Structure Here, Bias There: Hierarchical Generalization by Jointly Learning Syntactic Transformations

When learning syntactic transformations, children consistently induce structure-dependent generalizations, even though the primary linguistic data may be consistent with both linear and hierarchical rules. What is the source of this inductive bias? In this paper, we use computational models to investigate the hypothesis that evidence for the structure-sensitivity of one syntactic transformation can bias the acquisition of another transformation in favor of a hierarchical rule. We train sequence-to-sequence models based on artificial neural networks to learn multiple syntactic transformations at the same time in a fragment of English; we hold out cases that disambiguate linear and hierarchical rules for one of those transformations, and then test for hierarchical generalization to these held-out sentence types. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that multitask learning induces a hierarchical bias for certain combinations of tasks, and that this bias is stronger for transformations that share computational building blocks. At the same time, the bias is in general insufficient to lead the learner to categorically acquire the hierarchical generalization for the target transformation

Bis(tetraphenylphosphonium) di-μ-iodido-bis[diiodidopalladate(II)].

The title compound, (PPh4)2[Pd2I6], was obtained unintentionally as the product of an attempted synthesis of a tripalladium sandwich complex. The molecular dimensions are unexceptional and the Pd---Pd distance, at 3.8183 (12) A,is much too long for any Pd—Pd interaction. Pd has a typical square-planar coordination geometry and the centrosymmetric anion is essentially planar

Sexual Function of Men Ages 40 to 79 Years: The Olmsted County Study of Urinary Symptoms and Health Status Among Men

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111090/1/j.1532-5415.1995.tb07009.x.pd

Analysis of 24 years of mesopause region OH rotational temperature observations at Davis, Antarctica – Part 2: Evidence of a quasi-quadrennial oscillation (QQO) in the polar mesosphere

Observational evidence of a quasi-quadrennial oscillation (QQO) in the polar mesosphere is presented based on the analysis of 24 years of hydroxyl (OH) nightglow rotational temperatures derived from scanning spectrometer observations above Davis research station, Antarctica (68◦ S, 78◦ E). After removal of the long-term trend and solar cycle response, the residual winter mean temperature variability contains an oscillation over an approximately 3.5–4.5-year cycle with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 3–4 K. Here we investigate this QQO feature in the context of the global temperature, pressure, wind, and surface fields using satellite, meteorological reanalysis, sea surface temperature, and sea ice concentration data sets in order to understand possible drivers of the signal. Specifically, correlation and composite analyses are made with data sets from the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Aura satellite (Aura/MLS v4.2) and the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry instrument on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics Dynamics satellite (TIMED/SABER v2.0), ERA5 reanalysis, the Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST v5), and Optimum-Interpolation (OI v2) sea ice concentration. We find a significant anti-correlation between the QQO temperature and the meridional wind at 86 km altitude measured by a medium-frequency spaced antenna radar at Davis (R 2 ∼ 0.516; poleward flow associated with warmer temperatures at ∼ 0.83±0.21 K (ms−1)−1). The QQO signal is also marginally correlated with vertical transport as determined from an evaluation of carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in the mesosphere (sensitivity 0.73 ± 0.45 K ppmv−1 CO,R 2 ∼ 0.18). Together this relationship suggests that the QQO is plausibly linked to adiabatic heating and cooling driven by the meridional flow. The presence of quasi-stationary or persistent patterns in the ERA5 data geopotential anomaly and the meridional wind anomaly data during warm and cold phases of the QQO is consistent with tidal or planetary waves influencing its formation, which may act on the filtering of gravity waves to drive an adiabatic response in the mesosphere. The QQO signal plausibly arises from an ocean–atmosphere response, and appears to have a signature in Antarctic sea ice extent

Topic Study Group No. 1: Early Childhood Mathematics Education (Up to Age 7)

