Coronal underspecification as an emerging property in the development of speech processing.

Is the developing lexicon phonologically detailed or are representations underspecified? Experimental results from toddlers suggest phonological specificity. By contrast, the featurally underspecified lexicon theory (Lahiri, 2018; Lahiri & Reetz, 2010), motivated by evidence such as the cross-linguistic prevalence of phenomena such as coronal assimilation (rainbow → rai[m]bow), proposes that coronal sounds are unspecified for place of articulation even in the adult lexicon. The featurally underspecified lexicon, therefore, predicts that asymmetries in mispronunciation sensitivity are also present in the developing lexicon.

Object play and problem solving in infancy: Insights into tool use.

Tool use is primarily, but not exclusively, present in species with otherwise advanced cognitive traits. However, the interaction between such traits and conspecific inter-individual variation in the presence, complexity, or intensity of tool use is far from being established. We addressed this matter among human infants, seeking factors that relate to differences in tool use.

A network model of referent identification by toddlers in a visual world task.

We present a neural network model of referent identification in a visual world task. Inputs are visual representations of item pairs unfolding with sequences of phonemes identifying the target item. The model is trained to output the semantic representation of the target and to suppress the distractor.

Double it up: Vocabulary size comparisons between UK bilingual and monolingual toddlers.

We compared vocabulary sizes in comprehension and production between bilingual toddlers growing up in the United Kingdom (UK) and age-matched UK English monolinguals (12-36 months old) using parent-report vocabulary questionnaires. We found that bilingual toddlers' vocabulary sizes in English were smaller than the vocabulary sizes of their monolingual peers. Notably, this vocabulary gap was not found when groups were compared on conceptual vocabulary in comprehension.

Colour perception changes with basic colour word comprehension.

Recent work has investigated the origin of infant colour categories, showing pre-linguistic infants categorise colour even in the absence of colour words. These infant categories are similar but not identical to adult categories, giving rise to an important question about how infant colour perception changes with the learning of colour words. Here we present two novel paradigms in which 12- and 19-month-old participants learning English as their first language were assessed on their perception of colour, while data on their colour word comprehension were also collected.

Developing self-report disability questions for a voluntary patient registration form for general practice in Australia.

Objective: This article reports on research undertaken to develop self-report disability questions for a patient registration form that may be implemented in general practices across Australia as part of a voluntary patient registration program.

Methods: There were four research components: rapid review of approaches for capturing disability information; expert informant interviews (n=19); stakeholder consultation via virtual focus groups (n=65); and online survey (n=35). Findings from each component informed development of materials for subsequent components in an iterative research process.

A call to action for more disability-inclusive health policy and systems research.

To date, the exclusion of people with disability participating in research has limited the evidence base informing health system strengthening policy and practice more generally, and addressing disability-related inequalities in access to health services and better health outcomes more particularly. Given that more than 1 billion people, or 16% of the world's population, have a disability, we may fail to respond to the needs of a large proportion of the population unless we are purposeful with inclusion. Our research in this area indicates that online qualitative methods can be effective in engaging under-represented groups and are essential to ensure their input into health policy and systems research.

Tissue-resident memory T cells in the era of (Neo) adjuvant melanoma management.

Tissue-resident memory T (T) cells have emerged as key players in the immune control of melanoma. These specialized cells are identified by expression of tissue retention markers such as CD69, CD103 and CD49a with downregulation of egress molecules such as Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor-1 (S1PR1) and the lymphoid homing receptor, CD62L. T have been shown to be integral in controlling infections such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and influenza.

Tracking the associative boost in infancy.

Do words that are both associatively and taxonomically related prime each other in the infant mental lexicon? We explore the impact of these semantic relations in the emerging lexicon. Using the head-turn preference procedure, we show that 18-month-old infants have begun to construct a semantic network of associatively and taxonomically related words, such as dog-cat or apple-cheese. We demonstrate that priming between words is longer-lasting when the relationship is both taxonomic and associative, as opposed to purely taxonomic, reflecting the associative boost reported in the adult priming literature.

Bottom-up processes dominate early word recognition in toddlers.

This study set out to investigate whether the 'phonological onset preference effect' often reported in adult studies using the visual world task (i.e., increased attention to an object that is phonologically-related to a spoken-target word, such as boat-bear) is also contingent upon toddler participants having sufficient preview time to inspect the picture stimuli.

Discovering category boundaries: The role of comparison in infants' novel category learning.

A key question in categorization is how infants extract regularities from the exemplars they encounter. Detecting similarities and dissimilarities across items is vital in order to determine category-relevant features. Previous research found evidence that infants acquire a single category more easily with paired presentations in comparison with single presentations (Oakes & Ribar, 2005, Infancy, 7, 85; Oakes & Kovack-Lesh, 2007, Cogniție, Creier, Comportament / Cognition, Brain, Behavior, XI, 661).

A Neural Network Model of Lexical-Semantic Competition During Spoken Word Recognition.

