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Journal of Experimental Psychology.... Mar 2006In many languages, the production of noun phrases requires the selection of gender-marked elements like determiners or inflectional suffixes. There is a recent debate as... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
In many languages, the production of noun phrases requires the selection of gender-marked elements like determiners or inflectional suffixes. There is a recent debate as to whether the selection of freestanding gender-marked elements, such as determiners, follows the same processing mechanisms as the selection of bound gender-marked morphemes, such as adjective suffixes. Most of the evidence on which this debate is based relates to the gender-congruency effect in picture-word interference experiments. In the present article, the authors address this issue with a pure picture-naming task, extending previous work in German (H. Schriefers, J. D. Jescheniak, & A. Hantsch, 2005). The results of the present study on noun phrase production in Dutch show that both types of gender-marked morphemes are selected via the same basic processing mechanisms.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis of Variance; Attention; Female; Humans; Male; Netherlands; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Phonetics; Psycholinguistics; Reaction Time; Sex Factors; Speech; Speech Production Measurement; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 16569158
DOI: 10.1037/0278-7393.32.2.437 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Feb 2023Studies have shown that the use of languages which grammatically associate the future and the present tends to correlate with more future-oriented behavior. We take an...
Studies have shown that the use of languages which grammatically associate the future and the present tends to correlate with more future-oriented behavior. We take an experimental approach to go beyond correlation. We asked bilingual research participants, people fluent in two languages (12 language pairs) which differ in the way they encode time, to make a set of future-oriented economic decisions. We find that participants addressed in a language in which the present and the future are marked more distinctly tended to value future events less than participants addressed in a language in which the present and the future are similarly marked. In an additional experiment, bilingual research participants (seven language pairs) were asked to choose whether they wish to complete a more enjoyable task first or later (delayed gratification). When addressed in a language in which the present and the future are marked more distinctly, participants tended to prefer immediate gratification more than when addressed in a language in which the present and the future are marked less distinctly. We shed light on the mechanism in a within-person experiment in which bilingual research participants (nine language pairs) were asked to spatially mark the distance between the present and the future. When participants were addressed in a language in which the present and the future are marked more distinctly, they tended to express more precise temporal beliefs compared with when addressed in a language in which the present and the future are marked less distinctly.
Topics: Humans; Multilingualism; Language; Forecasting
PubMed: 36745779
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208871120 -
Journal of Insect Science (Online) Mar 2023Nitrogen, a limiting growth factor in wood-feeding insects, was hypothesized to play a role in the recently discovered behavior of subterranean termites returning to the...
Nitrogen, a limiting growth factor in wood-feeding insects, was hypothesized to play a role in the recently discovered behavior of subterranean termites returning to the nest to molt. Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) exuviae is approximately 11% N by dry weight, and therefore a potentially rich source of recyclable nitrogen. Exuviae from a C. gestroi colony were marked with immunoglobulin G (IgG) and were fed to two-year-old C. gestroi colonies. IgG-marked exuviae were detected with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The IgG marker was later detected in every caste and life stage except first-instar larvae (L1). The proportion of individuals positive for the marker varied by caste, with the queens always being positive for the marker. The queens and second-or-higher-instar workers (W2+) had significantly higher concentrations of the marker than the eggs and L1. The trophic path of exuviae includes individuals that directly fed on marked exuviae (workers and possibly second-instar larvae) and individuals that secondarily received marked exuviae through trophallaxis (queens, kings, and soldiers). This study described the trophic path of consumed exuviae and demonstrated its role in the recycling of nitrogen in a subterranean termite. Molting at the central nest may be an efficient means to transfer nitrogen from shed exuviae to recipients and may be a nitrogen recycling behavior conserved from a termite ancestor.
Topics: Animals; Cockroaches; Isoptera; Ovum; Larva; Immunoglobulin G
PubMed: 36916276
DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iead007 -
Internal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) Aug 2021We herein report a case of seronegative immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) concurrent with anti-Kv1.4 and anti-titin antibodies. A 72-year-old Japanese woman...
We herein report a case of seronegative immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) concurrent with anti-Kv1.4 and anti-titin antibodies. A 72-year-old Japanese woman presented with a 29-year history of fluctuating high serum creatine kinase (CK) levels followed by intermittent ptosis and respiratory muscle weakness. This case highlights the fact that marked respiratory muscle weakness requiring intubation can be seen in an ambulant patient with IMNM. Marked respiratory muscle weakness, rhabdomyolysis-like acute elevation of CK levels, and anti-striational muscle antibodies may be a characteristic constellation of findings in a distinct subgroup of patients with inflammatory myopathy with myasthenia gravis or similar symptoms.
