Prime Type Research Articles

Reduced operator algebras of trace-preserving quantum automorphism groups

Let B be a finite dimensional C ^\ast -algebra equipped with its canonical trace induced by the regular representation of B on itself. In this paper, we study various properties of the trace-preserving quantum automorphism group \mathbb G of B . We prove that the discrete dual quantum group \widehat{\mathbb G} has the property of rapid decay, the reduced von Neumann algebra L^\infty(\mathbb G) has the Haagerup property and is solid, and that L^\infty(\mathbb G) is (in most cases) a prime type II _1 -factor. As applications of these and other results, we deduce the metric approximation property, exactness, simplicity and uniqueness of trace for the reduced C^\ast -algebra C_r(\mathbb G) , and the existence of a multiplier-bounded approximate identity for the convolution algebra L^1(\mathbb G) .

Space-Valence Priming with Subliminal and Supraliminal Words

To date it is unclear whether (1) awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic processes influence affective semantics and whether (2) awareness-independent affective semantics influence non-evaluative semantic processing. In the current study, we investigated these questions with the help of subliminal (masked) primes and visible targets in a space-valence across-category congruence effect. In line with (1), we found that subliminal space prime words influenced valence classification of supraliminal target words (Experiment 1): classifications were faster with a congruent prime (e.g., the prime “up” before the target “happy”) than with an incongruent prime (e.g., the prime “up” before the target “sad”). In contrast to (2), no influence of subliminal valence primes on the classification of supraliminal space targets into up- and down-words was found (Experiment 2). Control conditions showed that standard masked response priming effects were found with both subliminal prime types, and that an across-category congruence effect was also found with supraliminal valence primes and spatial target words. The final Experiment 3 confirmed that the across-category congruence effect indeed reflected priming of target categorization of a relevant meaning category. Together, the data jointly confirmed prediction (1) that awareness-independent non-evaluative semantic priming influences valence judgments.

Simulating cross-language priming with a dynamic computational model of the lexicon

Cross-language priming is a widely used experimental paradigm in psycholinguistics to study how bilinguals’ two languages are represented and organized. Researchers have observed a number of interesting patterns from the priming effects of both translation equivalents and semantically related word pairs across languages. In this study, we implement a self-organizing neural network model, DevLex–II, to simulate these two types of priming effects across Chinese and English. Specifically, our model incorporates a computational mechanism for simulating spreading activation based on the distance between bilingual words in the semantic space. The model also considers additional factors that modulate priming effects, such as the initial activation level of the prime words and the degree to which the target word can be recognized. Our model reveals differences with respect to the priming effects as a function of bilingual type (early versus late L2 learners), directions of priming (L1 to L2 versus L2 to L1), and types of priming (translation versus semantic priming). These simulated differences are compared with empirical findings from previous studies and discussed in the light of interactive and developmental theories of bilingual lexical representation.

Maternal cognitions and mother–infant interaction in postnatal depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

Postnatal depression and anxiety have been shown to increase the risk of disturbances in mother–child interaction and child development. Research into mechanisms has focused on genetics and maternal behavior; maternal cognitions have received little attention. Our aim was to experimentally determine if worry and rumination in mothers with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), diagnosed in the postnatal 6 months, interfered with maternal responsiveness to their 10-month old infants. Mothers (N = 253: GAD n = 90; MDD n = 57; control n = 106) and their infants were randomized to either a worry/rumination prime (WRP) or a neutral prime (NP); mother–infant interactions were assessed before and after priming. Type of priming was a significant predictor of maternal cognitions, with WRP resulting in more negative thoughts, higher thought recurrence and more self-focus relative to NP across the entire sample. Interaction effects between group and priming were significant for two parenting variables: Compared with controls, WRP had a more negative impact on maternal responsiveness to infant vocalization for GAD, and to a lesser extent for MDD; WRP led to decreased maternal vocalization for GAD. Also, mothers with GAD used stronger control after the NP than WRP, as well as compared with other groups, and overall post-priming, their children exhibited lower emotional tone and more withdrawal. Across the entire sample, WRP was associated with increased child vocalization relative to NP. This study demonstrated that disturbances in maternal cognitions, in the context of postnatal anxiety and to a lesser degree depression, play a significant role in mother–child interaction.

