2,973 research outputs found
Age of second language acquisition affects nonverbal conflict processing in children : an fMRI study
Background: In their daily communication, bilinguals switch between two languages, a process that involves the selection of a target language and minimization of interference from a nontarget language. Previous studies have uncovered the neural structure in bilinguals and the activation patterns associated with performing verbal conflict tasks. One question that remains, however is whether this extra verbal switching affects brain function during nonverbal conflict tasks.
Methods: In this study, we have used fMRI to investigate the impact of bilingualism in children performing two nonverbal tasks involving stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflicts. Three groups of 8-11-year-old children - bilinguals from birth (2L1), second language learners (L2L), and a control group of monolinguals (1L1) - were scanned while performing a color Simon and a numerical Stroop task. Reaction times and accuracy were logged.
Results: Compared to monolingual controls, bilingual children showed higher behavioral congruency effect of these tasks, which is matched by the recruitment of brain regions that are generally used in general cognitive control, language processing or to solve language conflict situations in bilinguals (caudate nucleus, posterior cingulate gyrus, STG, precuneus). Further, the activation of these areas was found to be higher in 2L1 compared to L2L.
Conclusion: The coupling of longer reaction times to the recruitment of extra language-related brain areas supports the hypothesis that when dealing with language conflicts the specialization of bilinguals hampers the way they can process with nonverbal conflicts, at least at early stages in life
Correlation Analysis of Enzyme activities and Deconstruction of Ammonia-pretreated Switchgrass by Bacterial-fungal Communities
The mixed microbial communities that occur naturally on lignocellulosic feedstocks can provide feedstock-specific enzyme mixtures to saccharify lignocelluloses. Bacterial-fungal communities were enriched from switchgrass bales to deconstruct ammonia-pretreated switchgrass (DSG). Correlation analysis was carried out to elucidate the relationship between microbial decomposition of DSG by these communities, enzymatic activities produced and enzymatic saccharification of DSG using these enzyme mixtures. Results of the analysis showed that β glucosidase activities and xylosidase activities limited the extent of microbial deconstruction and enzymatic saccharification of DSG. The results also underlined the importance of ligninase activity for the enzymatic saccharification of pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock. The bacterial fungal communities developed in this research can be used to produce enzyme mixtures to deconstruct DSG, and the results from the correlation analysis can be used to optimize these enzyme mixtures for efficient saccharification of DSG to produce second-generation biofuels
Billy Elliot The Musical: visual representations of working-class masculinity and the all-singing, all-dancing bo[d]y
According to Cynthia Weber, â[d]ance is commonly thought of as liberating, transformative, empowering, transgressive, and even as dangerousâ. Yet ballet as a masculine activity still remains a suspect phenomenon. This paper will challenge this claim in relation to Billy Elliot the Musical and its critical reception. The transformation of the visual representation of the human body on stage (from
an ephemeral existence to a timeless work of art) will be discussed and analysed vis-a-vis the text and sub-texts of Stephen Daldryâs direction and Peter Darlingâs
choreography. The dynamics of working-class masculinity will be contextualised within the framework of the family, the older female, the community, the self and
the act of dancing itself
Quantum Dynamics without the Wave Function
When suitably generalized and interpreted, the path-integral offers an
alternative to the more familiar quantal formalism based on state-vectors,
selfadjoint operators, and external observers. Mathematically one generalizes
the path-integral-as-propagator to a {\it quantal measure} on the space
of all ``conceivable worlds'', and this generalized measure expresses
the dynamics or law of motion of the theory, much as Wiener measure expresses
the dynamics of Brownian motion. Within such ``histories-based'' schemes new,
and more ``realistic'' possibilities open up for resolving the philosophical
problems of the state-vector formalism. In particular, one can dispense with
the need for external agents by locating the predictive content of in its
sets of measure zero: such sets are to be ``precluded''. But unrestricted
application of this rule engenders contradictions. One possible response would
remove the contradictions by circumscribing the application of the preclusion
concept. Another response, more in the tradition of ``quantum logic'', would
accommodate the contradictions by dualizing to a space of
``co-events'' and effectively identifying reality with an element of this dual
space.Comment: plainTeX, 24 pages, no figures. To appear in a special volume of {\it
Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General} entitled ``The Quantum
Universe'' and dedicated to Giancarlo Ghirardi on the occasion of his 70th
birthday. Most current version is available at
http://www.physics.syr.edu/~sorkin/some.papers/ (or wherever my home-page may
be
Comparison of Electrical Moisture Meters for Baled Alfalfa Hay
A primary concern in producing quality alfalfa hay is moisture measurement. Some precision in moisture measurement is required since hay can be too wet, leading to dry matter and quality loss through mold; it can be too dry, leading to shatter loss during baling, handling and storage.
