Word frequency modulates morpheme-based reading in poor and skilled Italian readers.

A previous study (Burani et al., Cognition, 2008) reported that, similar to young and adult skilled readers, Italian developmental dyslexics read pseudowords made up of a root and a derivational suffix faster and more accurately than simple pseudowords. Unlike skilled readers, only dyslexic and reading-matched younger children benefited from morphological structure in reading words aloud. In this study, we show that word frequency affects the probability of morpheme-based reading, interacting with reading ability. Young skilled readers named low- but not high-frequency morphologically complex words faster than simple words. By contrast, the advantage for morphologically complex words was present in poor readers irrespective of word frequency. Adult readers showed no facilitating effect of morphological structure. These results indicate that young readers use reading units (morphemes) that are larger than the single-grapheme grain-size. It is argued that morpheme-based reading is important for obtaining reading fluency (rather than accuracy) in transparent orthographies and is useful particularly in children with limited reading ability who do not fully master whole-word processing

Reading derived words by Italian children with and without dyslexia: The effect of root length

Children with dyslexia are extremely slow at reading long words but they are faster with stimuli composed of roots and derivational suffixes (e.g., CASSIERE, \u2018cashier\u2019) than stimuli not decomposable in morphemes (e.g., CAMMELLO, \u2018camel\u2019). The present study assessed whether root length modulates children\u2019s morphological processing. For typically developing readers, root activation was expected to be higher for longer than shorter roots because longer roots are more informative access units than shorter ones. By contrast, readers with dyslexia were not expected to be facilitated by longer roots because these roots might exceed dyslexics\u2019 processing capacities. Two groups of Italian 6th graders, with and without dyslexia, read aloud low-frequency derived words, with familiar roots and suffixes. Word reaction times (RTs) and mispronunciations were recorded. Linear mixed-effects regression analyses on RTs showed the inhibitory effect of word length and the facilitating effect of root frequency for both children with and without dyslexia. Root length predicted RTs of typically developing readers only, with faster RTs for longer roots, over and above the inhibitory effect of word length. Furthermore, typically developing children had faster RTs on words with more frequent suffixes while children with dyslexia were faster when roots had a small family size. Generalized linear regression analyses on accuracy showed facilitating effects of word frequency and suffix frequency, for both groups. The large word length effect on latencies confirmed laborious whole-word processing in children when reading low-frequency derived words. The absence of a word frequency effect along with the facilitating effect of root frequency indicated morphemic processing in all readers. The reversed root length effect in typically developing readers pointed to a stronger activation for longer roots in keeping with the idea that these represent particularly informative units for word decoding. For readers with dyslexia the facilitating effect of root frequency (not modulated by root length) confirmed a pervasive benefit of root activation while the lack of root length modulation indicated that the longest roots were for them too large units to be processed within a single fixation

“ULACAV - Red Latinoamericana de Cátedras de Vivienda Social”