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. The book presents the Proceedings of the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-13) and is based on the presentations given at the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-13). ICME-13 took place from 24th- 31st July 2016 at the University of Hamburg in Hamburg (Germany). The congress was hosted by the Society of Didactics of Mathematics (Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Mathematik - GDM) and took place under the auspices of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI). ICME-13 brought together about 3.500 mathematics educators from 105 countries, additionally 250 teachers from German speaking countries met for specific activities. Directly before the congress activities were offered for 450 Early Career Researchers. The proceedings give a comprehensive overview on the current state-of-the-art of the discussions on mathematics education and display the breadth and deepness of current research on mathematical teaching-and-learning processes. The book introduces the major activities of ICME-13, namely articles from the four plenary lecturers and two plenary panels, articles from the five ICMI awardees, reports from six national presentations, three reports from the thematic afternoon devoted to specific features of ICME-13. Furthermore, the proceedings contain descriptions of the 54 Topic Study Groups, which formed the heart of the congress and reports from 29 Discussion Groups and 31 Workshops. The additional important activities of ICME-13, namely papers from the invited lecturers, will be presented in the second volume of the proceedings

Molecular Basis of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: The Role of RET Polymorphisms

Medullary thyroid carcinoma is a rare malignant tumor originating in parafollicular C cells. It accounts for 5 to 8% of all thyroid cancers. MTC develops in either sporadic (75%) or hereditary form (25%). Genetic and molecular studies have demonstrated the involvement of the RET proto-oncogene in hereditary MTC and, less often, in its sporadic form. Although a strong genotype-phenotype correlation has been described, wide clinical heterogeneity is observed among families with the same RET mutation or even in carriers of the same kindred. In recent years, several single nucleotide polymorphisms of the RET gene have been described in the general population as well as in patients with MTC. Some studies have reported associations between the presence of polymorphisms and development or progression of MTC. Nonetheless, other studies failed to demonstrate any effect of the RET variants. Differences in the genetic background of distinct populations or methodological approaches have been suggested as potential reasons for the conflicting results. Here, we review current knowledge concerning the molecular pathogenesis of sporadic and hereditary MTC. In particular, we analyze the role of RET polymorphisms in the clinical presentation and prognosis of MTC based on the current literature

Whole number thinking, learning and development: neuro-cognitive, cognitive and developmental approaches

The participants of working group 2 presented a broad range of studies, 11 papers in total, related to whole number learning representing research groups from 11 countries as follows. Two large cross-sectional studies focused on developmental aspects of young children’s number learning provide a lens for re-examining ‘traditional’ features of number acquisition. van den Heuvel-Panhuizen (the Netherlands) presented a co-authored paper with Elia (Cyprus; Elia and van den Heuvel-Panhuizen 2015) on a cross-cultural study of kindergartners’ number competence focused on counting, additive and multiplicative thinking. Second, Milinković (2015) examined the development of young Serbian children’s initial understanding of representations of whole numbers and counting strategies in a large study of 3- to 7-year-olds. Children’s invented (formal) representations such as set representation and the number line were found to be limited in their recordings. In a South African study focused on early counting and addition, Roberts (2015) directs attention to the role of teachers by providing a framework to support teachers’ interpretation of young disadvantaged learners’ representations of number when engaging with whole number additive tasks. Some papers reflected the increasing role of neuroscientific concepts and methodologies utilised in research on WNA learning and development. Sinclair and Coles (2015) drew upon neuroscientific research to highlight the significant role of symbol-to-symbol connections and the use of fingers and touch counting exempli- fied by the TouchCounts iPad app. Gould (2015) reported aspects of a large Australian large study of children in the first years of schooling aimed at improving numeracy and literacy in disadvantaged communities. A case study exemplified how numerals were identified by relying on a mental number line by using location to retrieve number names. This raised the question addressed in the neuroscientific work of Dehaene and other papers focused on individual differences in how the brain processes numbers. The Italian PerContare1 project (Baccaglini-Frank 2015) built upon the collaboration between cognitive psychologists and mathematics educators, aimed at developing teaching strategies for preventing and addressing early low achievement in arithmetic. It takes an innovative approach to the development of number sense that is grounded upon a kinaesthetic and visual-spatial approach to part-whole relationships. Mulligan and Woolcott (2015) provided a discussion paper on the underlying nature of number. They presented a broader view of mathematics learning (including WNA) as linked to spatial interaction with the environment; the concept of connectivity across concepts and the development of underlying pattern and structural relationships are central to their approach

Risk profile of the RET A883F germline mutation: an international collaborative study

