Neutralization and homophony avoidance in phonological learning

Previous research has suggested that homophony avoidance plays a role in constraining language change; in particular, phonological contrasts are less likely to be neutralized if doing so would greatly increase the amount of homophony in the language. Most of the research on homophony avoidance has focused on the history of real languages, comparing attested and unattested (hypothetical) phonological changes. In this study, we take a novel approach by focusing on the language learner. Using an artificial language learning paradigm, we show that learners are less likely to acquire neutralizing phonological rules compared to non-neutralizing rules, but only if the neutralizing rules create homophony between lexical items encountered during learning. The results indicate that learners are biased against phonological patterns that create homophony, which could have an influence on language change. The results also suggest that lexical learning and phonological learning are highly integrated

iIRSL dating of K-feldspar and its application to Fajiagouwan, Salawusu site in Central China

Dating Protocols Improvements: abstract no. P19published_or_final_versio

Assessment and Localization of Active Discontinuities Using Energy Distribution Between Intrinsic Modes

A method for localization and severity assessment of structural damages is proposed. The algorithm works based on nonlinear behavior of certain type of damages such as breathing cracks which are called active discontinuities in this paper. Generally, nonlinear features are more sensitive to such damages although their extraction is sometimes controversial. A major controversy is the imposition of spurious modes on the expansion of the signal which needs to be addressed for an effective application and robustness of the method. The energy content of Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs), which are the resultants of Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), and also the shape of energy distribution between these modes before and after damage, are used for localization and severity assessment of the damages. By using EMD, we preserve the nonlinear aspects of the signal while avoiding imposition of spurious harmonics on its expansion without any assumption of stationarity. The developed algorithms are used to localize and assess the damage in a steel cantilever beam. The results show that the method can be used effectively for detecting active structural discontinuities due to damage

Study on bearing performance of friction pile foundation in complicated soil-layers

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Effects of Scorpion Venom Heat-Resistant Protein on Seizure Behavior and Expression of Proenkephalin in Rats with Kainate-Induced Epilepsy

Scorpion venom is a traditional antiepileptic medicine in Asia. We examined the effects of scorpion venom heat-resistant protein (SVHRP) on seizure behavior of rats with kainate-induced epilepsy and expression of proenkephalin (pENK) in their hippocampus. Subcutaneous injections of convulsive doses of kainic acid (KA, 10 mg/kg) evoked acute epileptic seizures; the intensity of such seizures was measured after subsequent injections of lower (subthreshold in the norm) doses of KA (5 mg/kg). Scorpion venom heat-resistant protein in a dose of 125 mg/kg was given in a part of the animals through i.p. injections daily during 10 days; rats of the control groups were injected with normal saline. Behavioral indices were measured, and the hippocampus was taken for pENK mRNA estimation by RTPCR analysis. The mean behavioral score of seizure sensitivity in the SVHRP-treated group was smaller significantly (P < 0.05) compared to that in the control group (1.19 vs 2.93). The pENK mRNA level was dramatically greater in hippocampal neurons of KA-treated rats with a high seizure sensitivity, while in the SVHRP-treated group the respective index was significantly lower. Thus, SVHRP inhibits behavior seizures in epilepsy and reverses the abnormally increased pENK mRNA in hippocampal neurons of such animalsОтрута скорпіона є традиційним антиепілептичним терапевтичним засобом в Азії. Ми вивчали вплив термостійкого протеїну з отрути скорпіона (ТСПОС) на судорожну поведінку щурів з викликаною каїнатом епілепсією та на експресію проенкефаліну (пEНК) у їх гіпокампі. Підшкірні ін’єкції «конвульсивних» доз каїнової кислоти (КК, 10 мг/кг) призводили до розвитку гострих епілептичних судом; інтенсивність таких судом вимірювали після наступних ін’єкцій КК (5 мг/кг, підпорогова доза в нормі). Частина тварин отримувала ТСПОС у дозі 125 мкг/кг шляхом внутрішньоочеревинних ін’єкцій щоденно протягом 10 днів; щурам контрольної групи вводили фізіологічний розчин. Вимірювали поведінкові показники; гіпокамп ізолювали для подальшої оцінки пEНК мРНК з використанням RT-PCR-аналізу. Усереднені поведінкові показники судомної чутливості в групі тварин, котрі отримували ТСПОС, були істотно нижче (P < 0.05) таких у контрольній групі (1.19 проти 2.93). У нейронах гіпокампа щурів із високою судомною чутливістю, котрі отримували КК, рівень пЕНК мРНК був істотно вищим, тоді як у тварин з ін’єкціями ТСПОС відповідний показник був значно нижчим. Отже, ТСПОС гальмує поведінкові судоми при епілепсії та різко зменшує аномально збільшений рівень пEНК мРНК у нейронах гіпокампа таких тварин

Effects of L-Arginine on Seizure Behavior and Expression of GFAP in Kainic Acid-Treated Rats

