The role of nondeclarative memory in the skill for language::Evidence from syntactic priming in patients with amnesia

Contains fulltext : 172885.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Syntactic priming, the phenomenon in which participants adopt the linguistic behaviour of their partner, is widely used in psycholinguistics to investigate syntactic operations. Although the phenomenon of syntactic priming is well documented, the memory system that supports the retention of this syntactic information long enough to influence future utterances, is not as widely investigated. We aim to shed light on this issue by assessing patients with Korsakoff's amnesia on an active-passive syntactic priming task and compare their performance to controls matched in age, education, and premorbid intelligence. Patients with Korsakoff's syndrome display deficits in all subdomains of declarative memory, yet their nondeclarative memory remains intact, making them an ideal patient group to determine which memory system supports syntactic priming. In line with the hypothesis that syntactic priming relies on nondeclarative memory, the patient group shows strong priming tendencies (12.6% passive structure repetition). Our healthy control group did not show a priming tendency, presumably due to cognitive interference between declarative and nondeclarative memory. We discuss the results in relation to amnesia, aging, and compensatory mechanisms.9 p

Optical modeling of plasma-deposited ZnO films : electron scattering at different length scales

In this work, an optical modeling study on electron scattering mechanisms in plasma-deposited ZnO layers is presented. Because various applications of ZnO films pose a limit on the electron carrier density due to its effect on the film transmittance, higher electron mobility values are generally preferred instead. Hence, insights into the electron scattering contributions affecting the carrier mobility are required. In optical models, the Drude oscillator is adopted to represent the free-electron contribution and the obtained optical mobility can be then correlated with the macroscopic material properties. However, the influence of scattering phenomena on the optical mobility depends on the considered range of photon energy. For example, the grain-boundary scattering is generally not probed by means of optical measurements and the ionized-impurity scattering contribution decreases toward higher photon energies. To understand this frequency dependence and quantify contributions from different scattering phenomena to the mobility, several case studies were analyzed in this work by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry and Fourier transform infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The obtained electrical parameters were compared to the results inferred by Hall measurements. For intrinsic ZnO (i-ZnO), the in-grain mobility was obtained by fitting reflection data with a normal Drude model in the IR range. For Al-doped ZnO (Al:ZnO), besides a normal Drude fit in the IR range, an Extended Drude fit in the UV-vis range could be used to obtain the in-grain mobility. Scattering mechanisms for a thickness series of Al:ZnO films were discerned using the more intuitive parameter "scattering frequency" instead of the parameter "mobility". The interaction distance concept was introduced to give a physical interpretation to the frequency dependence of the scattering frequency. This physical interpretation furthermore allows the prediction of which Drude models can be used in a specific frequency range

Trends in the distribution of gestational age and contribution of planned births in New South Wales, Australia

§<p>Relative change was calculated by: [(2009 rate –1994 rate)/(1994 rate)].</p>*<p>100; Test-for-trend was significant for all factors except stillbirths and multiple births, P<0.001.</p>†<p>Low risk pregnancies defined as primiparae, aged 20–34 years, without pregnancy complications; and with a liveborn singleton infant, born in cephalic presentation and of normal fetal growth at the 10^th–90th birth weight percentile of the distribution for gestational age and infant sex. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0056238#pone.0056238-Cheng1" target="_blank">[16]</a>.</p>*<p>Numbers may not add up to totals due to missing data or rounding.</p

Randomized clinical trial to assess the impact of the broadly neutralizing HIV-1 monoclonal antibody VRC01 on HIV-1 persistence in individuals on effective ART

Background. Broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (bnMAbs) may promote clearance of HIV-1-expressing cells through antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. We evaluated the effect of the CD4-binding site bnMAb, VRC01, on measures of HIV-1 persistence in chronically infected individuals. Methods. A5342 was a phase 1, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm study. Participants on effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) were randomized to receive 2 infusions of VRC01 (40 mg/kg) at entry and week 3, and 2 infusions of placebo (saline) at weeks 6 and 9; or 2 infusions of placebo at entry and week 3, and 2 infusions of VRC01 at weeks 6 and 9. Results. Infusion of VRC01 was safe and well tolerated. The median fold-change in the cell-associated HIV-1 RNA/DNA ratio from baseline to week 6 was 1.12 and 0.83 for the VRC01 and placebo arms, respectively, with no significant difference between arms (P = .16). There were no significant differences in the proportions with residual plasma viremia ≥1 copies/mL or in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate/ionomycin-induced virus production from CD4+ T cells between arms (both P &gt; .05). Conclusions. In individuals with chronic HIV-1 infection on ART, VRC01 infusions were safe and well tolerated but did not affect plasma viremia, cellular HIV-1 RNA/DNA levels, or stimulated virus production from CD4+ T cells

Surface loss in ozone-based atomic layer deposition processes

The recombinative surface loss of O3 was investigated and its effects on the initial growth, film uniformity, and film conformality in atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes were illustrated. To determine O3 recombination probabilities over a wide range, a method was developed using high aspect ratio capillaries at the inlet to a mass spectrometer. Using this method, we measured O3 recombination probabilities ranging from 10-3 depending on the composition and temperature of the capillary surface. We utilized these measurements to understand dramatic variations in O3 loss observed during the initial growth of O3-based ALD Pt on Al2O3 and vice versa. Next, we studied the uniformity of O3-based ALD using ZnO ALD as a model system. Changes in the spatial uniformity of the ALD ZnO films and the O3 concentration in the reactor as a function of the O3 exposure were explained by a transition from reaction- to recombination-limited growth. This explanation was validated using a simple plug-flow model. Finally, we estimated the maximum aspect ratios that can be coated for a given O3 recombination probability in O3-based ALD processes using reasonable cycle times

Deposition temperature dependence of material and Si surface passivaion properties of O3-based atomic layer deposited Al2O3-based films and stacks

The material composition and the Si surface passivation of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) films prepared by atomic layer deposition using Al(CH3)3 and O3 as precursors were investigated for deposition temperatures (T Dep) between 200¿°C and 500¿°C. The growth per cycle decreased with increasing deposition temperature due to a lower Al deposition rate. In contrast the material composition was hardly affected except for the hydrogen concentration, which decreased from [H]¿=¿3 at. % at 200¿°C to [H]

Deposition temperature dependence of material and Si surface passivaion properties of O3-based atomic layer deposited Al2O3-based films and stacks

The material composition and the Si surface passivation of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) films prepared by atomic layer deposition using Al(CH3)3 and O3 as precursors were investigated for deposition temperatures (T Dep) between 200¿°C and 500¿°C. The growth per cycle decreased with increasing deposition temperature due to a lower Al deposition rate. In contrast the material composition was hardly affected except for the hydrogen concentration, which decreased from [H]¿=¿3 at. % at 200¿°C to [H]