Decline and fall:a biological, developmental, and psycholinguistic account of deliberative language processes and ageing

Background: This paper reviews the role of deliberative processes in language: those language processes that require central resources, in contrast to the automatic processes of lexicalisation, word retrieval, and parsing. 10 Aims: We describe types of deliberative processing, and show how these processes underpin high-level processes that feature strongly in language. We focus on metalin- guistic processing, strategic processing, inhibition, and planning. We relate them to frontal-lobe function and the development of the fronto-striate loop. We then focus on the role of deliberative processes in normal and pathological development and ageing, 15 and show how these processes are particularly susceptible to deterioration with age. In particular, many of the commonly observed language impairments encountered in ageing result from a decline in deliberative processing skills rather than in automatic language processes. Main Contribution: We argue that central processing plays a larger and more important 20 role in language processing and acquisition than is often credited. Conclusions: Deliberative language processes permeate language use across the lifespan. They are particularly prone to age-related loss. We conclude by discussing implications for therapy

Cobalt deficiency of stock in the Busselton-Augusta region.

During the past decade evidence has accumulated which indicates that large areas of country south of Busselton are deficient in cobalt. This information has been spread verbally by officers of the Department of Agriculture through personal contacts and at field days, but so far no information has been published concerning the extent and degree of the deficiency. The purpose of this article is to place on record the clinical and chemical investigations carried out since 1944

Ageing makes us dyslexic

Background: The effects of typical ageing on spoken language are well known: word production is disproportionately affected while syntactic processing is relatively well preserved. Little is known, however, about how ageing affects reading.Aims: What effect does ageing have on written language processing? In particular, how does it affect our ability to read words? How does it affect phonological awareness (our ability to manipulate the sounds of our language)?Methods & Procedures: We tested 14 people with Parkinson's disease (PD), 14 typically ageing adults (TAA), and 14 healthy younger adults on a range of background neuropsychological tests and tests of phonological awareness. We then carried out an oral naming experiment where we manipulated consistency, and a nonword repetition task where we manipulated the word-likeness of the nonwords.Outcomes & Results: We find that normal ageing causes individuals to become mildly phonologically dyslexic in that people have difficulty pronouncing nonwords. People with Parkinson's disease perform particularly poorly on language tasks involving oral naming and metalinguistic processing. We also find that ageing causes difficulty in repeating nonwords. We show that these problems are associated with a more general difficulty in processing phonological information, supporting the idea that language difficulties, including poorer reading in older age, can result from a general phonological deficit.Conclusions: We suggest that neurally this age-induced dyslexia is associated with frontal deterioration (and perhaps deterioration in other regions) and cognitively to the loss of executive processes that enable us to manipulate spoken and written language. We discuss implications for therapy and treatment

Two Hybrid Methods for Solving Two-Dimensional Linear Time-Fractional Partial Differential Equations

A computationally efficient hybridization of the Laplace transform with two spatial discretization techniques is investigated for numerical solutions of time-fractional linear partial differential equations in two space variables. The Chebyshev collocation method is compared with the standard finite difference spatial discretization and the absolute error is obtained for several test problems. Accurate numerical solutions are achieved in the Chebyshev collocation method subject to both Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. The solution obtained by these hybrid methods allows for the evaluation at any point in time without the need for time-marching to a particular point in time

The effect of pore size on cell adhesion in collagen-GAG scaffolds.

The biological activity of scaffolds used in tissue engineering applications hypothetically depends on the density of available ligands, scaffold sites at which specific cell binding occurs. Ligand density is characterized by the composition of the scaffold, which defines the surface density of ligands, and by the specific surface area of the scaffold, which defines the total surface of the structure exposed to the cells. It has been previously shown that collagen-glycosaminoglycan (CG) scaffolds used for studies of skin regeneration were inactive when the mean pore size was either lower than 20 microm or higher than 120 microm (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 86(3) (1989) 933). To study the relationship between cell attachment and viability in scaffolds and the scaffold structure, CG scaffolds with a constant composition and solid volume fraction (0.005), but with four different pore sizes corresponding to four levels of specific surface area were manufactured using a lyophilization technique. MC3T3-E1 mouse clonal osteogenic cells were seeded onto the four scaffold types and maintained in culture. At the experimental end point (24 or 48 h), the remaining viable cells were counted to determine the percent cell attachment. A significant difference in viable cell attachment was observed in scaffolds with different mean pore sizes after 24 and 48 h; however, there was no significant change in cell attachment between 24 and 48 h for any group. The fraction of viable cells attached to the CG scaffold decreased with increasing mean pore size, increasing linearly (R2 = 0.95, 0.91 at 24 and 48 h, respectively) with the specific surface area of the scaffold. The strong correlation between the scaffold specific surface area and cell attachment indicates that cell attachment and viability are primarily influenced by scaffold specific surface area over this range (95.9-150.5 microm) of pore sizes for MC3T3 cells

