Judgments of sameness and difference: experiments on decision time

When asked to judge whether two stimuli (tones) were the "same" or "different," subjects took longer to decide that two identical stimuli were the same than to decide that two dissimilar stimuli were different. Thus these judgments are not equivalent obverse aspects of a unitary judgmental process. While decision theory can be extended to deal with the obtained data, a model based on an analogy with a statistical computer is more directly applicable.     

Left-handed DNA in vivo

Left-handed DNA is shown to exist and elicit a biological response in Escherichia coli. A plasmid encoding the gene for a temperature-sensitive Eco RI methylase (MEco RI) was cotransformed with different plasmids containing inserts that had varying capacities to form left-handed helices or cruciforms with a target Eco RI site in the center or at the ends of the inserts. Inhibition of methylation in vivo was found for the stable inserts with the longest left-handed (presumably Z) helices. In vitro methylation with the purified MEco RI agreed with the results in vivo. Supercoil-induced changes in the structure of the primary helix in vitro provided confirmation that left-handed helices were responsible for this behavior. The presence in vivo of left-handed inserts elicits specific deletions and plasmid incompatibilities in certain instances.     

Electrical signs of selective attention in the human brain

Auditory evoked potentials were recorded from the vertex of subjects who listened selectively to a series of tone pips in one ear and ignored concurrent tone pips in the other ear. The negative component of the evoked potential peaking at 80 to 110 milliseconds was substantially larger for the attended tones. This negative component indexed a stimulus set mode of selective attention toward the tone pips in one ear. A late positive component peaking at 250 to 400 milliseconds reflected the response set established to recognize infrequent, higher pitched tone pips in the attended series.     

An amylose antiparallel double helix at atomic resolution

In the crystal structure of the polyiodide complex (p-nitrophenyl-alpha-maltohexaose(2)) . Ba(I(3))(2) . 22H(2)O, the maltohexaose units form an antiparallel, left-handed double helix with O-2 ... O-3 and O-6 ... O-6 hydrogen bonding and a central cavity that encloses two triiodide units. This structure contrasts with the parallel, left-handed double helix with no central cavity proposed for the A-and B-starch helix and the left-handed single helix in V-amylose and may be relevant for the stabilization of glycogen Structure.     

Auditory illusions demonstrating that tones are assimilated to an internalized musical scale

Judgments of relations between tones in a sequence derived from the major diatonic scale (do, re, mi, . . .) by systematic distortions (either equalization or stretching of intervals) reveal that Western listeners interpret the tones relative to that musical scale even when they try to judge the purely physical relations between the tones.     

Unit activity: motiviation-dependent responses from midbrain neurons

Single neurons in the midbrain tegmentum of rats showed clear discriminatory responses to three tones announcing either food or water or no reinforcement. Subjects were required to press a single lever and remain motionless for 2 seconds during which time unit activity from several brain sites was recorded. One of the tones, randomly designated, was sounded halfway through this period. Manipulation of drive states revealed that the highest activity was associated with tones announcing the reinforcement for which the animal was most strongly motivated. Thus, from a hungry animal sustained or increased firing rates were elicited by a " food" tone and differentially lowered rates by the other tones.     

Corrections and clarifications

In the Perspective "alpha-Helical coiled coils: More facts and better predictions" by C. Cohen and D. A. D. Parry (28 Jan., p. 488), the second sentence of the second paragraph of column 1 on page 489 should have read, "The structural motif is indeed a left-handed three-helix bundle with left-handed chain connectivity."     

基于森林资源二类调查数据的重庆市森林碳储量估算研究

根据重庆市2010年森林资源规划设计调查数据资料,采用森林蓄积量扩展法等对重庆市森林植被碳储量进行了分析研究。结果表明：重庆市森林植被碳储量达15918．95万t,折合CO2约为58422．55万t。其中乔木林碳储量为13697．22万t,占总碳储量的86．04％;乔木经济林75．12万t,占总碳储量的0．47％;竹林1838．23万t,占总碳储量的11．55％;国家特别规定灌木林308．38万t,占总碳储量的1．94％。表明重庆市森林碳储量较大,碳汇能力强。     

徽州方言对徽州民歌的影响

徽州民歌是在徽州文化土壤里萌生和发展起来的独具特色的地方传统音乐，是徽州人民根据当地生活实际创造出来的一种民间艺术形式，集中展现了徽州人民对生活的认知和情感。徽州方言是徽州文化的重要表现形态之一，也是徽州文化的重要组成部分。徽州方言声韵、词汇、语法以及方言民俗文化对徽州民歌韵律、歌词、音腔、题材和思想主题产生了深远的影响。研究徽州方言对徽州民歌的影响，有利于徽州民歌的传承与保护。     

Cochlear distortion: effect of direct-current polarization

Intermodulation components (combination tones) appearing in microphonic potentials were measured from guinea pig cochleas with and without polarizing direct currents passing through the cochlear partition. At moderate intensities of stimulus the polarization had a qualitatively different effect on the distortion components than on their eliciting primaries or on pure tones simulating the distortion products. At high intensities, the primaries and the combination tones were similarly influenced by the polarizing current. It is concluded that cochlear distortion is a two-stage process, mechano-electrical at low levels and mechano-hydraulic at high levels.     

