A behavioral database for masked form priming

Reading involves a process of matching an orthographic input with stored representations in lexical memory. The masked priming paradigm has become a standard tool for investigating this process. Use of existing results from this paradigm can be limited by the precision of the data and the need for cross-experiment comparisons that lack normal experimental controls. Here, we present a single, large, high-precision, multicondition experiment to address these problems. Over 1,000 participants from 14 sites responded to 840 trials involving 28 different types of orthographically related primes (e.g., castfe–CASTLE) in a lexical decision task, as well as completing measures of spelling and vocabulary. The data were indeed highly sensitive to differences between conditions: After correction for multiple comparisons, prime type condition differences of 2.90 ms and above reached significance at the 5% level. This article presents the method of data collection and preliminary findings from these data, which included replications of the most widely agreed-upon differences between prime types, further evidence for systematic individual differences in susceptibility to priming, and new evidence regarding lexical properties associated with a target word’s susceptibility to priming. These analyses will form a basis for the use of these data in quantitative model fitting and evaluation and for future exploration of these data that will inform and motivate new experiments

Quantum networks reveal quantum nonlocality

The results of local measurements on some composite quantum systems cannot be reproduced classically. This impossibility, known as quantum nonlocality, represents a milestone in the foundations of quantum theory. Quantum nonlocality is also a valuable resource for information processing tasks, e.g. quantum communication, quantum key distribution, quantum state estimation, or randomness extraction. Still, deciding if a quantum state is nonlocal remains a challenging problem. Here we introduce a novel approach to this question: we study the nonlocal properties of quantum states when distributed and measured in networks. Using our framework, we show how any one-way entanglement distillable state leads to nonlocal correlations. Then, we prove that nonlocality is a non-additive resource, which can be activated. There exist states, local at the single-copy level, that become nonlocal when taking several copies of it. Our results imply that the nonlocality of quantum states strongly depends on the measurement context.Comment: 4 + 3 pages, 4 figure

Safety in home care: A research protocol for studying medication management

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patient safety is an ongoing global priority, with medication safety considered a prevalent, high-risk area of concern. Yet, we have little understanding of the supports and barriers to safe medication management in the Canadian home care environment. There is a clear need to engage the providers and recipients of care in studying and improving medication safety with collaborative approaches to exploring the nature and safety of medication management in home care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A socio-ecological perspective on health and health systems drives our iterative qualitative study on medication safety with elderly home care clients, family members and other informal caregivers, and home care providers. As we purposively sample across four Canadian provinces: Alberta (AB), Ontario (ON), Quebec (QC) and Nova Scotia (NS), we will collect textual and visual data through home-based interviews, participant-led photo walkabouts of the home, and photo elicitation sessions at clients' kitchen tables. Using successive rounds of interpretive description and human factors engineering analyses, we will generate robust descriptions of managing medication at home within each provincial sample and across the four-province group. We will validate our initial interpretations through photo elicitation focus groups with home care providers in each province to develop a refined description of the phenomenon that can inform future decision-making, quality improvement efforts, and research.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The application of interpretive and human factors lenses to the visual and textual data is expected to yield findings that advance our understanding of the issues, challenges, and risk-mitigating strategies related to medication safety in home care. The images are powerful knowledge translation tools for sharing what we learn with participants, decision makers, other healthcare audiences, and the public. In addition, participants engage in knowledge exchange throughout the study with the use of participatory data collection methods.</p

Phosphate Energy Metabolism During Domoic Acid-Induced Seizures

The effect of domoic acid-induced seizure activity on energy metabolism and on brain pH in mice was studied by continuous EEC recording and in vivo 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Mice were divided into ventilated (n = 6) and nonventilated (n = 7) groups. Baseline EEG was 0.1-mV amplitude with frequence of >30-Hz and of 4–5 Hz. After intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of domoic acid (6 mg/kg), electro graphic spikes appeared at increasing frequency, pro gressing to high-amplitude (0.1-0.8 mV) continuous sei zure activity (status epilepticus). In ventilated mice, the [ 31 P]NMR spectra showed that high-energy phosphate levels and tissue pH did not change after domoic acid administration or during the intervals of spiking or status epilepticus. Nonventilated mice showed periods of EEG suppression accompanied by decreases in the levels of high-energy phosphate metabolites and in pH, corresponding to episodic respiratory suppression during the spiking interval. In all animals, status epilepticus was fol lowed by a marked decrease in EEG amplitude that pro gressed rapidly to isoelectric silence. [ 31 P]NMR spectra obtained after this were indicative of total energy failure and tissue acidosis. In a separate group of ventilated mice (n = 4), domoic acid-induced status epilepticus was ac companied initially by an increase in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) that slowly returned to baseline level. Isoelectric silence was accompanied by a decrease in MAP to 75 ± 8 mm Hg. These experiments suggest that domoic acid-induced seizures are not accompanied by an increase in substrate demand that exceeds supply.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65953/1/j.1528-1157.1993.tb02124.x.pd

The Political Economy of Non-Traditional Security: Explaining the Governance of Avian Influenza in Indonesia

