bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydroelastic solitary waves in deep water
Authors: MILEWSKI PAUL A. , VANDEN-BROECK J.-M. , WANG ZHAN
Published: May 2011

The problem of waves propagating on the surface of a two-dimensional ideal fluid of infinite depth bounded above by an elastic sheet is studied with asymptotic and numerical methods. We use a nonlinear elastic model that has been used to describe the dynamics of ice sheets. Particular attention is paid to forced and unforced dynamics of waves having near-minimum phase speed. For the unforced problem, we find that wavepacket solitary waves bifurcate from nonlinear periodic waves of minimum speed. When the problem is forced by a moving load, we find that, for small-amplitude forcing, steady responses are possible at all subcritical speeds, but for larger loads there is a transcritical range of forcing speeds for which there are no steady solutions. In unsteady computations, we find that if the problem is forced at a speed in this range, very large unsteady responses are obtained, and that when the forcing is released, a solitary wave is generated. These solitary waves appear stable, and can coexist within a sea of small-amplitude waves.
WATER AND NITROGEN-BALANCE AND -USE EFFICIENCY IN A RICE (ORYZA SATIVA)–WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM) CROPPING SYSTEM AS INFLUENCED BY MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS: FIELD AND SIMULATION STUDY
Authors: JALOTA S. K. , VASHISHT BHARAT BHUSHAN , KAUR HARSIMRAN , ARORA V. K. , VASHIST K. K. , DEOL K. S.
Published: May 2011

The present study concerns identification of the most profitable and water and nitrogen use efficient best management practice (BMP) in a rice–wheat system using a combined approach of field experimentation and simulation. In the field study, two independent experiments, (1) effect of three transplanting/sowing dates, two cultivars and two irrigation regimes and (2) effect of four nitrogen (N) levels with four irrigation regimes, were conducted for two seasons of 2008–09 and 2009–10 at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. Integrating the treatments of the two independent field experiments, simulations were run with the CropSyst model. The BMP demonstrated was transplanting of rice on 20 June and sowing of wheat on 5 November, irrigation to rice at 4-day drainage period and to wheat at irrigation water depth/Pan–E (open pan evaporation) ratio of 0.9, and fertilizer N of 150 kg ha−1 to each crop for medium-duration varieties. This practice gave higher profit (35%), equivalent rice yield (16%), crop water productivity (15%), irrigation water productivity (51%), economic water productivity (34%) and economic N productivity (94%) than the existing practice by the farmers. The improvement in crop water productivity by shifting the transplanting/sowing date was due to reduction in soil water evaporation and increased transpiration and fertilizer N productivity through increased N uptake.
Therapeutic efficacy of topical application of dexamethasone to the round window niche after acoustic trauma caused by intensive impulse noise in guinea pigs
Authors: Chi F-L , Yang M-Q , Zhou Y-D , Wang B
Published: May 2011

Objective:

To assess the therapeutic efficacy of dexamethasone administered topically to the round window niche, following acoustic trauma induced by intensive impulse noise, in guinea pigs.

Methods:

Adult, male, albino guinea pigs with a normal Preyer's reflex were exposed to 80 impulse noises (peak value 167 dB, duration 0.5 ms, interval 2 s). Dexamethasone (40 mg/ml) or saline was then topically applied to the round window niche. Each animal's auditory brainstem response was measured before and one day after exposure, and three weeks after topical treatment. Cochlear morphology was examined to assess hair cell loss and spiral ganglion cell damage. To assess oxidative activity, cochlear malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase concentrations were determined three weeks post-treatment. Following topical application, the pharmacokinetic characteristics of dexamethasone in cochlear perilymph were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results:

Animals receiving dexamethasone showed reduced noise-induced outer hair cell loss (three weeks post-treatment), and significant attenuation of noise-induced auditory brainstem response threshold shifts (one day post-exposure and three weeks post-treatment), compared with controls. There was no difference in spiral ganglion morphology. Animals receiving dexamethasone also showed a significantly lower malondialdehyde concentration and a higher superoxide dismutase concentration, post-exposure. Following topical application, the perilymph dexamethasone level peaked at 5330.522 µg/ml (15 minutes post-treatment), and was 299.797 µg/ml 360 minutes later.

Conclusion:

Topical application of dexamethasone to the round window niche has protective effects against intensive impulse noise induced trauma in the guinea pig cochlea. This drug can diffuse into the inner ear through the round window membrane and persist in the perilymph for a relatively long period. The mechanism of protection may involve an anti-oxidant effect.
Challenges encountered in the diagnosis of tuberculous otitis media: case report and literature review
Authors: Dale O T , Clarke A R , Drysdale A J
Published: May 2011

Objective:

To report a rare case of tuberculous otitis media, and to highlight barriers to clinical and microbiological diagnosis.

Method:

Case report and literature review.

