Two words as one:a multi-naming investigation of the age-of-acquisition effect in compound-word processing

Previous research has shown that early-acquired words are produced faster than late-acquired words (see Juhasz, 2005). Juhasz and colleagues (Juhasz, Lai & Woodcock, 2015; Juhasz, 2018) argue that the Age-of-Acquisition (AoA) loci for complex words, specifically compound words, are found at the lexical/semantic level. In the current study, two experiments were conducted to evaluate this claim and investigate the influence of AoA in reading compound words aloud. In Experiment 1, 48 participants completed a word naming task. Using general linear mixed modelling, we found that the age at which the compound word was learned significantly affected the naming latencies beyond the other psycholinguistic properties measured. The second experiment required 48 participants to name the compound word when the two morphemes were presented with a space in-between (combinatorial naming, e.g. air plane). We found that the age at which the compound word was learned, as well as the AoA of the individual morphemes that formed the compound word, significantly influenced combinatorial naming latency. These findings are discussed in relation to theories of the AoA in language processing

The International Climate Psychology Collaboration:Climate change-related data collected from 63 countries

Climate change is currently one of humanity’s greatest threats. To help scholars understand the psychology of climate change, we conducted an online quasi-experimental survey on 59,508 participants from 63 countries (collected between July 2022 and July 2023). In a between-subjects design, we tested 11 interventions designed to promote climate change mitigation across four outcomes: climate change belief, support for climate policies, willingness to share information on social media, and performance on an effortful pro-environmental behavioural task. Participants also reported their demographic information (e.g., age, gender) and several other independent variables (e.g., political orientation, perceptions about the scientific consensus). In the no-intervention control group, we also measured important additional variables, such as environmentalist identity and trust in climate science. We report the collaboration procedure, study design, raw and cleaned data, all survey materials, relevant analysis scripts, and data visualisations. This dataset can be used to further the understanding of psychological, demographic, and national-level factors related to individual-level climate action and how these differ across countries

The comparative mechanisms of silent reading and reading aloud in people with dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia is a lifelong condition that manifests itself as a reading and spelling impairment. This thesis explored the quality of lexical representation in the neurotypical and dyslexic populations, using a suite of individual difference measures and the masked priming paradigm. Chapters 2 and 3 revealed that in the neurotypical population, the priming effect in word recognition was driven by a component related to phonological precision, while a factor linked to orthographic precision contributed to the priming effects of word and pseudoword production. Chapter 4, demonstrated in the dyslexic population, the priming effects in word and pseudoword rejection was driven by a component linked to lexical precision, whereas no individual factor drove the priming effects for word or pseudoword production. Chapter 5 showed that that 34% of people with dyslexia had stuttered during childhood, with the prevalence rate being moderated by the severity of dyslexia. In addition, people with dyslexia did not differ from people who stutter in any phonological processing measures. These findings indicate that people with dyslexia have a phonological, together with orthographic precision, impairment

Phonological precision for word recognition in skilled readers

publishedVersio

An object choice task review

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Open Science in the Developing World:A Collection of Practical Guides for Researchers in Developing Countries

Over the past decade, the open-science movement has transformed the research landscape, although its impact has largely been confined to developed countries. Recently, researchers from developing countries have called for a redesign of open science to better align with their unique contexts. However, raising awareness alone is insufficient—practical actions are required to drive meaningful and inclusive change. In this work, we analyze the opportunities offered by the open-science movement and explore the macro- and micro-level barriers researchers in developing countries face when engaging with these practices. Drawing on these insights and aiming to inspire researchers in developing regions or other resource-constrained contexts to embrace open-science practices, we offer a four-level guide for gradual engagement: (a) foundation, using open resources to build a solid foundation for rigorous research; (b) growth, adopting low-cost, easily implementable practices; (c) community, contributing to open-science communities through actionable steps; and (d) leadership, taking on leadership roles or forming local communities to foster cultural change. We further discuss potential pitfalls of the current open-science practices and call for readaptation of these practices in developing countries’ settings. We conclude by outlining concrete recommendations for future action

Effect of Yoghourt Starter Culture and Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles on the Activity of Enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus in Domiati Cheese

