1,535 research outputs found
Implicit indefinite objects at the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface: a probabilistic model of acceptability judgments
No full textOptionally transitive verbs, whose Patient participant is semantically obligatory but
syntactically optional (e.g., to eat, to drink, to write), deviate from the transitive prototype
defined by Hopper and Thompson (1980). Following Fillmore (1986), unexpressed objects
may be either indefinite (referring to prototypical Patients of a verb, whose actual entity
is unknown or irrelevant) or definite (with a referent available in the immediate intra- or
extra-linguistic context). This thesis centered on indefinite null objects, which the literature
argues to be a gradient, non-categorical phenomenon possible with virtually any transitive
verb (in different degrees depending on the verb semantics), favored or hindered by several
semantic, aspectual, pragmatic, and discourse factors. In particular, the probabilistic
model of the grammaticality of indefinite null objects hereby discussed takes into account
a continuous factor (semantic selectivity, as a proxy to object recoverability) and four
binary factors (telicity, perfectivity, iterativity, and manner specification).
This work was inspired by Medina (2007), who modeled the effect of three predictors
(semantic selectivity, telicity, and perfectivity) on the grammaticality of indefinite null
objects (as gauged via Likert-scale acceptability judgments elicited from native speakers
of English) within the framework of Stochastic Optimality Theory. In her variant of the
framework, the constraints get floating rankings based on the input verb’s semantic
selectivity, which she modeled via the Selectional Preference Strength measure by Resnik
(1993, 1996). I expanded Medina’s model by modeling implicit indefinite objects in two
languages (English and Italian), by using three different measures of semantic selectivity
(Resnik’s SPS; Behavioral PISA, inspired by Medina’s Object Similarity measure; and
Computational PISA, a novel similarity-based measure by Cappelli and Lenci (2020)
based on distributional semantics), and by adding iterativity and manner specification as
new predictors in the model.
Both the English and the Italian five-predictor models based on Behavioral PISA explain
almost half of the variance in the data, improving on the Medina-like three-predictor
models based on Resnik’s SPS. Moreover, they have a comparable range of predicted
object-dropping probabilities (30-100% in English, 30-90% in Italian), and the predictors
perform consistently with theoretical literature on object drop. Indeed, in both models,
atelic imperfective iterative manner-specified inputs are the most likely to drop their
object (between 80% and 90%), while telic perfective non-iterative manner-unspecified
inputs are the least likely (between 30% and 40%). The constraint re-ranking probabilities
are always directly proportional to semantic selectivity, with the exception of Telic End
in Italian. Both models show a main effect of telicity, but the second most relevant factor
in the model is perfectivity in English and manner specification in Italian
Avvisaglie pregotiche nel "Marcos de Obregón" di Vicente Espinel
No full textIl presente contributo intende dimostrare la presenza, all'interno del romanzo di Espinel, di una serie di stilemi, situazioni, immagini che, in pieno siglo de oro, sembrano anticipare una tendenza narrativa, quella gotica, che si svilupperà soprattutto nel XIX secolo.This paper aims to demonstrate the presence, within Espinel's novel, a series of styles, situations, images that, in the siglo de oro, seem to anticipate the Gothic trend fiction, which will grow mainly in the nineteenth century
Variazioni sulla picaresca. Intrecci, sviluppi, prospettive
No full textGli otto contributi compresi in questo volume tracciano una serie di linee convergenti nella ricca trama di voci che, a partire dal "Lazarillo de Tormes", si alternano nel romanzo picaresco, calibrandosi fra gli incerti confini che dividono le forma del narrare ispaniche da quelle italiane e non solo. A partire da questa vasta e complessa sperimentazione narrativa la struttura lineare della narrativa picaresca si schiude verso nuove prospettive diegetiche, alcune delle quali già adombrate dal presente volume, altre riscontrabili nelle pieghe delle sue, sia pur parziali, argomentazioni
PISA: A measure of Preference In Selection of Arguments to model verb argument recoverability
No full textOur paper offers a computational model ofthe semantic recoverability of verb arguments,tested in particular on direct objects and In-struments. Our fully distributional model isintended to improve on older taxonomy-basedmodels, which require a lexicon in addition tothe training corpus. We computed the selec-tional preferences of 99 transitive verbs and173 Instrument verbs as the mean value of thepairwise cosine similarity between their argu-ments (a weighted mean between all the argu-ments, or an unweighted mean with the top-mostkarguments).Results show that ourmodel can predict the recoverability of objectsand Instruments, providing a similar result tothat of taxonomy-based models but at a muchcheaper computational cost
Comparison of ‘TB2018 and ‘Senatore Cappelli’.
