The perceptual magnet effect in Australian English vowels

Recent research (Kuhl, 1991) has suggested that the internal structure of vowel categories is graded in terms of stimulus goodness. It has been proposed that a best instance stimulus reflects a central point or prototype, which effectively renders within-category members perceptually more similar. Discrimination experiments suggest a nonlinear relationship between acoustic and perceptual space near category centers (Iverson & Kuhl, 1995b). This phenomenon has been described as the perceptual magnet effect. The present study investigated the presence of the perceptual magnet effect in five Australian vowel categories. Australian English speakers identified, rated, and discriminated between a pool of 32 vowel stimuli that varied in F1 and F2 values. The results from Experiments 1 and 2 showed that subjects were able to judge the quality and identity of each stimulus and that a general grading of stimulus quality was reported. This was not symmetrical, and the subjects' responses varied considerably. In Experiment 3, closer control of the methodology in the discrimination task and of contextual factors influencing the test materials was exercised. Despite this, evidence of the warping of perceptual space in discrimination data was not found. In general, these results do not provide support for the existence of the perceptual magnet effect, and explanations for this finding are discussed.

Detecting sugarcane 'orange rust' disease using EO-1 Hyperion hyperspectral imagery

This Letter evaluates several narrow-band indices from EO-1 Hyperion imagery in discriminating sugarcane areas affected by 'orange rust' ( Puccinia kuehnii ) disease. Forty spectral vegetation indices (SVIs), focusing on bands related to leaf pigments, leaf internal structure, and leaf water content, were generated from an image acquired over Mackay, Queensland, Australia. Discriminant function analysis was used to select an optimum set of indices based on their correlations with the discriminant function. The predictive ability of each index was also assessed based on the accuracy of classification. Results demonstrated that Hyperion imagery can be used to detect orange rust disease in sugarcane crops. While some indices that only used visible near-infrared (VNIR) bands (e.g. SIPI and R800/R680) offer separability, the combination of VNIR bands with the moisture-sensitive band (1660 nm) yielded increased separability of rust-affected areas. The newly formulated 'Disease-Water Stress Indices' (DWSI-1=R800/R1660; DSWI-2=R1660/R550; DWSI-5=(R800+R550)/(R1660+R680)) produced the largest correlations, indicating their superior ability to discriminate sugarcane areas affected by orange rust disease.

Unagi-sentences in Japanese and mutual knowledge

This paper examines the so-called ’Unagi-sentence‘ in Japanese. So far, it has been taken for granted that the Unagi-sentence is incomplete syntactically and/or semantically. Because its structure apparently neither provides a fully-fledged semantic meaning, nor furnishes a plausible syntactic pattern (such as ‘subject-predicate‘), a number of previous works have considered the Unagi-sentence to be elliptic, and consequently reconstructed it as a complete sentence or established intermediate structures to account for its grammatical form. Other researchers have not used elliptic solutions, but sought to discover logical connections between the parts of the Unagi-sentence themselves. As a result, fixing their entire attention on the internal structure of the Unagi-sentence, these researchers inevitably needed to establish hypothetical constructs in order to explain the structure of the Unagi-sentence. The present author believes that the Unagi-sentence is neither incomplete nor a result of some hypothetical processes. The Unagi-sentence stands on its own as a complete utterance. It is basically an NP utterance which can be expanded to the form NP1 wa + NP2 da and its variations. The occurrence of the Unagi-sentence depends heavily on a presupposed context and its pragmatic features, without which the Unagi-sentence cannot exist. It is these features that the present article seeks to elucidate.

Application of X-ray microtomography to numerical simulations of agglomerate breakage by distinct element method

Computer-aided tomography has been used for many years to provide significant information about the internal properties of an object, particularly in the medical fraternity. By reconstructing one-dimensional (ID) X-ray images, 2D cross-sections and 3D renders can provide a wealth of information about an object's internal structure. An extension of the methodology is reported here to enable the characterization of a model agglomerate structure. It is demonstrated that methods based on X-ray microtomography offer considerable potential in the validation and utilization of distinct element method simulations also examined.

