Children's Pronoun Interpretation Problems Are Related to Theory of Mind and Inhibition, But Not Working Memory

In several languages, including English and Dutch, children’s acquisition of the interpretation of object pronouns (e.g., him) is delayed compared to that of reflexives (e.g., himself). Various syntactic and pragmatic explanations have been proposed to account for this delay in children’s acquisition of pronoun interpretation. This study aims to provide more insight into this delay by investigating potential cognitive mechanisms underlying this delay. Dutch-speaking children between 6 and 12 years old with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 47), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 36) or typical development (TD; n = 38) were tested on their interpretation and production of object pronouns and reflexives and on theory of mind, working memory, and response inhibition. It was found that all three groups of children had difficulty with pronoun interpretation and that their performance on pronoun interpretation was associated with theory of mind and inhibition. These findings support an explanation of object pronoun interpretation in terms of perspective taking, according to which listeners need to consider the speaker’s perspective in order to block coreference between the object pronoun and the subject of the same sentence. Unlike what is predicted by alternative theoretical accounts, performance on pronoun interpretation was not associated with working memory, and the children made virtually no errors in their production of object pronouns. As the difficulties with pronoun interpretation were similar for children with ASD, children with ADHD and typically developing children, this suggests that certain types of perspective taking are unaffected in children with ASD and ADHD

Density-dependent switches in diet:a likely mechanism for negative feedbacks on goose population increase?

Goose grazing on arctic tundra vegetation has shown both positive and negative effects on subsequent foraging conditions. To understand the potential of a density-dependent feedback on herbivore population size, the relation between grazing pressure and future foraging conditions is essential. We studied the effect of increasing grazing pressure of barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) on Spitsbergen. During the establishment of a breeding colony in the period 1992-2004, the proportion of graminoids decreased in the diet of wild geese, while the percentage of mosses increased. Grazing trials with captive geese in an unexploited area showed a similar shift in diet composition. High-quality food plants were depleted within years and over years. Intake rate declined too and as consequence, metabolisable energy intake rate (MEIR) decreased rapidly with increasing grazing pressure. During three successive years of experimental grazing, MEIR decreased at all levels of grazing pressure and declined below minimal energetic requirements when grazing exceeded natural levels of grazing pressure. This suggests that foraging conditions rapidly decline with increasing grazing pressure in these low-productive habitats. The potential for density-dependent feedbacks on local population increase is discussed

Recreation reduces tick density through fine-scale risk effects on deer space-use

Altered interactions between pathogens, their hosts and vectors have potential consequences for human disease risk. Notably, tick-borne pathogens, many of which are associated with growing deer abundance, show global increasing prevalence and pose increasing challenges for disease prevention. Human activities can largely affect the patterns of deer space-use and can therefore be potential management tools to alleviate human-wildlife conflicts. Here, we tested how deer space-use patterns are influenced by human recreational activities, and how this in turn affects the spatial distribution of the sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus), a relevant disease vector of zoonoses such as Lyme borrelioses. We compared deer dropping and questing tick density on transects near (20 m) and further away from (100 m) forest trails that were either frequently used (open for recreation) or infrequently used (closed for recreation, but used by park managers). In contrast to infrequently used trails, deer dropping density was 31% lower near (20 m) than further away from (100 m) frequently used trails. Similarly, ticks were 62% less abundant near (20 m) frequently used trails compared to further away from (100 m) these trails, while this decline in tick numbers was only 14% near infrequently used trails. The avoidance by deer of areas close to human-used trails was thus associated with a similar reduction in questing tick density near these trails. As tick abundance generally correlates to pathogen prevalence, the use of trails for recreation may reduce tick-borne disease risk for humans on and near these trails. Our study reveals an unexplored effect of human activities on ecosystems and how this knowledge could be potentially used to mitigate zoonotic disease risk

Variety of Clostridium difficile PCR ribotypes in pigs arriving at the slaughterhouse

Food products of animal origin might play a role in interspecies transmission of C. difficile. In pigs, Clostridium difficile can cause neonatal enteritis and can be isolated from faeces from both diseased and healthy animals. To determine the prevalence of C. difficile in Dutch pigs arriving at the slaughterhouse a pilot study was conducted at one slaughterhouse in the Netherlands. Rectal faecal samples were taken from fifty slaughtering pigs from ten farms just after the pigs were sedated. These samples were examined using a real time PCR (BD GeneOhmTM Cdiff Assay), in combination with culturing after enrichment. Using real time PCR, none of the faecal samples were found to be positive for C. difficile while after culturing 14 samples (coming from pigs from nine different farms) were found to be positive for C. difficile. The positive samples derived from 9 different farms and encompassed seven different ribotypes

Performance of four different diagnostic tests for C. difficile infection in piglets

