The Role of Two Cognitive Constraints in the Management of Oral Narratives

The nature and supporting evidence for two well-known and frequently discussed cognitive processing principles, the CLOSURE and the GIVEN-NEW constraints, are reviewed. The two constraints are then evaluated against data from experiments dealing with the production of oral narratives under controlled conditions. It is concluded that the two constraints, for which the majority of supporting evidence has come from comprehension studies, are also operative in language production. CLOSURE is found to be highly salient and central in the production of such narratives, while the GIVEN-NEW constraint is shown to function in a somewhat more complex manner, depending on the type of narrative being produced. Possible reasons for the differences in salience are suggested

Chemistry by Mobile Phone (or how to justify more time at the bar)

By combining automatic environment monitoring with Java smartphones a system has been produced for the real-time monitoring of experiments whilst away from the lab. Changes in the laboratory environment are encapsulated as simple XML messages, which are published using an MQTT compliant broker. Clients subscribe to the MQTT stream, and produce a user display. An MQTT client written for the Java MIDP platform, can be run on a smartphone with a GPRS Internet connection, freeing us from the constraints of the lab. We present an overview of the technologies used, and how these are helping chemists make the best use of their time

Desynchronization of pathological low-frequency brain activity by the hypnotic drug zolpidem.

Reports of the beneficial effects of the hypnotic imidazopyridine, zolpidem, described in persistent vegetative state^1, 2^ have been replicated recently in brain-injured and cognitively impaired patients^3-7^. Previous single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) studies have suggested that sub-sedative doses of zolpidem increased regional cerebral perfusion in affected areas^5, 8^, implying enhanced neuronal metabolic activity; which has led to speculation that zolpidem 'reawakens' functionally dormant cortex. However, a neuronal mechanism by which this hypnotic drug affords benefits to brain injured patients has yet to be demonstrated. Here, we report the action of sub-sedative doses of zolpidem on neuronal network oscillatory activity in human brain, measured using pharmaco-magnetoencephalography (pharmaco-MEG). Study participant JP suffered a stroke in 1996, causing major damage to the left hemisphere that impaired aspects of both motor and cognitive function. Pharmaco-MEG analyses revealed robust and persistent pathological theta (4-10Hz) and beta (15-30Hz) oscillations within the lesion penumbra and surrounding cortex. Administration of zolpidem (5mg) reduced the power of pathological theta and beta oscillations in all regions of the lesioned hemisphere. This desynchronizing effect correlated well with zolpidem uptake (occurring approximately 40 minutes after acute administration) and was coincident with marked improvements in cognitive and motor function. Control experiments revealed no effect of placebo, while a structurally unrelated hypnotic, zopiclone, administered at a comparable dose (3.5mg) elicited widespread increases in cortical oscillatory power in the beta (15-30Hz) band without functional improvement. These results suggest that in JP, specific motor and cognitive impairments are related to increased low-frequency oscillatory neuronal network activity. Zolpidem is unique amongst hypnotic drugs in its ability to desynchronize such pathological low-frequency activity, thereby restoring cognitive function

Clinical and serological studies of tuberculosis patients in Argentina receiving immunotherapy with Mycobacterium vaccae (SRL 172)

AbstractTwo small, placebo-controlled studies of immunotherapy with heat killed Mycobacterium vaccae added to routine chemotherapy for pulmonary tuberculosis, together involving 40 HIV seronegative patients, were carried out in Argentina. The immunotherapy was associated with reduced sputum smear positivity of AFB at 1 month and a greater reduction in ESR at 2 months. In the first study radiological improvement was better (P < 0·05) among immunotherapy recipients. In the second study, weight regain and time to become apyrexial were measured and were found to be improved amongst immunotherapy recipients (P < 0·05).In the first month of treatment the levels of IgG to the 65 kDa and 70 kDa heat-shock proteins showed greater falls following immunotherapy (P < 0·05 and P < 0·001, respectively). On admission serum cytokine levels of interleukins 4 and 10 (IL-4, IL-10), interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were grossly raised in comparison with a matched control group (P < 0·001). After 1 month. Levels of IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-α fell (P < 0·001, P < 0·01 and P < 0·01, respectively) and levels of IFN-γ rose more (P = 0·005) in immunotherapy recipients than in those receiving chemotherapy alone. The results are in accord with a switch towards a TH1 immunological status and clinical benefit for immunotherapy recipients

Episodes as Memory Units in Discourse Representation: Anaphor Use in English and Mandarin

The present study investigates the relationship between cognitive constraints and discourse processing. In particular, it examines how the hierarchical structure of discourse is organized and presented, and what consequences that structure has for the linguistic coding employed during the dynamic time course of discourse processing. Special attention is directed to the distribution of full NPs and pronouns in discourse as a function of the location of episode boundaries. Results obtained from an experiment support the hypothesis that episode structure governs the alternative use of anaphora

A Sr-Rich Star on the Main Sequence of Omega Centauri

Abundance ratios relative to iron for carbon, nitrogen, strontium and barium are presented for a metal-rich main sequence star ([Fe/H]=--0.74) in the globular cluster omega Centauri. This star, designated 2015448, shows depleted carbon and solar nitrogen, but more interestingly, shows an enhanced abundance ratio of strontium [Sr/Fe] ~ 1.6 dex, while the barium abundance ratio is [Ba/Fe]<0.6 dex. At this metallicity one usually sees strontium and barium abundance ratios that are roughly equal. Possible formation scenarios of this peculiar object are considered.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Accepted to ApJ