Linguistics

Contains reports on five research projects.National Institute of Mental Health (Grant 5 PO1 MH-13390-04

How long can you hold the filler:Maintenance and retrieval

This study attempts to reveal the mechanisms behind the online formation of Wh-Filler-Gap Dependencies (WhFGD). Specifically, we aim to uncover the way in which maintenance and retrieval work in WhFGD processing, by paying special attention to the information that is retrieved when the gap is recognized. We use the agreement attraction phenomenon (Wagers, M. W., Lau, E. F., & Phillips, C. (2009). Agreement attraction in comprehension: Representations and processes. Journal of Memory and Language, 61(2), 206-237) as a probe. The first and second experiments examined the type of information that is maintained and how maintenance is motivated, investigating the retrieved information at the gap for reactivated fillers and definite NPs. The third experiment examined the role of the retrieval, comparing reactivated and active fillers. We contend that the information being accessed reflects the extent to which the filler is maintained, where the reader is able to access fine-grained information including category information as well as a representation of both the head and the modifier at the verb

The WR population predicted by massive single star and by massive binary evolution

We discuss differences between massive single star and massive close binary population number synthesis predictions of WR stars. We show that the WC/WN number ratio as function of metallicity depends significantly on whether or not binaries are included. Furthermore, the observed WC(+OB)/WN(+OB) number ratio in the Solar neighborhood seems to indicate that the WR mass loss rates are lower by another factor two compared to recently proposed clumping corrected formalisms. We then demonstrate that the observed lower luminosity distribution of single WN stars can be explained in a satisfactory way by massive single star evolutionary computations where the red supergiant phase is calculated using a stellar wind mass loss rate formalism that is based on recent observations.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; comments and criticisms on this preprint are very welcom

The Nuclear Stellar Cluster in the Seyfert~1 Galaxy NGC 3227: High Angular Resolution NIR Imaging and Spectroscopy

NIR high angular resolution speckle imaging and imaging spectroscopy of the nuclear region (10'' ~ 840pc) of the Seyfert1 galaxy NGC3227 are presented. A nuclear stellar cluster is slightly resolved in the J and H band with increasing contribution to the NIR continuum from the K to the J band. The stellar absorption lines are extended compared to the neighboring continuum suggesting a cluster size of ~ 70pc FWHM. Analysis of those lines suggests that the stars are contributing about 65% (40%) of the total continuum emission in the H (K) band in a 3.6'' aperture. Population synthesis in conjunction with NIR spectral synthesis indicates an age of 25 to 50 Myr when red supergiants contribute most to the NIR light. This is supported by published optical data on the MgIb line and the CaII triplet. Although a higher age of ~ 0.5 Gyr where AGB stars dominate the NIR light can not be excluded, the observed parameters are at the limit of those expected for a cluster dominated by AGB stars. However, in either case the resolved stellar cluster contributes only about ~ 15 % of the total dynamical mass in the inner 300pc implying another much older stellar population. Pure constant star formation over the last 10 Gyr can be excluded. Therefore, at least two star formation/starburst events took place in the nucleus of NGC3227. Since such sequences in the nuclear star formation history are also observed in the nuclei of other galaxies a link between the activity of the star formation and the AGN itself seems likely.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 46 pages, 15 figure

Inclusive Electron-Nucleus Scattering at Large Momentum Transfer

Inclusive electron scattering is measured with 4.045 GeV incident beam energy from C, Fe and Au targets. The measured energy transfers and angles correspond to a kinematic range for Bjorken $x > 1$ and momentum transfers from $Q^2 = 1 - 7 (GeV/c)^2$. When analyzed in terms of the y-scaling function the data show for the first time an approach to scaling for values of the initial nucleon momenta significantly greater than the nuclear matter Fermi-momentum (i.e. $> 0.3$ GeV/c).Comment: 5 pages TEX, 5 Postscript figures also available at http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/OAP.htm

Clinical relevance of rapid FOXF1-targeted sequencing in patients suspected of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins

Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary Veins (ACDMPV) is a lethal congenital lung disorder that presents shortly after birth with respiratory failure and therapy-resistant pulmonary hypertension. It is associated with heterozygous point mutations and genomic deletions that involve the FOXF1 gene or its upstream regulatory region. Patients are unresponsive to the intensive treatment regiments and suffer unnecessarily, because ACDMPV is not always timely recognized and histological diagnosis is invasive and time-consuming. Here, we demonstrate the usefulness of a non-invasive, fast genetic test for FOXF1 variants that we previously developed to rapidly diagnose ACDMPV and reduce the time of hospitalization.</p