The contribution of voice quality to the expression of politeness: an experimental study

This thesis investigates the role of voice quality in the expression of politeness under con¬ ditions of varying relative social status among Japanese male speakers. The thesis also sheds light on four important methodological issues: 1) experimental control of sociolinguistic aspects, 2) eliciting semi-natural spontaneous speech which satisfies naturalness, 3) recording quality suitable for voice quality analysis, and 4) the use of direct waveform and spectrum measurement as a non-invasive method for measuring glottal characteristics related to perceived voice quality.Japanese has been believed to rely on what has been called "negative politeness" (formality and deference). Since explicitly expressing deference under the Keigo (Japanese system of honorifics) requires mastery of a highly complex system, in daily conversation, this function may be taken over by vocal paralinguistics. Also, as the Keigo system is not supposed to convey "positive politeness" (friendliness and solidarity), vocal paralinguis¬ tics may contribute to this aspect of politeness. The use of high fundamental frequency (FO), which has been considered a universal cue of politeness, is more associated with femininity in Japanese, and this usage of FO is not observed in male speakers, who possibly employ other vocal cues to express politeness. Therefore this study focuses on voice quality of male speakers in expressing politeness.To obtain natural, unscripted utterances, the speech data were collected with the Map Task. This task also allows us to study the effect of manipulating relative social status differences among participants in the same community. For voice quality analysis, direct waveform and spectrum measurement (Hanson 1995) was employed. We mainly computed relative amplitudes of harmonics and formant peaks in the spectrum, as alternatives to certain well known parameters used in previous studies. We also measured FO and amplitude perturbations as possible indicators of voice quality.An experiment was conducted to observe the alignment between acoustic measures and the perceived politeness from both written and spoken versions of the utterances obtained from the Map Task. The results suggest two principal findings. First, Keigo does not play a role in conveying politeness in everyday conversation, but speakers showed politeness through voice quality variations. Second, in judging the politeness of test utterances, listeners reacted to the irregularity of the waveform and spectral characteristics in the third formant region. In particular, the speakers' spectral tilt range and correlation coefficient between ratings of politeness and spectral tilt are anti-proportional, and extremely large or small spectral tilt values were consistently perceived as not appropriate when addressing social superiors. These results are expected to contribute to both sociolinguistics and speech technology, such as speech synthesis

Enhanced Expression of Integrin αvβ3 Induced by TGF-β Is Required for the Enhancing Effect of Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 (FGF1) in TGF-β-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Mammary Epithelial Cells.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a critical role in cancer metastasis, and is regulated by growth factors such as transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and fibroblast growth factors (FGF) secreted from the stromal and tumor cells. However, the role of growth factors in EMT has not been fully established. Several integrins are upregulated by TGF-β1 during EMT. Integrins are involved in growth factor signaling through integrin-growth factor receptor crosstalk. We previously reported that FGF1 directly binds to integrin αvβ3 and the interaction was required for FGF1 functions such as cell proliferation and migration. We studied the role of αvβ3 induced by TGF-β on TGF-β-induced EMT. Here, we describe that FGF1 augmented EMT induced by TGF-β1 in MCF10A and MCF12A mammary epithelial cells. TGF-β1 markedly amplified integrin αvβ3 and FGFR1 (but not FGFR2). We studied if the enhancing effect of FGF1 on TGF-β1-induced EMT requires enhanced levels of both integrin αvβ3 expression and FGFR1. Knockdown of β3 suppressed the enhancement by FGF1 of TGF-β1-induced EMT in MCF10A cells. Antagonists to FGFR suppressed the enhancing effect of FGF1 on EMT. Integrin-binding defective FGF1 mutant did not augment TGF-β1-induced EMT in MCF10A cells. These findings suggest that enhanced integrin αvβ3 expression in addition to enhanced FGFR1 expression is critical for FGF1 to augment TGF-β1-induced EMT in mammary epithelial cells

Effects of Ligands on Unfolding of the Amyloid β-Peptide Central Helix: Mechanistic Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Polymerization of the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ), a process which requires that the helical structure of Aβ unfolds beforehand, is suspected to cause neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. According to recent experimental studies, stabilization of the Aβ central helix counteracts Aβ polymerization into toxic assemblies. The effects of two ligands (Dec-DETA and Pep1b), which were designed to bind to and stabilize the Aβ central helix, on unfolding of the Aβ central helix were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. It was quantitatively demonstrated that the stability of the Aβ central helix is increased by both ligands, and more effectively by Pep1b than by Dec-DETA. In addition, it was shown that Dec-DETA forms parallel conformations with β-strand-like Aβ, whereas Pep1b does not and instead tends to bend unwound Aβ. The molecular dynamics results correlate well with previous experiments for these ligands, which suggest that the simulation method should be useful in predicting the effectiveness of novel ligands in stabilizing the Aβ central helix. Detailed Aβ structural changes upon loss of helicity in the presence of the ligands are also revealed, which gives further insight into which ligand may lead to which path subsequent to unwinding of the Aβ central helix

