EXPRESS: Incremental Structure Building in the Processing of Ellipsis.

This article presents the results of two experiments conducted to examine how ellipsis sites are processed during the processing of backward sluicing, which is superficially similar to non-sluicing wh-filler-gap dependencies. Previous studies on long-distance wh-filler-gap dependencies established that the processing of these dependencies is sensitive to the syntactic structure of materials within the dependency: CP vs NP (Gibson & Warren, 2004; Keine, 2020). Results from two maze experiments show that backward sluicing processing is sensitive to the same structural factors, confirming that the same processing mechanism underlies both constructions. We suggest that an active search mechanism is operating at the core for these structures and with the interaction of the ellipsis-specific mechanism, e.g., a word-by-word copying mechanism (Murphy 1985), the parser builds antecedent structure within the ellipsis site incrementally during the processing of backward sluicing.

Suppressing the Shuttle Effect via Polypyrrole-Coated Te Nanotubes for Advanced Na-Te Batteries.

There is a growing demand for research and development of advanced energy storage devices with high energy density utilizing earth-abundant metal anodes such as sodium metal. Tellurium, a member of the chalcogen group, stands out as a promising cathode material due to its remarkable volumetric capacity, comparable to sulfur, and significantly high electrical conductivity. However, critical issues arise from soluble sodium polytellurides, leading to the shuttle effect. This phenomenon can result in the loss of active materials, self-discharge, and anode instability. Here, we introduce polypyrrole-coated tellurium nanotubes as the cathode materials, where polypyrrole plays a crucial role in preventing the dissolution of polytellurides, as confirmed through operando optical microscopy. The polypyrrole-coated tellurium nanotubes exhibited an outstanding rate performance and long cycle stability in sodium-tellurium batteries. These research findings are anticipated to bolster the viability of polypyrrole-coated tellurium nanotubes as promising cathode materials, making a substantial contribution to the commercialization of sodium-ion battery technology.

Identifying factors related to delayed neck metastasis after surgical treatment in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: General treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is surgical treatment with or without neck dissection. Although the incidence of delayed neck metastasis is rare, it may occur after the surgery and is known to be the most important factor in the prognosis. The purpose of is study is to evaluate the clinical and histopathological factors associated with delayed neck metastasis case among patients. METHODS: A total of 195 patients who underwent surgical treatment for OSCC from 2016 to 2022 were investigated. Among them, delayed neck metastasis (DNM) was analyzed. The criterion for delayed neck metastasis was a newly developed neck lesion after the primary operation without neck dissection in cN0 necks. To identify the correlation between prognostic factors and the incidence of delayed neck metastasis, χ2 analysis with phi correlation and Cramer's V test was performed. Cumulative survival rates (CRS) were compared between the groups with the incidence of DNM and without DNM. Also, the log rank test for CSR and Cox proportional hazard model was analyzed to estimate the significance of the CSR and confirm the correlations between prognostic factors and DNM. RESULT: Among 195 patients, 14 were discovered to have DNM. The primary tumor locations were the tongue (n = 5), floor of the mouth (n = 2), mandibular gingiva (n = 1), maxillary gingiva (n = 4), retromolartrigone (n = 1), and buccal mucosa (n = 2) each. The cases consisted of TNM stage I (n = 1), stage II (n = 3), stage III (n = 3), and stage IV (n = 8), respectively. The result of the χ2 analysis identified a correlation between positive neck (p = 0.01), depth of invasion (p = 0.09), radiation therapy (p = 0.003), and DNM. Groups without DNM showed better prognosis compared to groups with DNM. Regarding positive neck, depth of invasion, and radiation therapy, only depth of invasion showed significance in CSR analysis. CONCLUSION: DNM after surgical treatment of OSCC is a rare event, and few were found in a review of the literature. Also, many prognostic factors have been suggested but controversial. However, in our study, some prognostic factors have been identified to have a significant correlation with the incidence of DNM, and analysis of such factors provides important information predicting neck metastasis and the prognosis.

Proteins rather than mRNAs regulate nucleation and persistence of Oskar germ granules in Drosophila.