Results:

Tuberculous otitis media is a rare cause of chronic ear infection in the UK. Its symptoms may mimic a range of other otological conditions, including otitis media, chronic suppurative otitis media, cholesteatoma and necrotising otitis media.

Conclusion:

This case report highlights the challenges of obtaining a clinical diagnosis of tuberculous otitis media, and emphasises the fact that screening for acid-fast bacilli is not sufficient, in isolation, to rule out mycobacterial infection.
Giant fibrovascular polyp of the hypopharynx: per-oral endoscopic removal
Authors: Ozdemir S , Gorgulu O , Selcuk T , Akbas Y , Sayar C , Sayar H
Published: May 2011

Objective:

We report an extremely rare case of giant fibrovascular polyp of the hypopharynx.

Method:

We present a 49-year-old man who had increasing difficulty swallowing, advanced respiratory distress and weight loss, as well as a hypopharyngeal mass protruding from his mouth.

Results:

Diagnosis was confirmed by endoscopic examination and computed tomography. A tracheostomy was required due to laryngeal obstruction by the regurgitated mass. The giant polyp was removed via per-oral endoscopic excision under general anaesthesia.

Conclusion:

Fibrovascular polyps occur most commonly in the cervical oesophagus, and are extremely rare in the hypopharynx. They can grow to a very large size over several years. We discuss the symptoms, diagnosis and surgical treatment techniques for upper aerodigestive tract fibrovascular polyps, in the light of the literature.
Plasmon
Authors: Ann Savours (Mrs A.M. Shirley)
Published: May 2011

Those readers of Polar Record who are familiar with the narratives of Scott, Shackleton and Mawson during the ‘heroic age’ of Antarctic exploration, will have come across a sledging food called ‘plasmon’. Here, therefore, for their amusement is an outside page of an advertisement for that product, probably of the 1890's or early 1900's (Fig. 1). It measures 12 × 9 inches. Only the front and back pages form the advertisement which indicates on the back page that plasmon is available from all groceries and that a teaspoon a day ‘will prove a great aid to health and strength’. The centre pages carry the words and music of a song entitled ‘Humpty and Dumpty’ said to have been sung by Miss Ellaline Terriss (1871–1971), the well known, and long lived, actress and singer.
‘It's Something You Just Have to Ignore’: Understanding and Addressing Contemporary Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Safety Beyond Hate Crime Paradigms
Authors: BROWNE KATH , BAKSHI LEELA , LIM JASON
Published: May 2011

In common with the experiences of many other groups – and despite changing legal landscapes and increasing recognition within social policy of different groups’ needs – LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) people continue to face discrimination and abuse, and improving safety continues to be a key touchstone for policy makers and practitioners engaging with LGBT lives. Based on evidence from Count Me In Too, an LGBT participatory research project in Brighton & Hove, UK, the paper challenges approaches to dealing with LGBT safety that narrowly focus on reporting within a hate crime paradigm, and recognises the shift towards multi-agency approaches to LGBT safety. Our evidence shows that many LGBT people differentially recognise or do not recognise abuse, instead ‘normalising’ much of the abuse they experience in order to carry on with day-to-day life. By focusing on the effects of abuse and how it is dealt with by individuals and communities, rather than focusing on what constitutes abuse, we show the importance of addressing LGBT safety in ways that move beyond questions of criminal justice and the reporting of hate crime. We argue for a broader social policy framework that uses multi-agency approaches to community safety for those who experience abuse on the basis of their sexual and/or gender identities, which should attend to how safety services may provide more appropriate contexts of care and support, and which should build upon relevant knowledges within LGBT communities. Fostering solidarities among LGBT people may also empower them to work towards broader social transformation.
Homeostasis and drinking
Authors: Toates F. M.
Published: May 2011

Drinking and thirst-motivated behaviour have traditionally been explained in terms of the rather simple concept of homeostasis. A homeostatic mechanism readily accounts for responses to acute changes in body-fluid levels. However, there are other factors regulating intake, for example, cues associated with eating, which interact with the time elapsed since last drinking and the availability of water. Future dehydration is avoided by behavioural hysteresis; a sudden reduction in fluid needs is not matched by an equivalent reduction in fluid intake. Another factor not explicable by traditional homeostasis is that, in general, drinking cannot be suppressed by water infusion. Nor are there rigid target values for body-fluid levels independent of the cost of obtaining water; when water is hard to get, a relatively low body fluid level is maintained, thus minimizing loss. On the basis of the results conflicting with traditional homeostatic theory, this paper tentatively suggests certain modifications toward a more realistic model of fluid ingestion.
The conditioning model of neurosis
Authors: Eysenck H. J.
Published: May 2011