Clostridium difficile is emerging as a pathogen in man as well as in animals. In 2000 it was described as a cause of neonatal enteritis in piglets and it is now the most common cause of neonatal diarrhoea in the USA. In Europe, C. difficile infection (CDI) in neonatal piglets has also been reported. Diagnosis of this infection is based on detection of the bacterium or its toxins A and B

Exploring the association of staff characteristics with staff perceptions of quality of life of individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours

Background This study aimed to examine the associations between individual staff and staff team characteristics and quality of life of individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours. Method With multilevel analyses, we examined educational level, experience, attitudes and behaviours of 240 staff members, in relation to their perception of quality of life of 152 individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours they cared for. Results Two individual staff characteristics were related to better quality of life: higher educational and self-reflection levels. Of the team characteristics, higher educational level, higher self-efficacy and more friendly behaviour were associated with better quality of life. Unexpectedly, higher staff-individual ratio was related to lower quality of life. Conclusions Both individual staff and staff team characteristics are associated with quality of life, indicating the need to take staff team characteristics into account when examining quality of life

Mycobacterium haemophilum and Lymphadenitis in Children

Mycobacterium haemophilum is the second most common pathogen in children with mycobacterial lymphadenitis

Exposure to challenging behaviours and burnout symptoms among care staff:the role of psychological resources

Background Staff supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities are at risk of burnout symptoms. Evidence suggests an association between exposure to challenging behaviours of individuals with intellectual disabilities and burnout symptoms of staff, but the protective role of staff psychological resources in this relation has been understudied. Method We investigated the association between exposure to challenging behaviours and burnout symptoms of staff and the direct and moderating effects of several psychological resources. Staff (N = 1271) completed an online survey concerning burnout symptoms (subscale Emotional Exhaustion of the Maslach Burnout Inventory), exposure to challenging behaviours and a range of potential psychological resources. We examined main and moderating effects with multilevel analyses. In order to control for the multiple comparisons, P values corrected for false discovery rate (P-FDR) were reported. Results We found a direct relation between exposure to challenging behaviours and increased levels of burnout symptoms in staff (b = .15, t(670) = 4.466, P-FDR <.0001). Perceived supervisor social support (b = -.97, t(627) = -7.562, P-FDR <.0001), staff self-efficacy (b = -.23, t(673) = -3.583, P-FDR <.0001), resilience (b = -.19, t(668) = -2.086, P-FDR <.05) and extraversion (b = -.20, t(674) = -3.514, P-FDR <.05) were associated with reduced burnout symptoms. None of the proposed psychological resources moderated the association between exposure to challenging behaviours and burnout symptoms of staff. Conclusions Of the psychological resources found to be associated with reduced risk of burnout symptoms, staff self-efficacy and access of staff to supervisor social support seem to be the factors that can be influenced best. These factors thus may be of importance in reducing the risk of developing burnout symptoms and improving staff well-being, even though the current study was not designed to demonstrate causal relations between psychological resources and burnout symptoms

Some Siegel modular standard L-values, and Shafarevich–Tate groups

AbstractWe explain how the Bloch–Kato conjecture leads us to the following conclusion: a large prime dividing a critical value of the L-function of a classical Hecke eigenform f of level 1, should often also divide certain ratios of critical values for the standard L-function of a related genus two (and in general vector-valued) Hecke eigenform F. The relation between f and F (Harderʼs conjecture in the vector-valued case) is a congruence involving Hecke eigenvalues, modulo the large prime. In the scalar-valued case we prove the divisibility, subject to weak conditions. In two instances in the vector-valued case, we confirm the divisibility using elaborate computations involving special differential operators. These computations do not depend for their validity on any unproved conjecture

Clostridium difficile infection in an endemic setting in the Netherlands

The purpose of this investigation was to study risk factors for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in an endemic setting. In a 34-month prospective case–control study, we compared the risk factors and clinical characteristics of all consecutively diagnosed hospitalised CDI patients (n = 93) with those of patients without diarrhoea (n = 76) and patients with non-CDI diarrhoea (n = 64). The incidence of CDI was 17.5 per 10,000 hospital admissions. C. difficile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotype 014 was the most frequently found type (15.9%), followed by types 078 (12.7%) and 015 (7.9%). Independent risk factors for endemic CDI were the use of second-generation cephalosporins, previous hospital admission and previous stay at the intensive care unit (ICU). The use of third-generation cephalosporins was a risk factor for diarrhoea in general. We found no association of CDI with the use of fluoroquinolones or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). The overall 30-day mortality among CDI patients, patients without diarrhoea and patients with non-CDI diarrhoea was 7.5%, 0% and 1.6%, respectively. In this endemic setting, risk factors for CDI differed from those in outbreak situations. Some risk factors that have been ascribed to CDI earlier were, in this study, not specific for CDI, but for diarrhoea in general. The 30-day mortality among CDI patients was relatively high