Domiati cheese is the most popular type of white soft cheese in Egypt. Staphylococcus aureus is a common microorganism that can easily contaminate Domiati cheese during processing and distribution. Enterotoxigenic S. aureus strains produce staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) that have been involved in food poisoning outbreaks worldwide. The aim of the present study was to examine the inhibitory effect of yoghourt starter culture and nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) on the development of the enterotoxigenic S. aureus together with the enterotoxin production during the manufacturing and storage of Domiati cheese. Fresh cow’s milk was inoculated with S. aureus in a count of six log CFU/mL with the addition of either yoghourt starter culture or NiO Nps. The cytotoxicity of NiO NPs on normal human epithelial cells (HEC) was assessed using the MTT assay. In the current study, the inoculated milk was used for making Domiati cheese and the survival Weibull and log-linear models were fitted to the observed data. The obtained results showed that the mean log count of S. aureus decreased one week earlier by using yoghourt starter culture. Staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) was identified only in the control cheese. Notably, Domiati cheese contained MIC of NiO NPs (35 µg/mL), which resulted in a significant decrease in S. aureus counts since at day 21 of cheese ripening it was not detected (<10 CFU/g). Overall, the current study indicated that the addition of yoghourt starter culture and NiO NPs during the processing of Domiati cheese could be useful candidates against S. aureus and enterotoxin production in the dairy industry

Academic anxiety and cognitive reflection in neurodivergence based on evidence from a large international sample

Anxiety is commonly experienced by neurodivergent individuals participating in higher education, related to both cognitive performance and academic achievement. Whereas certain anxieties in neurodivergence (e.g., social and general anxiety) have received more attention, scant research has considered mathematics and statistics anxiety. In this study, 1383 university students (679 neurotypical, 704 neurodivergent individuals)—matched on age, gender, education level, and country of origin—completed measures assessing various types of academic-related anxiety, attitudes toward mathematics, self-efficacy, and cognitive reflection. Results showed that neurodivergent students exhibited higher anxiety levels across measures, including mathematics and statistics anxiety. However, only cognitive and somatic anxiety, and social anxiety were related to neurodivergent status after taking into account the effects of the other measures. Despite differing anxiety levels (which showed variability between different neurodivergences), neurodivergent and neurotypical students in general were equivalent in cognitive reflection scores, suggesting similar levels of analytic thinking skills, including reasoning about mathematical content. In both the neurotypical and neurodivergent groups, higher levels of cognitive reflection were associated with male gender, less fear of negative evaluation, and lower mathematics and creativity anxiety, replicating and extending previous work. Our findings have implications for supporting neurodivergent individuals in academic settings and other sectors

Evaluation of Serum SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Antigen as a Diagnostic Tool in COVID-19 Patients

COVID-19 has caused millions of casualties and deaths around the world. Countries all over the world exert great efforts to control the fast spread of the disease. Rapid diagnosis is a key tool in controlling the infection; therefore, numerous diagnostic techniques were developed quickly and are available commercially. This study evaluated the use of nucleocapsid antigen (N-antigen) as a diagnostic tool in COVID-19 patients. A cross-sectional investigation was carried out on 164 people undergoing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) PCR testing at various government laboratories in Alexandria. The research was carried out between March 2021 and January 2022. Data such as symptoms, lab investigations and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) cycle threshold (Ct) values were collected by interviewing participants and from medical records. A serum sample was collected from each participant for detection of N-antigen by ELISA kit. Ninety-eight (59.8%) of the 164 examined participants had positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR results. Thirteen individuals (18.9%) exhibited varying quantities of the SARS-CoV-2 N-antigen. Antigen concentrations were significantly inversely connected with RT-PCR Ct values and positively correlated with CRP levels in SARS-CoV-2 N-antigen positive subjects. Furthermore, a strong correlation was found between N-antigen concentrations and hospitalization, fever, body aches, and pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2 N-antigen detection has high specificity (98.5%) but very low sensitivity (30.6%). Despite the high specificity of the SARS-CoV-2 N-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) evaluated in this study, its diagnostic utility is limited by its low sensitivity. The assay’s poor sensitivity undermines its standalone diagnostic value, especially when compared to RT-PCR