis on the reliability of linguistic data: the studies presented here are all grounded in the tenet that corpora, intended as collections of naturally occurring texts produced by a variety of speakers/writers, provide a more robust, statistically significant foundation for linguistic analysis. The volume explores not only the potential of using corpora as tools allowing access to authentic language material, but also the challenges involved in corpus interrogation, analysis, and building

Credit Cycles in a OLG Economy with Money and Bequest

In this paper we develop an extended version of the original Kiyotaki and Moore's model ("Credit Cycles" Journal of Political Economy, vol. 105, no 2, April 1997)(hereafter KM) using an overlapping generation structure instead of the assumption of infinitely lived agents adopted by the authors. In each period the population consists of two classes of heterogeneous interacting agents, in particular: a financially constrained young agent (young farmer), a financially constrained old agent (old farmer), an unconstrained young agent (young gatherer), an unconstrained old agent (old gatherer). By assumption each young agent is endowed with one unit of labour. Heterogeneity is introduced in the model by assuming that each class of agents use different technologies to pro- duce the same non durable good. If we study the effect of a technological shock it is possible to demonstrate that its effects are persistent over time in fact the mechanism that it induces is the reallocation the durable asset ("land")among agents. As in KM we develop a dynamic model in which the durable asset is not only an input for production processes but also collateralizable wealth to secure lenders from the risk of borrowers'default. In a context of intergenerational altruism, old agents leave a bequest to their offspring. Money is a means of payment and a reserve of value because it enables to access consumption in old age. For simplicity we assume that preferences are defined over consumption and bequest of the agent when old. Money plays two different and contrasting roles with respect to landholding. On the one hand, given the bequest, the higher the amount of money the young wants to hold, the lower landholding. On the other hand the higher the money of the old, the higher the resources available to him and the higher bequest and landholding. We study the complex dynamics of the allocation of land to farmers and gatherers - which determines aggregate output - and of the price of the durable asset. If a policy move does not change the ratio of money of the farmer and of the gatherer, i.e. if the central bank changes the rates of growth of the two monetary aggregates by the same amount, monetary policy is superneutral, i.e. the allocation of land to the farmer and to the gatherer does not change, real variables are unaffected and the only e¤ect of the policy move is an increase in the rate of inflation, which is pinned down to the (uniform) rate of change of money, and of the nominal interest rate. If, on the other hand, the move is differentiated, i.e. the central bank changes the rates of growth of the two monetary aggregates by different amounts so that the rates of growth are heterogeneous, money is not superneutral, i.e. the allocation of land changes and real variables are permanently affected, even if the rates of growth of the two aggregates go back to the original value afterwardsCredit Cycles, monetary policy

Tendenze demografiche recenti in Sardegna

In this paper a reconstruction of the recent dynamics of Sardinian population, using official data published by ISTAT, is proposed. The period under analysis is characterized by a declining growth rate of the population. Moreover, the Island’s population has decreased in absolute terms between 1991 and 2001 Censuses (first preliminary data), and this happens for the first time after three centuries of continuous growth. The point is that, though Sardinia’s fertility transition was later compared to other regions of Italy, in the last decades fertility has rapidly fallen towards the minimum values observed in Italy. In this context some factors associated with the rapid change of nuptial and reproductive behaviours are discussed

Borrowing constraints and complex dynamics in an OLG framework

In this paper we model an OLG economy à la Kiyotaki and Moore whose novel feature is the role of money as a store of value and of bequest as a source of funds to be "invested" in landholding. The dynamics generated by the model are generally characterized by irregular cyclical trajectories and, under special con.guration of the parameters, a strange attractor appears. In this setting, an expansionary monetary policy may have a stabilizing role due to the interaction between money holding and the accumulation of borrowers' net worth

Hematological and Morphological Analysis of the Erythropoietic Regenerative Response in Phenylhydrazine-induced Hemolytic Anemia in Mice

In this study we developed a mouse model of Phenylhydrazine (PHZ) -induced hemolytic anemia to study  erythropoietic regenerative response through clinical, pathological, and morphological studies. Hemolytic  anemia was induced in female mice (CF1) using PHZ at a wide range of doses (up to 100 mg/Kg) on days  0 and 2. Hemolytic anemia was observed at 60 mg/kg PHZ on day 4 and was evidenced by decreased HCT  (34.3±0.28%), reticulocytosis (51.6±2.10%), anisocytosis, poikilocytosis, leukocytosis, and increased  Heinz body count. A time-course and dose-dependence analysis of the regenerative response was performed.  HCT decreased on days 2 and 4 in a dose-dependent manner, returning to basal levels on day 8.  PHZ only induced reticulocytosis (day 4) at the highest doses tested (60-100 mg/kg). Heinz body formation  was dose-dependent. These changes were accompanied by splenomegaly and splenic erythroid hyperplasia.  Results revealed that the presence of erythroblastic islands was most clear in the spleen, followed by the  liver and kidney. SEM showed Heinz body-containing erythrocytes and spherocyte-like erythrocytes.  Anemia recovery results from coordinated action of extramedullary tissues depending on the time post  injection and the dose applied. In conclusion, this mouse model allowed us a better understanding of  murine erythropoietic regenerative response.

