The L3 acquisition of English tense-aspect system by Uygur speakers with L2 Mandarin Chinese

This paper examines the role of Lexical Aspect Hypothesis (LAH) and linguistic typological similarity in the L3 acquisition of English tense and aspect among Uygur speakers with L2 Mandarin Chinese (Chinese hereafter). LAH asserts that the emerging verbal inflections at the early stage of language acquisition primarily function as markers of the lexical aspect and thus predicts universality for acquisition of tense and aspect. However, with an assumption of language transfer, the typological closer relationship of Uygur with English in terms of the tense and aspect system was expected to trigger L1 transfer in L3 acquisition. The study analyzed the English tense and aspect forms used by the participants (N = 25) for verbs of four distinct lexical aspects (50 target items) in contexts of past. The result shows that the lexical aspect influences the appropriate use of past tense—past tense marker aligned with telic predicates (achievements and accomplishments), -ing with activities (for inappropriate uses), and nonpast with states (for inappropriate uses), and the influence is observed at each proficiency level. The results show little evidence for language transfer in the acquisition of the English past tense, either from L1 Uygur or L2 Chinese; instead, the data suggest that L3 acquisition of tense and aspect is more subject to acquisitional universality (LAH)

Narrowing the Complexity Gap for Colouring (C_s,P_t)-Free Graphs

Let k be a positive integer. The k-Colouring problem is to decide whether a graph has a k-colouring. The k-Precolouring Extension problem is to decide whether a colouring of a subset of a graph’s vertex set can be extended to a k-colouring of the whole graph. A k-list assignment of a graph is an allocation of a list — a subset of {1,…,k} — to each vertex, and the List k -Colouring problem asks whether the graph has a k-colouring in which each vertex is coloured with a colour from its list. We prove a number of new complexity results for these three decision problems when restricted to graphs that do not contain a cycle on s vertices or a path on t vertices as induced subgraphs (for fixed positive integers s and t)

Modifying Cement Hydration with NS@PCE Core-Shell Nanoparticles

It is generally accepted that fine particles could accelerate cement hydration process, or, more specifically, this accelerating effect can be attributed to additional surface area introduced by fine particles. In addition to this view, the surface state of fine particles is also an important factor, especially for nanoparticles. In the previous study, a series of nano-SiO2-polycarboxylate superplasticizer core-shell nanoparticles (NS@PCE) were synthesized, which have a similar particle size distribution but different surface properties. In this study, the impact of NS@PCE on cement hydration was investigated by heat flow calorimetry, mechanical property measurement, XRD, and SEM. Results show that, among a series of NS@PCE, NS@PCE-2 with a moderate shell-core ratio appeared to be more effective in accelerating cement hydration. As dosage increases, the efficiency of NS@PCE-2 would reach a plateau which is quantified by various characteristic values. Compressive strength results indicate that strength has a linear correlation with cumulative heat release. A hypothesis was proposed to explain the modification effect of NS@PCE, which highlights a balance between initial dispersion and pozzolanic reactivity. This paper provides a new understanding for the surface modification of supplementary cementitious materials and their application and also sheds a new light on nano-SiO2 for optimizing cement-based materials

Noun incorporation and resultative verb compounding in Mandarin Chinese

This dissertation investigates two types of compounding (in a broad sense) in Mandarin Chinese, namely, noun incorporation and resultative verb compounding. I argue that the object of the so-called S-le sentence structure is a case of noun incorporation. Syntactically, the object is constrained as it prefers a bare noun or a small noun phrase but rejects (indefinite) articles and quantifiers entirely. Semantically, the object has those properties that an incorporated noun typically has. It has narrow scope with respect to modality and quantifiers, a number neutral reading if it is a bare noun, and is discourse-opaque as it cannot serve as the antecedent of an anaphoric pronoun. The S-le sentence is also argued to be neutral regarding grammatical aspect as it allows a range of aspectual interpretations, depending on the context. The proposed semantic analysis for the S-le sentence is that it expresses informativeness, which is construed as a presupposition that the proposition is new to the hearer. The evidence for this analysis has three sources. One is the distribution that it is naturally used in a context where the proposition is new to the hearer, building on Liu (2002). The second piece of evidence is a Gricean effect when it is used in a context in which the proposition is not new to the hearer, generating an additional non-compositional evaluative meaning that resembles an implicature. The third piece of evidence is the significantly increased acceptability of S-le sentences with heavy NP-internal modifiers, which are usually syntactically dispreferred in S-le sentences, in an informative context when the speaker intends to provide new information. For resultative verb compounding, I investigate what semantics the two resultative morphemes, -wán and -diào, contribute to the aspectual meaning of the entire compound. I propose that -wán expresses termination and -diào culmination (or completion). Both yield telicity but through different avenues. Termination yields telicity by constraining the run time of event while culmination (or completion) sets the constraint on the patient.Linguistic

Rapid Evaluation of Chemical Consistency of Artificially Induced and Natural Resina Draconis Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry-Based Chemical Profiling

Resina Draconis is a highly valued traditional medicine widely used in Arabia since ancient times, and it has been commonly used as an antidiarrheic, antimicrobial, antiulcer, blood circulation promoter as well as an anti-inflammatory agent. The tree source from which this medicine orignates grows extremely slowly, producing a very low yield of Resina Draconis. To meet the increasing market demand, artificial methods for stimulating Resina Draconis formation have been developed and applied. However, the chemical differences between artificially induced Resina Draconis (AIRD) and natural Resina Draconis (NRD) have been rarely studied. The aim of this research was to explore and identify the chemical constituents of AIRD and NRD using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) based chemical profiling. A total of 56 chromatographic peaks were detected in AIRD, of these, 44 peaks have had their structures tentatively characterized based on high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) data, fragmentation ions information, reference standards data and literature review. In total, 40 peaks were found both in AIRD and NRD. The potential chemical transformation mechanisms active in Resina Draconis during formation were explored. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the chemical profiles of both AIRD and NRD. Furthermore, these findings are expected to provide a rational basis for the quality assessment of AIRD and the use of AIRD as a substitute for NRD

Plasma PCA score plot (A), S-plot of OPLS-DA data (B), hippocampal tissue PCA score plot (C), and S-plot of OPLS-DA data between the sham-operated and model groups in negative mode (D).

<p>C, sham-operated group, M, model group.</p

PLS-DA analytical results from urine samples of BCCAO rats treated with Scu (A) or Scue (B) at six therapeutic cycles in positive mode.

<p>C, sham-operated group (0–12 h); M, model group (0–12 h); Scu 1–6, after administration of Scu for 0–12 h (Scu1), 12–24 h (Scu2), 24–36 h (Scu3), 36–48 h (Scu4), 48h-60 h (Scu5) and 60–72 h (Scu6); Scue 1–6, after administration of Scue for 0–12 h (Scue1), 12–24 h (Scue2), 24–36 h (Scue3), 36–48 h (Scue4), 48h-60 h (Scue5) and 60–72 h (Scue6). <b>PLS-DA analytical results from BCCAO rat urine samples treated with Scu, Scue, and nimodipine at 12–24 h in positive (C) and negative modes (D).</b> C, sham-operated group; M, model group; Scu, after administration of Scu; Scue, after administration of Scue; N, after administration of nimodipine.</p

UPLC-MS identification of potential biomarkers.

<p>^a urine metabolite</p><p>^b brain metabolite</p><p>^c plasma metabolite.</p><p>UPLC-MS identification of potential biomarkers.</p