Topics: Aged; Autoantibodies; Female; Humans; Muscle Weakness; Muscular Diseases; Myasthenia Gravis; Myositis; Respiratory Insufficiency
PubMed: 33642484
DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.6834-20 -
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer... Jun 2022Transitional cell carcinoma is considered the most predominant type of bladder cancer. Bladder can cer can also be found as squamous cell carcinoma that accounts for 5%...
UNLABELLED
Transitional cell carcinoma is considered the most predominant type of bladder cancer. Bladder can cer can also be found as squamous cell carcinoma that accounts for 5% of the total bladder cancer due to its etiology. The biomarkers associated with grade, prognosis, and stage of the disease are not well proved and known however, many studies have pointed to the association between SNAL/SLUG and Twist2 to the overall survival in patients with bladder cancer. These biomarkers were found to have a crucial role in inhibiting cadherin mediators specifically E-cadherin which are found normally in high level to integrate cell adhesion and normal function of the bladder. This research aims to detect SNAL/SLUG and Twist2 biomarkers in specimens of patients with bladder cancer and to detect their impact on E-cadherin, a tumor suppressor mediator responsible for improving survival and prevent metastasis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Using 150 archival tissue blocks from human bladder cancer cases to detect expression of SNAIL/SLUG and Twist2 in relation to loss of E-cadherin by immunohistochemical method.
RESULTS
Our results have revealed that in squamous cell carcinoma 40 specimens showed marked Twist 2 expression, and 30 specimens showed marked snail/slug biomarkers expression while poorly differentiated cancer cases showed marked expression of Twist 2 in 60 specimens and marked expression of Snail/slug marked expression in 50 specimens. Both were associated with E-cadherin loss. Among the 100 specimens with transitional cell carcinoma, 70 specimens showed divergent differentiation with 7 subtypes each showed different medium to high expression of Snail/Slug and Twist 2 biomarkers with the loss of E-cadherin. E-cadherin was strongly associated with the inverse increase in SNAL/SLUG and Twist2 biomarkers in urothelial carcinoma.
CONCLUSION
Detection of SNAIL/SLUG and Twist 2 biomarkers in urothelial cancer is an important predictor for the loss of E-cadherin, a cornerstone in urinary bladder cell adhesion and its loss in urothelial carcinoma may contribute to cancer invasion and poor prognosis.
.Topics: Biomarkers; Cadherins; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Humans; Urinary Bladder; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms
PubMed: 35763651
DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.6.2079 -
Frontiers in Pediatrics 2022Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent, but not unchanging, disorders of movement and/or posture and motor function. Since the major brain injury associated with CP...
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent, but not unchanging, disorders of movement and/or posture and motor function. Since the major brain injury associated with CP is white matter injury (WMI), especially, in preterm infants, we established a "multi-hit" rat model to mimic human WMI in symptomatology and at a histological level. In our WMI model, pups suffering from limb paresis, incoordination, and direction difficulties fit the performance of CP. Histologically, they present with fewer neural cells, inordinate fibers, and more inflammatory cell infiltration, compared to the control group. From the electron microscopy results, we spotted neuronal apoptosis, glial activation, and myelination delay. Besides, the abundant appearance of IBA1-labeled microglia also implied that microglia play a role during neuronal cell injury. After activation, microglia shift between the pro-inflammatory M1 type and the anti-inflammatory M2 type. The results showed that LPS/infection stimulated IBA1 + (marked activated microglia) expression, downregulated CD11c + (marked M1 phenotype), and upregulated Arg 1 + (marked M2 phenotype) protein expression. It indicated an M1 to M2 transition after multiple infections. In summary, we established a "multi-hit" WMI-induced CP rat model and demonstrated that the microglial activation correlates tightly with CP formation, which may become a potential target for future studies.
PubMed: 35733809
DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.867410 -
Epigenetics & Chromatin Sep 2021It is established that protein-coding exons are preferentially localized in nucleosomes. To examine whether the same is true for non-coding exons, we analysed nucleosome...
BACKGROUND
It is established that protein-coding exons are preferentially localized in nucleosomes. To examine whether the same is true for non-coding exons, we analysed nucleosome occupancy in and adjacent to internal exons in genes encoding long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human CD4+ T cells and K562 cells.
RESULTS
We confirmed that internal exons in lncRNAs are preferentially associated with nucleosomes, but also observed an elevated signal from H3K4me3-marked nucleosomes in the sequences upstream of these exons. Examination of 200 genomic lncRNA loci chosen at random across all chromosomes showed that high-density regions of H3K4me3-marked nucleosomes, which we term 'slabs', are associated with genomic regions exhibiting intron retention. These retained introns occur in over 50% of lncRNAs examined and are mostly first introns with an average length of just 354 bp, compared to the average length of all human introns of 6355 and 7987 bp in mRNAs and lncRNAs, respectively. Removal of short introns from the dataset abrogated the high upstream H3K4me3 signal, confirming that the association of slabs and short lncRNA introns with intron retention holds genome-wide. The high upstream H3K4me3 signal is also associated with alternatively spliced exons, known to be prominent in lncRNAs. This phenomenon was not observed with mRNAs.
