Individual differences in L2 listening proficiency revisited: Roles of form, meaning, and use aspects of phonological vocabulary knowledge

The present study revisits the differential roles of form, meaning, and use aspects of phonological vocabulary knowledge in L2 listening proficiency. A total of 126 Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language listeners completed the TOEIC Listening test, working memory and auditory processing tests, the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire, and several tasks designed to tap into three broad aspects of phonological vocabulary knowledge: (1) the ability to access phonological forms without any orthographic cues (phonologization), (2) the ability to recognize words regardless of the talker (generalization), and (3) the ability to determine the semantic and collocational appropriateness of words in global contexts in a fast and stable manner (automatization). Whereas the perceptual, cognitive, and metacognitive variables made relatively small contributions to L2 listening proficiency (0.4%–21.3%), the vocabulary factors explained a large amount of the variance (77.6%) in the full regression model (R2 = .507). These large lexical effects uniquely derived from the three different aspects of phonological vocabulary knowledge—automatization (55.3%), phonologization (20.8%), and generalization (1.5%). The findings suggest that successful L2 listening skill acquisition draws on not only various levels of phonological form-meaning mapping (phonologization, generalization) but also the spontaneous and robust retrieval of such vocabulary knowledge in relation to surrounding words (automatization)

Cool core disturbed: Observational evidence for coexistence of sub-sonic sloshing gas and stripped shock-heated gas around the core of RX J1347.5-1145

RXJ1347.5-1145 (z = 0.451) is one of the most luminous X-ray galaxy clusters, which hosts a prominent cool core and exhibits a signature of a major merger. We present the first direct observational evidence for sub-sonic nature of sloshing motion of the cool core. We find that a residual X-ray image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory after removing the global emission shows a clear dipolar pattern characteristic of gas sloshing, whereas we find no significant residual in the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) image from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We estimate the equation of state of perturbations in the gas from the X-ray and SZE residual images. The inferred velocity is 420 +310 -420 km s-1, which is much lower than the adiabatic sound speed of the intracluster medium in the core. We thus conclude that the perturbation is nearly isobaric, and gas sloshing motion is consistent with being in pressure equilibrium. Next, we report evidence for gas stripping of an infalling subcluster, which likely shock-heats gas to high temperature well in excess of 20 keV. Using mass distribution inferred from strong lensing images of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we find that the mass peak is located away from the peak position of stripped gas with statistical significance of > 5{\sigma}. Unlike for the gas sloshing, the velocity inferred from the equation of state of the excess hot gas is comparable to the adiabatic sound speed expected for the 20 keV intracluster medium. All of the results support that the southeast substructure is created by a merger. On the other hand, the positional offset between the mass and the gas limits the self-interaction cross section of dark matter to be less than 3.7 h-1 cm2 g-1 (95% CL).Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Meson-baryon couplings and the F/DF/D ratio from QCD sum rules

Motivated by the recent work on the calculation of the $\pi NN$ coupling constant using QCD sum rule beyond the chiral limit, we construct the corresponding sum rules for the couplings, $\eta NN$, $\pi \Xi\Xi$, $\eta \Xi\Xi$, $\pi \Sigma \Sigma$ and $\eta \Sigma \Sigma$. In constructing the $\eta$-baryon sum rules, we use the second moment of the $\eta$ wave function, which we obtain from the pion wave function after SU(3) rotation. In the SU(3) symmetric limit, we can identify the term responsible for the $F/D$ ratio in the OPE, which after the sum rule analysis gives $F/D\sim 0.2$, a factor of 3 smaller than from other studies. We also present a qualitative analysis including the SU(3) breaking terms.Comment: 24 pages including 6 figures, slightly revised, to appear in Nuclear Physics

"Matkalla jo jutellaan, mitähän mielenkiintoista taas saa kuulla" : Äänikirjalukupiiri Vaasan kaupunginkirjastossa

