Learning to suspend implicated contrast:The acquisition of <em>ook</em> in Dutch

Children acquire the meaning of ook ‘also’ in Dutch relatively late ( Bergsma 2006 ), although this focus particle is highly frequent. We argue that this late acquisition is caused by a pragmatic rule: contrastive implicature. We follow Sæbø (2004) , who argues that additives are used because without them, the sentences they appear in would be interpreted as contrastive in relation to the context. Data from a sentence completion task administered to Dutch L1 learners (N = 62, ages 4;0–5;11) show that, on average, four-year-olds do not distinguish sentences with ook from sentences without ook. Five-year-olds do better on sentences with ook but worse on sentences without it. We argue that they have generally acquired contrastive implicature: they apply the correct contrastive interpretation to sentences without ook, but overgeneralize this implicature to sentences with ook, before completely acquiring the meaning of ook

Sequential Predation: A Multi-model Study

In many ecosystems food resources are available sequentially. The paper analyses a situation with two competing prey species both of which are consumed by a common predator species. Within a season the two prey species are available sequentially, although there may be an overlap. Three modelling methodologies are applied to this system] discrete dynamical systems (difference equations), individual-oriented event-driven simulations and cellular automata. The presence of the predator is shown to have a strong impact on the outcome of the prey species competition. The system of coexisting prey species changes to a system of founder-controlled competition. It appears that sequential predation can even have counterintuitive evolutionary consequences for the prey species. The species which appears later in the season will be more successful in its competition with the early species if it favours the predator; for example, by a high leaf palatability. Spatial structuring and topological issues are found to play a crucial role in both the ecological and evolutionary dynamics. The advantages of a multi!model approach are discussed

Local Orientation and the Evolution of Foraging: Changes in Decision Making Can Eliminate Evolutionary Trade-offs

Information processing is a major aspect of the evolution of animal behavior. In foraging, responsiveness to local feeding opportunities can generate patterns of behavior which reflect or “recognize patterns” in the environment beyond the perception of individuals. Theory on the evolution of behavior generally neglects such opportunity-based adaptation. Using a spatial individual-based model we study the role of opportunity-based adaptation in the evolution of foraging, and how it depends on local decision making. We compare two model variants which differ in the individual decision making that can evolve (restricted and extended model), and study the evolution of simple foraging behavior in environments where food is distributed either uniformly or in patches. We find that opportunity-based adaptation and the pattern recognition it generates, plays an important role in foraging success, particularly in patchy environments where one of the main challenges is “staying in patches”. In the restricted model this is achieved by genetic adaptation of move and search behavior, in light of a trade-off on within- and between-patch behavior. In the extended model this trade-off does not arise because decision making capabilities allow for differentiated behavioral patterns. As a consequence, it becomes possible for properties of movement to be specialized for detection of patches with more food, a larger scale information processing not present in the restricted model. Our results show that changes in decision making abilities can alter what kinds of pattern recognition are possible, eliminate an evolutionary trade-off and change the adaptive landscape

The Roots of Bioinformatics in Theoretical Biology

From the late 1980s onward, the term “bioinformatics” mostly has been used to refer to computational methods for comparative analysis of genome data. However, the term was originally more widely defined as the study of informatic processes in biotic systems. In this essay, I will trace this early history (from a personal point of view) and I will argue that the original meaning of the term is re-emerging

Cyanotoxin profiling in the subalpine district lakes

Contains fulltext : 193062.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access

Longitudinal study on visual outcome and spectacle use after intracapsular cataract extraction in Northern India

PURPOSE: More than 3 million cataract extractions are undertaken in India annually. Almost 60% of these operations are intracapsular Cataract Extractions. The subsequent optical correction is provided by aphakic spectacles. The aim of this study is to assess visual outcome and perceived benefits of post-operative use of aphakic spectacles. METHODS: One hundred and sixty-seven persons who had undergone intracapsular cataract extraction and had been given best corrected aphakic spectacles were evaluated one year following prescription of the best corrected aphakic spectacles. Out of these, 82.6% were re-examined in this interview-based longitudinal study. RESULTS: The mean age of the male participants was 65.95 years and that of females was 71.26 years. 81.2% of the participants were using the provided spectacles. There was no significant association between the spectacle use and gender of the participant. The commonest reason stated by the respondents, for the non-use of the spectacles was 'poor vision'. 61.7% of the current users of provided spectacles had a visual acuity of 6/18 or better. 91.1% of the current users were very satisfied with the spectacles. All the current users could now manage personal activities and the spectacles had facilitated independent mobility. There was no difference in the level of satisfaction between mono-aphakics and bi-aphakics. Among the satisfied users, the modal spherical power was +10 D followed by + 11 D. About one-third of these required a cylindrical correction. CONCLUSION: Following intracapsular cataract extraction, provision of the best correction after cataract surgery is desirable to obtain an optimal visual outcome