3,071 research outputs found
Is translation semantically mediated? Evidence from Welsh-English bilingual aphasia
The involvement of the semantic system in picture naming is undisputed. However, it has been proposed that translation could take place via direct lexical links between L1 and L2 word forms in addition to or instead of via semantics(i.e., with translation going from a spoken word in L1 accessing its meaning and this meaning then leading to the retrieval of the translation equivalent in L2). There is conflicting evidence in the psycholinguistic literature as to the extent of semantic mediation in translation vs. picture naming tasks (Potter et al, 1984; Kroll and Stewart, 1994). More recently, Hernandez et al (2010) investigated this question in a case study of JFF, a proficient bilingual Spanish-Catalan speaker with Alzheimerâs disease and naming difficulties due to a semantic deficit. As JFFâs semantic deficit did not only affect picture naming but also translation tasks, the authors concluded against the existence of functional direct lexical links to support translation. The goal of our study was to explore this issue further in a larger sample of proficient bilingual patients with aphasia and word finding difficulties in both languages. More specifically, we compare the rate of semantic errors produced in naming vs. translation tasks
Interpreting a 1 fb^-1 ATLAS Search in the Minimal Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking Model
Recent LHC data significantly extend the exclusion limits for supersymmetric
particles, particularly in the jets plus missing transverse momentum channels.
The most recent such data have so far been interpreted by the experiment in
only two different supersymmetry breaking models: the constrained minimal
supersymmetric standard model (CMSSM) and a simplified model with only squarks
and gluinos and massless neutralinos. We compare kinematical distributions of
supersymmetric signal events predicted by the CMSSM and anomaly mediated
supersymmetry breaking (mAMSB) before calculating exclusion limits in mAMSB. We
obtain a lower limit of 900 GeV on squark and gluino masses at the 95%
confidence level for the equal mass limit, tan(beta)=10 and mu>0.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure
Pleosporales
One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae
One More Awareness Gap? The BehaviourâImpact Gap Problem
Preceding research has made hardly any attempt to measure the ecological impacts of pro-environmental behaviour in an objective way. Those impacts were rather supposed or calculated. The research described herein scrutinized the ecological impact reductions achieved through pro-environmental behaviour and raised the question how much of a reduction in carbon footprint can be achieved through voluntary action without actually affecting the socio-economic determinants of life. A survey was carried out in order to measure the difference between the ecological footprint of âgreenâ and âbrownâ consumers. No significant difference was found between the ecological footprints of the two groupsâsuggesting that individual pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour do not always reduce the environmental impacts of consumption. This finding resulted in the formulation of a new proposition called the BIG (behaviourâimpact gap) problem, which is an interesting addition to research in the field of environmental awareness gaps
The Involutive Quantaloid of Completely Distributive Lattices
Let L be a complete lattice and let Q(L) be the unital quantale of join-continuous endo-functions of L. We prove the following result: Q(L) is an involutive (that is, non-commutative cyclic â-autonomous) quantale if and only if L is a completely distributive lattice. If this is the case, then the dual tensor operation corresponds, via Raney's transforms, to composition in the (dual) quantale of meet-continuous endo-functions of L. Let sLatt be the category of sup-lattices and join-continuous functions and let cdLatt be the full subcategory of sLatt whose objects are the completely distributive lattices. We argue that (i) cdLatt is itself an involutive quantaloid, and therefore it is the largest full-subcategory of sLatt with this property; (ii) cdLatt is closed under the monoidal operations of sLatt and, consequently, if Q(L) is involutive, then Q(L) is completely distributive as well
Composite Leptoquarks at the LHC
If electroweak symmetry breaking arises via strongly-coupled physics, the
observed suppression of flavour-changing processes suggests that fermion masses
should arise via mixing of elementary fermions with composite fermions of the
strong sector. The strong sector then carries colour charge, and may contain
composite leptoquark states, arising either as TeV scale resonances, or even as
light, pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons. The latter, since they are coupled to
colour, get a mass of the order of several hundred GeV, beyond the reach of
current searches at the Tevatron. The same generic mechanism that suppresses
flavour-changing processes suppresses leptoquark-mediated rare processes,
making it conceivable that the many stringent constraints may be evaded. The
leptoquarks couple predominantly to third-generation quarks and leptons, and
the prospects for discovery at LHC appear to be good. As an illustration, a
model based on the Pati-Salam symmetry is described, and its embedding in
models with a larger symmetry incorporating unification of gauge couplings,
which provide additional motivation for leptoquark states at or below the TeV
scale, is discussed.Comment: 10 pp, version to appear in JHE
Functional Polymorphism of the Mu-Opioid Receptor Gene (OPRM1) Influences Reinforcement Learning in Humans
