Infinitival Clauses in Children With Typical and Late Language Emergence: Supporting a Dimensional Account of Language Delay

Children who do not speak single words by 2 years of age have been labeled as having late language emergence (LLE). While the majority of children with LLE recover by school-age, it has been argued that they often still perform below the level of their typical peers for specific linguistic skills. In this case, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) should consider language skills as varying along a dimension, rather than as simply impaired vs. unimpaired. To examine the dimensionality of language skill, this study compared infinitival clause production in 22 school-age children with and without LLE. The infinitive clauses were: catenatives, such as gonna; let us + verb, typically produced as let’s; unmarked infinitives such as make it go; and simple infinitives such as We want to run. The 22 participants included 11 with typical development and 11 with a history of LLE, sampled in a conversational context at 8-years of age. Analysis indicated that the groups did not statistically differ for use of the four types of infinitival clauses. However, the LLE group did use fewer simple infinitives, offering support for a dimensional model of language development

Use and management of information resources: a reality?

pp. 131-13

Variación genética de las poblaciones de Hydropuntia cornea (Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta) en las costas del Golfo de México y el Caribe mexicano

Hydropuntia cornea es una especie de alga roja estrictamente marina común en el Golfo de México y el Mar Caribe, caracterizada por presentar un amplio espectro de plasticidad fenotípica. Para determinar la variación genética al interior de sus poblaciones en México, se utilizaron 133 muestras recolectadas en 11 localidades a lo largo de la Península de Yucatán y tres en Venezuela y Brasil, las cuales fueron analizadas bajo la información de cinco marcadores moleculares organizados en dos grupos: las regiones espaciadoras RuBisCo, cox2-3 y el gen ITS que fueron utilizados para análisis de variación genética y, los genes rbcL y COI utilizados para filogenia. Los resultados con el primer grupo de marcadores revelaron que al interior de las poblaciones mexicanas de H. cornea, existen dos grupos genéticamente diferenciados, GI y GII. El segundo grupo de marcadores reveló que estos grupos genéticos corresponden con dos especies conocidas para el área: H. cornea e H. usneoides. El mejor marcador para estudios de variación genética en la especie fue la región espaciadora de la RuBisCo. La emersión del Bloque de la Península de Yucatán durante el Mioceno temprano (hace 19 ma), inició el proceso de especiación que aisló geográficamente a Campeche y, que tras el cierre del Istmo de Panamá durante el Plioceno medio (hace 3.1 ma), terminó con la separación de la especie ancestral en las actuales especies H. cornea e H. usneoides. Dado que el proceso de especiación ente ellas ha sido muy reciente, su separación no fue completa. Aunque el flujo genético entre ambas especies se ha interrumpido, permanecen interconectadas en las redes haplotípicas. A diferencia de la región espaciadora cox2-3, la cual mostró tres haplotipos (C1-C3), la región espaciadora de la RuBisCo, reveló la mayor diversidad genética con 12 haplotipos (R1- R12). Dado que el haplotipo R1 (designado como posible ancestro) corresponde con H usneoides, se infiere que esta especie es la más parecida al ancestro de ambas especies.La reducción del tamaño poblacional de H. cornea e H. usneoides, favoreció, como resultado de un proceso de expansión demográfica reciente en ambas especies, el incremento de la variación genética al interior de sus poblaciones, principalmente para las poblaciones de Campeche, las cuales mostraron la mayor variación genética. La presencia del haplotipo R1 a ambos lados de la Península de Yucatán asi como la composición haplotípica que revela una ruptura genética en Puerto Sisal, sugieren que la especie ancestral de H. cornea e H. usneoides, se originó en Campeche y desde ahí migró al resto del Mar Caribe hasta el norte de Brasil. Dada la distribución de los haplotipos R1-R12 al interior de las poblaciones, el Mar Caribe resultó ser un ambiente homogéneo en contraste con el Golfo de México, el cual, tanto por los constantes aportes de agua dulce, la falta de sustratos rocosos que faciliten el establecimiento de las especies y la convergencia de corrientes oceanográficas, lo convierten en un ambiente heterogéneo. Así pues, existe una relación entre la distancia genética y la distancia geográfica. La distribución de H. cornea está restringida al Caribe, mientras que a H. usneoides se le encuentra tanto en el Caribe, en simpatría con H. cornea, como en el Golfo de México, en donde es muy abundante y conspicua. Ambas especies están ausentes en Tabasco y Veracruz. A pesar de que Pernambuco es la localidad tipo de H. cornea, no se le encontró en esta localidad. Un tercer grupo genético, correspondiente con el haplotipo R12 exclusivo de Pernambuco, parece estar involucrado en la estructura genética de H. cornea e H. usneoides. Existe una alta variación morfológica al interior de H. cornea e H. usneoides, pero el rango de plasticidad fenotípica de ambas especies se sobrepone en un cien por ciento. La ausencia de caracteres morfológicos que las separen las coloca como un complejo morfológico de especies crípticas: H. cornea/H. usneoides