Visual world studies show that upon hearing a word in a target-absent visual context containing related and unrelated items, toddlers and adults briefly direct their gaze toward phonologically related items, before shifting toward semantically and visually related ones. We present a neural network model that processes dynamic unfolding phonological representations of words and maps them to static internal lexical, semantic, and visual representations. The model, trained on representations derived from real corpora, simulates this early phonological over semantic/visual preference.

Benzodithiophene-Fused Cyclopentannulated Aromatics via a Palladium-Catalyzed Cyclopentannulation and Scholl Cyclodehydrogenation Strategy.

We report the synthesis of a new class of cyclopenta-fused polyaromatic hydrocarbon (CP-PAH) incorporating fused benzodithiophene subunits. These CP-PAHs were prepared utilizing a two-step process involving a palladium catalyzed cyclopentannulation followed by a Scholl cyclodehydrogenation. This work broadens the scope of annulation chemistry by employing 1,2-bis(5-hexylthiophen-3-yl)ethyne and dibromoaryl derivatives based on anthracene, pyrene, and perylene to give 4,4',4'',4'''-(cyclopenta[]aceanthrylene-1,2,6,7-tetrayl)tetrakis(2-hexylthiophene), 4,4',4'',4'''-(dicyclopenta[,]pyrene-1,2,6,7-tetrayl)tetrakis(2-hexylthiophene), and 1,2,7,8-tetrakis(5-hexylthiophen-3-yl)-1,2,7,8-tetrahydrodicyclopenta[,]perylene.

The development of contour processing abilities in the second year.

Recent years have seen a rise in the popularity of eye-tracking methods to evaluate infant and toddler interpretation of visual stimuli. The application of these methods makes it increasingly important to understand the development of infant sensitivity to the perceptual properties implicated in such methods. In light of recent studies that demonstrate the use of pseudoisochromatic plates in testing infants for color vision, we investigated the perceptual contouring abilities required to pass a color-vision test of this type.

Niclosamide's potential direct targets in ovarian cancer†.

Recent evidence indicates that niclosamide is an anti-cancer compound that is able to inhibit several signaling pathways. Although niclosamide has previously been identified by high-throughput screening platforms as a potential effective compound against several cancer types, no direct binding interactions with distinct biological molecule(s) has been established. The present study identifies key signal transduction mechanisms altered by niclosamide in ovarian cancer.

The TOMM40 '523' polymorphism in disease risk and age of symptom onset in two independent cohorts of Parkinson's disease.

Abnormal mitochondrial function is a key process in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The central pore-forming protein TOM40 of the mitochondria is encoded by the translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 40 homologue gene (TOMM40). The highly variant '523' poly-T repeat is associated with age-related cognitive decline and age of onset in Alzheimer's disease, but whether it plays a role in modifying the risk or clinical course of PD it yet to be elucidated.

The role of labels and motions in infant category learning.

We investigated the impact of two highly salient transient features, labels and motions, on novel visual category learning in 10-month-old infants. In three eye-tracking experiments, infants were presented with exemplars from two novel categories either accompanied by category-specific labels, accompanied by category-specific motions, or in silence. Labels (Experiment 1) and motions (Experiment 2) were presented using a gaze-contingent design in which these transient features were triggered by infants' fixations.

Electron Acceptors Based on Cyclopentannulated Anthanthrenes.

We demonstrate the preparation of anthanthrene derivatives with fused five-membered rings. These new derivatives are prepared by a palladium catalyzed cyclopentannulation reaction from precursors derived from the low-cost dye Vat Orange 3 (4,10-dibromoanthanthrone). The new cyclopentaanthanthrene compounds possess reduced optical and electrochemical gaps (∼0.

Synthesis of anthradithiophene containing conjugated polymers a cross-coupling strategy.

New conjugated polymers that incorporate dihexylanthradithiophene (DHADT) in the main chain were prepared by Stille, Sonogashira, and Yamamoto cross-coupling polymerization reactions. The polymerization chemistry is enabled by a soluble 5,11-dibromodihexylanthradithiophene monomer that is capable of cross-coupling reactions. Five readily soluble DHADT containing polymers were prepared and characterized experimentally and computationally.

Infant categorization as a dynamic process linked to memory.

Recency effects are well documented in the adult and infant literature: recognition and recall memory are better for recently occurring events. We explore recency effects in infant categorization, which does not merely involve memory for individual items, but the formation of abstract category representations. We present a computational model of infant categorization that simulates category learning in 10-month-olds.

Utility and First Clinical Application of Screening Embryos for Polygenic Disease Risk Reduction.

For over 2 decades preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) has been in clinical use to reduce the risk of miscarriage and genetic disease in patients with advanced maternal age and risk of transmitting disease. Recently developed methods of genome-wide genotyping and machine learning algorithms now offer the ability to genotype embryos for polygenic disease risk with accuracy equivalent to adults. In addition, contemporary studies on adults indicate the ability to predict polygenic disorders with risk equivalent to monogenic disorders.

Sleep is atypical across neurodevelopmental disorders in infants and toddlers: A cross-syndrome study.

This cross-syndrome study focuses on sleep and its relationship with language development. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders present with language delay. Typical language development is constrained by numerous factors including sleep.