Analysis by Synthesis: A (Re-)Emerging Program of Research for Language and Vision

This contribution reviews (some of) the history of analysis by synthesis, an approach to perception and comprehension articulated in the 1950s. Whereas much research has focused on bottom-up, feed-forward, inductive mechanisms, analysis by synthesis as a heuristic model emphasizes a balance of bottom-up and knowledge-driven, top-down, predictive steps in speech perception and language comprehension. This idea aligns well with contemporary Bayesian approaches to perception (in language and other domains), which are illustrated with examples from different aspects of perception and comprehension. Results from psycholinguistics, the cognitive neuroscience of language, and visual object recognition suggest that analysis by synthesis can provide a productive way of structuring biolinguistic research. Current evidence suggests that such a model is theoretically well motivated, biologically sensible, and becomes computationally tractable borrowing from Bayesian formalizations

Constructing Filler-Gap Dependencies in Chinese Possessor Relative Clauses

PACLIC 19 / Taipei, taiwan / December 1-3, 200

Diffusion based degradation mechanisms in giant magnetoresistive spin valves

Spin valve systems based on the giant magnetoresistive (GMR) effect as used for example in hard disks and automotive applications consist of several functional metallic thin film layers. We have identified by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) two main degradation mechanisms: One is related to oxygen diffusion through a protective cap layer, and the other one is interdiffusion directly at the functional layers of the GMR stack. By choosing a suitable material as cap layer (TaN), the oxidation effect can be suppressed.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures. to be published in Appl. Phys. Let

Nitrogen-fixing symbiotic bacteria act as a global filter for plant establishment on islands

Island biogeography has classically focused on abiotic drivers of species distributions. However, recent work has highlighted the importance of mutualistic biotic interactions in structuring island floras. The limited occurrence of specialist pollinators and mycorrhizal fungi have been found to restrict plant colonization on oceanic islands. Another important mutualistic association occurs between nearly 15,000 plant species and nitrogen-fixing (N-fixing) bacteria. Here, we look for evidence that N-fixing bacteria limit establishment of plants that associate with them. Globally, we find that plants associating with N-fixing bacteria are disproportionately underrepresented on islands, with a 22% decline. Further, the probability of N-fixing plants occurring on islands decreases with island isolation and, where present, the proportion of N-fixing plant species decreases with distance for large, but not small islands. These findings suggest that N-fixing bacteria serve as a filter to plant establishment on islands, altering global plant biogeography, with implications for ecosystem development and introduction risks