Developmental Capabilities Research Articles

Prenatal Developmental Trajectories of Fluctuating Asymmetry in Bat Humeri.

Fluctuating asymmetry (random fluctuations between the left and right sides of the body) has been interpreted as an index to quantify both the developmental instabilities and homeostatic capabilities of organisms, linking the phenotypic and genotypic aspects of morphogenesis. However, studying the ontogenesis of fluctuating asymmetry has been limited to mostly model organisms in postnatal stages, missing prenatal trajectories of asymmetry that could better elucidate decoupled developmental pathways controlling symmetric bone elongation and thickening. In this study, we quantified the presence and magnitude of asymmetry during the prenatal development of bats, focusing on the humerus, a highly specialized bone adapted in bats to perform under multiple functional demands. We deconstructed levels of asymmetry by measuring the longitudinal and cross-sectional asymmetry of the humerus using a combination of linear measurements and geometric morphometrics. We tested the presence of different types of asymmetry and calculated the magnitude of size-controlled fluctuating asymmetry to assess developmental instability. Statistical support for the presence of fluctuating asymmetry was found for both longitudinal and cross-sectional asymmetry, explaining on average 16% of asymmetric variation. Significant directional asymmetry accounted for less than 6.6% of asymmetric variation. Both measures of fluctuating asymmetry remained relatively stable throughout ontogeny, but cross-sectional asymmetry was significantly different across developmental stages. Finally, we did not find a correspondence between developmental patterns of longitudinal and cross-sectional asymmetry, indicating that processes promoting symmetrical bone elongation and thickening work independently. We suggest various functional pressures linked to newborn bats’ ecology associated with longitudinal (altricial flight capabilities) and cross-sectional (precocial clinging ability) developmental asymmetry differentially. We hypothesize that stable magnitudes of fluctuating asymmetry across development could indicate the presence of developmental mechanisms buffering developmental instability.

Self Psychology and Aggression — Reflections on Aversive Experience, Culture, and Building Developmental Capabilities

ABSTRACT From the beginning, self psychology has been criticized for failing to adequately address aggression. This critique is explored beginning with Heinz Kohut’s position on aggression and then moving to discuss Joseph Lichtenberg’s proposals concerning aggression and aversiveness, the aversive motivational system. In a number of clinical vignettes, the process of developing new, adaptive developmental capacities in the aversive motivational system are described. Additionally, a focus on diversity, culture, and bias which spontaneously became activated between the analytic partners is included.

607 Characteristics of Pediatric Burn Patients with Child Protective Services Involvement at an Academic Children’s Hospital

Abstract Introduction Pediatric burns are typically accidental, but burns caused by caregiver abuse/neglect represent a significant proportion of patients. Literature on risk factors most associated with these injuries include younger age, male, African American, and larger burns. This study examined child and burn injury factors that were associated with Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement at an urban, academic children’s hospital. Methods At this institution, decision to report a burn patient to CPS is determined by a multi-disciplinary medical team. Criteria for referral is multifactorial and may include burn patterns consistent with forced immersion, a reported mechanism that does not match the burn pattern or the patient’s developmental capabilities, concern for lack of supervision, or a delay in seeking medical care. Data from inpatient admissions over a 3-year period (July 2016 – June 2019) were extracted from hospital charts, and analyses (chi-square, t-tests) examined age, sex, total body surface area (TBSA), burn severity, length of stay, insurance type, race/ethnicity, and whether a CPS report was made (i.e., yes/no). Records for the outcome and disposition of the CPS case, such as whether the CPS investigation confirmed the abuse/neglect allegations, were not readily available as the law requires confidentiality. Results 389 children were admitted for burn treatment. 80% had partial-thickness burns; 33% White, 43% Black, 62% male; 10% had CPS involvement. 72% had Medicaid/other government insurance, 23% had private/commercial, 4% were uncovered, and 1% insurance status unknown. Medicaid/government insurance was overrepresented among burns compared to other inpatients at the hospital (72% vs 51%). Consistent with previous findings, CPS reports involved children who were younger (2.8 vs 4.8 years), had greater TBSA (8.4% vs 4.9%), and had longer admissions (7.5 vs 3.0 days). Children with Medicaid/governmental or no insurance were more likely to have CPS reports than commercial/private insurance (97% vs 3%). Importantly, contrary to prior findings, child sex, child ethnicity, and burn thickness were not significantly different between children with and without CPS reports. Conclusions Younger children with bigger burns and longer admissions were most associated with CPS involvement. Historical findings on risk factors of male sex, African American ethnicity, and greater burn thickness were not replicated. Prior literature may not be generalizable to many settings; the current study provides an important update. Further research is needed to examine outcomes of CPS involvement and long-term patient health outcomes. Findings are limited to only urban, inpatient pediatric burns.

