This thesis investigates the contrastive predicate construction in Vietnamese under the Minimalist Program (Chomsky, 1995). As an instance of the predicate doubling constructions, it contains two copies of a predicate built around the topic marker thì, in which the one preceding thì is a contrastive topic. It is shown that the relation between the two copies of the predicate is formed by A-bar movement. On the one hand, the dependency between the topic and the lower predicate is unbounded, and can cross a number of finite clauses. On the other hand, their dependency is island sensitive. In addition, the two copies of the predicate are required to be morphologically identical. These pieces of evidence suggest that the two copies of the predicate are links of a movement chain which exceptionally allows thephonetic realization of more than one chain link. In this construction, the two copies of the predicate are obligatorily pronounced because they are associated with specific phonological requirements. Not pronouncing either one of them would lead to the phonological crash. As for the higher predicate or the topic, its phonetic realization is triggered by the [Top] feature of the TopP whose the head is occupied by the topic marker thì. The lower copy, on the other hand, is forced to be pronounced due to the focus feature that it is associated with. This focus feature is derived from the semantic content that the construction conveys. It is argued that of the two copies of the predicate in this construction, the higher one which is the topic provides given information, while the lower copy, in contrast, expresses new information, not given in the context; thus must receive a focus reading and be spelled out. Accordingly, both the two copies are phonetically realized. This present study is the first to study the contrastive predicate construction, an instance of predicate doubling constructions, in Vietnamese. In the process of analysis, some aspects of Vietnamese grammar are introduced to the readers. Theoretically, this study provides a strong empirical support for the copy theory of movement in which copies of a movement are phonetically realized. To some extent, it has made some contributions to the theory of grammar.

Italian architectural historian and critic, Manfredo Tafuri, with his seminal book Theories and History of Architecture, issued in 1968, started a new era in the architectural discourse. With his eminent theorization of &ldquo / architecture as the critique of ideology,&rdquo / Tafuri had shifted the critique of architecture to a political and Marxist level and this revolutionary understanding had absolute impacts on the institutionalization of the American critical discourse after 1968. This study is a historical criticism of the said intellectual interaction that examines the related theoretical transformations in discourse through specific publications, exhibitions, and symposiums. The 1972 MoMA exhibition, entitled Italy: The New Domestic Landscape (INDL) was a singular &ldquo / case&rdquo / in this examination since the first encounter of American intellectuals with the English translation of Tafuri&rsquo / s text, introducing a historical language, was through its catalog. Assigning the exhibition as a &ldquo / moment of crisis&rdquo / that had critical determining value for the comprehension of the entire sequence, this study attempts to reveal its significance, by analyzing the INDL catalog with a Tafurian methodology. In its entirety, the present study is a historical criticism of a sequence, which, however, does not refer to a linear flow of time. It is the &ldquo / project of crises&rdquo / in that particular sequence, a &ldquo / historical project&rdquo / in Tafurian sense. The project begins with the &ldquo / doubling&rdquo / of the INDL catalog. It recomposes the process into autonomous narratives, and then establishes an analytical relationship between those and Italophile inclinations in related texts, published in the periodical Oppositions between 1974 and 1984.

The purpose of this study is to develop a solid-state blue laser which has advantages of high power, short wavelength, and compact. It can be applied in micromaching, LIDAR, underwater ranging, biochemical techniques, and so forth. We increased the peak power of the laser effectively by a low-cost, small, and easy-use passive Q-switching technique. In addition, intracavity frequency-doubling is an economic way to achieve non-linear frequency conversion for blue generation. By integrating of these two techniques, we develop a compact all solid-state high-power blue laser with 83 W peak power at 473 nm. Restricted to reabsorption loss, the optical to optical conversion efficiency of 4F3/2 ¡÷ 4I9/2 quasi-three-level laser is lower than 4F3/2 ¡÷ 4I11/2 four-level laser for Nd:YAG crystal. The reabsorption loss will change with the temperature variation of the gain medium, it enormously affects to the performance and stability of quasi-three-level lasers. Therefore, in addition to make systematic studies of the conversion efficiency of KNbO3, BBO, LBO as the intracavity SHG crystals for generation of high-power blue laser, we use the numerical analysis to investigate the influence of reabsorption loss to quasi-three-level passive Q-switching laser. At present, blue laser with peak power of 83 W and pulse width of 10.6 ns was generated as a result. To our knowledge, the compact all solid-state high-power pulsed blue laser is demonstrated for the first time by integrating of passive Q-switching and intracavity frequency-doubling simultaneously.