CONCLUSIONS
There is widespread intron retention and clustered H3K4me3-marked nucleosomes in short first introns of human long non-coding RNAs, which raises intriguing questions about the relationship of IR to lncRNA function and chromatin organization.
Topics: Histones; Humans; Introns; Nucleosomes; RNA, Long Noncoding
PubMed: 34579770
DOI: 10.1186/s13072-021-00419-2 -
Haematologica Jul 2012Refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts associated with marked thrombocytosis was proposed as a provisional entity in the 2001 World Health Organization classification...
BACKGROUND
Refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts associated with marked thrombocytosis was proposed as a provisional entity in the 2001 World Health Organization classification of myeloid neoplasms and also in the 2008 version, but its existence as a single entity is contested. We wish to define the clinical features of this rare myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm and to compare its clinical outcome with that of refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts and essential thrombocythemia.
DESIGN AND METHODS
We conducted a collaborative retrospective study across Europe. Our database included 200 patients diagnosed with refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts and marked thrombocytosis. For each of these patients, each patient diagnosed with refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts was matched for age and sex. At the same time, a cohort of 454 patients with essential thrombocythemia was used to compare outcomes of the two diseases.
RESULTS
In patients with refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts and marked thrombocytosis, depending on the Janus Kinase 2 V617F mutational status (positive or negative) or platelet threshold (over or below 600 × 10(9)/L), no difference in survival was noted. However, these patients had shorter overall survival and leukemia-free survival with a lower risk of thrombotic complications than did patients with essential thrombocythemia (P<0.001) but better survival (P<0.001) and a higher risk of thrombosis (P=0.039) than patients with refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts.
CONCLUSIONS
The clinical course of refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts and marked thrombocytosis is better than that of refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts and worse than that of essential thrombocythemia. The higher risk of thrombotic events in this disorder suggests that anti-platelet therapy might be considered in this subset of patients. From a clinical point of view, it appears to be important to consider refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts and marked thrombocytosis as a distinct entity.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anemia, Refractory; Anemia, Sideroblastic; Blood Platelets; Europe; Female; Humans; Janus Kinase 2; Male; Middle Aged; Mutation; Platelet Count; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Survival Analysis; Thrombocythemia, Essential; Thrombocytosis
PubMed: 22532522
DOI: 10.3324/haematol.2011.053918 -
Genome Aug 2023H4K20me1 (histone H4 monomethylated at lysine 20) generally has a broad distribution along genes and has been reported to be associated with expressed and repressed...
H4K20me1 (histone H4 monomethylated at lysine 20) generally has a broad distribution along genes and has been reported to be associated with expressed and repressed genes. In contrast, H3K4me3 (histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 4) is positioned as a narrow peak at the 5' end of most expressed genes in vertebrate cells. A small population of genes involved in cell identity has H3K4me3 distributed throughout the gene body. In this report, we show that H4K20me1 is associated with expressed genes in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer MCF7 cells and erythroleukemic K562 cells. Further, we identified the genes with the broadest H4K20me1 domains in these two cell types. The broad H4K20me1 domain marked gene bodies of expressed genes, but not the promoter or enhancer regions. The most significant GO term (biological processes) of these genes was cytoplasmic translation. There was little overlap between the genes marked with the broad H4K20me1 domain and those marked with H3K4me3. H4K20me1 and H3K79me2 distributions along expressed gene bodies were similar, suggesting a relationship between the enzymes catalyzing these histone modifications.
Topics: Histones; Lysine
PubMed: 37156012
DOI: 10.1139/gen-2023-0011 -
Journal of Geometric Analysis 2021A is a 5-dimensional manifold together with a contact distribution and a bundle of twisted cubics compatible with the conformal symplectic form on . The simplest...
A is a 5-dimensional manifold together with a contact distribution and a bundle of twisted cubics compatible with the conformal symplectic form on . The simplest contact twisted cubic structure is referred to as the ; its symmetry group is the exceptional group . In the present paper we equip the contact Engel structure with a smooth section , which "marks" a point in each fibre . We study the local geometry of the resulting structures , which we call . Equivalently, our study can be viewed as a study of foliations of by curves whose tangent directions are everywhere contained in . We provide a complete set of local invariants of marked contact Engel structures, we classify all homogeneous models with symmetry groups of dimension up to local equivalence, and we prove an analogue of the classical Kerr theorem from Relativity.
PubMed: 34720563
DOI: 10.1007/s12220-020-00545-5