High angular resolution mm- and submm-observations of dense molecular gas in M82

Researchers observed CO(7-6), CO(3-2), HCN(3-2) and HCO+(3-2) line emission toward the starburst nucleus of M82 and have obtained an upper limit to H13CN(3-2). These are the first observations of the CO(7-6), HCN(3-2) and HCO+(3-2) lines in any extragalactic source. Researchers took the CO(7-6) spectrum in January 1988 at the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) with the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics/Univ. of California, Berkeley 800 GHz Heterodyne Receiver. In March 1989 researchers used the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter range (IRAM) 30 m telescope to observe the CO(3-2) line with the new MPE 350 GHz Superconductor Insulator Superconductor (SIS) receiver and the HCN(3-2) and HCO+(3-2) lines with the (IRAM) 230 GHz SIS receiver (beam 12" FWHM, Blundell et al. 1988). The observational parameters are summarized

The bi-directional exchange of oxygenated VOCs between a loblolly pine (<I>Pinus taeda</I>) plantation and the atmosphere

International audienceUsing new in-situ field observations of the most abundant oxygenated VOCs (methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, C3/C4 carbonyls, MVK+MAC and acetic acid) we were able to constrain emission and deposition patterns above and within a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation with a sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) understory. During the day canopy scale measurements showed significant emission of methanol and acetone, while methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein, acetaldehyde and acetic acid were mainly deposited during the day. All oxygenated compounds exhibited strong losses during the night that could not be explained by conventional dry deposition parameterizations. Accompanying leaf level measurements indicated substantial methanol and acetone emissions from loblolly pine. The exchange of acetaldehyde was more complex. Laboratory measurements made on loblolly pine needles indicated that acetaldehyde may be either emitted or taken up depending on ambient concentrations, with the compensation point increasing exponentially with temperature, and that mature needles tended to emit more acetaldehyde than younger needles. Canopy scale measurements suggested mostly deposition. Short-term (approx. 2 h) ozone fumigation in the laboratory had no detectable impact on post-exposure emissions of methanol and acetone, but decreased the exchange rates of acetaldehyde. The emission of a variety of oxygenated compounds (e.g. carbonyls and alcohols) was triggered or significantly enhanced during laboratory ozone fumigation experiments. These results suggest that higher ambient ozone levels in the future might enhance the biogenic contribution of some oxygenated compounds. Those with sufficiently low vapor pressures may potentially influence secondary organic aerosol growth. Compounds recently hypothesized to be primarily produced in the canopy atmosphere via ozone plus terpenoid-type reactions can also originate from the oxidation reaction of ozone with leaf surfaces and inside the leaf. This needs to be taken into account when scaling up very reactive biogenic compounds

Volatile organic emissions from the distillation and pyrolysis of vegetation

International audienceLeaf and woody plant tissue (Pinus ponderosa, Eucalyptus saligna, Quercus gambelli, Saccharum officinarum and Oriza sativa) were heated from 30 to 300°C and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions were identified and quantified. Major VOC emissions were mostly oxygenated and included acetic acid, furylaldehyde, acetol, pyrazine, terpenes, 2,3-butadione, phenol and methanol, as well as smaller emissions of furan, acetone, acetaldehyde, acetonitrile and benzaldehyde. Total VOC emissions from distillation and pyrolysis were on the order of 10 gC/kgC dry weight of vegetation, as much as 33% and 44% of CO2 emissions (gC(VOC)/gC(CO2)) measured during the same experiments, in air and nitrogen atmospheres, respectively. The emissions are similar in identity and quantity to those from smoldering combustion of woody tissue and of different character than those evolved during flaming combustion. VOC emissions from the distillation of pools and endothermic pyrolysis under low turbulence conditions may produce flammable concentrations near leaves and may facilitate the propagation of wildfires. VOC emissions from charcoal production are also related to distillation and pyrolysis; the emissions of the highly reactive VOCs from production are as large as the carbon monoxide emissions

Healthcare choice: Discourses, perceptions, experiences and practices

Policy discourse shaped by neoliberal ideology, with its emphasis on marketisation and competition, has highlighted the importance of choice in the context of healthcare and health systems globally. Yet, evidence about how so-called consumers perceive and experience healthcare choice is in short supply and limited to specific healthcare systems, primarily in the Global North. This special issue aims to explore how choice is perceived and utilised in the context of different systems of healthcare throughout the world, where choice, at least in policy and organisational terms, has been embedded for some time. The articles are divided into those emphasising: embodiment and the meaning of choice; social processes associated with choice; the uncertainties, risks and trust involved in making choices; and issues of access and inequality associated with enacting choice. These sociological studies reveal complexities not always captured in policy discourse and suggest that the commodification of healthcare is particularly problematic

An invitation to grieve: reconsidering critical incident responses by support teams in the school setting

This paper proposes that consideration could be given to an invitational intervention rather than an expectational intervention when support personnel respond to a critical incident in schools. Intuitively many practitioners know that it is necessary for guidance/counselling personnel to intervene in schools in and following times of trauma. Most educational authorities in Australia have mandated the formulation of a critical incident intervention plan. This paper defines the term critical incident and then outlines current intervention processes, discussing the efficacy of debriefing interventions. Recent literature suggests that even though it is accepted that a planned intervention is necessary, there is scant evidence as to the effectiveness of debriefing interventions in stemming later symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. The authors of this paper advocate for an expressive therapy intervention that is invitational rather than expectational, arguing that not all people respond to trauma in the same way and to expect that they will need to recall and retell what has happened is most likely a dangerous assumption. A model of invitation using Howard Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences is proposed so that students are invited to grieve and understand emotionally what is happening to them following a critical incident