Characterization of activated carbon fibers using argon adsorption

In this paper, we present results of the internal structure (pore size and pore wall thickness distributions) of a series of activated carbon fibers with different degrees of burn-off, determined from interpretation of argon adsorption data at 87 K using infinite and finite wall thickness models. The latter approach has recently been developed in our laboratory. The results show that while the low bun-off samples have nearly uniform pore size (

Assigning dates to thin gneissic veins in high-grade metamorphic terranes: A cautionary tale from Akilia, southwest Greenland

A granodiorite from Akilia, southwest Greenland, previously suggested to date putative life-bearing rocks to greater than or equal to3.84 Ga, is re-investigated using whole-rock major and trace-element geochemistry, and detailed cathodoluminescence image-guided secondary ion mass spectrometer analyses of zircon U-Th-Pb and rare earth elements. Complex zircon internal structure reveals three episodes of zircon growth and/or recrystallization dated to c. 3.84 Ga, 3.62 Ga and 2.71 Ga. Rare earth element abundances imply a significant role for garnet in zircon generation at 3.62 Ga and 2.71 Ga. The 3.62 Ga event is interpreted as partial melting of a c. 3.84 Ga grey gneiss precursor at granulite facies with residual garnet. Migration of this 3.62 Ga magma (or melt-crystal mush) away from the melt source places a maximum age limit on any intrusive relationship. These early Archaean relationships have been complicated further by isotopic reworking in the 2.71 Ga event, which could have included a further episode of partial melting. This study highlights a general problem associated with dating thin gneissic veins in polyphase metamorphic terranes, where field relationships may be ambiguous and zircon inheritance can be expected.

Relationships of sauries and needlefishes (Teleostei : Scomberesocoidea) to the internally fertilizing halfbeaks (Zenarchopteridae) based on the pharyngeal jaw apparatus

The 40 life history, myological, and osteological characters that Tibbetts (1992) used in his study of the hemiramphids are evaluated for both saury genera (Cololabis and Scomberesox) to determine if the Scomberesocidae are more closely related to the Zenarchopteridae, to the needlefishes (Belonidae), or to the halfbeaks (Hemiramphidae) and flyingfishes (Exocoetidae). Data were analyzed using PAUP*, and eight equally parsimonious trees were found (70 steps, CI 0.814, RI 0.938). This analysis indicates that sauries are most closely related to needlefishes, supporting the historical concept of the superfamily Scomberesocoidea as a monophyletic assemblage. A caudal displacement of the origin of the retractor dorsalis muscle is a tentative additional synapomorphy for all four saury species. Zenarchopteridae is strongly supported as a valid family sister to the Scomberesocoidea (decay index = 19, bootstrap = 100). Resolution of the internal structure of the Belonidae and the Hemiramphidae requires the identification of additional characters and examination of a greater number of taxa.

A quasi-chemical viscosity model for fully liquid slags in the Al2O3-CaO-'FeO'-SiO2 system

A structurally based viscosity model for fully liquid silicate slags has been proposed and applied to the Al2O3-CaO-'FeO'-SiO2 system at metallic iron saturation. The model links the slag viscosity to the internal structure of melts through the concentrations of various anion/cation structural units (SUs). The concentrations of structural units are equivalent to the second nearest neighbor bond concentrations calculated by the quasi-chemical thermodynamic model. This viscosity model describes experimental data over the entire temperature and composition range within the Al2O3-CaO-'FeO'-SiO2 system at metallic iron saturation and can be extended to other industrial slag systems.

Development of a quasi-chemical viscosity model for fully liquid slags in the Al2O3-CaO-'FeO'-MgO-SiO2 system. Part 2. A review of the experimental data and the model predictions for the Al2O3-CaO-MgO, CaO-MgO-SiO2 and Al2O3-MgO-SiO2 systems

A structurally-based quasi-chemical viscosity model has been developed for the Al2O3 CaO-'FeO'-MgO-SiO2 system. The model links the slag viscosity to the internal structure of melts through the concentrations of various anion/cation Si0.5O, Me2/nn+O and Me1/nn+Si0.25O viscous flow structural units. The concentrations of structural units are derived from the quasi-chemical thermodynamic model. The focus of the work described in the present paper is the analysis of experimental data and the viscosity models for fully liquid slags in the Al2O3-CaO-MgO, Al2O3 MgO-SiO2 and CaO-MgO-SiO2 systems.