Phonological processing during reading: A priming study in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

In the present study, we assessed phonological priming during a visual lexical decision task (LDT) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study was performed because phonological deficiencies have been reported in patients with PD, and such processes are critical predictors of reading performance. We tested for phonological priming effects using homonyms (zarjento – SARGENTO), where the prime differed from the target orthographically but with complete phonological overlap, and rhymes (cadera – MADERA), where the last two syllables of both the prime and the target are identical. Both types of priming were compared to the non-rhyme baseline condition (mercader – CUCHILLA) to assess the size of the priming effect. The results indicated that patients with PD exhibited a smaller phonological priming effect than controls in the homophonic condition. Patients with PD also displayed a lower percentage of correct responses and longer Reaction Times (RTs) than controls on both rhyme and homophone pairings. No group differences were found in the non-rhyme experimental condition. We concluded that phonological processing in patients with PD is important for lexical access during visual word recognition.

Phonological processing during reading: A priming study in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

In the present study, we assessed phonological priming during a visual lexical decision task (LDT) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study was performed because phonological deficiencies have been reported in patients with PD, and such processes are critical predictors of reading performance. We tested for phonological priming effects using homonyms (zarjento – SARGENTO), where the prime differed from the target orthographically but with complete phonological overlap, and rhymes (cadera – MADERA), where the last two syllables of both the prime and the target are identical. Both types of priming were compared to the non-rhyme baseline condition (mercader – CUCHILLA) to assess the size of the priming effect. The results indicated that patients with PD exhibited a smaller phonological priming effect than controls in the homophonic condition. Patients with PD also displayed a lower percentage of correct responses and longer Reaction Times (RTs) than controls on both rhyme and homophone pairings. No group differences were found in the non-rhyme experimental condition. We concluded that phonological processing in patients with PD is important for lexical access during visual word recognition.

The Mechanism by Which Interpersonal Coping Flexibility Influences Self-Esteem

The objectives of the present study were to conceptualize interpersonal coping flexibility and to explore how it influences personal adaptation. Two hundred sixty two university students were classified based on their responses to prompts about their degree of prioritizing harmony and the number of coping strategies they employed when dealing with interpersonal conflicts. Four different types of interpersonal coping flexibility were identified: harmonious flexible, discordant flexible, harmonious inflexible, and discordant inflexible. Subsequently, 72 of the participants were randomly assigned to two groups primed by an interpersonally accepting or an interpersonally ostracizing situation. The type of interpersonal coping flexibility and priming had an interactive effect on implicit self- esteem. In the ostracizing priming condition, participants in the discordant inflexible group displayed lower implicit selfesteem.

The temporal dynamics of inflected word recognition: A masked ERP priming study of French verbs

Morphological aspects of human language processing have been suggested by some to be reducible to the combination of orthographic and semantic effects, while others propose that morphological structure is represented separately from semantics and orthography and involves distinct neuro-cognitive processing mechanisms. Here we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate semantic, morphological and formal (orthographic) processing conjointly in a masked priming paradigm. We directly compared morphological to both semantic and formal/orthographic priming (shared letters) on verbs. Masked priming was used to reduce strategic effects related to prime perception and to suppress semantic priming effects. The three types of priming led to distinct ERP and behavioral patterns: semantic priming was not found, while formal and morphological priming resulted in diverging ERP patterns. These results are consistent with models of lexical processing that make reference to morphological structure. We discuss how they fit in with the existing literature and how unresolved issues could be addressed in further studies.

Priming of Social Distance? Failure to Replicate Effects on Social and Food Judgments

Williams and Bargh (2008) reported an experiment in which participants were simply asked to plot a single pair of points on a piece of graph paper, with the coordinates provided by the experimenter specifying a pair of points that lay at one of three different distances (close, intermediate, or far, relative to the range available on the graph paper). The participants who had graphed a more distant pair reported themselves as being significantly less close to members of their own family than did those who had plotted a more closely-situated pair. In another experiment, people's estimates of the caloric content of different foods were reportedly altered by the same type of spatial distance priming. Direct replications of both results were attempted, with precautions to ensure that the experimenter did not know what condition the participant was assigned to. The results showed no hint of the priming effects reported by Williams and Bargh (2008).

Independence of Data-Driven and Conceptually Driven Priming

A central tenet of current memory theories is the independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming. Although these types of repetition priming have different functional properties, it has remained unclear whether they are independent and additive or interact with each other. Therefore, we orthogonally combined these priming types in two experiments requiring occupation judgments for celebrities, represented by their faces or names. In both experiments, the sum of the effects of separate data-driven priming and conceptually driven priming equaled the effect of the combination of these priming types. These findings demonstrate for the first time the independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming and so confirm a central tenet of current memory theories. This independence may thus be an important element for the development of future overarching memory theories.

