Prosodic and Visual Cues Facilitate Irony Comprehension by Mandarin-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants.

Purpose: This study investigated irony comprehension by Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants, focusing on how prosodic and visual cues contribute to their comprehension, and whether second-order Theory of Mind is required for using these cues.

Method: We tested 52 Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (aged 3-7 years) and 52 age- and gender-matched children with normal hearing. All children completed a Theory of Mind test and a story comprehension test.

The Effect of Visual Articulatory Cues on the Identification of Mandarin Tones by Children With Cochlear Implants.

Purpose: This study explored the facilitatory effect of visual articulatory cues on the identification of Mandarin lexical tones by children with cochlear implants (CIs) in both quiet and noisy environments. It also explored whether early implantation is associated with better use of visual cues in tonal identification.

Method: Participants included 106 children with CIs and 100 normal-hearing (NH) controls.

LLPS of FXR proteins drives replication organelle clustering for β-coronaviral proliferation.

β-Coronaviruses remodel host endomembranes to form double-membrane vesicles (DMVs) as replication organelles (ROs) that provide a shielded microenvironment for viral RNA synthesis in infected cells. DMVs are clustered, but the molecular underpinnings and pathophysiological functions remain unknown. Here, we reveal that host fragile X-related (FXR) family proteins (FXR1/FXR2/FMR1) are required for DMV clustering induced by expression of viral non-structural proteins (Nsps) Nsp3 and Nsp4.

Structural Insights into the Distortion of the Ribosomal Small Subunit at Different Magnesium Concentrations.

Magnesium ions are abundant and play indispensable functions in the ribosome. A decrease in Mg concentration causes 70S ribosome dissociation and subsequent unfolding. Structural distortion at low Mg concentrations has been observed in an immature pre50S, while the structural changes in mature subunits have not yet been studied.