A New Look at Japanese Conversational Styles: (In-)Direct Speech and Turn Management

Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: General Session and Parasession on Phonetics and Phonological Universals (1998

Collaborator of alternative reading frame protein (CARF) regulates early processing of pre-ribosomal RNA by retaining XRN2 (5′-3′ exoribonuclease) in the nucleoplasm

Collaborator of alternative reading frame protein (CARF) associates directly with ARF, p53, and/or human double minute 2 protein (HDM2), a ubiquitin-protein ligase, without cofactors and regulates cell proliferation by forming a negative feedback loop. Although ARF, p53, and HDM2 also participate in the regulation of ribosome biogenesis, the involvement of CARF in this process remains unexplored. In this study, we demonstrate that CARF associates with 5′-3′ exoribonuclease 2 (XRN2), which plays a major role in both the maturation of rRNA and the degradation of a variety of discarded pre-rRNA species. We show that overexpression of CARF increases the localization of XRN2 in the nucleoplasm and a concomitant suppression of pre-rRNA processing that leads to accumulation of the 5′ extended from of 45S/47S pre-rRNA and 5′-01, A0-1 and E-2 fragments of pre-rRNA transcript in the nucleolus. This was also observed upon XRN2 knockdown. Knockdown of CARF increased the amount of XRN2 in the nucleolar fraction as determined by cell fractionation and by immnocytochemical analysis. These observations suggest that CARF regulates early steps of pre-rRNA processing during ribosome biogenesis by controlling spatial distribution of XRN2 between the nucleoplasm and nucleolus

Skeletal muscle function and vitamin D

Age-related changes in muscle strength and physical functions, and the association between vitamin D status and skeletal muscle functions were investigated in 36 men (21-90 years old) and 52 women (21-104 years old). Significant ageing-related decreases in several skeletal muscle functions and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels were observed in both men and women. Cut-off values for the Timed up and go (TUG) test, walking speed, handgrip strength and Barthel Index (BI) detecting walking difficulties in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were 11.1 sec, 0.60 m / sec, 17.0 kg, and 90.0 in males, and 28.6 sec, 0.43 m / sec, 13.9 kg, and 67.5 in females, respectively. By comparing personal present data of muscle strength with these cut-off values, people can easily understand their process to walking difficulty. Therefore, these results are important and useful to avoid or to delay a handicapped and dependent status by improving the vitamin D level, rehabilitation and nursing care

Skeletal muscle mass and vitamin D

A clearer understanding of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) in middle-aged and elderly individuals is important for maintaining functionality. In the present study, age-related changes in SMM, the threshold of SMM with walking difficulty, intestinal nutrient absorption rate, and various serum factors were examined in Japanese populations of different ages. We used 24-h creatinine excretion as a measure of total body SMM. Age-related decreases in SMM, intestinal nutrient absorption rates, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations were significantly higher in women than in men. The cut-off values for SMM (kg), its percentage of total body weight (BW), the SMM index [SMMI] (Kg / m2), and creatinine height index (CHI) (%) in elderly individuals with walking difficulty were approximately 8-10 kg, 17-20% of BW, 3.9-4.6 kg / m2, and 44%, respectively. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were closely associated with SMM (kg, % of BW, kg / m2) and CHI (%) as well as the intestinal absorption rates of nitrogen (%) and phosphorus (%) in women, but not in men. The present results demonstrate that vitamin D is an important metabolic factor in skeletal muscle, and contributes to the optimal management of skeletal muscle and the prevention of sarcopenia

浸出温度と時間の違いによるスープ成分含量の変化

市販ブロイラー鶏もも挽肉200gに対して室温(23℃),60℃および沸とう温の水1lでそれぞれ浸出時間を10分,20分,40分および60分としてスープ(浸出液)を調製し,浸出液についてpH,固形物,灰分,総窒素, K, Na, Ca, Pの測定と味覚試験をおこなった結果1.pHに室温のものが比較的低く,時間とともに上昇したが,60℃と沸とう温のものは時間の影響はみられなかった。2.固形物,灰分および総窒素の浸出量は温度の高いものと経過時間の順に増加していた。3.固形物中の灰分の割合は温度の低いものほど高かった。4.固形物から灰分を引いたものの中の総窒素の割合は,温変の低いものほど高い傾向にあった。また,その割合は動物性食品の粗たんばく質の窒素含有率に近似していた。5. K, Na, CaおよびPの含量は, K>P>Na>Caの順であり,浸出率はKとNaは同じような傾向で各温度において最も高く, P, Caの順であった。6. K/Na値については,室温のものは,経過時間にしたがってわずか上昇していったが,60℃と沸とう温では時間による変化はみられなかった。また,材料のK/Na値と近似していった。7. Ca/P値については,全ての条件下で一定値を保っていたが,材料のCa/P値の方が高い値であった。8.味覚試験では危険率5%で沸とう温60分浸出のものはもっとも美味感があり,室温10分浸出のものはもっとも好ましくなかった

『しんにほんごのきそ』Iの「か文」文末イントネーション ―共通語話者の上昇調・非昇調についての聴覚的印象から―

　『しんにほんごのきそ』Iの会話文のうち,「か」疑問文の文末イントネーションについて,共通語話者の発音をテープにとり,調査者3名が聴覚的印象から上昇調か非昇調か判定して分析した。その結果,文末が上昇調で発話されない場合があること,その要因として音声的特徴,コミュニケーション機能,ディスコースのタイプの三つが取り出せることがわかった。また,調査者3名の間で,上昇と非昇の判定に不一致がおこること,その要因として「カ」の直前の音が無声化した場合に「カ」が強く聞こえ,これを上昇ととる聞き手がいること,コミュニケーション機能やディスコースの面から非昇調で発話される傾向の高い文は,あいまいな調子になりやすく結果として判定がゆれることが示唆された。　The three researchers in this project recorded Tokyo native speakers\u27 renditions of the -ka questions (sentences ending in -ka) taken from the conversations in the textbook, Shin Nihongo no Kiso I, and analyzed the sentences according to whether the sentence-final intonation was rising or non-rising. It was found that the sentences were not always spoken with a rising intonation and that this could be attributed to three possible reasons: phonetic considerations, communicative function, or discourse type. The three researchers\u27 perceptions of sentence-final intonation did not always agree. It is suggested that the reasons are, first, that when the sound immediately preceding -ka is de-voiced the -ka sounds stronger and is perceived by some listeners as rising intonation. Another possible explanation for the divergence of opinion is that sentences which tend to be spoken with non-rising intonation for communicative function or discourse considerations readily take on an indeterminate intonation, resulting in varying judgments