THE INFLUENCE OF PHONOLOGICAL SIMILARITY IN ADULTS LEARNING WORDS IN A SECOND LANGUAGE

Neighborhood density refers to the number of similar sounding words to a target word (Luce & Pisoni, 1998) and influences first language word learning in adults learning English (Storkel, Armbruster, & Hogan, 2006). There are two processes in word learning: lexical configuration and lexical engagement (Leach & Samuel, 2007). Lexical configuration refers to the speaker learning the sounds of the word. Lexical engagement refers to when the novel word is integrated into the lexicon and participates in lexical processes such as competition. The present work is the first to examine how neighborhood density influences lexical configuration and lexical engagement in second language word learning. Third-semester Spanish students performed four word learning tasks. The present results suggest neighborhood density influences lexical configuration and lexical engagement where words from a dense neighborhood are learned more accurately than words from a sparse neighborhood. The psycholinguistic and pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed

Phonological similarity influences word learning in adults learning Spanish as a foreign language

Neighborhood density—the number of words that sound similar to a given word (Luce & Pisoni, 1998)—influences word-learning in native English speaking children and adults (Storkel, 2004; Storkel, Armbruster, & Hogan, 2006): novel words with many similar sounding English words (i.e., dense neighborhood) are learned more quickly than novel words with few similar sounding English words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). The present study examined how neighborhood density influences word-learning in native English speaking adults learning Spanish as a foreign language. Students in their third-semester of Spanish language classes learned advanced Spanish words that sounded similar to many known Spanish words (i.e., dense neighborhood) or sounded similar to few known Spanish words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). In three word-learning tasks, performance was better for Spanish words with dense rather than sparse neighborhoods. These results suggest that a similar mechanism may be used to learn new words in a native and a foreign language

The Beginning Spanish Lexicon: A Web-based interface to calculate phonological similarity among Spanish words in adults learning Spanish as a foreign language

A number of resources provide psycholinguistic researchers with information about the words that the typical child or adult knows in a variety of languages. What is currently not available is a resource that provides information about the words that a typical adult learning a foreign language knows. We created such a resource for Spanish: The Beginning Spanish Lexicon. The present report describes the words contained in this web-accessible resource, and the information about those words provided by the interface. This information is freely accessible at: http://www.people.ku.edu/~mvitevit/BegSpanLex.htm

Tau blocks traffic of organelles, neurofilaments, and APP vesicles in neurons and enhances oxidative stress

We studied the effect of microtubule-associated tau protein on trafficking of vesicles and organelles in primary cortical neurons, retinal ganglion cells, and neuroblastoma cells. Tau inhibits kinesin-dependent transport of peroxisomes, neurofilaments, and Golgi-derived vesicles into neurites. Loss of peroxisomes makes cells vulnerable to oxidative stress and leads to degeneration. In particular, tau inhibits transport of amyloid precursor protein (APP) into axons and dendrites, causing its accumulation in the cell body. APP tagged with yellow fluorescent protein and transfected by adenovirus associates with vesicles moving rapidly forward in the axon (∼80%) and slowly back (∼20%). Both movements are strongly inhibited by cotransfection with fluorescently tagged tau (cyan fluorescent protein–tau) as seen by two-color confocal microscopy. The data suggests a linkage between tau and APP trafficking, which may be significant in Alzheimer's disease

