More on the articulation of devoiced [u] in Tokyo Japanese: effects of surrounding consonants

Past work investigating the lingual articulation of devoiced vowels in Tokyo Japanese has revealed optional but categorical deletion. Some devoiced vowels retained a full lingual target, just like their voiced counterparts, whereas others showed trajectories that are best modelled as targetless, i.e., linear interpolation between the surrounding vowels. The current study explored the hypothesis that this probabilistic deletion is modulated by the identity of the surrounding consonants. A new EMA experiment with an extended stimulus set replicates the core finding of Shaw, Jason & Shigeto Kawahara. 2018b. The lingual gesture of devoiced [u] in Japanese. Journal of Phonetics 66. 100–119. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2017.09.007 that Japanese devoiced [u] sometimes lacks a tongue body raising gesture. The current results moreover show that surrounding consonants do indeed affect the probability of tongue dorsum targetlessness. We found that deletion of devoiced vowels is affected by the place of articulation of the preceding consonant; deletion is more likely following a coronal fricative than a labial fricative. Additionally, we found that the manner combination of the flanking consonants, fricative–fricative versus fricative–stop, also has an effect, at least for some speakers; however, unlike the effect of C1 place, the direction of the manner combination effect varies across speakers with some deleting more often in fricative–stop environments and others more often in fricative–fricative environments.

Nonlinear chirp combination effect on the improvement of high harmonic spectra and attosecond pulses

The effect of nonlinear chirp combination on the enhancement of harmonic cutoff and harmonic intensity has been investigated by using a two-color chirped pulse. It is found that with the combination of 2-order chirp form, the strongest intensity enhancement of harmonic spectrum can be found. While, with the combination of 2-order and 3-order chirp forms, the largest cutoff extension of the harmonic spectrum can be obtained. Finally, by properly using the harmonic spectra driven by the above two kinds of combined pulses, the single attosecond pulses (SAPs) of 43 as and 33 as can be generated.

Planting Media Combination Effect on the Growth of Mucuna Bracteata Seeds by Applying Vermicompost

This research was conducted to determine the effect of the combination of planting media on the growth of Mucuna bracteata by applying vermicompost. The research had been carried out in the practical garden of the Polytechnic of Lembaga Pendidikan Perkebunan, Wedomartani, Yogyakarta for 2 months from September to October 2019. The research method used a non-factorial randomized block design (RBD) with five treatments. The treatment carried out was a combination of planting media, between soil and vermicompost, namely P0 (100% soil), P1 (80% soil and 20% vermicompost), P2 (60% soil and 40% vermicompost), P3 (40% soil and 60% vermicompost) and P4 (20% soil and 80% vermicompost). The parameters observed in the study were plant height, number of leaves, and stem diameter. The results showed that the growth of Mucuna bracteate seedlings was influenced by the application of vermicompost. The highest plant height and stem diameter in Mucuna bracteate seedlings were obtained in P3 treatment (40% soil and 60% vermicompost), while the highest number of leaves was obtained from P4 treatment (20% soil and 80% vermicompost). Vermicompost can increase soil support for the growth of Mucuna bracteate seedlings so the growth of Mucuna bracteate increases.

Efficient Synergistic Combination Effect of Endurance Exercise with Curcumin on Breast Cancer Progression Through Inflammatory Pathway Inhibition in BALB/C Mice

Introduction: TNF-α/NF-kB signaling pathway plays an important role in promoting the inflammatory process and growth of breast cancer. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to investigate the synergistic combination effect of endurance exercise with curcumin on breast cancer progression through TNF-α/NF-kB signaling axes in female BALB/c mice with breast cancer. Methods: The design of the present study was experimental. After transplanting 4T1 breast cancer into the right flank of 40 BALB/c mice, all mice were randomly divided into four groups, including endurance training (E), endurance training-curcumin (EC), curcumin (CC), and control (C). Then, E and EC groups (5 days per week) were performed for 5 weeks. Curcumin (6 times per week) was given by gavage to EC and CC groups for five weeks. The intratumoral expression of TNF-α and NF-kβ were measured using the qRT-PCR method. One-way analysis of variance and LSD post hoc test with SPSS version 16 were used for statistical analysis. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A significant decline in cancer growth and the gene expression of NF-kβ and TNF-α was observed in E, CC, and EC compared to the C group (P =0.001). Furthermore, a significant decline in expression of both genes was observed in EC compared with E. Conclusion: Endurance training combined with curcumin supplementation has a more effective role in reducing TNF-α and NF-κβ, and slowing the growth of breast cancer cells when compared with either of other interventions alone.