Florecimientos de microalgas planctónicas de 2000 al 2015 en la Bahía de Acapulco, Guerrero, México

Background and Aims: Harmful algal blooms (HABs) affect the marine ecosystem in multiple ways. The objective was to document the species that produced blooms in Acapulco Bay over a 15-year period (2000-2015) and analyze the presence of these events with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).Methods: Thirty-five collections, made during the years 2000, 2002-2004, 2006-2011, 2013-2015, were undertaken with phytoplankton nets and Van Dorn bottle, yielding 526 samples, of which 423 were quantified using the Utermöhl method. The relationship of HAB with ENSO was made with standardized values of Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) and the significance was evaluated with the method quadrant sums of Olmstead-Tukey.Key results: Using data of cell density and high relative abundance (>60%), 53 blooms were recorded, most of them occurring during the rainy season (June-October) and dry-cold season (November-March), plus 37 blooms reported by other authors. These 90 blooms were composed of 40 taxa: 21 diatoms and 19 dinoflagellates, the former mostly innocuous. Sixty-seven blooms had species reported as noxious, of which 11 species commonly produce toxic HAB. Toxic taxa are Pseudo-nitzschia spp. (four taxa), and seven dinoflagellates.Conclusions: Abundance analyses of Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum and Gymnodinium catenatum against values of MEI showed a clear tendency to produce HAB in La Niña conditions. Both taxa, producers of saxitoxins, cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and coexist in Acapulco; therefore, they present a risk to human health. Another noxious 52 taxa found in Acapulco were currently considered potential HABs, because they have been recorded at low densities. Given the sharp differences in density values of bloom-forming species found in this work compared to those reported by other authors on similar dates, it is important to perform calibration tests to rule out possible errors in cell counts.Antecedentes y Objetivos: Los florecimientos algales nocivos (FAN) afectan al ecosistema marino de varias maneras. El objetivo fue reconocer las especies productoras de dichos florecimientos en la Bahía de Acapulco, durante un periodo de 15 años (2000-2015) y relacionar su presencia con el fenómeno El Niño-Oscilación del Sur (ENSO).Métodos: Analizamos 526 muestras de 35 colectas efectuadas durante los años 2000, 2002-2004, 2006-2011 y 2013-2015, realizadas con red y botella Van Dorn; éstas últimas (423) cuantificadas con el método de Utermöhl. La relación de FAN con ENSO se hizo con valores estandarizados del Índice Multivariado ENSO (MEI), y las significancia evaluada con el método de Asociación de Cuadrantes de Olmstead-Tukey.Resultados clave: Con base en la densidad celular y abundancia relativa alta (>60%) se reconocieron 53 florecimientos, la mayoría durante la época de lluvias (junio-octubre) y secas-fría (noviembre-marzo), más otros 37 eventos reportados por distintos autores. Estos 90 eventos estuvieron conformados por 40 taxa (21 diatomeas y 19 dinoflagelados); los de diatomeas, en su mayoría, inocuos. Sesenta y siete florecimientos estuvieron conformados por especies reportadas como dañinas, de las cuales 11 comúnmente producen FAN tóxicos. Los taxa tóxicos fueron Pseudo-nitzschia spp. (cuatro taxa) y siete dinoflagelados.Conclusiones: Los análisis de abundancia de Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum y Gymnodinium catenatum, en relación con los valores MEI, mostraron una clara tendencia a producir FAN en condiciones La Niña. Ambos taxa, productores de saxitoxinas y causantes de envenenamiento paralítico por moluscos, incluso llegan a coexistir en Acapulco, representando un riesgo para la salud humana. Otros 52 taxa dañinos por encontrarse en bajas densidades, se consideraron por el momento potenciales formadores de FAN. Dadas las agudas diferencias encontradas en valores de densidad de especies formadoras de florecimientos respecto a las reportadas por otros autores en fechas similares, es importante realizar pruebas de calibración para descartar posibles errores en conteos celulares

