Opposite Pairs Research Articles

Ditaxocladus (extinct Cupressaceae, Cupressoideae) from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene of the Northern Hemisphere

An emended diagnosis of the extinct cupressoid genus Ditaxocladus S. X. GUO & Z. H. SUN (syn. Fokieniopsis MCIVER & BASINGER) and its three species is proposed based on new collections from the type locality in the Paleocene Wulonggu Formation of Altai in NW China, and other sites from China, SE Russia and western North America. Ditaxocladus planiphyllus S. X. GUO & Z. H. SUN (generitype) is now known from compound racemose fertile branches bearing several opposite pairs of globose to sub-globose seed cones composed of 6-12 decussate peltate scales, in addition to typically oppositely branched sprays. Besides D. planiphyllus, two more species are recognized based on differences in seed cone morphology. D. kivdensis KODRUL in KRASSILOV et al. from the Paleocene of Raichikha in Amur Province, Russia, is distinguished by similar but slender and pendulous cones, while D. catenulatus (W. A. BELL) S. X. GUO, KVACEK, MANCHESTER & Z. K. ZHOU comb. n. (syn. Fokieniopsis catenulata (W. A. BELL) MCIVER & BASINGER and Fokienia ravenscragensis MCIVER & BASINGER) typified by early Paleocene records in North America bears ovoid seed cones with a higher number of cone scales. All three species share the same type of bipinnately and oppositely ramified elongate sprays of cladode-like foliage and pinnately and oppositely arranged seed cones at successive nodes on compound racemose fertile branches. They differ from the living Fokienia, with which they were formerly compared, in oppositely (vs. alternately) branched leafy sprays and oppositely clustered (vs. solitary) seed cones consisting of much fewer cone scales (6-12 vs. 12-18 in Fokienia). Sterile foliage attributed to Ditaxocladus occurs in the Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene of North America, Russia and Paleocene of Spitsbergen. Tracing differentiation of Ditaxocladus populations (or species) over the Northern Hemisphere is hampered by incompleteness of most records based on quite uniform foliage without seed cones. Tetraclinis salicornioides (UNGER) KVACEK from the Eocene to Pliocene of Europe and the Oligocene to Miocene of North America, which shares very similar gross morphology of foliage, differs from Ditaxocladus in the quadrivalvate seed cones and papillate leaf epidermis with undulate anticlinal walls.

Energy-Momentum Stability of Icosahedral Configurations of Point Vortices on a Sphere

We investigate the nonlinear stability of the icosahedral relative equilibrium configuration of point vortices on a sphere. The relative equilibrium problem is formulated as a problem of finding the nullspace of the configuration matrix that encodes the geometry of the icosahedron, as in Jamaloodeen and Newton (Proc. Royal Soc. A, Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 462(2075):3277, 2006). The seven-dimensional nullspace of the configuration matrix, A, associated with the icosahedral geometry gives rise to a basis set of vortex strengths for which the icosahedron stays in relative formation, and we use these values to form the augmented Hamiltonian governing the stability. We choose the basis set made up of (i) one element with equal strength vortices on every vertex of the icosahedron (the uniform icosahedron); (ii) six elements made up of equal and opposite antipodal pairs. We start by proving nonlinear stability of the antipodal vortex pair (by direct methods). Following the methods laid out in Simo et al. (Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 115(1):15–59, 1991) and Pekarsky and Marsden (J. Math. Phys. 39(11):5894–5907, 1998) and more generally in Marsden and Ratiu (Introduction to Mechanics and Symmetry, 1999), we then combine our knowledge of the nullspace structure of A with the structure of the underlying Hamiltonian, and analyze the stability of the icosahedron using the energy-momentum method. Because the parameter space is large, we focus on the physically motivated and important case obtained by combining the basis elements into (i) the uniform icosahedron; (ii) a von Karman vortex street configuration of equal and opposite staggered, evenly spaced latitudinal rows equidistant from the equator (Chamoun et al. in Phys. Fluids 21:116603, 2009), and (iii) the North Pole–South Pole equal and opposite vortex pair. Stability boundaries in a three-parameter space are calculated for linear combinations of these grouped basis configurations.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Oidium hortensiae on Mophead Hydrangea in Korea.

Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) Ser., known as mophead hydrangea, is native to Japan and is used as a potted ornamental or is planted for landscaping in gardens worldwide. In May 2011, powdery mildew occurred on potted mophead hydrangea cv. Emerald plants in polyethylene-film-covered greenhouses in Icheon, Korea. Heavily infected plantings were unmarketable, mainly due to purplish red discoloration and crinkling of leaves. Such powdery mildew symptoms on mophead hydrangea in gardens had been often found in Korea since 2001, and the collections (n = 10) were deposited in the Korea University herbarium (KUS). In all cases, there was no trace of chasmothecia formation. Mycelium was effuse on both sides of leaves, young stems, and flower petals. Appressoria were well developed, lobed, and solitary or in opposite pairs. Conidiophores were cylindrical, 70 to 145 × 7.5 to 10 μm, and composed of three to four cells. Foot-cells of conidiophores were straight to sub-straight, cylindric, short, and mostly less than 30 μm long. Conidia produced singly were ellipsoid to oval, 32 to 50 × 14 to 22 μm with a length/width ratio of 1.7 to 2.8, lacked fibrosin bodies, and showed angular/rectangular wrinkling of outer walls. Germ tubes were produced on the perihilar position of conidia. Primary conidia were apically conical, basally rounded to subtruncate, 32 to 42 × 14 to 18 μm, and thus generally smaller than the secondary conidia. The morphological characteristics are consistent with previous descriptions of Oidium hortensiae Jørst. (3,4). To confirm the identification, the complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA from KUS-F25514 was amplified with primers ITS5 and P3 and directly sequenced. The resulting sequence of 694 bp was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. JQ669944). There was no ITS sequence data known from powdery mildews on Hydrangea. Therefore, this is the first sequence of O. hortensiae submitted to GenBank. Nevertheless, a GenBank BLAST search of this sequence showed >99% similarity with those of Oidium spp. recorded on crassulacean hosts (e.g. GenBank Accession Nos. EU185641 ex Sedum, EU185636 ex Echeveria, and EU185639 ex Dudleya) (2), suggesting their close phylogenetic relationship. Pathogenicity was confirmed through inoculation by gently pressing diseased leaves onto leaves of five healthy potted mophead hydrangea cv. Emerald plants. Five noninoculated plants of the same cultivar served as controls. Plants were maintained in a greenhouse at 22 ± 2°C. Inoculated plants developed signs and symptoms after 6 days, whereas the control plants remained healthy. The fungus present on the inoculated plants was morphologically identical to that originally observed on diseased plants, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Occurrence of powdery mildew disease on mophead hydrangea is circumglobal (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of powdery mildew disease caused by O. hortensiae on mophead hydrangea in Korea. Powdery mildew infections in Korea pose a serious threat to the continued production of quality potted mophead hydrangea in polyethylene-film-covered greenhouses.

A practical structural health monitoring system for carbon fibre reinforced composite based on electrical resistance

Abstract A practical structural health monitoring system based on measuring changes in the electrical resistance of a carbon fibre composite structure is presented. Electrical contact with the fibres is provided by flexible printed circuit boards which are interleaved with the carbon fibre plies during the lamination of the composite. The resistance between opposite pairs of contacts was measured before and after an impact load which caused barely visible impact damage (BVID) in the panel. It was found that even low levels of impact damage produced measurable changes in resistance in the vicinity of the damage. Therefore was demonstrated that electrical resistance measurements are a practical means of locating BVID. Various parameters were studied in order to better understand the mechanisms involved and optimise the system for improved sensitivity and accuracy. The location of the contacts in the through thickness direction, the spacing and orientation of the contacts and the residual thermal stress of the laminate were all investigated and recommendations made. A structural health monitoring system for composites based on electrical resistance has several important potential benefits over acoustic, ultrasonic or optical methods; it adds little parasitic mass, causes no reduction in mechanical integrity, can be carried out on structures either in or out of service conditions and is very simple in concept, implementation and data interpretation.

