An analysis of focus and its role in the answering systems of polar questions in Chinese and English

Instead of classifying natural languages in terms of their answering systems for polar questions, this study investigates how languages construct the answering system for the polar questions with a special concentration on the answering system of the Chinese ma particle question and English polar questions. We argue that the primarily mechanism that natural languages adopt to construct an answering system is the focus mechanism which is based on the relationship between a focus sensitive marker and its association of focus. The different answering patterns to polar questions result from different scopes of focus. In a polar question, what is being focused by the focus sensitive marker or focus operator falls into question scope (focus association). The respondent answers the polar question based on the proposition in the question scope. Answering with a positive particle expresses agreement with that question proposition while answering with a negative particle conveys that the question proposition is not true.

The hydrogen atom and the periodic table

Investigates the energy levels in a configuration when a heavy positive particle (proton) and a light negative particle (electron) are present. The wave functions and permissible energy levels are derived from Schrödinger's equation. The role of quantum numbers is discussed. Electron spin and Pauli’s exclusion principle are introduced. The properties of the elements in the periodic table are discussed, based on the properties of the hydrogen atom. Exceptions when such a simple approach does not work are further discussed.

Positron Interactions with Atoms and Ions

Dirac, in 1928, combining the ideas of quantum mechanics and the ideas of relativity invented the well-known relativistic wave equation. In his formulation, he predicted an antiparticle of the electron of spin ħ/2. He thought that this particle must be a proton. Dirac [1] published his interpretation in a paper `A theory of electrons and protons'. It was shown later by the mathematician Hermann Weyl [see Ref. 2] that the Dirac theory was completely symmetric between negative and positive particles and the positive particle must have the same mass as that of the electron. In his J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize Acceptance Speech, Dirac [2] notes that ‘Blackett was really the first person to obtain hard evidence for the existence of a positron but he was afraid to publish it. He wanted confirmation, he was really over cautious.’ Positron, produced by the collision of cosmic rays in a cloud chamber, was detected experimentally by Anderson [3] in 1932. His paper was published in Physical Review in 1933. The concept of the positron and its detection were the important discoveries of the 20th century.

Activated platelet-derived microparticle numbers are elevated in patients with severe fungal (Candida albicans) sepsis

Background The treatment of severe sepsis highly depends on the identification of bacteria or fungi from blood and/or other body materials. Although widely available blood culturing and risk assessment scores are not completely reliable, current guidelines do not recommend the wide empirical use of antifungal medications based on questionable benefit or possible side-effects. We aimed to test whether platelet-derived microparticle (MP) measurements can improve the early detection of the infective agent behind sepsis. Methods Thirty-three consecutive severe septic patients from our university intensive care unit were included in our prospective study. MP number and surface antigen characteristics were followed by flow cytometry on days 1 (admission), 3 and 5. For microbiological identification, various specimens were collected on admission and in case of overall status deterioration. Results On admission, septic patients showed elevated annexin V and constitutive platelet marker (CD41)-positive MP numbers compared with volunteers. Mixed fungal septic patients showed significantly elevated annexin V and CD41-positive particle numbers on day 1 ( P < 0.05) compared with the non-fungal septic group. Adhesive platelet marker (CD42a) harbouring vesicles were negligible in the non-fungal group, while fungal septic patients showed significantly elevated numbers in all measurements ( P < 0.01). Particles from activated platelets (PAC1) had elevated numbers in the first and fifth study days compared with non-fungal septic patients ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The measurement of CD42a- and PAC1-positive microparticles may provide important additional information which can help to improve the early instalment of antifungal therapy of severe septic patients.

SELF-TRAPPING AT THE LIQUID-VAPOR CRITICAL POINT

Experiments suggest that localization via self-trapping plays a central role in the behavior of equilibrated low mass particles in both liquids and in supercritical fluids. In the latter case, the behavior is dominated by the liquid-vapor critical point which is difficult to probe, both experimentally and theoretically. Here, for the first time, we present the results of path-integral computations of the characteristics of a self-trapped particle at the critical point of a Lennard-Jones fluid for a positive particle-atom scattering length. We investigate the influence of the range of the particle-atom interaction on trapping properties, and the pick-off decay rate for the case where the particle is ortho-positronium. We find that, at the critical point, the transition from the self-trapped inhomogeneity to the density of the surrounding fluid is more gradual than in the liquid, or dense gas, away from the critical point. In addition the "shell structure" in fluid density surrounding the droplet is effaced.