The influence of interfaces on the formation of bubbles in He-ion-irradiated Cu/Mo nanolayers

The role of immiscible Cu/Mo interfaces on the formation of helium (He) bubbles in ion-irradiated Cu/Mo 5?nm multilayers is examined. Interfaces significantly enhance the critical He concentration above which bubbles, approximately 1?nm in diameter, are detected via through-focus imaging in a transmission electron microscope. He-to-vacancy ratio affects the formation and distribution of He bubbles. The diameter of He bubbles in Cu appears to be slightly larger than that in Mo.     

Language selection in bilingual speech: evidence for inhibitory processes

Although bilinguals rarely make random errors of language when they speak, research on spoken production provides compelling evidence to suggest that both languages are active when only one language is spoken (e.g., [Poulisse, N. (1999). Slips of the tongue: Speech errors in first and second language production. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins]). Moreover, the parallel activation of the two languages appears to characterize the planning of speech for highly proficient bilinguals as well as second language learners. In this paper, we first review the evidence for cross-language activity during single word production and then consider the two major alternative models of how the intended language is eventually selected. According to language-specific selection models, both languages may be active but bilinguals develop the ability to selectively attend to candidates in the intended language. The alternative model, that candidates from both languages compete for selection, requires that cross-language activity be modulated to allow selection to occur. On the latter view, the selection mechanism may require that candidates in the nontarget language be inhibited. We consider the evidence for such an inhibitory mechanism in a series of recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies.     

Mixed-sided individuals with neuroticism sustain more unintentional injuries in India

Previous research has shown a positive association between unintentional injury liability and non‐right‐handedness (especially mixed‐handedness). Research has also shown neuroticism to be one of the main predictors of unintentional injuries. In the present study we investigated the relationship of the three variables—frequency of unintentional injuries, side bias, and neuroticism. Further, the study aimed at extending the findings of previous studies establishing a relationship between non‐right‐handedness and unintentional injuries to a similar pattern in other domains of side bias—footedness, eyedness, and earedness. Data were collected from a large sample (N = 3474) using the side bias questionnaire, the shorter version of Maudsley's Personality Inventory, and an unintentional injury checklist. Results revealed positive correlations between the frequency of unintentional injuries and mixed‐sidedness, followed by left‐sidedness and right‐sidedness in each of the four domains of side bias. Furthermore, an increase in the frequency of unintentional injuries was observed for mixed‐sided and left‐sided individuals with higher levels of neuroticism.     

Speed of processing of the visual-orthographic and auditory-phonological systems in adult dyslexics: the contribution of "asynchrony" to word recognition deficits

This study investigated whether "asynchrony" in speed of processing (SOP) between the visual-orthographic and auditory-phonological modalities contributes to word recognition deficits among adult dyslexics. Male university students with a history of diagnosed dyslexia were compared to age-matched normal readers on a variety of experimental measures while event-related potentials and reaction time data were collected. Measures were designed to evaluate auditory and visual processing for non-linguistic (tones and shapes) and linguistic (phonemes and graphemes) low-level stimuli as well as higher-level orthographic and phonological processing (in a lexical decision task). Data indicated that adult dyslexic readers had significantly slower reaction times and longer P300 latencies than control readers in most of the experimental tasks and delayed P200 latencies for the lexical decision task. Moreover, adult dyslexics revealed a systematic SOP gap in P300 latency between the auditory/phonological and visual/orthographic processing measures. Our data support and extend previous work that found SOP asynchrony to be an underlying factor of childhood dyslexia. The present data suggests, however, that among adult dyslexics the between modalities asynchrony occurs at later processing stages than in children.     

Sensitivity to auditory‐tactile colocation in early infancy

An ability to detect the common location of multisensory stimulation is essential for us to perceive a coherent environment, to represent the interface between the body and the external world, and to act on sensory information. Regarding the tactile environment “at hand”, we need to represent somatosensory stimuli impinging on the skin surface in the same spatial reference frame as distal stimuli, such as those transduced by vision and audition. Across two experiments we investigated whether 6‐ (n = 14; Experiment 1) and 4‐month‐old (n = 14; Experiment 2) infants were sensitive to the colocation of tactile and auditory signals delivered to the hands. We recorded infants’ visual preferences for spatially congruent and incongruent auditory‐tactile events delivered to their hands. At 6 months, infants looked longer toward incongruent stimuli, whilst at 4 months infants looked longer toward congruent stimuli. Thus, even from 4 months of age, infants are sensitive to the colocation of simultaneously presented auditory and tactile stimuli. We conclude that 4‐ and 6‐month‐old infants can represent auditory and tactile stimuli in a common spatial frame of reference. We explain the age‐wise shift in infants’ preferences from congruent to incongruent in terms of an increased preference for novel crossmodal spatial relations based on the accumulation of experience. A comparison of looking preferences across the congruent and incongruent conditions with a unisensory control condition indicates that the ability to perceive auditory‐tactile colocation is based on a crossmodal rather than a supramodal spatial code by 6 months of age at least.