The Semantic Features of “v+adv” in Native English Public Speaking Setting

This paper explores and concludes the features and semantic prosodies of adverbs in public speaking setting by native English speakers through a corpus-driven approach. The corpus used is a sub-corpus (CES_C) from the self-built corpus (CES) comprising of 177 texts (type token) that are original and authentic speeches delivered by celebrities from UK and US. The speakers of these speeches are varied from all walks of life including presidents, business elites and etc. In terms of research methodology, this study is conducted both the quantitative approach of corpus linguistics and the qualitative approach of observation. By annotated part-of-speech (POS) with Treetagger tool, the study examined the occurrence frequency of adverbs and listed top 30 high-frequency adverbs employed in the corpus. Then different categories of adverbs were analyzed in terms of semantic function, and the frequency of occurrence was calculated respectively. The results shows the use of adverbs only accounts for 5% of all the words which is relatively lower than the use of other part of speech. Besides, some adverbs have certain semantic orientations based on different categorized adverbs, which provides intuitive reference resources for English public speaking teaching and learning in ESL/ EFL community. In addition, the combination of research focuses such as corpus, semantic prosody, public speaking and adverbs can be used as reference to enlarge the scope of corpus study and enhance the level of public speaking research

Chromium isotope fractionation during subduction-related metamorphism, black shale weathering, and hydrothermal alteration

© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Chemical Geology 423 (2016): 19-33, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.01.003.Chromium (Cr) isotopes are an emerging proxy for redox processes at Earth’s surface. However, many geological reservoirs and isotope fractionation processes are still not well understood. The purpose of this contribution is to move forward our understanding of (1) Earth’s high temperature Cr isotope inventory and (2) Cr isotope fractionations during subduction-related metamorphism, black shale weathering and hydrothermal alteration. The examined basalts and their metamorphosed equivalents yielded δ53Cr values falling within a narrow range of -0.12±0.13‰ (2SD, n=30), consistent with the previously reported range for the bulk silicate Earth (BSE). Compilations of currently available data for fresh silicate rocks (43 samples), metamorphosed silicate rocks (50 samples), and mantle chromites (39 samples) give δ53Cr values of -0.13±0.13‰, -0.11±0.13‰, and -0.07±0.13‰, respectively. Although the number of high-temperature samples analyzed has tripled, the originally proposed BSE range appears robust. This suggests very limited Cr isotope fractionation under high temperature conditions. Additionally, in a highly altered metacarbonate transect that is representative of fluid-rich regional metamorphism, we did not find resolvable variations in δ53Cr, despite significant loss of Cr. This work suggests that primary Cr isotope signatures may be preserved even in instances of intense metamorphic alteration at relatively high fluid-rock ratios. Oxidative weathering of black shale at low pH creates isotopically heavy mobile Cr(VI). However, a significant proportion of the Cr(VI) is apparently immobilized near the weathering surface, leading to local enrichment of isotopically heavy Cr (δ53Cr values up to ~0.5‰). The observed large Cr isotope variation in the black shale weathering profile provides indirect evidence for active manganese oxide formation, which is primarily controlled by microbial activity. Lastly, we found widely variable δ53Cr (-0.2‰ to 0.6‰) values in highly serpentinized peridotites from ocean drilling program drill cores and outcropping ophiolite sequences. The isotopically heavy serpentinites are most easily explained through a multi-stage alteration processes: Cr loss from the host rock under oxidizing conditions, followed by Cr enrichment under sulfate reducing conditions. In contrast, Cr isotope variability is limited in mildly altered mafic oceanic crust.Funding for this research was provided by Agouron Institute to XLW, National Science Foundation (NSF) EAR-0105927 and EAR-1250269 to JJA, and NSF EAR-1324566 to ES. NJP and CTR acknowledge funding from the Alternative Earths NAI.2017-01-1

Study of Histopathological and Molecular Changes of Rat Kidney under Simulated Weightlessness and Resistance Training Protective Effect

To explore the effects of long-term weightlessness on the renal tissue, we used the two months tail suspension model to simulate microgravity and investigated the simulated microgravity on the renal morphological damages and related molecular mechanisms. The microscopic examination of tissue structure and ultrastructure was carried out for histopathological changes of renal tissue morphology. The immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms associated the observations. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining showed severe pathological kidney lesions including glomerular atrophy, degeneration and necrosis of renal tubular epithelial cells in two months tail-suspended rats. Ultrastructural studies of the renal tubular epithelial cells demonstrated that basal laminas of renal tubules were rough and incrassate with mitochondria swelling and vacuolation. Cell apoptosis in kidney monitored by the expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and caspase-3 accompanied these pathological damages caused by long-term microgravity. Analysis of the HSP70 protein expression illustrated that overexpression of HSP70 might play a crucial role in inducing those pathological damages. Glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78), one of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperones, was up-regulated significantly in the kidney of tail suspension rat, which implied that ER-stress was associated with apoptosis. Furthermore, CHOP and caspase-12 pathways were activated in ER-stress induced apoptosis. Resistance training not only reduced kidney cell apoptosis and expression of HSP70 protein, it also can attenuate the kidney impairment imposed by weightlessness. The appropriate optimization might be needed for the long term application for space exploration