越南留学生汉语声调习得偏误量化及成因分析

汉语声调是区别意义的相对音高,在对外汉语教学中往往成为学生学习的难点。面对目前云南省越南学生逐渐增多的趋势,本文以越南学生汉语声调为研究对象,采用录音与听辨分析相结合的方法,在测试的基础上对该国留学生汉语声调的习得偏误做一些量化分析及解释,并提出了教学方面的对策,以便对越南学生的对外汉语教学及研究提供帮助。     

Discrimination of tones during reinforcing brain stimulation

Hungry animals were trained to press a lever for brain stimulation. Different tones were presented concurrently with the stimulation. A second lever delivered food only during critical tone periods. Animals were able to discriminate tones presented concurrently with rewarding intracranial stimulation, and they also interrupted self-stimulation behavior to respond appropriately under other reinforcements.     

长沙方言单字调及变调的实验语音学报告

长沙方言单音节声调及双音节变调的实验语音学研究发现,单音节声调包括阳去21和上声42两个降调和阴平23,阳平13,阴去45,入声24四个升调;没有平调。变调有三种形式:阳去做前字时,调值由21变为22;上声无论做前字或是后字,均由42变为33;入声做后字时,在并列或偏正结构中由24变为33。     

Mapping of interactions in the pitch memory store

A technique obtaining a precise mapping of interactive effects in the pitch memory store is described. Subjects were required to compare two tones for pitch when these were separated by a 5-second interval during which six other tones were played. In the second serial position of the intervening sequence there was placed a tone whose pitch bore a critical relationship to the pitch of the first test tone. When the critical intervening tone was identical in pitch to the first test tone, memory facilitation was produced. As the separation in pitch between these two tones increased, errors rose progressively, peaked at a separation of 2/3 tone, and declined roughly to baseline at a whole tone separation. It is concluded that the pitch memory store is arranged logarithmically in a highly ordered and specific fashion.     

Asymmetric cochlear processing mimics hemispheric specialization

Otoacoustic emissions or OAEs (reflections of cochlear energy produced during the processing of sound) were measured in response to two types of stimuli, rapid clicks and sustained tones, in each ear of neonates. OAEs were larger to tones when elicited in the left ear and to clicks when elicited in the right. This finding is similar to those of enhanced processing of tones in right auditory cortical areas and of rapid stimuli on the left, given strong crossed connections from ear to brain. These findings indicate that processing at the level of the ear may facilitate lateralization of auditory function in the brain.     

合肥话连读变调与三字组轻声的优选论分析

连读变调与轻声是官话方言中两种常见现象。传统的看法是两者之间无密切联系。本文采用实验语音学的方法、运用音系学的最新理论—优选论对这两种现象进行了描述与音系分析，获得了具有原则性的统一解释。结果表明标记性制约条件“低调”既适用于连读变调又适用于三字组轻声音高的音系分析，因此两者之间有密切相关。     

山西省小麦、玉米养分资源管理现状及其养分平衡研究

对山西省小麦、玉米近10年的产量和养分施用状况以及养分平衡进行了分析。结果表明:自1991年以来,全省小麦、玉米总产随播种面积的下降在逐年下降,单产则随年际间气候变动波动很大。从养分施用情况看,全省化肥用量总体呈逐年上升趋势。2000年的农田调查结果显示,小麦、玉米施肥不足与过量现象共存,在所调查的样本数中,占样本数25%的农田施肥过量,主要集中在集约化生产程度高的南部地区,也是山西省小麦、玉米的主产区。占样本数50%的农田施肥不足,主要分布在山西省北中部地区,生产水平较低,以粗放式经营为主。对全省小麦、玉米养分平衡计算分析发现,氮磷养分处于盈余状态,盈余数量氮素多年变动在0.85万~3.57万t,磷素多年变动在3.15万~8.58万t。与氮磷养分不同,钾素多年处于亏缺状态,亏缺数量多年变动在0.04万~6.75万t。     

怀宁方言高洪片单字调实验研究

实验研究采用技术手段可以精确、迅速地测量声调，其所采用的定量方法与传统方言研究中的定性法互为补充。在怀宁方言高洪片单字调研究中，利用praat等软件分析发音人的声调曲线，提取基频数据，并使用对数z-score（LZ）法进行归一处理，最终得出高洪小片单字调的声调格局为阴平[42]，阳平[33]，上声[324]，阴去[51]，阳去[31]，入声[55]。     

Discriminative control of "attention"

Three pigeons were trained to discriminate between two tones differing in frequency in the presence of light of one color (A), and not to discriminate between the tones in the presence of light of another color (B). Generalization functions that were determined in the presence of light A showed control of behavior by the frequency of the tone; those determined in the presence of light B did not.     

Tones and numbers: specificity of interference in immediate memory

Recognition of the pitch of a tone was severely disrupted by the incorporation of six other tones during a 5-second retention interval, even though the intervening tones could be ignored. However, the requirement to recall six numbers spoken at equal loudness during the identical retention interval produced only a minimum decrement in the same pitch-recognition task. Further, the requirement to remember the tone produced no decrement in recall of the numbers. It is concluded that immediate memory for pitch is subject to a large interference effect which is highly specific in nature and which is not due to some limitation in general short-term memory capacity or to a distraction of attention.