TY - GEN A1 - Abutalebi, Jubin A1 - Clahsen, Harald T1 - Bilingualism, cognition, and aging T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Extract: Topics in psycholinguistics and the neurocognition of language rarely attract the attention of journalists or the general public. One topic that has done so, however, is the potential benefits of bilingualism for general cognitive functioning and development, and as a precaution against cognitive decline in old age. Sensational claims have been made in the public domain, mostly by journalists and politicians. Recently (September 4, 2014) The Guardian reported that “learning a foreign language can increase the size of your brain”, and Michael Gove, the UK's previous Education Secretary, noted in an interview with The Guardian (September 30, 2011) that “learning languages makes you smarter”. The present issue of BLC addresses these topics by providing a state-of-the-art overview of theoretical and experimental research on the role of bilingualism for cognition in children and adults. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 508 Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-414730 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 508 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Acevedo, Walter A1 - Reich, Sebastian A1 - Cubasch, Ulrich T1 - Towards the assimilation of tree-ring-width records using ensemble Kalman filtering techniques T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - This paper investigates the applicability of the Vaganov–Shashkin–Lite (VSL) forward model for tree-ring-width chronologies as observation operator within a proxy data assimilation (DA) setting. Based on the principle of limiting factors, VSL combines temperature and moisture time series in a nonlinear fashion to obtain simulated TRW chronologies. When used as observation operator, this modelling approach implies three compounding, challenging features: (1) time averaging, (2) “switching recording” of 2 variables and (3) bounded response windows leading to “thresholded response”. We generate pseudo-TRW observations from a chaotic 2-scale dynamical system, used as a cartoon of the atmosphere-land system, and attempt to assimilate them via ensemble Kalman filtering techniques. Results within our simplified setting reveal that VSL’s nonlinearities may lead to considerable loss of assimilation skill, as compared to the utilization of a time-averaged (TA) linear observation operator. In order to understand this undesired effect, we embed VSL’s formulation into the framework of fuzzy logic (FL) theory, which thereby exposes multiple representations of the principle of limiting factors. DA experiments employing three alternative growth rate functions disclose a strong link between the lack of smoothness of the growth rate function and the loss of optimality in the estimate of the TA state. Accordingly, VSL’s performance as observation operator can be enhanced by resorting to smoother FL representations of the principle of limiting factors. This finding fosters new interpretations of tree-ring-growth limitation processes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 892 KW - proxy forward modeling KW - data assimilation KW - fuzzy logic KW - ensemble Kalman filter KW - paleoclimate reconstruction Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-436363 SN - 1866-8372 VL - 46 IS - 892 SP - 1909 EP - 1920 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Aichner, Bernhard A1 - Feakins, Sarah J. A1 - Lee, J. E. A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Liu, X. T1 - High-resolution leaf wax carbon and hydrogen isotopic record of the late Holocene paleoclimate in arid Central Asia T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Central Asia is located at the confluence of large-scale atmospheric circulation systems. It is thus likely to be highly susceptible to changes in the dynamics of those systems; however, little is still known about the regional paleoclimate history. Here we present carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of n-alkanoic acids from a late Holocene sediment core from Lake Karakuli (eastern Pamir, Xinjiang Province, China). Instrumental evidence and isotopeenabled climate model experiments with the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique Zoom model version 4 (LMDZ4) demonstrate that delta D values of precipitation in the region are influenced by both temperature and precipitation amount. We find that these parameters are inversely correlated on an annual scale, i.e., the climate has varied between relatively cool and wet and more warm and dry over the last 50 years. Since the isotopic signals of these changes are in the same direction and therefore additive, isotopes in precipitation are sensitive recorders of climatic changes in the region. Additionally, we infer that plants use year-round precipitation (including snowmelt), and thus leaf wax delta D values must also respond to