KEGIATAN PERTUKARAN MAHASISWA MERDEKA ANGKATAN 2

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah bagaimana kegiatan seorang mahasiswa dalam melaksanakan program Kemendikbud yaitu program Pertukaran Mahasiswa Merdeka untuk mendapatkan ilmu pengetahuan dan pengalaman-pengalaman yang baru dalam menerapkannya kepada masyarakat. Pertukaran Mahasiswa Merdeka merupakan program pertukaran mahasiswa selama satu semester dari satu pulau ke pulau lainnya guna memberikan pengalaman kebinekaan serta system alih kredit maksimal sebanyak maksimal 20 sks. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana kegiatan pertukaran mahasiswa dalam mengikuti program Pertukaran Mahasiswa Merdeka. Adapun kegiatan yang dilakukan dalam Program Pertukaran Mahasiswa yaitu mahasiswa berkesempatan menjelajahi maupun mengunjungi kebudayaan yang ada di luar pulau, mahasiswa mendapatkan pengalaman belajar di luar Perguruan tinggi asal,mahasiswa mendapatkan relasi dan mahasiswa mengenal  dan memahami kebudayaan luar daerah, serta meningkatkan kebinekaan maupun toleransi

〔研究ノート〕大量調理時における調理器具と加熱時間の相違が茹でもやしの品質に及ぼす影響

Purpose: Tests were performed in a large scale cooking site to determine the proper cooking time and equipment for heating vegetables in such a way that their required natural flavor, fresh color, optimal softness and taste remain.Methods: The samples were soy bean sprouts (moyashi) which are commonly used in cafeteria food services. The cooking equipment tested were a tilting kettle and a steam convection oven. To each 4kg of moyashi was added and heated for 1–16 min. Without submerging the boiled moyashi in water, the samples were cooled down to 10℃, and the taste was functionally evaluated.Results and Discussion: Among the moyashi heated in the tilting kettle, the sample heated for 2 min. gained the highest evaluation. Among those heated in the convection oven, the sample heated for 8 min gained the highest evaluation. The authors deem these the most suitable heating times for these items.　　The advantage of using the tilting kettle is that it requires shorter heating time to produce tasty boiled vegetables at a lower cost. The advantages of using the steam convection oven are that it is time-saving (totally from preparation to finish), and that it reduces the injury risk such as burns since the users need not to boil the water, and that it causes less increase in room temperature and humidity. The authors suggest that, despite the test result showing a slight decline in taste, the steam convection oven is more suitable for students of large scale cooking training course since it allows them to prepare boiled vegetables more safely and quickly

A Study for Professional Matters of Area Related to“ Language” in Kindergarten Teacher-Training Course

　2019 年度に改訂された幼稚園教諭養成の教職課程に設置される「領域及び保育内容の指導法に関する科目」は，「領域に関する専門的事項」と「保育内容の指導法（情報機器及び教材の活用を含む。）」より構成される。本研究では，従来の「教科に関する科目」が撤廃されたことにより新設された「領域に関する専門的事項」の科目において，具体的にどのような専門知識の学修を要するかについて，「保育内容の指導法」のモデルカリキュラム，及び新幼稚園教育要領の記載内容に照らして検討した。その結果，養成課程の学生自身が領域「言葉」のねらいや内容等を専門的見地から理解して保育実践のための知識や技能を修得することに加え，感じたり，考えたり等の体験的な学びから幼児の視点で言葉の世界をイメージする内容を授業に取り入れる必要性を見出した

Temporal and Spatial Expression Patterns of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 3 in Developing Zebrafish

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are important elements in bone biology. We herein report the expression profiles of zebrafish bmp3 (zbmp3) as demonstrated by real-time PCR and in situ hybridization. The expression of zbmp3 was highly detectable by real-time PCR from 1 day post-fertilization (1 dpf) to 2 weeks post-fertilization (2 wpf) and peaked at 1 wpf. For in situ hybridization experiments, zbmp3 was expressed in the otic vesicle at 1 dpf, 2 dpf, 3 dpf, and 5 dpf. It was also expressed in the pharyngeal arches, including the opercle, branchiostegal ray, and pectoral fins, at 2 dpf. Our results suggest that zbmp3 may play an important role in the skeletal biology of developing zebrafish