Categories of First-Order Quantifiers

One well known problem regarding quantifiers, in particular the 1storder quantifiers, is connected with their syntactic categories and denotations. The unsatisfactory efforts to establish the syntactic and ontological categories of quantifiers in formalized first-order languages can be solved by means of the so called principle of categorial compatibility formulated by Roman Suszko, referring to some innovative ideas of Gottlob Frege and visible in syntactic and semantic compatibility of language expressions. In the paper the principle is introduced for categorial languages generated by the Ajdukiewicz’s classical categorial grammar. The 1st-order quantifiers are typically ambiguous. Every 1st-order quantifier of the type k \u3e 0 is treated as a two-argument functorfunction defined on the variable standing at this quantifier and its scope (the sentential function with exactly k free variables, including the variable bound by this quantifier); a binary function defined on denotations of its two arguments is its denotation. Denotations of sentential functions, and hence also quantifiers, are defined separately in Fregean and in situational semantics. They belong to the ontological categories that correspond to the syntactic categories of these sentential functions and the considered quantifiers. The main result of the paper is a solution of the problem of categories of the 1st-order quantifiers based on the principle of categorial compatibility

High temperature behavior of functional TiAlBSiN nanocomposite coatings

This article reports on the thorough characterization of structural-phase transformation in amorphous TiAlBSiN coating after high temperature annealing at 900 °C in ambient air. The influence of annealing on the tribomechanical behavior of the coating at nano and micro scale was also examined. The research included multiple experimental techniques, i.e. AFM, SEM, TEM, HR-TEM, EDS, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Experiments showed that the amorphous phase of the TiAlBSiN coating undergoes a structural transformation, evidenced in the changes of parameters such as topological and chemical short-range order after the post-deposition annealing at 900 °C in air. The observed structural transformation, leads to a phase separation with the formation of a three dimensional nc-TiAl3/a-SiBN(O) nanocomposite structure. The relative increase of hardness, reduced elastic modulus, H/Er ratio and H2 /E3 r ratio after high temperature treatment of TiAlBSiN coatings is also reported. The complex interdependency between chemistry, morphology and relative composition of the amorphous TiAlBSiN coating phase, during the high temperature treatment, with the respective change of the tribo-mechanical characteristics, are evidence of the improvement of the coating properties in response to the environmental conditions and high temperature. This work contributes particularly to the development and understanding of flexible nanocomposite protective coatings and their changes at high temperature of operatio

The phenotype of Floating-Harbor syndrome: Clinical characterization of 52 individuals with mutations in exon 34 of SRCAP

Background: Floating-Harbor syndrome (FHS) is a rare condition characterized by short stature, delays in expressive language, and a distinctive facial appearance. Recently, heterozygous truncating mutations in SRCAP were determined to be disease-causing. With the availability of a DNA based confirmatory test, we set forth to define the clinical features of this syndrome. Methods and results. Clinical information on fifty-two individuals with SRCAP mutations was collected using standardized questionnaires. Twenty-four males and twenty-eight females were studied with ages ranging from

The phenotype of floating-harbor syndrome:clinical characterization of 52 individuals with mutations in exon 34 of SRCAP

Background\ud Floating-Harbor syndrome (FHS) is a rare condition characterized by short stature, delays in expressive language, and a distinctive facial appearance. Recently, heterozygous truncating mutations in SRCAP were determined to be disease-causing. With the availability of a DNA based confirmatory test, we set forth to define the clinical features of this syndrome.\ud \ud Methods and results\ud Clinical information on fifty-two individuals with SRCAP mutations was collected using standardized questionnaires. Twenty-four males and twenty-eight females were studied with ages ranging from 2 to 52 years. The facial phenotype and expressive language impairments were defining features within the group. Height measurements were typically between minus two and minus four standard deviations, with occipitofrontal circumferences usually within the average range. Thirty-three of the subjects (63%) had at least one major anomaly requiring medical intervention. We did not observe any specific phenotype-genotype correlations.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud This large cohort of individuals with molecularly confirmed FHS has allowed us to better delineate the clinical features of this rare but classic genetic syndrome, thereby facilitating the development of management protocols.The authors would like to thank the families for their cooperation and permission to publish these findings. SdM would like to thank Barto Otten. Funding was provided by the Government of Canada through Genome Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI-049), by Genome Québec and Genome British Columbia, and the Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research at Children’s Hospital Boston. KMB is supported by a Clinical Investigatorship Award from the CIHR Institute of Genetics. AD is supported by NIH grant K23HD073351. BBAdV and HGB were financially supported by the AnEUploidy project (LSHG-CT-2006-37627). This work was selected for study by the FORGE Canada Steering Committee, which consists of K. Boycott (University of Ottawa), J. Friedman (University of British Columbia), J. Michaud (University of Montreal), F. Bernier (University of Calgary), M. Brudno (University of Toronto), B. Fernandez (Memorial University), B. Knoppers (McGill University), M. Samuels (Université de Montréal), and S. Scherer (University of Toronto). We thank the Galliera Genetic Bank - “Telethon Genetic Biobank Network” supported by Italian Telethon grants (project no. GTB07001) for providing us with specimens

Pliocene to Pleistocene climate and environmental history of Lake El\u27gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic, based on high-resolution inorganic geochemistry data

