To get or to be? Use and acquisition of get- versus be- passives: evidence from children and adults

The use and acquisition of the get-passive has so far yielded a variety of accounts and suggestions. This paper presents new experimental evidence concerning the use and the acquisition of the get-passive by children, as well as adult judgments of get- and be-passives. Within a prototype approach to the passive, experiments investigated when 2–4-year-old British children produce get- as opposed to be-passives. The role of direct affectedness of the patient on get-passive production was investigated further in a follow-up experiment. In addition to the child data, ratings of get- and be-passives were obtained from British English adult speakers to investigate the acceptability of these passives and their relationship to developmental data. The first experiment showed that the chosen prototype approach clearly predicts children’s acquisition of be-passives with get-passives being more peripheral members of the category ‘passive’ than be-passives. The second study shows that even if the child herself is the affected patient in the play action, get-passives are only rarely produced. In contrast to American children, direct affectedness did not induce British children to produce a significant amount of getpassives. Last, adult ratings confirm that British English speakers rate be-passives consistently as better examples of passive sentences than get-passives. The evidence suggests that getpassives are more peripheral for British than for American children and adults. Implications for the possible role of parental input and the validity of existing accounts of the get-passive are discussed

When does an ostrich become a bird? The role of typicality in early word comprehension

Which objects and animals are are children willing to accept as referents for words they know? To answer this question, the authors assessed early word comprehension using the preferential looking task. Children were shown 2 stimuli side by side (a target and a distractory) and heard the target stimulus named. The target stimulus was either a typical or an atypical exemplar of the named category. It was predicted that children first connect typical examples with the target name and broaden the extension of the name as they get older to include less typical examples. Experiment 1 shows that when targets are named, 12-month-olds display an increase in target looking for typical but not atypical targets whereas 24-month-olds display an increase for both. Experiment 2 shows that 18-month-old display a pattern similar to that of 24-month-olds. Implications for the early development of word comprehension are discussed

The effects of dormant season burning and flooding on invasive cattail, Typha x glauca, on Rainy Lake and Lake Kabetogama in Northern Minnesota

Typha x glauca is one of the most invasive plants in North America. The plant exhibits hybrid vigor and displaces native flora by rapidly forming dense monotypic stands that can break free from the substrate and form floating mat types when established. I tested the effects of prescribed burning, on Typha x glauca in wetlands to adjacent large lakes in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota. My team surveyed four wetlands that were burned in late winter of 2020-21, and six that were unburned controls. Pre-burn data was also collected for all ten wetlands. Pre-flooding data from other wetlands within the Park were used to compare and highlight the impacts of the historic flood of 2022 on Typha x glauca. Changes in percent cover of Typha were not significantly different between burned and unburned wetlands (P=0.85). Typha dropped for both treatments by about 50%. In spring of 2022, the study area was impacted by the greatest flood on historical record, so I took advantage of preflood data to examine how flooding alone affected Typha cover. Mean cover of Typha on floating mats was not significantly different from 2021 to 2022 (P\u3e0.05). However, cover on non-floating mats dropped by 62.4% in 2022 (PTypha x glauca. The 2022 flood only reduced cover on non-floating mats, so manipulating water levels is not likely to eradicate invasive Typha x glauca long term

The Lonely Robin: A Children’s Book to Target Liquid Speech Sounds

The purpose of the project was to write and illustrate a children’s book for readers aged 8-10 years old. The plot was meant to engage children so that they can relate to the characters, and learn about significant real-life themes. Words were selected very carefully for the story. The book primarily focuses on words with the /l/ (e.g. lake) and /r/ (e.g. red) English phonemes. An appendix at the end of the book classifies target words according sound and syllable position. The author’s goal is that this book can be used as a tool for joint reading and independent practice in conjunction with speech-language therapy

Organic barley producers' desired qualities for crop improvement

Barley fits well into many different organic farming systems. It can be grown as either a winter or spring annual crop in many temperate regions. Barley can be used for food, malting, or animal feed, providing growers with diverse marketing opportunities. Despite its advantages, many organic farmers in the USA have not adopted barley as a regular crop in their rotation. Researchers surveyed organic barley producers to discover what they considered to be the main obstacles to growing barley. The primary obstacles identified were limited markets and price. Breeding and development of high-quality barley suitable for organic systems and specialty markets may be a way to expand markets and secure a better price. Farmers identified yield as the most important agronomic trait of interest, but other traits such as nutritional quality were also highly ranked. Naked (hull-less) barley bred for multi-use quality is a possible alternative that allows organic farmers to sell into multiple markets. Most respondents expressed interest in the development of such varieties suitable for organic farming conditions. The researchers conducted follow-up interviews to obtain detailed information on how barley is used in organic farming systems, production practices, costs of production, and what traits farmers would like to see breeders focus on

Improving Barley for Organic Producers: What Do Organic Producers Want?