El objetivo ha sido promover acciones específicas de docencia, investigación y extensión en materia decooperativismo de vivienda entre las Universidades que conforman la Red Universitaria Latinoamericana deCátedras de Vivienda, a través de dos ejes: i) el conocimiento de la situación en Argentina, relacionada a laenseñanza de la economía social y solidaria y en particular del cooperativismo, ii) el rescate de laexperiencia internacional de algunas redes universitarias de origen latinoamericano y europeo, en materiade cooperativismo, con las que aparece conveniente establecer estrategias de integración que permitanmejorar las respuestas interdisciplinarias para la producción social del hábitat.Se parte de un análisis de la situación de la enseñanza del cooperativismo en general y del cooperativismode vivienda en particular, que se da hoy en diferentes universidades de la República Argentina yconcatenado con ello, las acciones de investigación y extensión que se llevan adelante. En oportunidad delCongreso Argentino de la Cooperación realizado en la Ciudad de Rosario (6, 7 Setiembre 2012), sepresentaron relevantes trabajos de investigación sobre los tres ejes que la educación superior debegarantizar. De allí surgen fuentes bibliográficas de enorme valor que ponen de manifiesto una centralidad dedichas investigaciones en las universidades de carácter estatal sin relevamiento de lo que sucede en elámbito universitario de gestión privada. Destacados autores nacionales, identificados como referentes de laeconomía social, trabajan con este sesgo de acentuar solamente lo público-estatal. Entonces es importantecomplementar esa información valiosa con lo que sucede en docencia, investigación y extensión desde lasuniversidades no estatales en materia de economía social y solidaria y de cooperativismo en particular,poniendo énfasis en las respuestas solidarias para la construcción de un hábitat social adecuado.Al respecto la Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño de la Universidad de Mendoza (FAUD-UM),considera que la producción cooperativa del Hábitat Social es uno de los caminos para optimizar el uso delos recursos destinados a solucionar los problemas habitacionales que aquejan a nuestra sociedad.Por ello, a través de su Cátedra de Vivienda Social y su Instituto de Vivienda Social (IVS), pone el acento enla formación de sus futuros profesionales en los conocimientos filosóficos y procesos de conformación delHábitat Cooperativo siguiendo tres ejes de acciones: a) respecto del grado y como parte de esta formación,se imparten conocimientos teóricos sobre asociativismo habitacional y se realizan trabajos prácticos queresponden a necesidades concretas de cooperativas locales (Mendoza, Argentina); b) en la formación deposgrado, actualmente se ha lanzado la Diplomatura Universitaria en Producción Asociativa deViviendas, que será continuada con una ESPECIALIZACIÓN y una MAESTRÍA EN HABITATCOOPERATIVO, en proceso de acreditación; c) en materia de investigación se desarrollan diferentesproyectos con participación de docentes-investigadores y alumnos y el respaldo del Centro deInvestigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas y Vinculación (DICyTyV).La extensión universitaria desde la Cátedra y el IVS se realiza a través de convenios firmados, por ejemplocon la Federación de Cooperativas de Viviendas de Mendoza (FECOVIM) para que los estudiantes dearquitectura realicen cada año, prácticas en entidades de urbanización y vivienda de Mendoza.El segundo eje de análisis toma el caso de: a) la Red Universitaria Latinoamericana y Europea de Centros eInstitutos Universitarios de Cooperativismo – RULESCOOP; b) la Red de Investigadores Latinoamericanosde Economía Social y Solidaria – RILESS; c) la European Research Network – EMES; y d) la Asociación deUniversidades Grupo Montevideo AUGM- con su Comité Académico PROCOAS – Procesos Cooperativos eIniciativas Económicas Asociativas.En el marco institucional de ULACAV, camino a sus veinte años de existencia y tras valiosas experienciasque atraviesan los temas específicos de trabajo de la red, se espera poder profundizar la formación derecursos humanos en el área específica del cooperativismo habitacional. LA FAUD-UM como miembrotitular de la Red ULACAV, propone: 1) Crear un Programa de Movilidad Docente y Estudiantil paraintercambio de cátedras de vivienda social. 2) Promover investigaciones conjuntas 3) Establecervinculaciones y posibles convenios integrales de cooperación con las redes RULESCOOP, RILESS, EMESy PROCOAS – AUGM

Hubble Space Telescope Survey of the Perseus Cluster: II. Photometric scaling relations in different environments

We investigate the global photometric scaling relations traced by early-type galaxies in different environments, ranging from dwarf spheroidals, over dwarf elliptical galaxies, up to giant ellipticals (-8 mag > M_V > -24 mag). These results are based in part on our new HST/ACS F555W and F814W imagery of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Perseus Cluster. These scaling relations are almost independent of environment, with Local Group and cluster galaxies coinciding in the various diagrams. We show that at M_V ~ -14 mag, the slopes of the photometric scaling relations involving the Sersic parameters change significantly. We argue that these changes in slope reflect the different physical processes that dominate the evolution of early-type galaxies in different mass regimes. As such, these scaling relations contain a wealth of information that can be used to test models for the formation of early-type galaxies.Comment: accepted for publication by MNRA

The History of Galaxy Formation in Groups: An Observational Perspective

We present a pedagogical review on the formation and evolution of galaxies in groups, utilizing observational information from the Local Group to galaxies at z~6. The majority of galaxies in the nearby universe are found in groups, and galaxies at all redshifts up to z~6 tend to cluster on the scale of nearby groups (~1 Mpc). This suggests that the group environment may play a role in the formation of most galaxies. The Local Group, and other nearby groups, display a diversity in star formation and morphological properties that puts limits on how, and when, galaxies in groups formed. Effects that depend on an intragroup medium, such as ram-pressure and strangulation, are likely not major mechanisms driving group galaxy evolution. Simple dynamical friction arguments however show that galaxy mergers should be common, and a dominant process for driving evolution. While mergers between L_* galaxies are observed to be rare at z < 1, they are much more common at earlier times. This is due to the increased density of the universe, and to the fact that high mass galaxies are highly clustered on the scale of groups. We furthermore discus why the local number density environment of galaxies strongly correlates with galaxy properties, and why the group environment may be the preferred method for establishing the relationship between properties of galaxies and their local density.Comment: Invited review, 16 pages, to be published in ESO Astrophysics Symposia: "Groups of Galaxies in the Nearby Universe", eds. I. Saviane, V. Ivanov, J. Borissov