The long-term persistence of neurotic symptoms, such as anxiety, poses difficult problems for any psychological theory. An attempt is made to revive the Watson-Mowrer conditioning theory and to avoid the many criticisms directed against it in the past. It is suggested that recent research has produced changes in learning theory that can be used to render this possible. In the first place, the doctrine of equipotentiality has been shown to be wrong, and some such concept as Seligman's “preparedness” is required, that is the notion that certain CS are biologically prepared to be more readily connected with anxiety responses than others. In the second place, the law of extinction has to be amended, and the law of incubation or enhancement added, according to which the exposure of the CS-only may, under certain specified conditions, have the effect of increasing the strength of the CR, rather than reducing it. The major conditions favouring incubation are (1) Pavlovian B conditioning, that is a type of conditioning in which the CR is a drive; (2) a strong UCS, and (3) short exposure of the CS-only.
Brain mechanisms for offense, defense, and submission
Authors: Adams David B.
Published: May 2011

A preliminary attempt is made to analyze the intraspecific aggressive behavior of mammals in terms of specific neural circuitry. The results of stimulation, lesion, and recording studies of aggressive behavior in cats and rats are reviewed and analyzed in terms of three hypothetical motivational systems: offense, defense, and submission. A critical distinction, derived from ethological theory, is made between motivating stimuli that simultaneously activate functional groupings of motor patterning mechanisms, and releasing and directing stimuli that are necessary for the activation of discrete motor patterning mechanisms. It is suggested that motivating stimuli activate pathways that converge upon sets of homogeneous neurons, called motivational mechanisms, whose activity determines the motivational state of the animal.

A defense motivational mechanism is hypothesized to be located in the midbrain central gray. In addition to tactile, auditory, and visual inputs from the paleospinothalamic tract, lateral lemniscus, and (perhaps) from the pretectum, it may receive inputs from a major forebrain pathway whose functional significance is not yet understood.

A submission motivational mechanism is also thought to be located in the central gray. In addition to inputs for defense, it is thought to receive a necessary input from a “consociate (social familiarity cue) modulator” located in the ventromedial hypothalamus, which can switch behavior from defense to submission. The location of the hypothetical offense motivational mechanism is not known, although the pathways by which it is activated are traced in some detail.

Brain mechanisms of aggression in primitive mammals and in primates are apparently similar to those in rats and cats.
On the demystification of mental imagery
Authors: Kosslyn Stephen M. , Pinker Steven , Smith George E. , Shwartz Steven P.
Published: May 2011

What might a theory of mental imagery look like, and how might one begin formulating such a theory? These are the central questions addressed in the present paper. The first section outlines the general research direction taken here and provides an overview of the empirical foundations of our theory of image representation and processing. Four issues are considered in succession, and the relevant results of experiments are presented and discussed. The second section begins with a discussion of the proper form for a cognitive theory, and the distinction between a theory and a model is developed. Following this, the present theory and computer simulation model are introduced. This theory specifies the nature of the internal representations (data structures) and the processes that operate on them when one generates, inspects, or transforms mental images. In the third, concluding, section we consider three very different kinds of objections to the present research program, one hinging on the possibility of experimental artifacts in the data, and the others turning on metatheoretical commitments about the form of a cognitive theory. Finally, we discuss how one ought best to evaluate theories and models of the sort developed here.
Twenty years of haunting eidetic imagery: where's the ghost?
Authors: Haber Ralph Norman
Published: May 2011

This paper is a theoretical analysis of eidetic imagery, based upon the author's ten-year study of elementary-school-aged children. The presence of eidetic imagery is inferred from reports of persisting visual images of stimuli when they are no longer in view. According to the criteria for differentiating eidetic images from afterimages, eidetic images should occur even when saccadic eye movements are made during exposure to the stimulus; it should be possible to make saccadic eye movements while one is reporting the image without the image also moving; the image should last long, and it should be positive. The criteria for differentiating eidetic images from nonvisual memorial representations include: reports of seeing an image projected onto a surface in space, the consistent use of present tense when reporting images as opposed to past tense when reporting from nonvisual memory, and the ability to superimpose two images and report the composite image.

Eidetic images are only available to a small percentage of children 6–12 years old, and are virtually nonexistent in adults. However, extensive research has failed to demonstrate consistent correlates between the presence of eidetic imagery and any cognitive, intellectual, neurological, or emotional measure. The negative correlation between eidetic imagery and age has prompted hypotheses to explain eidetic imagery as a developmentally less mature memorial representation, which is gradually replaced by more abstract representations as the child acquires abstract thought, reading, and more advanced cognitive abilities. The evidence in the present review casts doubt on this hypothesis on numerous grounds: an extensive longitudinal study over the entire span of elementary school years found that eidetic abilities remain remarkably stable; there is no correlation between eidetic imagery and abstract thinking or reading performance; there is no higher incidence in preschool ages, among retarded or brain-injured subjects, or among illiterate subjects in crosscultural studies.

