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This is the latest addition to a group of handbooks covering the field of morphology, alongside 'The Oxford Handbook of Case' (2008), 'The Oxford Handbook of Compounding' (2009), and 'The Oxford Handbook of Derivational Morphology' (2014). It provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art overview of work on inflection - the expression of grammatical information through changes in word forms. The volume's 24 chapters are written by experts in the field from a variety of theoretical backgrounds, with examples drawn from a wide range of languages. The first part of the handbook covers the fundamental building blocks of inflectional form and content: morphemes, features, and means of exponence. Part two focuses on what is arguably the most characteristic property of inflectional systems, paradigmatic structure, and the non-trivial nature of the mapping between function and form. The third part deals with change and variation over time, and the fourth part covers computational issues from a theoretical and practical standpoint. Part 5 addresses psycholinguistic questions relating to language acquisition and neurocognitive disorders. The final part is devoted to sketches of individual inflectional systems, illustrating a range of typological possibilities across a genetically diverse set of languages from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Australia, Europe, and South America -- Jacket flap.

This review article presents evidence for the claim that frequency effects are pervasive in children's first language acquisition, and hence constitute a phenomenon that any successful account must explain. The article is organized around four key domains of research: children's acquisition of single words, inflectional morphology, simple syntactic constructions, and more advanced constructions. In presenting this evidence, we develop five theses. (i) There exist different types of frequency effect, from effects at the level of concrete lexical strings to effects at the level of abstract cues to thematic-role assignment, as well as effects of both token and type, and absolute and relative, frequency. High-frequency forms are (ii) early acquired and (iii) prevent errors in contexts where they are the target, but also (iv) cause errors in contexts in which a competing lower-frequency form is the target. (v) Frequency effects interact with other factors (e.g. serial position, utterance length), and the patterning of these interactions is generally informative with regard to the nature of the learning mechanism. We conclude by arguing that any successful account of language acquisition, from whatever theoretical standpoint, must be frequency sensitive to the extent that it can explain the effects documented in this review, and outline some types of account that do and do not meet this criterion.

qPCR is a widely used technique in scientific research as a basic tool in gene expression analysis. Classically, the quantitative endpoint of qPCR is the threshold cycle (C ) that ignores differences in amplification efficiency among many other drawbacks. While other methods have been developed to analyze qPCR results, none has statistically proven to perform better than the C method. Therefore, we aimed to develop a new qPCR analysis method that overcomes the limitations of the C method. Our f % [eff naught percent] method depends on a modified flexible sigmoid function to fit the amplification curve with a linear part to subtract the background noise. Then, the initial fluorescence is estimated and reported as a percentage of the predicted maximum fluorescence (f %). The performance of the new f % method was compared against the C method along with another two outstanding methods-LinRegPCR and Cy . The comparison regarded absolute and relative quantifications and used 20 dilution curves obtained from 7 different datasets that utilize different DNA-binding dyes. In the case of absolute quantification, f % reduced CV%, variance, and absolute relative error by 1.66, 2.78, and 1.8 folds relative to C ; and by 1.65, 2.61, and 1.71 folds relative to LinRegPCR, respectively. While, regarding relative quantification, f % reduced CV% by 1.76, 1.55, and 1.25 folds and variance by 3.13, 2.31, and 1.57 folds regarding C , LinRegPCR, and Cy , respectively. Finally, f % reduced the absolute relative error caused by LinRegPCR by 1.83 folds. We recommend using the f % method to analyze and report qPCR results based on its reported advantages. Finally, to simplify the usage of the f % method, it was implemented in a macro-enabled Excel file with a user manual located on https://github.com/Mahmoud0Gamal/F0-perc/releases .