Small-volume vitrification and rapid warming yield high survivals of one-cell rat embryos in cryotubes†.

To cryopreserve cells, it is essential to avoid intracellular ice formation during cooling and warming. One way to achieve this is to convert the water inside the cells into a non-crystalline glass. It is currently believed that to accomplish this vitrification, the cells must be suspended in a very high concentration (20-40%) of a glass-inducing solute, and subsequently cooled very rapidly. Herein, we report that this belief is erroneous with respect to the vitrification of one-cell rat embryos. In the present study, one-cell rat embryos were vitrified with 5μL of EFS10 (a mixture of 10% ethylene glycol (EG), 27% Ficoll, and 0.45M sucrose) in cryotubes at a moderate cooling rate, and warmed at various rates. Survival was assessed according to the ability of the cells to develop into blastocysts and to develop to term. When embryos were vitrified at a 2613°C/min cooling rate and thawed by adding 1mL of sucrose solution (0.3M, 50°C) at a warming rate of 18 467°C/min, 58.1±3.5% of the EFS10-vitrified embryos developed into blastocysts, and 50.0±4.7% developed to term. These rates were similar to those of non-treated intact embryos. Using a conventional cryotube, we achieved developmental capabilities in one-cell rat embryos by rapid warming that were comparable to those of intact embryos, even using low concentrations (10%) of cell-permeating cryoprotectant and at low cooling rates.

"Biomechanical Signaling in Oocytes and Parthenogenetic Cells".

Oocyte-specific competence remains one of the major targets of current research in the field of reproduction. Several mechanisms are involved in meiotic maturation and the molecular signature of an oocyte is considered to reflect its quality and to predict its subsequent developmental and functional capabilities. In the present minireview, we focus on the possible role of mechanotransduction and mechanosensor signaling pathways, namely the Hippo and the RhoGTPase, in the maturing oocyte. Due to the limited access to female gametes, we propose the use of cells isolated from parthenogenetic embryos as a promising model to characterize and dissect the oocyte distinctive molecular signatures, given their exclusive maternal origin. The brief overview here reported suggests a role of the mechanosensing related pathways in oocyte quality and developmental competence and supports the use of uniparental cells as a useful tool for oocyte molecular signature characterization.

Phenotypic plasticity rather than genotype drives reproductive choices in Hydra populations.

Facultative clonality is associated with complex life cycles where sexual and asexual forms can be exposed to contrasting selection pressures. Facultatively clonal animals often have distinct developmental capabilities that depend on reproductive mode (e.g., negligible senescence and exceptional regeneration ability in asexual individuals, which are lacking in sexual individuals). Understanding how these differences in life history strategies evolved is hampered by limited knowledge of the population structure underlying sexual and asexual forms in nature. Here we studied genetic differentiation of coexisting sexual and asexual Hydra oligactis polyps, a freshwater cnidarian where reproductive mode-dependent life history patterns are observed. We collected asexual and sexual polyps from 13 Central European water bodies and used restriction-site associated DNA sequencing to infer population structure. We detected high relatedness among populations and signs that hydras might spread with resting eggs through zoochory. We found no genetic structure with respect to mode of reproduction (asexual vs. sexual). On the other hand, clear evidence was found for phenotypic plasticity in mode of reproduction, as polyps inferred to be clones differed in reproductive mode. Moreover, we detected two cases of apparent sex change (males and females found within the same clonal lineages) in this species with supposedly stable sexes. Our study describes population genetic structure in Hydra for the first time, highlights the role of phenotypic plasticity in generating patterns of life history variation, and contributes to understanding the evolution of reproductive mode-dependent life history variation in coexisting asexual and sexual forms.