Rats i.p. injected once with 10 mg/kg kainic acid exhibited clear seizure behavior (“wet-dog shakes,” rearing on the hindlimbs, and bilateral clonus). Pretreatment with L-arginine (L-Arg twice a day for 5 days) significantly decreased these manifestations. The medium dose of L-Arg (40 mg/kg) was found to be close to optimum; 10 and 160 mg/kg L-Arg provided much smaller positive effects. In KA-treated rats, a much higher density of GFAP positive astrocytes was found in the hilus of the dorsal hippocampus, while 40 mg/kg L-Arg+KA-treated rats demonstrated noticeably weaker GFAP overexpression. The results of Western blotting analysis were fully comparable with those obtained in the immunostaining experiments.Поведінка щурів, яким внутрішньоочеревинно ін’єкували 10 мг/кг каїнової кислоти (КК), характеризувалася вираженими проявами судом, „струшуваннями мокрого собаки”, вставанням на задні кінцівки та білатеральним клонусом. Попередні введення L-аргініну (L-Aрг) двічі на день протягом п’яти днів забезпечували істотне зменшення інтенсивності таких проявів. Було виявлено, що доза L-Aрг 40 мг/кг є близькою до оптимальної; дози 10 та 160 мг/кг справляли менш виражену позитивну дію. У щурів, яким уводили КК, у хілусі дорсального гіпокампа спостерігалася більш висока щільність астроцитів, імунопозитивних щодо гліального фібрилярного кислого білка (GFAР), у той час як у щурів, котрим уводили КК сумісно із 40 мг/кг L-Арг, експресія GFAP була виражена в помітно меншій мірі. Результати досліджень з використанням Вестерн-блотингу були повністю співставними з даними, отриманими в експериментах з імуногістологічним міченням

Efficient unidirectional nanoslit couplers for surface plasmons

Plasmonics is based on surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes which can be laterally confined below the diffraction limit, thereby enabling ultracompact optical components. In order to exploit this potential, the fundamental bottleneck of poor light-SPP coupling must be overcome. In established SPP sources (using prism, grating} or nanodefect coupling) incident light is a source of noise for the SPP, unless the illumination occurs away from the region of interest, increasing the system size and weakening the SPP intensity. Back-side illumination of subwavelength apertures in optically thick metal films eliminates this problem but does not ensure a unique propagation direction for the SPP. We propose a novel back-side slit-illumination method based on drilling a periodic array of indentations at one side of the slit. We demonstrate that the SPP running in the array direction can be suppressed, and the one propagating in the opposite direction enhanced, providing localized unidirectional SPP launching.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Successful new product development by optimizing development process effectiveness in highly regulated sectors: the case of the Spanish medical devices sector

Rapid development and commercialization of new products is of vital importance for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in regulated sectors. Due to strict regulations, competitive advantage can hardly be achieved through the effectiveness of product concepts only. If an SME in a highly regulated sector wants to excell in new product development (NPD) performance, the company should focus on the flexibility, speed, and productivity of its NPD function: i.e. the development process effectiveness. Our main research goals are first to explore if SMEs should focus on their their development process effectiveness rather than on their product concept effectiveness to achieve high NPD performance; and second, to explore whether a shared pattern in the organization of the NPD function can be recognized to affect NPD performance positively. The medical devices sector in Spain is used as an example of a\ud highly regulated sector. A structured survey among 11 SMEs, of which 2 were studied also as in in-depth case studies, led to the following results. First of all, indeed the companies in the dataset which focused on the effectiveness of their development process, stood out in NPD performance. Further, the higher performing companies did have a number of commonalities in the organisation of their NPD function: 1) The majority of the higher performing firms had an NPD strategy characterized by a predominantly incremental project portfolio.\ud 2) a) Successful firms with an incremental project portfolio combined this with a functional team structure b) Successful firms with a radical project portfolio combined this with a heavyweight or autonomous team structure.\ud 3) A negative reciprocal relationship exists between formalization of the NPD processes and the climate of the NPD function, in that a formalized NPD process and an innovative climate do not seem to reinforce each other. Innovative climate combined with an informal NPD process does however contribute positively to NPD performance. This effect was stronger in combination with a radical project portfolio. The highest NPD performance was measured for companies focusing mainly on incremental innovation. It is argued that in highly regulated sectors, companies with an incremental product portfolio would benefit from employing a functional structure. Those companies who choose for a more radical project portfolio in highly regulated sectors should be aware\ud that they are likely to excell only in the longer term by focusing on strategic flexibility. In their NPD organization, they might be well advised to combine informal innovation processes with an innovative climate

Institutional reform and FDI decision in transition economies: a qualitative study of Syria

The article considers the impact of institutional reform on the decision of foreign enterprises and foreign entrepreneurs to directly invest in the transition economy of Syria. It responds to the calls for more open research design that can go beyond the borders of the quantitative findings of previous econometric research by adopting a qualitative research strategy. The results reveal that institutional reforms enhanced Syria’s attractiveness to foreign direct investment. Institutional barriers proved to be less daunting to foreign investors whose backgrounds were culturally similar to that of Syria and/or already had experience in Syria or in a similar type of economy. The impact of background similarity and previous experience in similar contexts appeared to be less important when the foreign investor was a multinational enterprise than for individual entrepreneur. Moreover, these factors also appeared to be less important for large enterprises compared to small enterprises

Social Determinants of Community Health Services Utilization among the Users in China: A 4-Year Cross-Sectional Study

Background To identify social factors determining the frequency of community health service (CHS) utilization among CHS users in China. Methods Nationwide cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. A total of 86,116 CHS visitors selected from 35 cities were interviewed. Descriptive analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis were employed to analyze characteristics of CHS users, frequency of CHS utilization, and the socio-demographic and socio-economic factors influencing frequency of CHS utilization. Results Female and senior CHS clients were more likely to make 3–5 and ≥6 CHS visits (as opposed to 1–2 visits) than male and young clients, respectively. CHS clients with higher education were less frequent users than individuals with primary education or less in 2008 and 2009; in later surveys, CHS clients with higher education were the more frequent users. The association between frequent CHS visits and family income has changed significantly between 2008 and 2011. In 2011, income status did not have a discernible effect on the likelihood of making ≥6 CHS visits, and it only had a slight effect on making 3–5 CHS visits. Conclusion CHS may play an important role in providing primary health care to meet the demands of vulnerable populations in China. Over time, individuals with higher education are increasingly likely to make frequent CHS visits than individuals with primary school education or below. The gap in frequency of CHS utilization among different economic income groups decreased from 2008 to 2011