16,301 research outputs found
Grammaticalization and phonological reidentification in White Hmong
No full textThe “dynamic coevolution of meaning and form” of Bybee et al. ( 1994 : 20) has been the subject of significant discussion as regards the languages of Mainland Southeast Asia. However, little work has focused on the mechanisms through which this coevolution occurs when it does surface in these languages. The current work considers phonological reidentification resulting from phonetic reduction in White Hmong (Hmong-Mien, Laos) involving four morphemes, ntshai/ntshe ‘maybe’, saib/seb ‘see if/whether; COMP.CFACT’, puag/pug ‘LOCL;INTS’, and niaj/nej ‘each, every’. These morphemes exhibit an alternation where a rime is phonologically reidentified in a manner consistent with typical phonetic underarticulation patterns, such that an exemplar-model approach (Pierrehumbert 2001 , inter alia) provides a straightforward explanation. Furthermore, the data show that the phonological reidentification patterns found in White Hmong exhibit parallels in other languages in the region, confirming that an areal approach to grammaticalization provides greater descriptive adequacy cross-linguistically as regards this phenomenon
CR1 Knops blood group alleles are not associated with severe malaria in the Gambia
No full textThe Knops blood group antigen erythrocyte polymorphisms have been associated with reduced falciparum malaria-based in vitro rosette formation (putative malaria virulence factor). Having previously identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human complement receptor 1 (CR1/CD35) gene underlying the Knops antithetical antigens Sl1/Sl2 and McC(a)/McC(b), we have now performed genotype comparisons to test associations between these two molecular variants and severe malaria in West African children living in the Gambia. While SNPs associated with Sl:2 and McC(b+) were equally distributed among malaria-infected children with severe malaria and control children not infected with malaria parasites, high allele frequencies for Sl 2 (0.800, 1,365/1,706) and McC(b) (0.385, 658/1706) were observed. Further, when compared to the Sl 1/McC(a) allele observed in all populations, the African Sl 2/McC(b) allele appears to have evolved as a result of positive selection (modified Nei-Gojobori test Ka-Ks/s.e.=1.77, P-valu
Comparative BAC-based mapping in the white-throated sparrow, a novel behavioral genomics model, using interspecies overgo hybridization
No full textBACKGROUND
The genomics era has produced an arsenal of resources from sequenced organisms allowing researchers to target species that do not have comparable mapping and sequence information. These new "non-model" organisms offer unique opportunities to examine environmental effects on genomic patterns and processes. Here we use comparative mapping as a first step in characterizing the genome organization of a novel animal model, the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), which occurs as white or tan morphs that exhibit alternative behaviors and physiology. Morph is determined by the presence or absence of a complex chromosomal rearrangement. This species is an ideal model for behavioral genomics because the association between genotype and phenotype is absolute, making it possible to identify the genomic bases of phenotypic variation.
FINDINGS
We initiated a genomic study in this species by characterizing the white-throated sparrow BAC library via filter hybridization with overgo probes designed for the chicken, turkey, and zebra finch. Cross-species hybridization resulted in 640 positive sparrow BACs assigned to 77 chicken loci across almost all macro-and microchromosomes, with a focus on the chromosomes associated with morph. Out of 216 overgos, 36% of the probes hybridized successfully, with an average number of 3.0 positive sparrow BACs per overgo.
CONCLUSIONS
These data will be utilized for determining chromosomal architecture and for fine-scale mapping of candidate genes associated with phenotypic differences. Our research confirms the utility of interspecies hybridization for developing comparative maps in other non-model organisms
Novel cell preservation technique to extend bovine in vitro white blood cell viability
No full textAlthough cell-mediated immunity based diagnostics can be integral assays for early detection of various diseases of dairy cows, processing of blood samples for these tests is time-sensitive, often within 24 hours of collection, to maintain white blood cell viability. Therefore, to improve utility and practicality of such assays, the objective of this study was to assess the use of a novel white blood cell preservation technology in whole bovine blood. Blood samples from ten healthy cows were each divided into an unpreserved control sample and a test sample preserved with commercially-available cell transport medium. Samples were maintained at room temperature and stimulated with the mitogens pokeweed and concanavalinA, as well as with interleukin-12 p40. Stimulation was completed on days 1, 5, and 8 post-sampling. Viability of white blood cells was assessed through interferon gamma production determined with a commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, mononuclear cell viability was assessed with propidium iodide flow cytometry. Greater interferon gamma production was observed on days 5 and 8 post-collection in preserved samples, with both pokeweed and concanavalinA stimulating positive interferon gamma production on day 5 post-collection. A greater proportion of the amount of interferon gamma produced on day 1 continued to be produced on days 5 and 8 post-collection with concanavalinA stimulation (with or without interleukin 12) as compared to pokeweed stimulation. Additionally, viable mononuclear cells were still present at eight days post-collection, with a higher mean proportion detected at days 5 and 8 in all stimulated preserved samples. This practical and simple method to extend in vitro white blood cell viability could benefit the efficient utilization of cell-based blood tests in ruminants
Quantum and its irreducible representations
No full textWe define for real a unital -algebra
quantizing the universal enveloping
-algebra of . The -algebra
is realized as a -subalgebra of the
Drinfeld double of and its dual Hopf -algebra
, generated by the equatorial Podle\'s sphere coideal
-subalgebra of and
its associated orthogonal coideal -subalgebra . We then classify all the irreducible
-representations of .Comment: 22 pages; author accepted manuscrip
Tortoise versus Hare: Pop-up Coloring Book
