Child phonological responses to variegation in adult words: A cross-linguistic study.

Variegation - the presence of more than one supraglottal consonant per word - is a key challenge for children as they increase their expressive vocabulary toward the end of the single-word period. Here we consider the prosodic structures of target words and child forms in English, Finnish, French, Japanese and Mandarin to determine whether children learning these languages respond similarly to the challenge or instead differ in ways related to the phonological structure of the adult language. Based on proportional occurrence of each structure, we find that the word forms of children learning Mandarin and Japanese show more variegation than do those of children learning the European languages, although their target words do not; proportions of reduplication, consonant harmony and single-consonant words also differ by language. We conclude that experience with the structure of the language - and thus representation, as well as immature articulatory skills - shapes children's responses to variegation.

In-plane ß-Co(OH)2/Co3O4 hybrid nanosheets for flexible all-solid-state thin-film supercapacitors with high electrochemical performance.

With the increasing demand for portable electronic devices, efficient power supplies with ultraflexibility have received considerable attention, among which the all-solid-state thin-film supercapacitors (ASSTFSs) have been considered as promising candidates for powering the portable devices with high performance and safety. In this work, we proposed in-plane ß-Co(OH)2/Co3O4 hybrid nanosheets with porous surface and controllable composition, which could be assembled as flexible electrodes for ASSTFSs. As the two-dimensional (2D) matrix of the hybrid nanosheets, the porous ß-Co(OH)2 component could offer a large surface area, thereby exposing more surface sites for surface redox reactions; the conductive Co3O4 component could effectively improve the intrinsic conductivity of the electrode material, thereby realizing good electrochemical performance synergistically. With the merits of the synergistic structural benefits, the ASSTFS device based on the ß-Co(OH)2/Co3O4 hybrid nanosheets exhibits high specific capacitance with good cycling stability and ultraflexibility, making our device an outstanding candidate for practical power supply in electronic devices.

Crystalline Cobalt/Amorphous LaCoOx Hybrid Nanoparticles Embedded in Porous Nitrogen-Doped Carbon as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrazine-Assisted Hydrogen Production.

Hydrazine electro-oxidation has received substantial attention owing to its high energy density, low onset potential, and wide applications in hydrazine-assisted hydrogen production and direct hydrazine fuel cells. In this work, crystalline cobalt/amorphous LaCoOx hybrid nanoparticles embedded in porous nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C) were fabricated via pyrolytic decomposition of the dual-metal lanthanum-incorporated zeolitic imidazolate framework (La/ZIF-67), which exhibit high activity and stability toward the electrocatalytic hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR). The hybrid nanoparticles based on metallic cobalt and amorphous LaCoOx could provide abundant active sites for HzOR catalysis, while the highly conductive and porous N-C could act as both robust skeleton for anchoring the active hybrid nanoparticles and facile charge transport pathway for the HzOR process, thereby resulting in enhanced HzOR activity. With the synergistic merits of enriched active sites, a large surface area, enhanced charge-transfer ability, and intimate catalyst anchoring, promoted HzOR performance with high activity and stability was achieved for the optimized catalyst, which shows an ultralow onset potential of -0.17 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), high HzOR current density of 69.2 mA cm-2 at 0.3 V versus RHE, and superior stability for 20 h continuous catalysis, making the catalyst a promising electrode material for hydrazine-assisted hydrogen production.

A molten-salt protected pyrolysis approach for fabricating a ternary nickel-cobalt-iron oxide nanomesh catalyst with promoted oxygen-evolving performance.

In this work, a highly porous ternary NiCoFe oxide nanomesh with two-dimensional morphology and quasi-single-crystalline (QSC) feature was synthesized via a convenient molten-salt protected pyrolysis approach, which achieves remarkable OER performance with a low overpotential, high current density, improved intrinsic activity and superior operational stability.

Modulation of crystal water in cobalt phosphate for promoted water oxidation.

Herein, low-dimensional cobalt phosphate (Co-Pi) catalysts with variable contents of crystal water were fabricated for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Owing to the optimized electronic structure, rich surface sites and favorable charge transport ability, Co-Pi tetrahydrate exhibits remarkable OER activity with a low overpotential, large current density and high intrinsic activity, and it is proved to be the optimal Co-Pi phase for OER.

Scintigraphic detection of dual ectopic thyroid tissue: experience of a Chinese tertiary hospital.