The Discovery of New Galaxy Members in the NGC 5044 and NGC 1052 Groups

We present the results of neutral hydrogen (HI) observations of the NGC 5044 and NGC 1052 groups, as part of a GEMS (Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study) investigation into the formation and evolution of galaxies in nearby groups. Two new group members have been discovered during a wide-field HI imaging survey conducted using the ATNF Parkes telescope. These results, as well as those from followup HI synthesis and optical imaging, are presented here. J1320-1427, a new member of the NGC 5044 Group, has an HI mass of M_HI=1.05e9Msun and M_HI/L_B=1.65 Msun/Lsun, with a radial velocity of v=2750km/s. The optical galaxy is characterised by two regions of star formation, surrounded by an extended, diffuse halo. J0249-0806, the new member of the NGC 1052 Group, has M_HI=5.4e8Msun, M_HI/L_R=1.13 Msun/Lsun and v=1450km/s. The optical image reveals a low surface brightness galaxy. We interpret both of these galaxies as irregular type, with J0249-0806 possibly undergoing first infall into the NGC 1052 group.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 21 pages, 13 figures. Also available with high-resolution figures at http://www.astro.livjm.ac.uk/~npfm/Papers/mmb04.ps.g

Las Secuencias Depositacionales del Plioceno-Cuaternario en la Plataforma Submarina adyacente al Litoral del Este Bonaerense

Se describen las características sismoestratigráficas, sedimentológicas y morfológicas del sector de plataforma submarina adyacente al este bonaerense. El trabajo se basa en los resultados obtenidos durante el desarrollo de sucesivos proyectos destinados al estudio de la cubierta sedimentaria del Plioceno-Cuaternario y reciente, utilizando metodologías de relevamiento sísmico de reflexión de media a alta resolución y muestreos de sedimentos. El sector de plataforma estudiado constituye una típica plataforma submarina silicoclástica de margen pasivo, de gran extensión y suave relieve. Su configuración morfológica está caracterizada por relieves aterrazados con una cobertura sedimentaria de depósitos arenosos relicto a palimpsestos que resultaron del retrabajamiento de sistemas costeros de playas, barreras y lagunas litorales durante el retroceso de la línea de costa como consecuencia del ascenso del nivel del mar durante la transgresión postglacial, con una etapa final de remodelado parcial durante el descenso del nivel del mar del Holoceno superior. Se diferencian dos ámbitos, la plataforma interior ("Terraza Rioplatense", entre la línea de costa y los 30/40 m de profundidad) con geoformas ajustadas a la hidrodinámica actual, y la plataforma exterior (entre la isobata de 70 m y el borde exterior de la plataforma en transición al talud), con sedimentos relicto de poca movilidad; en ambas se hallan relieves pre-transgresivos labrados en depósitos marinos y continentales del Plio-Pleistoceno que afloran bajo la cubierta sedimentaria reciente. Un escalón abrupto de 30/40 m de desnivel separa ambas plataformas. La secuencia estratigráfica estudiada está constituida por seis Secuencias Depositacionales (SD 1 a SD 6 de techo a base) que representan paquetes sedimentarios separados por discordancias. La SD 6 constituye la base de la secuencia, y corresponde a depósitos marinos del Mioceno correlacionables con las unidades costeras conocida como "Paranense-Entrerriense-Chapadmalense". La SD 5 son depósitos marinos en transición a continentales equivalentes a la Fm Barranca de los Lobos del litoral marplatense y a la unidad conocida como "Fm Puelches Equivalente" del Plioceno. La SD 4 está caracterizada por sedimentos marinos correspondientes al denominado "Interensenadense" en el litoral bonaerense, de edad aproximada a los 2,41 Ma (Plioceno superior), y se reconocen en ella diversas sismofacies de ambientes marinos, costeros y continentales con una secuencia litológica granodecreciente hacia arriba. La SD 3, marina, tiene la particularidad de tener una distribución saltuaria, a diferencia de las restantes que se extienden de manera uniforme en toda la región, lo que demuestra la ocurrencia, con posterioridad a su depositación, de importantes procesos erosivos probablemente asociados a tectónica y/o glacioeustatismo. La SD 2 representa a los depósitos marinos-costeros formados durante el estadío isotópico 5e (120 ka), que en las llanuras costeras vecinas se lo conoce como "Belgranense", y está constituida por diversas facies entre las que se destacan barreras-lagunas litorales, playas y estuarios. La SD 1 es la cobertura superficial formada durante la transgresión postglacial en ambientes de barreras-lagunas costeras-estuarios. La secuencia integrada por las SD 5 a 1 representa a las transgresiones glacioeustáticas del Plioceno- Cuaternario, con diferentes grados de preservación en la plataforma y el Río de la Plata en virtud de variantes tectónicas y morfológicas. Existe la posibilidad de que no todas las transgresiones marinas ocurridas en la región hayan quedado preservadas en el registro geológico