Many physical phenomena can be described by nonlinear models. The last few decades have seen an enormous growth of the applicability of nonlinear models and of the development of related nonlinear concepts. This has been driven by modern computer power as well as by the discovery of new mathematical techniques, which include two contrasting themes: (i) the theory of dynamical systems, most popularly associated with the study of chaos, and (ii) the theory of integrable systems associated, among other things, with the study of solitons. In this dissertation, we study two nonlinear models. One is the 1-dimensional vibrating string satisfying wtt − wxx = 0 with van der Pol boundary conditions. We formulate the problem into an equivalent first order hyperbolic system, and use the method of characteristics to derive a nonlinear reflection relation caused by the nonlinear boundary conditions. Thus, the problem is reduced to the discrete iteration problem of the type un+1 = F (un). Periodic solutions are investigated, an invariant interval for the Abel equation is studied, and numerical simulations and visualizations with different coefficients are illustrated. The other model is the Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers (KdVB) equation. In this dissertation, we proposed two new approaches: One is what we currently call First Integral Method, which is based on the ring theory of commutative algebra. Applying the Hilbert-Nullstellensatz, we reduce the KdVB equation to a first-order integrable ordinary differential equation. The other approach is called the Coordinate Transformation Method, which involves a series of variable transformations. Some new results on the traveling wave solution are established by using these two methods, which not only are more general than the existing ones in the previous literature, but also indicate that some corresponding solutions presented in the literature contain errors. We clarify the errors and instead give a refined result.

This thesis proposes that an investigation into the phenomenon of doubling may engage architecture with a type of desire that has deep rooted connections with the complexities of human nature, with the very human condition of desiring to know who/what/where/when/how we are. It proposes that an experience of doubling is suggestive of a specific kind of affective space that tests this relationship, expanding into the interval we have formed between our body, its being and space. The proposal is to explore the material, spatial, and psychological characteristics of such a phenomenon - to understand the virtual space created through this doubling and its architectonic characteristics. The design ambition of this thesis is to construct an architectural fiction that engages with this doubling. If architecture has the capacity to embody the ambitions and anxieties of society, the work produced attempts to invoke, through choreographed doublings manifested by the movement of figure and light through constructions in time, that human condition of desire that is concerned with finding/defining itself in the unknown, not to provide an answer for what the unknown is, but to engage with its enigmatic nature. By engaging in the protean dynamics of doubling and desire, this thesis attempts to poeticize the interval between the body and its built environment.

Mitochondrial mutations and heteroplasmy have been associated with disease states that result from inadequate cellular energy production. As mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes many of the polypeptides involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), mtDNA mutations may lower energy production which is required for cell division and sustained ATP synthesis. In order to test the relationship between mtDNA mutations and the rate of cell division, a mammary epithelial cancer cell line, MCF-7, is used as a model. Nine proliferate single cell clones have been isolated from MCF-7. Population doubling times of six single cell clones and the MCF-7 stock have been determined. Clones with distinctly different growth rates were selected for mutational analysis. Growth rates of these clones appeared to be different from each other. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing, three cases of heteroplasmy have been identified in the mitochondrial genes of the MCF-7 stock and four single cell clones (ATPase C9119T, ND6 T14300G, Cytb G15807A). Heteroplasmy present in the Cytb gene is differs between single cell clones. Differences between the growth rates may be indicative of metabolic variations in these single cell clones. The OXPHOS enzymes encoded by the mutated genes were quantified by standard enzymatic assays. The assays demonstrated significant differences in specific activity between the clones, but were not correlated with mitochondrial heteroplasmy. This thesis determines that the differences in specific activity observed between clones is of nuclear origin.