Detecting fourth generation quarks at hadron colliders

We consider the phenomenology of the fourth generation heavy quarks which would be pair produced at the LHC. We show that if such a quark with a mass in the phenomenologically interesting range of 400 GeV--600 GeV decays to a light quark and a W-boson, it will produce a signal in a number of channels which can be seen above the background from the three generation Standard Model processes. In particular, such quarks could be seen in channels where multiple jets are present with large missing momentum and either a single hard lepton, an opposite sign hard lepton pair or a same sign lepton pair. In the same sign dilepton channel there is little background and so an excess of such pairs at large invariant mass will indicate the presence of heavy down type quarks. More generally, in our study, the main tool we use to determine the mass of the heavy quark in each of the channels we consider is to use the kinematics of the decay of such quarks to resolve the momenta of the unobserved neutrinos. We show how this can be carried out, even in cases where the kinematics is under-determined by use of the approximation, which holds quite well, that the two heavy quarks are nearly at rest in the center of mass frame. Since it is very likely that at least the lightest heavy quark decays in the mode we consider, this means that it should be observed at the LHC. Indeed, it is expected that the mass splitting between the quarks is less than $m_W$ so that if the Cabbibo-Kobayshi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element between the fourth and lower generations are not too small, both members of the fourth generation quark doublet will decay in this way. If this is so, the combined signal of these two quarks will make the signal for the fourth generation somewhat more prominent.

The relative importance of children’s criteria for representational adequacy in the perception of simple sonic stimuli

This study investigates children’s metarepresentational competence (MRC) with regard to listening to and making sense of simple sonic stimuli. Using diSessa’s (2002) seminal work on MRC in mathematics and sciences as background, it aims to assess the relative importance children attribute to several criteria for representational adequacy of graphical representations of sonic stimuli, as well as to investigate the impact of children’s age and music background on their valuations of the relative importance of these criteria. Four groups of children (8–9- and 11–12-year-olds with and without extra music education) were exposed to short and simple sonic fragments. For each fragment they received a set of pairs of representations from which they had to choose one from each pair. The representations were organized in pairs of opposites for two of the four representational criteria involved in the study (correctness, formality, transparency, and neatness). The findings revealed a development in children’s personal hierarchies of representational criteria with growing age and musical education towards the following ranking: (1) correctness; (2) neatness; (3) formality; and (4) transparency. Theoretical, methodological, and educational implications are discussed.

Crossing on hyperbolic lattices

We divide the circular boundary of a hyperbolic lattice into four equal intervals and study the probability of a percolation crossing between an opposite pair as a function of the bond occupation probability p. We consider the {7,3} (heptagonal), enhanced or extended binary tree (EBT), the EBT-dual, and the {5,5} (pentagonal) lattices. We find that the crossing probability increases gradually from 0 to 1 as p increases from the lower p_{l} to the upper p_{u} critical values. We find bounds and estimates for the values of p_{l} and p_{u} for these lattices and identify the self-duality point p corresponding to where the crossing probability equals 1/2. Comparison is made with recent numerical and theoretical results.

Influence of the intentional voice quality on the impression of female speaker

This study examines the relationship of voice quality and speech-based personality assessment of Finnish-speaking female speakers. Five Finnish-speaking female subjects recorded a text passage with eight different vocal qualities. Samples that passed the preselection test for the voice qualities were played to 50 Finnish-speaking listeners, who reported speaker impressions on a scale of 18 opposite trait pairs. Voices produced with forward placement received assessments of femininity and friendliness. Readers speaking with backward placement were considered less feminine, while breathy voice evoked assessments of emotionality and implausibility. Tense phonation as well as creakiness, nasality, and denasality gave rise to numerous negative notions. The results suggest that voice stereotypes have both internationality and cultural dependency.

An improved proximity force approximation for electrostatics

A quite straightforward approximation for the electrostatic interaction between two perfectly conducting surfaces suggests itself when the distance between them is much smaller than the characteristic lengths associated with their shapes. Indeed, in the so called “proximity force approximation” the electrostatic force is evaluated by first dividing each surface into a set of small flat patches, and then adding up the forces due two opposite pairs, the contributions of which are approximated as due to pairs of parallel planes. This approximation has been widely and successfully applied in different contexts, ranging from nuclear physics to Casimir effect calculations. We present here an improvement on this approximation, based on a derivative expansion for the electrostatic energy contained between the surfaces. The results obtained could be useful for discussing the geometric dependence of the electrostatic force, and also as a convenient benchmark for numerical analyses of the tip–sample electrostatic interaction in atomic force microscopes.