No full textPlants of (A) ‘Senatore Cappelli’ and (B) ‘TB2018’ at the same growth stage in the field are shown. (PDF)</p
Giulia Veronica Varisco
No full textThe headword explains the biography and the contribution of the author Giulia Varisco to the children's literatur
On the nature of charge-transfer excitations for molecules in aqueous solution: a polarizable QM/MM study
No full textWe illustrate the effect of solvation on the nature of electronic excitations of organic molecules which possess excited states of charge-transfer character. The analysis is carried out using both a continuum model and a polarizable QM/MM method that treats the solvent atomistically and embeds each atom in the solvent with a fluctuating charge which responds to the solute quantum-mechanical electrostatic potential in a self-consistent manner. We also show how solvation dynamics can influence the nature of the excited state of molecular systems. The application of the model to aqueous solutions of doxorubicin and a substituted polythiophene derivative shows that the solvent significantly affects the nature the excited states, which results in an enhanced or reduced charge-transfer character as measured using two of the most popular indices for evaluating the distance traveled by the electrons upon excitation
Profiling of Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene expression during human macrophage infection: Upregulation of the alternative sigma factor G, a group of transcriptional regulators, and proteins with unknown function
No full textMycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most prolific pathogens worldwide, and its virulence resides in its capacity to survive in human macrophages. In the present study, we analyzed the gene expression profile of M. tuberculosis H37Rv in macrophages and synthetic medium at the whole genome level. Out of 3875 spots tested, 970 genes passed the statistical significance filter (t scores >= +/- 2.5). A total of 22% of those assayed were found to be active genes (up- or downregulated), representing 5.5% of the whole MTB genome. Interestingly, 32.5% of the genes induced in our macrophage experiments are still classified as hypothetical proteins; 19.5% take part in the cell wall and processes (half of which are membrane proteins); 16% are involved in regulation and information pathways; and the PE family accounts for 3.6% of total induced genes. It is important to note that in the course of MTB replication in macrophages, we observed the upregulation of alternative sigma factor sigG and 13 MTB transcriptional regulators. The data for a selected group of upregulated genes were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. The global MTB transcriptome described in this study suggests an intracellular MTB actively sensing its environment; it repairs and synthesizes its cell wall and DNA, so as to either repair oxidative and nitrosative damage and/or to augment its copy number and evade host cell killing. As far as we know, this is the first study describing MTB expression profiles using whole genome macroarrays during primary human macrophage infection. (c) 2006 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved
Gestione del verde in ambito archeologico e storico
No full textIl legame tra la presenza di specie vegetali nei siti archeologici e storici e gli ambienti stessi, si può inquadrare in un ambito ecologico-urbano a valenza più ampia in cui i rapporti di insediamento e diffusione dei vegetali, sono determinate da regole biologico - naturalistiche ed ambientali (Gaudio, 1997/1999; Fazio, 2008). Particolare da non trascurare è l’influenza che il microclima dei siti archeologici esercita sulle specie vegetali, determinate dal particolare microhabitat delle mura (Lisci & Pacini, 1993), dai vari reperti marmorei e lastricati che inoltre, surriscaldandosi, danno origine ad ambienti spesso fortemente limitanti per la xericità, la mancanza di un substrato edafico maturo e la scarsità di nutrienti. Sulla composizione floristica influisce indirettamente anche l’afflusso dei turisti che involontariamente si rendono vettori di specie attraverso organuli vegetali (frutti, semi, parti di pianta, ecc.), contribuendo alla dispersione delle specie vegetali (Lucchese & Pignatti, 2009).
La gestione di questi siti, comunque, riveste importanza elevata sia in termini conservazionistici dei ruderi stessi sia per l’impatto visivo che la composizione floristica può avere nei visitatori (Caneva & Ceschin, 2
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