Foveal word reading requires interhemispheric communication

The left cerebral hemisphere is dominant for language processing in most individuals. It has been suggested that this asymmetric language representation can influence behavioral performance in foveal word-naming tasks. We carried out two experiments in which we obtained laterality indices by means of functional imaging during a Mental word-generation task, using functional transcranial Doppler sonography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Subsequently, we administered a behavioral word-naming task, where participants had to name foveally presented words of different lengths shown in different fixation locations shifted horizontally across the screen. The optimal viewing position for left language dominant individuals is located between the beginning and the center of a word. It is shifted toward the end of a word for right language dominant individuals and, to a lesser extent, for individuals with bilateral language representation. These results demonstrate that inter-hemispheric communication is required for foveal word recognition. Consequently, asymmetric representations of language and processes of inter-hemispheric transfer should] be taken into account in theoretical models of visual word recognition to ensure neurological plausibility

Multi-criteria discovery, design and manufacturing to realise nanomaterial potential

Advanced nanomaterials have a central role to play in the pursuit of sustainable development goals. Applications span sectors, including energy, medicine and environmental clean-up. However, despite an explosion in their discovery and synthesis, these materials are struggling to make it through to commercial production. Their development is hampered by costly, resource intensive and scale-sensitive processes. Herein, we highlight widespread early-stage reliance on single metric optimisation as a primary cause of development failure and, conversely, emphasise the importance of multi-criteria thinking within both research design and execution, and particularly through discovery and design stages. We formulate the PSEC challenge (i.e. Performance, Scalability, Environment and Cost) as a means to integrate broader sustainability thinking with precise technical solutions. We propose overt emphasis on a correspondingly expanded specification of critical material attributes to better direct and integrate research. We highlight the potential for the development of MCDA (multi-criteria decision aiding) tools and opportunities for generating, consolidating, and extensively exploiting good quality whole-system data. Our paper represents a community call-to-action so that nanomaterial discoveries can reach the markets and fulfil their sustainable development potential

Two-loop representations of low-energy pion form factors and pi-pi scattering phases in the presence of isospin breaking

Dispersive representations of the pi-pi scattering amplitudes and pion form factors, valid at two-loop accuracy in the low-energy expansion, are constructed in the presence of isospin-breaking effects induced by the difference between the charged and neutral pion masses. Analytical expressions for the corresponding phases of the scalar and vector pion form factors are computed. It is shown that each of these phases consists of the sum of a "universal" part and a form-factor dependent contribution. The first one is entirely determined in terms of the pi-pi scattering amplitudes alone, and reduces to the phase satisfying Watson's theorem in the isospin limit. The second one can be sizeable, although it vanishes in the same limit. The dependence of these isospin corrections with respect to the parameters of the subthreshold expansion of the pi-pi amplitude is studied, and an equivalent representation in terms of the S-wave scattering lengths is also briefly presented and discussed. In addition, partially analytical expressions for the two-loop form factors and pi-pi scattering amplitudes in the presence of isospin breaking are provided.Comment: 57 pages, 12 figure

Pituitary tumor-transforming gene expression is a prognostic marker for tumor recurrence in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

BACKGROUND: The proto-oncogene pituitary tumor-transforming gene (PTTG) has been shown to be abundantly overexpressed in a large variety of neoplasms likely promoting neo-vascularization and tumor invasiveness. In this study, we investigated a potential role for PTTG mRNA expression as a marker to evaluate the future clinical outcome of patients diagnosed with primary cancer of the head and neck. METHODS: Tumor samples derived from primary tumors of 89 patients suffering from a squamous cell carcinoma were analyzed for PTTG mRNA-expression and compared to corresponding unaffected tissue. Expression levels were correlated to standard clinico-pathological parameters based on a five year observation period. RESULTS: In almost all 89 tumor samples PTTG was found to be overexpressed (median fold increase: 2.1) when compared to the unaffected tissue specimens derived from the same patient. The nodal stage correlated with PTTG transcript levels with significant differences between pN0 (median expression: 1.32) and pN+ (median expression: 2.12; P = 0.016). In patients who developed a tumor recurrence we detected a significantly higher PTTG expression in primary tumors (median expression: 2.63) when compared to patients who did not develop a tumor recurrence (median expression: 1.29; P = 0.009). Since the median expression of PTTG in patients with tumor stage T1/2N0M0 that received surgery alone without tumor recurrence was 0.94 versus 3.82 in patients suffering from a tumor recurrence (P = 0.006), PTTG expression might provide a feasible mean of predicting tumor recurrence. CONCLUSION: Elevated PTTG transcript levels might be used as a prognostic biomarker for future clinical outcome (i.e. recurrence) in primary squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, especially in early stages of tumor development

Hadronic light-by-light corrections to the muon g-2: the pion-pole contribution

The correction to the muon anomalous magnetic moment from the pion-pole contribution to the hadronic light-by-light scattering is considered using a description of the pi0 - gamma* - gamma* transition form factor based on the large-Nc and short-distance properties of QCD. The resulting two-loop integrals are treated by first performing the angular integration analytically, using the method of Gegenbauer polynomials, followed by a numerical evaluation of the remaining two-dimensional integration over the moduli of the Euclidean loop momenta. The value obtained, a_{mu}(LbyL;pi0) = +5.8 (1.0) x 10^{-10}, disagrees with other recent calculations. In the case of the vector meson dominance form factor, the result obtained by following the same procedure reads a_{mu}(LbyL;pi0)_{VMD} = +5.6 x 10^{-10}, and differs only by its overall sign from the value obtained by previous authors. Inclusion of the eta and eta-prime poles gives a total value a_{mu}(LbyL;PS) = +8.3 (1.2) x 10^{-10} for the three pseudoscalar states. This result substantially reduces the difference between the experimental value of a_{mu} and its theoretical counterpart in the standard model.Comment: 27 pages, Latex, 3 figures. v2: version to be published in Phys. Rev. D, Note added and references updated (don't worry, sign has not changed

Periodicity and Atomic Ordering in Nanosized Particles of Crystals

Evidence is presented that nanosized particles of crystals do not necessarily adopt a periodic atomic structure as their bulk counterparts do and/or as predicted by theory. As an example, 1.6-nm Au particles grown inside a dendrimeric host are studied and found to possess a heavily disordered, metallic glass-type structure. The nanoparticle's structure evolves toward the face-centered-cubic-type lattice of bulk Au only upon removal of solvent. The results show that periodicity, which rules the structure and properties of bulk crystals, is less of a constraint at the nanoscale level and, therefore, may be used as tunable parameter in nanotechnology research