Infants' mu suppression during the observation of real and mimicked goal-directed actions

Since their discovery in the early 1990s, mirror neurons have been proposed to be related to many social-communicative abilities, such as imitation. However, research into the early manifestations of the putative neural mirroring system and its role in early social development is still inconclusive. In the current EEG study, mu suppression, generally thought to reflect activity in neural mirroring systems was investigated in 18- to 30-month-olds during the observation of object manipulations as well as mimicked actions. EEG power data recorded from frontal, central, and parietal electrodes were analysed. As predicted, based on previous research, mu wave suppression was found over central electrodes during action observation and execution. In addition, a similar suppression was found during the observation of intransitive, mimicked hand movements. To a lesser extent, the results also showed mu suppression at parietal electrode sites, over all three conditions. Mu wave suppression during the observation of hand movements and during the execution of actions was significantly correlated with quality of imitation, but not with age or language level

Assessing the consequences of policy measures on long-term agricultural productivity – Quantification for Flanders

Policy can influence the long-term agricultural resource productivity by stimulating/discouraging farmers to apply certain land use practices (LUP), as LUPs may affect the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, hence influencing crop productivity. We introduce six policy strategies, each characterized by its own mix of LUPs, for the Flemish agricultural sector. Three strategies reveal the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the past, while others reflect the potential of the CAP and the application of compost. We use the life cycle impact assessment indicators ‘SOC change’ and ‘biomass productivity loss’, which account for the impact of LUPs on SOC and yield, to assess the effects on long-term productivity. To avoid burden shifting, also the resource footprint is calculated. Several farm management systems (FMS) are distinguished, each characterized by a specific combination of farm type, agricultural region, rotation system and manure type. The results highlight that policies such as the CAP significantly contribute to a better SOC stock and (to a lesser extent) productivity. Furthermore, applying extra compost seems to be promising: it can result in an increasing resource productivity and reduced resource footprint. It is important to consider the resource footprint as only for one strategy the resource consumption outweighs the benefit (i.e. reduction in N fertilizer) in the short or medium term, while also being beneficial in terms of resource productivity. As the results differ per FMS, a differentiated approach is advisable when specific LUPs are stimulated in the context of sustainable farming