Task irrelevant external cues can influence language selection in voluntary object naming: evidence from Hindi-English bilinguals

We examined if external cues such as other agents’ actions can influence the choice of language during voluntary and cued object naming in bilinguals in three experiments. Hindi– English bilinguals first saw a cartoon waving at a color patch. They were then asked to either name a picture in the language of their choice (voluntary block) or to name in the instructed language (cued block). The colors waved at by the cartoon were also the colors used as language cues (Hindi or English). We compared the influence of the cartoon’s choice of color on naming when speakers had to indicate their choice explicitly before naming (Experiment 1) as opposed to when they named directly on seeing the pictures (Experiment 2 and 3). Results showed that participants chose the language indicated by the cartoon greater number of times (Experiment 1 and 3). Speakers also switched significantly to the language primed by the cartoon greater number of times (Experiment 1 and 2). These results suggest that choices leading to voluntary action, as in the case of object naming can be influenced significantly by external non-linguistic cues. Importantly, these symbolic influences can work even when other agents are merely indicating their choices and are not interlocutors in bilingual communicatio

To look or not to look: Subliminal abrupt-onset cues influence constrained free-choice saccades

Subliminal cues have been shown to capture attention and modulate manual response behaviour but their impact on eye movement behaviour is not well-studied. In two experiments, we examined if subliminal cues influence constrained free-choice saccades and if this influence is under strategic control as a function of task-relevancy of the cues. On each trial, a display containing four filled circles at the centre of each quadrant was shown. A central coloured circle indicated the relevant visual field on each trial (Up or Down in Experiment 1; Left or Right in Experiment 2). Next, abrupt-onset cues were presented for 16 ms at one of the four locations. Participants were then asked to freely choose and make a saccade to one of the two target circles in the relevant visual field. The analysis of the frequency of saccades, saccade endpoint deviation and saccade latency revealed a significant influence of the relevant subliminal cues on saccadic decisions. Latency data showed reduced capture by spatially-irrelevant cues under some conditions. These results indicate that spatial attentional control settings as defined in our study could modulate the influence of subliminal abrupt-onset cues on eye movement behaviour. We situate the findings of this study in the attention-capture debate and discuss the implications for the subliminal cueing literature.  &nbsp

Language proficiency does not modulate executive control in older bilinguals

Published online: 30 Dec 2018We examined if language proficiency modulates performance in tasks that measure executive control in older Telugu-English bilinguals (n = 50, mean age = 57.15 years). We administered numerical Stroop task, Attention Network Task, Dimensional Change Card Sorting task, and stop-signal task that are known to tap into different aspects of executive functioning on healthy aging Telugu-English bilinguals. Second language (English) proficiency was calculated as a cumulative score that considered both subjective and objective measures of L2 fluency and use. Bilinguals were divided into two groups based on the cumulative score and compared on each task. We did not find any effect of language proficiency on any of the executive control measures. The additional Bayesian analysis also supported these findings. Therefore, the results do not support the claim that bilingual language proficiency modulates executive control, at least in the elderly population. We discuss the results with regard to the issue of bilingual advantage in executive control and the role of age and language use

Down-regulation of Delta by proteolytic processing

Notch signaling regulates cell fate decisions during development through local cell interactions. Signaling is triggered by the interaction of the Notch receptor with its transmembrane ligands expressed on adjacent cells. Recent studies suggest that Delta is cleaved to release an extracellular fragment, DlEC, by a mechanism that involves the activity of the metalloprotease Kuzbanian; however, the functional significance of that cleavage remains controversial. Using independent functional assays in vitro and in vivo, we examined the biological activity of purified soluble Delta forms and conclude that Delta cleavage is an important down-regulating event in Notch signaling. The data support a model whereby Delta inactivation is essential for providing the critical ligand/receptor expression differential between neighboring cells in order to distinguish the signaling versus the receiving partner

Microtubule-severing enzymes: From cellular functions to molecular mechanism.

