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The development of [patient-subj V-qilai AP] as a middle construction in Chinese
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10060131The middle construction (MC) is a term originally used to account for derived intransitives in the generative tradition and is well-documented in many Indo-European languages. While diverse views exist on the Chinese MC, some scholars have argued that Chinese [patient-subj V-qilai AP] sentences share traits with the English MC. Although diachronic literature on the development of the Chinese MC is limited, examining the grammaticalization of directional verb phrases like V-qilai provides valuable insights into its evolution. Building on previous analyses, I identify [patient-subj V-qilai AP] as the Chinese MC with V-qilai as its marker. Through an analysis of Classical Chinese data and the approach of constructional assemblies, I propose that the Chinese MC originated from assembled constructions comprising a subject, a directional verb phrase, and a descriptive construction. Over time, these assemblies evolved, with shifts in subject roles, motion interpretation, and descriptive functions, resulting in the emergence of the MC. Quantitative analysis of Classical data indicates the absence of the MC before 1900, suggesting its development through a gradual increase in the frequency of interconnected assemblies. By tracing the development of the Chinese MC, this research enhances our understanding of how middle voice mechanisms emerge across languages.NIE-SUG 2-23 ZFQRI 8/24 F
An isotonic beetroot drink improves muscle oxygenation and cycling time-trial performance in physically active individuals: A randomised crossover trial
No full textDietary nitrate supplementation can improve exercise performance. This study investigated whether nitrate (beetroot) added to an isotonic drink could improve high-intensity cycling time-trial performance and muscle oxygenation in active individuals. Twenty-four (17 male) physically active participants (mean ± SD; age: 28 ± 5 years; body mass index: 22.6 ± 1.9 kg/m2) completed a double-blind, randomised, crossover study where they consumed 570mL of either isotonic sports drink (ISO-C) or isotonic beetroot drink (ISO-BR) 1 hour before performing preloaded exercise, followed by a 10-km cycling time-trial on a cycle ergometer. Both drinks had equal osmolality (290 mOsm/kg) but differed in nutrients from beetroot extract, particularly nitrate content (ISO-C: 0 mmol, ISO-BR: 12.9 mmol). Salivary total nitrate and nitrite (NOx) 1-hour post-ingestion were significantly higher after consuming ISO-BR than ISO-C (p <.001). ISO-BR significantly improved time-trial performance compared to ISO-C by 6.4% (ISO-BR: 1068.4 ± 333.3 s vs. ISO-C: 1141.0 ± 381.8 s, p <.001), cadence by 3.8% (ISO-BR: 83 ± 6 rpm vs. ISO-C: 80 ± 7 rpm, p <.001) and average load during the time trial by 5.3% (ISO-BR: 153.9 ± 47.7 W vs. ISO-C: 146.2 ± 48.4 W, p <.001). Oxygenated blood (∆O2Hb) was significantly higher (p = .03, partial η2 = .015), and deoxygenated blood (∆HHb) was substantially lower (p = .01, partial η2 = .021) over the trials after ISO-BR supplementation than ISO-C. An ISO-BR drink provided pre-exercise can improve cycling time-trial performance over an ISO-C drink, potentially via increases in NOx.Published versio
Bidirectional relationships between adolescent aggression and mental health conditions: Longitudinal evidence from secondary school students in China
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02167-yA rising global concern, adolescent aggression has been linked to adolescents’ mental health conditions, and vice versa. Although longitudinal relationships between the two have been studied, within-person associations between these variables, which are important for informing interventions, have not been adequately examined. To bridge that research gap, this study examined the within-person associations between aggression (i.e., reactive, proactive, and cyber aggression) and mental health problems (i.e., depressive and anxious symptoms), as informed by the frustration-aggression theory and the failure model. Three-wave longitudinal data were collected from a sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 1422; 50.9% girls; mean age = 13.56 years) at three time points, each separated by one-year intervals. The data were analyzed using a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM), revealing several within-person relationships. The presence of symptoms of depression and anxiety at T2 predicted increased cyber aggression at T3, and depressive symptoms at T2 also predicted an increase in reactive aggression at T3 (p < 0.1). In addition, proactive aggression at T2 predicted an increase in depressive symptoms at T3 (p < 0.1), and reactive aggression at T1 predicted a reduction in symptoms of anxiety at T2. All aggression- and mental health-related variables were significantly correlated at the between-person level. Moreover, the results of the multiple-group RI-CLPMs showed that gender influenced the relationships between proactive aggression and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The study’s results lend partial support to the notion of bidirectional relationships between adolescent aggressive behaviors and mental health conditions, as well as to the frustration-aggression theory and the failure model. Insights into the interactions between adolescents’ mental health problems and aggression can inform prevention and intervention strategies
Thirty years of the Give-N task: A systematic review, reflections, and recommendations