Humanities quantorium as a technological digital environment

The purpose of the article was to formulate a general problem and clarify the hypothesis of research on the design of a humanitarian quantorium as a technological digital environment for the formation of teacher competencies in the subject areas “History” and “Social Sciences”, to determine the set and content of teacher competencies in the field of applying humanitarian education technologies. The leading research methods described in this article were the method of foresight design, the method of expert panels and methods for the diagnostic study of occupational deficiencies. The materials presented in the article contain a description of the results of a pilot study on identifying professional deficiencies of a history and social science teacher, a generalized, refined set and content of the future teacher’s competencies in the field of applying humanitarian education technologies in a digital environment, a conceptual rationale for equipping a humanitarian quantorium as a technological environment for the formation of teacher competencies. In the substantiation, an integrated approach was applied, which allows to combine the content of humanitarian education, teaching technologies and digital means into a single innovative didactic space. The conclusions are drawn to the peculiarities of the application of the humanitarian quantorium model in the wide practice of professional training of history and social studies teachers for the implementation of the developmental capabilities of the subjects of the humanitarian cycle and improving the quality of humanitarian education.

THE CONCEPT OF SUBJECTIVITY IN EDUCATION AND ITS HISTORICAL ORIGINS

Among current educational trends one may observe the transition from the technological paradigm, accentuating the curriculum and the central position of the teacher, to the humanistic paradigm, based on the subjective perception of the child/student. It is their needs and abilities that determine the process of upbringing and education, and the task of the teacher is to support the child in their development. The guiding principle of communication is dialogue based on mutual respect. It turns out that the origins of the concept of subjectivity can be traced several centuries back in time, in the views of distinguished pedagogues, psychologists, writers. The following examples illustrate this.J.A. Komensky (1592-1670) believed that one of the conditions of pedagogical success is individualization which complies with the child's needs and developmental capabilities. Also, J. Locke (1632-1704) appreciated the role of needs in the child’s development, which should be satisfied in the course of education. J.J. Rousseau (1712-1778) emphasized the importance of children's rights in education as each child constitutes an individuality and an entity that requires respect and delicacy. Similarly, J.H. Pestalozzi (1746-1827) recognized children's rights and appealed for respect for them. In turn, J.W. Dawid (1859-1914) postulated that while working with children, their developmental and environmental conditions should be taken into account, and the tasks should be adjusted to their capabilities. J. Dewey (1859-1952), for whom childhood was as important as other periods of development, appealed for respect for the child’s freedom and an individual approach towards them. The significance of childhood was also emphasized by M. Montessori (1870-1952) who claimed that it gives shape to the whole personality of the child, which means that the child should be treated with respect.Supporting the development of the individuality and independence of the child, as an expression of an individual subjective approach towards them, falls within the ideas that form the pedagogical system created by C. Freinet (1896-1966). The great contribution to thedevelopment of the idea of subjectivity was made by J. Korczak (1878-1942). The main principles of his pedagogy are cognition, respect and love for the child. The main idea of the child's rights in teaching is: a child is a human being. Wasyl Suchomliński (1918-1970), an outstanding Ukrainian educator, made the notion of humanity the axis of his educational concept. Following this, there was a place in it for the human soul, for the faith in human good nature, for kindness, cordiality and care.The teacher’s love for children is connected with cognizing them and providing conditions for their free creativity. And all this is satiated with the idea of respect for people at every level of education. As one may see, history is the teacher of life, also in the area of education. It leads to a reflection on what used to be there, what has remained, what exists now. He also realizes that there is a certain continuity between the past and the present that allows of saving the most valuable essence in the theory and the educational practice.

Training of Future Musical Art Teachers: An Ethnocultural Approach

The article reveals theoretical and methodological foundations of implementing the ethnocultural approach in the process of future musical art teachers’ professional training. The results of the study have shown that implementing the ethnocultural approach in art education is one of the requirements of the new education paradigm. It is proved that in the process of future musical art teachers, professional training should be taken into account the developmental capabilities of folk music and peculiarities of ethno-musical education development. The article highlights the principles, which regulate the process of future musical art teachers’ professional training: ethnocultural basis of students’ professional skills formation; using national samples of musical art as learning repertoire; involving students in various types of musical and aesthetic activities, especially in the study of various works of national musical art; personality-centered organization of the educational process; inclusion of ethnocultural component in courses of historical-theoretical and methodological cycles; effective use of various forms of ethno-musical activity.

