English Journal

Tolerance for inconsistency in foreign-accented speech.

Witteman MJ, Weber A, McQueen JM.Author information Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.AbstractAre listeners able to adapt to a foreign-accented speaker who has, as is often the case, an inconsistent accent? Two groups of native Dutch listeners participated in a cross-modal priming experiment, either in a consistent-accent condition (German-accented items only) or in an inconsistent-accent condition (German-accented and nativelike pronunciations intermixed). The experimental words were identical for both groups (words with vowel substitutions characteristic of German-accented speech); additional contextual words differed in accentedness (German-accented or nativelike words). All items were spoken by the same speaker: a German native who could produce the accented forms but could also pass for a Dutch native speaker. Listeners in the consistent-accent group were able to adapt quickly to the speaker (i.e., showed facilitatory priming for words with vocalic substitutions). Listeners in the inconsistent-accent condition showed adaptation to words with vocalic substitutions only in the second half of the experiment. These results indicate that adaptation to foreign-accented speech is rapid. Accent inconsistency slows listeners down initially, but a short period of additional exposure is enough for them to adapt to the speaker. Listeners can therefore tolerate inconsistency in foreign-accented speech.
Psychonomic bulletin & review.Psychon Bull Rev.2013 Nov 14. [Epub ahead of print]
Are listeners able to adapt to a foreign-accented speaker who has, as is often the case, an inconsistent accent Two groups of native Dutch listeners participated in a cross-modal priming experiment, either in a consistent-accent condition (German-accented items only) or in an inconsistent-accent co
PMID 24234167

Distinct β-sheet structure in protein aggregates determined by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

Shivu B, Seshadri S, Li J, Oberg KA, Uversky VN, Fink AL.Author information Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California , Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States.AbstractAttenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was used to study the conformation of aggregated proteins in vivo and in vitro. Several different protein aggregates, including amyloid fibrils from several peptides and polypeptides, inclusion bodies, folding aggregates, soluble oligomers, and protein extracts from stressed cells, were examined in this study. All protein aggregates demonstrate a characteristic new β structure with lower-frequency band positions. All protein aggregates acquire this new β band following the aggregation process involving intermolecular interactions. The β sheets in some proteins arise from regions of the polypeptide that are helical or non β in the native conformation. For a given protein, all types of the aggregates (e.g., inclusion bodies, folding aggregates, and thermal aggregates) showed similar spectra, indicating that they arose from a common partially folded species. All of the aggregates have some nativelike secondary structure and nonperiodic structure as well as the specific new β structure. The new β could be most likely attributed to stronger hydrogen bonds in the intermolecular β-sheet structure present in the protein aggregates.
Biochemistry.Biochemistry.2013 Aug 6;52(31):5176-83. doi: 10.1021/bi400625v. Epub 2013 Jul 22.
Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was used to study the conformation of aggregated proteins in vivo and in vitro. Several different protein aggregates, including amyloid fibrils from several peptides and polypeptides, inclusion bodies, folding aggregates
PMID 23837615

Simplified protein models: predicting folding pathways and structure using amino acid sequences.

Adhikari AN, Freed KF, Sosnick TR.Author information Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.AbstractWe demonstrate the ability of simultaneously determining a protein's folding pathway and structure using a properly formulated model without prior knowledge of the native structure. Our model employs a natural coordinate system for describing proteins and a search strategy inspired by the observation that real proteins fold in a sequential fashion by incrementally stabilizing nativelike substructures or "foldons." Comparable folding pathways and structures are obtained for the twelve proteins recently studied using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations [K. Lindorff-Larsen, S. Piana, R. O. Dror, D. E. Shaw, Science 334, 517 (2011)], with our calculations running several orders of magnitude faster. We find that nativelike propensities in the unfolded state do not necessarily determine the order of structure formation, a departure from a major conclusion of the molecular dynamics study. Instead, our results support a more expansive view wherein intrinsic local structural propensities may be enhanced or overridden in the folding process by environmental context. The success of our search strategy validates it as an expedient mechanism for folding both in silico and in vivo.
Physical review letters.Phys Rev Lett.2013 Jul 12;111(2):028103. Epub 2013 Jul 11.
We demonstrate the ability of simultaneously determining a protein's folding pathway and structure using a properly formulated model without prior knowledge of the native structure. Our model employs a natural coordinate system for describing proteins and a search strategy inspired by the observatio
PMID 23889448

Japanese Journal

大学生の英語発音に対する意識 : 知的な発音 VS. ネイティブレベルの発音

Yoshida Hiroko
大阪女学院短期大学紀要 (32), 147-159, 2003-03-01
… 自由論文Setting a goal of second language (L2) pronunciation learning for acquiring not nativelike pronunciation, but intelligible pronunciation is widely acknowledged by Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professionals (Morley, 1991). …
NAID 120002815625

AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORD-ASSOCIATION AND LEARNERS' LEXICAL DEVELOPMENT

Splichal Maurice L.,Butler-Tanaka Paul
仁愛大学研究紀要 1, 21-38, 2002-11-01
この論文は, 仁愛大学と福井工業高等専門学校の学生に対して実施された研究授業の結果に基づいて、言葉の連想と語彙の発達との関連性について論じたものである。これら二つのレベルの異なったL2 (第二外国語) 学習者, すなわち学習期間の違う二つのグループを比べることによって, 語彙の記憶とそれを情報として活用する能力に関して, グループによる違いが隼じるかどうかを検証しようとするものである。言語としての …
NAID 110004679528