Researchers surveyed organic barley producers in order to find out how many acres they are growing, what varieties they grow, what markets they are growing barley for, whether they receive a price premium for organic barley, whether they are growing or would be interested in growing multi-use naked barley, what production challenges they face, and what traits they would like to see improved

Biofilm-related Materials as Total N-nitrosamine (TONO) Precursors and Hydroxylamine-based Interferences in TONO and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Measurements

In this study, a chemiluminescence-based total N-nitrosamine (TONO) assay was adapted to include a solid-phase extraction (SPE) step to assess the role of biologically derived materials as N-nitrosamine precursors. Methanol was determined to be a suitable solvent for the SPE-TONO assay, with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) losses estimated to be 30% by SPE alone and an additional 15% from concentration of the methanol extracts by N2-gas blowdown. Three biofilm-derived materials - poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and tryptophan - were individually chloraminated and dose-response relationships were observed with the SPE-TONO assay, indicating biofilm are potential N-nitrosamine precursors. The role of hydroxylamine - a nitrification intermediate - was assessed as a function of five sample treatments related to the TONO assay (Untreated, HgCl2 only, sulfanilamide [SAA] only, HgCl2 + SAA, and HCl) in terms of aqueous phase TONO, SPE-TONO and NDMA by GC-FID. A series of batch reactor experiments were performed with various combinations of 3.52 mM hydroxylamine, 35.2 mM dimethylamine (a known NDMA precursor) and 3.52 mM monochloramine. However, several analytical interferences were discovered, associated with excess hydroxylamine in the samples, which obscured results from the TONO assay, GC-FID (for NDMA), and ion chromatography (for nitrite). In the aqueous phase with dimethylamine present, hydroxylamine was catalyzed by (1) HgCl2 to nitrite and NDMA and (2) HgCl2 + SAA to NDMA only, as any nitrite formed was removed by SAA. In the methanol phase, hydroxylamine and dimethylamine were catalyzed to NDMA on the activated carbon in the SPE cartridges. However, these experiments revealed a previously unconsidered NDMA formation pathway, in which hydroxylamine is catalyzed to peroxynitrite (ONOO-) in the presence of dissolved oxygen and subsequently reacts with dimethylamine to form NDMA. Recommendations are provided to guide the design of N-nitrosamine formation pathway experiments

Detection of Prolonged Diapause of Northern Corn Rootworm in Michigan (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Prolonged diapause of northern corn rootworm, while known from other Midwestern states, has not previously been reported in Michigan. Populations of northern corn rootworm, (Diabrotica barberi) from two first-year corn fields in Genesee County, Michigan were examined for prolonged egg diapause. Pro- longed diapause was suspected in these populations due to an unusually high proportion of northern versus western corn rootworms in these fields. Eggs obtained from females collected at these sites were reared in the laboratory for two years. The presence of the prolonged diapause trait was confirmed in one population by eggs which hatched following two simulated winters (7.3%). None of the eggs m the second population hatched following the second chill period, however, some eggs in this population remained in apparent diapause at the end of two years. The potential for using observed population shifts in favor of D. barberi as an early warning of the expansion of prolonged diapause in a population is discussed

Wallace and Carver Science Halls

The old science building, in which George Washington Carver studied while at Simpson College, was remodeled in 1967, dedicated the Henry A. Wallace Hall of Science, and now houses the Departments of Physics, Geology, Mathematics, and Psychology as well as providing general lecture and recitation rooms. The newer Carver Science Hall was remodeled in 1968 and houses general classroom space along with the expanded Biology and Chemistry Departments. Specific aspects of the remodeling are described, and some sidelights of the building\u27s history are mentioned. Two other honors concerning George Washington Carver at Simpson College are mentioned