shifts in the proportion of moisture derived from westerly storms during late winter and early spring. Downcore results give evidence for a gradual shift to cooler and wetter climates between 3.5 and 2.5 cal kyr BP, interrupted by a warm and dry episode between 3.0 and 2.7 kyr BP. Further cool and wet episodes occur between 1.9 and 1.5 and between 0.6 and 0.1 kyr BP, the latter coeval with the Little Ice Age. Warm and dry episodes from 2.5 to 1.9 and 1.5 to 0.6 kyr BP coincide with the Roman Warm Period and Medieval Climate Anomaly, respectively. Finally, we find a drying tend in recent decades. Regional comparisons lead us to infer that the strength and position of the westerlies, and wider northern hemispheric climate dynamics, control climatic shifts in arid Central Asia, leading to complex local responses. Our new archive from Lake Karakuli provides a detailed record of the local signatures of these climate transitions in the eastern Pamir. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 506 KW - North-Atlantic climate KW - Aral Sea basin KW - delta-D values KW - last 15 kyr KW - athmospheric circulation KW - ice core KW - moisture evolution KW - lipid biomarkers KW - Tibetan Plateau KW - Eastern pamirs Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-408442 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 506 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Alter, S. Elizabeth A1 - Meyer, Matthias A1 - Post, Klaas A1 - Czechowski, Paul A1 - Gravlund, Peter A1 - Gaines, Cork A1 - Rosenbaum, Howard C. A1 - Kaschner, Kristin A1 - Turvey, Samuel T. A1 - van der Plicht, Johannes A1 - Shapiro, Beth A1 - Hofreiter, Michael T1 - Climate impacts on transocean dispersal and habitat in gray whales from the Pleistocene to 2100 T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Arctic animals face dramatic habitat alteration due to ongoing climate change. Understanding how such species have responded to past glacial cycles can help us forecast their response to today's changing climate. Gray whales are among those marine species likely to be strongly affected by Arctic climate change, but a thorough analysis of past climate impacts on this species has been complicated by lack of information about an extinct population in the Atlantic. While little is known about the history of Atlantic gray whales or their relationship to the extant Pacific population, the extirpation of the Atlantic population during historical times has been attributed to whaling. We used a combination of ancient and modern DNA, radiocarbon dating and predictive habitat modelling to better understand the distribution of gray whales during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Our results reveal that dispersal between the Pacific and Atlantic was climate dependent and occurred both during the Pleistocene prior to the last glacial period and the early Holocene immediately following the opening of the Bering Strait. Genetic diversity in the Atlantic declined over an extended interval that predates the period of intensive commercial whaling, indicating this decline may have been precipitated by Holocene climate or other ecological causes. These first genetic data for Atlantic gray whales, particularly when combined with predictive habitat models for the year 2100, suggest that two recent sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic may represent the beginning of the expansion of this species' habitat beyond its currently realized range. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 965 KW - ancient DNA KW - climate change KW - last glacial maximum KW - marine mammal Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-438920 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 965 SP - 1510 EP - 1522 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Andersen, Jane Lund A1 - Egholm, David L. A1 - Faurschou Knudsen, Mads A1 - Jansen, John D. A1 - Nielsen, S. B. T1 - The periglacial engine of mountain erosion BT - Part 1: Rates of frost cracking and frost creep T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - With accelerating climate cooling in the late Cenozoic, glacial and periglacial erosion became more widespread on the surface of the Earth. The resultant shift in erosion patterns significantly changed the large-scale morphology of many mountain ranges worldwide. Whereas the glacial fingerprint is easily distinguished by its characteristic fjords and U-shaped valleys, the periglacial fingerprint is more subtle but potentially prevails in some mid- to high-latitude landscapes. Previous models have advocated a frost-driven control on debris production at steep headwalls and glacial valley sides. Here we investigate the important role that periglacial processes also play in less steep parts of mountain landscapes. Understanding the influences of frost-driven processes in low-relief areas requires a focus on the consequences of an accreting soil mantle, which characterises such surfaces. We present