The Impact of Institutional Settings on Learning Behavior by Venture Capitalists and Start-Ups

Our paper reports research from the emerging institutional field of venture capitalists in Europe. In Europe venture capitalism began to emerge about ten years ago, and thus, in Europe the phenomenon has the characteristics of emergence and novelty, as a local in-dustry venture capitalists have yet to develop distinctive characteristics. The European countries do not constitute a homogeneous institutional environment, but must be per-ceived as different local settings, and thus, venture capitalism may evolve into different forms in the various parts of Europe. The objective is to understand if and how differen-ces in local institutional settings affect learning and adaptation by European venture ca-pitalists and start-ups, and thus, affect the processes of field formation. For example, it has been observed that institutional settings can facilitate or discourage learning from direct experience (Herriot et al., 1985). Thus, depending on the institutional settings venture capitalists and start-ups may rely on diffusion of experience in various degrees. Experiences can diffuse from the US, where venture capitalism as an entrepreneurial form evolved in Silicon Valley in the 1970s. In the US venture capitalists represent an institutionalized type of organization with formalized rules and standards, codified be-havior and roles (Suchman, 1995; Suchman et al., 2001). European venture capitalists and start-ups may imitate behavior and rules developed in Silicon Valley, and thus, a second research objective is to understand if and how US venture capitalism affect the evolvement of venture capitalism in Europe. We study the emergence of a venture capitalist industry in Denmark and Italy, and thus, by selecting two countries with distinctive differences in cultures and institutions, we study learning and adaptation by venture capitalists and start-ups in different institutio-nal settings. We suggest that venture capitalists and start-ups perceiving institutional settings as non venture-friendly are more likely to rely on learning by imitation than on trial-and-error learning

Expression, immunolocalization and processing of fertilins ADAM-1 and ADAM-2 in the boar (sus domesticus) spermatozoa during epididymal maturation

Fertilin alpha (ADAM-1) and beta (ADAM-2) are integral membrane proteins of the ADAM family that form a fertilin complex involved in key steps of the sperm-oocyte membrane interaction. In the present work, we analyzed the presence of ADAM-1 and ADAM-2 mRNAs, the spermatozoa proteins' processing and their sub-cellular localization in epididymal samples from adult boars. ADAM-1 and ADAM-2 mRNAs were highly produced in the testis, but also in the vas efferens and the epididymis. On immunoblots of sperm extracts, ADAM-1 subunit appeared as a main reactive band of ~50-55 kDa corresponding to occurrence of different isoforms throughout the epididymal duct, especially in the corpus region where isoforms ranged from acidic to basic pI. In contrast, ADAM-2 was detected as several bands of ~90 kDa, ~75 kDa, ~50-55 kDa and ~40 kDa. The intensity of high molecular mass bands decreased progressively in the distal corpus where lower bands were also transiently observed, and only the ~40 kDa was observed in the cauda. The presence of bands of different molecular weights likely results from a proteolytic processing occurring mainly in the testis for ADAM-1, and also throughout the caput epididymis for ADAM-2. Immunolocalization showed that fertilin migrates from the acrosomal region to the acrosomal ridge during the sperm transit from the distal corpus to the proximal cauda. This migration is accompanied by an important change in the extractability of a part of ADAM-1 from the sperm membrane. This suggests that the fertilin surface migration may be triggered by the biochemical changes induced by the epididymal post-translational processing of both ADAM1 and ADAM-2. Different patterns of fertilin immunolocalization then define several populations of spermatozoa in the cauda epididymis. Characterization of such fertilin complex maturation patterns is an important step to develop fertility markers based on epididymal maturation of surface membrane proteins in domestic mammals

State of the Art in Artificial Intelligence and Radiomics in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The most common liver malignancy is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is also associated with high mortality. Often HCC develops in a chronic liver disease setting, and early diagnosis as well as accurate screening of high-risk patients is crucial for appropriate and effective management of these patients. While imaging characteristics of HCC are well-defined in the diagnostic phase, challenging cases still occur, and current prognostic and predictive models are limited in their accuracy. Radiomics and machine learning (ML) offer new tools to address these issues and may lead to scientific breakthroughs with the potential to impact clinical practice and improve patient outcomes. In this review, we will present an overview of these technologies in the setting of HCC imaging across different modalities and a range of applications. These include lesion segmentation, diagnosis, prognostic modeling and prediction of treatment response. Finally, limitations preventing clinical application of radiomics and ML at the present time are discussed, together with necessary future developments to bring the field forward and outside of a purely academic endeavor

Off-Label Use of Dalbavancin for Sequential Treatment of Spondylodiscitis by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A Retrospective Single-Centre Experience

Background: Our aim was to describe the clinical outcome and safety of the sequential treatment with off-label dalbavancin in patients with spondylodiscitis that is caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Methods: We retrospectively included all patients >18 years of age with spondylodiscitis that is caused by MRSA that was treated with dalbavancin from January 2018-January 2021, recording the instances of clinical cure/failure, adverse events, and the need to be re-hospitalized after the initiation of dalbavancin. In 2/15 patients, we performed therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for dalbavancin. Results: We included 15 patients, 53.3% of them were females, with a median age of 67.9 years (57.4-78.5); 100% patients reported back pain, while a fever was present only in 2/15 cases. The spondylodiscitis was localized in 86.6% cases at the lumbar level. A median of a 2-week in-hospital intravenous vancomycin was followed by dalbavancin with a median duration of 12 weeks (12-16). All patients reported a clinical cure, except for a woman who is still on a suppressive treatment. No patient needed to be re-hospitalized, access to emergency department, or experienced adverse events. The TDM for dalbavancin showed that more than 90% of the determinations were above the pharmacodynamic target against staphylococci. Conclusions: The results from our unique, even if it was small, cohort demonstrated that dalbavancin can be a safe/effective option as a sequential treatment in patients with serious infections requiring prolonged antibiotic therapy, such as spondylodiscitis