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää kvalitatiivisten menetelmien avulla lukupiiriläisten kokemuksellisuutta. Opinnäytetyössäni painotettiin äänikirjojen lukemisen kokemuksellisuutta. Vertailututkimuksessa käytettiin perinteisempää, painettuja teoksia lukevaa kirjallisuuspiiriä. Tutkimusongelmaan pyrittiin hakemaan vastauksia seuraavien kysymysten kautta: miksi halutaan kuulua lukupiirin, mitä luetaan, millaisista aiheista keskustellaan, kuinka lukupiirissä lukeminen eroaa yksinlukemisesta, mikä merkitys lukupiirin kuulumisella ja siihen liittyvällä kanssakäymisellä on, ja miten äänikirjalukeminen koetaan. Lisäksi selvitettiin, kuinka äänikirjalukupiirissä lukeminen eroaa niin sanotussa perinteisessä lukupiirissä lukemisesta. Kvalitatiivisina tutkimusmetodeina käytettiin havainnointia ja haastatteluja. Äänikirjalukupiirissä havainnointitapaamisia oli kaksi ja vertailulukupiirissä yksi kerta. Molemmista lukupiireistä haastattelin kuutta piiriläistä, eli yhteensä 12 jäsentä. Lukupiiriin kuulumisen perusteluja käsiteltiin seuraavien ulottuvuuksien kautta: lukemisen merkitys, kokemus lukijana, keskustelut lukukokemuksista ja muiden aiheiden merkitys, lukupiirin jäsenten välinen sosiaalinen kanssakäyminen sekä lukija yhteisöllisen lukupiirin jäsenenä. Tutkimustulosten mukaan lukupiireihin hakeuduttiin laajemman kirjallisuudentuntemuksen saamiseksi, yhteisen keskustelun ja lukukokemusten jakamisen vuoksi. Äänikirjalukupiiriin kuulumisessa korostettiin laajemman mahdollisuuden saamista kirjallisuuden harrastamiseen, aineiston tärkeää ja helppoa saamista kerhon kautta. Celian rinkiin pääsy kerhon kautta oli osa koettua merkitystä. Lukupiirien sosiaalisissa kontakteissa pyrittiin ” helppouteen perustuvaan ystävyyteen”, jossa ryhmään hakeudutaan viihtymään ja nauttimaan yhdessäolosta. Lukupiirien sosiaaliset suhteet koettiin työelämän suhteiden korvaajina. Koettiin oppimisen iloa, itsetuntemuksen lisääntymistä, antamisen ja auttamisen iloa. Muutostoiveet liitettiin keskustelun parantamiseen, tietoisuuden lisääntymiseen ja omaan oppimiseen.The aim of the study was to examine, through qualitative methods, experience among the literature circle. The thesis study emphasized experience during the reading of audio books. In addition, differences between an audio book circle and a traditional literature circle were studied. The research questions were the following: why the members want to participate in literature circles; what books are read; what kinds of issues are discussed; how reading in a literature circle differs from reading alone; what participating in a literature circle means to the participants, and what the participants thought about the listening of audio books. In addition, it was examined how the reading of audio books differs from reading in a traditional literature circle. I used qualitative methods, observation and interviews. I interviewed six members of an audio books circle and six members of the literature circle. Arguments for membership in a reading circle were analysed thought the following dimensions: the significance of reading, experience as a reader, discussions about reading experiences others methods meaning of the reading, experience as reader, discussions from read experiences and the significance of others topics, interaction between the members of the literature circles, and the reader as a member in a communal reading circle. According to the results, the interviewees joined the literature circles in order to improve their knowledge of literature, to have common discussions, and to share reading experiences. The members of the audio book circle emphasized the opportunity to take an interest in literature and easy access to materials through the club. Becoming a customer of Celia through the circle was part of its perceived significance. In the social contacts in the reading circles, “friendship based on easiness” was sought. The social relationships within the group were perceived as a substitute to relationships in working life

