Lexical and syntactic representations in closely related languages: Evidence from Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals

Bilinguals appear to have shared syntactic representations for similar constructions between languages but retain distinct representations for noncognate translation-equivalents (Schoonbaert, Hartsuiker, & Pickering, 2007). We inquire whether bilinguals have more integrated representations of cognate translation-equivalents. To investigate this, we report two structural priming experiments in which participants heard dative sentences in Mandarin or Cantonese and described pictures using Mandarin (Experiment 1) or Cantonese (Experiment 2). We found that cognate verbs between the prime and the target led to a smaller boost than same verbs. This difference in priming could not be attributed to more phonological overlap between same verbs (i.e., identical) than between cognate verbs (i.e., similar but not identical). These results suggest that cognate verbs have separate rather than shared lemma representations across languages, even though their associated syntactic information appears to be collectively represented. Furthermore, we found an advantage for within-language priming over between-language priming. We interpreted this advantage as the result of a language node passing activation to all the lemmas linked to it. Implications for bilingual lexical and syntactic representation and processing are discussed

Effects of Micropore Group Spacing and Irrigation Amount on Soil Respiration and Yield of Tomato with Microsprinkler Irrigation under Plastic Film in Greenhouse

Microsprinkler irrigation under a plastic film in the greenhouse (MSPF) is a water-saving way which adopts the porous discharge form of a pipe under the plastic film. The effects of different micropore group spacings (L1:30 cm, L2: 50 cm) and irrigation amounts [I1: 0.7 Epan; I2: 1.0 Epan; and I3: 1.2 Epan (Epan is the diameter of 20 cm standard pan evaporation, mm)] of the MSPF on the soil respiration and yield of tomato were studied. A completely randomized trial design was used, and drip irrigation under plastic film (CK1) and microsprinkler irrigation (CK2) were also used as controls. The results showed that under the same irrigation amount, the soil respiration rate, tomato yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) of MSPF in spring and autumn are 8.09% and 6.74%, 19.39% and 4.54%, and 10.03% and 2.32% higher than those of CK1, respectively; they are significantly increased by 31.02% and 20.46%, 49.22% and 38.38%, and 58.05% and 34.66% compared with those of CK2, respectively, indicating that MSPF increased the amount of CO2 emission, but tomato yield and WUE were effectively improved, and a dynamic balance was reached among them. Compared with the 50 cm micropore group spacing, the spring and autumn tomato yields and WUE under the 30 cm micropore group spacing were significantly increased by 16.00% and 13.01% and 20.85% and 14.25%, respectively, and the micropore group spacing had no significant effect on the soil respiration rate in both root and nonroot zones. When the I increased from 0.7 Epan to 1.2 Epan, the soil respiration rate and yield in the root and nonroot zones of the spring and autumn tomatoes increased at first and then decreased, and the WUE showed a decreasing trend. The relationship of soil respiration rate between the nonroot and root zones obeys a logarithmic function, and the soil respiration rate in the nonroot zone has a quadratic curve relationship with the yield of tomato. This study can provide data support for the development of water-saving irrigation and yield increase of facility agricultural tomato and the analysis of the soil carbon cycling mechanism

Priorization of River Restoration by Coupling Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) Models in the Taizi River Basin, Northern China

Identifying priority zones for river restoration is important for biodiversity conservation and catchment management. However, limited data due to the difficulty of field collection has led to research to better understand the ecological status within a catchment and develop a targeted planning strategy for river restoration. To address this need, coupling hydrological and machine learning models were constructed to identify priority zones for river restoration based on a dataset of aquatic organisms (i.e., algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish) and physicochemical indicators that were collected from 130 sites in September 2014 in the Taizi River, northern China. A process-based model soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) was developed to model the temporal-spatial variations in environmental indicators. A support vector machine (SVM) model was applied to explore the relationships between aquatic organisms and environmental indicators. Biological indices among different hydrological periods were simulated by coupling SWAT and SVM models. Results indicated that aquatic biological indices and physicochemical indicators exhibited apparent temporal and spatial patterns, and those patterns were more evident in the upper reaches compared to the lower reaches. The ecological status of the Taizi River was better in the flood season than that in the dry season. Priority zones were identified for different hydrological seasons by setting the target values for ecological restoration based on biota organisms, and the results suggest that hydrological conditions significantly influenced restoration prioritization over other environmental parameters. Our approach could be applied in other seasonal river ecosystems to provide important preferences for river restoration