Microtubule-severing enzymes generate internal breaks in microtubules. They are conserved in eukaryotes from ciliates to mammals, and their function is important in diverse cellular processes ranging from cilia biogenesis to cell division, phototropism, and neurogenesis. Their mutation leads to neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders in humans. All three known microtubule-severing enzymes, katanin, spastin, and fidgetin, are members of the meiotic subfamily of AAA ATPases that also includes VPS4, which disassembles ESCRTIII polymers. Despite their conservation and importance to cell physiology, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of microtubule-severing enzymes are not well understood. Here we review a subset of cellular processes that require microtubule-severing enzymes as well as recent advances in understanding their structure, biophysical mechanism, and regulation

New mechanism for Notch signaling to endothelium at a distance by Delta-like 4 incorporation into exosomes.

Notch signaling is an evolutionary conserved pathway that is mediated by cell-cell contact. It is involved in a variety of developmental processes and has an essential role in vascular development and angiogenesis. Delta-like 4 (Dll4) is a Notch ligand that is up-regulated during angiogenesis. It is expressed in endothelial cells and regulates the differentiation between tip cells and stalk cells of neovasculature. Here, we present evidence that Dll4 is incorporated into endothelial exosomes. It can also be incorporated into the exosomes of tumor cells that overexpress Dll4. These exosomes can transfer the Dll4 protein to other endothelial cells and incorporate it into their cell membrane, which results in an inhibition of Notch signaling and a loss of Notch receptor. Transfer of Dll4 was also shown in vivo from tumor cells to host endothelium. Addition of Dll4 exosomes confers a tip cell phenotype on the endothelial cell, which results in a high Dll4/Notch-receptor ratio, low Notch signaling, and filopodia formation. This was further evidenced by increased branching in a tube-formation assay and in vivo. This reversal in phenotype appears to enhance vessel formation and is a new form of signaling for Notch ligands that expands their signaling potential beyond cell-cell contact

In Vivo Analysis of the Notch Receptor S1 Cleavage

A ligand-independent cleavage (S1) in the extracellular domain of the mammalian Notch receptor results in what is considered to be the canonical heterodimeric form of Notch on the cell surface. The in vivo consequences and significance of this cleavage on Drosophila Notch signaling remain unclear and contradictory. We determined the cleavage site in Drosophila and examined its in vivo function by a transgenic analysis of receptors that cannot be cleaved. Our results demonstrate a correlation between loss of cleavage and loss of in vivo function of the Notch receptor, supporting the notion that S1 cleavage is an in vivo mechanism of Notch signal control

Recurrent somatic mutations in POLR2A define a distinct subset of meningiomas

RNA polymerase II mediates the transcription of all protein-coding genes in eukaryotic cells, a process that is fundamental to life. Genomic mutations altering this enzyme have not previously been linked to any pathology in humans, which is a testament to its indispensable role in cell biology. On the basis of a combination of next-generation genomic analyses of 775 meningiomas, we report that recurrent somatic p.Gln403Lys or p.Leu438_His439del mutations in POLR2A, which encodes the catalytic subunit of RNA polymerase II (ref. 1), hijack this essential enzyme and drive neoplasia. POLR2A mutant tumors show dysregulation of key meningeal identity genes including WNT6 and ZIC1/ZIC4. In addition to mutations in POLR2A, NF2, SMARCB1, TRAF7, KLF4, AKT1, PIK3CA, and SMO4 we also report somatic mutations in AKT3, PIK3R1, PRKAR1A, and SUFU in meningiomas. Our results identify a role for essential transcriptional machinery in driving tumorigenesis and define mutually exclusive meningioma subgroups with distinct clinical and pathological features

تطوير المواد الدراسية في تعليم مهارة الكتاب في برنامج الخاض لتعليم اللغة العربية في جامعة مولانا مالك ابراهم الإسلامية الحكومية مالانج