It is concluded that we should not abandon work on eidetic imagery or simply force it into a preconceived mold of what memory must be, but rather, expand work on the phenomenological indicators of perception and memory.
The reliability of peer review for manuscript and grant submissions: A cross-disciplinary investigation
Authors: Cicchetti Domenic V.
Published: May 2011

The reliability of peer review of scientific documents and the evaluative criteria scientists use to judge the work of their peers are critically reexamined with special attention to the consistently low levels of reliability that have been reported. Referees of grant proposals agree much more about what isunworthyof support than about what does have scientific value. In the case of manuscript submissions this seems to depend on whether a discipline (or subfield) is general and diffuse (e.g., cross-disciplinary physics, general fields of medicine, cultural anthropology, social psychology) or specific and focused (e.g., nuclear physics, medical specialty areas, physical anthropology, and behavioral neuroscience). In the former there is also much more agreement on rejection than acceptance, but in the latter both the wide differential in manuscript rejection rates and the high correlation between referee recommendations and editorial decisions suggests that reviewers and editors agree more on acceptance than on rejection. Several suggestions are made for improving the reliability and quality of peer review. Further research is needed, especially in the physical sciences.
Erratum
Authors: Bloom Paul
Published: May 2011

In my Response to the target article, “Natural Language and Natural Selection,” co-authored by Steven Pinker and Paul Bloom (BBS 13(4):769), the journal printed the following sentence, “Rather, different mutations are stored independently in different lineages, and recombination brings them together to form vast numbers of new combinations, in people, in their descendents,” in error. The sentence should have read: “Rather, different mutations are stored independently in different lineages, and recombination brings them together to form vast numbers of new combinations, in parallel, in their descendents.”
An evolutionary analysis of rules regulating human inbreeding and marriage
Authors: Thornhill Nancy Wilmsen
Published: May 2011

Evolutionary theory predicts that humans should avoid incest because of the negative effects incest has on individual reproduction: production of defective offspring. Selection for the avoidance of close-kin mating has apparently resulted in a psychological mechanism that promotes voluntary incest avoidance. Most human societies are thought to have rules regulating incest. If incest is avoided, why are social rules constructed to regulate it? This target article suggests that incest rules do not exist primarily to regulate close-kin mating but to regulate inbreeding between more distant kin (especially cousin categories) and sexual relations between affinal relatives (often nonkin). Three evolutionary hypotheses about cousin marriage and affinal kin mating follow from this suggestion: (1) Rules regulating mating between affinal kin are means of paternity protection. Cousin marriage (inbreeding) is regulated because, if it occurs, it can concentrate wealth and power within families to the detriment of (2) the powerful positions of rulers in stratified societies and (3) the relatively equal social statuses of most men in egalitarian societies. Tests using the comparative method on a worldwide sample of 129 societies supported the three hypotheses. Two alternative anthropological hypotheses (derived from Freudian theory and alliance theory) failed to be supported.
Précis ofDarwin, sex and status: Biological approaches to mind and culture
Authors: Barkow Jerome H.
Published: May 2011

Darwin, Sex and Statusargues that a human sociobiology that mistakes evolutionary theory for theories of psychology and culture is wrong, as are psychologies that could never have evolved or social sciences that posit impossible psychologies. Status develops theories of human self-awareness, cognition, and cultural capacity that are compatible with evolutionary theory. Recurring themes include: the importance of sexual selection in human evolution; our species' preoccupation with self-esteem and relative standing; the individual as an active strategist, regularly revising culturally provided information; and awareness as an impressionmanagement device. Culture is a somewhat structured information pool that itself evolves, often in ways that reduce the genetic fitness of its participants.
Ways of coloring: Comparative color vision as a case study for cognitive science
Authors: Thompson Evan , Palacios Adrian , Varela Francisco J.
Published: May 2011

Different explanations of color vision favor different philosophical positions: Computational vision is more compatible with objectivism (the color is in the object), psychophysics and neurophysiology with subjectivism (the color is in the head). Comparative research suggests that an explanation of color must be both experientialist (unlike objectivism) and ecological (unlike subjectivism). Computational vision's emphasis on optimally “recovering” prespecified features of the environment (i.e., distal properties, independent of the sensory-motor capacities of the animal) is unsatisfactory. Conceiving of visual perception instead as the visual guidance of activity in an environment that is determined largely by that very activity suggests new directions for research.
Précis ofHow monkeys see the world
Authors: Cheney Dorothy L. , Seyfarth Robert M.
Published: May 2011

Our book examines the mechanisms that underlie social behavior and communication in East African vervet monkeys. Our goal is to describe the sophistication of primate intelligence and to probe its limits. We suggest that vervets and other primates make good primatologists. They observe social interactions, recognize the relations that exist among others, and classify relationships into types. Monkeys also use sounds to represent features of their environment and compare different vocalizations according to their meaning. Monkeys may use abstract concepts and have motives, beliefs, and desires, however, their mental states are apparently not accessible: They do not know what they know. In addition, monkeys seem unable to attribute mental states to others: They lack a “theory of mind.” Their inability to. examine their own mental states or to attribute mental states to others severely constrains their ability to transmit information or to deceive one another. It also limits the extent to which their vocalizations can be called semantic. Finally, the skills that monkeys exhibit in social behavior are apparently domain specific. For reasons that are at present unclear, vervets exhibit adaptive specializations in social interactions that are not extended to their interactions with other species (although they should be).
Time and the observer: The where and when of consciousness in the brain
Authors: Dennett Daniel C. , Kinsbourne Marcel
Published: May 2011