The Accuracy Benefit of Multiple Amperometric Glucose Sensors in People With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVETo improve glucose sensor accuracy in subjects with type 1 diabetes by using multiple sensors and to assess whether the benefit of redundancy is affected by intersensor distance.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSNineteen adults with type 1 diabetes wore four Dexcom SEVEN PLUS subcutaneous glucose sensors during two 9-h studies. One pair of sensors was worn on each side of the abdomen, with each sensor pair placed at a predetermined distance apart and 20 cm away from the opposite pair. Arterialized venous blood glucose levels were measured every 15 min, and sensor glucose values were recorded every 5 min. Sensors were calibrated once at the beginning of the study.RESULTSThe use of four sensors significantly reduced very large errors compared with one sensor (0.4 vs. 2.6% of errors ≥50% from reference glucose, P < 0.001) and also improved overall accuracy (mean absolute relative difference, 11.6 vs. 14.8%, P < 0.001). Using only two sensors also significantly improved very large errors and accuracy. Intersensor distance did not affect the function of sensor pairs.CONCLUSIONSSensor accuracy is significantly improved with the use of multiple sensors compared with the use of a single sensor. The benefit of redundancy is present even when sensors are positioned very closely together (7 mm). These findings are relevant to the design of an artificial pancreas device.

Zero-Bias Conductance versus Potential Strength of Interface in Ferromagnetic Superconductors

We study zero-bias conductance (ZBC) spectra of a normal-metal/insulator/singlet (and triplet) ferromagnetic superconductor as a function of potential strength of interface in the Blonder—Tinkham—Klapwijk (BTK) theory framework. We consider possible pairing states including spin singlet s-wave pairing (SWP), spin triplet opposite spin pairing (OSP) and spin triplet equal spin pairing (ESP). It is found that ZBC as a function of potential strength of interface shows a clear difference between SWP, OSP and ESP states. These results may serve as a useful tool for discriminating pairing states in ferromagnetic superconductors.

Twilight : Fairy Tale and Feminine Development

This article makes the case that The Twilight Saga is a fairy tale, structured by pairs of binary oppositions, which traces the ideal pattern of feminine psychological development as set forth in Jungian psychology. To enter Forks is to enter the archetypal realm of the unconscious. Edward and Jacob are animus-figures; Victoria is Bella's shadow. Bella's eventual psychological wholeness (individuation) is symbolized in the stable quaternio with which the novel ends: Bella married to Edward and her daughter (a younger Bella) paired with Jacob. The Saga's conclusion shows the relationship of the individuated person to her community, as Bella saves the Cullen clan.

Association between co-twin sex and eating disorders in opposite sex twin pairs: Evaluations in North American, Norwegian, and Swedish samples

Association between co-twin sex and eating disorders in opposite sex twin pairs: Evaluations in North American, Norwegian, and Swedish samples

Versatile Leadership, LVI and Their Application in Škoda Auto a.s.

The paper starts with a presentation of the versatile leadership model developed by Kaplan and Kaiser and of their 360o feedback tool Leadership Versatility ® Index (LVI). Versatility can be generally defined as a mastery of opposites, as the ability to play multiple roles, even contradictory ones, without emphasizing some at the expense of others. The LVI has been designed to help managers understand their repertoire and how they can become more versatile leaders. It employs an innovative rating scale on which ideal score “0” is in the middle of it (the right amount), flanked by underdoing to the left (too little) and overdoing to the right (too much). The idea is to avoid the “more is better” design trap by providing a way for raters to indicate when managers go to counterproductive extremes. The LVI works with two-sided view of leadership based on two major pairs of opposites: directive vs. supportive leadership and execution vs. strategy. Interventions based on the LVI results help to overcome traditional behaviorism as they combine the outer work (behavioral change) with the inner work (personal change) of development. Application of the LVI on a sample of the managers from Skoda Auto a.s. and verification of its practical value represented the core of the SAVS IGA project MM/O7/02. The last part of the paper is devoted to a presentation of the findings from this project. The LVI has been found to be both original and a very useful 360o feedback tool which can be addressed to two general groups of clients: (1) experienced senior managers; and (2) young perspective managers in the beginning of their career.