Roof structure internal, Raun Raun Theatre, Goroka

View of carved king post.

Roof structure, internal, PNG Coffee Industry Board Office and Warehouse, Goroka

View to underside of roof with steel beam and insulation.

Autoinhibition by an internal nuclear localization signal revealed by the crystal structure of mammalian importin alpha

Importin alpha is the nuclear import receptor that recognizes classical monopartite and bipartite nuclear localization signals (NLSs). The structure of mouse importin alpha has been determined at 2.5 Angstrom resolution. The structure shows a large C-terminal domain containing armadillo repeats, and a less structured N-terminal importin beta-binding domain containing an internal NLS bound to the NLS-binding site. The structure explains the regulatory switch between the cytoplasmic, high-affinity form, and the nuclear, low-affinity form for NLS binding of the nuclear import receptor predicted by the current models of nuclear import. Importin beta conceivably converts the low- to high-affinity form by binding to a site overlapping the autoinhibitory sequence. The structure also has implications for understanding NLS recognition, and the structures of armadillo and HEAT repeats.

Evolution of the secondary structure of the rRNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) in hard ticks (Ixodidae, Arthropoda)

ITS2 sequences are used extensively in molecular taxonomy and population genetics of arthropods and other animals yet little is known about the molecular evolution of ITS2. We studied the secondary structure of ITS2 in species from each of the six main lineages of hard ticks (family Ixodidae). The ITS2 of these ticks varied in length from 679 bp in Ixodes scapularis to 1547 bp in Aponomma concolor. Nucleotide content varied also: the ITS2 of ticks from the Prostriata lineage (Ixodes spp.) had 46-49% GC whereas ITS2 sequences of ticks from the Metastriata lineage (all other hard ticks) had 61-62% GC. Despite variation in nucleotide sequence, the secondary structure of the ITS2 of all of these ticks apparently has five domains. Stems 1, 3, 4 and 5 of this secondary structure were obvious in all of the species studied. However, stem 2 was not always obvious despite the fact that it is flanked by highly conserved sequence motifs in the adjacent stems, stems 1 and 3. The ITS2 of hard ticks has apparently evolved mostly by increases and decreases in length of the nucleotide sequences, which caused increases, and decreases in the length of stems of the secondary structure. This is most obvious when stems of the secondary structures of the Prostriata (Ixodes spp.) are compared to those of the Metastriata (all other hard ticks). Increases in the size of the ITS2 may have been caused by replication slippage which generated large repeats, like those seen in Haemaphysalis humerosa and species from the Rhipicepalinae lineage, and the small repeats found in species from the other lineages of ticks.

Factor structure and internal consistency of the Young Schema Questionnaire (Short Form) in Korean and Australian samples

We investigated cross-cultural differences in the factor structure and psychometric properties of the 75-item Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF). Participants were 833 South Korean and 271 Australian undergraduate students. The South Korean sample was randomly divided into two sub-samples. Sample A was used for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and sample B was used for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). EFA for the South Korean sample revealed a 13-factor solution to be the best fit for the data, and CFA on the data from sample B confirmed this result. CFA on the data from the Australian sample also revealed a 13-factor solution. The overall scale of the YSQ-SF demonstrated a high level of internal consistency in the South Korean and Australian groups. Furthermore, adequate internal consistencies for all subscales in the South Korean and Australian samples were demonstrated. In conclusion, the results showed that YSQ-SF with 13 factors has good psychometric properties and reliability for South Korean and Australian University students. Korean samples had significantly higher YSD scores on most of the 13 subscales than the Australian sample. However, limitations of the current study preclude the generalisability of the findings to beyond undergraduate student populations. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.