Acoustic Correlates of Word Stress as A Cue to Accent Strength

Due to the clear interference of their mother tongue prosody, many Czech learners produce their English with a conspicuous foreign accent. The goal of the present study is to investigate the acoustic cues that differentiate stressed and unstressed syllabic nuclei and identify individual details concerning their contribution to the specific sound of Czech English. Speech production of sixteen female non-professional Czech and British speakers was analysed with the sounds segmented on a word and phone level and with both canonical and actual stress positions manually marked. Prior to analyses the strength of the foreign accent was assessed in a perception test. Subsequently, stressed and unstressed vowels were measured with respect to their duration, amplitude, fundamental frequency and spectral slope. Our results show that, in general, Czech speakers use much less acoustic marking of stress than the British subjects. The difference is most prominent in the domains of fundamental frequency and amplitude. The Czech speakers also deviate from the canonical placement of stress, shifting it frequently to the first syllable. On the other hand, they seem to approximate the needed durational difference quite successfully. These outcomes support the concept of language interference since they correspond with the existing linguistic knowledge about Czech and English word stress. The study adds specific details concerning the extent of this interference in four acoustic dimensions

Vertical movement symmetry of the withers in horses with induced forelimb and hindlimb lameness at trot

Background The main criteria for lameness assessment in horses are head movement for forelimb lameness and pelvic movement for hindlimb lameness. However, compensatory head nod in horses with primary hindlimb lameness is a well‐known phenomenon. This compensatory head nod movement can be easily misinterpreted as a sign of primary ipsilateral forelimb lameness. Therefore, discriminating compensatory asymmetries from primary directly pain‐related movement asymmetries is a prerequisite for successful lameness assessment. Objectives To investigate the association between head, withers and pelvis movement asymmetry in horses with induced forelimb and hindlimb lameness. Study design Experimental study. Methods In 10 clinically sound Warmblood riding horses forelimb and hindlimb lameness were induced using a sole pressure model. The horses were then trotted on a treadmill. 3D optical motion capture was used to collect kinematic data from reflective markers attached to the poll, withers and tubera sacrale. The magnitude and side (left or right) of the following symmetry parameters, vertical difference in minimum position, maximum position and range‐up, were calculated for head, withers and pelvis. Mixed models were used to analyse data from induced forelimb and hindlimb lameness. Results For each mm increase in pelvic asymmetry in response to hindlimb lameness induction, withers movement asymmetry increased by 0.35‐0.55 mm; but towards the contralateral side. In induced forelimb lameness, for each mm increase in head movement asymmetry, withers movement asymmetry increased by 0.05‐0.10 mm, in agreement with the head movement asymmetry direction, both indicating lameness in the induced forelimb. Main limitations Results must be confirmed in clinically lame horses trotting overground. Conclusions The vertical asymmetry pattern of the withers discriminated a head nod associated with true forelimb lameness from the compensatory head movement asymmetry caused by primary hindlimb lameness. Measuring movement symmetry of the withers may thus aid in determining primary lameness location

Spectral Characteristics of Schwa in Czech Accented English

The English central mid lax vowel (i.e., schwa) often contributes considerably to the sound differences between native and non-native speech. Many foreign speakers of English fail to reduce certain underlying vowels to schwa, which, on the suprasegmental level of description, affects the perceived rhythm of their speech. However, the problem of capturing quantitatively the differences between native and non-native schwa poses difficulties that, to this day, have been tackled only partially. We offer a technique of measurement in the acoustic domain that has not been probed properly as yet: the distribution of acoustic energy in the vowel spectrum. Our results show that spectral slope features measured in weak vowels discriminate between Czech and British speakers of English quite reliably. Moreover, the measurements of formant bandwidths turned out to be useful for the same task, albeit less direc

Head and pelvic movement asymmetry during lungeing in horses with symmetrical movement on the straight

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Lungeing is commonly used as part of standard lameness examinations in horses. Knowledge of how lungeing influences motion symmetry in sound horses is needed. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to objectively evaluate the symmetry of vertical head and pelvic motion during lungeing in a large number of horses with symmetric motion during straight line evaluation. STUDY DESIGN: Cross‐sectional prospective study. METHODS: A pool of 201 riding horses, all functioning well and considered sound by their owners, were evaluated in trot on a straight line and during lungeing to the left and right. From this pool, horses with symmetric vertical head and pelvic movement during the straight line trot (n = 94) were retained for analysis. Vertical head and pelvic movements were measured with body mounted uniaxial accelerometers. Differences between vertical maximum and minimum head (HDmax, HDmin) and pelvic (PDmax, PDmin) heights between left and right forelimb and hindlimb stances were compared between straight line trot and lungeing in either direction. RESULTS: Vertical head and pelvic movements during lungeing were more asymmetric than during trot on a straight line. Common asymmetric patterns seen in the head were more upward movement during push‐off of the outside forelimb and less downward movement during impact of the inside limb. Common asymmetric patterns seen in the pelvis were less upward movement during push‐off of the outside hindlimb and less downward movement of the pelvis during impact of the inside hindlimb. Asymmetric patterns in one lunge direction were frequently not the same as in the opposite direction. CONCLUSIONS: Lungeing induces systematic asymmetries in vertical head and pelvic motion patterns in horses that may not be the same in both directions. These asymmetries may mask or mimic fore‐ or hindlimb lameness

Foreign Direct Investment, Source Country Heterogeneity and Management Practices

This paper examines whether and, if so, why source country heterogeneity exists in foreign direct investment (FDI). Using detailed data on all Swedish firms for the period from 1996 to 2009, we find statistical evidence that affiliate performance differs systematically across source countries. For instance, affiliates of US multinational enterprises (MNEs) are, on average, approximately three times more productive than affiliates headquartered in the Nordic countries. One possible explanation for these discrepancies is differences in organization practices across source countries. Using new firm-level data from the World Management Survey to estimate a global index of the quality of management practices for MNEs with headquarters in our source countries of interest, we find that source country heterogeneity in affiliate performance is highly correlated with differences in management practices

Expression of Semaphorins, Neuropilins, VEGF, and Tenascins in Rat and Human Primary Sensory Neurons after a Dorsal Root Injury

Dorsal root injury is a situation not expected to be followed by a strong regenerative growth, or growth of the injured axon into the central nervous system of the spinal cord, if the central axon of the dorsal root is injured but of strong regeneration if subjected to injury to the peripherally projecting axons. The clinical consequence of axonal injury is loss of sensation and may also lead to neuropathic pain. In this study, we have used in situ hybridization to examine the distribution of mRNAs for the neural guidance molecules semaphorin 3A (SEMA3A), semaphorin 3F (SEMA3F), and semaphorin 4F (SEMA4F), their receptors neuropilin 1 (NP1) and neuropilin 2 (NP2) but also for the neuropilin ligand vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Tenascin J1, an extracellular matrix molecule involved in axonal guidance, in rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) after a unilateral dorsal rhizotomy (DRT) or sciatic nerve transcetion (SNT). The studied survival times were 1-365 days. The different forms of mRNAs were unevenly distributed between the different size classes of sensory nerve cells. The results show that mRNA for SEMA3A was diminished after trauma to the sensory nerve roots in rats. The SEMA3A receptor NP1, and SEMA3F receptor NP2, was significantly upregulated in the DRG neurons after DRT and SNT. SEMA4F was upregulated after a SNT. The expression of mRNA for VEGF in DRG neurons after DRT showed a significant upregulation that was high even a year after the injuries. These data suggest a role for the semaphorins, neuropilins, VEGF, and J1 in the reactions after dorsal root lesions