We compare the way two models of consciousness treat subjective timing. According to the standard “Cartesian Theater” model, there is a place in the brain where “it all comes together,” and the discriminations in all modalities are somehow put into registration and “presented” for subjective judgment. The timing of the events in this theater determines subjective order. According to the alternative “Multiple Drafts” model, discriminations are distributed in both space and time in the brain. These events do have temporal properties, but those properties do not determine subjective order because there is no single, definitive “stream of consciousness,” only a parallel stream of conflicting and continuously revised contents. Four puzzling phenomena that resist explanation by the Cartesian model are analyzed: (1) a gradual apparent motion phenomenon involving abrupt color change (Kolers & von Grünau 1976), (2) an illusion of an evenly spaced series of “hops” produced by two or more widely spaced series of taps delivered to the skin (Geldard & Sherrick's “cutaneous rabbit” [1972]), (3) backwards referral in time, and (4) subjective delay of consciousness of intention (both reported in this journal by LIbet 1985a; 1987; 1989a). The unexamined assumptions that have always made the Cartesian Theater so attractive are exposed and dismantled. The Multiple Drafts model provides a better account of the puzzling phenomena, avoiding the scientific and metaphysical extravagances of the Cartesian Theater: The temporal order of subjective events is a product of the brain's interpretational processes, not a direct reflection of events making up those processes.
Early stages in a sensorimotor transformation
Authors: Flanders Martha , Tillery Stephen I. Helms , Soechting John F.
Published: May 2011

We present a model for several early stages of the sensorimotor transformations involved in targeted arm movement. In psychophysical experiments, human subjects pointed to the remembered locations of randomly placed targets in three-dimensional space. They made consistent errors in distance, and from these errors stages in the sensorimotor transformation were deduced. When subjects attempted to move the right index finger to a virtual target they consistently undershot the distance of the more distal targets. Other experiments indicated that the error was in the sensorimotor transformation rather than in the perception of distance. The error was most consistent when evaluated using a spherical coordinate system based at the right shoulder, indicating that the neural representation of target parameters is transformed from a retinocentric representation to a shoulder-centered representation. According to the model, the error in distance results from the neural implementation of a linear approximation in the algorithm to transform shoulder-centered target parameters into a set of arm orientations appropriate for placing the finger on the target. The transformation to final arm orientations places visually derived information into a frame of reference where it can readily be combined with kinesthetically derived information about initial arm orientations. The combination of these representations of initial and final arm orientations could give rise to the representation of movement direction recorded in the motor cortex by Georgopoulos and his colleagues. Later stages, such as the transformation from kinematic (position) to dynamic (force) parameters, or to levels of muscle activation, are beyond the scope of the present model.
Language, tools and brain: The ontogeny and phylogeny of hierarchically organized sequential behavior
Authors: Greenfield Patricia M.
Published: May 2011

During the first two years of human life a common neural substrate (roughly Broca's area) underlies the hierarchical organization of elements in the development of speech as well as the capacity to combine objects manually, including tool use. Subsequent cortical differentiation, beginning at age two, creates distinct, relatively modularized capacities for linguistic grammar and more complex combination of objects. An evolutionary homologue of the neural substrate for language production and manual action is hypothesized to have provided a foundation for the evolution of language before the divergence of the hominids and the great apes. Support comes from the discovery of a Broca's area homologue and related neural circuits in contemporary primates. In addition, chimpanzees have an identical constraint on hierarchical complexity in both tool use and symbol combination. Their performance matches that of the two-year-old child who has not yet developed the neural circuits for complex grammar and complex manual combination of objects.
Natural language and natural selection
Authors: Pinker Steven , Bloom Paul
Published: May 2011

Many people have argued that the evolution of the human language faculty cannot be explained by Darwinian natural selection. Chomsky and Gould have suggested that language may have evolved as the by-product of selection for other abilities or as a consequence of as-yet unknown laws of growth and form. Others have argued that a biological specialization for grammar is incompatible with every tenet of Darwinian theory – that it shows no genetic variation, could not exist in any intermediate forms, confers no selective advantage, and would require more evolutionary time and genomic space than is available. We examine these arguments and show that they depend on inaccurate assumptions about biology or language or both. Evolutionary theory offers clear criteria for when a trait should be attributed to natural selection: complex design for some function, and the absence of alternative processes capable of explaining such complexity. Human language meets these criteria: Grammar is a complex mechanism tailored to the transmission of propositional structures through a serial interface. Autonomous and arbitrary grammatical phenomena have been offered as counterexamples to the position that language is an adaptation, but this reasoning is unsound: Communication protocols depend on arbitrary conventions that are adaptive as long as they are shared. Consequently, language acquisition in the child should systematically differ from language evolution in the species, and attempts to analogize them are misleading. Reviewing other arguments and data, we conclude that there is every reason to believe that a specialization for grammar evolved by a conventional neo-Darwinian process.
A leaner nativist solution to the origin of concepts
Authors: Mandler Jean M.
Published: May 2011