La protección del paisaje a través del ordenamiento ecológico del territorio

El principal problema de la legislación nacional es la falta de un concepto jurídico del paisaje. Es importante entender que para una correcta tutela por parte del Estado del paisaje debemos de percibirlo como un bien jurídico de características inmateriales, de titularidad colectiva y distinto a los elementos que lo integran. Aunque podemos observar que la tutela del paisaje va de la mano con la protección de la naturaleza, el control y eliminación de la contaminación, el combate al cambio climático, este merece una protección específica en sí mismo por parte del derecho. En este artículo abordaremos los antecedentes internacionales de la protección del paisaje tales como: el Convenio para la Protección de la Flora, de la Fauna y de las Bellezas Escénicas Naturales de los Paisajes de América, la Convención de La Haya, la Convención para la Protección del Patrimonio Mundial, Cultural y Natural y el Convenio Europeo del Paisaje, este último es fundamental ya que traza la protección integral del paisaje, que comprende tanto el patrimonio cultural como el natural. A su vez analizamos el paisaje en el derecho comparado, abordando diferentes legislaciones europeas y latinoamericanas, así como la Iniciativa Latinoamericana del Paisaje. El análisis también incluye la revisión de la legislación nacional, considerando sus fundamentos constitucionales, las leyes secundarias que lo contemplan, y la iniciativa de ley de protección del paisaje, así como la jurisprudencia.Lack of a legal definition of landscape, is one of the main issues that protection of this legal subject is facing. It is important to understand that for an appropriate protection of landscape it must be considered as an immaterial and collective subject of legal protection, which is different from the elements that it comprises. Even when landscape protection is linked to preservation of nature, pollution control and climate change mitigation and adaptation, it deserves to be protected. In this paper we will discuss the international precedents for landscape protection such as the Convention on Nature Protection and Wild Life Preservation in the Western Hemisphere, The Hague Convention, Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the European Landscape Convention, which is fundamental given that it frames a holistic protection of landscape integrating cultural and natural heritage. In the same vein, we analyze landscape protection from the comparative law perspective, analyzing a series of European and Latin American legislations as well as the Landscape Latin American Initiative. The survey also includes the revision of the Mexican legal framework, considering its constitutional basis, secondary legislation and the resent initiative of a law for landscape protection, as well as the jurisprudence.Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (México). Unidad Azcapotzalco

