324139 research outputs found
Sort by
Layer‐Specific Astrocyte Morphological Responses in the CA3 Hippocampus Region During Piry Virus‐Induced Encephalitis
Get PDFAstrocytes from distinct hippocampal layers exhibit region‐specific morphological traits, which may be influenced by their local microenvironment. During viral encephalitis, these cells undergo dynamic changes that can reflect layer‐specific vulnerability. In this study, we characterized whether astrocytes from different CA3 hippocampal layers display distinct morphological responses to Piry virus‐induced encephalitis. Adult female Swiss mice were intranasally inoculated with the Piry virus and sacrificed at 20‐ or 40‐days post‐infection (dpi). GFAP+ astrocytes from the Stratum lacunosum‐moleculare (SLM) and Stratum oriens (SO) were three‐dimensionally reconstructed. Morphometric data were evaluated using hierarchical clustering, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and generalized linear models. Immunohistochemistry confirmed widespread viral neuroinvasion across olfactory and limbic regions. Hierarchical clustering identified 3–4 morphotypes per layer and time point with robust internal consistency, and LDA validated cluster assignments with high accuracy (> 91%). At 20 dpi, SLM astrocytes displayed significantly greater morphological complexity than SO astrocytes, whereas at 40 dpi responses were more heterogeneous, indicating temporal diversification of astrocytic reactivity. These findings provide an observational description of layer‐ and time‐dependent astrocyte morphological plasticity during viral encephalitis. They underscore the value of morphometric and multivariate analyses for dissecting glial heterogeneity, while highlighting the need for future studies to determine the functional significance of these morphotypes
China in eighteenth-century English literature: an ornament to the enlightenment
No full textThis thesis explores the engagement of eighteenth-century English writers with China and Chinese-related motifs in literary texts. The authors who wrote these works drew their references from the more ‘rational’ accounts such as those bearing the title of ‘histories,’ ‘letters,’ and ‘descriptions,’ which disseminated newly-acquired knowledge about the Orient – specifically about China – at that time. In particular, I chart a trajectory beginning with Jean-Baptiste Du Halde’s Description de la Chine (1735) and its English translations, through Eliza Haywood’s The Adventures of Eovaai (1736), Thomas Percy’s Hau Kiou Choaan (1761), Oliver Goldsmith’s The Citizen of the World (1762), and culminating in D’Alenzon’s The Bonze (1769), William Chambers’s A Dissertation on Oriental Gardening (1772), and Horace Walpole’s ‘Mi Li’ in Hieroglyphic Tales (1785). Incorporating information gained from Du Halde’s Description, Haywood and Percy examine the discourse of verisimilitude and the framing of factuality and reality in their works, while Goldsmith mediates moral knowledge concerning English society through a Chinese vehicle. A Dissertation on Oriental Gardening, The Bonze, and ‘Mi Li,’ on the other hand, illustrate a broader Enlightenment tendency toward the fusion of knowledge domains through their relation to and reliance on the Anglo-Chinese gardening aesthetic. As such, translations, treatises, as well as oriental and pseudo-oriental tales and fictions concerning China are shown to be integral not only to conveying knowledge but also to providing discursive spaces for debating questions of knowledge-making in literature, even when they assume forms characterised with a lesser degree of ‘realism’ and a greater emphasis on what is ‘fabulous’ and ‘exotic.’ By focusing on English engagement with and knowledge about China instead of on how the English experienced China in material terms, or on the English ‘imagination’ of China, I attempt to establish a more substantive account of Chinese presence in eighteenth-century English literature. China or Chineseness is not a mere construction by or thinking tool of the English, but is shown to be an actual cultural entity that could be and is ‘known,’ a body of knowledge that is enlightened and enlightens. Overall, literary texts about China and with Chinese references in this thesis are clear illustrations of how knowledge and discussions of knowledge-making are enacted and ornamentalised in the form of literature in an integrated Enlightenment enterprise
Financial instrument bundling under multiple market failures: a household risk layering approach
Get PDFHouseholds in disaster-prone environments face multiple market failures-credit constraints, coordination breakdowns and behavioural biases that undermine the effectiveness of standalone financial instruments such as insurance. This paper develops a theoretical model showing that welfare-optimal household disaster risk management requires bundling financial instruments across the ex-ante and ex-post disaster risk management cycle covering prevention, mitigation, coping and recovery, layering tools by hazard probability and severity. We show that bundling dominates single-instrument approaches when it simultaneously relaxes distinct market frictions and is complemented by coordination effectiveness. Numerical simulations illustrate hazard-specific optimal portfolios for frequent floods and rare catastrophic earthquakes. We use two programs from Indonesia to illustrate how strategic bundling can be applied in practice in programme design. The framework provides testable predictions and guidance for designing integrated household financial protection systems in developing countries
Adjectives without syntactic categories
Get PDFElbourne has proposed that future research should investigate the possibility of eliminating syntactic categories from linguistic theory and letting their functions be taken over by independently motivated semantic categories such as semantic types (‘A program for eliminating syntactic categories’, 2024, Linguistic Inquiry). The current article applies this research programme to the case of adjectives. It argues that adjectives should be conceived of as functions from noun denotations to noun denotations (a unique type). Adjectives in predicative position are dealt with by giving a suitable denotation to the copula. Various arguments against this analysis of adjectives are reviewed and dismissed
The coin hoards of Roman Egypt in context
