The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and /o/) and round shapes, and other language sounds (e.g., /t/ and /i/) and spiky shapes. This is an ...example of sound symbolism and stands in opposition to arbitrariness of language. It is still unknown when sensitivity to sound symbolism emerges. In the present series of studies, we first confirmed that the classic maluma/takete effect would be observed in adults using our novel 3-D object stimuli (Experiments 1a and 1b). We then conducted the first longitudinal test of the maluma/takete effect, testing infants at 4-, 8- and 12-months of age (Experiment 2). Sensitivity to sound symbolism was measured with a looking time preference task, in which infants were shown images of a round and a spiky 3-D object while hearing either a round- or spiky-sounding nonword. We did not detect a significant difference in looking time based on nonword type. We also collected a series of individual difference measures including measures of vocabulary, movement ability and babbling. Analyses of these measures revealed that 12-month olds who babbled more showed a greater sensitivity to sound symbolism. Finally, in Experiment 3, we had parents take home round or spiky 3-D printed objects, to present to 7- to 8-month-old infants paired with either congruent or incongruent nonwords. This language experience had no effect on subsequent measures of sound symbolism sensitivity. Taken together these studies demonstrate that sound symbolism is elusive in the first year, and shed light on the mechanisms that may contribute to its eventual emergence.
To learn their first words, infants must attend to a variety of cues that signal word boundaries. One such cue infants might use is the language‐specific phonotactics to track legal combinations and ...positions of segments within a word. Studies have demonstrated that, when tested across statistically high and low phonotactics, infants repeatedly reject the low‐frequency wordforms. We explore whether the capacity to access low‐frequency phonotactic combinations is available at 9 months when pre‐exposed to wordforms containing statistically low combinations of segments. Using a modified head‐turn procedure, one group of infants was presented with nonwords with low‐frequency complex onsets (dr‐), and another group was presented with zero‐frequency onset nonwords (dl‐). Following pre‐exposure and familiarization, infants were then tested on their ability to segment nonwords that contained either the low‐ or the zero‐frequency onsets. Only infants in the low‐frequency condition were successful at the task, suggesting some experience with these onsets supports segmentation.
•We investigated whether frequency in speech influences infant word segmentation.•Nine-month-olds segmented non-words containing legal complex onsets but not illegal ones.•Nine-month-olds segmented ...non-words with high frequency onsets but not low frequency ones.•Infants’ sensitivity to frequency of word onsets impacts segmentation.
Before their first birthday, infants have started to identify and use information about their native language, such as frequent words, transitional probabilities, and co-occurrence of segments (phonotactics), to identify viable word boundaries. These cues can then be used to segment new words from running speech. We explored whether infants are capable of detecting a novel word form using the frequency of occurrence of the onset alone to further characterize the role of phonotactics in speech segmentation. Experiment 1 shows that English-learning 9-month-olds can successfully segment a word from natural speech if the onset is legal in English (i.e., pleet) but not if the onset is illegal (i.e., tleet). Experiment 2 shows that English-learning 9-month-olds are successful at word segmentation when presented with two onset clusters that vary in statistical frequency. Infants familiarized to a high-frequency onset (i.e., trom) were successful at segmenting the target word embedded in speech, but those familiarized to the low-frequency onset (i.e., drom) were unsuccessful. Together, these results show that infants use statistical information from the speech input and that low levels of exposure to onset phonotactics alone might not be sufficient in identifying word boundaries.
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 exhibits reduced susceptibility to vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies, requiring a boost to generate protective immunity. We assess the magnitude and short-term ...durability of neutralizing antibodies after homologous and heterologous boosting with mRNA and Ad26.COV2.S vaccines. All prime-boost combinations substantially increase the neutralization titers to Omicron although the boosted titers decline rapidly within 2 months from the peak response compared to boosted titers against the prototypic D614G variant. Boosted Omicron neutralization titers are substantially higher for homologous mRNA vaccine boosting, and for heterologous mRNA and Ad26.COV2.S vaccine boosting, compared to homologous Ad26.COV2.S boosting. Homologous mRNA vaccine boosting generates nearly equivalent neutralizing activity against Omicron sublineages BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3 but modestly reduced neutralizing activity against BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 compared to BA.1. These results have implications for boosting requirements to protect against Omicron and future variants of SARS-CoV-2. This trial was conducted under ClincalTrial.gov# NCT04889209.
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•Vaccine boost substantially increases Omicron neutralizing antibody titers•Boosted neutralization titers to Omicron but not prototypic D614G decline rapidly•Ad26.COV2.S is better as prime or boost with mRNA vaccines than as homologous boost•Omicron sublineages exhibit 5-12 times reduced neutralization by mRNA-1273 boost sera
Following COVID-19 vaccine prime and boost, Lyke et al. find higher Omicron neutralization titers for homologous mRNA boost and heterologous mRNA and Ad26.COV2.S boost, compared to homologous Ad26.COV2.S boost. Omicron titers rapidly decline by Day 91 compared to prototypic D614G. Moderate differences in neutralization (<3-fold) was noted among Omicron sublineages.