Bruising in Infants and Children: Minor Skin Injuries Can Have Major Implications

Bruising is a common finding in children presenting to emergency departments and can result from either accidental or abusive trauma. In physically abused children, bruising often precedes other, more severe injuries. Key features can help distinguish normal childhood bruising from bruising concerning for physical abuse, which can guide an appropriate medical workup and help ensure child safety.This review will cover bruising features associated with physical abuse. A child's age and developmental capabilities relate to the likelihood of bruising being due to physical abuse. Features specific to the bruising itself are also significant. Bruising location, as well as the pattern and number of bruises are relevant in assessing injury plausibility. A careful medical assessment with consideration of alternate diagnoses is critical in thoroughly evaluating the likelihood of abuse. Laboratory and radiographic studies can help identify potentially contributory underlying medical conditions as well as injuries that may not be apparent on physical examination.

The Development of Social Competence in Preschoolers with Disabilities as the Condition for Their Successful Educational Integration

The article presents the results of a theoretical and experimental study of an age-related psychological formation - social competence in preschool children with disabilities. The characteristic of diagnostic tools aims at studying the cognitive, emotional and behavioral component of social competence is given. The article reveals the conceptual foundations and stages of experimental research. At the first stage of the study, the levels of social competence formation have been identified and described in accordance with the identified assessment criteria. The analysis of the influence of the level of development of social competence components on the process of social adaptation to new conditions in special (correctional) and inclusive educational organizations has been presented. The experimental data presented in the study indicate systemic lack of social competence in preschool children with disabilities of various nosological groups (children with mental retardation, children with mild mental retardation, children with general speech underdevelopment, and children with visual impairments). At the second stage of the study, it has been indicated that the pedagogically organized inclusion of children with disabilities into the system of new social relations (at the stage of adaptation to school) is a key condition for their successful socialization. The necessity of the activation of their developmental capabilities in a changing situation of social development has been substantiated. It is proved that the social competence of children with disabilities will be the subjective prerequisite of school adaptation.

It’s Complicated: Plot and Formal Feature Complexity in Early Childhood Television Content

ABSTRACT The recent surge in television content targeting young children has led to questions about the appropriateness of the content for children’s developmental capabilities. The study comprehensively analyzed the manifestations of complexity – both in the plot and in formal features – in content aired on child-targeted television channels (from about 2 to 6 years of age). A qualitative analysis of content from 216 television shows from the six Israeli children’s television channels identified much complexity in children’s programming. Plot complexity involved intertwining sub-plots and characters, a weak problem-solution link in the narrative, and unclear messages. Formal feature complexity involved fast-pace, quick camera cuts, and an overload of visual elements. The study uniquely identified the shifts between “real” and “fantasy” worlds in children’s television shows as comn contexts of complexity that integrate both plot and formal feature indicators. Manifestations of complex messages in children’s television shows are discussed in light of toddlers’ and young children’s cognitive development. The findings are also discussed in light of the traveling lens model associated with children’s learning from television content.

“He’s just a baby”: Forensic interviewers’ experiences and perceptions of maltreated preschoolers’ participation in the criminal justice system

In many countries throughout the world, children are required to come face to face with the criminal justice system following suspected abuse. This encounter is challenging regardless of their age, but particularly so for preschoolers. The current study examined how forensic interviewers – acting in the Israeli context as frontline practitioners in the process of maltreated children’s participation in the criminal justice system – experience and perceive maltreated preschoolers’ participation. Nine focus groups were held with a total of 90 forensic interviewers, and thematic analysis was applied to their narratives. The participants identified three major barriers for preschoolers’ participation: developmental capabilities, the interviewers’ emotional barriers when interacting with young children in the aftermath of suspected maltreatment, and the criminal justice system, which in its current form is not conducive to the participation of maltreated preschoolers. The discussion addresses the urgent need to modify the criminal justice system in order to better promote preschoolers’ participation.

