Developmental changes in brain response to speech perception in late-talking children: A longitudinal MMR study

AbstractThis study used a longitudinal design to examine the development of mismatch responses (MMRs) to Mandarin lexical tones, an index of neural speech discriminative responses, in late talkers and typical controls at 3, 5, and 6 years of age. Lexical tones are phonetic suprasegments that distinguish the lexical meanings of syllables in tonal languages. The 2 year-old late talkers were later divided into persistent language delay and late bloomer groups according to their performance on standardized language tests at 4 years. Results showed that children with persistent language delay demonstrated more positive mismatch responses than the typical controls at 3 years of age. At the age of 5, no group difference were found in the amplitude of MMRs, but the maturation of MMRs could be observed in the change of topography, with more prominent negative response in the frontal sites only in the typical group. Correlations were found between the index of MMRs at 3 years and children’s language performance outcome at 6 years. Our results indicate that the development of fine-grained tone representations is delayed in late-talking children between 3 and 5 years and may be one of the underlying mechanisms which associated with later language performance

Quantitative trait locus mapping and candidate gene analysis for salt tolerance at bud stage in rice

Soil salinization has a serious influence on rice yield and quality. How to enhance salt tolerance in rice is a topical issue. In this study, 120 recombinant inbred line populations were generated through nonstop multi-generation selfing using a male indica rice variety Huazhan (Oryza sativa L. subsp. indica cv. ‘HZ’) and a female variety of Nekken2 (Oryza sativa L. subsp. japonica cv. ‘Nekken2’) as the parents. Germination under 80 mM NaCl conditions was measured and analyzed, and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping was completed using a genetic map. A total of 16 salt-tolerance QTL ranges were detected at bud stage in rice, which were situated on chromosomes 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. The maximum limit of detection was 4.69. Moreover, the qST12.3 was narrowed to a 192 kb region on chromosome 12 using map-based cloning strategy. Statistical analysis of the expression levels of these candidate genes under different NaCl concentrations by qRT-PCR revealed that qST12.3 (LOC_Os12g25200) was significantly down-regulated with increasing NaCl concentration, and the expression level of the chlorine-transporter-encoding gene LOC_Os12g25200 in HZ was significantly higher than that of Nekken2 under 0 mM NaCl. Sequencing analysis of LOC_Os12g25200 promoter region indicated that the gene expression difference between parents may be due to eight base differences in the promoter region. Through QTL mining and analysis, a plurality of candidate genes related to salt tolerance in rice was obtained, and the results showed that LOC_Os12g25200 might negatively regulate salt tolerance in rice. The results provide the basis for further screening and cultivation of salt-tolerant rice varieties and have laid the foundation for elucidating further molecular regulation mechanisms of salt tolerance in rice

Relire le mythe de l'alliance prusso-russe : les années 1864/1865

<p>(A) Grand average waveforms of the standard and deviant stimuli at midline electrodes (Fz & Cz), and (B) difference waveforms across three age groups to lexical tone contrast.</p

Bearing properties and influence laws of concrete-filled steel tubular arches for underground mining roadway support

The concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) arch is a new high-strength support form for a mine roadway in deep/soft rock stratum; however, the bearing characteristics have not been clearly elucidated for scientifically guiding field applications. Numerical simulation tests with 15 schemes shaped as a ‘half circle with two straight legs’ and 10 schemes shaped as a circle were conducted, and the main responses of the numerical model were verified by performing the laboratory tests to evaluate the basic CFST structures and global CFST arches. The bearing and failure behaviors of the CFST arches were studied, and the influence laws, in terms of the arch shape, size and lateral pressure coefficient λ, were further investigated. The results show that the bearing capacity of a circular arch is significantly higher than that of a straight-leg arch under a uniform load. Furthermore, the bearing capacity of the circular arch decreases considerably with the increase in the arch size or λ. In addition, the bearing capacity of a straight-leg arch decreases with the increase in the leg height and arch size; however, it first increases and later decreases with the increase in λ. The failure modes of all the arches correspond to the instability at the extreme point caused by the strength deterioration, except in the case of a circular arch under a uniform pressure, the failure mode of which corresponds to the instability at the branch points. Finally, the recommendations for the field practice are proposed and verified

Failure Mechanism and Optimization of Arch-Bolt Composite Support for Underground Mining Tunnel

Numerical simulation tests were performed on the arch-bolt combined supported mining tunnel through an improved numerical simulation approach. The typical soft rock roadway was took as the background, and the influencing factors such as ground stress level, lateral pressure coefficient, and support type and parameters were considered. The failure mechanism of a semicircular roadway with two straight walls was analyzed; results showed that the arch legs’ inward bending deformation and the arch-rock separation are the breakthrough of the global failure of the supporting system, and rock bolts breakage promoted the failure process. The effects of different controlling measures were analyzed including enlarging the bolt diameter, replacing the conventional bolts with energy-absorbing bolts, and setting arch locking bolts on the arch legs. The field test of the concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) arch-bolt composite support scheme was carried out in a high-stress soft rock roadway, and the results indicate the reliability of the main conclusions

Spectrograms of Mandarin speech stimuli used in the study.

<p>(A) The <i>consonant</i> differ only in the time at which maximum amplitude is reached during the initial frication portion (marked with red circles); (B) The <i>lexical tone</i> differ only in the pitch contour as reflected by the turning point of the fundamental frequency (F0) (blue lines and marked with red arrows).</p

Dyslipidemia awareness, treatment, control and influence factors among adults in the Jilin province in China: a cross-sectional study

Background In China, even though the prevalence of dyslipidemia among adults increased yearly and dyslipidemia being an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases among the Chinese population, however, the awareness, treatment and control of dyslipidemia are at low levels, and only limited studies on the influence factors associated with the awareness, treatment and control dyslipidemia in China have been carried out. Methods The analysis was based on a representative sample of 7138 adult subjects aged 18 ~ 79 years recruited from a cross-sectional study of chronic disease and risk factors among adults in the Jilin province in 2012. Chi-square test was used to compare the rates of dyslipidemia awareness, treatment and control between different characteristics of participants. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed separately for each group to explore the associations between participants\u27 characteristics and dyslipidemia awareness, treatment and control. Results Among participants with dyslipidemia, 11.6% were aware of the diagnosis, 8.4% were receiving treatment, and 34.8% had dyslipidemia controlled. Increase in age and BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 were by far the strongest risk factors associated with better awareness and treatment of dyslipidemia. Retirees were more likely to be aware of their dyslipidemia condition (OR = 1.255; 95% CI: 1.046, 1.506) and to be receiving treatment (OR = 1.367; 95% CI: 1.114, 1.676) than manual workers. A family history of dyslipidemia increased the likelihood of awareness (OR = 3.620; 95% CI: 2.816, 4.653) and treatment (OR = 3.298; 95% CI: 2.488, 4.371) of dyslipidemia. Alcohol drinking and physical activity were associated with a lower level of awareness and treatment. Cigarette smokers (OR = 0.501; 95% CI: 0.349, 0.719) and those with BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 (OR = 0.480; 95% CI: 0.326, 0.706) who received treatment were also associated with poor dyslipidemia control. Conclusion Our study highlights low levels of awareness, poor treatment and control of dyslipidemia among adults aged 18 ~ 79 in the Jilin province. Promotion of healthy lifestyles and establishment of a comprehensive strategy of screening, treatment and control of dyslipidemia is needed to reduce or prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease in the Jilin province