Water quality in the central Nebraska basins, Nebraska, 1992-95

This report is intended to summarize major findings that emerged between 1992 and 1995 from the water-quality assessment of the Central Nebraska Basins Study Unit and to relate these findings to water-quality issues of regional and national concern. The information is primarily intended for those who are involved in waterresource management. Indeed, this report addresses many of the concerns raised by regulators, water-utility managers, industry representatives, and other scientists, engineers, public officials, and members of stakeholder groups who provided advice and input to the USGS during this NAWQA Study-Unit investigation. Yet, the information contained here may also interest those who simply wish to know more about the quality of water in the rivers and aquifers in the area where they live. Land use in central Nebraska appears to affect water quality significantly; streams in rangelands generally had fewer occurrences and smaller concentrations of pesticides than did streams in croplands where corn and soybeans were planted extensively. Subbasins with greater proportions of rangeland, such as the Dismal River, had negligible herbicide concentrations. The largest pesticide concentrations were in storm runoff following pesticide applications. Because some pesticide concentrations may exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) drinking-water Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) in storm runoff, the timing and intensity of rainfall has implications for drinking-water supplies. Pesticides in streams from storm runoff may enter alluvial aquifers as a consequence of ground-water withdrawals. Sites with degraded water chemistry commonly had degraded physical habitats as well. Streamflow regulation of the Platte River has affected water quality through habitat alterations that are deleterious to native species. The combination of degraded physical and chemical environments commonly resulted in structurally simple fish communities. CONTENTS National Water-Quality Assessment Program .. 1 Summary of major issues and findings... 2 Environmental setting and hydrologic conditions.... 4 Major issues and findings ... 6 Nitrate content in water is related to agricultural land management 6 Agricultural activities potentially affect the management of public water supplies . 8 Water quality in the Platte River alluvial aquifer may be affected by surface-water quality in areas of ground-water withdrawals .. 10 Aquatic environments potentially are altered by human activities... 12 Aquatic and migratory species are affected directly by changes in the physical characteristics of the Platte River .. 14 Water-quality conditions in anational context ... 16 Study design and data collection .. 20 Summary of compound detections and concentrations ... 22 References . 28 Glossary 3

Different pathways of molecular pathophysiology underlie cognitive and motor tauopathy phenotypes in transgenic models for Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited. Acknowledgments From the Berlin Laboratory, we thank Ingo Voigt for performing the injections of the two constructs into the oocytes, Bettina Seelhorst for her extensive technical assistance, Anna Thoma for taking specific care of the animals, and John Horn, Charite Core Facility for electron microscopy for performing expert analyses in ultra-cryosections with immunogold technique. Expert comments on the manuscript from Silke Frahm-Barske (Berlin) are also acknowledged. Special thanks to Bob Switzer at NeuroScience Associates Inc. for embedding, sectioning and staining mouse brains. This work was funded by TauRx Therapeutics, Singapore. C.R.H. and C.M.W. declare that they are officers in TauRx Therapeutics Ltd.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Enhancement of outflow facility in the murine eye by targeting selected tight-junctions of Schlemm's canal endothelia

The juxtacanalicular connective tissue of the trabecular meshwork together with inner wall endothelium of Schlemm’s canal (SC) provide the bulk of resistance to aqueous outflow from the anterior chamber. Endothelial cells lining SC elaborate tight junctions (TJs), down-regulation of which may widen paracellular spaces between cells, allowing greater fluid outflow. We observed significant increase in paracellular permeability following siRNA-mediated suppression of TJ transcripts, claudin-11, zonula-occludens-1 (ZO-1) and tricellulin in human SC endothelial monolayers. In mice claudin-11 was not detected, but intracameral injection of siRNAs targeting ZO-1 and tricellulin increased outflow facility significantly. Structural qualitative and quantitative analysis of SC inner wall by transmission electron microscopy revealed significantly more open clefts between endothelial cells treated with targeting, as opposed to non-targeting siRNA. These data substantiate the concept that the continuity of SC endothelium is an important determinant of outflow resistance, and suggest that SC endothelial TJs represent a specific target for enhancement of aqueous movement through the conventional outflow system

Pain Management in Patients with Cancer: Focus on Opioid Analgesics

Cancer pain is generally treated with pharmacological measures, relying on using opioids alone or in combination with adjuvant analgesics. Weak opioids are used for mild-to-moderate pain as monotherapy or in a combination with nonopioids. For patients with moderate-to-severe pain, strong opioids are recommended as initial therapy rather than beginning treatment with weak opioids. Adjunctive therapy plays an important role in the treatment of cancer pain not fully responsive to opioids administered alone (ie, neuropathic, bone, and visceral colicky pain). Supportive drugs should be used wisely to prevent and treat opioids’ adverse effects. Understanding the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, interactions, and cautions with commonly used opioids can help determine appropriate opioid selection for individual cancer patients