147 research outputs found
A Bipolar Continuum or Two Independent Dimensions?
In contrast to standard models of emotional valence, which assume a bipolar
valence dimension ranging from negative to positive valence with a neutral
midpoint, the evaluative space model (ESM) proposes two independent positivity
and negativity dimensions. Previous imaging studies suggest higher predictive
power of the ESM when investigating the neural correlates of verbal stimuli.
The present study investigates further assumptions on the behavioral level. A
rating experiment on more than 600 German words revealed 48 emotionally
ambivalent stimuli (i.e., stimuli with high scores on both ESM dimensions),
which were contrasted with neutral stimuli in two subsequent lexical decision
experiments. Facilitative processing for emotionally ambivalent words was
found in Experiment 2. In addition, controlling for emotional arousal and
semantic ambiguity in the stimulus set, Experiment 3 still revealed a speed-
accuracy trade-off for emotionally ambivalent words. Implications for future
investigations of lexical processing and for the ESM are discussed
Affective-semantic integration of bivalent words
Single words have affective and aesthetic properties that influence their
processing. Here we investigated the processing of a special case of word
stimuli that are extremely difficult to evaluate, bivalent noun-noun-compounds
(NNCs), i.e. novel words that mix a positive and negative noun, e.g.
‘Bombensex’ (bomb-sex). In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
experiment we compared their processing with easier-to-evaluate non-bivalent
NNCs in a valence decision task (VDT). Bivalent NNCs produced longer reaction
times and elicited greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus
(LIFG) than non-bivalent words, especially in contrast to words of negative
valence. We attribute this effect to a LIFG-grounded process of semantic
integration that requires greater effort for processing converse information,
supporting the notion of a valence representation based on associations in
semantic networks
10 years of BAWLing into affective and aesthetic processes in reading: what are the echoes?
Reading is not only “cold” information processing, but involves affective and
aesthetic processes that go far beyond what current models of word
recognition, sentence processing, or text comprehension can explain. To
investigate such “hot” reading processes, standardized instruments that
quantify both psycholinguistic and emotional variables at the sublexical,
lexical, inter-, and supralexical levels (e.g., phonological iconicity, word
valence, arousal-span, or passage suspense) are necessary. One such
instrument, the Berlin Affective Word List (BAWL) has been used in over 50
published studies demonstrating effects of lexical emotional variables on all
relevant processing levels (experiential, behavioral, neuronal). In this
paper, we first present new data from several BAWL studies. Together, these
studies examine various views on affective effects in reading arising from
dimensional (e.g., valence) and discrete emotion features (e.g., happiness),
or embodied cognition features like smelling. Second, we extend our
investigation of the complex issue of affective word processing to words
characterized by a mixture of affects. These words entail positive and
negative valence, and/or features making them beautiful or ugly. Finally, we
discuss tentative neurocognitive models of affective word processing in the
light of the present results, raising new issues for future studies
Autonomous detection and anticipation of jam fronts from messages propagated by inter-vehicle communication
In this paper, a minimalist, completely distributed freeway traffic
information system is introduced. It involves an autonomous, vehicle-based jam
front detection, the information transmission via inter-vehicle communication,
and the forecast of the spatial position of jam fronts by reconstructing the
spatiotemporal traffic situation based on the transmitted information. The
whole system is simulated with an integrated traffic simulator, that is based
on a realistic microscopic traffic model for longitudinal movements and lane
changes. The function of its communication module has been explicitly validated
by comparing the simulation results with analytical calculations. By means of
simulations, we show that the algorithms for a congestion-front recognition,
message transmission, and processing predict reliably the existence and
position of jam fronts for vehicle equipment rates as low as 3%. A reliable
mode of operation already for small market penetrations is crucial for the
successful introduction of inter-vehicle communication. The short-term
prediction of jam fronts is not only useful for the driver, but is essential
for enhancing road safety and road capacity by intelligent adaptive cruise
control systems.Comment: Published in the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the
Transportation Research Board 200
Comparative analysis of an experimental subcellular protein localization assay and in silico prediction methods