a new model that quantifies two key physical processes: frost cracking and frost creep, as a function of both temperature and sediment thickness. Our results yield new insights into how climate and sediment transport properties combine to scale the intensity of periglacial processes. The thickness of the soil mantle strongly modulates the relation between climate and the intensity of mechanical weathering and sediment flux. Our results also point to an offset between the conditions that promote frost cracking and those that promote frost creep, indicating that a stable climate can provide optimal conditions for only one of those processes at a time. Finally, quantifying these relations also opens up the possibility of including periglacial processes in large-scale, long-term landscape evolution models, as demonstrated in a companion paper. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 530 KW - soil production function KW - mantled hillslopes KW - sediment transport KW - southern Alps KW - New-Zealand KW - ice-sheet KW - bedrock KW - model KW - rock KW - evolution Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409656 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 530 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Arslan, Seçkin A1 - Bastiaanse, Roelien A1 - Felser, Claudia T1 - Looking at the evidence in visual world BT - eye-movements reveal how bilingual and monolingual Turkish speakers process grammatical evidentiality T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - This study presents pioneering data on how adult early bilinguals (heritage speakers) and late bilingual speakers of Turkish and German process grammatical evidentiality in a visual world setting in comparison to monolingual speakers of Turkish. Turkish marks evidentiality, the linguistic reference to information source, through inflectional affixes signaling either direct (-DI) or indirect (-mls) evidentiality. We conducted an eyetracking-during-listening experiment where participants were given access to visual 'evidence' supporting the use of either a direct or indirect evidential form. The behavioral results indicate that the monolingual Turkish speakers comprehended direct and indirect evidential scenarios equally well. In contrast, both late and early bilinguals were less accurate and slower to respond to direct than to indirect evidentials. The behavioral results were also reflected in the proportions of looks data. That is, both late and early bilinguals fixated less frequently on the target picture in the direct than in the indirect evidential condition while the monolinguals showed no difference between these conditions. Taken together, our results indicate reduced sensitivity to the semantic and pragmatic function of direct evidential forms in both late and early bilingual speakers, suggesting a simplification of the Turkish evidentiality system in Turkish heritage grammars. We discuss our findings with regard to theories of incomplete acquisition and first language attrition. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 408 KW - evidentiality KW - information source KW - inference KW - witnessing KW - visual world paradigm KW - eye-movements KW - Turkish-German bilingualism Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-406307 IS - 408 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Banerjee, Shiladitya A1 - Stüker, Tony A1 - Saalfrank, Peter T1 - Vibrationally resolved optical spectra of modified diamondoids obtained from time-dependent correlation function methods N2 - Optical properties of modified diamondoids have been studied theoretically using vibrationally resolved electronic absorption, emission and resonance Raman spectra. A time-dependent correlation function approach has been used for electronic two-state models, comprising a ground state (g) and a bright, excited state (e), the latter determined from linear-response, time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). The harmonic and Condon approximations were adopted. In most cases origin shifts, frequency alteration and Duschinsky rotation in excited states were considered. For other cases where no excited state geometry optimization and normal mode analysis were possible or desired, a short-time approximation was used. The optical properties and spectra have been computed for (i) a set of recently synthesized sp2/sp3 hybrid species with C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double-bond connected saturated diamondoid subunits, (ii) functionalized (mostly by thiol or thione groups) diamondoids and (iii) urotropine and other C-substituted diamondoids. The ultimate goal is to tailor optical and electronic features of diamondoids by electronic blending, functionalization and substitution, based on a molecular-level understanding of the ongoing photophysics. