Syntactic comprehension of relative clauses and center embedding using pseudowords

Relative clause (RC) formation and center embedding (CE) are two primary syntactic operations fundamental for creating and understanding complex sentences. Ample evidence from previous cross-linguistic studies has revealed several similarities and differences between RC and CE. However, it is not easy to investigate the effect of pure syntactic constraints for RC and CE without the interference of semantic and pragmatic interactions. Here, we show how readers process CE and RC using a self-paced reading task in Korean. More interestingly, we adopted a novel self-paced pseudoword reading task to exploit syntactic operations of the RC and CE, eliminating the semantic and pragmatic interference in sentence comprehension. Our results showed that the main effects of RC and CE conform to previous studies. Furthermore, we found a facilitation effect of sentence comprehension when we combined an RC and CE in a complex sentence. Our study provides a valuable insight into how the purely syntactic processing of RC and CE assists comprehension of complex sentences

Expanding Autonomy Psychological Need States From Two (Satisfaction, Frustration) to Three (Dissatisfaction): A Classroom-Based Intervention Study

We propose that students experience "autonomy dissatisfaction" when the learning environment is indifferent to their psychological need for autonomy. We hypothesized that (a) students could distinguish this newly proposed need state from both autonomy satisfaction and autonomy frustration, (b) autonomy dissatisfaction would explain unique and rather substantial variance in students' classroom disengagement, and (c) a full understanding of the psychological need for autonomy necessitates expanding the current emphasis from two need states (satisfaction, frustration) to three (dissatisfaction). In the experimental condition, 20 secondaryschool physical education (PE) teachers learned how to teach in an autonomy-supportive way; in the control condition, 17 PE teachers taught using "practice as usual." Their 2,669 students (1,180 females, 1,489 males) self-reported their autonomy satisfaction, autonomy dissatisfaction, autonomy frustration, engagement, and disengagement throughout a semester. Objective raters scored the manipulation check (teachers' autonomysupportive instructional behaviors) and the engagement-disengagement outcome measure. Autonomy dissatisfaction longitudinally increased in the control group and longitudinally decreased in the experimental group. Most importantly, intervention-enabled decreases in autonomy dissatisfaction decreased students' end-ofsemester disengagement, even after controlling for midsemester changes in autonomy satisfaction and autonomy frustration. We discuss the theoretical and practical benefits of adding autonomy dissatisfaction to the self-determination theory explanatory framework

Molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of human astrovirus in South Korea from 2002 to 2007

AbstractThe present study was conducted to survey the prevalence and genotypic distribution of human astrovirus (HAstV) circulating in South Korea. Of 160,027 patients with acute gastroenteritis, 2,057 (1.3%) were positive for HAstV antigen. We determined the genotypes of 187 HAstV strains collected from laboratories across the country. Genetic analysis revealed genotype 1 to be the most prevalent, accounting for 72.19% of the strains, followed by genotypes 8 (9.63%), 6 (6.95%), 4 (6.42%), 2 (3.21%) and 3 (1.60%). Our findings indicate that HAstV is less common but, even so, a potentially important viral agent of gastroenteritis in South Korea, with significant genetic diversity among circulating HAstV strains

Fermion-Boson Duality of One-dimensional Quantum Particles with Generalized Contact Interaction

For a system of spinless one-dimensional fermions, the non-vanishing short-range limit of two-body interaction is shown to induce the wave-function discontinuity. We prove the equivalence of this fermionic system and the bosonic particle system with two-body $\delta$-function interaction with the reversed role of strong and weak couplings. KEYWORDS: one-dimensional system, $\epsilon$-interaction, solvable many-body problem, exact bosonizationComment: 4 pages ReVTeX 4 epsf figures included, new Ref

Singlet fermionic dark matter

We propose a renormalizable model of a fermionic dark matter by introducing a gauge singlet Dirac fermion and a real singlet scalar. The bridges between the singlet sector and the standard model sector are only the singlet scalar interaction terms with the standard model Higgs field. The singlet fermion couples to the standard model particles through the mixing between the standard model Higgs and singlet scalar and is naturally a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP). The measured relic abundance can be explained by the singlet fermionic dark matter as the WIMP within this model. Collider implication of the singlet fermionic dark matter is also discussed. Predicted is the elastic scattering cross section of the singlet fermion into target nuclei for a direct detection of the dark matter. Search of the direct detection of the dark matter provides severe constraints on the parameters of our model.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Sorbus alnifolia protects dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans

Context: The twigs of Sorbus alnifolia (Sieb. et Zucc.) K. Koch (Rosaceae) have been used to treat neuro- logical disorders as a traditional medicine in Korea. However, there are limited data describing the efficacy of S. alnifolia in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objective: This study was conducted to identify the protective effects of the methanol extracts of S. alnifolia (MESA) on the dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans. Materials and methods: To test the neuroprotective action of MESA, viability assay was performed after 48 h exposure to 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MMPþ) in PC12 cells and C. elegans (400 lM and 2 mM of MMPþ, respectively). Fluorescence intensity was quantified using transgenic mutants such as BZ555 (Pdat-1::GFP) and and UA57 (Pdat-1::GFP and Pdat-1::CAT-2) to determine MESA’s effects on DA neurode- generation in C. elegans. Aggregation of a-synuclein was observed using NL5901 strain (unc-54p::a- synuclein::YFP). MESA’s protective effects on the DA neuronal functions were examined by food-sensing assay. Lifespan assay was conducted to test the effects of MESA on the longevity. Results: MESA restored MPPþ-induced loss of viability in both PC12 cells and C. elegans (85.8% and 54.9%, respectively). In C. elegans, MESA provided protection against chemically and genetically-induced DA neurodegeneration, respectively. Moreover, food-sensing functions were increased 58.4% by MESA in the DA neuron degraded worms. MESA also prolonged the average lifespan by 25.6%. However, MESA failed to alter a-synuclein aggregation. Discussion and conclusions: These results revealed that MESA protects DA neurodegeneration and recov- ers diminished DA neuronal functions, thereby can be a valuable candidate for the treatment of PD