Postovulatory ageing modifies sperm-induced Ca2+ oscillations in mouse oocytes through a conditions-dependent, multi-pathway mechanism

Postovulatory ageing of mammalian oocytes occurs between their ovulation and fertilization and has been shown to decrease their developmental capabilities. Aged oocytes display numerous abnormalities, including altered Ca2+ signalling. Fertilization-induced Ca2+ oscillations are essential for activation of the embryonic development, therefore maintaining proper Ca2+ homeostasis is crucial for the oocyte quality. In the present paper, we show that the mechanism underlying age-dependent alterations in the pattern of sperm-triggered Ca2+ oscillations is more complex and multifaceted than previously believed. Using time-lapse imaging accompanied by immunostaining and molecular analyses, we found that postovulatory ageing affects the amount of Ca2+ stored in the cell, expression of Ca2+ pump SERCA2, amount of available ATP and distribution of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria in a manner often strongly depending on ageing conditions (in vitro vs. in vivo). Importantly, those changes do not have to be caused by oxidative stress, usually linked with the ageing process, as they occur even if the amount of reactive oxygen species remains low. Instead, our results suggest that aberrations in Ca2+ signalling may be a synergistic result of ageing-related alterations of the cell cycle, cytoskeleton, and mitochondrial functionality.

تصنيف المحافظات حسب قدراتها التنموية کأساس لتحقيق اللامرکزية Classifying the governorates according to their developmental capabilities to achieve decentralization

اتجهت عديد من الدول إلى تطبيق اللامرکزية لما لها تأثير إيجابي على التنمية، فاللامرکزية ليست نظام إداري وسياسي فقط ولکنها لها أبعاد اقتصادية تمکن الوحداتت الإدارية من تحقيق مستويات تنموية مرغوب بها. ومع التغيرات العديدة في مفاهيم الوحدة الإدارية Administrative Unit ودورها في عمليات التنمية الاقتصادية والاجتماعية المختلفة لم يعد دورها ومهامها مقصور على تنظيم وإدارة الموارد المحلية (الاقتصادية والمالية) المختلفة فقط. ولکن أضيف إلى دورها تحقيق التنافسية الاقتصادية سواء على المستوى المحلي أو المستوى العالمي، فظهرت الوحدات الإدارية التي تضم مدن عالمية ومناطق ذات طبيعة اقتصادية خاصة تتطلب قدرات إدارية مختلفة وشکل من الشراکة بين الجهات الفاعلة في مصادر الدخل ونوع الاستثمار في الوحدات الإدارية، وأيضا هيکل إداري مختلف. وأضيف إلى دور الوحدات المحلية دور إدارة وتخطيط عملية التحضر الناتج عن التحولات الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والعمرانية المختلفة، من خلال تطبيق برامج تنمية عمرانية بمواصفات ومستويات أداء مختلفة لتحسين وتهيئة قدرات العمران على الاستيعاب - ليس فقط احتياجات السکان المحليين – ولکن احتياجات ومتطلبات الأنشطة الاقتصادية والاجتماعية الدافعة للمستويات المختلفة للتنمية. وفي إطار هذا ظهرت عدد من المفاهيم والمداخل الجديدة لتحسين قدرات الوحدات الإدارية بمفهومها التنموي الجديد والتي تتطلب تطبيق اللامرکزية لما لها من ميزات تمکين الوحدات الإدارية من تحقيق التنمية. من هذه المفاهيم: الوحدة الإدارية الديناميکية Dynamic Unit، الوحدة الإدارية رائدة للأعمال Entrepreneurial Unit، وغيرها من المفاهيم التي تتطلب إعادة النظر في النموذج الموحد لتطبيق اللامرکزية على جميع مستويات الوحدات الإدارية باختلاف قدراتها التنموية. ويؤکد هذه الضرورة ما نصت عليه المادة من دستور مصر عام 2014، على أن تکفل الدولة دعم اللامرکزية الإدارية والمالية والاقتصادية، وينظم القانون وسائل تمکين الوحدات الإدارية من توفير المرافق المحلية، والنهوض بها، وحسن إدارتها، ويحدد البرنامج الزمنى لنقل السلطات والموازنات إلى وحدات الإدارة المحلية “. وألزمت المادة 177 من الدستور الدولة أن تکفل توفير ما تحتاجه الوحدات المحلية من معاونة علمية، وفنية، وإدارية، ومالية، وتضمن التوزيع العادل للمرافق، والخدمات، والموارد، وتقريب مستويات التنمية، وتحقيق العدالة الاجتماعية بين هذه الوحدات، طبقا لما ينظمه القانون. ولکن تتطلب قوانين الإدارة المحلية والتنمية المحلية وضع المعايير والآليات الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والسياسية والعمرانية أيضا لتأهيل الوحدات الإدارية لتمکينها من تطبيق نظام لامرکزي فعال تتحقق من خلاله التنمية وخاصة أن هدف تقريب مستويات التنمية کما نص الدستور يتطلب تصنيف الوحدات من حيث القدرات التنموية المؤهلة.Many countries have tended to implement decentralization as it has a positive impact on development; and enables administrative units to achieve desirable levels of development. Egypt as one of these countries; had several steps to articulate the new law of local development under the Article 176 of the Constitution of Egypt in 2014, which stresses the enable of providing local facilities, good management, and sets the timetable for the transfer of powers and budgets to Local Administration. But mechanisms required; as well as economic, social, political, and urban standards to qualify the administrative units to implement an effective decentralized system through which development is achieved are missing. In this context the new role of the administrative units is no longer limited to the management of local resources, but also to achieve economic competitiveness; whether at the local or global level. The impact of decentralization on urban development; emerges a new role for the local administrative units to manage and planning the urbanization process resulting from the economic, social, and urban transformations. Within this framework, several new concepts and approaches have emerged, such as; the dynamic Unit, the entrepreneurial Unit, and other concepts that require a review of the standardized model for the administrative units at all levels. Thus for the paper theoretically and analytically reviews and examines the qualifications, the concepts, and the new characteristics of the administrative units. The conclusion analyses and classifies governorates according to their ability to implement decentralization using the cluster analysis method, and interpreted the results of different groups of governorates. The research ends with identify the weaknesses in the development of the governorates' capabilities and proposes the appropriate degree of decentralization for each governorate.