Polysertularella polyseriata, a new genus and species of hydroid (Hydrozoa; Leptothecata; Sertulariidae) from the Sea of Okhotsk

Polysertularella polyseriata, gen. et sp. nov., a hydroid referable to family Sertulariidae, is described from the eastern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. The new taxa is characterized by: multi-serial (5–8 rows) placement of hydrothecae on both stem and branches; a hydrothecal rim with four small cusps; an operculum with four equal flaps similar to but more flattened than that of Sertularella. Gonothecae are transversely corrugated and resemble those of many species assigned to Sertularella and Symplectoscyphus. They arise from hydrothecae-like tubes on the basal part of the stem and are disposed in opposite pairs, as in species of Synthecium.Sertulariidae, the largest family in Hydrozoa and with representatives from marine environments worldwide, is relatively well known. Discovery of new genera in the family is relatively infrequent. A diagnosis of a new genus and a description of a new species are given in this paper.Diagnosis. Sertulariidae with erect, branched colonies, with branches resembling hydrocaulus. Hydrothecae arranged in 5–8 longitudal rows along hydrocaulus and branches; hydrothecal rim with four very low cusps separated by shallow embayments; operculum of four equal triangular valves, flattened rather than pyramidal; hydranth with abcauline caecum. Gonothecae oval with strong transverse corrugations and rings, occurring in opposite pairs on lower part of stem. Type species. Polysertularella polyseriata, sp. n., designated herein. Notes and differential diagnosis. In most genera of Sertulariidae, hydrothecae have an alternate to opposite biserial arrangement on branches, and especially on the stem. A few genera in the family, including Abietinaria Kirchenpauer, 1884, Thuiaria Fleming, 1828, Sertularia Linnaeus, 1758, and Staurotheca Allman, 1888 include some species with multi-serial rows of hydrothecae on branches and very rarely on the stem as well. The nominal genus Selaginopsis Allman, 1876, originally established for sertulariids having hydrothecae in more than two longitudinal rows, is no longer recognized as valid in some works because of its artificial composition and differences among included species in operculum structure (Peña-Cantero et al., 1997). However, no species with a multiserial arrangement of hydrothecae and four-flapped operculum (resembling Sertularella) has been known in the family until now.

Race-specific norms for coding face identity and a functional role for norms

Models of face perception often adopt a framework in which faces are represented as points or vectors in a multidimensional space, relative to the average face that serves as a norm for encoding. Since faces are very similar in their configuration and share many visual properties, they could be encoded in one common space against one norm. However, certain face properties may result in grouping and "subclassification" of similar faces. We studied the processing of faces of different races, using high-level aftereffects, where exposure to one face systematically distorts the perception of a subsequently viewed face toward the "opposite" identity in face space. We measured identity aftereffects for adapt-test pairs that were opposite relative to race-specific (Asian and Caucasian) averages and pairs that were opposite relative to a "generic" average (both races morphed together). Aftereffects were larger for race-specific compared to mixed-race adapt-test pairs. These results suggest that race-specific norms are used to code identity because aftereffects are generally larger for adapt-test pairs drawn from trajectories passing through the norm (opposite pairs) than for those that do not. We also found that identification thresholds were lower when targets were distributed around race-specific averages than around the mixed-race average, suggesting that norm-based face encoding may play a functional role in facilitating identity discrimination.

Prabalti&amp;scaron;kasis intarpinių ir &lt;em&gt;sta&lt;/em&gt;-kamienių veiksmažodžių sluoksnis

THE PROTO-BALTIC LAYER OF INFIX AND sta-STEM VERBS Summary Infix verbs can be found in almost all Indo-European languages. Some of them might be classified as Proto-Indo-European, e. g. Skr. riṇákti: Lith. liñka: Pr. polinka: Lat. linquo etc. In later stages the evolution of the infix verbs in I.E. languages varied: in some of them these verbs became extinct, in others they grew in number, esp. in the Eastern Baltic languages, where the infix (as well as the suffix sta) has acquired definite functions, non-existent in other I.E. languages. In the formation of the infix and sta-stem verbs in the Eastern Baltic languages categorical semantics played an important role. The origin of the new meaning of spontaneous action is related to the formation of the diathetic oppositional pairs of verbs: part of roots with a vowel change differentiated according to the diathesis. The main roots signified an action performed by an active agent, and the reduced roots – a spontaneous passive action, cf. Balt. *wert-/ *wirt- > Lith. ver̃čia / vir̃sta. 172 oppositions of this type have been recorded in the Lithuanian language, and 67 in the Latvian language. In the epoch of the Eastern Balts some other changes have taken place as well: next to the infix, the sta-stem became established; phonetical possibilities of the infix and sta-stem verbs have expanded: in the position of the final consonant of the root not only explosives (like in other I.E. languages), but also fricatives and sonorants appeared.