No full textI ripostigli monetali dell’Egitto romano sono già stati oggetto in passato di ricerche approfondite. L’immensa mole di dati raccolta nel progetto «Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire» (https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/) offre ora la possibilità di inserire l’evidenza documentaria dell’Egitto in un contesto più ampio. Sfruttando i risultati e i metodi dello studio comparativo, la ricerca presentata qui pone l’accento sulle evidenze dei ripostigli dell’Egitto in relazione all’uso dell’oro, al mescolamento delle denominazioni monetali e anche alla reazione intervenuta a livello di monetazione fino all’epoca di Diocleziano. Una prospettiva comparativa permette di accertare con sicurezza che le monete d’oro imperiali sono state utilizzate in modo normativo in Egitto, almeno dal secondo secolo d.C.; inoltre, essa conferma che i tetradrammi d’argento (svalutati) e le monete di bronzo operavano nella regione interessata in certa misura come valute separate, e infine che gli operatori in loco reagivano alla svalutazione e alla riforma della moneta differenziando tra i diversi standard di monete d’argento. La suddivisione delle monete in categorie prima della loro deposizione in ripostiglio significa che la moneta più recente in un tesoro potrebbe non essere un indizio accurato per stabilire la data di deposizione. Infine, il modello dei ripostigli recuperati mostra una forte correlazione con periodi di violenza, sia effettiva che finanziaria
Mapping the temperature dependent surface states of Bi2Te3 topological insulator flakes by ultra-cryogenic terahertz near-field nanoscopy
Get PDFTopological insulators (TIs) have drawn considerable attention for next generation high sensitivity, high efficiency devices thanks to their unique metallic surface conductivity via their topologically-protected surface states (TSSs). In this study, we utilized near-field nanoimaging and nanoscale spectroscopy in the Terahertz (THz) frequency range to explore the optical response of the surface layer from Bi2Te3 TI flakes. In all cases, we observe a higher near-field optical response from the TI flakes compared to a Si substrate. This contrast increases for more surface sensitive probing, which indicates the presence of a conductive surface state. In addition, we have performed temperature dependent THz nanoscopy and demonstrate a significantly enhanced near-field contrast for the TI flake at a sample temperature of 8.9 K compared to the Si substrate. This temperature-dependent behavior provides vital insight into the underlying mechanisms behind the observed conductive surface state in TI materials
Data synthesis for downstream tasks in autonomous driving
Get PDFAutonomous vehicles have complex data requirements, and data synthesis has emerged as a solution to alleviate data scarcity. This manuscript presents a set of approaches to tackling this scarcity when training supervised downstream autonomous visions tasks with 4 concepts in mind - realism, alignment to ground-truth, control and scalability.The first contribution presented uses a combination between generative adversarial networks and cycle generative adversarial networks to multiply existing image data by adding weather effects and changes in levels of illumination. While the method is successful at improving diversity of data, it does not tackle changes in the structure of the generated images. To overcome this, the second contribution employs scene composition, while maintaining realism and quality of associated ground-truth, using a semi-parametric approach. Since the method operates only on 2D images, it is limited in its ability to reason about complex interactions. Thus, the third publication introduces a two-stage approach that splits the problem of data generation into two distinct steps: one that reasons about scene structure and geometry in a 3D representation, and another that is responsible for the appearance of the scene. The last publication finally tackles the issue of structure and stylistic consistency by extending the previous publication with multi-view data, style maps for appearance cues and auto-regressive training.Approaches are evaluated in terms of visual quality and alignment of structure with ground-truth, along with select experiments that test the suitability of the data as training data in object detection, semantic segmentation and depth completion tasks
Verb second
No full textThis article outlines the key developments in the description and analysis of the Verb Second (V2) property. It shows how the classic analysis of V2, based principally on West-Germanic data, has changed in recent years to reflect a broader typological understanding of the phenomenon. Specifically, refinements to the typology of the V2 prefield, verb-subject inversion, and main-embedded asymmetries are outlined, along with the potential analyses that follow
Feminist Existentialism as Portrayed in the Movie Hidden Figures
Get PDFFeminist existentialism highlights the struggles women face in societies that impose restrictions based on gender and societal expectations. This study aimed to explore how the movie Hidden Figures portrays feminist existentialism ideology through the experiences and resistance of its main characters. Using a qualitative research method, the study examined the duality of the sexes and the various forms of women’s resistance as depicted in the film. Data collection was carried out through documentation and note-taking techniques. The analysis employed Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist existentialism framework as its primary theoretical foundation to examine how the movie Hidden Figures represents gender duality and feminist existentialism through the resistance of its main female characters, focusing on the identification of gender duality, the evaluation of acts of resistance, and the contextualization of these themes within the discourse of feminist existentialism. The findings reveal that Hidden Figures present a clear depiction of gender duality, where women are marginalized in workplaces, education, and social spaces. Despite these limitations, the main characters resist societal restrictions by asserting themselves in professional fields, intellectual discourse, and social transformation, aligning with the feminist existentialism concept of transcendence. Through their struggles, the film challenged traditional gender norms and contributes meaningfully to discussions on gender equality