Outer/inner morphology: The dichotomy of Japanese renyoo verbs and nouns

This paper investigates the morpho-phonological differences between the nominal and verbal conjugational forms of renyoo (a preverbal form) in terms of (i) idiosyncrasy, (ii) productivity, and (iii) accent shift. All of these properties indicate that the two renyoo morphemes appear in different syntactic positions: with renyoo-verbs, the root first merges with the categorizer v and then with the REN(yoo) head, whereas with renyoo-nouns, the root directly merges with the categorizer n, which is phonologically realized as the renyoo morpheme. Our analysis consequently supports Marantz/s (2007) inner/outer morphology division within a word, and also provides implications for Chomsky's (2013) {H, H} Labeling Algorithm (Sugimura & Obata 2014)

Acid Dissociation Equilibrium and Singlet Molecular Oxygen Quantum Yield of Acetylated 6,8–Dithioguanosine in Aqueous Buffer Solution

2’,3’,5’–Tri–O–acetyl–6,8–dithioguanosine (taDTGuo) is a modified nucleoside of drug 6–thioguanine and further developed as a potential photochemotherapeutic agent due to its desirable properties of photosensitivity to UVA light and singlet molecular oxygen generation. The photochemical characteristics of taDTGuo under biological conditions (namely in aqueous solution) were intensively investigated by the steady–state absorption and emission, time–resolved near–infrared emission measurements, and quantum chemical calculations. taDTGuo was found to be held in sequential acid dissociation equilibria within pH 3.79–11.93. With the global fitting analysis of the absorption spectra at various pHs, two pKa values of the equilibria were determined to be 7.02 ± 0.01 and 9.79 ± 0.01. Quantum chemical calculations suggested that its mono– and di–anionic species in the ground state should be 1–imide anionic form (N1–taDTGuo–) and 1,7–di–imide anionic form (taDTGuo2–) respectively. taDTGuo generates singlet molecular oxygen effectively and has pH–dependent quantum yields. In conclusion, taDTGuo would be most useful as a potent agent for photochemotherapy under certain carcinomatous pH conditions

Domain extension: a study of restructuring predicates in Japanese and the role of head movement

This thesis offers an account of how an opaque domain becomes transparent by making use of head movement. The study covers three types of Japanese predicates that generally show clause-union effects called 'restructuring' where the apparent clause boundary disappears and more than one clause acts as a unit. I argue that whether restructuring is obtained or not depends on whether a verb head of the embedded clause moves to the matrix clause to extend the domain, building on Baker's (1988) and den Dikken's (2007) work.The three predicates examined are (i) the motion verbs ik 'go' and ku 'come' in V-ni-ik/ku 'go/come to do V' forms, (ii) the causative morpheme (s)ase, and (iii) the predicate mi 'try' in V-te-mi 'try Ving' forms. I first show that these predicates exhibit restructuring properties and behave similarly on the surface. I then show that the motion verbs behave differently depending on where they license the object. Focusing on long-distance nominative Case assignment of the object, a restructuring property, I propose that two structures are available for the nominative object under sase and mi, whereas only one structure is available for the object under the motion verbs. This structural difference is based on scope facts of the nominative object under each predicate. I argue that structural optionality arises when verbal head movement occurs, and that the intervening morpheme ni under the motion verbs blocks such head movement, whereas te under mi and the null morpheme under sase do not. I thus show head movement to be crucial in calculating the domain for Case assignment, and as such, to be crucial in determining the domain for scope of the nominative object; a correlation that has not been claimed in the literature. The thesis consequently supports the idea that head movement is a syntactic operation and not a PF operation by showing that head movement determines a domain that must be calculated for the purpose of syntactic relations. It also reveals whether Japanese employs head movement depends on a type of predicate, more specifically, a type of morpheme that the predicate requires. The study provides an insight into how morphology and syntax interact, and in turn how this affects domain transparency.Cette thèse propose d'expliquer comment un domaine opaque devient transparent par le biais du mouvement de tête. L'étude couvre trois types de prédicats en japonais qui démontrent des effets de fusion propositionnelle qu'on appelle 'restructuration', un phénomène où la frontière entre deux propositions disparaît, et plusieurs propositions se comportent alors comme une seule entité. Je fais valoir que l'occurrence de la restructuration dépend de si oui ou non une tête verbale de la proposition enchâssée se déplace vers la proposition supérieure pour élargir le domaine, développant ainsi les travaux de Baker (1988) et de den Dikken (2007). Les prédicats examinés sont (i) les verbes de mouvement ik 'aller' et ku 'venir' dans les formes V-ni-ik/ku 'aller/venir pour V', (ii) le morphème causatif (s)ase, et (iii) le prédicat mi 'essayer' dans les formes V-te-mi 'essayer de V'. Je démontre s'abord que ces prédicats ont des propriétés de restructuration et se ressemblent à la surface. Je démontre ensuite que les verbes de mouvement se comportent différemment selon l'endroit où ils autorisent l'objet. Examinant l'attribution à longue distance du cas nominatif à l'objet, une des propriétés de la restructuration, je propose que deux structures sont disponibles avec sase et mi, alors qu'une seule structure l'est avec les verbes de mouvement. Cette différence structurelle découle de la portée de l'objet nominatif sous chaque prédicat. Je fais valoir que l'optionalité se manifeste quand il y a un mouvement de tête, et que le morphème interposé ni, sous le verbe de mouvement, bloque ce mouvement de tête, tandis que te et le morphème nul sous sase ne le font pas. Je démontre ainsi que le mouvement de tête est crucial dans le calcul du domaine de l'attribution du cas, et de ce fait, crucial dans la détermination du domaine de la portée de l'objet nominatif; une corrélation qui n'a pas jamais été affirmée à ce jour. Cette thèse appuie donc l'idée que le mouvement de tête est une opération syntaxique et pas de la FP, en montrant que le mouvement de tête détermine un domaine calculé pour les relations syntaxiques. Elle révèle aussi que l'emploi du mouvement de tête en japonais dépend d'un type de morphème requis par le prédicat. Cette étude permet de mieux comprendre comment interagissent la morphologie et la syntaxe, et quel effet cela a sur la transparence des domaines

Artificial Association of Pre-stored Information to Generate a Qualitatively New Memory

Memory is thought to be stored in the brain as an ensemble of cells activated during learning. Although optical stimulation of a cell ensemble triggers the retrieval of the corresponding memory, it is unclear how the association of information occurs at the cell ensemble level. Using optogenetic stimulation without any sensory input in mice, we found that an artificial association between stored, non-related contextual, and fear information was generated through the synchronous activation of distinct cell ensembles corresponding to the stored information. This artificial association shared characteristics with physiologically associated memories, such as N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activity and protein synthesis dependence. These findings suggest that the association of information is achieved through the synchronous activity of distinct cell ensembles. This mechanism may underlie memory updating by incorporating novel information into pre-existing networks to form qualitatively new memories