VGLL3 is a mechanosensitive protein that promotes cardiac fibrosis through liquid–liquid phase separation

Myofibroblasts cause tissue fibrosis by producing extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagens. Humoral factors like TGF-β, and matrix stiffness are important for collagen production by myofibroblasts. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating their ability to produce collagen remain poorly characterised. Here, we show that vestigial-like family member 3 (VGLL3) is specifically expressed in myofibroblasts from mouse and human fibrotic hearts and promotes collagen production. Further, substrate stiffness triggers VGLL3 translocation into the nucleus through the integrin β1-Rho-actin pathway. In the nucleus, VGLL3 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation via its low-complexity domain and is incorporated into non-paraspeckle NONO condensates containing EWS RNA-binding protein 1 (EWSR1). VGLL3 binds EWSR1 and suppresses miR-29b, which targets collagen mRNA. Consistently, cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction is significantly attenuated in Vgll3-deficient mice, with increased miR-29b expression. Overall, our results reveal an unrecognised VGLL3-mediated pathway that controls myofibroblasts’ collagen production, representing a novel therapeutic target for tissue fibrosis

Prevalence of and risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction : A multicenter prospective observational study in Japan

Lower third molar extraction is the most common surgical treatment among routine dental and oral surgical procedures. while the surgical procedures for lower third molar extraction are well established, the difficulty of tooth extraction and the frequency of postoperative complications differ depending on the patient’s background. To establish a management protocol for the lower third molars, the prevalence of and risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction were investigated in a large number of Japanese patients in a multicenter prospective study. During 6 consecutive months in 2020, 1826 lower third molar extractions were performed at the 20 participating institutions. The medical records of the patients were reviewed, and relevant data were extracted. The prevalence of and risk factors for postoperative complications were analyzed. The prevalence of postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction was 10.0%. Multivariate analysis indicated that age (≤32 vs >32, odds ratio [OR]: 1.428, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.040–1.962, P < .05), the radiographic anatomical relationship between the tooth roots and mandibular canal (overlapping of the roots and canal vs no close anatomical relationship between the roots and the superior border of the canal, OR: 2.078, 95% CI: 1.333–3.238, P < .01; overlapping of the roots and canal vs roots impinging on the superior border of the canal, OR: 1.599, 95% CI: 1.050–2.435, P < .05), and impaction depth according to the Pell and Gregory classification (position C vs position A, OR: 3.7622, 95% CI: 2.079–6.310, P < .001; position C vs position B, OR: 2.574, 95% CI: 1.574–4.210, P < .001) are significant independent risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction. These results suggested that higher age and a deeply impacted tooth might be significant independent risk factors for postoperative complications after lower third molar extraction

Effect of irradiation uniformity on quasi-isentropic shock compression of solid spheres

Takizawa R., Sakagami H., Nagatomo H., et al. Effect of irradiation uniformity on quasi-isentropic shock compression of solid spheres. High Energy Density Physics 52, 101124 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hedp.2024.101124.In inertial confinement fusion using central ignition, the ignition hot spot is generated through self-heating during fuel compression. In contrast, fast ignition creates the hot spot through external heating. This difference allows the fast ignition approach to use a solid sphere as the fusion fuel shape. The implosion of a solid sphere is one form of laser-direct-drive slow implosion. Solid sphere fuel exhibits tolerance to hydrodynamic instability and can be mass-produced relatively easily, offering significant advantages for developing inertial fusion energy. Achieving high fuel peak and areal densities of with a solid sphere requires quasi-isentropic compression, which involves multiple shock waves. Our results show the critical role of uniform laser irradiation in initiating weak shock waves in the early phase, which is essential for forming a uniform and dense fuel core with solid spheres. Furthermore, dynamically adjusting the laser spot diameter could be crucial in optimizing the effectiveness of laser-direct-drive and fast ignition techniques when using solid sphere fuel