Crosslinguistically, inflectional morphology exhibits a spectacular range of complexity in both the structure of individual words and the organization of systems that words participate in. We distinguish two dimensions in the analysis of morphological complexity. Enumerative complexity (E-complexity) reflects the number of morphosyntactic distinctions that languages make and the strategies employed to encode them, concerning either the internal composition of words or the arrangement of classes of words into inflection classes. This, we argue, is constrained by INTEGRATIVE COMPLEXITY (I-complexity). The I-complexity of an inflectional system reflects the difficulty that a paradigmatic system poses for language users (rather than lexicographers) in information-theoretic terms. This becomes clear by distinguishing AVERAGE PARADIGM ENTROPY from AVERAGE CONDITIONAL ENTROPY. The average entropy of a paradigm is the uncertainty in guessing the realization for a particular cell of the paradigm of a particular lexeme (given knowledge of the possible exponents). This gives one a measure of the complexity of a morphological system—systems with more exponents and more inflection classes will in general have higher average paradigm entropy—but it presupposes a problem that adult native speakers will never encounter. In order to know that a lexeme exists, the speaker must have heard at least one word form, so in the worst case a speaker will be faced with predicting a word form based on knowledge of one other word form of that lexeme. Thus, a better measure of morphological complexity is the average conditional entropy, the average uncertainty in guessing the realization of one randomly selected cell in the paradigm of a lexeme given the realization of one other randomly selected cell. This is the I-complexity of paradigm organization. Viewed from this information-theoretic perspective, languages that appear to differ greatly in their E-complexity—the number of exponents, inflectional classes, and principal parts—can actually be quite similar in terms of the challenge they pose for a language user who already knows how the system works. We adduce evidence for this hypothesis from three sources: a comparison between languages of varying degrees of E-complexity, a case study from the particularly challenging conjugational system of Chiquihuitlán Mazatec, and a Monte Carlo simulation modeling the encoding of morphosyntactic properties into formal expressions. The results of these analyses provide evidence for the crucial status of words and paradigms for understanding morphological organization.

The kinetics of hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) declines with orders of magnitude when the electrolyte varies from acid to base. Therefore, unveiling the mechanism of pH-dependent HOR and narrowing the acid-base kinetic gap are indispensable and challenging. Here, the HOR behaviors of palladium phosphides and their counterpart (PdP 2 /C, Pd 5 P 2 /C, Pd 3 P/C, and Pd/C) in the whole pH region (from pH 1 to 13) are explored. Unexpectedly, there are non-monotonous relationships between their HOR kinetics and varied pHs, showing distinct inflection-point behaviors (inflection points and acid-base kinetic gaps). We find the inflection-point behaviors can be explained by the discrepant role of pH-dependent hydroxyl binding energy (OHBE) and hydrogen binding energy (HBE) induced HOR kinetics under the entire pH range. We further reveal that the strengthened OHBE is responsible for the earlier appearance of the inflection point and much narrower acid-base kinetic gap. These findings are conducive to understanding the mechanism of the pH-targeted HOR process, and provide a new strategy for rational designing advanced HOR electrocatalysts under alkaline electrolyte.

Background Although observational studies have reported associations between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration and risks of lung, breast, and colorectal cancer, inconsistent or absent evidences were showed for other cancers. We conducted a pan-cancer analysis to comprehensively assess the role of CRP, including linearity and non-linearity associations. Methods We analyzed 420,964 cancer-free participants from UK Biobank cohort. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards model was conducted to evaluate the observed correlation of CRP with overall cancer and 21 site-specific cancer risks. Furthermore, we performed linear and non-linear Mendelian randomization analyses to explore the potential causal relation between them. Results During a median follow-up period of 7.1 years (interquartile range: 6.3, 7.7), 34,979 incident cancer cases were observed. Observational analyses showed higher CRP concentration was associated with increased risk of overall cancer (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.02 per 1mg/L increase, P < 0.001). There was a non-linear association between CRP and overall cancer risk with inflection point at 3mg/L (false-discovery rate adjust (FDR-adjusted) P overall < 0.001 and FDR-adjusted P non-linear < 0.001). For site-specific cancer, we observed positive linear associations for cancers of esophagus and stomach (FDR-adjusted P overall < 0.050 and FDR-adjusted P non-linear > 0.050). In addition, we also observed three different patterns of non-linear associations, including “fast-to-low increase” (head and neck, colorectal, liver, lung, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), “increase-to-decrease” (breast cancer), and “decrease-to-platform” (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). Furthermore, the inflection points of non-linear association patterns were consistently at around 3mg/L. By contrast, there was no evidence for linear or non-linear associations between genetically predicted CRP and risks of overall cancer or site-specific cancers. Conclusions Our results indicated that CRP was a potential biomarker to assess risks of overall cancer and 12 site-specific cancers, while no association were observed for genetically-predicted CRP and cancer risks.