There must be innate conceptual machinery, but perhaps not as much as Carey proposes. A single mechanism of Perceptual Meaning Analysis that simplifies spatiotemporal information into a small number of conceptual primitives may suffice. This approach avoids the complexities and ambiguities of interactions between separate dedicated analyzers and central concepts that Carey posits, giving learning a somewhat larger role in early concept formation.
You can't get there from here: Foundationalism and development
Authors: Allen Jedediah W. P. , Bickhard Mark H.
Published: May 2011

The thesis of our commentary is that the framework used to address what are taken by Carey to be the open issues is highly problematic. The presumed necessity of an innate stock of representational primitives fails to account for the emergence of representation out of a nonrepresentational base. This failure manifests itself in problematic ways throughout Carey's book.
Presuming placeholders are relevant enables conceptual change
Authors: Heintz Christophe
Published: May 2011

Placeholders enable conceptual change only if presumed to be relevant (e.g., lead to the formation of true beliefs) even though their meaning is not yet fully understood and their cognitive function not yet specified. Humans are predisposed to make such presumptions in a communicative context. Specifying the role of the presumption of relevance in conceptual change would provide a more comprehensive account of Quinian bootstrapping.
Cognitive ethology, over-attribution of agency and focusing abilities as they relate to the origin of concepts
Authors: Ristau Carolyn A.
Published: May 2011

Carey's superb discussion of the origin of concepts is extended into the field of cognitive ethology. I also suggest that agency may be a default mechanism, often leading to over-attribution. The problem therefore becomes one of specifying the conditions in which agency is not attributed. The significance of attentional/focusing abilities on conceptual development is also emphasized.
Language and mechanisms of concept learning
Authors: Weiskopf Daniel A.
Published: May 2011

Carey focuses her attention on a mechanism of concept learning called “Quinian bootstrapping.” I argue that this form of bootstrapping is not dependent upon language or other public representations, and outline a place for language in concept learning generally. Language, perception, and causal reasoning are all sources of evidence that can guide learners toward discovering new and potentially useful categories.
A unified account of abstract structure and conceptual change: Probabilistic models and early learning mechanisms
Authors: Gopnik Alison
Published: May 2011

We need not propose, as Carey does, a radical discontinuity between core cognition, which is responsible for abstract structure, and language and “Quinian bootstrapping,” which are responsible for learning and conceptual change. From a probabilistic models view, conceptual structure and learning reflect the same principles, and they are both in place from the beginning.
How to build a baby: A new toolkit?
Authors: Poulin-Dubois Diane
Published: May 2011

Carey proposes a theory of conceptual development that specifies innate conceptual representations that get learning started. Those representations are the output of innate domain-specific input analyzers. I contend that innate core cognition about agency is itself a gradual construction and that the role of Quinian bootstrapping needs elaboration to account for the development of intuitive theories of psychology.
Variable verb placement in second-language German and French: Evidence from production and elicited imitation of finite and nonfinite negated sentences
Authors: SCHIMKE SARAH
Published: May 2011

This study examines the placement of finite and nonfinite lexical verbs and finite light verbs (LVs) in semispontaneous production and elicited imitation of adult beginning learners of German and French. Theories assuming nonnativelike syntactic representations at early stages of development predict variable placement of lexical verbs and consistent placement of LVs, whereas theories assuming nativelike syntax predict variability for nonfinite verbs and consistent placement of all finite verbs. The results show that beginning learners of German have consistent preferences only for LVs. More advanced learners of German and learners of French produce and imitate finite verbs in more variable positions than nonfinite verbs. This is argued to support a structure-building view of second-language development.
Individual and contextual determinants of the duration of diarrhoeal episodes in preschool children: a longitudinal study in an urban setting
Authors: SANTOS C. A. S. T. , STRINA A. , AMORIM L. D. , GENSER B. , ASSIS A. M. O. , PRADO M. S. , BARRETO M. L.
Published: May 2011

