A note on Mandarin Chinese wordhood

This study investigates the structural differences between the so-called de -modification, [Adj de N], and the so-called de -less modification, [Adj N], in Mandarin Chinese. I argue that the Adj’s followed by de are phrasal and have freer syntactic distribution. I further argue that the de -less modification should be analyzed as a morphosyntactic word (MWd) under the N head in the sense of Embick — Noyer (2001). This proposal accounts for the ordering fact that Adj’s with de cannot intervene between a de -less Adj and N or between two de -less Adj’s

Directed evolution of multiple genomic loci allows the prediction of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic development is frequently plagued by the rapid emergence of drug resistance. However, assessing the risk of resistance development in the preclinical stage is difficult. Standard laboratory evolution approaches explore only a small fraction of the sequence space and fail to identify exceedingly rare resistance mutations and combinations thereof. Therefore, new rapid and exhaustive methods are needed to accurately assess the potential of resistance evolution and uncover the underlying mutational mechanisms. Here, we introduce directed evolution with random genomic mutations (DIvERGE), a method that allows an up to million-fold increase in mutation rate along the full lengths of multiple predefined loci in a range of bacterial species. In a single day, DIvERGE generated specific mutation combinations, yielding clinically significant resistance against trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin. Many of these mutations have remained previously undetected or provide resistance in a species-specific manner. These results indicate pathogen-specific resistance mechanisms and the necessity of future narrow-spectrum antibacterial treatments. In contrast to prior claims, we detected the rapid emergence of resistance against gepotidacin, a novel antibiotic currently in clinical trials. Based on these properties, DIvERGE could be applicable to identify less resistance-prone antibiotics at an early stage of drug development. Finally, we discuss potential future applications of DIvERGE in synthetic and evolutionary biology

Abundance and morphometry changes across the high-mountain lake-size gradient in the tropical Andes of Southern Ecuador

The number, size, and shape of lakes are key determinants of the ecological functionality of a lake district. The lake area scaling relationships with lake number and volume enable upscaling biogeochemical processes and spatially considering organisms' metapopulation dynamics. These relationships vary regionally depending on the geomorphological context, particularly in the range of lake area 104 m2 and 50% of the water resources are held in a few ones (∼10) deeper than 18 m. Therefore, midlakes and large lakes are by far more biogeochemically relevant than ponds and shallow lakes in this tropical mountain lake district

The Use of English in the Chinese Language Classroom: Perspectives from American College Students

For a long time, whether learners' first language (L1) should be used in the foreign language classroom has been a controversial issue in the foreign language education field. The focus has been mostly on the use of L1 in the English language classroom (e.g.,Atkinson, 1987; Brooks-Lewis, 2009; Kieu, 2010; Krashen, 1981; Miles, 2004; Nazary, 2008; Prodromou, 2002; Schweers, 1999; Tang,2002). The debate centers on two diverse pedagogical approaches: the monolingual approach and the bilingual approach. The supporters of the monolingual approach contend that only the target language that learners are acquiring (i.e. English in most of the study) should be allowed in the classroom, and Krashen (1981, 1985) was a pivotal supporter of this approach. However, other researchers and language teachers argue that the monolingual approach is not practical, particularly in lower-level classes (e.g., Atkinson, 1987; BrooksLewis, 2009; Schweers, 1999; Tang, 2002). They believe that using L1 in the classroom can be very effective when explaining difficult grammar points and linguistic elements that are language specific. The supporters of the bilingual approach do not deny the advantages of maximizing target language exposure and practice. However, they suggest that when learners' L1 is applied strategically, it can actually be a very important learning tool (e.g., Atkinson, 1987; Brooks-Lewis,2009; Schweers, 1999). Furthermore, both Schweers (1999) and Miles (2004) point out that the use of L1 provides students a more relaxed atmosphere and makes them less anxious and more confident in the classroom

Plurality and modification in Mandarin nominal phrases

textThis dissertation investigates the internal constructions of Mandarin nominal phrases with a special attention on bare nouns and nominal phrases involving numerals and classifiers (full-fledged DP’s). I argue that three distinct syntactic structures are needed in order to accommodate three different kinds of nominal interpretations in Mandarin, namely concept-denoting, object-denoting that can be singular or plural, and object-denoting that must be singular or plural. Two aspects of the nominal domain are highlighted in this study: plurality and modification. In exploring plurality, I examine the following questions: (1) Why are objectdenoting bare nouns ambiguous in terms of the number information; (2) How is number information expressed linguistically in full-fledged DP’s; and (3) How do the abstract number features under the Number functional projection interact with other projections within the nominal domain? In addition to the plurality system in common nouns, this study also investigates the relationship between the syntactic construction and the semantic interpretations of plural pronouns. I argue that plural pronouns in Mandarin are syntactically complex and semantically compositional. Within the modification system, I examine the possessive constructions and pre-nominal adjectival modifiers. I argue that possessive phrases in Mandarin are of semantic type . Moreover, I demonstrate that both possessor phrases and adjectival phrases can appear in the pre-N and pre-D positions and provide discussion as to how they interact with other functional projections within the nominal domain. In this study, the relationship between syntactic positions of possessor phrases and adjective phrases and their corresponding semantic interpretations is also examined. Furthermore, I investigate two seemingly related adjectival constructions, the so-called de-modification and de-less modification. I argue that de-less modifiers are not phrasal. They are subwords in the sense of Embick and Noyer (2001). I suggest that de-less elements and nouns form morphosyntactic words, which function as subconcept terms. Hence, they are not allowed to move out of the N head and appear in the pre-D position. In contrast, de-modifiers are phrasal and are allowed to appear in the pre-N or pre-D position.Linguistic

Allele-Specific Holliday Junction Formation: A New Mechanism of Allelic Discrimination for SNP Scoring

We report here a new mechanism for allelic discrimination—allele-specific Holliday Junction formation. The Holliday Junction (HJ) is a unique DNA structure that can be formed in a sequence-nonspecific manner by routine PCR. To cause the PCR-based HJ formation to occur in an allele-specific manner, the PCR primers are manipulated such that an extra mismatch next to a SNP of interest is introduced between a target and a reference amplicon and a GC-clamp is added. Based on this new mechanism, novel SNP genotyping methods were developed, including a homogeneous fluorescence polarization (FP) competition assay that requires neither labeled primers/probes nor expensive enzymes/substrates. Using this novel genotyping technology, we were able to convert >95% of SNP sequences into genotyping assays that work well under a universal set of assay conditions and achieved 100% accuracy in clinical samples