Why Um Helps Auditory Word Recognition: The Temporal Delay Hypothesis

Several studies suggest that speech understanding can sometimes benefit from the presence of filled pauses (uh, um, and the like), and that words following such filled pauses are recognised more quickly. Three experiments examined whether this is because filled pauses serve to delay the onset of upcoming words and these delays facilitate auditory word recognition, or whether the fillers themselves serve to signal upcoming delays in a way which informs listeners' reactions. Participants viewed pairs of images on a computer screen, and followed recorded instructions to press buttons corresponding to either an easy (unmanipulated, with a high-frequency name) or a difficult (visually blurred, low-frequency) image. In all three experiments, participants were faster to respond to easy images. In 50% of trials in each experiment, the name of the image was directly preceded by a delay; in the remaining trials an equivalent delay was included earlier in the instruction. Participants were quicker to respond when a name was directly preceded by a delay, regardless of whether this delay was filled with a spoken um, was silent, or contained an artificial tone. This effect did not interact with the effect of image difficulty, nor did it change over the course of each experiment. Taken together, our consistent finding that delays of any kind help word recognition indicates that natural delays such as fillers need not be seen as ‘signals’ to explain the benefits they have to listeners' ability to recognise and respond to the words which follow them

Detection and localization of early- and late-stage cancers using platelet RNA

Cancer patients benefit from early tumor detection since treatment outcomes are more favorable for less advanced cancers. Platelets are involved in cancer progression and are considered a promising biosource for cancer detection, as they alter their RNA content upon local and systemic cues. We show that tumor-educated platelet (TEP) RNA-based blood tests enable the detection of 18 cancer types. With 99% specificity in asymptomatic controls, thromboSeq correctly detected the presence of cancer in two-thirds of 1,096 blood samples from stage I–IV cancer patients and in half of 352 stage I–III tumors. Symptomatic controls, including inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, and benign tumors had increased false-positive test results with an average specificity of 78%. Moreover, thromboSeq determined the tumor site of origin in five different tumor types correctly in over 80% of the cancer patients. These results highlight the potential properties of TEP-derived RNA panels to supplement current approaches for blood-based cancer screening

Sturing, waardering en beloning van duurzaamheid in de landbouw met kritische prestatie-indicatoren

This report explores the options to steer, valuate and remunerate sustainability services of farmers, with a view to develop a critical performance indicators (CPI) system for facilitating the transition to circular agriculture. To this end, the relevant governance and legislative boundaries (Common Agricultural Policy [CAP], state aid and competition legislation) were investigated. Since December 2021, EU legislation offers enhanced flexibility in this respect. National financial support for sustainability services may now be channeled through the CAP National Strategic Plan, in principle without any ceiling or state aid notification, if agreed by the European Commission. In addition, sustainability agreements in the agricultural production chain are no longer prohibited (cartel formation) but, within certain conditions, have become a right. As regards the CAP and state aid, a 20% margin on top of the costs incurred and income foregone may in certain situations be applied as an incentive for participation. The CPI system may be employed in several ways for influencing behaviour of farmers and may be applied in all four previously identified domains (area- specific initiatives, market-oriented initiatives, application in the framework of the CAP, application in the form of derogations to legal requirements). For legal reasons, private and public funding may however not be combined in a joint expenditure system. Every private and public instrument is bound to its own specific legal, governance and accountability constraints in EU legislation. Nevertheless, CPI development is highly valuable as a common language for defining targets and measuring performance. In addition, societal transaction costs may be reduced through simpler and faster agreement on systems and definitions

Differential response of four carnation cultivars to races 1 and 2 of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi and to Phialophora cinerescens

The responses of four carnation cultivars to infection with races 1 or 2 of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi and with Phialophora cinerescens were investigated. Four and nine days after stem inoculation with the different wilt pathogens, 5 cm stem segments were extracted and analysed for the accumulation of dianthalexins and dianthramides by HPLC, and approximately 1 mm3 blocks of xylem tissue were sampled and analysed by pyrolysis-mass spectrometry. Analysis of wilt development over a two-month period confirmed the differential responses of the cultivars to the pathogen isolates. The level of accumulation of the dianthramides was determined partly by the cultivar and partly by the invading pathogen and was not related to the level of symptoms developed. P. cinerescens induced the highest dianthramide concentrations, followed by F. oxysporum f.sp. dianthi, race 2. Race 1 elicited slight dianthramide accumulation and was less inhibited by them in vitro than was P. cinerescens. Pyrolysis-mass spectrometry indicated lignin degradation by all fungi and confirmed, in increasing order, induction of dianthramide phytoalexin accumulation in plants infected with F. oxysporum f.sp. dianthi race 1, race 2 and P. cinerescens. Irrespective of the pathogen, each inoculated cultivar showed a unique pattern of demethylation and degradation of pectin, degradation of lignin and hemicellulose, and changes in polysaccharide-bound phenolic acids

