Delayed developmental changes in neonatal vocalizations correlates with variations in ventral medial hypothalamus and central amygdala development in the rodent infant: Effects of prenatal cocaine

While variations in neonatal distress vocalizations have long been shown to reflect the integrity of nervous system development following a wide range of prenatal and perinatal insults, a paucity of research has explored the neurobiological basis of these variations. To address this, virgin Sprague-Dawley rats were bred and divided into three groups: (1) untreated, (2) chronic-cocaine treated (30mg/kg/day, gestation days (GDs) 1–20); or (3) chronic-saline treated (2mg/kg/day, GDs 1–20). Pregnant dams were injected with Bromodeoxyuridine (10mg/kg) on GDs 13–15 to label proliferating cells in limbic regions of interest. Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) were recorded on PNDs 1, 14, and 21, from one male and female pup per litter. Variations in acoustic properties of USVs following cocaine-exposure were age and sex-dependent including measures of total number, total duration and amplitude of USVs, and percent of USVs with at least one harmonic. Following USV testing brains were stained with standard fluorescent immunohistochemistry protocols and examined for variations in neuronal development and if variations were associated with acoustic characteristics. Limbic region developmental differences following cocaine-exposure were sex- and age-dependent with variations in the ventral medial hypothalamus and central amygdala correlating with variations in vocalizations on PND 14 and 21. Results suggest maturation of the ventral medial hypothalamus and central amygdala may provide the basis for variations in the sound and production of USVs. As vocalizations may serve as a neurobehavioral marker for nervous system integrity, understanding the neurobiological basis of neonatal vocalizations may provide the basis for early intervention strategies in high-risk infant populations

Meaning between, in, and around words, gestures and postures: multimodal meaning making in children's classroom communication

The view of language from a social semiotic perspective is clear. Language is one of many semiotic resources we employ in our communicative practices. That is to say that while language is at times dominant, it always operates within a multimodal frame and furthermore, at times modes other than language are dominant. The proposed 2014 National Curriculum for the UK, on the other hand, values pupils' face-to-face classroom interaction in terms of standard spoken English (i.e. in terms of the mode of language alone). This paper offers examples demonstrating how embodied modes such as gesture, posture, facial expression, gaze and haptics work in conjunction with speech in children's collaborative construction of knowledge. In other words, what may have been previously conceived as gaps and silences - often interpreted as an absence of language - are in fact instantiations of the work of semiotic modes other than language. In order to consider this closely, this paper offers evidence from a multimodal micro-analysis of pupil-to-pupil, face-to-face interaction in one science lesson in a Year Five UK Primary classroom. It demonstrates how children's meaning-making is achieved through apt use of all available semiotic resources

A joint Fermi-GBM and Swift-BAT analysis of gravitational-wave candidates from the third gravitational-wave observing run

We present Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (Fermi-GBM) and Swift Burst Alert Telescope (Swift-BAT) searches for gamma-ray/X-ray counterparts to gravitational-wave (GW) candidate events identified during the third observing run of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. Using Fermi-GBM onboard triggers and subthreshold gamma-ray burst (GRB) candidates found in the Fermi-GBM ground analyses, the Targeted Search and the Untargeted Search, we investigate whether there are any coincident GRBs associated with the GWs. We also search the Swift-BAT rate data around the GW times to determine whether a GRB counterpart is present. No counterparts are found. Using both the Fermi-GBM Targeted Search and the Swift-BAT search, we calculate flux upper limits and present joint upper limits on the gamma-ray luminosity of each GW. Given these limits, we constrain theoretical models for the emission of gamma rays from binary black hole mergers