1,456 research outputs found
Collectivity, distributivity, and the interpretation of numerical expressions in child and adult language
No full textSentences containing plural numerical expressions (e.g., two boys) can give rise to two interpretations (collective and distributive), arising from the fact that their representation admits of a part-whole structure. We present the results of a series of experiments designed to explore children’s understanding of this distinction and its implications for the acquisition of linguistic expressions with number words. We show that preschoolers access both interpretations, indicating that they have the requisite linguistic and conceptual machinery to generate the corresponding representations. Furthermore, they can shift their interpretation in response to structural and lexical manipulations. However, they are not fully adult-like: unlike adults, they are drawn to the distributive interpretation, and are not yet fully aware of the lexical semantics of each and together, which should favor one or another interpretation. This research bridges a gap between a well-established body of work in cognitive psychology on the acquisition of number words and more recent work investigating children’s knowledge of the syntactic and semantic properties of sentences featuring numerical expressions.Peer reviewe
Entretiens avec Julien Gaillard
No full textEntretiens avec Julien Gaillard, locuteur du patois de Valjouffrey, en vue d'explicitation de vocabulaire, syntaxe et prononciation
All together now: disentangling semantics and pragmatics with together in child and adult language
No full textThe way in which an event is packaged linguistically can be informative about the number of participants in the event and the nature of their participation. At times, however, a sentence is ambiguous, and pragmatic information weighs in to favor one interpretation over another. Whereas adults may readily know how to pick up on such cues to meaning, children – who are generally naïve to such pragmatic nuances – may diverge and access a broader range of interpretations, or one disfavored by adults. A number of cases come to us from a now well established body of research on scalar implicatures and scopal ambiguity. Here, we complement this previous work with a previously uninvestigated example of the semantic-pragmatic divide in language development arising from the interpretation of sentences with pluralities and together. Sentences such as Two boys lifted a block (together) allow for either a Collective or a Distributive interpretation (one pushing event vs. two spatio temporally coordinated events). We show experimentally that children allow both interpretations in sentences with together, whereas adults rule out the Distributive interpretation without further contextual motivation. However, children appear to be guided by their semantics in the readings they access, since they do not allow readings that are semantically barred. We argue that they are unaware of the pragmatic information adults have at their fingertips, such as the conversational implicatures arising from the presence of a modifier, the probability of its occurrence being used to signal a particular interpretation among a set of alternatives, and knowledge of the possible lexical alternatives.This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Language Acquisition on 02 July 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10489223.2015.1067319.Peer reviewe
Cycling in the Heat
No full textThe sport of cycling involves many sub-disciplines (e.g. road and mountain) incorporating different events (e.g. road racing, time trialling, cross-country). When undertaken in the heat, performance in endurance events is progressively impaired relative to temperate conditions, whereas sprint performance may be improved in the absence of marked hyperthermia. Several pathways mediate these adjustments in performance and will be discussed in this chapter. The role of thermal strain will also be discussed as it pertains to exertional heat illness, along with countermeasures to minimise its risk and optimise performance. Differences between cycling in a laboratory and in the field will also be addressed and contextualised.<br/
Which account of wh-/quantifier interaction should everyone adopt? A new take on a classic developmental puzzle
No full textQuantifiers are expressions that denote number and quantity. When quantifiers interact with each other or with other logical expressions in a sentence, the resulting interpretation may be ambiguous. In this paper, we focus on young chilren’s understanding of the interaction of the universal quantifiers every and each with wh-expressions (who, which) in questionsPeer reviewe
Influence of heat stress and exercise intensity on vastus lateralis muscle and prefrontal cortex oxygenation
No full textThis study examined whether a rise in thermal and cardiovascular strain during exercise to exhaustion in the heat at different intensities is associated with compromised muscle and cerebral oxygenation. Using near-infrared spectroscopy, oxygenation changes in the vastus lateralis and prefrontal cortex of ten subjects cycling to exhaustion in 40 °C conditions at 60 % (H60%) and 75 % (H75%) maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂(max)) and for 60 min in 18 °C conditions at 60 % VO₂(max) (C60%) were examined. Thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses were also monitored. Rectal temperature reached 38.1 °C in the C60% trial, 39.7 °C (~60 min) and 39.0 °C (~27 min) in the H60% and H75% trials, respectively (P < 0.001). The core-to-skin temperature gradient was similarly narrow (~0.9 °C) at exhaustion in the heat, occurring >97 % of maximum heart rate and accompanied by significant declines in stroke volume, cardiac output and mean arterial pressure (P < 0.01). Vastus lateralis oxygen saturation (SmO(2)) declined at the onset of exercise in all conditions, remaining similarly depressed at exhaustion in the heat. Prefrontal cortex oxygen saturation (ScO(2)) was ~10 % lower at exhaustion in the H60% and H75% trials compared with C60% (P < 0.01), which remained above baseline from 15 min onward. These findings indicate that changes in SmO(2) and ScO(2) are associated with the development of thermal and cardiovascular strain during exercise to exhaustion in the heat, which is accelerated by exercise intensity. In locomotor muscles, a potential reduction in oxygen delivery may develop, whereas in the brain, the progressive reduction in ScO(2) may induce mental fatigue.</p