Why Families Go Outside: An Exploration of Mothers’ and Daughters’ Family-Based Nature Activities

Family-based nature activities (FBNA) are associated with improved health and family functioning, yet little research has explored how and why families spend time together outside. This study used a routine and rituals framework to explore engagement in FBNA, individual health and familial benefits, and situational and developmental constraints that influence participation. Twenty-six mothers and daughters (ages 10–12) participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Participation in FBNA encouraged mothers and daughters to be physically active and experience a variety of psychological benefits, including relaxation, less stress, and improved mood. The opportunity to spend time together was the most important benefit reported because it encouraged family communication, and participants reported they got along better outdoors. Weather and lack of time influenced frequency of participation, and daughters matured developmental capabilities and growing need for independence highlighted how nature-activities within families need to evolve as children age.

Climate change models predict southerly shift of the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) distribution in Australia

BackgroundBioclimatic variables play an integral part in the life-cycle of Ctenocephalides felis, the most common flea found on companion animals. It is essential that we understand the effects of climate on C. felis distribution as fleas are a major veterinary and public health concern. This study investigated the current distribution of C. felis in Australia and future projections based on climate modelling.ResultsTyping of C. felis was undertaken using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) region and current distribution of haplotypes was mapped by Maximum Entropy (Maxent) niche modelling. All C. felis haplotypes have been predicted to persist in environments along the eastern and southern coastlines of Australia and distinct ecological niches were observed for two C. felis haplogroups. Clade ‘Cairns’ haplogroup thrives under the northern coastal tropical conditions whilst Clade ‘Sydney’ haplogroup persists in temperate climates along the eastern and southern coasts. The model was then used to predict areas that are projected to have suitable climatic conditions for these haplogroups in 2050 and 2070 under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change scenarios. Under all IPCC Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) climate change scenarios, the geographical range of all haplotypes was reduced by 5.59–42.21% in 2050 and 27.08–58.82% by 2070. The ranges of all clades were predicted to shift south along the eastern coastline.ConclusionsAs future temperatures exceed critical threshold temperatures for C. felis development in the northern tropical areas, Clade ‘Cairns’ haplogroup is predicted to shift south along the coastline and possibly outcompete the temperate haplogroup in these areas. If C. felis haplogroups possess distinct climatic niches it suggests a potential for these to be biologically distinct and have differing developmental rates and vector capabilities.

Effect of oocyte chromatin status in porcine follicles on the embryo development in vitro.