Context: The A883F germline mutation of the REarranged during Transfection proto-oncogene causes multiple endocrine neoplasia 2B. In the revised American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines for the management of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) the A883F mutation has been reclassified from the highest to high risk level, although no well-defined risk profile for this mutation exists. Objective: To create a risk profile for the A883F mutation for appropriate classification in the ATA risk levels. Design: Retrospective analysis. Setting: International collaboration. Patients: Included were 13 A883F carriers. Intervention: The intervention was thyroidectomy. Main Outcome Measures: Earliest age of MTC, regional lymph node metastases, distant metastases, age-related penetrance of MTC and pheochromocytoma (PHEO), overall and disease-specific survival and biochemical cure rate. Results: One and three carriers were diagnosed at age 7-9 years (median 7.5) with a normal thyroid and C-cell hyperplasia, respectively. Nine carriers had MTC diagnosed at age 10-39 years (median 19). The earliest age of MTC, regional lymph node and distant metastasis were 10, 20, 20 years, respectively. Fifty percent penetrance of MTC and PHEO was achieved by age 19 and 34 years, respectively. Five- and 10-year survival (both overall and disease-specific) were 88% and 88%, respectively. Biochemical cure for MTC at latest follow-up was achieved in 63% (5/8 carriers) with pertinent data. Conclusions: MTC of A883F carriers seems to have a more indolent natural course compared to that of M918T carriers. Our results support the classification of the A883F mutation in the ATA high risk level

Salerno's model of DNA reanalysed: could solitons have biological significance?

We investigate the sequence-dependent behaviour of localised excitations in a toy, nonlinear model of DNA base-pair opening originally proposed by Salerno. Specifically we ask whether ``breather'' solitons could play a role in the facilitated location of promoters by RNA polymerase. In an effective potential formalism, we find excellent correlation between potential minima and {\em Escherichia coli} promoter recognition sites in the T7 bacteriophage genome. Evidence for a similar relationship between phage promoters and downstream coding regions is found and alternative reasons for links between AT richness and transcriptionally-significant sites are discussed. Consideration of the soliton energy of translocation provides a novel dynamical picture of sliding: steep potential gradients correspond to deterministic motion, while ``flat'' regions, corresponding to homogeneous AT or GC content, are governed by random, thermal motion. Finally we demonstrate an interesting equivalence between planar, breather solitons and the helical motion of a sliding protein ``particle'' about a bent DNA axis.Comment: Latex file 20 pages, 5 figures. Manuscript of paper to appear in J. Biol. Phys., accepted 02/09/0

RET Germline Mutations Identified by Exome Sequencing in a Chinese Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2A/Familial Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Family

BACKGROUND: Whole exome sequencing provides a labor-saving and direct means of genetic diagnosis of hereditary disorders in which the pathogenic gene harbors a large cohort of exons. We set out to demonstrate a suitable example of genetic diagnosis of MEN 2A/FMTC (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2/familial medullary thyroid carcinoma) using this approach. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We sequenced the whole exome of six individuals from a large Chinese MEN2A/FMTC pedigree to identify the variants of the RET (REarranged during Transfection) protooncogene and followed this by validation. Then prophylactic or surgical thyroidectomy with modified or level VI lymph node dissection and adrenalectomy were performed for the carriers. The cases were closely followed up. Massively parallel sequencing revealed four missense mutations of RET. We unexpectedly discovered that the proband's daughter with MEN 2A-related MTC presented a novel p.C634Y/V292M/R67H/R982C compound mutation, due to the involvement of p.C634Y in the proband with MEN 2A and p.V292M/R67H/R982C in the proband's husband with FMTC. In the maternal origin, p.C634Y caused bilateral MTC in all 5 cases and bilateral pheochromocytoma in 2 of the 5; the earliest onset age was 28 years. In the paternal origin, one of the six p.V292M/R67H/R982C carriers presented bilateral MTC (70 years old), one only had bilateral C-cell hyperplasia (44 years), two had bilateral multi-nodules (46 and 48 years) and two showed no abnormality (22 and 19 years). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results confirmed the successful clinical utility of whole exome sequencing, and our data suggested that the p.C634Y/V292M/R67H/R982C mutation of RET exhibited a more aggressive clinical phenotype than p.C634Y or p.V292M/R67H/R982C, while p.V292M/R67H/R982C presented a relatively milder pathogenicity of MTC and likely predisposed to FMTC