Lost in semantic space: a multi-modal, non-verbal assessment of feature knowledge in semantic dementia

A novel, non-verbal test of semantic feature knowledge is introduced, enabling subordinate knowledge of four important concept attributes--colour, sound, environmental context and motion--to be individually probed. This methodology provides more specific information than existing non-verbal semantic tests about the status of attribute knowledge relating to individual concept representations. Performance on this test of a group of 12 patients with semantic dementia (10 male, mean age: 64.4 years) correlated strongly with their scores on more conventional tests of semantic memory, such as naming and word-to-picture matching. The test's overlapping structure, in which individual concepts were probed in two, three or all four modalities, provided evidence of performance consistency on individual items between feature conditions. Group and individual analyses revealed little evidence for differential performance across the four feature conditions, though sound and colour correlated most strongly, and motion least strongly, with other semantic tasks, and patients were less accurate on the motion features of living than non-living concepts (with no such conceptual domain differences in the other conditions). The results are discussed in the context of their implications for the place of semantic dementia within the classification of progressive aphasic syndromes, and for contemporary models of semantic representation and organization

Heavy Ions in the October 1989 Solar Flares Observed on the Galileo Spacecraft

Composition measurements were made of the energetic particles produced in the series of large flares which began on 19 October 1989, using the Galileo Heavy Ion Counter which is sensitive to nuclei ranging from carbon (Z=6) to nickel (Z=28) over an energy range from about 5 MeV/nucleon to >70 MeV/nucleon. The observations are unique in that clean, statistically well-measured abundances are available for heavy ions for an unusually large flare. For elements with low First Ionization Potential (FIP), these results show the same correlation of relative abundances with the ion charge to mass ratio as the earlier Voyager observations of solar energetic particles 1 . After correction for selection on the basis of this charge to mass ratio, the abundances of all the elements measured show the expected step-function correlation with FIP, when compared to the spectroscopic photspheric abundances

Relation of the Radial Gradient of Cosmic-Ray Protons to the Size of the Solar-Modulation Region

The radial intensity-gradient of cosmic-ray protons has been calculated for a range of values of the distance to the boundary of a spherically symmetric solar-modulation region. We find that the radial dependence of the gradients may be described in terms of two characteristic domains of the modulation region: (a) an "inner region" where the gradients are relatively small and constant, and (b), an "outer region"' where the gradients are large and show a strong radial dependence. The magnitude of the gradient in the inner region is small for reasonable values for the physical parameters of the modulation mechanism

Energy spectra of elements with 18 or = Z or = 28 between 10 and 300 GeV/amu

The HEAO-3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment is composed of ionization chambers above and below a plastic Cerenkov counter. The energy dependence of the abundances of elements with atomic number, Z, between 18 and 28 at very high energies where they are rare and thus need the large area x time are measured. The measurements of the Danish-French HEAO-3 experiment (Englemann,, et al., 1983) are extended to higher energies, using the relativistic rise of ionization signal as a measure of energy. Source abundances for Ar and Ca were determined

The Advanced Composition Explorer Mission

The Advanced Composition Explorer, to be launched in August of 1997, will include six high resolution spectrometers that will measure the composition of interplanetary nuclei with 2≤Z≤28 from < 1 keV/nuc to ~500 MeV/nuc. Three additional instruments will provide the interplanetary context for these measurements. We give a brief introduction to the ACE mission, its instrumentation, and its goals

Gazelle seasonal mobility in the Jordanian steppe: The use of dental isotopes and microwear as environmental markers, applied to Epipalaeolithic Kharaneh IV

The Early/Middle Epipalaeolithic aggregation site of Kharaneh IV in the east Jordan steppe is one of the largest of the period, showing repeated use, high degrees of site investment, and relatively prolonged periods of occupation. Hunters relied heavily on the single prey species, Gazella subgutturosa. This paper reports on isotopic analyses of gazelle teeth, drawn from the Kharaneh IV assemblage, to explore the seasonal and spatial distribution of gazelle in life and examine models of long-distance seasonal gazelle migrations. Dental microwear analysis is also employed to assess hunting seasons. Results from sequential isotope analyses of 11 Epipalaeolithic gazelle molars show that, with one exception, gazelle did not move seasonally from the limestone steppe onto other geologies, nor did they seasonally relocate to areas with different climate regimes. Rather, seasonal herd mobility seems to have been local, meaning animals would have been available in the vicinity of Kharaneh IV year-round. Results from 19 microwear analyses show some gazelle to have died in spring when grass graze was available, whilst others had been browsing around their time of death, indicating non-spring hunting. Microwear evidence thus suggests gazelle were hunted in more than one restricted season. The implications of these new datasets for hunter-gatherer use of the steppe, and potential hunting methods, is highlighted

