scholarly journals Reverse Engineering Language Acquisition with Child-Centered Long-Form Recordings

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin Lavechin ◽  
Maureen de Seyssel ◽  
Lucas Gautheron ◽  
Emmanuel Dupoux ◽  
Alejandrina Cristia
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Reverse Engineering ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Long Form ◽  
Child Centered

Language use in everyday life can be studied using lightweight, wearable recorders that collect long-form recordings—that is, audio (including speech) over whole days. The hardware and software underlying this technique are increasingly accessible and inexpensive, and these data are revolutionizing the language acquisition field. We first place this technique into the broader context of the current ways of studying both the input being received by children and children's own language production, laying out the main advantages and drawbacks of long-form recordings. We then go on to argue that a unique advantage of long-form recordings is that they can fuel realistic models of early language acquisition that use speech to represent children's input and/or to establish production benchmarks. To enable the field to make the most of this unique empirical and conceptual contribution, we outline what this reverse engineering approach from long-form recordings entails, why it is useful, and how to evaluate success. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Linguistics, Volume 8 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Reverse-engineering language acquisition with child-centered long-form recordings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin Lavechin ◽  
Maureen de Seyssel ◽  
Lucas Gautheron ◽  
Emmanuel Dupoux ◽  
Alejandrina Cristia
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Reverse Engineering ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Light Weight ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Engineering Approach ◽  
Long Form ◽  
Child Centered

Language use in everyday life can be studied using light-weight, wearable recorders that collect long-form recordings, i.e. audio (including speech) over whole days. We first place this technique into the broader context of the current ways of studying both the input being received by children as well as children’s own language production, laying out the main advantages and drawbacks of long-form recordings. We then go on to argue that a unique advantage of long-form recordings is that they can fuel realistic models of early language acquisition that use speech for representing children’s input and/or for establishing production benchmarks. To enable the field to make the most of this unique empirical and conceptual contribution, we outline what this reverse-engineering approach from long-form recordings entails, why it is useful, and howto evaluate success.

scholarly journals Acquisition of Sign Languages

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Lillo-Martin ◽  
Jonathan Henner
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Language Deprivation ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Spatial Locations

Natural sign languages of deaf communities are acquired on the same time scale as that of spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers providing input from birth. Infants are sensitive to linguistic information provided visually, and early milestones show many parallels. The modality may affect various areas of language acquisition; such effects include the form of signs (sign phonology), the potential advantage presented by visual iconicity, and the use of spatial locations to represent referents, locations, and movement events. Unfortunately, the vast majority of deaf children do not receive accessible linguistic input in infancy, and these children experience language deprivation. Negative effects on language are observed when first-language acquisition is delayed. For those who eventually begin to learn a sign language, earlier input is associated with better language and academic outcomes. Further research is especially needed with a broader diversity of participants. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Linguistics, Volume 7 is January 14, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Can Frequency Account for the Grammatical Choices of Children and Adults in Nominal Modification Contexts? Evidence from Elicited Production and Child-Directed Speech

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Emanuela Sanfelici ◽  
Petra Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
High Production Rate ◽  
High Production ◽  
Acquisition Order

There is consensus that languages possess several grammatical variants satisfying the same conversational function. Nevertheless, it is a matter of debate which principles guide the adult speaker’s choice and the child’s acquisition order of these variants. Various proposals have suggested that frequency shapes adult language use and language acquisition. Taking the domain of nominal modification as its testing ground, this paper explores in two studies the role that frequency of structures plays for adults’ and children’s structural choices in German. In Study 1, 133 three- to six-year-old children and 21 adults were tested with an elicited production task prompting participants to identify an agent or a patient referent among a set of alternatives. Study 2 analyzed a corpus of child-directed speech to examine the frequency of passive relative clauses, which children, similar to adults, produced very often in Study 1. Importantly, passive relatives were found to be infrequent in the child input. These two results show that the high production rate of rare structures, such as passive relatives, is difficult to account for with frequency. We claim that the relation between frequency in natural speech and use of a given variant in a specific context is indirect: speakers may opt for the less grammatically complex computation rather than for the variant most frequently used in spontaneous speech.

Endogenous Retroviruses Drive Resistance and Promotion of Exogenous Retroviral Homologs

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliott S. Chiu ◽  
Sue VandeWoude
Keyword(s):  
Immune Modulation ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Viral Evolution ◽  
Endogenous Retroviruses ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Self Tolerance ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts ◽  
Insight Into

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) serve as markers of ancient viral infections and provide invaluable insight into host and viral evolution. ERVs have been exapted to assist in performing basic biological functions, including placentation, immune modulation, and oncogenesis. A subset of ERVs share high nucleotide similarity to circulating horizontally transmitted exogenous retrovirus (XRV) progenitors. In these cases, ERV–XRV interactions have been documented and include ( a) recombination to result in ERV–XRV chimeras, ( b) ERV induction of immune self-tolerance to XRV antigens, ( c) ERV antigen interference with XRV receptor binding, and ( d) interactions resulting in both enhancement and restriction of XRV infections. Whereas the mechanisms governing recombination and immune self-tolerance have been partially determined, enhancement and restriction of XRV infection are virus specific and only partially understood. This review summarizes interactions between six unique ERV–XRV pairs, highlighting important ERV biological functions and potential evolutionary histories in vertebrate hosts. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, Volume 9 is February 16, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Advancing Socioeconomic Rights Through Interdisciplinary Factfinding: Opportunities and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Knuckey ◽  
Joshua D. Fisher ◽  
Amanda M. Klasing ◽  
Tess Russo ◽  
Margaret L. Satterthwaite
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Science Volume ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Socioeconomic Rights ◽  
Human Rights Movement