Language Specificity in Perceptual Compensation for Native and Non-native Assimilation

The present study investigated whether compensation for phonological assimilation is driven by multiple mechanisms, as suggested by Darcy et al. (2009). Native and non-native speakers of Korean were tested on their compensation for the Korean place and nasal assimilations using two different types of experimental tasks, phoneme monitoring and cross-modal priming with a lexical decision, each of which is expected to provoke responses in a low auditory level and a more abstract phonological level. The results demonstrated that native and non-native listeners relied on the acoustic characteristics of the stimuli in the phoneme-monitoring task (Experiment 1), whereas in the lexical decision task, only native listeners employed phonological knowledge of the manner in which assimilation functions in Korean (Experiments 2 and 3). However, compensation for phonological ssimilation appeared to operate less strongly in the presence of optional rules than in the presence of obligatory rules. Together, these results suggest that compensation is driven by both language-specific and universal auditory mechanisms at distinct levels.

Semantic similarity influences early morphological priming in Serbian: A challenge to form-then-meaning accounts of word recognition

Semantically similar (e.g., coolant-COOL) primes have produced greater facilitation than have form-similar but semantically dissimilar (e.g., rampant-RAMP) primes when English words have appeared in the forward-masked primed lexical decision task (Feldman, O'Connor, & Moscoso del Prado Martín, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 16: 684-691, 2009). These results challenge claims that form-based, semantically blind activation underlies early morphological facilitation. Some have argued that the English materials in previous studies were not ideally constructed, insofar as the types of spelling changes to affixed stems differed in the semantically similar and dissimilar pairs. The present study exploited Serbian's bialphabetism, rich morphology, and homographic (form-identical) stems to replicate early effects of semantic similarity. Furthermore, it incorporated within-target manipulations of prime type and of alphabet, such that the alphabets of the prime-target pairs matched in Experiment 1a and alternated in Experiment 1b. Importantly, no letter or phoneme changes occurred between the stems of the primes and targets. These results revealed significant effects of semantic similarity that are comparable with and without alphabet alternation. The semantic effects in Serbian replicated almost exactly those in English (Feldman et al., Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 16: 684-691, 2009), which suggests that even early in the course of processing, morphemes are units of meaning as well as of form. The results failed to support models of lexical processing that postulate sequential access, first to the morphological form, and then to the semantic aspects of words.

The super super-healing MRL mouse strain

The Murphy Roths Large (MRL/MpJ) mice provide unique insights into wound repair and regeneration. These mice and the closely related MRL/MpJ-Faslpr /J and Large strains heal wounds made in multiple tissues without production of a fibrotic scar. The precise mechanism of this remarkable ability still eludes researchers, but some data has been generated and insights are being revealed. For example, MRL cells reepithelialize over dermal wound sites faster than cells of other mouse strains. This allows a blastema to develop beneath the protective layer. The MRL mice also have an altered basal immune system and an altered immune response to injury. In addition, MRL mice have differences in their tissue resident progenitor cells and certain cell cycle regulatory proteins. The difficulty often lies in separating the causative differences from the corollary differences. Remarkably, not every tissue in these mice heals scarlessly, and the specific type of wound and priming affect regeneration ability as well. The MRL/MpJ, MRL/MpJ-Faslpr /J, and Large mouse strains are also being investigated for their autoimmune characteristic. Whether the two phenotypes of regeneration and autoimmunity are related remains an enigma.

Association of MICA gene polymorphisms with liver fibrosis in schistosomiasis patients in the Dongting Lake region

Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related A (MICA) is a highly polymorphic gene located within the MHC class I region of the human genome. Expressed as a cell surface glycoprotein, MICA modulates immune surveillance by binding to its cognate receptor on natural killer cells, NKG2D, and its genetic polymorphisms have been recently associated with susceptibility to some infectious diseases. We determined whether MICA polymorphisms were associated with the high rate of Schistosoma parasitic worm infection or severity of disease outcome in the Dongting Lake region of Hunan Province, China. Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific priming (PCR-SSP) and sequencing-based typing (SBT) were applied for high-resolution allele typing of schistosomiasis cases (N = 103, age range = 36.2-80.5 years, 64 males and 39 females) and healthy controls (N = 141, age range = 28.6-73.3 years, 73 males and 68 females). Fourteen MICA alleles and five short-tandem repeat (STR) alleles were identified among the two populations. Three (MICA*012:01/02, MICA*017 and MICA*027) showed a higher frequency in healthy controls than in schistosomiasis patients, but the difference was not significantly correlated with susceptibility to S. japonicum infection (Pc > 0.05). In contrast, higher MICA*A5 allele frequency was significantly correlated with advanced liver fibrosis (Pc < 0.05). Furthermore, the distribution profile of MICA alleles in this Hunan Han population was significantly different from those published for Korean, Thai, American-Caucasian, and Afro-American populations (P < 0.01), but similar to other Han populations within China (P > 0.05). This study provides the initial evidence that MICA genetic polymorphisms may underlie the severity of liver fibrosis occurring in schistosomiasis patients from the Dongting Lake region.