This study investigated individual and contextual factors associated with the duration of diarrhoeal episodes in 693 young children living in a large Brazilian city who were followed-up for at least 3 months. The outcome is analysed as a continuous variable, by means of a hierarchical conceptual model organizing the factors in meaningful blocks. A total of 2397 episodes were recorded (median duration 2 days, interquartile range 1–3 days). Low percentage of households connected to the sewerage system in the neighbourhood, low family purchasing power, high agglomeration, mother aged <19 years, low zinc content in child's diet, and episode severity were significantly associated with longer duration (0·26–0·69 days more). Purchasing power effect was largely mediated by environmental conditions, characteristics of the child, and hygienic behaviour. Environmental conditions acted as a possible effect modifier, enhancing the effect on duration of diarrhoea of the child not having being vaccinated against measles or breastfed for >6 months.
Atypically located cardiac haemangioma of the mitral valve
Authors: Cook Amanda L. , Williams Derek A. , Bergman Simon , Hines Michael H.
Published: May 2011

We report an adolescent with a benign cardiac haemangioma with attachments exclusively to the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve. On the basis of our review of the literature, this study has not been reported previously.
A “Unity Assumption” Does Not Promote Intersensory Integration
Authors: Misceo Giovanni F. , Taylor Nathanael J.
Published: May 2011

An account of intersensory integration is premised on knowing that different sensory inputs arise from the same object. Could, however, the combination of the inputs be impaired although the “unity assumption” holds? Forty observers viewed a square through a minifying (50%) lens while they simultaneously touched the square. Half could see and half could not see their haptic explorations of the square. Both groups, however, had reason to believe that they were touching and viewing the same square. Subsequent matches of the inspected square were mutually biased by touch and vision when the exploratory movements were visible. However, the matches were biased in the direction of the square’s haptic size when observers could not see their exploratory movements. This impaired integration without the visible haptic explorations suggests that the unity assumption alone is not enough to promote intersensory integration.
The Intention Interference Effect
Authors: Cohen Anna-Lisa , Kantner Justin , Dixon Roger A. , Lindsay D. Stephen
Published: May 2011

Intentions have been shown to be more accessible (e.g., more quickly and accurately recalled) compared to other sorts of to-be-remembered information; a result termed an intention superiority effect (Goschke & Kuhl, 1993). In the current study, we demonstrate an intention interference effect (IIE) in which color-naming performance in a Stroop task was slower for words belonging to an intention that participants had to remember to carry out (Do-the-Task condition) versus an intention that did not have to be executed (Ignore-the-Task condition). In previous work (e.g., Cohen et al., 2005), having a prospective intention in mind was confounded with carrying a memory load. In Experiment 1, we added a digit-retention task to control for effects of cognitive load. In Experiment 2, we eliminated the memory confound in a new way, by comparing intention-related and control words within each trial. Results from both Experiments 1 and 2 revealed an IIE suggesting that interference is very specific to the intention, not just to a memory load.
Task-Related Versus Stimulus-Specific Practice
Authors: Dutilh Gilles , Krypotos Angelos-Miltiadis , Wagenmakers Eric-Jan
Published: May 2011

When people repeatedly practice the same cognitive task, their response times (RT) invariably decrease. Dutilh, Vandekerckhove, Tuerlinckx, and Wagenmakers (2009) argued that the traditional focus on how mean RT decreases with practice offers limited insight; their diffusion model analysis showed that the effect of practice is multifaceted, involving an increase in rate of information processing, a decrease in response caution, adjusted response bias, and, unexpectedly, a strong decrease in nondecision time. In this study, we aim to further disentangle these effects into stimulus-specific and task-related components. The data of a transfer experiment, in which repeatedly presented sets and new sets of stimuli were alternated, show that the practice effects on both speed of information processing and time needed for peripheral processing are partly task-related and partly stimulus-specific. The effects on response caution and response bias appear to be task-related. This diffusion model decomposition provides a perspective on practice that is more detailed and more informative than the traditional analysis of mean RT.
Exaggeration is Harder Than Understatement, but Practice Makes Perfect!
Authors: Röhner Jessica , Schröder-Abé Michela , Schütz Astrid
Published: May 2011

Previous research on the fakeability of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) yielded inconsistent results. The present study simultaneously analyses several relevant factors: faking direction, type of instructions, and practice. Furthermore, it takes baseline individual differences into account. After a baseline assessment in a self-esteem IAT without faking instructions (t0), participants in the faking conditions then (t1) faked high or low scores without being provided with recommended strategies on how to do so (i.e., individual strategies). At t2 and t3, they were asked to fake the IAT after having received information on recommended faking strategies. At t4, faking direction was reversed. Without the recommended strategies, faking high scores was not possible, but faking low scores was. With the recommended strategies, participants needed additional practice to fake high scores. When faking directions were reversed, participants were successful without additional practice, suggesting a transfer in faking skills. In most of the faking attempts, faking success was moderated by individual differences in baseline implicit self-esteem. This suggests that the complex interplay of factors influencing faking success should be taken into account when considering the issue of fakeability of the IAT.
World coverage for single station lightning detection
Authors: Mackay C. , Fraser‐Smith A. C.
Published: May 2011