Study of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9 in breast carcinomas and their association with metastasis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have garnered an extraordinary amount of interest in cancer research due to their role in tumor progression. By activating the production of several biological factors, TLRs induce type I interferons and other cytokines, which drive an inflammatory response and activate the adaptive immune system. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and clinical relevance of TLR3, 4 and 9 in breast cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression levels of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9 were analyzed on tumors from 74 patients with breast cancer. The analysis was performed by immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Samples of carcinomas with recurrence exhibited a significant increase in the mRNA levels of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9. Tumors showed high expression of TLRs expression levels by cancer cells, especially TLR4 and 9. Nevertheless, a significant percentage of tumors also showed TLR4 expression by mononuclear inflammatory cells (21.6%) and TLR9 expression by fibroblast-like cells (57.5%). Tumors with high TLR3 expression by tumor cell or with high TLR4 expression by mononuclear inflammatory cells were significantly associated with higher probability of metastasis. However, tumours with high TLR9 expression by fibroblast-like cells were associated with low probability of metastasis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The expression levels of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9 have clinical interest as indicators of tumor aggressiveness in breast cancer. TLRs may represent therapeutic targets in breast cancer.</p

COVID19 Disease Map, a computational knowledge repository of virus-host interaction mechanisms.

Funder: Bundesministerium für Bildung und ForschungFunder: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)We need to effectively combine the knowledge from surging literature with complex datasets to propose mechanistic models of SARS-CoV-2 infection, improving data interpretation and predicting key targets of intervention. Here, we describe a large-scale community effort to build an open access, interoperable and computable repository of COVID-19 molecular mechanisms. The COVID-19 Disease Map (C19DMap) is a graphical, interactive representation of disease-relevant molecular mechanisms linking many knowledge sources. Notably, it is a computational resource for graph-based analyses and disease modelling. To this end, we established a framework of tools, platforms and guidelines necessary for a multifaceted community of biocurators, domain experts, bioinformaticians and computational biologists. The diagrams of the C19DMap, curated from the literature, are integrated with relevant interaction and text mining databases. We demonstrate the application of network analysis and modelling approaches by concrete examples to highlight new testable hypotheses. This framework helps to find signatures of SARS-CoV-2 predisposition, treatment response or prioritisation of drug candidates. Such an approach may help deal with new waves of COVID-19 or similar pandemics in the long-term perspective

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

The role of experience in acquisition of English grammar

textChildren learn language through experience by hearing and speaking the target language (Lany & Gomez, 2008; Rinaldo & Caselli, 2008). Children with different levels of experience with English would be expected to perform differently on linguistic tasks, including grammatical performance, depending on the amount of experience they have with English. Previous studies have found differences in grammatical performance depending on the amount of English the child speaks at home and school and socioeconomic status (SES) (Gathercole, 2002a; 2002b). DeBot (2000) proposes an adaptation of Levelt’s (1993) blueprint of the speaker, where he postulates that individuals who have more experience with a second language will present with less influence from the first language. The current study aims to evaluate changes made from pre-test to post-test, as well as performance at pre-test and post-test in the use of grammatical and Spanish-influenced utterances by Spanish-English bilingual children with different amounts of experience with English. We also evaluated the grammaticality of the Spanish-influenced utterances produced. Eighty-four Spanish-English bilingual kindergarten age children with typically developing language participated in the pre-test, narrative intervention, and post-test. Children’s current use of English ranged from 3% to 100% of the time during a typical week, based on parent and teacher reports. We also evaluated the role of mother SES (using weighted values for mother’s level of education and mother’s occupation); scores ranged from 0 to 58. Consistent with predictions from DeBot’s (2000) adaptation of Levelt’s (1993) blueprint of the speaker, results show that experience with English did make a difference in performance. Children who had more experience with English produced more grammatical utterances and fewer Spanish-influenced utterances. Overall, a small amount of Spanish-influenced utterances were used, but when Spanish-influenced utterances were used, they were more likely to be ungrammatical. Consistent with previous studies, experience appears to be predictive of performance in the use of grammatical and Spanish-influenced utterances in English. Clinically, results demonstrate the importance of understanding the client’s experience with English when evaluating language performance. Future studies are needed to determine if similar patterns are evident in bilingual children with language impairment.Communication Sciences and Disorder