Effects of time-compressed speech training on multiple functional and structural neural mechanisms involving the left superior temporal gyrus

Time-compressed speech is an artificial form of rapidly presented speech. Training with time compressed speech in a second language leads to adaptation toward time-compressed speech in a second language and toward time compressed speech in different languages. However, the effects of training with time-compressed speech of a second language (TCSSL) on diverse cognitive functions and neural mechanisms beyond time compressed speech-related activation are unknown. We investigated the effects of 4 weeks of training with TCSSL on the fractional amplitude of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) of 0.01–0.08 Hz, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) with the left superior temporal gyrus (STG), fractional anisotropy (FA), and regional gray matter volume (rGMV) of young adults by magnetic resonance imaging. There were no significant differences in change of performance of measures of cognitive functions or second language skills after training with TCSSL compared with that of the active control group. However, compared with the active control group, training with TCSSL was associated with increased fALFF, RSFC, and FA and decreased rGMV involving areas in the left STG. These results lacked evidence of a far transfer effect of time compressed speech training on a wide range of cognitive functions and second language skills in young adults. However, these results demonstrated effects of time compressed speech training on gray and white matter structures as well as on resting-state intrinsic activity and connectivity involving the left STG, which plays a key role in listening comprehension

Lenticular nucleus correlates of general self-efficacy in young adults

General self-efficacy (GSE) is an important factor in education, social participation, and medical treatment. However, the only study that has investigated the direct association between GSE and a neural correlate did not identify specific brain regions, rather only assessed brain structures, and included older adult subjects. GSE is related to motivation, physical activity, learning, the willingness to initiate behaviour and expend effort, and adjustment. Thus, it was hypothesized in the present study that the neural correlates of GSE might be related to changes in the basal ganglia, which is a region related to the abovementioned self-efficacy factors. This study aimed to identify the brain structures associated with GSE in healthy young adults (n = 1204, 691 males and 513 females, age 20.7 ± 1.8 years) using regional grey matter density and volume (rGMD and rGMV), fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) analyses of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The findings showed that scores on the GSE Scale (GSES) were associated with a lower MD value in regions from the right putamen to the globus pallidum; however, there were no significant association between GSES scores and regional brain structures using the other analyses (rGMD, rGMV, and FA). Thus, the present findings indicated that the lenticular nucleus is a neural correlate of GSE

What Controls the Sulfur Isotope Fractionation during Dissimilatory Sulfate Reduction?

Sulfate often behaves conservatively in the oxygenated environments but serves as an electron acceptor for microbial respiration in a wide range of natural and engineered systems where oxygen is depleted. As a ubiquitous anaerobic dissimilatory pathway, therefore, microbial reduction of sulfate to sulfide has been of continuing interest in the field of microbiology, ecology, biochemistry, and geochemistry. Stable isotopes of sulfur are an effective tool for tracking this catabolic process as microorganisms discriminate strongly against heavy isotopes when cleaving the sulfur–oxygen bond. Along with its high preservation potential in environmental archives, a wide variation in the sulfur isotope effects can provide insights into the physiology of sulfate reducing microorganisms across temporal and spatial barriers. A vast array of parameters, including phylogeny, temperature, respiration rate, and availability of sulfate, electron donor, and other essential nutrients, has been explored as a possible determinant of the magnitude of isotope fractionation, and there is now a broad consensus that the relative availability of sulfate and electron donors primarily controls the magnitude of fractionation. As the ratio shifts toward sulfate, the sulfur isotope fractionation increases. The results of conceptual models, centered on the reversibility of each enzymatic step in the dissimilatory sulfate reduction pathway, are in qualitative agreement with the observations, although the underlying intracellular mechanisms that translate the external stimuli into the isotopic phenotype remain largely unexplored experimentally. This minireview offers a snapshot of our current understanding of the sulfur isotope effects during dissimilatory sulfate reduction as well as their potential quantitative applications. It emphasizes the importance of sulfate respiration as a model system for the isotopic investigation of other respiratory pathways that utilize oxyanions as terminal electron acceptors

Rhythm working memory tasks.

<p>A sample rhythm pattern was presented at the beginning of each trial. Each rhythm pattern consisted of three repeats of a three-pure-tone sequence. The participants were required to memorize the rhythm pattern within 6 s (encoding phase), to maintain the rhythm information for 6–12 s (maintenance phase), and reproduce it by tapping with the right index finger, left index finger or right foot, or by articulation within 8 s (retrieval phase). We used 20 rhythmic patterns for each participant. The two out of three durations (SOA1, SOA2 and IUI) in each pattern were constantly same. The SOA and IUI were chosen from six possible durations (0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 or 1.2 s) so that the duration of each rhythmic pattern ranged from 4 to 6 s. Abbreviations: SOA, stimulus onset asynchrony; IUI, inter-unit-interval.</p

A user-oriented evaluation of digital libraries: case study the 'electronic journals' service of the library and information service of the University of Patras, Greece

Περιέχει το πλήρες κείμενοRespondents were asked to indicate which factors would discourage them from accessing an e-journals service. The choices provided by the questionnaire are detailed in Table XVIII. There was also the "other" option where users could indicate any other factor. A total of 203 people responded to this question. The most common reason cited for not reading an e-journal was the lack of enough information relevant to the users' interests - 51.2 per cent mentioned it

Functional connectivity during rhythm encoding.

<p>A) Three seed regions; right IPL (red), right IFG (blue), and left IFG (yellow) from left to right. B) Brain areas exhibiting significantly increased coupling with the seed regions in the presence of rhythm encoding. Colored areas show significant coupling with the seed region in the same color. Red, blue, and yellow regions show significant functional connectivity with the right IPL, right IFG, and let IFG, respectively. Threshold: <i>P</i> < 0.05; FWE-corrected of the clusters. Abbreviations: CB, cerebellum; IFG, inferior frontal gyrus; STG, superior temporal gyrus.</p

Functional connectivity analysis.

<p>Functional connectivity analysis.</p

Graph demonstrating the accuracy of the rhythm reproduction.

<p>The graph shows the mean GIR index value in each effector condition of rhythm working memory tasks. A one-way ANOVA revealed that the accuracy of rhythm reproduction was consistent among these 4 effectors. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean. See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0130120#sec002" target="_blank">Methods</a> for details of the GIR index. Abbreviations: Rt., right; Lt., left.</p

Effector-independent and dependent regions revealed by conjunction analyses.

<p>P values are cluster-wise significance.</p><p>* The cluster was observed at the threshold of <i>P</i> < 0.05 (corrected) using the peak level (not the cluster size) based on the <i>a priori</i> hypothesis that the right inferior frontal gyrus was involved in rhythm processing (Konoike et al., 2012).</p><p>Effector-independent and dependent regions revealed by conjunction analyses.</p

Cortical brain regions exhibiting significant activations during the encoding (left panel) and the retrieval (right panel) phases of the rhythm working memory tasks compared to the number working memory tasks (threshold: <i>P</i> < 0.05; FWE-corrected of the clusters).

<p>A) right finger, B) left finger, C) foot, and D) mouth conditions.</p