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Reading can be regarded as a combination of lexical decoding and linguistic comprehension (Hoover and Gough in Read Writ Interdiscip J 2:127-160, 1990). In Chinese sentence reading, skilled readers' difficulties in phonological processing significantly enhance the 'wrap-up' effect (Li and Lin in J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 25(4):505-516, 2020). To examine how orthographic processing in Chinese two-character word recognition might interact with adjective-noun collocation (ANC) comprehension before the wrap-up effect, two experiments were conducted in the same paradigm as used by Li and Lin (J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 25(4):505-516, 2020). The sentences contained ANCs or semantically inappropriate combinations of adjectives and nouns (nANCs), the adjectives (Experiment 1) or the nouns (Experiment 2) of which were two-character words or corresponding transposed nonwords (T-nonwords). Similar results were obtained in both experiments: difficulties in T-nonword processing and in nANC comprehension collectively lengthened the reading times of the words immediately following. In conclusion, sentence reading likely contains interactions between orthographic processing and linguistic comprehension. As an indication of psycholinguistic significance, skilled readers have to use extra resources to suspend the cognitive vigilance that arises from unexpected demand in lexical decoding, in addition to their main focus of linguistic comprehension.

Two experiments were conducted to examine native and non-native speakers' recognition of Chinese two-character words (2C-words) in the context of audio sentence comprehension. The recording was played of a sentence, in which a collocation composed of a number word, a sortal classifier, and a noun (NCN) was embedded. When the participants were about to hear the noun of the NCN (Noun), the playing stopped, and a target was visually presented, which was the Noun, the character-transposed word of the Noun (NounT), or a control word (NounC), or was a homophone nonword for Noun, NounT, or NounC. The participants were required to make a lexical decision on the target before they resumed listening. The results showed that both native and non-native speakers were able to take visually presented 2C-word targets as semantic whole entities in the context of audio sentence comprehension, which was mediated by their Chinese proficiency. Native speakers readily processed visually presented 2C-words both as wholes and according to their constituent characters, but non-native speakers were not likely to process the 2C-words according to their constituent characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In written Chinese, the graphic units are Chinese characters (CCs). Most of the commonly used characters often join with others to form two-character words (2C-words) or words of more than two characters. Indeed, over 70% of the commonly used words are 2C-words. Since almost all characters are meaningful in their own right, there are semantic overlaps between 2C-words and their constituent characters. The present study investigated how normative semantic overlap of 2C-words and their constituent characters (SWC) might be influenced by whether the constituent characters are word or word-not characters (Wording) and by whether they are left or right characters (Positioning) and might be predicted by ordinary features of the constituent characters. The results confirmed earlier work that word-not characters are more strongly associated than word characters with 2C-words, and that right characters are more strongly than left characters associated with the 2C-words in semantics. The present study is also the first to provide evidence concerning the prediction of SWC by the norm features of the constituent characters. Skilled readers' perception of the semantic features, frequency features and number-of-word features of the constituent characters may be mediated by Wording and Positioning in 2C-word semantic processing. However, they are not likely to perceive the visual features of the constituent characters. Rather, they seem to take the constituent characters of m-CCs as individual units, which should be highly familiar to them. In a semantic task on 2C-words, skilled readers may process the constituent characters in number of meanings, concreteness, imageability and emotion arousal, but not in sensory experience arousal. There appears to be a close association in valence between the 2C-words and the word characters, but not between the 2C-words and the word-not characters. These findings strongly support the theoretical argument that both words and characters should be taken as language units in Chinese. However, Wording and Positioning should be considered carefully when considering a CC as a language unit. These findings may be of more general significance for semantic understanding of compound words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) mediates cognitive function that is sensitive to disruption by sleep loss, and molecular mechanisms regulating neural dysfunction induced by chronic sleep restriction (CSR), particularly in the PFC, have yet to be completely understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of chronic REM sleep restriction (REM-CSR) on the D1 receptor (D1R) and key molecules in D1R’ signal pathways in PFC. We employed the modified multiple platform method to create the REM-CSR rat model. The ultrastructure of PFC was observed by electron microscopy. HPLC was performed to measure the DA level in PFC. The expressions of genes and proteins of related molecules were assayed by real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. The general state and morphology of PFC in rats were changed by CSR, and DA level and the expression of D1R in PFC were markedly decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05); the expression of phosphor-PKAcα was significantly lowered in CSR rats (P<0.05). The present results suggested that the alteration of neuropathology and D1R expression in PFC may be associated with CSR induced cognitive dysfunction, and the PKA pathway of D1R may play an important role in the impairment of advanced neural function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of MgFexCr2-xO4spinels (x = 0, 0.2, 0.6, and 0.8) was successfully prepared by controllable microwave synthesis using Mg(NO3)2 · 6H2O, Fe(NO3)3 · 9H2O, Cr(NO3)3 · 9H2O, acrylamide, and polyvinyl alcohol as raw materials. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction and physical property measurement system as solid solutions of MgFe2O4and MgCr2O4. The lattice constant of MgFexCr2-xO4(0 ≤x ≤ 1.0) crystals has a good linear relationship with the doping densityx. The synthesized products have high crystallinities with neat arrays. As the Fe doping amountxwas increased, the grain size was reduced and the crystal lattice constant was increased. The MgFexCr2-xO4nanoparticles exhibited antiferromagnetism. The MgFe0.6Cr1.4O4antiferromagnetic phase variation point (TN) was 20 K (Neel temperature). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co2+-doped MgCr2O4 nanocrystals were prepared by a microwave method. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), as well as Mg and Cr nitrates, with a molar ratio of metal ion to PVA monomer unit of 1:3, was irradiated with 2.45 GHz microwaves at microwave powers ranging from 400 to 900 W. These were used as precursors for Co2+-doped MgCr2O4 spinels. The Co2+-doped MgCr2O4 nanocrystals were produced by calcining the precursors at temperatures above 500°C. They were then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the results of which suggest that MgCr2O4 nanocrystals with good spinel structures can be prepared via the microwave method. Infrared (IR) spectra showed that PVA was decomposed. The observed excitation and emission spectra of nanocrystalline powders in the visible regions were characteristic of tetrahedral Co2+ ions, indicating that Co2+ ions entered the MgCr2O4 crystal by replacing tetrahedral Mg2+ ions. The bands at 677.6 nm are assigned to spin-allowed 4T1(4P) →4A2(4F) transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]