The effect of exercise intensity on post-exercise skin blood flow control
No full textExercise induces a residual post-exercise increase in the core temperature threshold at which cutaneous vasodilation and sweating begins. The hypothesis that exercise intensity causes a parallel increase in the post-exercise onset threshold for cutaneous vasodilation mediated by an attenuation of active vasodilator activity, was tested in nine subjects. The effect of exercise intensity on the esophageal temperature threshold for the onset of sweating was also evaluated. Esophageal temperature was monitored as an index of core temperature while sweat rate was measured using a ventilated capsule placed on the upper back. Increases in forearm skin blood flow and mean arterial blood pressure were measured and used to calculate cutaneous vascular conductance at two superficial sites, one with intact alpha-adrenergic vasoconstrictor activity and one infused with bretylium tosylate. On four separate days, subjects either remained seated for 35 min or performed 15 min treadmill running at 55, 70 or 85% VO2max followed by 20 min seated recovery. A liquid conditioned suit was used to increase mean skin temperature until cutaneous vasodilation and sweating occurred. It is concluded that intensity of exercise has a prolonged residual effect on the post-exercise vasomotor and sudomotor response by increasing the esophageal temperature at which onset of vasodilation and sweating occurs. Furthermore, the post-exercise increase in onset threshold for vasodilation is likely caused by an attenuation of active vasodilator activity modulated by baroreceptor reflexes in response to post-exercise hypotension
The effect of exercise intensity on post-exercise skin blood flow control
No full textExercise induces a residual post-exercise increase in the core temperature threshold at which cutaneous vasodilation and sweating begins. The hypothesis that exercise intensity causes a parallel increase in the post-exercise onset threshold for cutaneous vasodilation mediated by an attenuation of active vasodilator activity, was tested in nine subjects. The effect of exercise intensity on the esophageal temperature threshold for the onset of sweating was also evaluated. Esophageal temperature was monitored as an index of core temperature while sweat rate was measured using a ventilated capsule placed on the upper back. Increases in forearm skin blood flow and mean arterial blood pressure were measured and used to calculate cutaneous vascular conductance at two superficial sites, one with intact alpha-adrenergic vasoconstrictor activity and one infused with bretylium tosylate. On four separate days, subjects either remained seated for 35 min or performed 15 min treadmill running at 55, 70 or 85% VO2max followed by 20 min seated recovery. A liquid conditioned suit was used to increase mean skin temperature until cutaneous vasodilation and sweating occurred. It is concluded that intensity of exercise has a prolonged residual effect on the post-exercise vasomotor and sudomotor response by increasing the esophageal temperature at which onset of vasodilation and sweating occurs. Furthermore, the post-exercise increase in onset threshold for vasodilation is likely caused by an attenuation of active vasodilator activity modulated by baroreceptor reflexes in response to post-exercise hypotension
Neural and Muscular Function in the Heat
No full textThe development of hyperthermia impacts on several aspects of neural and muscular function. Hyperthermia has been shown to impair cognitive performances during complex planning or working memory tasks. This is likely due to the cognitive load imposed by heat stress limiting the available resources available to perform such tasks. However, cognitive function in the heat may be protected or preserved when chronically exposed to heat stress. During acute exercise in the heat, cerebral blood flow may become compromised when intensity is elevated, leading to a suppression of arousal and disengagement to a task. The development of hyperthermia also induces a supraspinal failure in sustaining neural drive during prolonged muscle contractions. As with some aspects of cognitive function, part of this supraspinal failure may be recovered following heat acclimation. Hyperthermia also induces peripheral alterations in neural drive transmission. These peripheral alterations are likely due to a faster nerve conduction velocity when temperature increases and are not affected by heat acclimation. There are also changes occurring at the level of the skeletal muscle when temperature increases, with an increase in contraction and relaxation velocity. Although a rise in muscle temperature can increase muscle power production, whole-body hyperthermia reduces performance and may affect motor control. Finally, an increase in muscle temperature has also been shown to trigger signalling cascades regulating myofibrillar and mitochondrial mass
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