We explored 12-month-olds' flexibility in accepting phonotactically illegal or ill-formed word forms in a modified associative-learning task. Sixty-four English-learning infants were presented with a ...training phase that either clarified the purpose of a sound-object association task or left the task ambiguous. Infants were then habituated to sets of Czech words with onsets that are illegal in English (e.g., ptak), consonantal sounds (e.g., /l/), or novel functionlike words (e.g., iv). When infants were provided with a training phase that highlighted the purpose of the task, they associated the phonotactically illegal Czech words, but not the consonantal sounds or novel functionlike words, with objects. Thus, English-learning 12-month-old infants' flexibility in associating various sound forms with novel objects is limited to labels that share the structural shape of well-formed nounlike words.
Abstract Background The abdomen and thigh are recommended injection sites in the label for Depo-SubQ Provera 104™. We evaluated the pharmacokinetic profile of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) ...following injection of Depo-SubQ Provera 104 in the upper arm, a preferred injection site in developing countries. Study design Twenty-six women in Norfolk, VA, received a single injection of Depo-SubQ Provera 104 in the upper arm in this prospective noncomparative study. We measured MPA serum concentrations prior to injection (day 1) and 11 times postinjection (days 2, 4, 8, 14, 30, 44, 60, 74, 91, 104 and 120). Results Serum MPA levels peaked at 0.953 ng/mL 2–14 days (interquartile range; median=8) after dosing. Mean AUC0–91 was 45.1 ng·day/mL. Mean MPA levels at days 91, 104 and 120 were 0.427, 0.367 and 0.327 ng/mL, respectively. A total of 15 individual measurements of MPA were below 0.2 ng/mL. All women but one had MPA levels above 0.1 ng/mL on day 91. Conclusions Injection of Depo-SubQ Provera 104™ in the upper arm provided sufficient MPA levels for contraceptive protection for 3 months (13 weeks). The uptake and metabolism of MPA when injected in the upper arm may be different from the abdomen and thigh.
► We examined what might be driving the developmental differences between 6-month and 9-month olds’ sensitivity to native language sound combinations (phonotactics). ► It has been shown that infants ...of 9-months have preferences for words that conform to their native language sound patterns, but this is not the case for 6-month-olds. ► We explored whether this could be due to perceptual factors (inability to perceive differences) or due to experience, in particular accumulated knowledge about the frequency of sound combinations. ► We examined if infants attend to type and/or token frequency of consonant combinations. ► Our results demonstrate that both 6- and 9-month old infants can discriminate clusters, but only 9-month-olds are sensitive to the type frequency of legal clusters.
By 9-months infants are sensitive to native-language sound combinations. Our studies show that while younger infants discriminate clusters, they are not sensitive to differences in statistical frequency. Thus, the emergence of phonotactic knowledge is driven by experience with the frequency of occurrence of the sound combinations in one's language.
Research has shown that young infants use contrasting acoustic information to distinguish consonants. This has been used to argue that by 12 months, infants have homed in on their native language ...sound categories. However, this ability seems to be positionally constrained, with contrasts at the beginning of words (onsets) discriminated earlier. This study explores whether English-learning 12- and 20-month-olds discriminate coda consonants in word-final and word-medial positions. The 12-month-old group successfully discriminated place of articulation contrasts for voiced stops in word-final position, though not voiceless stops in either position, while the older infants discriminated place of articulation contrasts for both voiced and voiceless stops in both positions. This indicates that voiced stops may be more acoustically salient than voiceless, and that position influences discrimination. Our findings support the claim that infants build speech sound categories starting with more salient contrasts in strong positions, which expand to other positions over the course of development.
We describe the design and measured performance of an improved beam-scanning fan-beam antenna suitable for mm wavelengths. The fan beam is scanned in the direction orthogonal to the fan and can be ...polarized either in or orthogonal to this direction. The pillbox design is improved by the introduction of a third cylindrical reflector and optimum shaping of all reflector profiles using an iterative diffraction analysis that includes aberration and blockage effects. Good agreement between the calculated and measured results is obtained, confirming a beamwidth of 0.3° and a scan range of 13.5° (45 beamwidths) for both polarizations at 186 GHz.
We describe the design and application of a system for measuring the magnitude and phase of antenna radiation patterns in the 182-194 GHz frequency range. A heterodyne receiver comparing antenna and ...reference signals is designed from readily available components and incorporated into a 12-m anechoic chamber. The chamber is used with or without a compact-range reflector for compact-range or far-field measurement of antennas up to 0.6 m in diameter. The measured phase variation of the system, when idle, averages 0.3° over 227 s and 4.5° over 30 min. The amplitude stability is better than ±0.15 dB over a 63-h period. Verification of the system is obtained through comparison with other measurements and calculated results on horn and pillbox antennas. The applications of the system are illustrated through its use in characterizing the magnitude and phase radiation patterns of a new beam-scanning pillbox antenna for a 186-GHz imaging system.
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