PURPOSE: To assess scintigraphic pattern, clinical indication and relevance of dual ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT). Literature is reviewed for such cases. METHODS: In this 5-year retrospective study, we reviewed all thyroid scintigraphies in our data base. Patients diagnosed with suspected ETT were identified. Literature is reviewed. Statistics were done by one-way analysis of variance and least significant difference test. RESULTS: From 11905 thyroid scintigraphies during the 5-year period, we retrieved 121 patients eligible for analysis. The top two indications were assessing a palpable front neck mass to determine whether it was an ETT, and primary hypothyroidism. Patients were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 with single ETT (83 cases); group 2 with dual ETT (6 cases) and group 3 with athyroid (32 cases). Age and thyroid hormones were highest in group 2, and lowest in group 3. Thyrotropin was highest in group 3, and lowest in group 2. Thyroxine was given to hypothyroid patients, while no surgery was performed. There were 42 published cases with dual ETT, most of whom were under 30 years old. 38.10% of them were euthyroid, 33.33% hypothyroid, and 21.43% subclinical hypothyroid. Most frequent ectopic positions included lingual (33.73%), sublingual (27.71%) and subhyoid (22.89%). CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort, incidence of dual ETT was 0.05% if the denominator was total number of thyroid scintigraphies. The incidence was 4.96% if the denominator was the number of patients with suspected ETT. Important clinical indication is a front neck palpable mass suggestive of an ETT. Important clinical relevance of recognizing the dual ETT pattern is to avoid inappropriate surgery. After reviewing all published cases, we find dual ETT is often seen in young patients. Most of such patients are euthyroid or mildly hypothyroid. Thyroid ectopia often resides in lingual, sublingual and subhyoid areas.

Relationship between lifestyle choices and hyperuricemia in Chinese men and women.

We aimed to explore correlations between lifestyle choices and hyperuricemia in a large Chinese population, emphasizing the differences from opposite sex. Ten thousand four hundred fifty subjects were randomly recruited from Tianjin municipality in China. Hyperuricemia was defined as serum uric acid >420 µmol/L for men and >360 µmol/L for women. Demographic data, highest education degree, work type, commuting means, smoking and drinking status, exercise frequency, and quantitative assessments of dietary factors were collected. Anthropometric measurements and fasting blood tests were performed. Statistical analyses were conducted. Total hyperuricemic prevalence was 12.89 %, with male significantly higher than female. Body mass index, waist circumference, serum indices, and age displayed high correlation coefficients, and most lifestyle factors also showed significant correlations as well. Binary logistic regression models showed odds ratio of developing hyperuricemia were much greater in males than in females by eating habits. However, physical activity-related lifestyle choices tended to cast much greater influences on the likelihood of hyperuricemia in females. Lifestyle choices and hyperuricemia are closely related. For males, eating habits have greater influences on the likelihood of developing hyperuricemia. For females, lifestyle factors like work type, commuting method, and exercise have such effects.

Nuclear factor-kappa B inhibition can enhance therapeutic efficacy of 131I on the in vivo management of differentiated thyroid cancer.

AIM: Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) plays a key role in cancer development and therapy resistance. We aimed to determine whether NF-κB inhibition can enhance (131)I efficacy in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) in vivo. MAIN METHODS: Every nude mouse was ip injected with 1mCi of (131)I for thyroid ablation. Four weeks later, DTC cells were implanted. Another six weeks later, mice received four types of therapies, namely control vehicle, 1mCi of (131)I once, 10mg/kg of Bay 11-7082 (a NF-κB inhibitor) trice and combination treatment. Pre-ablation (99m)Tc-pertechnetate imaging, post ablative and post therapeutic imaging were performed. Target-to-background ratios (T/Bs) on xenograft tumors were calculated and compared. Nuclear extract from tumor samples were assessed by DNA-binding assay and Western blot. Apoptotic indices by TUNEL assay were determined and tumor volume curve was drawn to compare therapeutic effects in different groups. KEY FINDINGS: Post therapeutic imaging displayed (131)I-avidity of xenograft tumors and completeness of thyroid ablation. T/Bs comparison showed no significant differences in mice received either (131)I mono-therapy or combined therapy. DNA-binding assay and Western blot showed enhanced function and expression of NF-κB by (131)I, which were inhibited substantially by Bay 11-7082 combination. Apoptotic indices were significantly increased by combined treatment than by any mono-therapy. And DTC lesional volumes were significantly regressed by combined treatment than by any mono-therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrated that NF-κB inhibition can be a good interventional avenue to enhance therapeutic potentiation of (131)I on the in vivo management of DTC.