ABSTRAK Perkembangan Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang sebagai salah satu Perguruan Tinggi Islam yang berkembang pesat membutuhkan terobosan- terobosan yang handal. Salah satu hal penting yang tidak bisa dipisahkan adalah peranan penting dari PKPBA (Program Khusus Pengembangan Bahasa Arab). PKPBA sebagai sebuah unit pengembangan bahasa, telah berperan penting dalam membantu meningkatkan kemampuan berbahasa mahasiswa khususnya bahasa arab. Banyak dari mahasiswa yang pertama kali masuk PKPBA belum mengetahui bahasa Arab. Namun setelah belajar di PKPBA mereka mampu mengenal ilmu bahasa arab. Namun, tidak hanya berhenti pada mengetahui bahasa arab saja, program ini juga berupaya agar semua mahasiswa mampu untuk menguasai salah satu dari 4 ketrampilan bahasa yakni ketrampilan menulis. Tujuan dari peneliyian ini adalah untuk melengkapi proses pengembangan penyusunan materi ajar menulis dan mengetahui ke-efektifan materi yang dikembangkan. Penelitian ini menggunakan prosedur eksperimen dimana peneliti mendisain Pre-test dan Postest terhadap dua kelompok yakni kelompok eksperimen dan kelompok kontrol. Hasil penelitian ini adalah bahwa pembelajaran ketrampilan menulis dengan menggunakan buku ajar lebih efektif dari pada tanpa menggunakan buku ajar. Dengan indikasi bahwa t-test kelas eksperimen (J3) lebih efektif dengan indikasi bahwa t-test kelas kontrol adalah 3,4. dimana hasil ini lebih besar dari pada tingkat t-table 5% 2,059 dan tingkat 1% 2,787. Dari hasil ini menunjukan bahwa pengajaran menulis bahasa Arab efektif dengan menggunakan materi ajar yang telah disusun oleh peneliti. Hasil penelitian ini adalah: (1) Penyusunan materi ajar untuk PKPBA dimulai dengan membatasi tujuan pengajaran, kemudian menentukan pembagian materi sesuai dengan jumlah hari yang digunakan untuk pembelajaran dalam satu minggu. (2) Pembelajaran menulis bahasa Arab dengan menggunakan Materi ajar ini dinyatakan efektif. Dari hasil yang disebutkan diatas, sudah semestinya materi pengajaran menulis bahasa Arab dapat dimanfaatkan dengan benar dalam proses pengajaran, selain itu penulis berharap agar penelitian ini menjadi referensi untuk penelitian lanjutan yang berhubungan dengan penelitian ini sehingga dapat dikembangkan ke dalam desain materi ajar menulis untuk tingkat selanjutnya. ABSTRACT The expansion of State Islamic University Maulana Malik Ibrahim need some powerful breakthrough. One of the important things is the role of Intensive Arabic Program as unit for improving Arabic, have played an important for helping Arabic language improvement. Most of the students when the first time they enter to this Program, they haven’t yet Arabic knowledge. But after studying in this program for several months they could understand about Arabic. But is not enough in knowing the Arabic only, but this program also try to make all students are mastering one of these four skills, that is writing skill. This research aims at designing process of writing teaching material and finding out the effectiveness of writing teaching material using in Intensive Arabic Program of State Islamic University of Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. This research uses the experimental method that the researcher design pre-test and post-test for both groups (Experiment and Control group). This research reach the degree of t-test 3,4 this biggest than t-table at the level of 5% (2,059) and at the level 1% (2,787). This indicates that the use of writing Teaching Material in Arabic for improving writing skill is effective. And the result of this research are obtained bellow: (1) Preparing this teaching material process started by determining the goals, finding out the learning material based on the days in a week which used for teaching (2) The use of writing Teaching Material in Arabic for improving writing skill is effective. Based on these results, teaching material must be used as good as possible in teaching process. Besides, the researcher hopes that the research becomes the reference for further researchers which have a relation with this chapter and could be developed to other teaching material for advance grade

Loss of PTB or Negative Regulation of Notch mRNA Reveals Distinct Zones of Notch and Actin Protein Accumulation in Drosophila Embryo

Polypyrimidine Tract Binding (PTB) protein is a regulator of mRNA processing and translation. Genetic screens and studies of wing and bristle development during the post-embryonic stages of Drosophila suggest that it is a negative regulator of the Notch pathway. How PTB regulates the Notch pathway is unknown. Our studies of Drosophila embryogenesis indicate that (1) the Notch mRNA is a potential target of PTB, (2) PTB and Notch functions in the dorso-lateral regions of the Drosophila embryo are linked to actin regulation but not their functions in the ventral region, and (3) the actin-related Notch activity in the dorso-lateral regions might require a Notch activity at or near the cell surface that is different from the nuclear Notch activity involved in cell fate specification in the ventral region. These data raise the possibility that the Drosophila embryo is divided into zones of different PTB and Notch activities based on whether or not they are linked to actin regulation. They also provide clues to the almost forgotten role of Notch in cell adhesion and reveal a role for the Notch pathway in cell fusions