HMGB1: a double-edged sword and therapeutic target in the female reproductive system

HMGB1 that belongs to the High Mobility Group-box superfamily, is a nonhistone chromatin associated transcription factor. It is present in the nucleus of eukaryotes and can be actively secreted or passively released by kinds of cells. HMGB1 is important for maintaining DNA structure by binding to DNA and histones, protecting it from damage. It also regulates the interaction between histones and DNA, affecting chromatin packaging, and can influence gene expression by promoting nucleosome sliding. And as a DAMP, HMGB1 binding to RAGE and TLRs activates NF-κB, which triggers the expression of downstream genes like IL-18, IL-1β, and TNF-α. HMGB1 is known to be involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Recent studies have demonstrated the significance of HMGB1 as DAMPs in the female reproductive system. These findings have shed light on the potential role of HMGB1 in the pathogenesis of diseases in female reproductive system and the possibilities of HMGB1-targeted therapies for treating them. Such therapies can help reduce inflammation and metabolic dysfunction and alleviate the symptoms of reproductive system diseases. Overall, the identification of HMGB1 as a key player in disease of the female reproductive system represents a significant breakthrough in our understanding of these conditions and presents exciting opportunities for the development of novel therapies

Identification of Novel Biallelic TLE6 Variants in Female Infertility With Preimplantation Embryonic Lethality

Preimplantation embryonic lethality is a rare cause of primary female infertility. It has been reported that variants in the transducin-like enhancer of split 6 (TLE6) gene can lead to preimplantation embryonic lethality. However, the incidence of TLE6 variants in patients with preimplantation embryonic lethality is not fully understood. In this study, we identified four patients carrying novel biallelic TLE6 variants in a cohort of 28 patients with preimplantation embryonic lethality by whole-exome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, accounting for 14.29% (4/28) of the cohort. Immunofluorescence showed that the TLE6 levels in oocytes from patients were much lower than in normal control oocytes, suggesting that the variants result in the lower expression of the TLE6 protein in oocytes. In addition, a retrospective analysis showed that the four patients underwent a total of nine failures of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection attempts, and one of them became pregnant on the first attempt using donated oocytes. Our study extends the genetic spectrum of female infertility caused by variants in TLE6 and further confirms previously reported findings that TLE6 plays an essential role in early embryonic development. In such case, oocyte donation may be the preferred treatment

Water reclamation and reuse

Literature published in 2018 pertinent to water reclamation and reuse has been classified into five topics: safe reuse, treatment technologies, management, assessment, and case studies. Researches have been conducted to develop new technologies and improve conventional treatments for achieving sustainable wastewater reclamation, and increasing efforts have been made to facilitate safe water reuse. Practitioner Points: The way of publicity greatly influences people's acceptance of water reuse and willingness to purchase produce irrigated with recycled water. Integrated process is the most commonly used treatment technology to reclaim water. There is a lack of local or regional regulatory and policy for sustainable water management.</p

Water reclamation and reuse

Literature published in 2017 related to water reclamation and reuse is reviewed in four categories: sustainable reuse, treatment technology, implementation, and assessment and management. The development and improvement of conventional treatments and new methods that afford safe wastewater reuse are examined.</p

Accurate Identification of Cancerlectins through Hybrid Machine Learning Technology

Cancerlectins are cancer-related proteins that function as lectins. They have been identified through computational identification techniques, but these techniques have sometimes failed to identify proteins because of sequence diversity among the cancerlectins. Advanced machine learning identification methods, such as support vector machine and basic sequence features (n-gram), have also been used to identify cancerlectins. In this study, various protein fingerprint features and advanced classifiers, including ensemble learning techniques, were utilized to identify this group of proteins. We improved the prediction accuracy of the original feature extraction methods and classification algorithms by more than 10% on average. Our work provides a basis for the computational identification of cancerlectins and reveals the power of hybrid machine learning techniques in computational proteomics

Relationship among self‐injury, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, anxiety, and depression in Chinese adolescent patients with nonsuicidal self‐injury

Abstract Objective To explore relationship among self‐injury behavior, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, anxiety, and depression in Chinese adolescent patients with nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI). Methods Cognitive fusion questionnaire (CFQ), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire—2nd edition (AAQ‐II), adolescent nonsuicidal self‐injury behavior questionnaire (ANSAQ), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) were used as research tools to investigate 120 subjects with NSSI and 130 healthy controls. Results The scores of CFQ and AAQ‐II in the NSSI group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group (p < .001). The results of regression analysis showed that the experiential avoidance score of patients with NSSI could predict the score of self‐injury questionnaire (β = 0.585, p < .001); when predicting anxiety, only CFQ (β = 0.361, p < .001) entered the equation, with an explanatory variation of 12.3%; when predicting depression, CFQ (β = 0.287, p < .01) entered the equation, with an explanatory variation of 7.4%. Conclusion A high level of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance may be important factors for the maintenance of self‐injury behavior in patients with NSSI