Contending with foreign accent variability in early lexical acquisition.

By their second birthday, children are beginning to map meaning to form with relative ease. One challenge for these developing abilities is separating information relevant to word identity (i.e. phonemic information) from irrelevant information (e.g. voice and foreign accent). Nevertheless, little is known about toddlers’ abilities to ignore irrelevant phonetic detail when faced with the demanding task of word learning. In an experiment with English-learning toddlers, we examined the impact of foreign accent on word learning. Findings revealed that while toddlers aged 2; 6 successfully generalized newly learned words spoken by a Spanish-accented speaker and a native English speaker, success of those aged 2;0 was restricted. Specifically, toddlers aged 2;0 failed to generalize words when trained by the native English speaker and tested by the Spanish-accented speaker. Data suggest that exposure to foreign accent in training may promote generalization of newly learned forms. These findings are considered in the context of developmental changes in early word representations

Arctic warming by abundant fine sea salt aerosols from blowing snow

The Arctic warms nearly four times faster than the global average, and aerosols play an increasingly important role in Arctic climate change. In the Arctic, sea salt is a major aerosol component in terms of mass concentration during winter and spring. However, the mechanisms of sea salt aerosol production remain unclear. Sea salt aerosols are typically thought to be relatively large in size but low in number concentration, implying that their influence on cloud condensation nuclei population and cloud properties is generally minor. Here we present observational evidence of abundant sea salt aerosol production from blowing snow in the central Arctic. Blowing snow was observed more than 20% of the time from November to April. The sublimation of blowing snow generates high concentrations of fine-mode sea salt aerosol (diameter below 300 nm), enhancing cloud condensation nuclei concentrations up to tenfold above background levels. Using a global chemical transport model, we estimate that from November to April north of 70° N, sea salt aerosol produced from blowing snow accounts for about 27.6% of the total particle number, and the sea salt aerosol increases the longwave emissivity of clouds, leading to a calculated surface warming of +2.30 W m−2 under cloudy sky conditions

The role of variability in voice and foreign accent in the development of early word representations

This dissertation details 10 experiments that examine the impact of variability in voice and foreign accent on the word recognition abilities of English-learning 9- and 13-month-olds (Experiments 1 – 6) and the word learning abilities of English-learning 24- and 30-month-olds (Experiments 7-10). The findings reveal evidence about the flexibility of infants’ and toddlers’ representations across development, particularly when confronted with subphonemic and suprasegmental variability. Further, the pattern of results provides support for two functional reorganizations of young children’s phonological and lexical representations in which representations seem to progress from highly specific to abstract in accommodating extraneous acoustic variability

PAPER Toddlers recognize words in an unfamiliar accent after brief exposure

Abstract Both subjective impressions and previous research with monolingual listeners suggest that a foreign accent interferes with word recognition in infants, young children, and adults. However, because being exposed to multiple accents is likely to be an everyday occurrence in many societies, it is unexpected that such non-standard pronunciations would significantly impede language processing once the listener has experience with the relevant accent. Indeed, we report that 24-month-olds successfully accommodate an unfamiliar accent in rapid word learning after less than 2 minutes of accent exposure. These results underline the robustness of our speech perception mechanisms, which allow listeners to adapt even in the absence of extensive lexical knowledge and clear known-word referents

Linguistic processing of accented speech across the lifespan

In most of the world, people have regular exposure to multiple accents. Therefore, learning to quickly process accented speech is a prerequisite to successful communication. In this paper, we examine work on the perception of accented speech across the lifespan, from early infancy to late adulthood. Unfamiliar accents initially impair linguistic processing by infants, children, younger adults, and older adults, but listeners of all ages come to adapt to accented speech. Emergent research also goes beyond these perceptual abilities, by assessing links with production and the relative contributions of linguistic knowledge and general cognitive skills. We conclude by underlining points of convergence across ages, and the gaps left to face in future work

The Lateral Capitellohumeral Angle in Normal Children: Mean, Variation, and Reliability in Comparison to Baumann\u27s Angle