New insights into the mechanism of ammonia toxicity: Focus on Cactus

The NF-κB signaling pathway is the most critical pathway in innate immunity. IκB (Cactus) is the primary cytoplasmic inhibitor of NF-κB (Dorsal). In this study, we found that ammonia exposure could significantly induce the expression of Cactus, in a dose-dependent manner in different tissues, with the highest expression in the gill of Corbicula fluminea. The expression pattern-related elements (Tube and Dorsal) in the NF-κB signaling pathway were also analyzed, showing significant up-regulation in 48 h. There was an inhibitory effect between up-regulated Cactus and Dorsal in 72 h, which may regulate Dorsal as a negative feedback pathway function to control the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α). Besides, through molecular docking simulation, we found that the Cactus could be directly activated by NH3, complementing the regulatory mechanism of the Cactus. To further test our hypothesis, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines decreased after adding PDTC (the antioxidant of Cactus/IκB), suggesting that PDTC can prevent the degradation of Cactus, inhibit Dorsal translocating into the nucleus, and activate the pro-inflammatory cytokines. This revealed the inhibitory effect of Cactus on activating Dorsal/NF-κB factors in the NF-κB signaling pathway. Thus, we suggested that the Cactus is an essential regulator of ammonia-activated inflammation in C. fluminea, which was reported to be activated only by bacteria and immune stimulators. Our study provides a new perspective on the mechanism of ammonia toxicity in invertebrates

Clinical outcome and predictive factors of postoperative myasthenic crisis in 173 thymomatous myasthenia gravis patients

<p><b>Purpose:</b> Thymectomy is the first-line therapy for thymomatous myasthenia gravis patients. The aim of this study is to explore the clinical outcome and predictors of postoperative myasthenic crisis (POMC) in these patients.</p> <p><b>Method:</b> Clinical data of 173 thymomatous myasthenia gravis patients undergoing thymectomy from January 2000 to March 2013 were, retrospectively reviewed. Variables potentially affecting the occurrence of POMC were evaluated using binary logistic regression analysis. The difference in survival was determined by the log-rank test.</p> <p><b>Result:</b> Fifty-one patients experienced POMC. Univariate analysis revealed that events significantly associated with increased risk of POMC include symptom duration before operation >2.75months, preoperative bulbar symptoms, incomplete resection, operation time ≥122.5 min and advanced stages (stage III or IV). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative bulbar symptoms (OR = 3.207 [1.413–7.278]; <i>P</i> = 0.005) and incomplete resection (OR = 4.182 [1.332–13.135]; <i>P</i> = 0.014) were independent risk factors for POMC. Twenty-eight patients (16.9%) died during the follow-up. The log-rank test revealed survival for patients with POMC was significantly worse than that for patients without POMC (<i>P</i> = 0.042).</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> The important risk factors for developing POMC in thymomatous myasthenia gravis patients include the preoperative bulbar symptoms and incomplete resection of thymoma. Moreover, the patients with POMC had a worse prognosis compared with patients without POMC. Our study highlights the need of appropriate preoperative management of thymomatous myasthenia gravis patients to prevent the occurrence of POMC.</p

Water Quality Criteria for Copper Based on the BLM Approach in the Freshwater in China

<div><p>The bioavailability and toxicity of metals to aquatic organisms are highly dependent on water quality parameters in freshwaters. The biotic ligand model (BLM) for copper is an approach to generate the water quality criteria (WQC) with water chemistry in the ambient environment. However, few studies were carried out on the WQCs for copper based on the BLM approach in China. In the present study, the toxicity for copper to native Chinese aquatic organisms was conducted and the published toxicity data with water quality parameters to Chinese aquatic species were collected to derive the WQCs for copper by the BLM approach. The BLM-based WQCs (the criterion maximum criteria (CMC) and the criterion continuous concentration (CCC)) for copper in the freshwater for the nation and in the Taihu Lake were obtained. The CMC and CCC values for copper in China were derived to be 1.391 μg/L and 0.495 μg/L, respectively, and the CMC and CCC in the Taihu Lake were 32.194 μg/L and 9.697 μg/L. The high concentration of dissolved organic carbon might be a main reason which resulted in the higher WQC values in the Taihu Lake. The WQC of copper in the freshwater would provide a scientific foundation for water quality standards and the environment risk assessment in China.</p></div