Sustainability agreements in agriculture : Horizontal and vertical agreements in agriculture for the benefit of nature, the environment, the climate, animal welfare and the earning capacity of farmers

Enhancing the sustainability of agriculture requires a better earning capacity for farmers. Besides government (i.e. taxpayer) support for sustainable production, consumers will have to buy the more expensive sustainable products and the extra price they pay will have to be passed on to the producer through the chain. This will require sustainability agreements between farmers and chain parties, complementary to existing initiatives and labels. This study examines the scope for lawful private sustainability agreements. Under the cartel prohibition in the EU Treaty, the possibilities are limited and insufficiently workable in practice. The CMO regulation offers several derogations to the cartel prohibition, which provide opportunities for farmers and farmers' associations to make sustainability agreements. In the 2021 CAP review, that space has been extended with an article (210a) added specifically for this purpose. This offers great opportunities. The agreements must be ambitious, exceed existing legal requirements and must be made by or with farmers (mutual agreements within the retail or processing industry without participation of farmers remain under the cartel prohibition). Another condition is that the agreements are indispensable to achieve the stated sustainability objective (no greenwashing). In addition, other derogations in the CMO regulation can be used, in particular for recognised producer organisations (Art. 152) and other farmers' associations (Art. 209) in combination with value distribution clauses (Art. 172a). Better prices for farmers for sustainable products mean higher costs for consumers for their food. However, making agriculture more sustainable also leads to societal benefits and financial space to compensate citizens who cannot afford higher food prices

Duurzaamheidsafspraken in de landbouw : horizontale en verticale overeenkomsten in de landbouw ten behoeve van natuur, milieu, klimaat, dierenwelzijn en het verdienvermogen van de agrarisch ondernemer

Voor verduurzaming van de landbouw is een goed verdienvermogen voor de landbouwers nodig. Naast steun van de overheid (dus de belastingbetaler) voor duurzame productie, zullen consumenten de duurdere duurzame producten ook moeten afnemen en zal de meerprijs die zij betalen via de keten moeten worden doorgegeven aan de producent. Daarvoor zijn duurzaamheidsafspraken nodig tussen landbouwers en ketenpartijen, aanvullend aan bestaande initiatieven en keurmerken. In dit onderzoek wordt de ruimte onderzocht om rechtmatig private duurzaamheidsafspraken te maken. Onder het kartelverbod in het EU-verdrag is die ruimte beperkt en onvoldoende werkbaar in de praktijk. De GMO-verordening biedt verschillende derogaties op het kartelverbod, die mogelijkheden bieden aan landbouwers en verenigingen van landbouwers om duurzaamheidsafspraken te maken. In de GLB-herziening van 2021 is die ruimte uitgebreid met een artikel (210bis), dat speciaal voor dit doel is toegevoegd. Dit biedt grote kansen. Het moet gaan om ambitieuze bovenwettelijke initiatieven en de afspraken moeten worden gemaakt vanuit of met de landbouwers (onderlinge afspraken binnen de retail of de verwerkende industrie zonder de landbouwers blijven vallen onder het kartelverbod). Voorwaarde is ook dat de afspraken in hun uitwerking onontbeerlijk zijn om het gestelde duurzaamheidsdoel te realiseren (geen greenwashing). Daarnaast kunnen andere derogaties in de GMO-verordening worden benut, met name voor erkende producentenorganisaties (Art. 152) en andere verenigingen van landbouwers (Art. 209) in combinatie met waardeverdelingclausules (Art. 172bis). Betere prijzen voor landbouwers voor duurzame producten betekenen hogere kosten voor de consument voor diens voedsel. Verduurzaming van de landbouw leidt echter ook tot maatschappelijke voordelen en financiële ruimte om burgers te compenseren die door de hogere voedselprijzen in de knel komen

Naar een doeltreffend en doelmatig Nationaal Strategisch Plan : Effectenanalyse van beleidsvarianten voor de Nederlandse invulling van het nieuwe GLB

The review of the EU Common Agricultural Policy requires Member States to develop a national strategic plan, implementing the economic, ecological and social objectives of the Strategic Plans Regulation in the form of targets for their specific situation. Suitable interventions need to be selected and EU and national budget allocated to those interventions. In order to support the authorities in the policy-making process, an analysis was carried out of the objectives, needs and challenges for the Netherlands’ agriculture, the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of available interventions, policy options and the economic, ecological and social impact of those options. Recommendations are made how to best use the Netherlands’ CAP budget from a perspective of effectiveness and efficiency

Prosodic cues for morphological complexity: The case of Dutch plural nouns

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