ObjectiveThe main goal of this study was to provide a morphological indicator that could be used to select high-quality oocytes of appropriate meiotic and developmental capabilities in pig. The higher quality of immature oocytes, the higher success rates of in vitro maturation (IVM) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Thus, prior to the IVM culture, it is important to characterize oocytes morphologically and biochemically in order to assess their quality. Two of the largest indicators of oocyte quality are the presence of cumulus cells and status of chromatin. To investigate the effects of porcine oocyte chromatin configurations on the developmental capacity of blastocysts, we assessed oocyte chromatin status according to follicle size and measured the developmental potency of blastocysts.MethodsTo sort by follicle size, we divided the oocytes into three groups (less than 1 mm, 1 to 3 mm, and more than 3 mm in diameter). To assess chromatin configuration, the oocytes were assessed for their stages (surrounded nucleolus [SN] germinal vesicle [GV], non-surrounded nucleolus [NSN] GV, GV breakdown, metaphase I [MI], pro-metaphase II [proMII], and metaphase II [MII]) at different maturation times (22, 44, and 66 h). To assess the development rate, oocytes of each follicle size were subjected to parthenogenetic activation for further development. Finally, GV oocytes were grouped by their chromatin configuration (SN, SN/NSN, and NSN) and their global transcriptional levels were measured.ResultsSN GV oocytes were more suitable for IVF than NSN GV oocytes. Moreover, oocytes collected from the larger follicles had a greater distribution of SN GV oocytes and a higher developmental capacity during IVM, reaching MII more quickly and developing more often to blastocysts.ConclusionPorcine oocytes with high-level meiotic and developmental capacity were identified by analyzing the relationship between follicle size and chromatin configuration. The porcine oocytes from large follicles had a significantly higher SN status in which the transcription level was low and could be better in the degree of meiotic progression and developmental capacity.

Does implementation of reforms authorized in Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act affect the complexity of the questions asked of young alleged victims in court?

SummaryThis study examined whether the implementation of Section 28 (S28) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act and the introduction of mandatory ground rules hearings reduced the complexity of the questions English lawyers asked when examining child witnesses. This study compared cases with (n = 43) and without (n = 43) the S28 special measures and involved children aged 6–15 testifying as alleged victims of sexual abuse. Defense lawyers' questions in the S28 condition comprised fewer words, clauses, false starts, multiple negatives, and temporal and numeric attributes than in the non‐S28 condition. When questioning younger children, lawyers used fewer words, clauses, references to “before/after,” and passive voice. These results demonstrated that S28 successfully reduced the complexity of the questions and that lawyers in both conditions partially adjusted the complexity of their questions to accommodate children's developmental capabilities.

Delay in maternal transcript degradation in ovine embryos derived from low competence oocytes.

Oocytes from prepubertal animals have a reduced ability to undergo embryo development and produce viable offspring. The present work used an ovine model consisting of oocytes derived from adult and prepubertal donors to assess the molecular status of oocytes and preimplantation embryos with different developmental competence. The lower potential of oocytes of young donors was confirmed in terms of in vitro developmental capabilities and kinetics. A panel of genes including maternal effect (DPPA3, GDF9, NMP2, ZAR1) and housekeeping genes (ACTB, RPL19, SDHA, YWHAZ, ATP1A1), genes involved in DNA methylation (DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B), genomic imprinting (IGF2R), pluripotency (NANOG, POU5F1) and cell cycle regulation (CCNB1, CDK1, MELK) was relatively quantified. Temporal analysis during oocyte maturation and preimplantation embryo development evidenced patterns associated with donor age. With a few gene-specific exceptions, the differential model showed a reduced transcript abundance in immature prepubertal oocytes that completely reversed trend after fertilization, when higher mRNA levels were consistently observed in early embryos, indicating a delay in maternal transcript degradation. We propose that the molecular shortage in the prepubertal oocyte may affect its developmental potential and impair the early pathways of maternal mRNA clearance in the embryo. While confirming the different potential of oocytes derived from adult and prepubertal donors, our work showed for the first time a consistent delay in maternal transcript degradation in embryos derived from low competence oocytes that interestingly recalls the delayed developmental kinetics. Such abnormal transcript persistence may hinder further development and represents a novel perspective on the complexity of developmental competence.