RNA granules are membraneless condensates that provide functional compartmentalization within cells. The mechanisms by which RNA granules form are under intense investigation. Here, we characterize the role of mRNAs and proteins in the formation of germ granules in Drosophila. Super-resolution microscopy reveals that the number, size, and distribution of germ granules is precisely controlled. Surprisingly, germ granule mRNAs are not required for the nucleation or the persistence of germ granules but instead control their size and composition. Using an RNAi screen, we determine that RNA regulators, helicases, and mitochondrial proteins regulate germ granule number and size, while the proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear pore complex, and cytoskeleton control their distribution. Therefore, the protein-driven formation of Drosophila germ granules is mechanistically distinct from the RNA-dependent condensation observed for other RNA granules such as stress granules and P-bodies.

Urinary iodine and sodium status of urban Korean subjects: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: We estimated iodine status of Korean population by determining the concentration of spot urinary iodine (UI) with a reliable method based on the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 540 urine samples from apparently healthy subjects were collected, and UI, urinary sodium (UNa), and urinary creatinine (UCr) were determined from those samples and analyzed with age. RESULTS: There were significant decreases in either UI (P<0.0001), UI/UCr ratio (P=0.0001), UNa (P<0.0001), or UNa/Cr ratio (P=0.0001) in younger subjects than older ones. The median value of UI was 267.6 µg/L, but the median UI of the younger group (191.8 µg/L) was significantly decreased compared to that of the older group (383.9 µg/L). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the median of UI in Korean urban population was in a more than adequate iodine nutritional state, but UI was significantly different between the younger age group and the older age group.

Phase behavior of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene derivative in organic solvent.

The phase behavior of HBC-C12 in p-xylene at various concentrations has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, small angle neutron scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering techniques, and a phase diagram depending on concentration and temperature has been determined with detailed structural information. At room temperature, HBC-C12 in p-xylene forms needle-like crystalline aggregates with a rectangular columnar packing which is essentially the same as the crystalline phase of HBC-C12 in bulk. Upon heating, it undergoes two transitions, a transition from the rectangular columnar packing to another rectangular columnar packing with a small step change in the lattice parameter c, and then a transition to isotropic phase. In the isotropic phase, HBC-C12 molecules form stacked cylindrical particles which consist of ∼11-13 molecules depending on temperature. Upon cooling, HBC-C12 in p-xylene makes an abrupt transition from the isotropic to the rectangular columnar packing, which is in contrast with the gradual columnar to isotropic transition upon heating. These results provide important information for optimizing the conditions of discotic liquid crystal solution for the fabrication of DLC thin films using solution-processing techniques.

Effect of film thickness on the columnar packing structures of discotic supramolecules in thin films.

The effects of film thickness on the columnar packing structure of discotic supramolecules in a thin supported film have been investigated by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering technique using magnetically aligned cobalt octa(n-decylthio)porphyrazine (CoS10) films on octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS)-functionalized substrates as model systems. Magnetically aligned CoS10 films with a range of film thicknesses (49-845 nm) form uniaxially oriented 'edge-on' columnar superstructures with their columnar directors perpendicular to the applied magnetic field. However, the orientational ordering of the columnar packing in the plane perpendicular to the applied magnetic field is strongly dependent on the film thickness. While being damped by the elasticity of the side chains of CoS10, the strong interfacial interaction at the film-substrate interface propagates up to 50-100 nm from the substrate, maintaining the orientation of columnar packing in the plane perpendicular to the applied magnetic field. When the distance from the film-substrate interface becomes larger than about 100 nm, symmetric tilting of columnar layer orientation, which saturates at 11.5 degrees , occurs due to longitudinal edge dislocations induced by accumulated elastic deformation.

Folded catadioptric panoramic lens with an equidistance projection scheme.

A new formula for a catadioptric panoramic lens with an equidistance projection scheme has been derived. The fabricated lens has a field of view that is wider than that of any previously reported panoramic lens, and the nonimaged region near the back of the camera has a constant volume with zero angular extension.