Mitochondria are the main sites for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation within most cells. Structural and functional alterations of mitochondria due to genetic abnormalities of mitochondria can cause respiratory chain dysfunction. In this study, the important role of mitochondria in energy metabolism was determined by comparing the effect of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations on growth patterns and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) enzyme activities of six isolated clones (B5, B12, D4, D9, E1 and E8); as well as the effect of ATP supplement to culture using the slowest growing clone. The isolated clones had shown distinct growth pattern and morphology. The difference in proliferation rates among the clones was ascertained by the doubling times (B5=26.4h. B12=43.2h. D4=25.7h. D9=33.6h. E1=26.9h and E8=28.8h). The clone's slow growth rate was likely the result of mitochondrial mutations in the 16S rRNA gene, ND1, ND4, ND6 and COX III. Five heteroplasmic mutations were found in clone B12 (G2480T, C2513G, A2520T, C9527T and C14263G), one heteroplasmic mutation in clone D9 (A4137G) and one homoplasmic mutation in clone D4 (C11496). The mutations in clone B12 appeared to be deleterious to the cell by disrupting mitochondrial OXPHOS activities and reducing energy output. Additionally, extracellular ATP supplement to OXPHOS deficient clone B12 facilitated cell growth and enhances the gene expression. Increased expression of mtDNA-encoded respiratory chain complexes observed in clone B12 compared to clone D4 may reflect mitochondrial genomic adaptation to perturbations in cellular energy requirements. The stimulation of mitochondrial biogenesis may be a cellular response in compensation for defects in OXPHOS associated with mtDNA mutations. My data support the hypothesis that the variability in functional manifestations of mtDNA is attributed to the nature of the mutation, number of mutation and the gene specifically affected. These results will help to further our understanding of the relationship between mitochondrial mutation and cellular function.

This work motivates the study of open dynamical systems corresponding to the doubling map. In particular, the dynamical properties of the attractor of the doubling map when a symmetric, centred open interval is removed are studied. Using the arithmetical properties of the binary expansion of the points on the boundary of the removed interval, we study properties such as topological transitivity, the specification property and intrinsic ergodicity. The properties of the function that associates to each hole $(a,b)$ the topological entropy of the attractor of the considered dynamical system are also shown. For these purposes, a subshift corresponding to an element of the lexicographic world is associated to each attractor and the mentioned properties are studied symbolically.

No description available.

Whole genome doubling (WGD) generates genetically unstable tetraploid cells that fuel tumorigenesis. Cells that undergo WGD must acquire adaptive characteristics to accommodate their tetraploid state, and these adaptations may confer unique vulnerabilities that can be exploited therapeutically. We analyzed the genomes of ~9,700 primary human cancer samples to uncover genetic alterations that are specifically enriched in WGD+ cancer cells. Through integrating our genetic analysis with gene essentiality data acquired from Project Achilles, we identified gene dependencies in WGD+ cells. Moreover, we identified genes that are essential for the viability of WGD+ cancer cells, but non-essential to non-transformed diploid cells. We demonstrated that the gene encoding for the mitotic kinesin KIF18A is dispensable for mitosis in diploid cells, but becomes critical for accurate chromosome segregation and viability in WGD+ cells, making it an attractive drug target. Collectively, this work revealed new strategies to specifically target WGD+ cancer cells, namely targeting the gene KIF18A, while sparing the normal diploid cells from which they arise. / 2022-06-04T00:00:00Z