Moisture measurement in hay can take many forms. One form of subjective (personal judgment) evaluation is brittleness of leaves and stems in the windrow or bale. Typical objective methods consist of electric meters with calibration curves and oven drying
A Bell Inequality Analog in Quantum Measure Theory
One obtains Bell's inequalities if one posits a hypothetical joint
probability distribution, or {\it measure}, whose marginals yield the
probabilities produced by the spin measurements in question. The existence of a
joint measure is in turn equivalent to a certain causality condition known as
``screening off''. We show that if one assumes, more generally, a joint {\it
quantal measure}, or ``decoherence functional'', one obtains instead an
analogous inequality weaker by a factor of . The proof of this
``Tsirel'son inequality'' is geometrical and rests on the possibility of
associating a Hilbert space to any strongly positive quantal measure. These
results lead both to a {\it question}: ``Does a joint measure follow from some
quantal analog of `screening off'?'', and to the {\it observation} that
non-contextual hidden variables are viable in histories-based quantum
mechanics, even if they are excluded classically.Comment: 38 pages, TeX. Several changes and added comments to bring out the
meaning more clearly. Minor rewording and extra acknowledgements, now closer
to published versio
Causation, Measurement Relevance and No-conspiracy in EPR
In this paper I assess the adequacy of no-conspiracy conditions employed in
the usual derivations of the Bell inequality in the context of EPR
correlations. First, I look at the EPR correlations from a purely
phenomenological point of view and claim that common cause explanations of
these cannot be ruled out. I argue that an appropriate common cause explanation
requires that no-conspiracy conditions are re-interpreted as mere common
cause-measurement independence conditions. In the right circumstances then,
violations of measurement independence need not entail any kind of conspiracy
(nor backwards in time causation). To the contrary, if measurement operations
in the EPR context are taken to be causally relevant in a specific way to the
experiment outcomes, their explicit causal role provides the grounds for a
common cause explanation of the corresponding correlations.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur
Measurements of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Scaling Relations for Clusters of Galaxies
We present new measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect from
clusters of galaxies using the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Infrared Experiment (SuZIE
II). We combine these new measurements with previous cluster observations with
the SuZIE instrument to form a sample of 15 clusters of galaxies. For this
sample we calculate the central Comptonization, y, and the integrated SZ flux
decrement, S, for each of our clusters. We find that the integrated SZ flux is
a more robust observable derived from our measurements than the central
Comptonization due to inadequacies in the spatial modelling of the
intra-cluster gas with a standard Beta model. This is highlighted by comparing
our central Comptonization results with values calculated from measurements
using the BIMA and OVRO interferometers. On average, the SuZIE calculated
central Comptonizations are approximately 60% higher in the cooling flow
clusters than the interferometric values, compared to only approximately 12%
higher in the non-cooling flow clusters. We believe this discrepancy to be in
large part due to the spatial modelling of the intra-cluster gas. From our
cluster sample we construct y-T and S-T scaling relations. The y-T scaling
relation is inconsistent with what we would expect for self-similar clusters;
however this result is questionable because of the large systematic uncertainty
in the central Comptonization. The S-T scaling relation has a slope and
redshift evolution consistent with what we expect for self-similar clusters
with a characteristic density that scales with the mean density of the
universe. We rule out zero redshift evolution of the S-T relation at 90%
confidence.Comment: Accepted to Astrophysical Journal. 52 pages, 14 tables, 7 figures
;replaced to match ApJ accepted versio
Parallel Unsmoothed Aggregation Algebraic Multigrid Algorithms on GPUs
We design and implement a parallel algebraic multigrid method for isotropic
graph Laplacian problems on multicore Graphical Processing Units (GPUs). The
proposed AMG method is based on the aggregation framework. The setup phase of
the algorithm uses a parallel maximal independent set algorithm in forming
aggregates and the resulting coarse level hierarchy is then used in a K-cycle
iteration solve phase with a -Jacobi smoother. Numerical tests of a
parallel implementation of the method for graphics processors are presented to
demonstrate its effectiveness.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figure
Foraging behavior and Doppler shift compensation in echolocating hipposiderid bats, I-Iipposideros bicolor and I-Iipposideros speoris
1. Two hipposiderid bats,H. bicolor andH. speoris, were observed in their natural foraging areas in Madurai (South India). Both species hunt close together near the foliage of trees and bushes but they differ in fine structure of preferred hunting space:H. bicolor hunts within the foliage, especially whenH. speoris is active at the same time, whereasH. speoris never flies in dense vegetation but rather in the more open area (Fig. 1, Table 1).
2. Both species emit CF/FM-sounds containing only one harmonic component in almost all echolocation situations. The CF-parts of CF/FM-sounds are species specific within a band of 127â138 kHz forH. speoris and 147â159 kHz forH. bicolor (Tables 2 and 3).
3. H. speoris additionally uses a complex harmonic sound during obstacle avoidance and during laboratory tests for Doppler shift compensation.H. bicolor consistently emits CF/FM-sounds in these same situations (Fig. 2).
4. Both hipposiderid bats respond to Doppler shifts in the returning echoes by lowering the frequency of the emitted sounds (Fig. 3). However, Doppler compensations are incomplete as the emitted frequencies are decreased by only 55% and 56% (mean values) of the full frequency shifts byH. speoris andH, bicolor, respectively.
5. The differences in Doppler shift compensation, echolocating and hunting behavior suggest thatH. speoris is less specialized on echolocation with CF/FM-sounds thanH. bicolor
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