Given the common association of non-traditional security (NTS) problems with globalisation, surprisingly little attention has been paid to how the political economy context of given NTS issues shape how they are securitised and managed in practice. We argue that security and its governance are always highly contested because different modes of security governance invariably privilege particular interests and normative agendas in state and society, which relate directly to the political economy. Drawing on critical political geography, we argue that, because NTS issues are perceived as at least potentially transnational, their securitisation often involves strategic attempts by actors and coalitions to ‘rescale’ their governance beyond the national political and institutional arenas, into new, expert-dominated modes of governance. Such efforts are often resisted by other coalitions, for which this rescaling is deleterious. As evidenced by a case study of avian influenza in Indonesia, particular governance outcomes depend upon the nature of the coalitions assembled for and against rescaling in specific situations, while these coalitions’ make-up and relative strength is shaped by the political economy of the industries that rescaling would affect, viewed against the broader backdrop of state-society relations

Inhibition of Expression in Escherichia coli of a Virulence Regulator MglB of Francisella tularensis Using External Guide Sequence Technology

External guide sequences (EGSs) have successfully been used to inhibit expression of target genes at the post-transcriptional level in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. We previously reported that EGS accessible and cleavable sites in the target RNAs can rapidly be identified by screening random EGS (rEGS) libraries. Here the method of screening rEGS libraries and a partial RNase T1 digestion assay were used to identify sites accessible to EGSs in the mRNA of a global virulence regulator MglB from Francisella tularensis, a Gram-negative pathogenic bacterium. Specific EGSs were subsequently designed and their activities in terms of the cleavage of mglB mRNA by RNase P were tested in vitro and in vivo. EGS73, EGS148, and EGS155 in both stem and M1 EGS constructs induced mglB mRNA cleavage in vitro. Expression of stem EGS73 and EGS155 in Escherichia coli resulted in significant reduction of the mglB mRNA level coded for the F. tularensis mglB gene inserted in those cells

An ultraviolet-optical flare from the tidal disruption of a helium-rich stellar core

The flare of radiation from the tidal disruption and accretion of a star can be used as a marker for supermassive black holes that otherwise lie dormant and undetected in the centres of distant galaxies. Previous candidate flares have had declining light curves in good agreement with expectations, but with poor constraints on the time of disruption and the type of star disrupted, because the rising emission was not observed. Recently, two `relativistic' candidate tidal disruption events were discovered, each of whose extreme X-ray luminosity and synchrotron radio emission were interpreted as the onset of emission from a relativistic jet. Here we report the discovery of a luminous ultraviolet-optical flare from the nuclear region of an inactive galaxy at a redshift of 0.1696. The observed continuum is cooler than expected for a simple accreting debris disk, but the well-sampled rise and decline of its light curve follows the predicted mass accretion rate, and can be modelled to determine the time of disruption to an accuracy of two days. The black hole has a mass of about 2 million solar masses, modulo a factor dependent on the mass and radius of the star disrupted. On the basis of the spectroscopic signature of ionized helium from the unbound debris, we determine that the disrupted star was a helium-rich stellar core.Comment: To appear in Nature on May 10, 201

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequences provide new insights into the Polynesian motif and the peopling of Madagascar

More than a decade of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies have given the 'Polynesian motif' renowned status as a marker for tracing the late-Holocene expansion of Austronesian speaking populations. Despite considerable research on the Polynesian motif in Oceania, there has been little equivalent work on the western edge of its expansion - leaving major issues unresolved regarding the motif's evolutionary history. This has also led to considerable uncertainty regarding the settlement of Madagascar. In this study, we assess mtDNA variation in 266 individuals from three Malagasy ethnic groups: the Mikea, Vezo, and Merina. Complete mtDNA genome sequencing reveals a new variant of the Polynesian motif in Madagascar; two coding region mutations define a Malagasy-specific sub-branch. This newly defined 'Malagasy motif' occurs at high frequency in all three ethnic groups (13-50%), and its phylogenetic position, geographic distribution, and estimated age all support a recent origin, but without conclusively identifying a specific source region. Nevertheless, the haplotype's limited diversity, similar to those of other mtDNA haplogroups found in our Malagasy groups, best supports a small number of initial settlers arriving to Madagascar through the same migratory process. Finally, the discovery of this lineage provides a set of new polymorphic positions to help localize the Austronesian ancestors of the Malagasy, as well as uncover the origin and evolution of the Polynesian motif itself

Resolving the ancestry of Austronesian-speaking populations

There are two very different interpretations of the prehistory of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA), with genetic evidence invoked in support of both. The “out-of-Taiwan” model proposes a major Late Holocene expansion of Neolithic Austronesian speakers from Taiwan. An alternative, proposing that Late Glacial/postglacial sea-level rises triggered largely autochthonous dispersals, accounts for some otherwise enigmatic genetic patterns, but fails to explain the Austronesian language dispersal. Combining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome and genome-wide data, we performed the most comprehensive analysis of the region to date, obtaining highly consistent results across all three systems and allowing us to reconcile the models. We infer a primarily common ancestry for Taiwan/ISEA populations established before the Neolithic, but also detected clear signals of two minor Late Holocene migrations, probably representing Neolithic input from both Mainland Southeast Asia and South China, via Taiwan. This latter may therefore have mediated the Austronesian language dispersal, implying small-scale migration and language shift rather than large-scale expansion