The human rights movement is increasingly using interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, mixed-methods, and quantitative factfinding. There has been too little analysis of these shifts. This article examines some of the opportunities and challenges of these methods, focusing on the investigation of socioeconomic human rights. By potentially expanding the amount and types of evidence available, factfinding's accuracy and persuasiveness can be strengthened, bolstering rights claims. However, such methods can also present significant challenges and may pose risks in individual cases and to the human rights movement generally. Interdisciplinary methods can be costly in human, financial, and technical resources; are sometimes challenging to implement; may divert limited resources from other work; can reify inequalities; may produce “expertise” that disempowers rightsholders; and could raise investigation standards to an infeasible or counterproductive level. This article includes lessons learned and questions to guide researchers and human rights advocates considering mixed-methods human rights factfinding. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Volume 17 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Conversation and Culture

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simeon Floyd
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Sequential Analysis ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Speech Communities

Conversation analysis is a method for the systematic study of interaction in terms of a sequential turn-taking system. Research in conversation analysis has traditionally focused on speakers of English, and it is still unclear to what extent the system observed in that research applies to conversation more generally around the world. However, as this method is now being applied to conversation in a broader range of languages, it is increasingly possible to address questions about the nature of interactional diversity across different speech communities. The approach of pragmatic typology first applies sequential analysis to conversation from different speech communities and then compares interactional patterns in ways analogous to how traditional linguistic typology compares morphosyntax. This article discusses contemporary literature in pragmatic typology, including single-language studies and multilanguage comparisons reflecting both qualitative and quantitative methods. This research finds that microanalysis of face-to-face interaction can identify both universal trends and culture-specific interactional tendencies. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 50 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Mechanical Patterning in Animal Morphogenesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonit Maroudas-Sacks ◽  
Kinneret Keren
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Formation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Biochemical Processes ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Biological Pattern Formation ◽  
Effective Theories ◽  
Biochemical Signals

Morphogenesis is one of the most remarkable examples of biological pattern formation. Despite substantial progress in the field, we still do not understand the organizational principles responsible for the robust convergence of the morphogenesis process across scales to form viable organisms under variable conditions. Achieving large-scale coordination requires feedback between mechanical and biochemical processes, spanning all levels of organization and relating the emerging patterns with the mechanisms driving their formation. In this review, we highlight the role of mechanics in the patterning process, emphasizing the active and synergistic manner in which mechanical processes participate in developmental patterning rather than merely following a program set by biochemical signals. We discuss the value of applying a coarse-grained approach toward understanding this complex interplay, which considers the large-scale dynamics and feedback as well as complementing the reductionist approach focused on molecular detail. A central challenge in this approach is identifying relevant coarse-grained variables and developing effective theories that can serve as a basis for an integrated framework for understanding this remarkable pattern-formation process. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology, Volume 37 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Contemporary Management of Thyroid Nodules

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Kobaly ◽  
Caroline S. Kim ◽  
Susan J. Mandel
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Cervical Lymphadenopathy ◽  
Standard Technique ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Needle Aspiration ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Molecular Testing ◽  
Risk Of Malignancy ◽  
Indeterminate Cytology

Thyroid nodules are common in the general population, with higher prevalence in women and with advancing age. Approximately 5% of thyroid nodules are malignant; the majority of this subset represents papillary thyroid cancer. Ultrasonography is the standard technique to assess the underlying thyroid parenchyma, characterize the features of thyroid nodules, and evaluate for abnormal cervical lymphadenopathy. Various risk stratification systems exist to categorize the risk of malignancy based on the ultrasound appearance of a thyroid nodule. Nodules are selected for fine-needle aspiration biopsy on the basis of ultrasound features, size, and high-risk clinical history. Cytology results are classified by the Bethesda system into six categories ranging from benign to malignant. When cytology is indeterminate, molecular testing can further risk-stratify patients for observation or surgery. Surveillance is indicated for nodules with benign cytology, indeterminate cytology with reassuring molecular testing, or non-biopsied nodules without a benign sonographic appearance. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Medicine, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: Mechanisms and Treatment Strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazunori Omote ◽  
Frederik H. Verbrugge ◽  
Barry A. Borlaug
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Ejection Fraction ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Preserved Ejection Fraction ◽  
Reduced Ejection Fraction ◽  
Patients With Heart Failure ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity

Approximately half of all patients with heart failure (HF) have a preserved ejection fraction, and the prevalence is growing rapidly given the aging population in many countries and the rising prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Functional capacity and quality of life are severely impaired in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and morbidity and mortality are high. In striking contrast to HF with reduced ejection fraction, there are few effective treatments currently identified for HFpEF, and these are limited to decongestion by diuretics, promotion of a healthy active lifestyle, and management of comorbidities. Improved phenotyping of subgroups within the overall HFpEF population might enhance individualization of treatment. This review focuses on the current understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying HFpEF and treatment strategies for this complex syndrome. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Medicine, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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