The 3.6 Ma sediment record of Lake El\u27gygytgyn/NE Russia, Far East Russian Arctic, represents the longest continuous climate archive of the terrestrial Arctic. Its elemental composition as determined by X-ray fluorescence scanning exhibits significant changes since the mid-Pliocene caused by climate-driven variations in primary production, postdepositional diagenetic processes, and lake circulation as well as weathering processes in its catchment. During the mid- to late Pliocene, warmer and wetter climatic conditions are reflected by elevated Si / Ti ratios, indicating enhanced diatom production in the lake. Prior to 3.3 Ma, this signal is overprinted by intensified detrital input from the catchment, visible in maxima of clastic-related proxies, such as K. In addition, calcite formation in the early lake history points to enhanced Ca flux into the lake caused by intensified weathering in the catchment. A lack of calcite deposition after ca. 3.3 Ma is linked to the development of permafrost in the region triggered by cooling in the mid-Pliocene. After ca. 3.0 Ma the elemental data suggest a gradual transition to Pleistocene-style glacial-interglacial cyclicity. In the early Pleistocene, the cyclicity was first dominated by variations on the 41 kyr obliquity band but experienced a change to a 100 kyr eccentricity dominance during the middle Pleistocene transition (MPT) at ca. 1.2-0.6 Ma. This clearly demonstrates the sensitivity of the Lake El\u27gygytgyn record to orbital forcing. A successive decrease of the baseline levels of the redox-sensitive Mn / Fe ratio and magnetic susceptibility between 2.3 and 1.8 Ma reflects an overall change in the bottom-water oxygenation due to an intensified occurrence of pervasive glacial episodes in the early Pleistocene. The coincidence with major changes in the North Pacific and Bering Sea paleoceanography at ca. 1.8 Ma implies that the change in lake hydrology was caused by a regional cooling in the North Pacific and the western Beringian landmass and/or changes in the continentality. Further increases in total organic carbon and total nitrogen content after ca. 1.6 Ma are attributed to reduced organic matter decay in the sediment during prolonged anoxic periods. This points to more extensive periods of perennial ice coverage, and thus, to a progressive shifts towards more intense peak glacial periods. In the course of the Pleistocene glacial-interglacial sequence eight so-called super-interglacials occur. Their exceptionally warm conditions are reflected by extreme Si / Ti peaks accompanied by lows in Ti, K, and Fe, thus indicating extraordinary high lake productivity

High temperature behavior of functional TiAlBSiN nanocomposite coatings

This article reports on the thorough characterization of structural-phase transformation in amorphous TiAlBSiN coating after high temperature annealing at 900 °C in ambient air. The influence of annealing on the tribomechanical behavior of the coating at nano and micro scale was also examined. The research included multiple experimental techniques, i.e. AFM, SEM, TEM, HR-TEM, EDS, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Experiments showed that the amorphous phase of the TiAlBSiN coating undergoes a structural transformation, evidenced in the changes of parameters such as topological and chemical short-range order after the post-deposition annealing at 900 °C in air. The observed structural transformation, leads to a phase separation with the formation of a three dimensional nc-TiAl3/a-SiBN(O) nanocomposite structure. The relative increase of hardness, reduced elastic modulus, H/Er ratio and H2 /E3 r ratio after high temperature treatment of TiAlBSiN coatings is also reported. The complex interdependency between chemistry, morphology and relative composition of the amorphous TiAlBSiN coating phase, during the high temperature treatment, with the respective change of the tribo-mechanical characteristics, are evidence of the improvement of the coating properties in response to the environmental conditions and high temperature. This work contributes particularly to the development and understanding of flexible nanocomposite protective coatings and their changes at high temperature of operatio

Structural adaptations of photosynthetic complex I enable ferredoxin-dependent electron transfer.

Photosynthetic complex I enables cyclic electron flow around photosystem I, a regulatory mechanism for photosynthetic energy conversion. We report a 3.3-A resolution cryo-EM structure of photosynthetic complex I from the cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus. The model reveals structural adaptations that facilitate binding and electron transfer from the photosynthetic electron carrier ferredoxin. By mimicking cyclic electron flow with isolated components in vitro, we demonstrate that ferredoxin directly mediates electron transfer between photosystem I and complex I, instead of using intermediates such as NADPH. A large rate constant for association of ferredoxin to complex I indicates efficient recognition, with the protein subunit NdhS being the key component in this process. Copyright © 2018, American Association for the Advancement of Science

QSAR studies on a number of pyrrolidin-2-one antiarrhythmic arylpiperazinyls

The activity of a number of 1-[3-(4-arylpiperazin-1-yl)propyl]pyrrolidin-2-one antiarrhythmic (AA) agents was described using the quantitative structure–activity relationship model by applying it to 33 compounds. The molecular descriptors of the AA activity were obtained by quantum chemical calculations combined with molecular modeling calculations. The resulting model explains up to 91% of the variance and it was successfully validated by four tests (LOO, LMO, external test, and Y-scrambling test). Statistical analysis shows that the AA activity of the studied compounds depends mainly on the PCR and JGI4 descriptors

Antiarrhythmic and antioxidant activity of novel pyrrolidin-2-one derivatives with adrenolytic properties

A series of novel pyrrolidin-2-one derivatives (17 compounds) with adrenolytic properties was evaluated for antiarrhythmic, electrocardiographic and antioxidant activity. Some of them displayed antiarrhythmic activity in barium chloride-induced arrhythmia and in the rat coronary artery ligation-reperfusion model, and slightly decreased the heart rate, prolonged P–Q, Q–T intervals and QRS complex. Among them, compound EP-40 (1-[2-hydroxy-3-[4-[(2-hydroxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl]propyl]pyrrolidin-2-one showed excellent antiarrhythmic activity. This compound had significantly antioxidant effect, too. The present results suggest that the antiarrhythmic effect of compound EP-40 is related to their adrenolytic and antioxidant properties. A biological activity prediction using the PASS software shows that compound EP-35 and EP-40 can be characterized by antiischemic activity; whereas, compound EP-68, EP-70, EP-71 could be good tachycardia agents