There are few studies on the role of phonation cues in the perception of lexical tones in tonal languages where pitch is the primary dimension of contrast. This study shows that listeners are sensitive to creaky phonation in native tonal perception in Cantonese, a language in which the low falling tone, Tone 4, has anecdotally been reported to be sometimes creaky. First, in a multi-speaker corpus of lab speech, it is documented that creak occurs systematically more often on Tone 4 than other tones. Second, for stimuli drawn from this corpus, listeners identified Tone 4 with 20% higher accuracy when it was realized with creak than when it was not. Third, in a two-alternative forced choice task of identifying stimuli as Tone 4 or Tone 6 (the low level tone) isolating creak from any concomitant pitch cues, listeners had a higher proportion of Tone 4 responses for creaky stimuli. Finally, listeners had more Tone 4 responses for creaky stimuli with longer durations of nonmodal phonation. These results underscore that differences in voice quality contribute to human perception of tone alongside f0. Automatic tonal recognition and clinical applications for tone would benefit from attention to voice quality beyond f0 and pitch.

A variety of genetic techniques have been devised to determine cell lineage relationships during tissue development. Some of these systems monitor cell lineages spatially and/or temporally without regard to gene expression by the cells, whereas others correlate gene expression with the lineage under study. The GAL4 Technique for Real-time and Clonal Expression (G-TRACE) system allows for rapid, fluorescent protein-based visualization of both current and past GAL4 expression patterns and is therefore amenable to genome-wide expression-based lineage screens. Here we describe the results from such a screen, performed by undergraduate students of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Undergraduate Research Consortium for Functional Genomics (URCFG) and high school summer scholars as part of a discovery-based education program. The results of the screen, which reveal novel expression-based lineage patterns within the brain, the imaginal disc epithelia, and the hematopoietic lymph gland, have been compiled into the G-TRACE Expression Database (GED), an online resource for use by the Drosophila research community. The impact of this discovery-based research experience on student learning gains was assessed independently and shown to be greater than that of similar programs conducted elsewhere. Furthermore, students participating in the URCFG showed considerably higher STEM retention rates than UCLA STEM students that did not participate in the URCFG, as well as STEM students nationwide.

Introduction: The rate of organ donation in Hong Kong is among the lowest in developed regions. Since medical students will play an important role in counselling patients for organ donation and identifying potential donors in the future, their knowledge, attitudes and action for organ donation are important. Therefore, this study aimed to understand knowledge, attitudes and actions with regard to organ donation among medical students and investigate the factors determining the knowledge and attitudes.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, medical students in Hong Kong were invited to complete an online questionnaire that assessed their attitudes, knowledge, action of organ donation, belief and perception on death and organ donation, commitment towards organ donation, perceived confidence and competence on discussing organ donation, exposure to registered organ donors and potential organ recipients, and self-competence in death work. Linear regression analyses and logistic regression were performed to analyse the effect of the variables on knowledge, attitudes and action for organ donation.Results: 377 medical students participated in the study. Almost all medical students (99.5%) held a positive attitude towards organ donation, but only 28.1% have signed up as organ donors. Determinants of knowledge of organ donation included belief in preservation of intact body after death (β = –.135, 95% CI = –.235 - –.036) and perceived confidence and competence of organ donation discussion (β = –.120, 95% CI = –.221 - –.018). Predictors of organ donor registration status included knowledge of organ donation (OR = 1.031, 95% CI = 1.006 - 1.060), perceived convenience of organ donation registration (OR = 3.751, 95% CI = 1.616 - 8.710), commitment to organ donation (OR = 3.810, 95% CI = 2.012 - 7.210), and exposure to organ donation (OR = 4.283, 95% CI = 2.370 - 7.740).Conclusions and Relevance: Knowledge is positively associated with organ donation action. The above determinants of knowledge of organ donation in medical education and health promotion could be emphasized in medical education. Future research may evaluate the effectiveness of different education programmes in improving the knowledge and actions of medical students.

ObjectivesThe rate of organ donation in Hong Kong is among the lowest in developed regions. Since medical students will play an important role in counselling patients for organ donation and identifying potential donors in the future, their knowledge, attitudes and action for organ donation are important. This study aims to understand knowledge, attitudes and actions with regard to organ donation among medical students and investigate the factors determining the knowledge and attitudes.DesignA cross-sectional study.Setting and participantsMedical students in Hong Kong were invited to complete a questionnaire. 377 medical students participated in the study.MethodsThe questionnaire assessed their attitudes, knowledge, action of organ donation, belief and perception on organ donation, and other factors. Linear regression analyses and logistic regression were performed to analyse the effect of the variables on knowledge, attitudes and action for organ donation.ResultsAlmost all medical students (99.5%) held a positive attitude towards organ donation, but only 28.1% have signed up as organ donors. Determinants of knowledge of organ donation included belief in preservation of intact body after death (β = –0.14, 95% CI = –0.24 to –0.04) and perceived confidence and competence of organ donation discussion (β = –0.12, 95% CI = –0.22 to –0.02). Predictors of organ donor registration status included knowledge of organ donation (OR=1.03, 95% CI=1.00 to 1.06), perceived convenience of organ donation registration (OR=3.75, 95% CI=1.62 to 8.71), commitment to organ donation (OR=3.81, 95% CI=2.01 to 7.21) and exposure to organ donation (OR=4.28, 95% CI=2.37 to 7.74).ConclusionsKnowledge is positively associated with organ donation action. The above determinants of organ donation could be emphasised in medical education.