Exponentially growing bubbles around early super massive black holes

We addressed the so far unexplored issue of outflows induced by exponentially growing power sources, focusing on early supermassive black holes (BHs). We assumed that these objects grow to $10^9\;M_{\odot}$ by z=6 by Eddington-limited accretion and convert 5% of their bolometric output into a wind. We first considered the case of energy-driven and momentum-driven outflows expanding in a region where the gas and total mass densities are uniform and equal to the average values in the Universe at $z>6$. We derived analytic solutions for the evolution of the outflow, finding that, for an exponentially growing power with e-folding time $t_{Sal}$, the late time expansion of the outflow radius is also exponential, with e-folding time of $5t_{Sal}$ and $4t_{Sal}$ in the energy-driven and momentum-driven limit, respectively. We then considered energy-driven outflows produced by QSOs at the center of early dark matter halos of different masses and powered by BHs growing from different seeds. We followed the evolution of the source power and of the gas and dark matter density profiles in the halos from the beginning of the accretion until $z=6$. The final bubble radius and velocity do not depend on the seed BH mass but are instead smaller for larger halo masses. At z=6, bubble radii in the range 50-180 kpc and velocities in the range 400-1000 km s$^{-1}$ are expected for QSOs hosted by halos in the mass range $3\times10^{11}-10^{13}\;M_{\odot}$. By the time the QSO is observed, we found that the total thermal energy injected within the bubble in the case of an energy-driven outflow is $E_{th}\sim5 \times 10^{60}$ erg. This is in excellent agreement with the value of $E_{th}=(6.2\pm 1.7)\times 10^{60}$ erg measured through the detection of the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect around a large population of luminous QSOs at lower redshift. [abridged]Comment: 17 pages and 14 figures. Typos corrected. It matches the version published in A&

C and N abundances of MS and SGB stars in NGC 1851

We present the first chemical analysis of stars on the double subgiant branch (SGB) of the globular cluster NGC 1851. We obtained 48 Magellan IMACS spectra of subgiants and fainter stars covering the spectral region between 3650-6750\AA, to derive C and N abundances from the spectral features at 4300\AA (G-band) and at ~ 3883\AA (CN). We added to our sample ~ 45 unvevolved stars previously observed with FORS2 at the VLT. These two datasets were homogeneously reduced and analyzed. We derived abundances of C and N for a total of 64 stars and found considerable star-to-star variations in both [C/H] and [N/H] at all luminosities extending to the red giant branch (RGB) base (V~18.9). These abundances appear to be strongly anticorrelated, as would be expected from the CN-cycle enrichment, but we did not detect any bimodality in the C or N content. We used HST and ground-based photometry to select two groups of faint- and bright-SGB stars from the visual and Str\"omgren color-magnitude diagrams. Significant variations in the carbon and nitrogen abundances are present among stars of each group, which indicates that each SGB hosts multiple subgenerations of stars. Bright- and faint-SGB stars differ in the total C+N content, where the fainter SGB have about 2.5 times the C+N content of the brighter ones. Coupling our results with literature photometric data and abundance determinations from high-resolution studies, we identify the fainter SGB with the red-RGB population, which also should be richer on average in Ba and other s-process elements, as well as in Na and N, when compared to brighter SGB and the blue-RGB population.Comment: 17 pages, 3 tables, 16 figures; typos corrected, added checks on temperature scale; A&A accepted (in press