Nuclear factor-kappa B inhibition can enhance apoptosis of differentiated thyroid cancer cells induced by 131I.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) during radioiodine 131 ((131)I) therapy and whether NF-κB inhibition could enhance (131)I-induced apoptosis in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) cells in a synergistic manner. METHODS: Three human DTC cell lines were used. NF-κB inhibition was achieved by using a NF-κB inhibitor (Bay 11-7082) or by p65 siRNA transfection. Methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium assay was performed for cell viability assessment. DNA-binding assay, luciferase reporter assay, and Western blot were adopted to determine function and expression changes of NF-κB. Then NF-κB regulated anti-apoptotic factors XIAP, cIAP1, and Bcl-xL were measured. Apoptosis was analyzed by Western blot for caspase 3 and PARP, and by flow cytometry as well. An iodide uptake assay was performed to determine whether NF-κB inhibition could influence radioactive iodide uptake. RESULTS: The methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium assay showed significant decrease of viable cells by combination therapy than by mono-therapies. The DNA-binding assay and luciferase reporter assay showed enhanced NF-κB function and reporter gene activities due to (131)I, yet significant suppression was achieved by NF-κB inhibition. Western blot proved (131)I could increase nuclear NF-κB concentration, while NF-κB inhibition reduced NF-κB concentration. Western blot also demonstrated significant up-regulation of XIAP, cIAP1, and Bcl-xL after (131)I therapy. And inhibition of NF-κB could significantly down-regulate these factors. Finally, synergism induced by combined therapy was displayed by significant enhancements of cleaved caspase 3 and PARP from Western blot, and of Annexin V positively staining from flow cytometry. The iodine uptake assay did not show significant changes when NF-κB was inhibited. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that (131)I could induce NF-κB activation, which would attenuate (131)I efficacy in DTC cells. NF-κB inhibition by Bay 11-7082 or by p65 siRNA transfection was effective in suppressing NF-κB regulated anti-apoptotic changes and in combined regimen apoptosis was achieved synergistically.

Gender and age impacts on the correlations between hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome in Chinese.

Prevalence of both metabolic syndrome (MS) and hyperuricemia are increasing. However, findings regarding their relationships are inconsistent. We aimed to explore correlations between MS and hyperuricemia in a large Chinese population, emphasizing the impacts from gender and age. Data analyses were performed in 17,762 subjects randomly recruited from Tianjin municipality in China. Hyperuricemia was defined as serum uric acid (SUA) >420 µmol/L for men, >360 µmol/L for women. MS was diagnosed by the consensus criterion released in 2009 from a joint collaboration between American Heart Association and other organizations. MS was also diagnosed by Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS) criterion. Total hyperuricemic prevalence was 12.16%, with male significantly higher than female. Total MS prevalence by consensus criterion was much higher than by CDS criterion (25.56% versus 14.09%). Correlation coefficients were much greater in women than in men. SUA was significantly positively related with body mass index and waist circumference. Generally, binary logistic regression models disclosed females with high SUA were twice likely to suffer from MS than males. Young females (≤44 years old) with hyperuricemia had the highest odd ratio of 7.857 by consensus criterion; and after further adjustment by body mass index, this odd ratio was 3.040. SUA and MS were much more closely related in females than in males. Young women with hyperuricemia had the highest risk of MS.

An improved correction method for reducing off-focal artifacts in CT imaging.

This paper presents a new method to reduce halo artifacts in Computed Tomography (CT) images, which blur the image edges and descend the image quality. Off-focal radiation is main ill factor leading to these halo artifacts. To reduce the off-focal effects, we adopt a pre-processing method to filter the sampling data directly before reconstruction, instead of post-processing method such as edge enhancing on the reconstructed images. Different from the prior pre-processing method, we also present a new and more practical method to obtain convolution kernel and a simpler formula in this paper. Results show that after calibration by the new practical method, the off-focal radiation effects were reduced efficiently, the edges were enhanced and the image quality was improved without increasing noise.

A correction method for nonlinear artifacts in CT imaging.

This work presents a new method to reduce nonlinear artifacts in computed tomography (CT). Based on the traditional water-equivalent beam hardening correction method, a new systematic iterative algorithm has been designed to modify the original spectrum, which is under the influences of certain added filter materials and some unknown factors. By incorporating the characters of polychromatic beam hardening and the insensibility and nonuniformity of detectors into consideration, a new polynomial function curve is calculated. The curve can calibrate CT raw data and reduce the nonlinear artifacts, such as shading artifacts, dark artifacts, cupping artifacts and ring artifacts, in soft tissue. Comparing with the traditional water-equivalent correction, results show that this method can significantly improve the image quality. Meanwhile, the method is pre-processing and will not increase the normal reconstruction time. That is, all the time-consuming works can be done before scanning patients. However, it is still depending on the size of phantoms currently used, and more detailed works need to be done in the future.