The influence of the scene on linguistic expectations: Evidence from cross-model priming in visual worlds

- Numerous studies of utterance mediated gaze in visual scenes have demonstrated that sentence processing is not only incremental but also eager: During processing, listeners form expectations about upcoming arguments and make anticipatory eye movements to relevant displayed objects. - In particular, selectional information from verbs has been shown to guide visual attention to appropriate objects; upon hearing “the boy will eat”, listeners start looking at edible objects even before they are mentioned [1, 2]. - While these studies provide valuable insights into semantic processing, it is not clear whether anticipatory eye movements indeed reflect the purely linguistic activation of likely arguments or whether these anticipatory processes are influenced by the circumscribed visual context. - We present a German cross-modal priming experiment in which we examined listeners sensitivity to selectional restrictions between verbs and their object arguments

Development of a High-throughput Platform for the Determination of Antiviral Therapeutics

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) persists in up to 90% of the global human population. In healthy individuals, the virus resides within the kidneys resulting in a low-level infection. However, in severely immunocompromised individuals, the virus can migrate to the central nervous system (CNS), causing the demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Currently, this debilitating disease has no clinical therapeutic options and is almost universally fatal. Specifics of the JCPyV infectious cycle, as well as the limitations of traditional laboratory techniques, have previously hindered the search for antiviral agents with the potential to prevent or treat JCPyV infection. To this end, a new high-throughput, in vitro method to measure JCPyV infectivity, the In-cell Western (ICW) assay, has been adapted to allow for rapid, consistent, and impartial analysis of the antiviral properties of large libraries of drugs and other small compounds. Utilizing this ICW platform, a large-scale drug screen was performed using the National Institute for Health (NIH) Clinical Collection, a library of over 700 drugs and small compounds, to identify drugs and compounds that reduce JCPyV infectivity. Through analysis and characterization of these compounds, heretofore unknown therapeutic agents against JCPyV have been identified, including drugs that target cell surface receptors and biochemical pathways involved in calcium and MAP kinase signaling. These compounds are the focus of further characterization to identify the cell-based mechanism by which they inhibit JCPyV infection. Findings from this study provide new information that significantly advances the field in the development of antiviral compounds to treat or prevent PML

The Maximum Flux of Star-Forming Galaxies

The importance of radiation pressure feedback in galaxy formation has been extensively debated over the last decade. The regime of greatest uncertainty is in the most actively star-forming galaxies, where large dust columns can potentially produce a dust-reprocessed infrared radiation field with enough pressure to drive turbulence or eject material. Here we derive the conditions under which a self-gravitating, mixed gas-star disc can remain hydrostatic despite trapped radiation pressure. Consistently taking into account the self-gravity of the medium, the star- and dust-to-gas ratios, and the effects of turbulent motions not driven by radiation, we show that galaxies can achieve a maximum Eddington-limited star formation rate per unit area $\dot{\Sigma}_{\rm *,crit} \sim 10^3 M_{\odot}$ pc$^{-2}$ Myr$^{-1}$, corresponding to a critical flux of $F_{\rm *,crit} \sim 10^{13} L_{\odot}$ kpc$^{-2}$ similar to previous estimates; higher fluxes eject mass in bulk, halting further star formation. Conversely, we show that in galaxies below this limit, our one-dimensional models imply simple vertical hydrostatic equilibrium and that radiation pressure is ineffective at driving turbulence or ejecting matter. Because the vast majority of star-forming galaxies lie below the maximum limit for typical dust-to-gas ratios, we conclude that infrared radiation pressure is likely unimportant for all but the most extreme systems on galaxy-wide scales. Thus, while radiation pressure does not explain the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation, it does impose an upper truncation on it. Our predicted truncation is in good agreement with the highest observed gas and star formation rate surface densities found both locally and at high redshift.Comment: Version accepted for publication in MNRAS. 12 pages, 8 figures. New appendix on photon tirin

Blended learning: A new approach to legal teaching in South African law schools

This article investigates the development of a sustainable strategy for the integration of online education technology and traditional teaching and learning methodologies in South African law faculties, in a so-called ‘blended learning’ approach to legal teaching. In developing a strategy, a number of issues were considered, including: accommodating an increasing and diverse student population; achieving SAQA exit-level outcomes; national and international trends in blended learning; and ensuring an appropriate level of computer skills for both lecturers and students. Vital to the development of a sustainable strategy is a comprehensive management plan which details clear objectives for the process of implementation.The achievement of the management plan objectives should be driven by a project management team, which will be responsible for conducting training and support in blended learning; developing online learning module materials; producing research into technological advancements in this field; co-operating with the law library; establishing a committed blended learning community; and finally establishing a system of blended learning module review.The overall objective of the strategy then, is to establish a sustainable model for the medium and long-term implementation of blended learning, ensuring that this mode of learning becomes accepted as an integral part of the system of legal education in the institution

ISM chemistry in metal rich environments: molecular tracers of metallicity

In this paper we use observations of molecular tracers in metal rich and alpha-enhanced galaxies to study the effect of abundance changes on molecular chemistry. We selected a sample of metal rich spiral and star bursting objects from the literature, and present here new data for a sample of early-type galaxies (ETGs). We conducted the first survey of CS and methanol emission in ETGs, detecting 7 objects in CS, and 5 in methanol emission. We find evidence to support the hypothesis that CS is a better tracer of dense star-forming gas than HCN. We suggest that the methanol emission in these sources is driven by dust mantle destruction due to ionisation from high mass star formation, but cannot rule out shocks dominating in some sources. The derived source averaged CS/methanol column densities and rotation temperatures are similar to those found in normal spiral and starburst galaxies, suggesting dense clouds are little affected by the differences between galaxy types. Finally we used the total column density ratios for our galaxy samples to show for the first time that some molecular tracers do seem to show systematic variations that appear to correlate with metallicity, and that these variations roughly match those predicted by chemical models. Using this fact, the chemical models of Bayet et al. (2012b), and assumptions about the optical depth we are able to roughly predict the metallicity of our spiral and ETG sample, with a scatter of ~0.3 dex. We provide the community with linear approximations to the relationship between the HCN and CS column density ratio and metallicity. Further study will clearly be required to determine if this, or any, molecular tracer can be used to robustly determine gas-phase metallically, but that a relationship exists at all suggests that in the future it may be possible to calibrate a metallicity indicator for the molecular interstellar medium (abridged).Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. MNRAS, accepte