LATENT PROFILES OF PHYSICAL AGGRESSION AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIORS IN INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

Physical aggression is known to be common and prevelant in infancy and toddlerhood. Individual differences in physical aggression can be relatively stable already in infancy and toddlerhood, and predict a range of negative outcomes later in life. Several studies have identified children who exhibit high levels of aggression throughout their childhood beginning in infancy and toddlerhood. Most research has focused on identifying risk factors associated with such chronic aggression. Surprisingly, there is very little attention paid to the role prosocial behavior plays in the early development of aggression. Yet, some evidence suggests that aggression and prosocial behavior can go hand in hand earlier in the development. Recent studies have even identified different groups of children who demonstrate distinct trajectories of aggression and prosocial behavior beginning in toddlerhood. Despite that both aggression and prosocial behavior emerge during the first two years of life, there is a dearth of studies examining the co-development of aggression and prosocial behaviors during that developmental period. Thus, the goal of this cross-sectional study was to examine whether I could identify distinct profiles of 4- to 15-month-old children based on their physical aggression and prosocial behavior, and whether profile membership would be differentially associated with children’s age, motor skills, temper loss, and harsh-parenting. Participants included a sample of 376 mothers in the US of infants of 4 to 15 months, (6.4% boys; Mage = 9.41 months), who completed scales measuring infant exploratory and directed aggression, prosocial behaviors, early motor development, temper loss, and harsh parenting. I conducted latent profile analyses. Relying on several fit indices, the present study identified 5 different profiles of children, aged 4-to 15 months, who displayed varied levels of prosocial behavior and/or physical aggression. The study covariates were also differentially related to behavioral profiles. These results highlight the importance of studying the early development of physical aggression together with prosocial behavior to better understand the deficits and skills of different aggressive children. Taking a person-centered approach allows researchers to identify different subgroups of infants who may benefit from different intervention efforts, depending on their unique set of skills and deficits

Wealth inequality and activism: Perceiving injustice galvanizes social change but perceptions depend on political ideologies

What motivates people to engage in activism against wealth inequality? The simple answer is, perceiving injustice. However, the current work demonstrates that these perceptions depend on political ideologies. More specifically, for political liberals who frequently question the fairness of the economic system, messages simply describing the extent of the inequality (distributive injustice) are enough to motivate activism (Study 1). For political conservatives, who are inclined to believe that inequality results from fair procedures, messages must also detail how the system of economic forces is unjust (procedural injustice; Studies 2 and 3). Together, these studies suggest perceiving injustice can galvanize social change, but for conservatives, this means more than simply outlining the extent of the inequality

In-Depth Analysis of the Antibody Response of Individuals Exposed to Primary Dengue Virus Infection

Humans who experience a primary dengue virus (DENV) infection develop antibodies that preferentially neutralize the homologous serotype responsible for infection. Affected individuals also generate cross-reactive antibodies against heterologous DENV serotypes, which are non-neutralizing. Dengue cross-reactive, non-neutralizing antibodies can enhance infection of Fc receptor bearing cells and, potentially, exacerbate disease. The actual binding sites of human antibody on the DENV particle are not well defined. We characterized the specificity and neutralization potency of polyclonal serum antibodies and memory B-cell derived monoclonal antibodies (hMAbs) from 2 individuals exposed to primary DENV infections. Most DENV-specific hMAbs were serotype cross-reactive and weakly neutralizing. Moreover, many hMAbs bound to the viral pre-membrane protein and other sites on the virus that were not preserved when the viral envelope protein was produced as a soluble, recombinant antigen (rE protein). Nonetheless, by modifying the screening procedure to detect rare antibodies that bound to rE, we were able to isolate and map human antibodies that strongly neutralized the homologous serotype of DENV. Our MAbs results indicate that, in these two individuals exposed to primary DENV infections, a small fraction of the total antibody response was responsible for virus neutralization

Temporal and spatial analysis of the 2014-2015 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa

West Africa is currently witnessing the most extensive Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak so far recorded. Until now, there have been 27,013 reported cases and 11,134 deaths. The origin of the virus is thought to have been a zoonotic transmission from a bat to a two-year-old boy in December 2013 (ref. 2). From this index case the virus was spread by human-to-human contact throughout Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. However, the origin of the particular virus in each country and time of transmission is not known and currently relies on epidemiological analysis, which may be unreliable owing to the difficulties of obtaining patient information. Here we trace the genetic evolution of EBOV in the current outbreak that has resulted in multiple lineages. Deep sequencing of 179 patient samples processed by the European Mobile Laboratory, the first diagnostics unit to be deployed to the epicentre of the outbreak in Guinea, reveals an epidemiological and evolutionary history of the epidemic from March 2014 to January 2015. Analysis of EBOV genome evolution has also benefited from a similar sequencing effort of patient samples from Sierra Leone. Our results confirm that the EBOV from Guinea moved into Sierra Leone, most likely in April or early May. The viruses of the Guinea/Sierra Leone lineage mixed around June/July 2014. Viral sequences covering August, September and October 2014 indicate that this lineage evolved independently within Guinea. These data can be used in conjunction with epidemiological information to test retrospectively the effectiveness of control measures, and provides an unprecedented window into the evolution of an ongoing viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak.status: publishe