This paper investigates the role of amount of current and cumulative exposure in bilingual development and ultimate attainment by exploring the extent to which simultaneous bilingual children's knowledge of grammatical gender is affected by current and previous amount of exposure, including in the early years. Elicited production and grammaticality judgement data collected from 136 English–Dutch-speaking bilingual children aged between three and 17 years are used to examine the lexical and grammatical aspects of Dutch gender, viz. definite determiners and adjectival inflection. It is argued that the results are more consistent with a rule-based than a piecemeal approach to acquisition (Blom, Polišenskà & Weerman, 2008a; Gathercole & Thomas, 2005, 2009), and that non-target performance on the production task can be explained by the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis (Haznedar & Schwartz, 1997; Prévost & White, 2000; Weerman, Duijnmeijer & Orgassa, 2011).

Debate around inflectional morphology in language acquisition has contrasted various rule- versus analogy-based approaches. This paper tests the rule-based Tolerance Principle (TP) against a new type of pattern in the acquisition of the possessive suffix - im in Northern East Cree. When possessed, each noun type either requires or disallows the suffix, which has a complex distribution throughout the lexicon. Using naturalistic video data from one adult and two children – Ani (2;01–4;03) and Daisy (3;08–5;10) – this paper presents two studies. Study 1 applies the TP to the input to extrapolate two possible sets of nested rules for - im and make predictions for child speech. Study 2 tests these predictions and finds that each child’s production of possessives over time is largely consistent with the predictions of the TP. This paper finds the TP can account for the acquisition of the possessive suffix and discusses implications for language science and Cree language communities.

Background The non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHHR) serves as a novel composite lipid indicator for atherosclerosis. However, the association between NHHR and mortality in patients with diabetes or prediabetes remains unclear. Consequently, the objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between NHHR and both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in US adults with diabetes or prediabetes. Methods This study included 12,578 adult participants with diabetes or prediabetes from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2018). Mortality outcomes were ascertained by linking to the National Death Index (NDI) record up to December 31, 2019. We employed a weighted multivariate Cox proportional hazards model and restricted cubic splines to assess the associations between NHHR and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. A segmented Cox proportional hazards model was used for evaluating threshold effects. Furthermore, a competing risks analysis was performed to explore the relationship between NHHR and cardiovascular mortality. Results During a median follow-up period of 8.08 years, 2403 participants encountered all-cause mortality, with 662 of them specifically succumbing to cardiovascular mortality. The restricted cubic splines revealed a U-shaped association between NHHR and all-cause mortality, while an L-shaped association was observed for cardiovascular mortality. The analysis of threshold effects revealed that the inflection points for NHHR and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were 2.72 and 2.83, respectively. Specifically, when the baseline NHHR was below the inflection points, a negative correlation was observed between NHHR and both all-cause mortality (HR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.68–0.85) and cardiovascular mortality (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.57–0.85). Conversely, when the baseline NHHR exceeded the inflection points, a positive correlation was observed between NHHR and both all-cause mortality (HR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.06–1.16) and cardiovascular mortality (HR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.00–1.16). Conclusions Among US adults with diabetes or prediabetes, a U-shaped association was observed between NHHR and all-cause mortality, whereas an L-shaped association was identified with cardiovascular mortality. The inflection points for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were 2.72 and 2.83, respectively.

With the swift advancement in science and technology, intelligent robots have increasingly drawn significant attention. Nonetheless, when employing the conventional A* algorithm for path planning, these robots encounter several challenges, including an excessive number of search nodes, prolonged computation times, and a high frequency of path inflection points. To enhance the path planning efficiency of intelligent robots, this paper introduces adaptive weights into the heuristic function of the A* algorithm and incorporates the concept of parent nodes. By doing so, the node search range in the A* algorithm is constrained, leading to a reduction in both the number of searched nodes and the required computation time. Furthermore, to address the issue of numerous path inflection points, this study applies the multiple uniform B-spline curve method to smooth the planned paths. This approach decreases the number of inflection points and ensures smoother transitions at sharp turns. Experimental results indicate that the improved A* algorithm proposed herein increases time efficiency by approximately 10%, reduces the scope of traversed nodes by around 50%, and effectively diminishes algorithmic runtime and path length while enhancing path.