Points with large quadrant depth

Given a set P of points in the plane we are interested in points that are `deep' in the set in the sense that they have two opposite quadrants both containing many points of P . We deal with an extremal version of this problem. A pair ( a , b ) of numbers is admissible if every point set P contains a point p in P that determines a pair ( Q , Q op ) of opposite quadrants, such that Q contains at least an a -fraction and Q op contains at least a b -fraction of the points of P . We provide a complete description of the set F of all admissible pairs ( a , b ). This amounts to identifying three line segments and a point on the boundary of F . In higher dimensions we study the maximum a , such that ( a , a ) is opposite-orthant admissible. In dimension d we show that 1/(2γ)≤ a ≤1/γ for γ=2 2 d -1 2 d -1 . Finally we deal with a variant of the problem where the opposite pairs of orthants need not be determined by a point in P . Again we are interested in values a , such that all subsets P in R d admit a pair ( O , O op ) of opposite orthants both ontaining at least an a -fraction of the points. The maximum such value is a =1/2 d . Generalizations of the problem are also disussed.

Wyszukana prawda. Józef Pankiewicz o sztuce w kontekście malarskiego warsztatu

Pankiewicz as conscious artist of his time was absorbing achievements of innovative movements appearing throughout his life. Yet he was critical and did choose sources of inspirations selectively. Some traditional elements of the work of art as proportion expressed with proper drawing, or homogenous, balanced and united composition as well as space gained with the light and shadow did still matter for him. On the other hand he admired colourful interaction, simultaneous contrast and musical harmonies of the perfectly juxtaposed hues. His art can be characterised by pairs of oppositions like truth, but refined, nature observed but in the same time felt with emotion, the joy of painting but controlled with conscious will, proceeding rationally to the final effect. He treated very seriously also the technical part of work using high quality materials and studying Old Masters to learn methods of solution of formal and technological problems. Lack of technological knowledge and practical workshop practice seems for Pankiewicz to be the source of many problems of the “young art.” Yet tradition did not close him on new propositions of avant-garde and especially of colouristic achievements. Defining in the modern way work of art at first as decorative surface giving joy to the eyes he did not resigned from nature as source of main inspiration. His art continuously evolving kept its solidness by creative dialogue of old and new confronted with strict clear sight directed to visible reality and softened by delight with colour. Inspired with Cézanne and his words on the unity of the drawing and colour, he was going his own path faithful to nature seen with the fresh eye of the joyful but conscious colourist.

If the real world were irrelevant, so to speak: The role of propositional truth-value in counterfactual sentence comprehension

Propositional truth-value can be a defining feature of a sentence’s relevance to the unfolding discourse, and establishing propositional truth-value in context can be key to successful interpretation. In the current study, we investigate its role in the comprehension of counterfactual conditionals, which describe imaginary consequences of hypothetical events, and are thought to require keeping in mind both what is true and what is false. Pre-stored real-world knowledge may therefore intrude upon and delay counterfactual comprehension, which is predicted by some accounts of discourse comprehension, and has been observed during online comprehension. The impact of propositional truth-value may thus be delayed in counterfactual conditionals, as also claimed for sentences containing other types of logical operators (e.g., negation, scalar quantifiers). In an event-related potential (ERP) experiment, we investigated the impact of propositional truth-value when described consequences are both true and predictable given the counterfactual premise. False words elicited larger N400 ERPs than true words, in negated counterfactual sentences (e.g., “If N.A.S.A. had not developed its Apollo Project, the first country to land on the moon would have been Russia/America”) and real-world sentences (e.g., “Because N.A.S.A. developed its Apollo Project, the first country to land on the moon was America/Russia”) alike. These indistinguishable N400 effects of propositional truth-value, elicited by opposite word pairs, argue against disruptions by real-world knowledge during counterfactual comprehension, and suggest that incoming words are mapped onto the counterfactual context without any delay. Thus, provided a sufficiently constraining context, propositional truth-value rapidly impacts ongoing semantic processing, be the proposition factual or counterfactual.