Previous reports on the functional effects (i.e., gain or loss of function), and phenotypic outcomes (e.g., changes in addiction vulnerability and stress response) of a commonly occurring functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the mu-opioid receptor (OPRM1 A118G) have been inconsistent. Here we examine the effect of this polymorphism on implicit reward learning. We used a probabilistic signal detection task to determine whether this polymorphism impacts response bias to monetary reward in 63 healthy adult subjects: 51 AA homozygotes and 12 G allele carriers. OPRM1 AA homozygotes exhibited typical responding to the rewarded responseâthat is, their bias to the rewarded stimulus increased over time. However, OPRM1 G allele carriers exhibited a decline in response to the rewarded stimulus compared to the AA homozygotes. These results extend previous reports on the heritability of performance on this task by implicating a specific polymorphism. Through comparison with other studies using this task, we suggest a possible mechanism by which the OPRM1 polymorphism may confer reduced response to natural reward through a dopamine-mediated decrease during positive reinforcement learning
A Temporal Threshold for Formaldehyde Crosslinking and Fixation
Formaldehyde crosslinking is in widespread use as a biological fixative for microscopy and molecular biology. An assumption behind its use is that most biologically meaningful interactions are preserved by crosslinking, but the minimum length of time required for an interaction to become fixed has not been determined.Using a unique series of mutations in the DNA binding protein MeCP2, we show that in vivo interactions lasting less than 5 seconds are invisible in the microscope after formaldehyde fixation, though they are obvious in live cells. The stark contrast between live cell and fixed cell images illustrates hitherto unsuspected limitations to the fixation process. We show that chromatin immunoprecipitation, a technique in widespread use that depends on formaldehyde crosslinking, also fails to capture these transient interactions.Our findings for the first time establish a minimum temporal limitation to crosslink chemistry that has implications for many fields of research
An evaluation of seasonal variations in footwear worn by adults with inflammatory arthritis: a cross-sectional observational study using a web-based survey
Background: Foot problems are common in adults with inflammatory arthritis and therapeutic footwear can be
effective in managing arthritic foot problems. Accessing appropriate footwear has been identified as a major barrier,
resulting in poor adherence to treatment plans involving footwear. Indeed, previous New Zealand based studies
found that many people with rheumatoid arthritis and gout wore inappropriate footwear. However, these studies
were conducted in a single teaching hospital during the New Zealand summer therefore the findings may not be
representative of footwear styles worn elsewhere in New Zealand, or reflect the potential influence of seasonal
climate changes. The aim of the study was to evaluate seasonal variations in footwear habits of people with
inflammatory arthritic conditions in New Zealand.
Methods: A cross-sectional study design using a web-based survey. The survey questions were designed to elicit
demographic and clinical information, features of importance when choosing footwear and seasonal footwear
habits, including questions related to the provision of therapeutic footwear/orthoses and footwear experiences.
Results: One-hundred and ninety-seven participants responded who were predominantly women of European
descent, aged between 46â65 years old, from the North Island of New Zealand. The majority of participants
identified with having either rheumatoid arthritis (35%) and/or osteoarthritis (57%) and 68% reported established
disease (>5 years duration). 18% of participants had been issued with therapeutic footwear. Walking and athletic
shoes were the most frequently reported footwear type worn regardless of the time of year. In the summer,
42% reported wearing sandals most often. Comfort, fit and support were reported most frequently as the footwear
features of greatest importance. Many participants reported difficulties with footwear (63%), getting hot feet in the
summer (63%) and the need for a sandal which could accommodate a supportive insole (73%).
Conclusions: Athletic and walking shoes were the most popular style of footwear reported regardless of seasonal
variation. During the summer season people with inflammatory arthritis may wear sandals more frequently in
order to accommodate disease-related foot deformity. Healthcare professionals and researchers should consider
seasonal variation when recommending appropriate footwear, or conducting footwear studies in people with
inflammatory arthritis, to reduce non-adherence to prescribed footwear
Heavy fermions and two loop electroweak corrections to
Applying effective Lagrangian method and on-shell scheme, we analyze the
electroweak corrections to the rare decay from some
special two loop diagrams in which a closed heavy fermion loop is attached to
the virtual charged gauge bosons or Higgs. At the decoupling limit where the
virtual fermions in inner loop are much heavier than the electroweak scale, we
verify the final results satisfying the decoupling theorem explicitly when the
interactions among Higgs and heavy fermions do not contain the nondecoupling
couplings. Adopting the universal assumptions on the relevant couplings and
mass spectrum of new physics, we find that the relative corrections from those
two loop diagrams to the SM theoretical prediction on the branching ratio of
can reach 5% as the energy scale of new physics
GeV.Comment: 30 pages,4 figure
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