A limitation on reading as a source of linguistic input: Evidence from deaf learners

This paper identifies a general limitation on printed text as a source of input for language acquisition. The paper contends that printed material can only serve as a source of linguistic input to the extent that the learner is able to make use of phonological information in reading. Focusing on evidence from the acquisition of spoken language and literacy skills in deaf individuals, the paper explains why print is not an adequate source of input for language acquisition in learners with limited phonological knowledge of a spoken language

An Application For Screening Gradual-Onset Age-Related Hearing Loss

Objective. Less than 15% of adults in the USA over age 70 receive hearing screening; less than 20% of adults with hearing loss receive any form of treatment. Reasons vary, but affordability and accessibility are major barriers to intervention and treatment. This study provides data supporting a new adult hearing screening measure (NSRT®) that is self-administered, easy to use and focused on difficulties experienced in everyday speech communication. Methods. The NSRT® test materials are sentence-length utterances containing phonetic contrasts. The test requires respondents to determine whether sentences printed on a computer monitor are the same/different from sentences delivered as auditory stimuli through the computer sound card. The test is administered in quiet and +5 dB SNR background noise. Study participants were 120 adults aged 18 — 88 years. Results. Data obtained from the NSRT® testing experience are used to construct a pseudo audiogram. When the predicted hearing thresholds were compared with conventional, clinical pure-tone measures, the sensitivity and specificity of the NSRT® screening measure were 95% and 87%, respectively; diagnostic accuracy was 91%. Conclusions. The NSRT® can identify individuals with hearing loss through a simple screening process grounded in standards set by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The NSRT® is suitable for administration in clinical and nonclinical settings

Wiener algebra for the quaternions

We define and study the counterpart of the Wiener algebra in the quaternionic setting, both for the discrete and continuous case. We prove a Wiener-L\'evy type theorem and a factorization theorem. We give applications to Toeplitz and Wiener-Hopf operators

Convolution-type derivatives, hitting-times of subordinators and time-changed C0C_0-semigroups

In this paper we will take under consideration subordinators and their inverse processes (hitting-times). We will present in general the governing equations of such processes by means of convolution-type integro-differential operators similar to the fractional derivatives. Furthermore we will discuss the concept of time-changed $C_0$-semigroup in case the time-change is performed by means of the hitting-time of a subordinator. We will show that such time-change give rise to bounded linear operators not preserving the semigroup property and we will present their governing equations by using again integro-differential operators. Such operators are non-local and therefore we will investigate the presence of long-range dependence.Comment: Final version, Potential analysis, 201

Lieb-Thirring Bound for Schr\"odinger Operators with Bernstein Functions of the Laplacian

A Lieb-Thirring bound for Schr\"odinger operators with Bernstein functions of the Laplacian is shown by functional integration techniques. Several specific cases are discussed in detail.Comment: We revised the first versio

Weighted Dirac combs with pure point diffraction

A class of translation bounded complex measures, which have the form of weighted Dirac combs, on locally compact Abelian groups is investigated. Given such a Dirac comb, we are interested in its diffraction spectrum which emerges as the Fourier transform of the autocorrelation measure. We present a sufficient set of conditions to ensure that the diffraction measure is a pure point measure. Simultaneously, we establish a natural link to the theory of the cut and project formalism and to the theory of almost periodic measures. Our conditions are general enough to cover the known theory of model sets, but also to include examples such as the visible lattice points.Comment: 44 pages; several corrections and improvement

Normal families of functions and groups of pseudoconformal diffeomorphisms of quaternion and octonion variables

This paper is devoted to the specific class of pseudoconformal mappings of quaternion and octonion variables. Normal families of functions are defined and investigated. Four criteria of a family being normal are proven. Then groups of pseudoconformal diffeomorphisms of quaternion and octonion manifolds are investigated. It is proven, that they are finite dimensional Lie groups for compact manifolds. Their examples are given. Many charactersitic features are found in comparison with commutative geometry over $\bf R$ or $\bf C$.Comment: 55 pages, 53 reference

Lensless high-resolution on-chip optofluidic microscopes for Caenorhabditis elegans and cell imaging

Low-cost and high-resolution on-chip microscopes are vital for reducing cost and improving efficiency for modern biomedicine and bioscience. Despite the needs, the conventional microscope design has proven difficult to miniaturize. Here, we report the implementation and application of two high-resolution (≈0.9 μm for the first and ≈0.8 μm for the second), lensless, and fully on-chip microscopes based on the optofluidic microscopy (OFM) method. These systems abandon the conventional microscope design, which requires expensive lenses and large space to magnify images, and instead utilizes microfluidic flow to deliver specimens across array(s) of micrometer-size apertures defined on a metal-coated CMOS sensor to generate direct projection images. The first system utilizes a gravity-driven microfluidic flow for sample scanning and is suited for imaging elongate objects, such as Caenorhabditis elegans; and the second system employs an electrokinetic drive for flow control and is suited for imaging cells and other spherical/ellipsoidal objects. As a demonstration of the OFM for bioscience research, we show that the prototypes can be used to perform automated phenotype characterization of different Caenorhabditis elegans mutant strains, and to image spores and single cellular entities. The optofluidic microscope design, readily fabricable with existing semiconductor and microfluidic technologies, offers low-cost and highly compact imaging solutions. More functionalities, such as on-chip phase and fluorescence imaging, can also be readily adapted into OFM systems. We anticipate that the OFM can significantly address a range of biomedical and bioscience needs, and engender new microscope applications

Estimates in Beurling--Helson type theorems. Multidimensional case

We consider the spaces $A_p(\mathbb T^m)$ of functions $f$ on the $m$ -dimensional torus $\mathbb T^m$ such that the sequence of the Fourier coefficients $\hat{f}=\{\hat{f}(k), ~k \in \mathbb Z^m\}$ belongs to $l^p(\mathbb Z^m), ~1\leq p<2$. The norm on $A_p(\mathbb T^m)$ is defined by $\|f\|_{A_p(\mathbb T^m)}=\|\hat{f}\|_{l^p(\mathbb Z^m)}$. We study the rate of growth of the norms $\|e^{i\lambda\varphi}\|_{A_p(\mathbb T^m)}$ as $|\lambda|\rightarrow \infty, ~\lambda\in\mathbb R,$ for $C^1$ -smooth real functions $\varphi$ on $\mathbb T^m$ (the one-dimensional case was investigated by the author earlier). The lower estimates that we obtain have direct analogues for the spaces $A_p(\mathbb R^m)$