动词性义符与名词性义符在汉字识别中作用的比较&lt;br&gt;The Comparison of the Role of Verbal and Nounal Semantic Radicals in the Identification of Chinese Cha-racters

采用2(词类：动词、名词) × 4(启动方式：R+S+、R+S–、R–S+、R–S–)的重复测量设计，考察在启动字和目标字有相同的义符和语义(R+S+)、启动字和目标字有相同的义符和不同的语义(R+S–)、启动字和目标字有不同的义符和相同的语义(R–S+)、启动字和目标字有不同的义符和语义(R–S–)的启动条件下，对作为目标字的动词和名词的判别情况。结果显示，义符具有加快和阻碍汉字识别的双重作用，动词的识别要优于名词的识别，动词性义符比名词性义符在汉字识别中起的作用更大。 The present study used a repeated measures design of 2 (target type: verbs, nouns) × 4 (prime type: R+S+, R+S–, R–S+, R–S–) to investigate the role of verbal and nounal semantic radicals in the identification of Chinese characters. The R+S+, R+S–, R–S+, and R–S– conditions indicated that the target characters were preceded by primes that 1) shared the targets’ radicals and were semantically related (R+S+); 2) shared the targets’ radicals but were not semantically related (R+S–); 3) did not shared the targets’ radicals but were semantically related (R–S+); and 4) did not share the targets’ radicals and were not semantically related (R–S–). The experiment results showed that 1) semantic radicals had a dual function in facilitating or inhibiting character recognition; 2) verbal characters had stronger effects in facilitating character recognition than nouns; 3) verbal semantic radicals had a stronger facilitating effect than non-verbal radicals on character decision task.

Introduction to the special section on the neural substrate of analogical reasoning and metaphor comprehension.

The special section on the neural substrate of relational reasoning includes 4 articles that address the processes and brain regions involved in analogical reasoning (Green, Kraemer, Fugelsang, Gray, & Dunbar, 2011; Maguire, McClelland, Donovan, Tillman, & Krawczyk, 2011) and in metaphor comprehension (Chettih, Durgin, & Grodner, 2011; Prat, Mason, & Just, 2011). We see this work as an example of how neuroscience approaches to cognition can lead to increased understanding of cognitive processes. In this brief introduction, we first situate the 4 articles in the context of prior cognitive neuroscience work on relational reasoning. We then highlight the main issues explored in these articles: different sources of complexity and difficulty in relational processing, potential differences between the roles of the 2 hemispheres, and the impact of individual differences in various cognitive abilities. The 4 articles illustrate a range of methodologies, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; Green et al., 2011; Prat et al., 2011), event-related potentials (ERPs; Maguire et al., 2011), and different types of semantic priming (Chettih et al., 2011; Prat et al., 2011). They highlight the connections between research on analogy and on metaphor comprehension and suggest, collectively, that a cognitive neuroscience approach to relational reasoning can lead to converging conclusions.

Dissociation of category versus item priming in face processing: an event-related potential study

The underlying specificity of visual object categorization and discrimination can be elucidated by studying different types of repetition priming. Here we focused on this issue in face processing. We investigated category priming (i.e. the prime and target stimuli represent different exemplars of the same object category) and item priming (i.e. the prime and target stimuli are exactly the same image), using an immediate repetition paradigm. Twenty-three subjects were asked to respond as fast and accurately as possible to categorize whether the target stimulus was a face or a building image, but to ignore the prime stimulus. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) and reaction times (RTs) simultaneously. The RT data showed significant effects of category priming in both face trials and building trials, as well as a significant effect of item priming in face trials. With respect to the ERPs, in face trials, no priming effect was observed at the P100 stage, whereas a category priming effect emerged at the N170 stage, and an item priming effect at the P200 stage. In contrast, in building trials, priming effects occurred already at the P100 stage. Our results indicated that distinct neural mechanisms underlie separable kinds of immediate repetition priming in face processing.

