Development of adolescent reading comprehension in language 1 and language 2: A longitudinal analysis of constituent components.

This study investigated the relationship between reading comprehension development of 389 adolescents in their dominant language (Language 1 [L1], Dutch) and a foreign language (Language 2 [L2], English). In each consecutive year from Grades 8 through 10, a number of measurements were taken. Students' reading comprehension, their linguistic knowledge (vocabulary and grammar knowledge) and processing efficiency (speed of word recognition and sentence comprehension) in both languages, and their metacognitive knowledge about reading were assessed. The relative strengths of the effects of these components of reading were analyzed to distinguish among 3 hypotheses about the relationship between L1 and L2 reading comprehension: the transfer hypothesis, the threshold hypothesis, and the processing efficiency hypothesis. The transfer hypothesis predicts a strong relationship between L1 and L2 reading comprehension and a strong effect of metacognitive knowledge on L2 reading comprehension, whereas the threshold and processing efficiency hypotheses predict a more important role of language-specific knowledge and processing skills. Results support the transfer hypothesis, although language-specific knowledge and fluency also contribute to L2 reading performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

If multi-agent learning is the answer, what is the question?

The area of learning in multi-agent systems is today one of the most fertile grounds for interaction between game theory and artificial intelligence. We focus on the foundational questions in this interdisciplinary area, and identify several distinct agendas that ought to, we argue, be separated. The goal of this article is to start a discussion in the research community that will result in firmer foundations for the area.¹     

Divide and Congruence Applied to η-Bisimulation

We present congruence formats for η- and rooted η-bisimulation equivalence. These formats are derived using a method for decomposing modal formulas in process algebra. To decide whether a process algebra term satisfies a modal formula, one can check whether its subterms satisfy formulas that are obtained by decomposing the original formula. The decomposition uses the structural operational semantics that underlies the process algebra.     

Antisense Oligonucleotide-Based Rescue of Aberrant Splicing Defects Caused by 15 Pathogenic Variants in ABCA4

The discovery of novel intronic variants in the ABCA4 locus has contributed significantly to solving the missing heritability in Stargardt disease (STGD1). The increasing number of variants affecting pre-mRNA splicing makes ABCA4 a suitable candidate for antisense oligonucleotide (AON)-based splicing modulation therapies. In this study, AON-based splicing modulation was assessed for 15 recently described intronic variants (three near-exon and 12 deep-intronic variants). In total, 26 AONs were designed and tested in vitro using a midigene-based splice system. Overall, partial or complete splicing correction was observed for two variants causing exon elongation and all variants causing pseudoexon inclusion. Together, our results confirm the high potential of AONs for the development of future RNA therapies to correct splicing defects causing STGD1.     

The effect of cavity-filling mutations on the thermostability of Bacillus stearothermophilus neutral protease

Cavities in the hydrophobic core of the neutral protease ofBacillus stearothermophilus were analyzed using a threedimensionalmodel that was inferred from the crystal structure of thermolysin,the highly homologous neutral protease of B.thermoproteolyticus(85% sequence identity). Site–directed mutagenesis wasused to fill some of these cavities, thereby improving hydrophobicpacking in the protein interior. The mutations had small effectson the thermostability, even after drastic changes, such asLeu284Trp and Met168Trp. The effects on T50, the temperatureat which 50% of the enzyme is irreversibly inactivated in 30min, ranged from 0.0 to +0.4°C. These results can be explainedby assuming that the mutations have positive and negative structuraleffects of approximately the same magnitude. Alternatively,it could be envisaged that the local unfolding steps, whichrender the enzyme susceptible towards autolysis and which arerate limiting in the process of thermal inactivation, are onlyslightly affected by alterations in the hydrophobic core.     

Achieving flue gas desulphurization with membrane gas absorption

Membrane gas absorption (MGA) is an efficient and flexible way to carry out gas-liquid (G-L) contacting operations with hollow fibre membranes. The main advantages of membrane gas absorption over conventional G-L contactors is the compactness and low weight of the installation, the standard modular construction elements and the flexible operation. Gas and liquid flow can be controlled independently in the MGA process, which makes operation over a wide range of liquid and gas flow rates possible. In a MGA installation no entrainment, flooding, channelling or foaming occurs. Rob Klaassen and Albert E Jansen, TNO Environment, Energy and Process Innovation, discuss the principle of this technology, the benefits of newly developed membrane modules and their potential applications.     

Ready to preorder: The case of weak process semantics

Recently, Aceto, Fokkink and Ingólfsdóttir proposed an algorithm to turn any sound and ground-complete axiomatisation of any preorder listed in the linear time-branching time spectrum at least as coarse as the ready simulation preorder, into a sound and ground-complete axiomatisation of the corresponding equivalence—its kernel. Moreover, if the former axiomatisation is ω-complete, so is the latter. Subsequently, de Frutos Escrig, Gregorio Rodríguez and Palomino generalised this result, so that the algorithm is applicable to any preorder at least as coarse as the ready simulation preorder, provided it is initials preserving. The current paper shows that the same algorithm applies equally well to weak semantics: the proviso of initials preserving can be replaced by other conditions, such as weak initials preserving and satisfying the second τ-law. This makes it applicable to all 87 preorders surveyed in “the linear time-branching time spectrum II” that are at least as coarse as the ready simulation preorder. We also extend the scope of the algorithm to infinite processes, by adding recursion constants. As an application of both extensions, we provide a ground-complete axiomatisation of the CSP failures equivalence for BCCS processes with divergence.     

80 million tiny images: a large data set for nonparametric object and scene recognition

With the advent of the Internet, billions of images are now freely available online and constitute a dense sampling of the visual world. Using a variety of non-parametric methods, we explore this world with the aid of a large dataset of 79,302,017 images collected from the Internet. Motivated by psychophysical results showing the remarkable tolerance of the human visual system to degradations in image resolution, the images in the dataset are stored as 32 x 32 color images. Each image is loosely labeled with one of the 75,062 non-abstract nouns in English, as listed in the Wordnet lexical database. Hence the image database gives a comprehensive coverage of all object categories and scenes. The semantic information from Wordnet can be used in conjunction with nearest-neighbor methods to perform object classification over a range of semantic levels minimizing the effects of labeling noise. For certain classes that are particularly prevalent in the dataset, such as people, we are able to demonstrate a recognition performance comparable to class-specific Viola-Jones style detectors.     

Contact through canvas: an entertaining encounter

When meeting someone new, the first impression is often influenced by someone’s physical appearance and other types of prejudice. In this paper, we present TouchMeDare, an interactive canvas, which aims to provide an experience when meeting new people, while preventing visual prejudice and lowering potential thresholds. The focus of the designed experience was to stimulate people to get acquainted through the interactive canvas. TouchMeDare consists of a flexible, opaque canvas, which plays music when touched simultaneously from both sides. Dynamic variation of this bodily contact is reflected through real-time adaptations of the musical compositions. Two redesigns were qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated and a final version was placed in the Lowlands Festival as a case study. Evaluation results showed that some explanation was needed for the initial interaction with the installation. On the other hand, after this initial unfamiliarity passed, results showed that making bodily contact through the installation did help people to get acquainted with each other and increased their social interaction.