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The picture-word task presents participants with a number of pictured objects together with a written distractor word superimposed upon each picture, and their task is to name the depicted object while ignoring the distractor word. Depending on the specific picture and word combination, various effects, including the identity facilitation effect (e.g., DOG + "do"g) and the semantic interference effect (e.g., GOAT + "cow"), are often observed. The response patterns of the picture-word task in terms of naming latencies reflect the mechanisms underlying lexical selection in speech production. Research using this method, however, has typically focused on alphabetic languages, or involved bilingual populations, making it difficult to specifically investigate orthographic effects in isolation. In this paper, we report five experiments investigating the role of orthography in the picture-word task by varying distractor script (using the multiscriptal language Japanese, and pseudohomophonic spellings in English) across three different populations (Japanese monolinguals, Japanese-English bilinguals, and English monolinguals), investigating both the identity facilitation effect and the semantic interference effect. The results generally show that the magnitude of facilitation is affected by orthography even within a single language. The findings and specific patterns of results are discussed in relation to current theories on speech production.

Purpose: This study investigated the auditory comprehension of Japanese sentences including relative clauses (RCs) by 52 Japanese-speaking children with typical development (TD) and 16 children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method: A picture-pointing task measured RC and main clause (MC) comprehension for object and subject relatives in sentences with varying lengths. The accuracy of RC only, MC only, and combined comprehension (RC and MC) was analyzed with linear mixed-effects (logistic) models to examine accuracy and the effects of the deep gap-filler distance (structural complexity), the surface linear distance, and sentence length for the two participant groups. Six language tests and two working memory tests were administered to determine language and working memory status. A factor analysis grouped them into two factors that were examined as predictors of comprehension performance. Results: Initial models indicated that children with SLI performed more poorly than their peers with TD. Working memory abilities predicted the comprehension of subject and object relative sentences, but language abilities other than a general measure of sentence comprehension were only limited predictors. In a series of pairwise comparisons, children with SLI did not exhibit comprehension facilitation for RC sentences with lower structural complexity, nor did they exhibit comprehension facilitation when the linear distance between the gap and the filler was shorter, perhaps because of their overall lower performance. Children with TD made more errors on sentences with higher structural complexity but did not exhibit any linear distance effects. Neither group exhibited effects of noun phrase or sentence length. Conclusions: Japanese-speaking children with TD exhibited negative comprehension effects of increased deep structure complexity, but not of linear surface distance or sentence noun phrase length. The children with SLI face challenges in comprehending both subject and object relative sentences compared to their typically developing peers. Their poorer working memory abilities are the primary factor that constrains their performance.

Abstract An experiment investigated whether Japanese speakers' categorization of objects and substances by shape or material is influenced by acquiring English. Based on Imai and Gentner (1997), subjects were presented [...]

The purification and characterization of cytochrome P450, ferredoxin and ferredoxin reductase from Sphingomonas sp. strain AO1 and also the role of these enzymes in bisphenol A (BPA) degradation are described. The results have demonstrated that the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system in bacteria is involved in BPA degradation.

Objectives This retrospective study compared MRI and US findings among patients with SS over a wide age range. Methods Ninety patients with SS aged 8–84 years who had undergone both MRI and US examinations were divided into four groups according to age, as follows: <18 years (juvenile SS, JSS), 9 patients; 18–39 years, 12 patients; 40–69 years, 53 patients; >69 years, 16 patients. Imaging findings of parotid glands (PGs) and submandibular glands (SMGs) were compared among the four groups. Furthermore, the relationships within and between imaging findings and various clinical findings were examined. Results On MRI, patients with JSS commonly exhibited multiple high-intensity spots in the PGs on MR sialography and fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging. With increasing SS group age, the frequencies and numbers of the high-intensity spots were lower. Fat areas on MRI and hyperechoic bands on US were rarely observed in the PGs and SMGs of patients with JSS, whereas they were more common in patients with adult SS. In addition, the presence of hyperechoic bands on US, the presence of fat areas on MRI, and decreased salivary flow were associated with one another. Conclusion Salivary gland imaging findings in patients with JSS were characterized by punctate sialectasis, whereas those findings in patients with adult SS were characterized by fatty degeneration. Distinct findings in patients with JSS and adult SS are likely to reflect differences in glandular lesion stage. MRI and US are presumably useful for evaluation of glandular lesion severity during follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]