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This study investigates "of"-constructions in the predicates of two reporting verbs, "demonstrate" and "show," in academic discourse. A construction perspective is taken to examine how the two predicate constructions (["demonstrate" N1 "of" N2] and ["show" N1 "of" N2]) would differ when the information-weighting of N1 and N2 are considered. The noun phrases are compared following Sinclair's (1991) conception of semantic headedness. He notes the peculiarity of "of" through the expression of double-headed constructions (i.e., considering both N1 and N2 as the semantic heads). This study adopts this framework and applies it to analyze the "of"-constructions of the two synonymous verbs. The results show that headedness of the "of"-constructions can be used to identify the subtle differences between the two synonyms. "Demonstrate" displays greater information weight predominated by double-headed constructions and tends to be associated with abstract conception for providing evaluative (e.g., "importance," "limitation") and modal (e.g., "possibility," "ability") functions. "Show" follows closely after "demonstrate" in the double-headed constructions, but further analysis reveals that "show" varies from "demonstrate" by displaying evidential functions through its co-occurrence with nouns denoting perspectives (e.g., "pattern," "organization"), representations (e.g., "diagram," "position") and cause and effect (e.g., "results," "impact"). It was also found that only "show" displays a propensity for N2-headed nouns as characterized by N1 measure nouns (e.g., "degree," "level") and evidential nouns (e.g., "sign," "evidence"). Pedagogical implications are provided to indicate where "demonstrate" can replace "show" in academic writing.

Characterizing unknown viruses is essential for understanding viral ecology and preparing against viral outbreaks. Recovering complete genome sequences from environmental samples remains computationally challenging using metagenomics, especially for low-abundance species with uneven coverage. We present an experimental method for reliably recovering complete viral genomes from complex environmental samples. Individual genomes are encapsulated into droplets and amplified using multiple displacement amplification. A unique gene detection assay, which employs an RNA-based probe and an exonuclease, selectively identifies droplets containing the target viral genome. Labeled droplets are sorted using a microfluidic sorter, and genomes are extracted for sequencing. We demonstrate this method's efficacy by spiking two known viral genomes, Simian virus 40 (SV40, 5,243 bp) and Human Adenovirus 5 (HAd5, 35,938 bp), into a sewage sample with a final abundance in the droplets of around 0.1% and 0.015%, respectively. We achieve 100% recovery of the complete sequence of the spiked-in SV40 genome with uniform coverage distribution. For the larger HAd5 genome, we cover approximately 99.4% of its sequence. Notably, genome recovery is achieved with as few as one sorted droplet, which enables the recovery of any desired genomes in complex environmental samples, regardless of their abundance. This method enables single-genome whole-genome amplification and targeting characterizations of rare viral species and will facilitate our ability to access the mutational profile in single-virus genomes and contribute to an improved understanding of viral ecology., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Toxicity assessment is a major problem in pharmaceutical candidates and industry chemicals development. However, due to the lack of practical analytical methods for DNA adduct analysis, the safety evaluation of drug and industry chemicals was severely limited. Here, we develop a DNAzyme-based method to detect DNA adduct damage for toxicity assessment of drugs and chemicals. Among 18 structural variants of G4 DNAzyme, EA2 DNAzyme exhibits an obvious DNA damaging effect of styrene oxide (SO) due to its unstable structure. The covalent binding of SO to DNAzyme disrupts the Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding sites of G-plane guanines and affects the formation of the G4 quadruplex. DNA damage chemicals reduce the peroxidase activity of the G4 DNAzyme to monitor the DNA adduct damage by disrupting the structural integrity of the G4 DNAzyme. Our method for genotoxic assessment of pharmaceutical candidates and industrial chemicals can elucidate the complex chemical pathways leading to toxicity, predict toxic effects of chemicals, and evaluate possible risks to human health., (© 2022 The Authors.)