No full textThis 8½ x 11 book is in a series that also includes, up until now, Red Riding Hood and Three Pigs. Sturdy cardstock allows for cutting out sections and gluing them in clearly marked places for the effects of a pop-up book. The version of TH here is strange to me. The tortoise is clumsy. The hare slips on apples and sends them flying. One of the apples lands on the tortoise and shoots him out of his shell. The young cutter-and-paster can decide who wins the race. And the young reader can color in these black-and-white designs.Çlirim Muça; English translation by Besjana Gorreja and Myfanwy Woods-Jac
Nineteenth Century Black and White US Statures: The Primary Sources of Vitamin D and their Relationship with Height
No full textVitamin D is vital in all vertebrates because it allows them to absorb more calcium from their diets, contributing to stronger skeletal systems and stature growth. Using a new source of 19th century US state prison records, this study contrasts the statures of comparable African-Americans and whites by the primary sources of vitamin D production: time exposed to solar radiation, skin pigmentation, and nativity. Greater insolation (vitamin D production) is documented here to be associated with taller black and white statures, and a considerable share of the stature differential by socioeconomic status was related to insolation.socioeconomic status, vitamin D, insolation, 19th century US statures
On the sheaf-theoretic SL(2, C) Casson–Lin invariant
No full textWe prove that the (τ-weighted, sheaf-theoretic) SL(2, C) Casson–Lin invariant introduced by Manolescu and the first author is generically independent of the parameter τ and additive under connected sums of knots in integral homology 3-spheres. This addresses two questions asked by Manolescu and the first author. Our arguments involve a mix of topology and algebraic geometry, and rely crucially on the fact that the SL(2, C) Casson–Lin invariant admits an alternative interpretation via the theory of Behrend functions.</p
Candidatus Rhetoricae (or Novus Candidatus).
No full textThis little book is a find whatever it finally turns out to be! For now it seems to be a Jesuit collegium text in rhetoric following the Progymnasmata of Aphthonius. If one works from the back of the book, there is an apparently independent 48-page work, Angelus Pacis by Nicolas Caussini (Latinized name), S.J. The rest of the book seems to be a commentary on or presentation of Aphthonius' Progymnasmata in 3 parts covering 435 pages, followed by a T of C and an AI, which is often one page off. Pars II is titled Rhetoricae Praecepta, Pars III De Panegyrico seu Laudatione. Pars I seems to be Apparatus ad Fabulam et Narrationem. Fable is handled on 15-31. After the famous Greek definition of Theion done into Latin ( sermo falsus veritatem effingens ), the author distinguishes rational (human) and moral (animal) fables, with mixed fables including both. He holds (19) that the sense of the fable generally needs to be expressed; otherwise people often miss the point of a fable. His Latin for promythium is praefabulatio, for epimythium affabulatio. Apologus and parabola are identical for him with fabula. After describing the qualities and uses of fables, the author presents some nine fables that exemplify various levels of style, twice telling the same stories on two levels (WL and FC). The last example is of the florid style: The Silkworm and the Spider takes four pages to tell! I found this book sitting in a box of disparate, unmarked, old books. It pays to look!This is a hardbound book (hard cover)Language note: Bilingual: Greek/LatinElzevers
Searches for New Physics effects in b →sl-sl+ transitions
No full textThe dissertation aims at presenting the current situation in the measurements of electroweak
penguin diagrams dominated decays: b → sl−l+1 . These decays have been a smoking gun
for hunting for New Physics effects over many years, but in the last three years the research
on these phenomena has intensified due to new measurements. Enormous progress has
been made both on the theoretical and the experimental sides to understand the measured
deviations from the current Standard Model predictions, referred to in what follows as
“anomalies”. The author of this dissertation has been one of the main authors of the angular analysis
of B0→ K∗ 0µ+µ− decay in the LHCb experiment, which has been widely regarded as one
of the most important results of the flavour physics sector in recent years. He has proposed
a method called “the method of moments” to measure the angular terms of this decay,
which he has later successfully applied in the measurement itself. Moreover, he has been
the driving force behind the two other important analyses in LHCb: the measurement of
the angular distribution and branching ratio of the B0→ K∗ 0 (1430)µ+µ− decay, where again the method of moments has been used to obtain the angular coefficients, and the search for the light scalar particle that can be produced in the b → s transitions and that decays to a dimuon pair. In this case no signal has been observed and the upper limits on the branching fraction have been set, later to be used for constraining the inflaton model.
The dissertation is organized as follows: the brief introduction is followed by, the second
chapter devoted to a theoretical description of rare B decays, where the effective field
theory formalism is introduced. Furthermore, the author discusses the current theoretical
problems in calculating the Standard Model predictions for the b → sl−l+ processes. Last but not least, the optimised angular observables that are less dependent on the form
factors uncertainness are derived. The third chapter describes the experimental apparatus
used in the b → sl−l+ measurements. Special focus is put on the sub-detectors that play
an important role in the studies of b → sl−l+ transitions. Chapters 4, 5, 6 are devoted to
describing the data analyses performed by the author in the LHCb experiment. In Chapter 7
the global analysis of electroweak penguin decays is presented. This kind of global analysis
has become extremely popular in the past few years as it helps to constrain and pin down those New Physics models that are likely to be responsible for the observed anomalies. The
author of this monograph is involved in one of the biggest collaborations performing New
Physics fits, where he is the convenor of the Flavour Working group. Furthermore, the
author presents his own study on separating the long distance effects in the B0→ K∗ 0µ+µ−decay. This is the state of the art way of determining those contributions. The chapter ends with a description of possible New Physics models that can explain the observed discrepancies
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