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.5964/jnc.10577The Give-N (give-a-number) task has become a popular assessment of children’s number words and counting knowledge since Wynn’s (1990, 1992) seminal work over 30 years ago. Using the Give-N task, numerous studies have shown that children learn the first few number words slowly, before they understand how counting represents number. This learning trajectory and children's associated behaviors on the Give-N task are represented by “knower-levels” and form the basis for a large body of research assessing children’s number learning. Recent research has started to critically analyze the theoretical conceptualisation and reliability of knower-levels. We added to this work by conducting a systematic review of studies using the Give-N task. This review provides an overview of methodological practices and variations in the task’s administration and scoring of knower-levels which have theoretical and methodological implications. We argue that advancing methodology and theory for research in children’s number learning requires (1) consideration of Give-N task administration and scoring in study design and reporting and (2) reflection on the assumptions and limitations of classifying children’s performance on the Give-N task in the knower-level framework
Meta–analyzing the impacts of social robots for children’s language development: Insights from two decades of research from 2003 to 2023
No full textRobotics technologies powered by artificial intelligence are revolutionizing language learning, particularly for children who are at critical stages of language development. With the increasingly prevalent use of social robots in children's language acquisition, however, a comprehensive understanding of their effectiveness in this regard remains lacking. To address this gap, this study conducted a meta-analysis of 27 empirical publications spanning two decades from 2003 to 2023, involving 70 effect sizes and 1544 participants. The results revealed a moderate to large positive effect of social robots on children's language learning, especially for the affective dimension in social robot-assisted language learning (SRALL). The influence of social robots on language learning was moderated by the demographical factor (school levels), research designs (social robots' roles, language skills, intervention duration, language types, and control conditions), and social robot characteristics. For instance, older learners achieved higher cognitive outcomes, while younger learners showed greater affective gains. Moderately extended exposure to social robots could lead to increased effectiveness, although the impact varied depending on robot roles and the language skills targeted. Social robots were particularly useful for the improvement of speaking and mixed skill sets. While SRALL did not significantly outperform the control conditions in the cognitive dimension, it demonstrated significant advantages in the affective dimension. Additionally, anthropomorphic robots showed a higher effect size than cartoon-like robots. These findings contribute to child-robot interaction research and practice by informing the design of social robots and the development of pedagogy in supporting children's language learning
GLHT for high-dimensional covariance matrices: A normal-reference approach
No full textStatistical inference for high-dimensional data is increasingly essential due to the prevalence of big data. While recent advancements have improved testing linear hypotheses for high-dimensional mean vectors, exploration of testing linear hypotheses for high-dimensional covariance matrices remains limited. This paper focuses on a general linear hypothesis testing (GLHT) problem for high-dimensional covariance matrices, encompassing various specific cases such as testing the equality of variances, testing for a given covariance matrix, assessing the homogeneity of covariance matrices, and examining linear combinations of covariance matrices. We propose and study a new test statistic for the GLHT problem on high-dimensional covariance matrices. Under certain regularity conditions and the null hypothesis, we demonstrate that the test statistic shares the same limiting distribution as a chi-squared-type mixture. This mixture’s distribution can be accurately approximated using a three-cumulant matched chi-squared-approximation approach. Additionally, we establish the asymptotic power of the proposed test against some local alternatives. Simulation studies and a real-world financial data analysis demonstrate that the proposed test outperforms several competitors in terms of size control.</p
Observation of out-of-plane antidamping torque at the platinum/permalloy interface
No full textThe open access publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c18895Achieving electrical control of ferromagnets without magnetic fields is crucial for the dense integration of nanodevices in modern memory and computing technologies. Current methods using spin orbit torques from the spin Hall effect and interfacial Rashba effect are limited to in-plane magnetized ferromagnets. Out-of-plane antidamping torque is essential for the electrical only control of ferromagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. In this work, we report the observation of out-of-plane polarized spin currents in platinum/permalloy bilayers, linked to interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy at the interface between two metallic layers, as revealed by polarized neutron reflectometry. In-plane angle-resolved spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements characterized the out-of-plane damping-like torque, constituting about 12% of the total torque in ultrathin Pt films, which vanishes when platinum thickness exceeds 4 nm, confirming its interfacial origin. This interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy-induced torque is significant compared to the bulk spin Hall effect, which can be obtained in a typical heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayer. This advancement holds promise for enhancing the efficiency and reliability of spin orbit torque magnetic random-access memory (SOT-MRAM), spin Hall oscillators, and other spintronic devices