This paper analyzes the possibility of using single station measurements of low‐frequency electromagnetic waves to locate lightning occurring around much, and possibly all, of the world. The electromagnetic waves generated by lightning, which propagate through the Earth‐ionosphere waveguide, are known as sferics. We combine a direction finding algorithm to compute the arrival azimuth of the recorded sferic along with a distance of propagation estimate to deduce the location of the lightning. While the methodology used for estimating the distance of propagation is described by Mackay and Fraser‐Smith (2010), this paper analyzes the effectiveness of the method. We examine the limitations including those independent of station location and performance, and those which are station dependent. We analyze the geographic coverage attained from a single station along with the percentage of lightning emitting sferics that are recorded at the station and available for computing the lightning locations.
Exposure of phototrophs to 548 days in low Earth orbit: microbial selection pressures in outer space and on early earth
Authors: Cockell Charles S , Rettberg Petra , Rabbow Elke , Olsson-Francis Karen
Published: May 2011

An epilithic microbial community was launched into low Earth orbit, and exposed to conditions in outer space for 548 days on the European Space Agency EXPOSE-E facility outside the International Space Station. The natural phototroph biofilm was augmented with akinetes of Anabaena cylindrica and vegetative cells of Nostoc commune and Chroococcidiopsis. In space-exposed dark controls, two algae (Chlorella and Rosenvingiella spp.), a cyanobacterium (Gloeocapsa sp.) and two bacteria associated with the natural community survived. Of the augmented organisms, cells of A. cylindrica and Chroococcidiopsis survived, but no cells of N. commune. Only cells of Chroococcidiopsis were cultured from samples exposed to the unattenuated extraterrestrial ultraviolet (UV) spectrum (>110 nm or 200 nm). Raman spectroscopy and bright-field microscopy showed that under these conditions the surface cells were bleached and their carotenoids were destroyed, although cell morphology was preserved. These experiments demonstrate that outer space can act as a selection pressure on the composition of microbial communities. The results obtained from samples exposed to >200 nm UV (simulating the putative worst-case UV exposure on the early Earth) demonstrate the potential for epilithic colonization of land masses during that time, but that UV radiation on anoxic planets can act as a strong selection pressure on surface-dwelling organisms. Finally, these experiments have yielded new phototrophic organisms of potential use in biomass and oxygen production in space exploration.
Metagenomic mining for microbiologists
Authors: Delmont Tom O , Malandain Cedric , Prestat Emmanuel , Larose Catherine , Monier Jean-Michel , Simonet Pascal , Vogel Timothy M
Published: May 2011

Microbial ecologists can now start digging into the accumulating mountains of metagenomic data to uncover the occurrence of functional genes and their correlations to microbial community members. Limitations and biases in DNA extraction and sequencing technologies impact sequence distributions, and therefore, have to be considered. However, when comparing metagenomes from widely differing environments, these fluctuations have a relatively minor role in microbial community discrimination. As a consequence, any functional gene or species distribution pattern can be compared among metagenomes originating from various environments and projects. In particular, global comparisons would help to define ecosystem specificities, such as involvement and response to climate change (for example, carbon and nitrogen cycle), human health risks (eg, presence of pathogen species, toxin genes and viruses) and biodegradation capacities. Although not all scientists have easy access to high-throughput sequencing technologies, they do have access to the sequences that have been deposited in databases, and therefore, can begin to intensively mine these metagenomic data to generate hypotheses that can be validated experimentally. Information about metabolic functions and microbial species compositions can already be compared among metagenomes from different ecosystems. These comparisons add to our understanding about microbial adaptation and the role of specific microbes in different ecosystems. Concurrent with the rapid growth of sequencing technologies, we have entered a new age of microbial ecology, which will enable researchers to experimentally confirm putative relationships between microbial functions and community structures.
Response of methanotrophic communities to afforestation and reforestation in New Zealand
Authors: Nazaries Loïc , Tate Kevin R , Ross Des J , Singh Jagrati , Dando John , Saggar Surinder , Baggs Elizabeth M , Millard Peter , Murrell J Colin , Singh Brajesh K
Published: May 2011

Methanotrophs use methane (CH4) as a carbon source. They are particularly active in temperate forest soils. However, the rate of change of CH4 oxidation in soil with afforestation or reforestation is poorly understood. Here, soil CH4 oxidation was examined in New Zealand volcanic soils under regenerating native forests following burning, and in a mature native forest. Results were compared with data for pasture to pine land-use change at nearby sites. We show that following soil disturbance, as little as 47 years may be needed for development of a stable methanotrophic community similar to that in the undisturbed native forest soil. Corresponding soil CH4-oxidation rates in the regenerating forest soil have the potential to reach those of the mature forest, but climo-edaphic fators appear limiting. The observed changes in CH4-oxidation rate were directly linked to a prior shift in methanotrophic communities, which suggests microbial control of the terrestrial CH4 flux and identifies the need to account for this response to afforestation and reforestation in global prediction of CH4 emission.