Background Angular deformity is the most common complication of supracondylar humerus fracture. Baumann\u27s angle (BA) is an established radiographic measure of coronal plane deformity after this injury. Numerous radiographic methods have been used to assess sagittal plane deformity, however, the mean, variability, and reliability of these measures has not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine the mean, SD, and intraobserver/interobserver reliability of the lateral capitellohumeral angle (LCHA) in children without evidence of fracture and compare them with those of BA. Methods Seventy-one sets of anteroposterior and lateral elbow radiographs were selected and stratified into 6-year age categories with equal number of males and females in each category. Five physicians performed 3 separate measurements of LCHA and BA on each film set. Statistical calculations were performed to determine mean, SD, measurement reliability, and differences between patients groups. Results The mean LCHA ±1 SD and BA ±1 SD measurements were 50.8±6 degrees and 71.5±6.2 degrees, respectively, and did not vary significantly by age, side, or sex (P\u3e0.05). The LCHA showed good intraobserver (correlation coefficient 0.67) and fair interobserver (0.37) reliability, whereas BA showed excellent intraobserver (0.86) and interobserver (0.80) reliability. The expected SD for repeated measurement of a radiograph by a single observer was 2.6 degrees for BA and 5.2 degrees for LCHA. Conclusions The LCHA is a simple measurement to perform using digital tools. In normal elbows, the mean angle is 51±6 degrees and does not vary by age, side, or sex. LCHA variability in normal elbow radiographs is similar to BA. Its reliability is inferior to BA, but improves with age. Sagittal angulation abnormality of at least 12 degrees (\u3c39 or \u3e63 degrees) is necessary to be confident that the change is not because of measurement error alone. Further research is needed to better define the relationship of sagittal plane angular deformity to clinical outcome. Level of Evidence Diagnostic study with poor reference standard, Level I

The Lateral Capitellohumeral Angle in Normal Children: Mean, Variation, and Reliability in Comparison to Baumann\u27s Angle

Background Angular deformity is the most common complication of supracondylar humerus fracture. Baumann\u27s angle (BA) is an established radiographic measure of coronal plane deformity after this injury. Numerous radiographic methods have been used to assess sagittal plane deformity, however, the mean, variability, and reliability of these measures has not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine the mean, SD, and intraobserver/interobserver reliability of the lateral capitellohumeral angle (LCHA) in children without evidence of fracture and compare them with those of BA. Methods Seventy-one sets of anteroposterior and lateral elbow radiographs were selected and stratified into 6-year age categories with equal number of males and females in each category. Five physicians performed 3 separate measurements of LCHA and BA on each film set. Statistical calculations were performed to determine mean, SD, measurement reliability, and differences between patients groups. Results The mean LCHA ±1 SD and BA ±1 SD measurements were 50.8±6 degrees and 71.5±6.2 degrees, respectively, and did not vary significantly by age, side, or sex (P\u3e0.05). The LCHA showed good intraobserver (correlation coefficient 0.67) and fair interobserver (0.37) reliability, whereas BA showed excellent intraobserver (0.86) and interobserver (0.80) reliability. The expected SD for repeated measurement of a radiograph by a single observer was 2.6 degrees for BA and 5.2 degrees for LCHA. Conclusions The LCHA is a simple measurement to perform using digital tools. In normal elbows, the mean angle is 51±6 degrees and does not vary by age, side, or sex. LCHA variability in normal elbow radiographs is similar to BA. Its reliability is inferior to BA, but improves with age. Sagittal angulation abnormality of at least 12 degrees (\u3c39 or \u3e63 degrees) is necessary to be confident that the change is not because of measurement error alone. Further research is needed to better define the relationship of sagittal plane angular deformity to clinical outcome. Level of Evidence Diagnostic study with poor reference standard, Level I

Using Novel Molecular-Level Chemical Composition Observations of High Arctic Organic Aerosol for Predictions of Cloud Condensation Nuclei

Predictions of cloud droplet activation in the late summertime (September) central Arctic Ocean are made using κ-Kohler theory with novel observations of the aerosol chemical composition from a high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer with a filter inlet for gases and aerosols (FIGAERO-CIMS) and an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), deployed during the Arctic Ocean 2018 expedition onboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden. We find that the hygroscopicity parameter κ of the total aerosol is 0.39 ± 0.19 (mean ± std). The predicted activation diameter of ∼25 to 130 nm particles is overestimated by 5%, leading to an underestimation of the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration by 4-8%. From this, we conclude that the aerosol in the High Arctic late summer is acidic and therefore highly cloud active, with a substantial CCN contribution from Aitken mode particles. Variability in the predicted activation diameter is addressed mainly as a result of uncertainties in the aerosol size distribution measurements. The organic κ was on average 0.13, close to the commonly assumed κ of 0.1, and therefore did not significantly influence the predictions. These conclusions are supported by laboratory experiments of the activation potential of seven organic compounds selected as representative of the measured aerosol