The subcellular localization of a protein can provide important information about its function within the cell. As eukaryotic cells and particularly mammalian cells are characterized by a high degree of compartmentalization, most protein activities can be assigned to particular cellular compartments. The categorization of proteins by their subcellular localization is therefore one of the essential goals of the functional annotation of the human genome. We previously performed a subcellular localization screen of 52 proteins encoded on human chromosome 21. In the current study, we compared the experimental localization data to the in silico results generated by nine leading software packages with different prediction resolutions. The comparison revealed striking differences between the programs in the accuracy of their subcellular protein localization predictions. Our results strongly suggest that the recently developed predictors utilizing multiple prediction methods tend to provide significantly better performance over purely sequence-based or homology-based predictions
Discrete Emotion Effects on Lexical Decision Response Times
Our knowledge about affective processes, especially concerning effects on cognitive demands like word processing, is increasing steadily. Several studies consistently document valence and arousal effects, and although there is some debate on possible interactions and different notions of valence, broad agreement on a two dimensional model of affective space has been achieved. Alternative models like the discrete emotion theory have received little interest in word recognition research so far. Using backward elimination and multiple regression analyses, we show that five discrete emotions (i.e., happiness, disgust, fear, anger and sadness) explain as much variance as two published dimensional models assuming continuous or categorical valence, with the variables happiness, disgust and fear significantly contributing to this account. Moreover, these effects even persist in an experiment with discrete emotion conditions when the stimuli are controlled for emotional valence and arousal levels. We interpret this result as evidence for discrete emotion effects in visual word recognition that cannot be explained by the two dimensional affective space account
Proteomic analysis of the Plasmodium male gamete reveals the key role for glycolysis in flagellar motility.
BACKGROUND: Gametogenesis and fertilization play crucial roles in malaria transmission. While male gametes are thought to be amongst the simplest eukaryotic cells and are proven targets of transmission blocking immunity, little is known about their molecular organization. For example, the pathway of energy metabolism that power motility, a feature that facilitates gamete encounter and fertilization, is unknown.
METHODS: Plasmodium berghei microgametes were purified and analysed by whole-cell proteomic analysis for the first time. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001163.
RESULTS: 615 proteins were recovered, they included all male gamete proteins described thus far. Amongst them were the 11 enzymes of the glycolytic pathway. The hexose transporter was localized to the gamete plasma membrane and it was shown that microgamete motility can be suppressed effectively by inhibitors of this transporter and of the glycolytic pathway.
CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the first whole-cell proteomic analysis of the malaria male gamete. It identifies glycolysis as the likely exclusive source of energy for flagellar beat, and provides new insights in original features of Plasmodium flagellar organization
CicerTransDB 1.0: a resource for expression and functional study of chickpea transcription factors
Membrane Topology and Predicted RNA-Binding Function of the ‘Early Responsive to Dehydration (ERD4)’ Plant Protein
Functional annotation of uncharacterized genes is the main focus of computational methods in the post genomic era. These tools search for similarity between proteins on the premise that those sharing sequence or structural motifs usually perform related functions, and are thus particularly useful for membrane proteins. Early responsive to dehydration (ERD) genes are rapidly induced in response to dehydration stress in a variety of plant species. In the present work we characterized function of Brassica juncea ERD4 gene using computational approaches. The ERD4 protein of unknown function possesses ubiquitous DUF221 domain (residues 312–634) and is conserved in all plant species. We suggest that the protein is localized in chloroplast membrane with at least nine transmembrane helices. We detected a globular domain of 165 amino acid residues (183–347) in plant ERD4 proteins and expect this to be posited inside the chloroplast. The structural-functional annotation of the globular domain was arrived at using fold recognition methods, which suggested in its sequence presence of two tandem RNA-recognition motif (RRM) domains each folded into βαββαβ topology. The structure based sequence alignment with the known RNA-binding proteins revealed conservation of two non-canonical ribonucleoprotein sub-motifs in both the putative RNA-recognition domains of the ERD4 protein. The function of highly conserved ERD4 protein may thus be associated with its RNA-binding ability during the stress response. This is the first functional annotation of ERD4 family of proteins that can be useful in designing experiments to unravel crucial aspects of stress tolerance mechanism
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