Impact of life stage specific immune priming on invertebrate disease dynamics

The immune response of a host can have important impacts on host‐pathogen interactions, but investment in immunity often changes dynamically across the life history of a host. One form of investment involves the induction of a primed immune response against previously encountered pathogens that protects the host from re‐infection. In addition to providing immediate protective effects, immune priming can also provide two types of ‘delayed’ protection against pathogens: priming across life stages (ontogenic priming) and priming across generations (trans‐generational priming). Consequently both types of immune priming have the potential to mediate life history variability in host–pathogen interactions, which could have important consequences for disease prevalence and dynamics as well as for the demographic structure of the host population. Here we develop a stage‐structured SIRS model for an invertebrate host to explore the relative and combined impact of ontogenic priming and trans‐generational priming on infection prevalence, host population size, and population age structure. Our model predicts that both types of immune priming can dramatically reduce disease prevalence at equilibrium, but their individual and combined effects on population size and age structure depend on the magnitude of tradeoffs between immune protection and reproduction as well as on the symmetry of infection parameters between life stages. This model underscores the potential importance of life‐history based immune investment patterns for disease dynamics and highlights the need for wide‐spread empirical estimation of parameters that represent the maintenance of immune priming in insects.

Chemical priming with urea and KNO3 enhances maize hybrids (Zea mays L.) seed viability under abiotic stress

Seed priming is a method to improve germination and seedling establishment under stress conditions. The effect of seed priming in chemical solutions such as urea and KNO3, on protein and proline content, germination, and seedling growth responses of four maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids under drought and salt stress conditions was studied in a controlled environment in 2010. Treatments included stress type and intensity at five levels: moderate drought (MD), severe drought (SD), moderate salt (MS), severe salt (SS), and control (C1, without stress), three seed priming types including water (C2, as control), KNO3, and urea (as chemical priming), and four maize hybrids including Maxima, SC704, Zola, and 307. The results showed that the highest germination percentage (Ger %), germination rate (GR), seedling length (SL), radical length (RL), and seedling to radical length ratio (S/R) were achieved in no stress treatments and most proline content in SD treatment. Urea priming led to more Ger%, GR, and SL compared to other primers and treatment under KNO3 priming resulted in higher RL compared to other primers. Chemical priming had no effect on S/R and proline content. Also, in terms of most traits, no difference was found among the four hybrids. Results showed that salt stress could affect GR and RL more than the drought stress. Drought stress affected germination percentage and S/R more than the salt stress. Both stresses decreased all measured parameters, except protein and proline content which were increased remarkably, and more under drought compared to salt stress. Based on proline content, hybrid 304 appeared to be more resistant to stress than other hybrids. Generally, KNO3 and urea alleviated effects of both stresses and led to increased germination and seedling growth as well as the root length. Therefore, priming could be recommended for enhancing maize growth responses under stressful conditions.

Molecular and physiological dissection of enhanced seed germination using short-term low-concentration salt seed priming in tomato

Seed germination is the initial step of plant development. Seed priming with salt promotes seed germination in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.); however, the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying the enhancement of seed germination by priming remain to be elucidated. In this study, we examined the following in seeds both during and after priming treatment: the endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) concentrations; the expression of genes encoding ABA catabolic and GA biosynthesis enzymes, including 8'-hydroxylase (CYP707A), copalyl diphosphate synthase (CPS), GA 20-oxidase (GA20ox) and GA 3-oxidase (GA3ox); and endosperm cap weakening enzymes, including expansin (EXP), class I β-1,3-glucanase (GulB), endo-β-mannanase (MAN) and xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XTH). Tomato seeds were soaked for 24h at 25°C in the dark in 300mM NaCl (NaCl-priming) or distilled water (hydro-priming). For both priming treatments, the ABA content in the seeds increased during treatment but rapidly decreased after sowing. Both during and after the priming treatments, the ABA levels in the hydro-primed seeds and NaCl-primed seeds were not significantly different. The expression levels of SlGA20ox1, SlGA3ox1 and SlGA3ox2 were significantly enhanced in the NaCl-primed seeds compared to the hydro-primed seeds. The GA(4) content was quantifiable after both types of priming, indicating that GA(4) is the major bioactive GA molecule involved in tomato seed germination. The GA(4) content was significantly higher in the NaCl-primed seeds than in the hydro-primed seeds 12h after sowing and thereafter. Additionally, the peak expression levels of SlEXP4, SlGulB, SlMAN2 and SlXTH4 occurred earlier and were significantly higher in the NaCl-primed seeds than in the hydro-primed seeds. These results suggest that the observed effect of NaCl-priming on tomato seed germination is caused by an increase of the GA(4) content via GA biosynthetic gene activation and a subsequent increase in the expression of genes related to endosperm cap weakening.