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 211 Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-86826 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bartoloni, Marco A1 - Jin, Xian A1 - Marcaida, Maria José A1 - Banha, Joao A1 - Dibonaventura, Ivan A1 - Bongoni, Swathi A1 - Bartho, Kathrin A1 - Gräbner, Olivia A1 - Sefkow, Michael A1 - Darbre, Tamis A1 - Reymond, Jean-Louis T1 - Bridged bicyclic peptides as potential drug scaffolds BT - synthesis, structure, protein binding and stability N2 - Double cyclization of short linear peptides obtained by solid phase peptide synthesis was used to prepare bridged bicyclic peptides (BBPs) corresponding to the topology of bridged bicyclic alkanes such as norbornane. Diastereomeric norbornapeptides were investigated by 1H-NMR, X-ray crystallography and CD spectroscopy and found to represent rigid globular scaffolds stabilized by intramolecular backbone hydrogen bonds with scaffold geometries determined by the chirality of amino acid residues and sharing structural features of β-turns and α-helices. Proteome profiling by capture compound mass spectrometry (CCMS) led to the discovery of the norbornapeptide 27c binding selectively to calmodulin as an example of a BBP protein binder. This and other BBPs showed high stability towards proteolytic degradation in serum. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 197 Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81239 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Battarbee, Richard W. A1 - Lamb, Henry F. A1 - Bennett, Keith A1 - Edwards, Mary A1 - Bjune, Anne E. A1 - Kaland, Peter E. A1 - Berglund, Björn E. A1 - Lotter, André F. A1 - Seppä, Heikki A1 - Willis, Kathy J. A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Birks, Hilary H. T1 - John Birks BT - pioneer in quantitative palaeoecology T2 - The Holocene N2 - We describe the career of John Birks as a pioneering scientist who has, over a career spanning five decades, transformed palaeoecology from a largely descriptive to a rigorous quantitative science relevant to contemporary questions in ecology and environmental change. We review his influence on students and colleagues not only at Cambridge and Bergen Universities, his places of primary employment, but also on individuals and research groups in Europe and North America. We also introduce the collection of papers that we have assembled in his honour. The papers are written by his former students and close colleagues and span many of the areas of palaeoecology to which John himself has made major contributions. These include the relationship between ecology and palaeoecology, late-glacial and Holocene palaeoecology, ecological succession, climate change and vegetation history, the role of palaeoecological techniques in reconstructing and understanding the impact of human activity on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and numerical analysis of multivariate palaeoecological data. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 420 KW - climate change KW - ecosystem history KW - Holocene KW - late-glacial KW - numerical data analysis KW - palaeoecology KW - palaeolimnology Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-404544 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Mühlbauer, Thomas A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Association of dual-task walking performance and leg muscle quality in healthy children N2 - Background Previous literature mainly introduced cognitive functions to explain performance decrements in dual-task walking, i.e., changes in dual-task locomotion are attributed to limited cognitive information processing capacities. In this study, we enlarge existing literature and investigate whether leg muscular capacity plays an additional role in children’s dual-task walking performance. Methods To this end, we had prepubescent children (mean age: 8.7 ± 0.5 years, age range: 7–9 years) walk in single task (ST) and while concurrently conducting an arithmetic subtraction task (DT). Additionally, leg lean tissue mass was assessed. Results Findings show that both, boys and girls, significantly decrease their gait velocity (f = 0.73), stride length (f = 0.62) and cadence (f = 0.68) and increase the variability thereof (f = 0.20-0.63) during DT compared to ST. Furthermore, stepwise regressions indicate that leg lean tissue mass is closely associated with step time and the variability thereof during DT (R2 = 0.44, p = 0.009). These associations between gait measures and leg lean tissue mass could not be observed for ST (R2 = 0.17, p = 0.19). Conclusion We were able to show a potential link between leg muscular capacities and DT walking performance in children. We interpret these findings as evidence that higher leg muscle mass in children may mitigate the impact of a cognitive interference task on DT walking performance by inducing enhanced gait stability. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 270 KW - Gait KW - Cognitive interference KW - Body composition KW - Muscle mass KW - Children Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-75100 ER -