Lexical Diversity, Lexical Sophistication, and Predictability for Speech in Multiple Listening Conditions

When talkers anticipate that a listener may have difficulty understanding their speech, they adopt a speaking style typically described as “clear speech.” This speaking style includes a variety of acoustic modifications and has perceptual benefits for listeners. In the present study, we examine whether clear speaking styles also include modulation of lexical items selected and produced during naturalistic conversations. Our results demonstrate that talkers do, indeed, modulate their lexical selection, as measured by a variety of lexical diversity and lexical sophistication indices. Further, the results demonstrate that clear speech is not a monolithic construct. Talkers modulate their speech differently depending on the communication situation. We suggest that clear speech should be conceptualized as a set of speaking styles, in which talkers take the listener and communication situation into consideration

Project Report No. 43, Site Index Equations for Loblolly and Slash Pine Plantations in East Texas, Update: 1996

In this update, after combining the data from the two subplots comprising each ETPPRP plot, the number of age-height pairs available for this analysis is 1,520 loblolly and 658 slash. the It is anticipated that the equations in this :996 update may productivity of East Texas loblolly and slash pine plantations quantify in a more accurate and reliable manner than the four previous sets 0: equations

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE): Technical Overview

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) will expand the information space for study of cosmic sources, by adding linear polarization to the properties (time, energy, and position) observed in x-ray astronomy. Selected in 2017 January as a NASA Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX) mission, IXPE will be launched into an equatorial orbit in 2021. The IXPE mission will provide scientifically meaningful measurements of the x-ray polarization of a few dozen sources in the 2-8 keV band, including polarization maps of several x-ray-bright extended sources and phase-resolved polarimetry of many bright pulsating x-ray sources

Multidimensional signals and analytic flexibility: Estimating degrees of freedom in human speech analyses

Recent empirical studies have highlighted the large degree of analytic flexibility in data analysis which can lead to substantially different conclusions based on the same data set. Thus, researchers have expressed their concerns that these researcher degrees of freedom might facilitate bias and can lead to claims that do not stand the test of time. Even greater flexibility is to be expected in fields in which the primary data lend themselves to a variety of possible operationalizations. The multidimensional, temporally extended nature of speech constitutes an ideal testing ground for assessing the variability in analytic approaches, which derives not only from aspects of statistical modeling, but also from decisions regarding the quantification of the measured behavior. In the present study, we gave the same speech production data set to 46 teams of researchers and asked them to answer the same research question, resulting insubstantial variability in reported effect sizes and their interpretation. Using Bayesian meta-analytic tools, we further find little to no evidence that the observed variability can be explained by analysts’ prior beliefs, expertise or the perceived quality of their analyses. In light of this idiosyncratic variability, we recommend that researchers more transparently share details of their analysis, strengthen the link between theoretical construct and quantitative system and calibrate their (un)certainty in their conclusions

Crosslinking of branched PIM-1 and PIM-Py membranes for recovery of toluene from dimethyl sulfoxide by pervaporation

Branched forms of the archetypal polymer of intrinsic microporosity PIM-1 and the pyridinecarbonitrile-containing PIM-Py may be crosslinked under ambient conditions by palladium(II) acetate. Branched PIM-1 can arise in polymerizations of 5,5′,6,6′-tetrahydroxy-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethyl-1,1′-spirobisindane with tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile conducted at a high set temperature (160 °C) under conditions, such as high dilution, that lead to a lower-temperature profile over the course of the reaction. Membranes of PIM-1 and PIM-Py crosslinked with palladium acetate are sufficiently stable in organic solvents for use in the recovery of toluene from its mixture with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by pervaporation at 65 °C. With both PIM-1 and PIM-Py membranes, pervaporation gives high toluene/DMSO separation factors (around 10 with a 77 vol % toluene feed). Detailed analysis shows that the membranes themselves are slightly selective for DMSO and it is the high driving force for toluene evaporation that drives the separation