The effectiveness of community-based cycling promotion: findings from the Cycling Connecting Communities project in Sydney, Australia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Encouraging cycling is an important way to increase physical activity in the community. The Cycling Connecting Communities (CCC) Project is a community-based cycling promotion program that included a range of community engagement and social marketing activities, such as organised bike rides and events, cycling skills courses, the distribution of cycling maps of the area and coverage in the local press. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of this program designed to encourage the use of newly completed off-road cycle paths through south west Sydney, Australia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The evaluation used a quasi-experimental design that consisted of a pre- and post-intervention telephone survey (24 months apart) of a cohort of residents (n = 909) in the intervention area (n = 520) (Fairfield and Liverpool) and a socio-demographically similar comparison area (n = 389) (Bankstown). Both areas had similar bicycle infrastructure. Four bicycle counters were placed on the main bicycle paths in the intervention and comparison areas to monitor daily bicycle use before and after the intervention.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The telephone survey results showed significantly greater awareness of the Cycling Connecting Communities project (13.5% vs 8.0%, p < 0.05) in the intervention area, with significantly higher rates of cycling in the intervention area (32.9%) compared with the comparison area (9.7%) amongst those aware of the project. There was a significant increase in use of bicycle paths in the intervention area (28.3% versus 16.2%, p < 0.05). These findings were confirmed by the bike count data.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite relatively modest resources, the Cycling Connecting Communities project achieved significant increases in bicycle path use, and increased cycling in some sub-groups. However, this community based intervention with limited funding had very limited reach into the community and did not increase population cycling levels.</p

Interactions of heavy nuclei, Kr, Xe and Ho, in light targets

Over the past few years, the HEAO-3 measurements of the abundances of ultra-heavy cosmic ray nuclei (Z 26) at earth have been analyzed. In order to interpret these abundances in terms of a source composition, allowance must be made for the propagation of the nuclei in the interstellar medium. Vital to any calculation of the propagation is a knowlege of the total and partial interaction cross sections for these heavy nuclei on hydrogen. Until recently, data on such reactions have been scarce. However, now that relativistic heavy ion beams are available at the LBL Bevalac, some of the cross sections of interest can be measured at energies close to those of the cosmic ray nuclei being observed. During a recent calibration at the Bevalac of an array similar to the HEAO-C3 UH-nuclei detector, targets of raphite (C), polyethylene (CH2), and aluminum were exposed to five heavy ion beams ranging in charge (Z) from 36 to 92. Total and partial charge changing cross sections for the various beam nuclei on hydrogen can be determined from the measured cross sections on C and CH2, and will be applied to the propagation problem. The cross sections on Al can be used to correct the abundances of UH cosmic rays observed in the HEAO C-3 detector for interactions in the detector itself

The Species at Risk Act (2002) and transboundary species listings along the US-Canada border

This paper is a collaborative interdisciplinary examination of the scientific, political, and cultural determinants of the conservation status of mammal species that occur in both Canada and the USA. We read Canada’s Species at Risk Act as a document of bio-cultural nationalism circumscribed by the weak federalism and Crown–Indigenous relations of the nation’s constitution. We also provide a numerical comparison of at-risk species listings either side of the US–Canada border and examples of provincial/state listings in comparison with those at a federal level. We find 17 mammal species listed as at-risk in Canada as distinct from the USA, and only 6 transboundary species that have comparable levels of protection in both countries, and we consider several explanations for this asymmetry. We evaluate the concept of ‘jurisdictional rarity’, in which species are endangered only because a geopolitical boundary isolates a small population. The paper begins and ends with reflections on interdisciplinary collaboration, and our findings highlight the importance of considering and explicitly acknowledging political influences on science and conservation-decision making, including in the context of at-risk-species protection

The Abundances of the Heavier Elements in the Cosmic Radiation

We review current work on the abundances of the ultraheavy elements in the cosmic radiation, those with Z≳30. Those abundances are compared with predictions based on propagation and fractionation of elemental abundances from various assumed sources of the cosmic rays. We find striking similarities between the solar system and the cosmic ray source abundances for those elements with 32≤Z≤60. For elements with Z≳60, there appears to be a substantial enhancement in the abundances of elements synthesized in the r‐process